Since the charming original 1984 movie first gave us young Daniel LaRusso’s (Ralph Macchio) crane kicking exploits, The Karate Kid franchise has become a pop cultural phenomenon. Mixing Rocky-style underdog triumph, a relatable battle against bullying, teen romance and the unforgettable character of Pat Morita’s wise, venerable, testicle kicking Mr Miyagi, it has become one of Hollywood’s most beloved Gen
Read moreKorean/ Canadian writer/director Celine Song seduced audiences with her subtle but heartbreaking story of inescapable childhood attachments and unrequited romance in her 2023 debut film Past Lives. Her first Hollywood film, Materialists, doesn’t quite deliver on the expectations Past Lives raised but still gives what could have been a standard romantic comedy/ drama a little more depth and class than
Read moreAustralian filmmakers Danny and Michael Phillipou conjured dark magic with their sensationally unsettling and intense debut horror feature Talk To Me. That film’s success led to them being hailed as the new horror wunderkinds and understandably created feverish anticipation for their follow-up feature, Bring Her Back. While it’s likely that the confrontingly violent and gory Bring Her Back will please
Read moreBeating Hearts sounds like the name of a self-important album from the 80’s and the vibrant but overlong and clichéd French romantic crime drama Beating Hearts (or L’amour Ouf) feels like the movie equivalent of such an album. The film traces the 12-year romance of delinquent thug Clothaire (played by François Civil as an adult and Malik Frikah as a
Read moreFrom its pompous title to its global obliteration scenario to the contrived sweaty earnestness that permeates most scenes, Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning has the undeniable aroma of a film desperately trying to convince us that it is bigger and more important than any other action or spy movie in Hollywood history. There’s full throttle action, sci fi tech paranoia, espionage
Read moreCinemagoers might have thought the Marvel movie onslaught had diminished, well guess what, it’s back! There’s the big-ticket Avengers Doomsday on the horizon and smaller films (by Marvel standards) popping up like Captain America: Brave New World and the latest offering, the oddly paced, uneven but intriguingly introspective Thunderbolts. Thunderbolts is a sequel of sorts to 2021’s disappointing Black Widow
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