The Cynical Cinephiles

Director: Denis Villeneuve Cast: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Robin Wright, Jared Leto It's been 35 years since Ridley Scott's Blade Runner.  Upon its release, it underwhelmed at the box office and divided critics but in the three decades that have passed, it has become a staple of the sci-fi genre and heralded as one of the best films of all time. French-Canadian director Denis Villeneuve, responsible for hits such as Sicario  and Arrival , is now at the helm of expanding the fictional universe with  Blade Runner 2049  and has the pressure of delivering not just a piece of entertainment, but a cinematic experience that can match the impact of it predecessor. Replicant Officer KD6 - 3.7 (Ryan Gosling), referred to as K, is a Blade Runner tasked with "retiring: old and discontinued Nexus 8 models. During an assignment, K discovers a buried box containing a secret that could disrupt the world's order as he knows it that sets him off on an entirely different miss...

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton Cast: Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, Naomi Watts In 2013, Short Term 12 , a drama centring around Grace (Brie Larson), a supervisor of a group home for troubled teenagers, was a huge critical success. Particular praise was awarded to Larson's captivating performance and Destin Daniel Cretton's direction. Four years later and Larson and Cretton have reunited on  The Glass Castle , and with an Oscar win under the former's belt, they hope to duplicate the same winning formula of their first collaboration. Jeanette Walls (Brie Larson) is a successful journalist living in New York with her handsome and wealthy finance in a lavish apartment. However, a chance encounter forces her to confront her unconventional and nomadic 70s childhood, dictated by her alcoholic father, Rex (Woody Harrelson). Based on the best-selling memoir of the same name by Jeanette Walls, The Glass Castle  presented many opportunities for an incredible narrative to be ...

Director: Simon Curtis Cast: Domhnall Gleeson, Margot Robbie, Kelly Macdonald Winnie-the-Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore and co are emblematic figures in countless childhoods across the globe. The iconography of these characters is undeniable but their origin story is significantly lesser known - enter Goodbye Christopher Robin . Recovering from his war experiences and dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, writer A. A. Milne (Domhnall Gleeson) leaves London for the English countryside and begins to create stories about his young son's growing collection of stuffed animals. The books, including Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner, became instant successes, catapulting Milne and his family, particularly his son Christopher Robin (Will Tilston), to intense fame. Domhnall Gleeson as A. A. Milne and Margot Robbie as his wife Daphne portray the archetypal, repressed British characters to perfection with strong accents and buttoned-up demeanours. They're int...