The Cynical Cinephiles

Director: David Yates Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, Ezra Miller, Zoe Kravitz, Jude Law, Johnny Depp Two years after the worldwide success of  Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them , the sequel to the prequel franchise has arrived and attempts to amp up the stakes with added characters, varying plots and frequent globetrotting. As Gellart Grindelwald's (Depp) nefarious plan to raise pure-blood wizards to rule over muggles becomes more urgent, Albus Dumbledore (Law) enlists the help of his former student Newt Scamander (Redmayne) to thwart Grindelwald. Newt agrees to the task but is unaware of the dangers and complications that lie ahead as the wizarding world has never faced such division. J. K Rowling has an enviable and impressive imagination, capable of concocting fantastical worlds with genuinely interesting characters and plots that demand our investment. A read of any single Harry Potter book will tell you that much, but sadly h

Director: Bradley Cooper Cast: Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Sam Elliot, Andrew Dice Clay, Dave Chappelle Having turned in many acclaimed performances with roles in films such as Silver Linings Playbook (2012) and American Sniper (2014), Bradley Cooper makes his directorial debut with A Star is Born  and enlists the support of pop sensation Lady Gaga who stars as Bradley's paramour in her feature film debut. It's an experience of firsts for Cooper and Gaga, but the story of  A Star is Born is one that is in its fourth retelling. Jackson Maine (Cooper), a veteran country/rock star who has become disenchanted with his career, discovers and falls in love with Ally (Gaga), a talented singer and musician working as a waitress with a set at a drag bar who has given up on any hope of stardom. Jackson takes her on tour with him and coaxes Ally into the spotlight but as Ally's star rises, Jackson's begins to plummet and his and Ally's relationship is tested by his own pers

Director: Paul Feig Cast: Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Henry Golding Percolating a number of genres within the same film often signals a recipe for disaster. However, in the experiences hands of director Paul Feig, A Simple Favour manages to avoid all of the potential stumbling blocks in this devilishly delicious mystery-thriller-comedy. Despite their abundant differences, sunshine-and-rainbows Stephanie (Kendrick) befriends the elusive and glamorous Emily (Lively) after their young sons become pals. When Emily mysteriously disappears from their small town, Stephanie turns sleuth and proves that she will stop at nothing to uncover the truth behind her best friend's sudden vanishing. Director Paul Feig has made a name and reputation for himself in the world of comedy and has helmed some of the most hilarious female-driven comedies including Bridesmaids (2011) and Spy (2015). Although A Simple Favour is wry and darkly comic, it is also an extremely effective thriller/mystery t

Director: Desiree Akhivan Cast: Chloe Grace Moretz, Sasha Lane, John Gallagher Jr, Forrest Goodluck, Jennifer Ehle Set in 1993, Cameron Post (Chloe Grace Moretz) is caught getting intimate with her female best friend on their prom night. She is sent to a Christian camp called God's Promise where she can "pray away the gay" and is subjected to questionable gay conversion therapies with the camp's fellow residents. A film centred around the controversial topic of gay conversion camps would presumably have clear heroes and villains. However, Desiree Akhivan is more interested in focusing on exquisite detail rather than painting with broad strokes as she creates intimate character studies by approaching all of the characters with empathy and compassion. The moral horrors of gay conversion therapy are evident to us but to a number of disciples, the camp and its practices are necessary in "curing" their Same Sex Attraction (SSA). They place their faith in the

Director: Gary Ross Cast: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Sarah Paulson, Mindy Kaling, Rihanna, Helena Bonham-Carter, Awkwafina After completing a five-year, eight month and twelve day stint in prison, Debbie Ocean (Bullock) is released and begins to recruit a crew of specialists to enact a high-concept heists that she has been devising since the beginning of her incarceration. The heist in questions? To steal a necklace worth $150 million off the neck of the famous film star Daphne Kluger (Hathaway) at the most iconic fashion event in the world. The starry cast who form the titular Ocean's 8 emit a crackling chemistry that equals the original trilogy's rapport. Bullock plays the group's leader, Debbie, sister of George Clooney's Danny Ocean. At the beginning of the film, she is released from jail and pledges to leave her life of crime behind. However, she has no intention of keeping her word and immediately uses her wily ways to loot cosmetic prod

Director: John Krasinski Cast: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe From co-writer/director (and former The Office US star) John Krasinski comes A Quiet Place , a film with a simple yet stunningly innovative and effective premise that results in one of the more unique cinematic experiences that you shall ever have. Leave the bags of chocolate and buckets of popcorn behind the counter for any sound will not be tolerated. In the post-apocalyptic future, humanity has been hunted by an alien race that are attracted to sound and ravage anything that makes a sound. The Abbott family are some of the only survivors but the imminent arrival of a new baby places them in even greater dangers and threatens their farm fortress. Krasinski has crafted a film that is clearly inspired by and takes cues from masters of the genre, namely Alfred Hitchcock. Seeds are sown and set-ups are planted that only the audience are privy to which are eventually paid off in nerve-shreddi

Director:  Craig Gillespie Cast: Margot Robbie, Allison Janney, Sebastian Stan We follow the troubled upbringing of brassy but skilled figure skater Tonya Harding (Robbie) with her extremely abusive mother LaVona (Janney). In 1991 she becomes the first American woman to land the notoriously difficult triple axel in competition, and is momentarily one of the best in her field. A few years later and a botched attack on a competitor, Nancy Kerrigan, orchestrated by husband (Stan), puts her at the centre of one of the biggest scandals in sporting history. If Goodfellas were to be re-imagined for the figure skating world, the result would look a lot like I, Tonya . Much like the 1990 classic, the film achieves highly comedic characters and dialogue while also weaving a tale of crime and a number of dark themes. Other pangs of Goodfellas are felt through the knowing voiceover, the narrative that extends through a life, and the unconventional but likable protagonist. The flouri

Director: Greta Gerwig Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges, Timothée Chalamet, Beanie Feldstein, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Lois Smith Having co-written and starred in some of the most acclaimed and beloved female-centred indie films of the past few years (namely Frances Ha and Mistress America ), Greta Gerwig has finally stepped behind the camera to direct her self-penned feature, Lady Bird , a comic yet emotional coming-of-age tale.  Lady Bird has since become an awards juggernaut and Gerwig has been nominated for Best Director at the Oscars, making her the fifth woman in the ceremony's 90 year history to achieve such an honour. Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson (Ronan) is a senior student at a Catholic high school in Sacramento, California. Lady Bird has ambitions of attending an Ivy League College in New York and over the course of her senior year, she must navigate her family's financial struggles, turbulent romantic interests and h

Director: Guillermo del Toro Cast: Sally Hawkins, Doug Jones, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Jenkins Nominated for a dizzying total of thirteen Academy Awards - one less than the record breaking La La Land the previous year - Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water has arguably one of the most unusual premises for a film so highly anticipated, and so deeply praised by the Academy. The year is 1962 and mute Elisa (Hawkins) works as a caretaker beside long-time friend Zelda (Spencer) at a high-security government facility, and resides above a movie theatre along with her homosexual neighbour Giles (Jenkins). Her meticulously routine life is thrown off kilter when she forms an unlikely romance with an amphibious sea creature referred to as ‘The Asset’ (Jones), who is captured by the sadistic Colonel Strickland (Shannon), and moved to the laboratory for experimentation. Meanwhile, resident scientist Dr Robert Hoffstetler (Stuhlbarg) is actually

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps, Lesley Manville It's been over 10 years since the release of There Will Be Blood , the first collaboration between director Paul Thomas Anderson and actor Daniel Day-Lewis. The film garnered many Oscar nominations (including a win for Ddl) and has since been heralded as one of the best films of the 21st century. Fast forward a decade and two of the most masterful artists in their respective fields have re-teamed for  Phantom Thread , an emotionally complex period drama. Sadly, this will be Day-Lewis' final acting role as he announced his retirement in 2017, but he leaves the industry on an inarguable insurmountable high. Set in 1950's London, renowned dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock (Day-Lewis) is at the pinnacle of his career, dressing royalist and other important figures with his sister Cyril (Manville) at his side. Woodcock is a confirmed bachelor until he meets Alma (Krieps), a headstrong young woman

Director: Steven Spielberg Cast: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson, Bob Obendirk, Tracy Letts, Bradley Whitford, Bruce Greenwood, Matthew Rhys Steven Spielberg. Meryl Streep. Tom Hanks, It's hard to believe, but the three titans of tinseltown have never before collaborated together on a project - until now. The trio have combined forces to tackle a landmark moment in modern history, seemingly with the hopes of altering our current political course. Based on the true story, The Post details the attempts by journalists at The Washington Post to publish the Pentagon Papers, classified documents that the United States government have refused to divulge in regards to the country's 30-year involvement in the Vietnam War. Editor-in-chief Ben Bradlee (Hanks) is intent on printing the Papers, but the newspaper's publisher Katharine Graham (Streep) is torn between her family legacy and commitment to journalistic integrity. Although the events of The Post took place almost

Director : Martin McDonagh Cast : Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson Nine months after the unsolved rape and murder of her daughter, Mildred Hayes (McDormand) rents out a line of three abandoned billboards to accost the Ebbing Police department for having made no arrests. Mildred plasters the signs with piercing messages; "RAPED WHILE DYING", "AND STILL NO ARRESTS?", and "HOW COME, CHIEF WILLOUGHBY?". With Willougby (Harrelson) being a revered member of the community, and having recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer, the billboards lead to tumult in the town, including incompetent and racist officer Dixon (Rockwell).       From the writer-director of In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths it is only to be expected that  Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri is the paragon of dark comedy. The premise of a grieving mother of a rape victim, seeking justice doesn’t sing laugh riot, but McDonagh readily achieves this through pit

Director: Joe Wright Cast: Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lily James, Ben Mendelsohn The evacuation of Dunkirk has been a frequent presence in British film over the past couple of years; firstly it was the subject of a fictional film in Their Finest , next the sole focus of Christopher Nolan's war epic aptly titled Dunkirk  and now Darkest Hour, a film that centres around the crucial days of Churchill's reign as Prime Minister as he must decide whether to save the British soldiers trapped on Dunkirk beaches or leave them stranded to face certain death. The Germans are rapidly advancing and Churchill attempts to restore peace in the face of insurmountable odds. Having lost faith in the capabilities of Neville Chamberlain (Ronald Pickup), Winston Churchill (Oldman) is appointed as British Prime Minister. Within days, Churchill must face the toughest and most defining of trials: consider the option of negotiating a peace treaty with Nazi Germany or stand firm and fight fo