The Cynical Cinephiles

Director: Greta Gerwig Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Timothee Chalamet, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep After her sublime directorial debut in 2017 with Lady Bird, a coming-of-age film that explored the complex dynamic of a mother-daughter relationship, Greta Gerwig returns with her sophomore endeavour - Little Women . It's a narrative that we're all acquainted with, but Gerwig's emphasis on sisterhood and womanhood separates her interpretation and gives a fresh voice to a familiar story. In the aftermath of the Civil War, sisters Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy come of age under difficult and uncertain times. Though they each have very different drives and temperaments, the March sisters and their impenetrable bond transcends hardships in both life and love. "Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents" is one of the most famous opening lines of any novel and is the introduction to the March sisters that we have come to expect a...

Director: Paul Feig Cast: Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Emma Thompson Working as an elf in a year-round Christmas shop in Covent Garden, Kate (Clarke) is frustrated with the direction that her life has taken but is reluctant to improve her circumstance. However, when the charming, handsome and relentlessly positive Tom (Golding) enters her life, Kate slowly begins to change her ways and confront what has been holding her back. Kate is a character with many sharp edges; she drinks too much, has countless one-night stands, abuses the kindness and generosity of her friends, shows no interest in her work performance and neglects her family, particularly her concerned (albeit overbearing) mother. However, Emilia Clarke (best known for her iconic role as Daenerys in Game of Thrones ) and her winning performance never allows us to lose sight of Kate's vulnerability and the qualities that make her a heroine to root for. She is funny and affable, and her self-destructiv...

Director: Noah Baumbach Cast: Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Laura Dern, Ray Liotta, Alan Alda, Julie Hegarty, Merritt Weaver Stage director Charlie (Driver) and his actor wife Nicole (Johansson) have recently made the decision to separate. The coast-to-coast divorce process evolves into something much more convoluted and painful than either had ever anticipated, pushing them to their emotional limits. Baumbach begins the film with Nicole and Charlie separately reciting a list of things that they love about one another; Nicole loves that Charlie cries easily at movies and loves being a father to their son, Henry. Charlie loves that Nicole can cut hair and is a great gift giver. Through their admissions, we witness wistful montages of happier times and memories of their marriage which is abruptly clipped by the couple undergoing a divorce counselling session. They sit at opposite ends of the couch, their body language stiff and uncomfortable as they struggle to make eye contact;...

Director: Todd Phillips Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) is an aspiring but failing standup comedian living and working in 1980s Gotham City. Continually ostracised by society, Fleck becomes increasingly disillusioned with the cruelty around him, triggering his descent into madness as he is radicalised and transformed into Gotham's notorious criminal mastermind. Known for his work in the comic sphere with films such as The Hangover trilogy   and  Due Date , Todd Phillips has unexpectedly transitioned into gritty drama, touching on many prevalent subjects in the process. Anti-capitalism, protesting against the negligence of the rich and privileged and mental health are just some of the topics that are addressed, but Phillips never convincingly demonstrates his handle on the statements he is making. Intensely serious and visually striking, the film has a grand sense of self-importance and the result is a slick but shallow offering. ...

Director: Rian Johnson, Cast: Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, Christopher Plummer Having crafted one of the most highly-anticipated films of the decade, exploring a galaxy far far away, and endured the gruelling response from disgruntled  Star Wars fans, Rian Johnson has embraced a story of a much smaller scale Knives Out , a self-penned, original story. The stakes - namely murder - are just as high but Johnson proves that you don't need lightsaber duels to make a relentlessly entertaining film. Acclaimed murder-mystery novelist Harlan Thrombey turns 85, a milestone birthday, and hosts a party at his house where his family are all in attendance. However, the evening is tarnished when Harlan is found slain in his study and notorious detective Benoit Blanc is employed to uncover the truth about the death. None of the Thrombey family are safe from Johnson's scathing and unflinching depictions, with the ...

Director: James Gray Cast: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler, Donald Sutherland In the near distant future, the entirety of human life is threatened when unexplained power surges hit the Solar System. Astronaut Roy McBride (Pitt) is approached by U.S Space Command and informed that his missing father of 16 years, H. Clifford McBride (Jones), is suspected to be alive and that the surges are a result of Clifford's "Lima Project" in deep space. Roy accepts the mission to go to Mars and establish communication with his father in order to prevent a worldwide catastrophe. As deeply personal as it is visually gorgeous, Ad Astra is perhaps the most artful and impactful big budget movie since Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk (2017) . The film relies less on action sequences (although there are a handful of those to be found) and instead favours an introspective view on humanity, touching on densely thematic and allegoric philosophies. Gray enacts all of the a...

Director: Lorene Scafaria Cast: Constance Wu, Jennifer Lopez, Keke Palmer, Julia Stiles, Lili Reinhart, Lizzo, Cardi B Having endured a summer where an onslaught of sequels and tent pole films dominated the box-office, the arrival of writer-director Lorene Scafaria's Hustlers (based on an acclaimed New York Magazine feature) provides a much needed dose of refreshing indulgence by telling a story that feels comfortingly familiar and simultaneously wildly subversive. In order to make ends meet, Destiny (Wu) begins working as a stripper in a New York City night club. New and inexperienced, Destiny is befriended by and taken under Ramona's (Lopez) wing, the top earner and most in demand out of all the dancers. After the financial crisis diminishes their income, Ramona convinces Destiny and two other dancers to indulge in her scheme to fleece the wealthy Wall Street clientele who frequent the club. The core bond and sisterhood that the women develop is unlike any dynamic th...

Director: Rupert Goold Cast: Renee Zellweger, Jessie Buckley, Michael Gambon Encapsulating the life and truth of a famous figure is a daunting challenge or prospect for any film-maker, which is why recent biopics have selected a concentrated and defining time period to explore. Judy opts for this increasingly popular approach and focuses on the final few years of Judy Garland's life.  Finding herself in a financial crisis, beloved actress and singer Judy Garland (Zellweger) agrees to perform a run of sell-out concerts in London, 1968. During her time there, she enters a whirlwind romance with her fifth-husband, battles with her ex over custody of their children, re-engages with fans, forges new friendships and reminisces over her turbulent past. Similarly to early 2019's Stan & Ollie, the screenplay for Judy frames its protagonist in the final years of her career as she performs night after night in a series of concerts to her U.K audience. However, her s...

Director: Quentin Tarantino Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Margaret Qualley, Timothy Olyphant, Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern One of the few remaining auteurs of our time who can simultaneously guarantee audience satisfaction and critical approval, Tarantino has expressed many times that his next feature (his tenth) will be his last. As he approaches his cinematic swan song, the director is clearly experiencing a sense of nostalgia and has penned a love letter to the industry in the daring and dazzling Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood . Los Angeles, 1969 - the Golden Age of Hollywood. TV star Rick Dalton (DiCaprio) and his long-time stunt double Cliff Booth (Pitt) both individually struggle to adapt to the shift that their industry has undertaken over the course of their respective careers. Meanwhile, Sharon Tate's (Robbie) star is on the rise as she graces the silver screen in a slew of hit films. Tarantino has always attracted a high-calibre cast but for  On...

Director:  Andy Muschietti Cast:  Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean, Bill Skarsgard It is back. Two years after the phenomenal success of It (Chapter One), adapted from the first half of the Stephen King novel of the same name that became the highest grossing horror film of all time, the second instalment of the two-parter hits our screens. Having defeated the maniacal clown Pennywise (Skarsgard) in the summer of 1989, the Losers' Club disbanded and went their separate ways, leaving the traumatic experience and Derry behind them. 27 years later, Pennywise resurfaces and Mike Hanlon (Mustafa) calls the rest of the gang to take a united stand against the shape-shifting terror and end his reign once and for all. Armed with an already petrifying reputation, Pennywise exacerbated the fear of clowns that permeated the zeitgeist, upheld by Bill Skarsgard's defining performance as the iconic horror antagonist. Until ...

Director: Alexandra Aja Cast: Kaya Scodelario, Barry Pepper When a Category 5 hurricane hits her Florida home town, Haley (Scodelario) ignores all evacuation orders and goes off in search of her missing father, Dave (Pepper). Haley finds Dave severely injured in the basement of their family home that slowly begins to flood as the raging storm outside strengthens. As the water levels rise, the father and daughter face an even more dangerous threat - a pack of gigantic alligators intent on feasting on anything that makes a splash. Director Alexandra Aja has cut his teeth making horrors his entire career but Crawl transpires to be his most commercially appealing effort to date. Having grasped a clear understanding of the film's limitations, Aja manages to channel them and craft a white knuckle ride where you never know where the next chomp is going to come from. At a taut 87-minutes, Aja knows when to stop the fun so as not to risk repeating the same threats and near-misses the...

Director: Jon Watts Cast: Tom Holland, Samuel L. Jackson, Jake Gyllenhaal, Cobie Smulders, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei, Jacob Batalon, Zendaya Coming a mere three months after  Avengers: Endgame, the cinematic event   that left audiences reeling, Spider-Man: Far From Home deals with the consequences of the time-travel epic and explores how the web-slinger is adjusting to a world *SPOILER* without Tony Stark. Having returned from "the Blip" that vanquished half of the universe and helping to defeat Thanos, Peter Parker (Holland) hopes to embark upon a school summer vacation where he can sightsee and romance M.J (Zendaya). His plans for rest and relaxation are thwarted when creatures called Elementals surface and begin to wreak havoc across Europe and he is recruited by Nick Fury (Jackson) to fight them alongside a new superhero, Mysterio (Gyllenhaal). One of the opening scenes in Far From Home humorously pays homage to the fallen Avengers who sacrificed their lives to de...

Director: Jon Favreau Cast: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, John Oliver, Beyonce, James Earl Jones Disney have taken many stabs at adapting their animated classics (with Dumbo and Aladdin making their live action debuts this year) but the studio face their biggest challenge yet with, arguably, everyone's favourite - The Lion King . Young lion cub Simba idolises his father Mufasa and looks forward to the day when he can assume the mantle of King of the Pride Lands and continue his dad's legacy. However, his uncle Scar also has his eyes set on the throne and deceits and manipulates in order to seize what he thinks is rightfully his. Acutely aware of the ardent fanbase that the original has, there are very few deviations to the story that we all know and love. Aside from a few additional scenes and a new song to utilise Beyonce's star power, everything else remains untouched, which begs the question - why was a remake required...

Director: Josh Cooley Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, Tony Hale, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Christina Hendricks, Keanu Reeves The final scene in Toy Story 3 of Andy giving his childhood toys to young Bonnie and departing for college suggested the conclusion of the franchise with a neat trilogy that promised a life of fulfilment ahead of Woody, Buzz, Jessie and co. But the creative (and no doubt business) minds at Disney have eyed an opportunity to continue their story and reintroduce some old favourites and create new ones along the way. Now belonging to Bonnie, Woody (Hanks) struggles to adjust to his new life where he is no longer the favourite toy. During a road trip that sees Woody doing all he can to keep new arrival Forky (Hale) safe, the cowboy unexpectedly reunites with his long-lost friend Bo Peep (Potts). Their time together forces Woody to consider the life he truly wants as a toy and whether he can find that with Bonnie, Buzz (Allen) and the gang. Tim...

Director: Danny Boyle Cast: Himesh Patel, Lily James, Ed Sheeran, Kate McKinnon A union of two of British cinema's most distinct and beloved voices (Boyle and Curtis) partnered with a wholly unique and high-concept fantasy romance appears to be the perfect antidote to a summer movie season packed with tent-pole pictures and live-action reimaginings. Does the attractive package deliver on its promise to satisfy cinema goers craving originality? After years of gigging and failing to make any progress, Jack (Patel) decides to give up his dream of becoming a musician and return to teaching. However, after a worldwide power cut, Jack discovers that he is the only person in the world who has any memory of The Beatles and tentatively seizes the opportunity to claim their music as his own. Jack quickly becomes the world's most successful recording artists and must wrestle with his heavy conscious and a complicated will-they/won't-they romance with his best friend Ellie (James...

Director: Guy Ritchie Cast: Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari, Nasim Pedrad Even before the film's release, Aladdin had attracted a lot of negative attention, including but not limited to; the choice of director, Smith's appearance as the Genie and the seemingly lacklustre musical numbers. Is all of the early furore justified or has the film fallen victim to unfair scrutiny? After charming street urchin Aladdin (Massoud) is sent into the Cave of Wonders to retrieve a coveted oil lamp, he unleashes a powerful and wise-cracking Genie (Smith). Becoming the Genie's master and being granted three wishes, Aladdin sets out to win the heart of Princess Jasmine (Scott), the beautiful and independent daughter of the sultan of Agrabah. Beloved by all, the 1992 Aladdin shines brightly in people's minds for many reasons, but the element that we arguably all remember most fondly is Robin Williams' iconic performance as the Genie. Having crafted one of D...

Director: Nisha Ganatra Cast: Emma Thompson, Mindy Kaling, Hugh Dancy, John Lithgow After its crowd-pleasing debut at the Sundance Film Festival where it sold for an astounding $13 million to Amazon, Late Night makes its way to cinemas and co-stars Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling (also the film's scribe) seem intent on giving comedy a rewrite. Pioneering talk show host Katherine Newbury (Thompson) learns that her show's ratings are plummeting and she is in danger of being replaced. In an effort to revitalise both the show and her image, Katherine impulsively hires Molly (Kaling) into the all white male writer's room who unexpectedly turns her world upside down. As someone who has had years of experience as a comedy writer in Hollywood, Kaling clearly has a lot to say about the dynamics of the industry, using all of her grievances and observations about its exclusivity as material in her debut feature length script. The film addresses the vast gender and racial imbal...

Director: Dexter Fletcher Cast: Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, Bryce Dallas Howard The recent trend of adapting the lives of some of the most iconic musicians started with Bohemian Rhapsody,  which eventually became an Academy Award winning film and the highest grossing drama of all time. From Freddie Mercury to Elton John, Rocketman doesn't quite break the biopic narrative mould but its innovation shines through in its captivating musical sequences and eye-popping visuals. After years of drink and drug abuse, a middle-aged Elton John (Egerton) checks himself into rehab where he recalls his journey from being a shy boy with a dysfunctional family to one of the world's most audacious rock stars. Much has been made of the film's reluctance to sugarcoat Elton's days of hard drug-taking and heavy drinking and it successfully offers an unfiltered glimpse into the ugly, lonely side of hedonism that can so often appear appealing. Elton's abuse of drug an...

Director: Chris Renaud Cast: Patton Oswalt, Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Jenny Slate, Harrison Ford Three years after the financially successful The Secret Life of Pets (it grossed nearly $900 million worldwide), its sequel has hit our screens, but has it managed to expand on its intriguing gimmick and mine a story that warrants its existence? Jack Russell terrier Max's (Oswalt) life experiences an upheaval after his owner gets married and has a baby. This shift causes a wave of neuroses in the canine which he is forced to confront on a trip to the countryside. Back in the city, Max's friends find themselves embroiled in all manners of hijinks. Many of our favourite characters from the first instalment return but the sequel also offers a host of fresh and furry faces voiced by big-name talent. Comedian Tiffany Haddish jumps on board as Daisy, a boisterous and thrill-seeking Shih Tzu who teams up with Hart's Snowball to save white tiger Hu. Arguably,...

Director: Jonathan Levine Cast: Charlize Theron, Seth Rogen, Alexandar Skarsgaard, Andy Serkis Mismatched romantic pairings often form the basis of many rom-coms and Long Shot is no exception. However, the film succeeds in making the tired tropes of the genre fresh and invigorating thanks to its charming leads and tender, hilarious story. Free-spirited and principled journalist Fed Flarsky (Rogen) has a chance encounter with his former babysitter and childhood crush Charlotte Field (Theron), who is now now of the most powerful and influential politicians in the world. After she decides to campaign for presidency, Charlotte hires Fred as her speechwriter and their professional relationship soon turns into a romantic one. In terms of the trajectory of its narrative, Long Shot doesn't offer many surprises or throw any curveballs. However, stars Theron and Rogen's performances are winningly charismatic and the connection they establish over the course of the film, despite t...

Director: Tom Harper Cast: Jessie Buckley, Julie Walters, Sophie Okonedo After an outstanding film debut in 2017's psychological thriller Beast , Jessie Buckley is given another leading role in Tom Harper's  Wild Rose . Her considerably short acting career has established Buckley as a force to be reckoned with and her performance as the unruly wannabe country music star proves that her star truly is on the rise. Young mother of two Rose-Lynn Harlan (Buckley) is released from prison after serving time for a minor offence. The time spent away from her family has caused a rift but Rose's desire to become a country music star hasn't faltered. As she tries to get her talent noticed and raise the funds to get her to Nashville to pursue her dream, Rose undergoes a journey of self-discovery. Having first appeared as a contestant on 2008's "I'd Do Anything" where she competed to win the role of Nancy in Oliver, it comes as no surprise that Buckley's...

Director: Joe & Anthony Russo Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Brie Larson, Paul Rudd, Don Cheadle, Karen Gillan Theories surrounding the events of Avengers: Endgame have swirled social media and internet forums since the release of Avengers: Infinity War back in 2018 that saw a shocking conclusion that no one could have predicted. Audiences were left reeling, having witnessed the bad guy snap his way to victory and a host of our beloved heroes turned to dust. Having thwarted expectations before, the Russo brothers and screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely achieve the same impressive feat with  Endgame . After Thanos (Josh Brolin) succeeded in collecting all of the infinity stones and decimating half of all living things in the universe, the Avengers are left reeling from their inability to scupper the demigod's scheme. However, they devise a plan that could restore their vanquished alli...

Director: Tim Burton Cast: Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Eva Green, Alan Arkin When Tim Burton was announced as the director of 2019's reimagining of Dumbo, the fit could not have appeared more perfect. After all, Burton has a long cinematic history of exploring the lives of people who have been made outsiders by society, such as Edward Scissorhands or Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children . Will Burton's unique cinematic voice take Dumbo (2019) to soaring new heights? Max Medici (DeVito), owner of the struggling Medici Brothers' Circus, recruited the Ferrier family to take care of baby Dumbo, an elephant born with oversized ears. After discovering that he can fly, Dumbo is prized to be the circus's star attraction to help boost the flailing business. However, Dumbo's ability draws the attention of entrepreneur V.A Vandervere (Keaton) who seeks to exploit Dumbo at his own amusement park, Dreamland. Burton enlists the help of previou...

Director: Jordan Peele Cast: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker Having set himself the seemingly impossible task of delivering a follow-up to the major critical and commercial success Get Out , Peele delves back into the horror genre and wields outlandish fictional narratives to reflect the harsh truths of our own shortcomings. Alongside her husband and two children, Adelaide Wilson (Nyong'o) returns to the holiday home where she would spend her summers as a child and experienced a traumatic event that haunts her into adulthood. Adelaide's concerns grow as strange coincidences begin to occur and her worst suspicions are soon confirmed when their house is invaded by four strangers with identical appearances to the Wilsons, leading the family to a terrifying fight for survival. Peele's sophomore effort operates in the same vein as his outstanding, Academy Award winning directorial debut Get Out (2017) by delivering a hugely entertaining, c...

Originating in earnest back in 2008 with Iron Man, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has so far spanned across over a decade and produced 20 action-packed instalments, all featuring a male character at the forefront. For the franchise's 21st outing, the character of Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel takes centre stage, making it Marvel's first female-led superhero film. Kree warrior Captain Marvel (Larson) finds herself caught in the crossfire of an intergalactic battle between her people and the Skulls, other extraterrestrial beings. After crash-landing on Earth during an escape mission, Danvers memories of her life there come flooding back and with the help of Nick Fury (Jackson), she reassembles her identity and hones her powers to end the war between the Kree and the Skulls. Akin to other stand-alone MCU entries in many ways, Captain Marvel differs from the likes of origin stories  Iron Man, Captain America: The First Avenger and Doctor Strange as our titular character is al...

Director: Stephen Merchant Cast: Florence Pugh, Jack Lowden, Nick frost, Lena Headey, Vince Vaughn, Dwayne Johnson Co-creator of The Office and Hello Ladies Stephen Merchant has demonstrated time and time again that he can mine character-based comedy out of any scenario and he does so again with Fighting with My Family, the true life story about WWE favourite Paige's rise to fame and super stardom. Siblings Raya/Paige (Pugh) and Zak (Lowden) are born into a family of ardent wrestling fans and begin training in the sport at a young age. Zak and Paige are invited to try out for the WWE but after only Paige earns a spot on the competitive training program, she must leave behind everything she knows in Norwich and head to America where she is pushed to her limits. Writer-director Stephen Merchant abides by all of the screenwriting rules, with each act and sequence hitting the appropriate beats. This culminates in a foreseeable experience where you can see the outcome of event...