The Cynical Cinephiles

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...

Director: Aaron Sorkin Cast: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Jeremy Strong, Chris O'Dowd, Bill Camp Sorkin's work is renowned for its fast pace and relentless dense dialogue that could almost register as its own language. Consequently, it takes a certain kind of director to keep up with his words that have been so meticulously crafted and for  Molly's Game, Sorkin steps behind the lens and proves that he's the best man for the job. After an injury that dashed her chances of becoming an Olympic skier and deferring her place to study law at Harvard, Molly Bloom (Chastain) ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game. Her players included Hollywood stars, business titans and, unbeknown to her, the Russian mob and she is eventually arrested by the FBI. Molly hires criminal defence lawyer Charlie Jaffey (Elba) and the two must work together to exonerate her and change people's tabloid-influenced perceptions in the process. A...

Director : Paul King Cast : Ben Whishaw, Hugh Grant, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Brendan Gleeson Three years on, and the nation’s favourite Peruvian bear is back with another unequivocally charming adventure on the big screen, featuring more laughter, more familiar British faces, and more of a certain citrus conserve. Since his cinema debut, Paddington Bear (Whishaw) has become a firmly integral part of the Brown family, and clearly befriended, and touched, many of the fellow residents of Windsor Gardens. But when he is wrongly accused of stealing a priceless antique book, he is sent to prison, and it is up to his loved ones to exonerate him.   One of the plentiful endearing qualities about Paddington 2 is the abundance of likeable characters. The furry titular bear himself is an adorable mix of wisdom and naiveté, brandishing morals to enlighten all, yet being childlike in his trust of everyone he meets. The Browns are as loveable as ever, unconditionally suppor...

Director: James Franco Cast: James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogen, Alison Brie, Ari Gaynor, Josh Hutcherson, Jacki Weaver In 2003, one of the best-worst movies ever made, The Room , was unleashed into the world. Written, directed, produced by the mysterious and enigmatic Tommy Wiseau (who also stars), the film bombed upon its release but has since become a cult hit and continues to play in cinemas across the globe. Greg Sestero, one of the film's stars, wrote a book entitled 'The Disaster Artist' that entails the uniquely turbulent experience of making the cult classic - and bona fide Hollywood actor James Franco pulls a Wiseau by helming and starring in the adaptation of the real life account. Tommy Wiseau (James Franco) and Greg Sestero (Dave Franco) become firm friends after bonding over their shared dreams of achieving Hollywood stardom. They relocate to Los Angeles but after years of unsuccessful auditions, Tommy produces a self-financed film that he and his best...

Director: Taika Waititi Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Idris Elba, Karl Urban It's been two years since we've seen Thor, the God of Thunder, on our screens wielding his mighty Mjiolner in Avengers: Age of Ultron  but now he's back to complete his contractually obliged trilogy. And this time, things are getting whacky. After crash-landing on the planet Sakaar, Thor (Hemsworth) is imprisoned and forced into a gladiatorial contest where he is reunited with his fellow Avenger, Hulk/Bruce Banner (Ruffalo). Intent on returning to Asgard to prevent the all-powerful Hela (Blanchett) from destroying his home planet, Thor assembles a dysfunctional teams and a chaotic adventure ensues. Thor and Thor: The Dark World , the character's two previous stand alone features, have grappled with issues of tone; the former aspired to be a fish-out-of-water story with Shakespearian influence and the latter was a half-...

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...