REVIEW: Foe [London Film Festival 2023]

There is perhaps no genre as primed for grand explorations of the human condition as science fiction.

Not constrained by the limits of the world as it is, it’s free to pose questions and imagine scenarios by which we might better understand ourselves.…

REVIEW: Hypnotic

Some movies seem purposefully designed for critics to have fun with, if not necessarily cinema audiences. Robert Rodriguez’s Hypnotic is just such a movie.

From its hopelessly dated, sub 00s-Nolan sci-fi thriller premise to its almost comically one-note lead performance – Affleck’s expressions range from a frown to a grimace to a scowl – to the oh-so generic title, it’s an inducement to snarky headlines, like “Hypnotic put me to sleep.”…

PODCAST: The Matrix: Resurrections [Movie RobCast]

We see just how deep the rabbit hole goes in our latest episode, as we return to the Matrix.

Does director and co-writer Lana Wachowski’s return to the franchise that revolutionised sci-fi action cinema pay off, or is it a case for deja vu all over again?…

PODCAST: Dune [Movie Robcast]

Episode 128 of The Movie Robcast whisks you away to the faraway world of Arrakis for our review of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune.

Can Villeneuve succeed where David Lynch failed back in 1984, and land Frank Herbert’s epic novel, the Great White Whale of sci-fi literature?…

PODCAST: Black Widow & Loki [Movie RobCast]

Episode 120 of The Movie Robcast sees Marvel returning to the big screen with Black Widow.

Will Scarlett Johansson’s COVID-delayed swansong in her megastar making role be worth the wait? Or is this Tenet all over again?

The Robs also make room for Loki chat, and Rob Wallis looks ahead to all the Marvel arriving on the big screen and small over the next year.…

REVIEW: The Tomorrow War [Prime Video]

The Tomorrow War is a big, dumb sci-fi actioner with an actual semi-functioning emotional component.

Dan Forester (Chris Pratt) is an ex Green Beret now working as a high-school chemistry teacher. His life with wife Emmy (Betty Gilpin, underutilised) and young daughter Muri (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) is idyllic, though Dan is struggling to break into the field of research science.…

PODCAST: A Quiet Place Part II & Cruella [Movie RobCast]

Episode 117 of The Movie Robcast looks at two big releases, both of which are currently playing in cinemas!

John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place Part II was delayed from the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, arriving over a year later?…

RETROSPECTIVE: Johnny Mnemonic

Before there was The Matrix, there was Johnny Mnemonic.

Keanu Reeves’ first foray into the cyberpunk genre came in 1995, four years before the Wachowskis’ genre-redefining classic, but not in a way likely to make his career highlights reel.

Johnny Mnemonic slots neatly into a trend of blockbusters fascinated by the possibilities of the still-emerging internet.…

REVIEW: Synchronic

With Lovecraftian time-trap horror The Endless, filmmakers Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson proved their ability to craft ambitious sci-fi on a limited budget.

Synchronic tells in some ways a more of a conventional narrative, but one that plays into many of the same themes of regret and feeling trapped.…

PODCAST: The Vast of Night (feat. Tessa Scott) [Movie Robcast]

Episode 93 of The Movie Robcast sees our intrepid Robs looking to the skies to discuss The Vast of Night, now streaming on Amazon Prime.

On this quest they are joined once again by Tessa Scott, back after a triumphant appearance on the Whiplash episode.…