Leave the World Behind (2025) ★★☆☆☆

This truly has to be one of the worst movies I have ever sat through and, made it to the end. I have no idea why other than the fact both my partner and I kept waiting for the pay-off, the big reveal … something, anything, to justify this one having ever been made.

At over 2 hours in length, the pacing was glacial, never mind the acting was by rote, as if everyone knew the script but was embarrassed at having signed on to act in it. The story was dull, uninteresting and full of cardboard characters we’ve all seen before. The combined talent of Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, and Kevin Bacon could not resurrect this corpse.

Serious, this one was a dud from beginning to end. Definitely not recommended.

Victoria & Abdul (2017) ★★★★☆

Victoria and Abdul is a moving, poignant, heartfelt, laugh-out-loud funny film and yes, tearful at the end. Every heartstring and every emotion possible is pulled and plucked, while the dialogue is, as you would expect from a BBC (coproduction with Working Titles Films) funny, acerbic, scathing, observant, and so much more.

The asides and back chat, the whispers and hushed conversations, as important as every wonderful moment between Dame Judi Dench, as Victoria, and Ali Fazal, as Abdul Karim, her beloved Munshi [teacher] and, over the years, a trusted advisor. He gave her daily lessons in Urdu (how to write and speak the language) and counselled her on Indian Affairs, much to the consternation of her other advisors at the time, including Bertie — later to become the short lived King Edward VII.

Their 14 year friendship is squashed into a near two hour movie, so I’m sure a great deal has been sacrificed to give us this ‘snap-shot‘ of their time together. But what a glorious snap-shot of a movie. Beautifully filmed and acted by the stellar cast of famous Brit actors. This is, for me at least, one of those outstanding movies that I am sure, will stand the test of time. Reminiscent of those Merchant Ivory productions, that suck you in and don’t let you go till the last frame has flickered off the screen.

Two-thumbs up!

In the spirit of the Mini Book Review trending about the web right now, I thought to write my own (rather sarcastic, or it that, scathing?) mini movie reviews. You’ve been warned.

Murder on the Orient Express — A movie in which twelve suspects of varying social status have three minutes of screen time to convince Kenneth Branagh—I mean, Poirot—that they are not the killer of Johnny Depp’s despicable character and the obvious bad guy.

With a waveringly bad accent, the heroic Hercule Poirot confronts the suspects—who are artfully arranged at a table in the mouth of the train tunnel to look like Da Vinci’s Last Super—and recounts a series of events in flashback, to solve the mystery.

They all did it!

3 Billboards outside Ebbings, Missouri — A foul-mouth red-neck woman hurls abuse at the town’s Sheriff and his inept, racist department for not finding her daughter’s killer. In a last ditch effort to get the dying Sheriff to find a clue, she rents three billboards to get her message across. More swearing and ultra violence ensues before the Sheriff blows his brains out, and a disgraced deputy miraculously over-hears someone bragging in a bar of his rape conquest.

Disgraced deputy and foul-mouthed woman team up, and go on a road-trip to murder the bragging rapist.

Lady Bird — A dull, coming of-age movie in which the two central characters of a mother and daughter hurl derogatory abuse at one another. Where the character of Christine ‘Lady Bird,’ a senior at Catholic high school about to graduate and go to college, acts like a self-centred spoilt child in a series of lack-lustre vignettes. The best of which are wasted in the trailer for the movie to make you think this is a comedy. It isn’t.

Dunkirk — A long, slow, and violent look at the evacuation of 400,000 Allied troops from the beaches at Dunkirk, via three interwoven threads, confusingly mixed at random. With a total lack of regard to any continuity, we see disturbing images of men drowning, men being blown up, men running along a beach. Men waiting in long lines out in the open, waiting to be shot at by the enemy. Men screaming and jumping off sinking ships, and drowning in long drawn out sequences to jarring music.

There is little or no credible dialogue, as there are few speaking parts. One of which is Kenneth Branagh as a Naval Officer stood on a pier looking heroically out to sea, or to the sky, for deliverance. There is none … for him, or for us.

A sad testament to all those who lost their lives at Dunkirk.

The Life List (2025) ★★★★☆

Funny, poignant, sweet, this heartbreaking dramady hit all the right notes for me. Including great characters, excellent acting, a great script and snappy dialogue. While we’re on familiar territory with the overall storyline, it was brought to life by the effervescence of Sofia Carson playing Alex, a woman who’s lost her direction and purpose but, spurred on by a challenge her mother sets her, rises to said challenge with a lot of droll humour.

Grab a bag of popcorn and your pillow, and enjoy.

The Electric State (2025) ★★★★☆

Despite what the critics have said trashing it, I found this movie poignant, funny, sad, and a very subtle political satire. The Russo brothers have, IMHO, scored another very clever take on the techno zombie apocalypse taking over our lives right now. Millie Bobby Brown gives this one heart but it’s the Bots who steal the show. Bravo!

Ignore the naysayers, pull up a chair, grab a bag of popcorn, and just enjoy the ride.

She Said (2022) ★★★★☆ ​

I went looking for something light to watch last night but, silly me, chose to watch the hard hitting movie, She Said, starring Carey Mulligan, about how two New York Times reporters brought about the demise of movie producer, Harvey Weinstein.

We see events unfold through the eyes of these two reporters, and the editorial team at the New York Times, with actual footage and audio of conversations and events. That made this all the more shocking when you realise just how far back, and how deep this man, and all his enablers, goes.

I should also point out that the structure that enabled the likes of Harvey Weinstein 30 plus years of rape and abuse, is still in place and thriving even today several years later.

Highly recommended.

Back in Action (2025) – ★★★★☆

Laugh? I never stopped. This Cameron Diaz, Jamie Foxx collaboration is as you would expect, an over the top action adventure where suspension of disbelief needs to be in play from the moment you press play. But, oh is this a such a fun popcorn chomping movie. You have all the right ingredients, chemistry between the two leads, fast snappy dialog that cracks like a whip. And enough OTT action to make Mission Impossible seem like a dull documentary.

Throw in a deliciously OTT cameo by Glen Close as Mommy Dearest, and this is a winner! Get comfy on the couch, and just enjoy the mayhem.

Trigger Warning (2024) – ★★☆☆☆

Seriously, the five foot something Jessica Alba takes on the whole state of New Mexico and wins? In what’s usually an A-list male role, Alba throws her weight around and bests what seems like an army of bad guys, almost singlehandedly, then drives off into the sunset at the end of this ultra, and at times, graphically violent movie with a none existent plot.

You have been warned!