Written and directed by: Michael Sarnoski

Written by: John Krasinski

It is the day the world changed. Sam (Lupita Nyong’o) is a terminal cancer patient in a hospice just outside of New York. She’s part of a group who head into the city for a show. But it’s there that the Aliens, who attack based on sound, land and create carnage. As people try to escape, Sam has one goal, to go home, via her favourite pizza parlour. On her journey she meets Eric (Joseph Quinn) scared and lost and a long way from home. Together they aim to get Eric to the river and supposed safety, and Sam to take her last days on her own terms.

The problem with making a prequel to A Quiet Place (which was hinted at at the end of Part Two) was always whether you could tell an interesting story about how the world was plunged into silence. It may well be possible but Day One, unfortunately, is not it.

It starts out as a promising premise. It does some clever things around introducing quiet into a world of noise. Sam’s world is a quiet one, a hospice a quiet world of contemplation. A marionette show that is about quiet performance as a way to communicate. And then the event itself, how people adjust, the panic of an unknown attacker and suddenly becoming  prey. It’s tense and action packed for 45 minutes.

But then it feels like it runs out of good ideas and moves into a selection of random actions that make no sense. While Sam’s story of wanting to return home to end her life on her terms make sense. Eric’s much less so.

Lupita Nyong’o is good in the lead role, but there is very little to work with. But even less so for Quinn, whose character makes little sense and there’s a an atrociously underused Djimon Hounsou. And even at 99 minutes it drags.

The risk in making a Quiet Place prequel is whether you could find an interesting story. If you can, Day One, doesn’t tell it. It starts off promisingly but runs out of ideas quickly and descends into a bit of a nonsensical mess and, even at 99 minutes, began to drag and had me thinking of shouting out and letting them come and get me!

Written and Directed by: Jeff Nichols

Based on Danny Lyon’s photographic record of a Chicago bike gang. The Bikeriders explores The Vandals bike gang and its leader Johnny(Tom Hardy) from 1950’s humble beginnings into, by the 70’s, something that those who started it could no longer control. It’s told through the eyes of Kathy (Jodie Comer) who is introduced to the gang by her friend and falls for and marries the enigmatic Bennie (Austin Butler). It’s a look at how a club that starts out as a a place for “men who want to sit around and talk about bikes”, to a community for those who live differently which over time grows and  reflects societal change in beliefs and behaviour.

This is a story less about bikes and gangs, and more a thoughtful study of people. People who choose to live a different life, who find a purpose and a sense of belonging, but are more complex than outside appearances may suggest.

The film is built around three excellent performances. Jodie Comer’s Kathy is at the heart with a beautifully subtle performance. Austin Butler is perfectly cast as the brooding Benny and Tom Hardy in the kind of role he’s made his own, portraying a man of contradictions, quietly spoken, good job, wife and family. But has a steel grip on the running of the gang. There is also strong support, Michael Shannon, Mike Faist and Damon Herriman amongst them.

This isn’t a film that keeps you on edge. It is patient storytelling. It has characters that you know enough about to care, but enough mystery to be intriguing. In a way that keeps you engaged from start to finish.

It looks great, with a fine soundtrack. And while it moves a little slowly at times the pace never bothered me and worked perfectly to tell the story.

The Bikeriders isn’t a biker film, it’s about people. It’s patient storytelling, that explores the growth of bike gang culture, but also about community and societal change. Its excellent central performances, give you characters to care about and a story that is engaging and heartfelt throughout and worth your time.

Directed by: Kelsey Mann

Written by: Meg LeFauve & Dave Holstein

Riley (Kensington Tallman) is now 2 years older and Joy (Amy Poehler), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Tony Hale) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith) have their balance just right. Riley’s life couldn’t be better as she and her friends Grace (Grace Lu) and Bree (Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green) are invited to hockey camp. But what nobody expects is the triggering of the “Puberty Alarm” and with it the arrival of new emotions Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos) and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser). With the new emotions taking over, they look to suppress the ones that have served Riley well and change her. Joy and the gang realise they need to fight for Riley and who she really is and this sends them on an adventure to the back of her mind to rescue her beliefs and restore their Riley.

Making a sequel to Inside Out was a risk. But Pixar has delivered, with a sequel full of heart and charm, that covers the complexity of growing and changing, as Riley moves from child to adolescent.

The new characters, especially Maya Hawke’s Anxiety, bring to life the complexity that new emotions introduce to seemingly once simple lives. The battle for “supremacy” between her “stable” emotions and the new ones that are running wild is cleverly observed. This is mirrored in Riley’s life of trying to navigate change and new relationship, but running the risk of breaking what is already there.

It delivers this in a thoroughly engaging story. A beautifully animated, adventure through Riley’s inner world. The voice cast is pitch perfect, the story zips along, in a colourful fun world. There’s lots of lovely attention to detail and humour in its smart heartfelt storytelling.

Making a sequel to Inside Out was always a risk but Pixar has delivered. A touching and heartfelt story that takes us through the complexity of emotions in a wonderfully engaging way. It’s a colourful fast moving adventure full of heart and humour and a perfect follow up to the much loved original.

Directed by: Adil & Bilall

Written by: Chris Bremner & Will Beall

Mike (Will Smith) and Marcus (Martin Lawrence) are back. This time, after Marcus has a near death experience, the boys find that the late Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano) is been set up as the link between the Miami police and the cartel,  taking money for 20 years, to feed corruption. Mike and Marcus set out on a mission to clear his name.  A mission that sees the boys question everyone around them and puts at risk those closest to them.

This is the fourth in the Bad Boys series and I’m not sure we needed another one. Let’s start with the easy bit. It’s rubbish, the storyline, for what it’s worth, is a complete mess. It starts with a bizarre near death dream sequence and gets less sensible from there.

While it’s rubbish, it’s rubbish in a fun way! The two leads have evolved a little more, Mike older and wiser, Marcus more spiritual and an odd belief in his invincibility. What it does unapologetically, is commit to its own ridiculousness. It doubles down on the stupidity and plays it for laughs. The spark between Smith and Lawrence remains. There’s good support from Jacob Scipio as Smith’s son Armando and Vanessa Hudgens and Alexander Ludwig return as they boys support. There’s also some nice cameos from Bad Boys alumni, as well as some nods to previous storylines and images. But it doesn’t try to overly trade on nostalgia and judges itwell.

The recognizable Bad Boys look and soundtrack are there. The action set pieces are loud, over blown and enjoyable. And that probably sums the film up. Over blown, ridiculous and enjoyable.

Bad Boys:Ride or Die is utter nonsense. Its story is a ridiculous mess. But that doesn’t stop it been a bit of fun. Committing fully to its nonsense and is better for it. Action set pieces are overblown and enjoyable. And it gets the balance of fun cameos and self referential nods, just right. Nonsense?  Yes. Ridiculous fun? Yep, that as well!

Director: George Miller

Writers: George Miller & Nico Lathouris

Set prior to Fury Road we learn Furiosa’s back story. Growing up in The Green Place,  a place of abundance amongst the wastelands, a young Furiosa (Alyla Browne) is kidnapped by Dementus’s (Chris Hemsworth) gang. Pursued by Furiosa’s mother, Mary (Charlee Fraser), they limp back to camp. However, when Furiosa sees her mother tortured by Dementus’s gang, it sets in motion a life long desire to avenge her. As Furiosa (now played by Anya Taylor-Joy) grows, she seizes her opportunities to learn what she needs to avenge her mother. She escapes Dementus and joins Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme) where she meets Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke) who helps her develop the skills she needs to hunt down Dementus and she sets out on a wild, violent and bloody path to revenge.

This is a film that delivers what it promises. A wild action packed, violent ride through the well known world of Mad Max. It’s built around two excellent creations of Furiosa from Alyla Browne and Anya Taylor-Joy, both building a wholly believable character, prepared to play a long patient game of revenge. Taylor-Joy seamlessly adds action hero to her ever growing CV and Chris Hemsworth is the perfect foil as the merciless Dementus, driven by violence and greed.

It is full of excellent action set pieces as it sweeps across the wastelands with its steam-punk creation of worlds, vehicles and its mix of people physically and mentally impacted by what has gone before.

At its heart it is a revenge film, just played out at an epic and sweeping scale. It is long, at 2 1/2 hours, and at times feels like it gets lost in its own madness. But overall this is a thrilling and breathless adventure that fans of the series should enjoy.

Furiosa is a wild and breathtaking ride. While it runs a little long and occasionally gets lost in its own madness. It’s a thrilling revenge driven action film. Anya Taylor-Joy effortlessly adds action hero to her CV and Hemsworth is fun as Dementus. An epic scale Mad Max adventure.

Directed by Wes Ball

Writen by Josh Friedman

Itst many generations after Caesar where we find Noa (Owen Teague) and his friends Soona (Lydia Peckham) & Anaya (Travis Jeffery), young chimpanzee’s of the Eagle clan. Their lives are turned upside down when gorillas invade their village. Noa is the only one to escape and sets off on a journey to find his clan. On his journey he meets a wise orangutan, Raka (Peter Macon) who introduces him to the teaching of Caesar. They also befriend a human they name Nova (Freya Allan). The three are hunted by the armies of Proximus (Kevin Durand) who believes they can help him access a “tomb” that he thinks holds human secrets to help apes and his kingdom evolve. Or does it hold disaster for the apes and what is left of humankind?

I enjoyed this much more than I was expecting. I mean who expected and ape based entertaining roadtrip!? But it’s not a CGI fuelled smash and crash battle. Instead it comes with depth and explores interesting ideas including religion, slavery and collaboration with an enemy, alongside questions of trust and and whether humans can change!

There is a lot to enjoy, it has a freshness and pace and follows some common themes of discovery and growth that roadtrip films bring. Noa’s story is at the heart of it. A young ape, keen for approval, who is forced to grow up quickly when tragedy strikes. Owen Teague’s performance is well supported by Freya Allen as the sharp and smart Nova, Macon brings a light touch as Raka and Durand’s Proxima strikes the right balance between crazed despot or inspirational leader keen to advance all of his kind.

It looks great with stunning visuals from the detailed creation of the apes to the creation of the world they inhabit.

I enjoyed this much more than I expected. It’s surprisingly a coming of age roadtrip that I hadn’t expected. It moves along at a good pace and kept me hooked. While the CGI world looks fantastic, there is also a depth and intelligence to the story telling. An enjoyable adventure and I’m looking forward to its next installment.

Directed by Rose Glass

Written by Rose Glass & Weronika Tofilska

Body builder Jackie (Katy O’Brian) is passing through town as she hitchhikes towards Las Vegas for a competition. Here she meets gym manager Lou Langston (Kristen Stewart) and her family. She moves in with Lou, while getting herself a job with Lou’s estranged father Lou Sr. (Ed Harris). But when Jackie gets wrapped up in Lou’s family problems, started by her sister Beth’s (Jena Malone), domestic problems with abusive boyfriend J.J. (Dave Franco) her life turns upside down and spirals into twisted love, lies, manipulation, drugs and murder. 

Love Lies Bleeding is classed as a romance, but I’m not sure that does this very twisted look at love justice. This was a film I struggled with for about two thirds of it as I never quite settled with the story it was trying to tell. But like many a a well made film, as its final act plays out, it brings together all of what has gone before into a cohesive piece of smart story telling.

This is no standard love story and it presents a lot of questions about each of the characters in the film. Who is using who? Is there love or is it just emotional manipulation for gain? Are any of the characters who they seem?

Set in 1989, it’s gritty and dirty capturing the feel and films of the time. It is tense and as stakes rise so does the violence, moving from a film about realtionships, to one of violence and murder, with an almost humourous increase in body count! Jackie is at the center of it, perhaps the most manipulated of all and at the center of a complex relationship between father and daughter that is not what it seems.

It took a while to draw me in, but the pay off, in the end, was worth it.

Love Lies Bleeding is a dark and very twisted version of a romance. It took a while to draw me in, but what you end up with is an intriguing story of lies, manipulation and violence, where you’re never sure who is using who or for what. A slow burn of a film that pays off in the end.

Directed by David Leitch

Written by Drew Pearce

Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) is a leading stuntman, dating camera woman and budding director Jody (Emily Blunt) and stuntman for A-List star Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). But his life is turned on its head when an on set accident makes him turn his back on the industry. After spending a year working as a valet he’s surprised to receive a call from producer Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham) offering him the chance to be the stuntman on Jody’s directorial debut movie. But when he gets there, to Jody’s surprise, he finds Gail needs him to find the missing Ryder. It leads Colt into a world of drugs violence and murder, the ideal place for his stunt skills as he tries to find Ryder and save Jody’s film.

This is a film with a lot of promise, a great cast, a 1980s reboot and a director known for spectacular action. But unfortunately for me it fell short of the fun I was hoping for.

The film has plenty of fun moments, Gosling and Blunt are enjoyable as you’d expect, it’s got some great nods to the original, the Six Million Dollar Man and Miami Vice turn up too. It’s at its best when it is knowingly cheesy. And it’s no surprise Leitch delivers some great set pieces. But it is a film of moments and sadly, for me, those moments aren’t often enough.

It doesn’t quite settle between action and romantic comedy and never quite pulls either version off. And at 126 minutes it’s too long and does feel it at times.

It’s by no means terrible and when it gets it right there is a lot to enjoy and do stay for the end credit sequences.

I wanted to enjoy The Fall Guy more than I did. It’s a film of moments. Gosling and Blunt are hugely watchable. It’s at its funniest when it’s knowingly cheesy and comes with some spectacular action set pieces. But between moments it felt like it dragged and never quite settled as either an action or romantic comedy. Not quite on the money, but still things to enjoy.

Directed by: Luca Guadagnino

Written by: Justin Kuritzkes

Tashi Duncan (Zendaya) a former teenage tennis prodigy, whose career was ended by injury, is now a tennis obsessed coach to her husband Art Donaldson (Mike Faist). Suffering a loss of form, Art has found himself in the final of a low ranking challenger event, his opponent jobbing pro Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor). But he’s no normal opponent, not only was he once Art’s best friend, growing up on the tennis circuit together, he was also Tashi’s former lover. As the match unfolds, we look back at how the three met and how Tashi’s obsession with tennis and the men’s obsession with her impacted them all.

This is a classic femme fatale story, brilliantly executed by Luca Guadagnino. It’s one of those “they don’t make them like that anymore” kind of films, full of tension, drive and sdesire.

The film is built around a wonderful performance from Zendaya. She creates a character who is obsessive and driven, her obsession, rather than money or power, is Tennis, as she says “it’s always about the tennis”. She knows her talent and her looks gives her power over others and Art and Patrick are only too happy to fall under her spell. Faist and O’Connell make the perfect foil for Zendaya’s performance. Faist’s Art, like a puppy, keen for her adulation, let’s her live her tennis career through him. Patrick the “bad boy” has talent, thinks he’s her peer, but never is. Both are just tools for her use.

It looks great, often feeling like an ad for beautiful things and quite the advert for tennis. The tennis recreation is breathtaking, capturing the intensity, speed and power of the sport, using CGI to put you in the heart of the action and is a core part of  building tension.

At times it feels a little self indulgent and maybe runs a little long. But that’s a minor quibble.

Challengers is a classic femme fatale story. Built around a towering central Zendaya performance, full of desire and determination. It looks great, the tennis recreation breathtaking and all used to create a taught, tense and intriguing story.

Written and directed by Alex Garland.

In a United States ravaged by civil war photo journalists Lee Miller (Kirsten Dunst), Joel (Wagner Moura) and Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson) are placing themselves at the battle front as they look to document and tell the story of war in their own country. They decide the story they need is from The President (Nick Offerman) and head to Washington on an 850 mile road trip. Tagging along is young and raw photographer, Jessie (Cailee Spaeny). We follow the group as they take their dangerous treck through a country at war, documenting what they see to tell the story of the realities of war.

Civil War is a remarkable piece of work. It’s a 109 minute nerve jangling ride through a warzone. While its title suggests it  this is not really a film about U.S. politics it’s about those risking their lives to document war in all of its horror.

It is littered with powerful scenes. The brutality and inhuman actions of combatants, especially in this kind of conflict. The fears of who to trust and when to trust. All documented with bravery and, what seems, a detachment from the horror.

It shines a spotlight on a role only a few would do but most of us would find too terrifying to comprehend. Clearly there is a “thrill” in the chase for them, but we also see the cost, physical, mental and human, as we see a press jacket and vehicle is no guarantee of safety.

A film about war photography, should look great and this one does, from  powerful moving and still images, to immersing you completely in battle in the most visceral, tense and nerve biting ways.

The performances are solid and believable, especially from our four main characters. And there is a treat of a brilliantly chilling cameo from Jesse Plemmons.

Civil War is a fantastic nerve jangling ride through the horrors of a warzone, told through the eyes of those documenting it. It immerses you completely into the lives of people doing a job most of us would find terrifying. Well worth a watch.