Directed by Shekhar Kanpur, written by Jemima Khan is this romcom about assisted marriage and cultural difference. Lily James is Zoe, a young documentary film maker who discovers her childhood friend Kazim (Shazad Latif) is going to have an assisted marriage. When she needs a new documentary project she pitches the idea of “Love Contractually” following her friend through the process of finding a bride, to their marriage. When Kaz meets Maymouna (Sajal Ali) the relationship blossoms and he, Zoe and the extended family, including Zoe’s mum (Emma Thompson) head off to Pakistan for a wedding. However not everything goes to plan and the ending may not be as happy as everyone hopes.

After seeing the trailer for this film I had pretty low expectations, but they were not low enough for this tedious mess of a film.

It’s story line is all over the place with no idea what it’s trying to say which is strange when you consider how predictable and formulaic it is. There is nothing new here, it’s a film you’ve seen many times before, normally done better.

While lacking both rom and com it also lacks something to hook you or characters to care about. Instead it grated on me from the start, especially Zoe’s predictable “but what about love?” lines and her mother’s constant excitement at the exotic culture in front of her. I’m sure white saviour wasn’t the aim, but that’s how it felt.

It did have some redeeming qualities, the talking head clips from Zoe’s documentary particularly offered heart and charm. But Its attempts at a strong emotional climax fell flat as none of the characters had earned the right for me to care.

Performances are fine although I never need to see Emma Thompson’s quirky mum again. But sadly there was little for the cast to work with.

I never had high hopes for What’s Love got to do with It, but it failed to even meet those. Derivative, predictable and tedious. Narratively a mess and lacking the charm and humour films like this need. It didn’t work on any level for me.

Directed by Edward Berger with a screenplay by Lesley Paterson is this latest adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s novel about the harsh reality of the Western Front in the First World War. We meet four young German friends Paul, Albert, Franz and Ludwig (Felix Kammerer, Aaron Hilmer, Moritz Klaus, Adrian Grünewald) emboldened by the Kaiser’s nationalistic fervour they are desperate to fight the threats to the Fatherland. However, they quickly discover that “marching into Paris” is a long way from the romantic ideal that’s sold to them. We follow the harsh realities of the final period of the war as well as the armistice negotiations and the foreboding warnings of where that will lead.

The novel is an anti-war story and the German language adaptation does not underplay the horror of very young men sent to fight in conditions that we can’t comprehend. What it tries to paint is a grim picture of trench warfare and it does an outstanding job. It looks and sounds incredible providing an immersive visceral experience, the cinematograpy often putting you in the heart of the action or conversation.

The storytelling balance is perfect balancing the horror of war with the human reality of its impact. That human reality is where the films real power lies. This is is an intensely human story of relationships forged in the worst of circumstances. We also see the fragility of life and the casual disregard for it from those in charge.

More than a war story this is about relationships, friendships and humour and of course the impact of loss. The humanity is essential in making us care.

Full of excellent performances with the outstanding young leads brilliantly supported by Albrecht Schuch (Kat), Edin Hasanovic (Tjaden) and Daniel Bruhl.

All Quiet on the Western Front is stunning, visually impressive with an evocative score. It shows the grim reality of trench warfare and the casual disregard for life from those at the front and those in charge. But it never forgets it is a film about relationships and humanity in the most complex and difficult circumstances.

Peyton Reed Directs this third Ant-Man outing, this time written by Jeff Loveness. We find Scott (Paul Rudd) in a happy place, the world is good and he’s having a nice time. But life can come at you quickly when you’re a superhero! Firstly he has to pick up his daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton) from jail. Then during a family dinner with Hope (Evangeline Lilly) and her parents Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Hank (Michael Douglas) he also discovers that his daughter and Hank have been monitoring the quantum realm. A mishap with that monitoring sees them all catapulted into the realm discovering a whole new universe full of fascinating creatures and landscapes alongside an evil warlord in Kang (Jonathan Majors). While there they find out what Janet had really been up to in the realm, all of this makes their attempts to return home all the more difficult.

Upfront I have to say I had a good time with Quantumania it was light going and zinged along at a decent pace. It felt that it benefitted from being the first in the MCU phase 5 films (apparently!) Making it feel a lot less weighed down by the MCU than can often be the case.

Story wise it felt more Star Wars than Marvel, this feeling was added to in no small way by the world that it created with some weird and wonderful lands and fun inhabitants that included enjoyable cameos from Bill Murray, William Jackson Harper and Corey Stoll’s MODOK, who did remind me of Rick Moranis’s Space Balls character!

All the main performances are enjoyable and it’s great to see Michelle Pfeiffer on screen. Paul Rudd gets the balance of surprised super hero right as always. But all the best moments are built around Majors whose quiet menace offers promise for his future MCU appearances.

Quantumania is not one of the strongest additions to the MCU but I had a good time with it. The worlds, its characters and story are all fun. And with its relatively short run time it zips along at a decent pace. This third Ant-Man has had some sniffy reviews, but I had lots of fun and enjoyed it.

Director Steven Sodebergh and writer Reid Carolin bring Mike Lane and his dancing talents back to the screen. Mike’s (Channing Tatum) life has taken a downward turn and he finds homes Bartending at a fund raiser where he catches the eye of the wealthy host Maxandra Mendoza (Salma Hayek Pinault) and when she pays Mike to share his dancing talents she is won over. So won over she flies Mike to London to direct a show at the theatre she has gained control over as part of divorce negotiations with her husband Roger (Alan Cox). Staying at Maxandra’s home with her daughter Zadie (Jamelia George) and chauffeur, Victor (Ayin Kahn-Din), Mike has to work with Maxandra to find dancers and a theme to pull together a show in four weeks, while getting around attempts to close them down.

The original Magic Mike films, had some kind of narrative however, at the end of 112 minutes of this installment, I had no idea what in earth was going on. It is, sadly, a complete mess. It follows one unrealistic storyline after another leaving most of them unresolved, probably realising they were rubbish and nobody was going to care. Then we get to the final act and I had literally no idea how we’d got there from what had gone before. There was perhaps a narrative thread in there that explained it, but I’d long since stopped caring.

Channing Tatum and Salma Hayek Pinault are both really enjoyable screen presence’s. But neither of them can elevate the rubbish they had presented to them here.

My grown up daughter said to me that this feels like it exists to promote the Magic Mike Live stage show and it’s hard to see any other point in its existence. It makes sense that originally this was made for streaming because it lacks any cinematic quality.

Magic Mike’s Last Dance is a terrible mess of a film. The story is almost non-existent and the bits that exist are nonsense or uninteresting. It’s not a patch on its predecessors and feels like an early contender for one of the worst films I’ll see this year. Let’s hope it really is the last dance.

New on Netflix.

Aline Brosh McKenna writes and directs this romcom starring Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher. Debbie (Witherspoon) is a single mum living with son Jack (Wesley Kimmel). In trying to do her best she is over protective and Jack finds himself lonely. Debbie’s best friend is Peter (Kutcher) who she “hooked up” with 20 years previously. Peter is a successful branding consultant, living in his swish New York apartment. Both have forgotten their dreams to pursue a literary career, Debbie as an editor, Peter an author. When Debbie needs to head to New York to complete an accountancy course Peter steps in when her childcare lets her down and flies to California to look after Jack. As they switch homes they start to discover what they’ve missed both personally and professionally.

This film is probably the very definition of inoffensive and bland Romcom. It’s predictable and follows all the Romcom tropes you’d expect.

What it lacks in originality it does make up for with its watchable stars with both Witherspoon and Kutcher effortless in bringing likeable characters to the screen, even if they don’t have much to work with.

The are well supported with cameos from Steve Zahn, Tig Notaro and expecially Zoe Chao as Debbie’s New York “guide”.

What the film does lack though is a chemistry between it’s leads as the script has them 1000’s of miles apart for 99% of the time.

Your Place or Mine is a hugely predictable, very average and inoffensive romcom. And if you are after some simple light hearted forgettable fare, with two enjoyable leads then this will do the trick!

Darren Aronofsky directs Samuel D. Hunter’s own screen adaptation of his stage play. Brendan Fraser is Charlie, a lecture teaching online writing courses to university students, he does so hidden away in his cheap apartment and hiding from his students, “yes my webcam is still broken”, his morbid obesity. He struggles to move, to breathe and it’s killing him. He relies on the support of his friend Liz (Hong Chau) a nurse as he refuses to go to hospital. But knowing his health is failing him he wants to reconnect with his 17 yr old daughter Ellie (Sadie Sink). She has her own challenges. She’s lonely, struggling at school and angry, at life, but mostly her father. In the middle of this is Thomas (Ty Simpkins) a church missionary who thinks he can save Charlie. We follow a week of Charlie’s life as he comes to terms with what his choices and his weight has done to him and others.

Throughout the film is the use of Moby Dick, the idea of a man trying to kill a whale because he thinks it will make him feel better. And this, rather than Charlie’s weight is the heart of the story.

It’s not just Charlie we find dealing with Whales, Ellie, Liz and Thomas are all hiding behind or lashing out at something or someone who they think is holding them back. It is this rich exploration of these characters that makes it a warm and engaging watch.

Fraser awards recognition is well deserved, because while his character can look pitiful Fraser ensures we see Charlie’s warmth and charm, making him someone you care about. Sadie Sink does a similarly strong job portraying Ellie, she’s angry, petulant and unpleasant. But she’s also vulnerable and caring, in her own way.

The film is cleverly shot in 4:3 pulling you in and ensuring the focus is close up and personal. And It’s emotional final scene worked a treat for me.

The Whale is a thoughtful, engaging piece of storytelling. Lit up by Fraser who ensures that Charlie’s emotional warmth shines through the layers of prosthetics he’s buried under. A story of caring and love, that charmed me throughout.

Steven Spielberg directs and co-writes, with Tony Kushner, this semi autobiographical story of growing up and finding your passion. We follow Sammy Fabelman (Mateo Zoryan plays the young version and Gabriel Labelle the older) who discovers cinema at a young age. He is fascinated and wants to learn how to create the same magic. His father Burt (Paul Dano) is a very talented computer engineer, analytical and driven and sees his son’s passion as no more than a hobby. Mitzi (Michelle Williams) his mother is a talented musician an artist and a dreamer, who believes in his dream. It is in this environment he tries to follow his passion. This passion is his constant and sees him through house moves, anti-Semitism, bullying, his first love and family breakdown.

The Fabelmans has a lot of awards buzz. But I have to say it left me rather cold. It’s not a terrible film and I’m not 100% sure why I didn’t connect with it.

The opening act is beautiful the young Sammy finding the wonder of cinema and his exploration of how to make film is mesmerising. Its final act, including a wonderful final scene, is equally entertaining, maybe less heart warming, but joyous as Sammy finally moves towards fulfilling his dream.

It’s the middle portion of the film I struggled with as his family starts to disintegrate and I found it a hard to have any empathy for Mitzi for the position she puts the family in. That’s not a reflection of the performance, Michelle Williams is excellent as the increasingly unstable Mitzi. But her story was annoying rather than engaging.

Performances are great throughout Paul Dano perfectly balances Mitzi’s excesses as a “good man”. Seth Rogen, Judd Hirsch and especially Chloe East as Sammy’s Jesus loving first love all add plenty. And Gabriel Labelle is really engaging playing Sammy.

I wish I’d connected with The Fabelmans more than I did. It is Spielberg’s love letter to those who inspired him and there is lots to enjoy. But ultimately it left me feeling a little cold, which was a real pity.

Damien Chazelle writes and directs this tale of 1920’s and 30’s excess set in and around the early Hollywood movie industry. Jack Conrad (Brad’s Pitt) is a major studio offering guaranteed box office. This comes with perks, he’s the king of his domain, he is the party and when they party they party big. We find Jack at the most decadent of parties sex, drugs, naked bodies everywhere and of course an elephant. Here we meet Manny (Diego Calva) a gopher for the rich with dreams of making movies and Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie) a “wild child” with dreams if starring in films. We follow their lives as they navigate a world of excess and a film industry that is in flux as “talkies” emerge and those that don’t fit find themselves callously dumped.

I’m a big fan of Damien Chazelle’s movie and TV work and here he takes a big swing at telling an epic story that runs just over 3 hours. I do admire big swings but sometimes, as with Babylon, they don’t quite catch it right and it falls short.

There are plenty of things to enjoy during its running time. Chazelle always uses music fabulously well and he does here and his direction often feels like a dance as we often find ourselves skilfully moving through busy complex scenes.

There’s plenty of performances to enjoy, Brad Pitt particularly as he takes us on Jack’s downward spiral. Margot Robbie’s Nellie the out of control young star who is equally popular and lonely, Robbie portrays this perfectly. Alongside them Jean Smart, Diego Calva and a cameo from Tobey Maguire all add to the tale.

However there is a lot going on and not all of it comes together, the narrative is sometimes a mess and sometimes self indulgent which leads to it 3 hours plus running time.

There’s no doubt Chazelle is steeped in film history and with this he wants to honour an important and pivotal part of it. But in wanting to tell such a big story it feels it often gets a little lost.

Babylon is an epic and wants to tell a big sweeping story. However it doesn’t fully succeed, as it tries to tell too much and indulge itself as much as the Hollywood of the time and that shows in its long running time. It’s likely to be divisive too much of a mess for some, but for others a 3 hour romp through movie history.

Todd Field writes and directs this story of control, infidelity and mental health all set in the world of classical music. Cate Blanchett is Lydia Tár, the first female lead conducter at the world famous Berlin Philharmonic. She is well respected jetting between the US where she guests as a lecturer at Juilliard. Her passion is the work of composer Mahler whose work she is recording. While doing this she also is balancing her family life with her wife Sharon (Nina Hoss) and their daughter Petra. While also releasing her memoirs, trying to compose her own music and prepare the orchestra to perform and record Maher five the last of nine pieces. However the tragic suicide of a former colleague begins a process that starts to unravel Tár’s life taking her on a painful downward spiral.

This film may not be for everyone there is a lot here and it takes its time telling its story. But personally I found it intriguing and absorbing a film. Its orchestral setting helps naturally bring a tension and energy in the way of something like Whiplash.

But at the real heart of what makes this work is an incredible performance from Cate Blanchett, completely believable and her presence absorbing and engaging throughout. Her character is successful, but belligerent, controlling and abusive. She lives in a world where historically men have dominated and have behaved as she has and she believes this to be fine. But as her world unravels Blanchett brings this to screen perfectly as her character becomes increasingly desperate.

The supporting cast are also strong Nina Hoss, Noémie Merlant and Sophie Kauer all shine around Blanchetts central whirlwind.

The score as you’d expect is fabulous in bringing the pace and frenetic nature of the story to life.The film can be slow moving at times and probably over runs a little, but it does lead to a satisfying end.

Tár is for me an intriguing and compelling watch. Built on a fabulous performance by Cate Blanchett who takes you on an increasingly desperate downward spiral. It won’t be for everyone, but worked a treat for me.

Written and directed by Sam Mendes is this film of life amongst a group of cinema workers, set in a 1980’s English sea side town. Olivia Colman is Hilary, assistant manager of the Empire theatre. She seems happy and enjoys the community that the small team gives her. However she also has a history that is initially alluded to but not explained. When cinema manager Donald (Colin Firth) introduces Stephen (Michael Ward),a young black man, to the team he has a big impact on them all and Hilary especially. The film explores themes of 1980’s Britain its music, its attitudes to mental health and race, but also how these broad themes impact the individuals who work at the Empire.

If there is a probem with Empire of Light, it is the unevenness of its narrative. That doesn’t make it a bad film, but probably explains the mixed reviews it has received. It is perhaps beat summed up when projectionist Norman (Toby Jones) describes how film works, images with dark bits between them, but when played at 24 frames per second you don’t see the dark bits. That is what Empire of Light tried to show, that as life hurrys by it works, but when you stop and look at the gaps in between you can see something very different.

The film revolves around Hilary, as her relationship with Stephen develops and impacts her. We see her change as her life descends into the darkest of places. Colman is of course outstanding and I don’t think there is anyone else who plays this type of role better. Toby Jones brings his effortless quality to the screen as does Colin Firth. Michael Ward brings an engaging charm as Stephen showing a caring individual dealing with the ugliness of the racism that surrounds him. It also looks fabulous thanks to Roger Deakins cinematography.

Empire of Light is flawed, with a narrative that is a bit unclear. But I was won over by its beauty, heart and the quality of its performances. None more than that of Olivia Colman who is as wonderfully watchable as ever. Not perfect but touching and warm and there is nothing wrong with that.