The Weight (2026)

This was a mystery screening and they have generally being good but there is always the possibility of it disappointing and what made that more likely is that it followed Resident Evil. The set up of the film is that Ethan Hawke plays Sam who is arrested for punching police officers and he is sent to do manual labour with the camp run by Russell Crowe's Clancy. He tells Sam that he can get his sentence reduced to be able to get his daughter back if he and three other men take gold across hazardous terrain for a friend of his. 

Having watched this less than 24 hours after watching Brad Pitt and a dog go through rough terrain I thought I would be tired of what was happening but credit to Padraic McKinley for keeping things going and also making good use of the woods and scenery. It's not as easy as most would think to keep that sort of thing interesting so credit to McKinley and cinematographer Matteo Cocco for pulling it off.

I did feel like the introduction of Anna (played very well by Julia Jones) was because they were worried about having an entirely male line up. I say this cause Anna doesn't really do anything and only gets something dramatic to do when she is about to be attacked by the big guy (whose name I can't remember). I think she was better than the character allowed her to be.

The last act of the film is what makes the film as good as it is cause the journey was easy enough to pull off but making sure it ends in a satisfactory way is harder to achieve and have Sam not get killed by Taggert, get to take a share of the gold, to get one over Clancy and get his daughter back means that the film ends in a satisfactory way that makes you feel good. When Sam and Penny literally drive off into the sunset I felt like the whole film worked perfectly and you end up leaving the cinema happy with what you have seen.

I enjoyed this film very much. I saw the trailer before another film and thought that it looked interesting although there was a chance that I would have waited until it came onto streaming and I am glad that I didn't wait because it was very good from start to finish. I thought that it was a very good story with great performances especially from Ethan Hawke although Russell Crowe deserves some praise. I suspect it will struggle to get seen at the cinema but if you do come across it on streaming that its a good way to spend an hour and a half. It was nice to have a mystery screening where no one walked out which did surprise me. 

Resident Evil (2026)

When they announced that there would be a Resident Evil reboot I think everyone rolled their eyes as if to say 'another one?'. Some were slightly intrigued when it was announced that Zach Cregger would be directing it. I was a big fan of Weapons and really enjoyed Barbarian. The bar was quite low to say that this was the best film in the Resident Evil series considering most of them are fairly terrible and not in a fun kind of way. The set up is that Austin Abrams plays Bryan who is a courier and is delivering organs to a hospital when he is offered a job that pays well to take a package to Racoon City Hospital. On the way he hits someone and things go from bad to worse. Everyone that Brian comes across has been infected and it's the fault of the Umbrella Corporation and the package is part of the cure. 

There are many things that I liked about this film. I thought that the humour was perfect. Bryan isn't an action guy and is actually a klutz who seems to be suffering from the worst luck. The whole house portion of the film was really well done and even though it might have bordered on cliche it never stayed long enough in the house for that to be an issue and the story then moved to Racoon City. The film is only 95 minutes so this is as stripped down as its possible to get and Cregger has managed to keep all the interesting things and apparently in the original cut there were more jokes and they were taken out cause the test audience was laughing. Well he took them out but left enough humour to make it entertaining.

The atmosphere that Cregger has created is brilliant. The darkness mixed in with the snow is used to great effect. Even though its at night I could still see what was happening. One of the the things that I liked in Weapons was how things just seemed to go crazy completely out of nowhere and there are a couple of scenes where Bryan is running and they are all great especially when people are throwing themselves off the top of buildings and its just a great visual. Also Cregger knows how to make jump scares scary. There are directors who rely too much to get a reaction out of people but Cregger knows how and more importantly when to use them. 

I thought that Austin Abrams was really good. He didn't know it all and wasn't even good at firing weapons and his reaction to crazy things happening was absolutely spot on. Paul Walter Hauser is probably the most famous name in this film and he is probably in it for about 10 minutes. He comes in and delivers a bunch of exposition and is quite funny but just cause he is the famous name doesn't mean he was long for this film. 

If I did have an issue with the film then it's with the final ten minutes or so. Once it got into the lab and Bryan transforms, then I found myself not as interested in it and felt it went a bit too silly. The last shot is of Bryan fully transformed almost certainly about to die was probably the right way to end it but I just thought the silliness went a bit too far. 

Overall I really enjoyed this film and was surprised with how much I enjoyed it. I was worried that it was going to go the way that Return to Silent Hill did earlier this year but thankfully it is far more creative, far more atmospheric and better in absolutely every way. I must admit I don't know too much about Resident Evil as I have only played the very first game and watched the Paul W.S. Anderson films so I can't say that I am mega invested in the game series but as a horror film it more than delivers.

Heart of the Beast (2026)

Heart of the Beast was an Insider Screening at my local Showcase Cinema and if you have seen the trailer then you know that it's basically Brad Pitt and a Dog. The longer set up is that Brad Pitt plays James who is a retired Special Forces Officer seemingly living off grid with his dog Odin and whilst flying James suffers a heart attack and he and Odin go on a trek to get to a road to civilisation. The concern I had for the film was whether the dog would survive as I have already sat through enough films this year to have a dog die but thankfully the film answered that within 90 seconds as we then go back one week in time. 

There are only two other credits in the entire film. The first is Anna Lambe who plays the woman who comes across Odin at the start of the film and takes care of him as they drive off into the sunset. It's hard to really critic her performance bearing in mind she's probably on screen for two minutes. J.K. Simmons is in the film for slightly longer although I think it's just so that James has someone to talk to even if it's brief. 

The bond between Brad Pitt and Uber (Odin) is at the core of the film. It's hard to be mean about the dog because he is quite adorable although the film spoils the fact that whatever he goes through the dog will make it. Brad Pitt is an odd actor. Sometimes I think he's very good and sometimes I think he's ok. To be honest, he got outacted by a dog. That's not to say he does bring something to the story. 

The film is pretty good. It's not groundbreaking but for a 90 minute film, I was never bored and never thought that the film was stretching credibility. The CGI bear was pretty bad but that was probably the worst thing about the film. The film did really try and tug and the heartstrings when James was reading the note at the end. Odin's story is more interesting than James' because and this might just be my naivety but dogs getting PTSD isn't something that I thought was a real thing but I suppose it is.

Heart of the Beast is the sort of thing that would be good to watch at home. It's the definition of a streaming movie. It benefits from having an adorable dog, a good lead but also from the setting. This year really has been the year for spectacular landscapes and cinematography. The mountains look stunning and even the woods looked more impressive than in a lot of films with these types of settings. It's a well directed film from the guy who didn't do very well with Suicide Squad.

Optimus Prime Awakening (2026)

After the main event of the 40th anniversary showing of the 1986 movie, we got a 12 minute encore and it was interesting because it was the last thing that Peter Cullen recorded before he died. It's hard to be truly critical of it because its the last thing Cullen did but to be truthful, its is quite pointless. It was very jarring that the animation used isn't the best and considering it starts with the scene where Prime dies and we saw it less than an hour ago, it shows how poor this recreation is.

After he dies in Autobot City, Prime wakes up in a strange void and is desperate to return to the battle but each time he is shown a warning of what would happen and this happens a couple of times until he accepts what he must do and that is walk away. This comes after a battle with Megatron. Now compared to the battle between these two we saw in the movie, this one feels largely....ok. It's not terrible but it doesn't quite have the energy the 1986 battle did.

We get a glimpse of all the different versions of Optimus Prime and the logic is that there are countless universes and countless versions of the character and that sadly (apparently) includes the Michael Bay version which was enough to make me go.......nope. Not going to accept for a second the Michael Bay version anywhere near the great creation of Transformers in any form.

Now despite only being 12 minutes long, we get what in a longer film would be considered sequel bait. At the end of the battle the Matrix that fell to the ground is found by Megatron who laughs at it. The intention of this appears to be for Cullen to say goodbye to the character and this being a disappointment won't ruin Cullen's legacy but its a sad thing to use the word disappointment anywhere near Peter Cullen.

The Transformers: The Movie (1986)

The moment that I found out that this was getting a re-release I knew that I had to book a ticket to see one of my favourite films. I remember back in 2024, I had bought a ticket thinking it was this film and it turned out to be the first three episodes of the TV series to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the show. Thankfully this was the release I thought it was and the only thing that would have made this better is if it had been in the Xplus screening which is the biggest screen in my local cinema. 

The songs are absolute classics. It's impossible to not get caught up in them. My two personal favourites are The Touch and Dare. They are great songs in the film and when you listen to them on the album they are just as good. I do also like Dare to Be Stupid by Weird Al Yankovic. The fact that the song Touch doesn't undermine the action that taking place shows how good it is and how good the film is. 

It is sad that we have recently lost Peter Cullen. Optimus Prime is a great character and the voice is amazing. Frank Welker is great as Megatron and he voices my favourite Transformer Soundwave. I always find it amazing the Orson Welles voiced Unicron. It was his last role as he died less than a week after recording his lines. The idea of Unicron is a great one and I loved the design and it was great to see the design in 2023's Transformers: Rise of the Beasts film. It's great to hear Eric Idle in this as Wreck-Gar although I would say that 90% of his dialogue is gibberish. Having a Python in this film felt like great casting for some reason although having someone from Star Trek is also great. Leonard Nimoy voices Galvatron and as much as I would have liked Megatron to be in this voice for longer, I thought that Galvatron was a very good character. He was cocky without understanding that he is way less powerful than Unicron. Galvatron does get a chance to get some sort of revenge against Starscream. I always cheer when Starscream gets killed. Very satisfying. In fact it's quite amusing how quickly the decepticons are at turning on each other. Within seconds of throwing Megatron out into space and declaring himself leader, Starscream causes a big fight between the remaining decepticons. 

Nothing has changed in my opinion of this film. I had a big smile on my face the entire time and despite hearing people who seemed to be talking every so often, I enjoyed the experience. This will always be my favourite Transformers movie and despite the songs being a bit cheesy, the fact that it is something I still love shows how much this film works on every conceivable level. I remember when I saw the second terrible Michael Bay directed Transformers film. I was so miserable when I got out of the cinema that I drove home and found my DVD copy of this film and made myself feel so much better. That is the power of this film.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

It's hard to believe that this film is 45 years old. I have seen this film many times but never at the cinema so I thought this was a great time to see a classic film at the cinema. The film which started a franchise that fizzled out in 2023 and the trilogy is a great trilogy and a good argument could be made that it's one of the greatest of all time. The film sees Indiana Jones try and find the source of Ark of the Covenant before the Nazi's do. This has a great opening which sets the template of how all Indiana Jones films would play out. 

The whole trying to get the location of the ark is what the first half of the film is about and then it feels like the film quickly and convenient tries to find a way to get the ark on the mountain and the way that Toht's face melts is genuinely terrifying even in 2026. I do find it humorous that Hitler is obsessed with magic and sorcery and it must have begun the narrative trope of a film trying to shoehorn Hitler into their story to have a main villain by having him obsessed with something inplausible.

Harrison Ford is coming off the back of getting frozen as Han Solo and I think that Indiana Jones is his best character. He plays the role so effortlessly and it's because he is so likeable that you really feel gutted for him when he gets the artefacts taken out of his hands. Karen Allen turns the damsel in distress and makes it a strong female character that does occasionally need Indiana's help. Paul Freeman is great as Belloq and is a great villain to go up against Jones even if Toht is there as the Nazi baddie but he's a Nazi and treated more as a comedic villain. Steven Spielberg is in his golden era and this film is arguably the peak of that period. He directs the action scenes well and keeps the whole thing moving along. 

The plot hole that people say about this film would ruin a lesser film but this film is so good that I can still enjoy it. The plot hole even gets used against Sheldon in an episode of the Big Bang Theory. The plot hole is that if Jones did nothing then the events of the film would have played out the same. That's true but then the film would have only been about 45 minutes long. 

There are a couple of bloopers that make this film more fun to watch. First there is the shot where Indiana Jones is mourning the 'death' of Marion and there is a guy in denim jeans walking along in the background. The next is when Belloq is talking to Indiana when he's holding a rocket launcher and a fly lands on his face and goes into his mouth and Paul Freeman does flinch or stutter. Another one is when Belloq and co are chasing after Jones and when Belloq's car stops, Toht has suddenly become very still as if he has become a mannequin. These bloopers bring a charm to the film.

This isn't my favourite Indiana Jones film but it is my second favourite. I think when the other films reach their 45th anniversary in 2029 and 2034 then I will certainly go and see them at the cinema cause then I have seen every film at the cinema. I would even see the trilogy in one sitting cause that's a cool way to spend six hours. This film is a fun action film that pays a loving homage to films of the 40's and 50s and is the sort of film that would great to watch on a Sunday afternoon. 

Pressure (2026)

 A film about the weather isn't the sort of thing that is easy to sell to the cinema going public but that is what we have with Pressure which is about James Stagg (Andrew Scott) who is tasked by General Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) with coming up with a weather report for the upcoming D-Day. Kerry Condon plays Kay Summersby who is Eisenhower's private secretary and the one that seems to be holding everything together and Chris Messina plays Irving Krick who thinks that the weather on June 5th will be fine and Damian Lewis is playing Bernard Montgomery.

As this is based on a true story, there are certain creative liberties that have been taken. Apparently it was a Norwegian that worked out the perfect time for the Allied Forces to attack and Stagg actually collected the information between three different areas. You expect some liberties to be taken but at the end of the day no matter how much they have changed it doesn't take away from what is a genuinely amazing film. I think that the performances are all really good. Andrew Scott is always great but here is plays Stagg in a reserved way which seems weird given how much metaphorical pressure he is under with the D-Day prep and the knowledge that his pregnant wife may be dead after the hospital she was at was bombed. Brendan Fraser plays Eisenhower with a hint of doubt about what to do after a previous mission failed in horrific fashion. The last thing I saw Fraser in was The Whale and this is a better performance (and I liked him that film). Kerry Condon plays what would be a normal character in someone else's hands but Condon makes her very much the support that Stagg needs. Chris Messina plays Krick as someone to dislike but I could help but feel sorry for him when it starts to rain and his prediction is proved to be incorrect. Although using weather patterns from 25 years ago perhaps wasn't the smartest strategy to have, although this is from a position where I know next to nothing about this sort of thing. Damian Lewis is an actor I really like although it did feel like he was hamming it up a little bit. It's the sort of performance you would expect in Blackadder Goes Forth. It's a good performance but given that everyone else is somewhat restrained, his performance does seem a little bit over the top in comparison.

The film does a good job of building up the tension because a lot is on the line. If they get it wrong then the war is pretty much lost and despite Stagg's confidence he can't be 100% sure that he is correct but is pretty confident that Krick is wrong. It seems like people are telling Stagg that he is wrong purely based on the desire to get on with it and it's not helped by the fact that Stagg is the easiest person to be around. The relationship between Stagg and Eisenhower is very good in the sense that their is a respect that forms over the brief time of the story and yet there is still skeptic from Eisenhower who is trying to wrestle with what happened before.

This story started off as a stage play and it feels like a stage play as the film takes place primarily in about three rooms. Despite that I thought that the story was really good and Anthony Maras did a really good job in keeping the pace going and also managing to make a story about the weather interesting. I think that this would form the perfect double bill with Darkest Hour (which this does share a producer of that film) and this is definitely a film that I would happily watch again.