Evil Dead Burn (2026)

If you would have said to me 10 years ago that not only would I have seen the Evil Dead films and enjoyed them, but that I would be going to see the latest film in the series (and looking forward to it), then I would have said you were mad but here we are. The great thing about these latest films is that they don't really have any connection to what’s gone before them. I did watch Evil Dead Rise the night previously but if I hadn’t then I genuinely wouldn’t have missed anything. 

Whereas Lee Cronin directed the last one, Sébastien Vaniček is sitting in the directors chair and Cronin decided to do his lighter version of an Evil Dead film in his Mummy film. The set up of the film is that Joseph and Will (George Pullar) are brothers with Will married to Alice (Souheila Yacoub) and Joseph (Hunter Doohan from Wednesday) is in a relationship with Thya (Luciane Buchanan) but when Will dies after the events of the beginning of the film which like the last film seem completely separate but are connected. Alice attends Will’s funeral and that is when things start to go wrong.

This film takes place largely inside one house which seems to have been borrowed from a James Wan film because it seems quite big and appropriately run down. I think that adds to the great atmosphere the film has because if it had been a nice new lovely decorated house then it wouldn’t have had the vibe that the film needs. It would have just come across as a generic Blumhouse film. The fact also that there is the subject of loss is something that hangs over the film and makes things feel awkward because it's clear that Alice and Will had problems so it remains a valid question as to why she stayed. 

The gore is something that is always something that I am wary of because I don't mind a little bit but I won't watch anything that has the Terrifier level of gore. This film manages to stay on the right side of what I can deal with. Don't get me wrong there is plenty in this film and its nice that its proper blood and not CGI that a lot of films tend to use these days. Using proper blood just makes it feel real and that's another way the film effectively uses atmosphere in the film.

The performances are pretty good. I think that Souheila Yacoub does a great job as the the final girl and even though they dont give her much character depth beyond being a widow with some marital issues that are at best surface level. Tandy Wright also does well as the mother having lost her son and caring for her elderly mother I found myself still sympathising with her even after she becomes infected. In the trailer it seems like Joseph is the lead for the film and maybe thats because of the Wednesday connection but his importance in the film is superseded by Alice. 

The cool moments include Thya drinking candle wax and Joseph falling onto a sea of knives and forks before being forced down onto them by Thya. The problem is that these were shown in the trailer thus making their impact lessened. There was a trailer for Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil and it doesn't give anything away. There was a way of making the trailer for this film worth seeing without those two moments. There are plenty of comedic moments which mainly surround the grandmother. Even when she becomes a deadite she still has comedy timing such as when she is tied to the stairlift chair and it slowly goes downstairs and she has a shard of glass in her eye. She manages to make it to the end of the film which seems like she might pop up in future films.

There is an end title scene which sees the return of Alyssa Sutherland’s Ellie from the first film even though she met quite the clear cut ending in the previous film. She returns to kill the Funeral Director’s daughter which might seem like a dark thing to do but bearing in mind an hour earlier they killed a dog then all bets are off as far as the franchise is concerned. It does raise questions about why they did this but if there are answers in a future film then it will make more sense (potentially). 

I prefer Rise to this one. They are very different types of film with Rise being a more atmospheric one and this is a much more visceral horror film. I did think that it took slightly too long to get going but once it did then it didn’t let up. The film is 110 minutes and i think that a perfect runtime for a horror film is 90-100 minutes so this could have lost about 10-15 minutes and would have been a much snappier film. Despite that minor issue, I thought that this was a very good horror film that definitely delivers on the gore and very much looking forward to Evil Dead Wrath which is due to come out in 2027.

Pinocchio: Unstrung (2026)

This was another mystery screening at my cinema and this was one of those rare occasions that I had absolutely no idea what it could be. I knew of the film and saw the trailer months ago but I forgot it was even coming out. Part of the Traumatic Childhood Universe (cause that is a thing apparently). The story sees Geppetto make a doll to be a friend to his grandson James but when talking to his ‘Wood Mother’ Pinocchio starts killing people who have hurt James and removing body parts so he will be a real boy. That is about the extent of the plot but you don't watch these films for the plot. 

It is the kills that you watch them for an the film does well with the kills. I must confess that I did look away because whilst I dont mind a bit of gore I dont like too much and the film did go a bit too far. The dentist's death in particular was quite horrible and I looked away whilst the dentist had her teeth smashed in. 

There were things that didn’t make sense. Firstly when Pinocchio goes to the gym and sees the two teachers die. Not only did the death make me feel like I was watching a scene from Final Destination, but the deaths are never mentioned at any point during the film so it is like they never happened. Also at the end, the house is burning and we don't see the fire brigade or the police but just hear a siren so there is no real fallout from the situation. The film just ends.

To be fair to the film the puppet is rather good. Considering how poor the masks and effects were in the first Winnie the Pooh film, it's impressive how far they have come. It’s easily the most expensive thing in the entire film. Whilst the film lacks any star power (the second Winnie the Pooh film at least had Simon Callow), the film has the voice of Freddy Kruger himself Robert Englund as the voice of Cricket. 

There absolutely no way I would have gone to see this in the cinema had I had the choice. There were two walkouts which is the first time that has happened for a while and normally I would think to myself that they left too soon, I completely understood why they walked out of this because unless you were aware of the other films then you would think this was the worst thing you had seen. As I have seen the other films then I thought that this was the best film in the series although that is a very low bar to clear. The Pinocchio puppet was very good and some of the deaths were good but the acting was generally poor but these films are fun enough to get through and it is quite amusing to see a cinematic universe made out of beloved children’s characters that have been turned into horrific monsters. 

Moana (2026)

There are two ways of doing a cash grab movie. One is subtle, which is to take something that people like and give us a new instalment in that series (TRON Ares) and then there are the more blatant ones like 2026’s Moana which continues Disney's ongoing mission to turn their animated back catalogue into live action. What is strange about this movie is that the original animated version is only 10 years old. It hasn’t had time to develop a cult like following to get people excited by it.

The plot of this follows the original so there is no point going into that but there are subtle differences which were most likely done more for budgetary reasons than anything else. The performances were all really good. I thought that Catherine Laga’aia played Moana as someone who wants to help her people and yet be an adventuress even though her father doesn't want her going beyond a certain point. Laga’aia and Dwayne Johnson’s dynamic works very well and like in the 2016 version, its the main thing to like in this. Dwayne Johnson brings his usual charm and charisma to the role of Maui but I am sorry its the hair that I found distracting. When I saw the trailer I could have been convinced it was an SNL sketch because the wig looks cheap. It looks like he is wearing a wig which isn't the point of a wig unless you plan to make it part of the story. I thought that rest of the performances were really good as well with John Tui as Moana’s father Chief Tui, Frankie Adams as Moana’s mother Sina delivery lovely performances but I thought that Rena Owen stood out as Gramma Tala. Her performance might come across as cliched by Disney standards but it was lovely and the scene where Moana leaves just as Gramma is dying is beautifully done by both Laga’aia and Owen.

The songs are all really good although I think that Laga’aia struggles with the ‘How Far I’ll Go’ song but the advantage of having Johnson star in both versions is this version of ‘Your Welcome’ is as good here as it was in 2016. Mark Mancina is another constant from 2016 and I think does a great job here.

Moana isn't bad by any means but it does feel largely pointless. The story is basically the 2016 version with some subtle differences and it directed competently by Thomas Kail. As I said earlier, not enough time has passed for people to get nostalgic about it. On a side note, I saw this in IMAX which is the first time I have seen a film in this format and to be honest I thought it was quite good. The size of the screen was massive and sitting in my usual spot in a screening (front row, furthest seat away from the entrance) meant I got a great experience. Moana should be a cautionary tale of how not to do a cash grab movie. You need to leave films at least a generation before remaking them.

The Last Viking (2025)

The Last Viking (or Den sidste viking) sees director Anderson Thomas Jensen and Mads Mikkelsen reunite in this black comedy which sees Anker (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) task his brother Manfred (Mikkelsen) with hiding a bag of money in the woods near where they grew up when they were younger. He story then moves forward 15 years and Manfred has been diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder and is now called John because he believes he is John Lennon. Whenever John is called Manfred he tries to kill himself and Anker needs John/Manfred to show him where the money is buried.

Anker is persuaded that the way to get John to tell him where the money is is basically by everyone around him playing along and so they get some other people who think they are the other members of the Beatles to play some songs although one of the band also think they are Bjorn from ABBA. This whole part of the plot might seem ridiculous but in the context of this film I found it worked quite well. I also thought setting this in the woods in the middle of nowhere helped make it work. The house where they grew up is now an Airbnb run by Margrethe (Sofie Gråbøl) and Werner (Søren Malling) who don't have the best marriage. It’s at this stage that the black comedy aspect of the story really shows although the slightly humorous ways that Manfred tries to kill himself was an early hint. The humour doesnt seem out of place alongside the flashbacks to when Anker and Manfred are growing up and due to Manfred always wanting to be a Viking, gets punished and this goes on until Anker takes an axe to their father and blanks it from his memory. This delicate balancing act in terms of tone is quite well handled by Jensen.

It seems like Margrethe has been killed by having her head smashed in with a sledgehammer but she isnt dead and appears at the end of the film with the side of her face disfigured. When the car Flemming was in crashed I did half expect him to turn up later on but I suppose one miraculous escape from death is the limit in this film. Having watched the Killing (the original and best version), I liked that Gråbøl and Nicolas Bro were in this film although they only had the sledgehammer scene together. The relationship between Anker and Manfred/John is at the heart of this film and both Kaas and Mikkelsen still have a lovely dynamic even though their characters are at odds. Mikkelsen is always able to give a great performance but this is definitely different to what I have seen him do in the past. 

I really enjoyed this film. I thought that it had a good plot with very good performances. If I had an issue with the film then it would be that the animated stuff at the beginning and end of the film don't really add anything but that is about the extent of my negatives. It felt quite appropriate to be watching this film that centres around the Beatles whilst in Liverpool. This was a nice surprise but not on the level of Blades of the Guardians but it is still worth watching when it makes its way to streaming.

Minions & Monsters (2026)

With the world being the joyless slog that it is right now, what the world desperately needs is a minion movie.  This is the third one to feature the Minions in the lead and sees James and Henry attempt to make their own movie but things go wrong when they bring Goomi back. The film feels like a celebration of early cinema.  When the Minions travel to Hollywood during the period of the silent movies and this part was a joy to watch cause there were references to Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times, Buster Keaton’s house falling on him from Steamboat Bill, Jr and Harold Lloyd hanging from the clock in Safety Last.

I was worried that the Dort part of the story would get in the way of the main story but credit to writers Brian Lynch and Pierre Coffin, the story zips along so fast that there wasnt the time for anything to get in the way of the main plot. I like the trio of James and Henry along with Ed who was deaf and I wonder if that it is it the first deaf Minion. It is hard to dislike the minions as they are funny and adorable even when they are using slapstick violence against each other. 

The jokes are coming at you so fast that its is clear that it is going to require multiple viewings to get everything. Just the portion where all the Minions are in the space pods with one pressing a button and a chicken comes out for…..reasons and then there is another one where two of the minions are sharing a bubble bath The setting is the main reason why things work as well as they do. 

I really enjoyed Minions and Monsters and left the screening in a really good mood which isn't something that happens very often and this is definitely the best animated film I have seen this year. This is a film which on the face of it is a silly 90 minute animated film but has jokes coming at you at such a high rate and yet still work for adults and kids. I am still working my way through the minions films so I don't know yet where this ranks amongst them but rating it on its own I would say that it was a fun film that nods lovingly to the early days of cinema.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

2001: A Space Odyssey is regarded as one of the best science fiction films of all time and I have always rated it highly on a technical level. I had the opportunity to watch it on the biggest screen in my cinema with the best sound system. Whenever people question why I still go to the cinema when we have Blu-rays and DVDs as well as streaming I will point them to experiences like seeing this film. There was something magical about what I was seeing, especially all the final 20 minutes or so after Dave removes HAL’s memory and there is all the psychedelic imagery.

The opening portion with the apes really affected my hearing. It felt like my ears were gonna burst. Thankfully that moment passed. The score and soundtrack is absolutely fantastic. During the many long sequences where there is no dialogue there is some great music which helps maintain your interest. The model work is fantastic and the sets are equally as impressive. There are some decorative blunders but on the whole on a technical level the sets are superb. It is unclear to me how they managed to pull off some of the shots. I know how it would have been done today but in 1968 the amount of work that would have gone into making these things work would have required a lot of planning.

As for the story its….well complicated. The film starts off with the apes (make and prosthetics that lost out to Planet of the Apes at the Oscars yet is far superior) going about their lives until the monolith appears and freaks them out. Then we meet Heywood Floyd who is the head of the US National Council of Astronauts who is sent to the moon to investigate a monolith that has been found buried in the moon. Then the story moves along to the Discover One spacecraft where we meet scientists Dave and Frank who are on their way to Jupiter along with their computer HAL9000 but when there is a dispute with HAL, the astronauts decide to disconnect HAL but HAL starts to go a bit crazy and then Dave ends up in some fancy bedroom with another monolith looking at him. The plot does become a bit confusing once Dave deativates HAL but even then I still felt involved in the story and that is the reason why the film works so well. Even when the plot is slightly confusing or some things dont make sense, there is enough intrigue to keep things ticking along nicely.

I really enjoyed seeing this at the cinema. Not only is it great on a technical level but seeing it on the biggest screen has made me enjoy it even more. At nearly two and half hours the entire film flies by and even with the awkward intermission in the middle which might have worked in 1968 but in 2026 doesnt, this film rightly deserves its place in the discussion of greatest sci-fi films of all times. There are technical feats here that look just as good as stuff made today. I dont know if its the best Stanley Kubrick film but its up there.

The Invite (2026)

This was a mystery screening at my local cinema but one that I was aware of because of the trailers and right of the bat I have to say that this was another great choice. The Invite is the latest film from Olivia Wilde who co-stars as Angela alongside Penelope Cruz (Pina), Seth Rogan (Joe) and Edward Norton (Hawk). The two couples are very different with Joe and Angela’s marriage coming across as broken and not happy whereas Hawk and Pina’s relationship is very……different and they offer Joe and Angela the opportunity to partake in one of their sex parties. The nature of the invite was obvious if you have seen the trailer but that doesnt mean that isnt a good part of the plot and the reactions of Joe and Angela are priceless.

All four performances are really good. I typically have a mixed opinion of Seth Rogan but after Good Fortune and this I think my opinion might have shifted to a more positive way of looking at his acting. I thought that he seemed just as baffled by the situation as the rest of us. Normally as he is the ‘funny’ one of the group he would be the only one who was funny but I actually found Olivia Wilde funny. Some of her facial expressions aimed at Seth Rogan were really funny and did have me chuckling many times. I did find myself feeling a bit sorry for Angela as she must have had a very dull day and the chance to entertain visitors must be too good to turn down. I thought that this was the best performance I have seen from Edward Norton for quite a long time. As Hawk it would be so easy to come across as a spiritual idiot but Norton manages to make him seem likeable and the story of how he got the name Hawk was tragic and funny because of how he delivered it and how Seth Rogan responded. Penelope Cruz does a great job with Pina. She is the polar opposite of Olivia Wilde’s Angela and works perfectly with Edward Norton. All four work in their respective couples but work well together and that is one of the things I liked about this film.

Another thing was the singular setting. Apart from 90 seconds at the beginning with Joe pretending to listen to music from his students, the entire film takes place in Joe and Angela’s apartment. Keeping things interesting and the pace going is quite difficult in one location. Ok there are different rooms but it would be easy to get claustrophobic and Wilde makes it feel like there is some energy in their performances despite the fact that it is just four people talking. 

I enjoyed this film a lot more than I was expecting. I thought the trailers made the film seem interesting but after watching it I thought that the comedy was much better than the trailer suggested and whilst most might think that this is a bit like a stageplay, I think that this is actually a big plus point and with Olivia Wilde’s directing and Will McCormack and Rashida Jones’ screenplay work well together along with the performances to give us a small but very well done film with a nice amount of comedy and awkwardness. This film might struggle to get the attention compared to Minions or Supergirl but it definitely should be seen.