Back to the Future (1985)

Back to the Future was the latest classic movie to get a re-release and I sadly missed the chance when it was the 40th Anniversary last year but I put that right now. The setup is simple. Marty McFly ends up in 1955 and has to try and get back but in doing so making sure that his mom and dad in 1955 get together so that he can exist in 1985. The thing about this film is that it is a perfect blend of science fiction and action. This starts as ‘Steven Spielberg Presents’ and that was during arguably his greatest period as a director and producer.

Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd are brilliant as Marty and Doc Brown. Despite them being different ages and seeing the world differently, the characters have a bond and I think it is the eccentricity from Doc that makes the pairing really work. The look of both Marty and Doc are iconic and and surprisingly haven’t dated considering that this film was made in the mid 80s. The fashion in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure on the other hand……

The screenplay is really good because it tells the story and explains all the science in a way which I imagine wasn't 100% accurate in 1985 still came across as credible. I did chuckle when Doc was dismissive of Ronald Reagan being US President as he was an actor in 1955 considering we have a reality tv ‘star’ now President. 

Marty spends a humorous amount of the film trying to ward off the advances of his future mom. I do worry that to a certain generation this might be creepy but as it never really goes anywhere it is fun because of the awkwardness. The idea that when Marty returns to 1985 that his life is clearly better than it was at the start of the film might not work for some but I don’t think it’s drastically different to begrudge them a better life. Crispin Glover is great as the cowardly George. It was easy to sympathise with him because he is very likable and Biff is so easy to dislike. The only aspect of the ending that I wasn’t as keen on is when Marty goes back to 1985 and George is rude and a bit sleazy version of what he was like before. Thomas F. Wilson was really good as Biff. He was unlikeable enough to be a good antagonist to George but not too much to be the centre of the story cause that isn't what the story is about.

The score is great and the theme by Alan Silvestri is stunning and one of the greatest of all time. It’s weird to think that he would go from this to the Avengers films and would also do the score for Predator, Forrest Gump and Who Framed Roger Rabbit but none of them are on the same level as the score for this film. 

Back to the Future is a great film and seeing it on the big screen was a joy. Sometimes nostalgia can make a film from the 80s seem better than it actually is but that isn’t the case here. The characters are great and fun, the pacing is solid from the very beginning and it has a cheeky little sequel bait ending.  There are a couple of technical things that stand out but that is to be expected from a film 41 years old. Not all 80’s films have aged as well as Back to the Future and whilst the sequels aren't as good as this one, they are worth watching simply because of Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd and how good they are together.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)

I saw this at 5:30 on opening day and in the largest screen at my cinema and it was a sellout. Even the rows at the front which I call the neck aching seats were sold out. This is the  second film with Tom Holland and Zendaya that I have seen in the space of 10 days with The Odyssey being the other film and I have to say on every level that film is better.

The film follows on from Brand New Day where everyone has forgotten that Peter Parker is Spiderman. He is doing his vigilante thing and seemingly being encouraged by DeWolff. 

Tom Holland gives another solid performance as Spider-Man. He has grown into the role over the years and it's nice to see him away from Iron Man and this was the strongest performance that Holland has given. I dont think its as good as The Odyssey but its still the sort of performance a leading man should give. Zendaya is good as MJ although I think its a rather average role, Zendaya manages to make something of it and make it quite interesting. Jacob Batalon is fine as Ned and only really works when he is with Zendaya and Holland as the three have some good chemistry. There was a nice cameo from Florence Pugh’s Yelena. Although it looked like all her scenes were filmed in a day because she never moves out of that swimming pool set.

It was good to see Hulk back and nIce that Banner seems to have moved on from The Avengers. I think the last time I saw Mark Ruffalo was in Mickey 17 where he was doing his Donald Trump impression. I think I read somewhere that they made Hulk smaller during the Thanos stuff to make Thanos look more of a threat. There is only so much that you can do with Hulk and its used well in this film. Jon Bernthal was the thing in the movie. I feel like its an obvious thing to say and you could argue that he plays the same shouty type character in almost all his films but it very much works in this film. He had several good moments and some of his lines got chuckles from the packed audience.

Sadie Sink debuts a Jean Gray which was kind of spoilt because some people wanted to spoil it and I thought she was fine. Jean was after V-Max and I had a funny feeling that this wasn’t going to be an important thing and it turned out to not be because it’s revealed that it is the name of the brand of the a/c unit in the room her sister was in. Which might annoy some with how unimportant it is but it’s typical Marvel. Despite this Sink did the best with what she was given and it a shame her debut came as late in the film as it did.

The main issue that I have with this is that the film is 145 minutes long and it is about 40 minutes too long. 40 minutes of Peter Parker moping around and it’s at that point the plot actually kicks in. Some might like that but I just think we are well into this franchise that we can just jump into it with minimal set up. You could have spent 15 minutes setting things up and then start with the Jean Grey stuff.

There is one shot where Hulk and Spiderman are fighting and the camera is spinning around and I didn’t know what I was supposed to be watching. Now this isn’t a knock on the director as I like Destin Daniel Cretton's previous films Shang Chi and Just Mercy with the latter being really good. I think he did a good job. The film wasn’t as flashy as previous Spider-Man films but there was a bit more character stuff going on even if it took way too long to get there.

Ultimately the film despite having some good moments is somewhat disappointing. I didn’t know  what I was expecting but I think I wanted a bit more and I think the experience of sitting it a completely sold out helped.

Sunny Dancer (2026)

Sunny Dancer was a mystery screening and sees Bella Ramsey play Ivy who is recovering from cancer and is sent away to a summer camp for young adults recovering from cancer. So the film is not a laugh out loud comedy but what it is is a coming of age drama.

Bella Ramsey is quite good as Ivy. Ivy is naturally sceptical of the summer camp and is reluctant to get involved and as the film progresses Ivy grows into a person that can open up to her new found friends. They are all interesting enough and mean something different to Ivy. Some of the scenes are going to play better to a young audience and I could have done without the disco lights and the show and tell about how a tampon works. Again, might work for a younger audience but not for me. 

Jessica Gunning and James Norton the other two familiar names and play Ivy’s parents Karen and Bob who seem quite keen to palm Ivy off to the camp although they do come across as nice parents. This is the second Gunning film I have seen in 2026 and she probably gets the same amount of screen time although I think this is a much better role. Neil Patrick Harris plays the fish out of water American Patrick who runs the camp and has some good scenes and gives the sort of performance you would expect from Harris. He manages to be serious but pull of a couple of humorous moments.

The big reveal is that at the talent show they have a special guest and it is James Blunt but it was spoilt if you saw the trailer cause he appears in it and there is no other reason why he would. Don't get me wrong he sings ‘Your Beautiful’ and does it well but the surprise was ruined. Also if you don't like the Scissor Sisters song ‘I Don’t Feel Like Dancing’ then you needs to start could you hear it about half a dozen times throughout the film.

I like the Mystery Screening events because they tend to show films I would never have gone to see and sometimes it works and sometime it doesnt. At the beginning of the film I was dreading this film but by the end I was happy that I saw it. A couple of people did walk out after about 45 minutes but there was still about 25 people on a Monday night that stayed. 

This film isnt for everyone but its a a film thats worth seeing although I wish they had come up with a better title cause Sunny Dancer isnt the greatest name. The story is perfectly fine and its directed well enough. The pacing was just right and at 96 minutes it doesnt outstay its welcome. There have been a couple of lovely looking films filmed in the UK & Ireland in the last year or two and this one doesn't do as good as job of showcasing the landscape as films like Glenrothan and 500 Miles but that isnt what this film is meant for but I think what it does well is show how people are struggling to deal with their cancer treatments and what happens afterwards. 

Jurassic Park (1993)

Jurassic Park is one of my favourite films of all time. It is in my favourite four list on Letterboxd and will remain there until I draw my last breathe. I remember seeing this film at the cinema back in 1993 and afterwards when I got home I would imagine that T-Rex’s would come bursting through the trees at the back of my garden (I was 10 at the time!!!!).

The set up is that Hammond (Richard Attenborough) invites Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) to the island to say that it is safe and thus allow the opening of the park to take place but of course things go wrong and the rest of the film is about them trying to get off the island without being dinner for the T-Rex or the Velociraptor.

The effects are just as impressive as they were back in 1993. The first encounter with the T-Rex is still one of the most jaw dropping moments in cinema and everything comes together to make it heartstopping. The score is brilliant. I have grown to respect music scores more in the last year or two and even though I have always loved the theme, the score throughout the film is great. John Williams has created one of the greatest theme songs in movie history but there are several action scenes which are elevated by Williams’ great score. 

The scene where Nedry was killed is something that scarred me when I first saw it in 1993. Even now at 43 years old I find it a great little moment. It’s hard to feel sorry for Nedry and this shows how you write a good bad character and you feel satisfied that he got his comeuppance. 

I will admit I felt sad the first time that Sam Neill appeared on screen. As I write this its been about two weeks since he passed away and this is the first film I saw him in. It’s debatable whether its his best but its on the shortlist. He is introduced as a child-hating person but is forced to spend a good chunk of the film with Hammond’s grandchildren Tim and Lex. Despite being sidelined with the kids, Neill makes it work and the kids make him more of a parental figure and it feels genuine. Laura Dern is great as Ellie and she gets some cool action scenes. There is a love triangle that is hinted at between Ellie, Grant and Malcolm. Thankfully there is more to her character than the love triangle and her moment to shine is when she goes to reset the power and unknowingly electrocutes Tim. Jeff Goldblum is great as Malcolm because…..well he’s Jeff Goldblum. There is a fun vibe to the character and he goes get some of the funniest lines and arguably one of the most memorable when he says “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should”. It’s a great line and it’s makes even better because of Goldblum. 

The way that the characters are written is so good that when Hammond is looking sadly at his cane I still felt sad for him. Even after all the death and destruction it is because of Richard Attenborough that you even have an ounce of sympathy. The film also sees Samuel L. Jackson appear as Arnold and whilst the character get short changed with an off screen death, I always forget that he is in the film. This happens when I think of the actors in the film and its has created the ‘Samuel L Jackson rule’ which applies to well known actors who appear in films you really like and have seen multiple times but forget they are in it.

It may not be a huge shock to say that I love this movie. This is at least my third time seeing it at the cinema and I still love this film. It is a great story with some great action scenes and characters that likeable and are easy to connect with. The rest of the franchise never quite live up to this (although the first Jurassic World film gets the closest) but this was Steven Spielberg at the top of his game.

The Odyssey (2026)

Trying to follow 2023’s Oppenheimer was always going to be a tall order especially given that his next project was based on the Ancient Greek poem the Odyssey. The set up of the film is that Odysseus (Matt Damon) tries to get back to his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and son Telemachus (Tom Holland) whilst Penelope is trying to stave off the potential suitors to be her next husband led by Antinous (Robert Pattinson). 

Now there was a lot of rage bait articles making a big deal about Elliot Page being in the film as Simon (or just being in the film in general) and Lusitania Nyong’o (Helen) as well. The rage was always going to be over the top considering how people like to make a mountain out of a molehill but given that their combined screen time couldn’t have been anymore than 20 minutes in a near 3 hour film shows how people judging and criticising something before they have seen it in context is always going to be a foolhardy thing.

Matt Damon gives what I think is one of his best performances since The Martian. As Odysseus it is his story and Damon shows he is more than Ben Affleck’s buddy and this level of performance is not only in the same grouping as The Martian but also the Jason Bourne films. He doesn’t do anything as action packed as Jason Bourne but he is a great lead in the film and you want him to make it home just to stop Antinous. Anne Hathaway takes a rather simple role of and makes it interesting. Due to the fact that there are many stories being told, Hathaway (like Pattinson) doesn’t really get to shine until the latter stages of the film but she shines and does a great job.  Robert Pattinson is great as Antinous and almost steals the show. It was funny that in one of the trailers was Dune Part Three where a bleach blonde looking Pattinson appears to be the villain but thankfully he doesn’t have that look here otherwise it would have ruined the movie. Pattinson can do smarmy and evil quite well and is a great antagonist for the film.

Tom Holland puts in one of his best non Spider-Man performances I have seen from him but he is still one of the weakest in the film but that is only because the standard of acting is so high. Up until the last shot when he is wearing all the fancy crown or whatever it was, he was believable as a young man determined to find his father and stop Antinous but then things go wrong when he tries to look like a ruler. It’s the curse of looking as young as he does and maybe with someone else it might have worked.

Samantha Morton comes into the film and attempts to steal the film. As Circe she turns this portion of the film into some strange Guillermo del Toro film where she morphs the faces and bodies of Odysseus’ soldiers into pigs and its just absolutely bonkers but if you want someone to give an unsettling performance then Samantha Morton is just as good as it gets. 

Other notable names include Himesh Patel (Eurylochus), John Leguizamo (Eumaeus), Charlize Theron (Calypso), Mia Goth (Melantho), Benny Sadie (Agamemnon), Zendaya (Athena) and Jon Bernthal (Menelaus) are all great additions to the cast.

The film has an epic feel to it and Christopher Nolan is helped by Hoyle van Hoytema as cinematographer who makes everything look stunning and there are varying landscapes and they all look amazing. Also Ruth De Jong’s production design is great in every single scene and the editing from the amusingly named Jennifer Lame (cause there is nothing lame about her editing) all help create an epic world. Ludwig Goransson has delivered one of his best scores and I bought the soundtrack after I got home cause it was wonderful and works well when you are listening to it in the car going to work. 

As much as I think that this is a great movie, I don’t think that it is as good as Oppenheimer but its pretty damn close. It is like comparing Alien and Aliens or The Godfather Part 1 and 2. They are on a the same level but one is always slightly better than the other. I think the story is made interesting because of Christopher Nolan but it was something that I was unfamiliar with and to make a three hour film (nearly) of a story that would have had me running in the opposite direction and make it my film of the year shows why Nolan is one of the best filmmakers working today. Only thing was I didn’t see it in IMAX but that is something I am intending on putting right if possible.

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.