The Bride! (2026)

The Bride! will probably go down as the most polarising film of the year and the film had already some negative reviews and my expectations were high when it seemed to suggest that this film was a musical akin to the second Joker film. This is a remake/reimagining of the 1935 classic Bride of Frankenstein and stars Jessie Buckley in her second cinematic role of 2026 as Ida and The Bride and also Mary Shelley who speaks through Ida at several points of the flm. After being killed by members of the mob, Ida is brought back to life so that she can be the titular bride to Frankenstein’s Monster played by Christian Bale. Annette Benning’s Dr Conelia Euphronius is this film's Dr Frankenstein and there are a couple of detectives trying to catch Frank and the Bride in something that resembles Bonnie and Clyde.

Second film of the year starring Jessie Buckley and once I heard about this film I thought that the only thing stopping Jessie Buckley from walking away with an Oscar would be this film. I don't think that this will affect her chances at all which is a relief. She is very good at playing Ida and Mary Shelley. There is something about Ida which even when she is speaking as Mary Shelley she becomes mesmerising. Whenever Buckley was on screen I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen and was totally engrossed with what was happening. I couldn’t quite make my mind up about Bale’s version of Frank because it has come relatively recently after Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi’s version and whilst it is unfair to compare the two because they are two very different films. This version of Frankenstein’s monster doesn't quite have the menace that Elordi’s does. Together though I thought the chemistry between Bale and Buckley was great and the film works because you buy into their relationship.

The only real issue with the story was the use of Myrna played by Penelope Cruz. The recurring gag that she was overlooked because she is a woman felt a bit weak and wasn’t really needed. In fact the whole detective part of the plot felt a bit unneeded and whenever the story moved away from the Bride and Frank was the time of the film where I was less interested in what was happening. The impression that the film gave or was given by some that this was a musical is very misleading. There are musical moments but these can all be written off as just happening inside Frank’s head and they are totally bonkers but somehow the film manages to pull them off.

I enjoyed The Bride!  The film is the most batsh*t thing I have seen for quite sometime and its obvious that it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea due to how disjointed it feels. The film totally flips all over the place and you are either going to be on board with it or not and I was on board from the very beginning. It’s not a perfect film by any stretch of the imagination but the film's flaws are kind of why I like it. I think that the idea that a major Hollywood studio would give someone $80 million to do this sort of film is such a risky thing to do especially for one like Warner Bros. and I am glad they did. I think this will not do well at the box office which is a shame but this worked a lot better than the second Joker film and was a genuine surprise.

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man (2026)

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man is the anticipated sequel to the six series of Peaky Blinders which ran from 2013 to 2022. I watched the entire run in the build up to this film and I think if you haven’t seen the show or at least the final series then you might be at a slight disadvantage but not a huge one. The set up of the film is set in 1940 and sees Tommy (Cillian Murphy) who is writing his book and wants to live his life in peace but is brought back to Birmingham when his eldest son Duke is revealed to be working with Tim Roth’s Nazi supporting Beckett who is trying to flood the UK with fake notes in order to undermine the economy and win the war for Hitler. Which is something they actually did.

The film centres on Duke who is someone that was introduced quite late in the run and the daughter Ruby died but there was another child but no mention of him. The absence of Arthur from the film is a strange one. I have tried to find if there was an explanation as to why Paul Anderson is not in the film and there doesn't seem to be any particular reason. There was a criminal charge for drug possession in 2024 but that seems to be it. Choosing to kill off Arthur seems like an odd thing to do.

Overall the performances are quite good. Cillian Murphy has always been great as Tommy Shelby even when the weight of what has happened is clearly weighing down on the character and he doesn't have the swagger than he did in earlier seasons. His death at the end of the film felt like the right way to end things and it wasn't one in a way which undermined the character or robbed him of a chance to ride off into the sunset but was the right way and most satisfying. This was the second Barry Keoghan film of the year and whilst this was a better performance and a better written character it has to be said that his brummie accent was a bit odd at times. I like him as an actor but his accent was off putting at least at the beginning. Duke has split loyalties because on the one hand he wants to be a tough fguy leading the Peaky Blinders into the roaring 40’s but doesn't seem to have the guts to do what is needed when it's needed. You knew he would be the one to kill Tommy but the way that it was done meant that it felt like the right thing to do. Tim Roth is fine as the threat that connects Tommy and Duke in plot terms but it felt like he was holding back on being a horrible villain. I get that they don't have a lot of time but it did feel like they were holding back a bit. 

Some of the scenes in this film like the TV show were filmed at the Black Country Living Museum which is about 500 metres from where I was sitting watching this film. That’s the closest I will ever be to a location that was used in a film apart from the opening scene in Stan & Ollie when they arrive at the hotel in Newcastle which is in fact the pub at the same museum.

I really enjoyed this film to the point that it is my favourite film of the year. I thought that it did a great job of wrapping things up for the show and the fans should be happy with the way it ends. I think that the plot was relatively straightforward and it wasn't weighed down with unnecessary plot points. It looks amazing and manages to pull of the look of 1940’s war torn Birmingham really well. As the final part of the story it ends things on a great note which isnt something that all shows pull off and as a film in is own right it is really good and is not only my favourite film of the year but my favourite British film of the year. I do think when it ends up on Netflix in a couple of weeks it will lose something being on a smaller screen but at least like Frankenstein they are giving us the chance to enjoy their films on the biggest screen possible. Definelty worth seeing if you can.

Scream 7 (2026)

I can’t quite believe that we are now seven films into this franchise and the seventh time they have tried to squeeze the last drop of money out of the first film. I went into this film having heard nothing but negative things which did surprise me. Some of that may come from fans of the franchise but not being one of them I have just viewed them as slasher films that have at times bordered on pretentiousness. Oh look at us we’ve watched horror films and understand the ‘rules’ of sequels, prequels and something else I can’t quite remember ending in quels. The ‘plot’ sees Sidney (Neve Campbell) and one her kids that we have never heard of before Tatum (Isabel May) and her husband Mark (Joel McHale) and someone is trying to get to SIdney by pretending that Stu Macher from the first film is alive and well. 

I thought that Tatum was quite unlikeable at first. I don't think that it was necessarily the fault of Isabel May but just the way that she was written. She was being grumpy for no real reason. It’s sort of defended with the fact that Sidney is being over protective without telling Tatum what happened to her when she was younger or help defend herself from the inevitable time when someone dons the mask. Thankfully that stuff gets ironed out in later scenes but it was a ropey couple of scenes for her. 

I am quite glad that they went with the idea that Stu’s appearance was AI/Deepfake. The idea that he had been in an insane asylum for 30 years and no one would have spotted him was suspending disbelief a little bit too far. This is another horror film where Mckenna Grace appears for 10 minutes only to be killed off.  It also felt like Courtney Cox was in this film just so they could bring in another legacy character cause they are running low on established characters. She pops up, does the interview with Sidney and then literally disappears for a good 20 minutes. She doesn't really add anything to the story. It was fun to see Matthew Lillard back in the franchise after 30 years but the scene towards the end where he, and other past characters return in a cheap looking video.

There was something else that stood out to me. This was an 18 certificate film and I thought it was less gory than Whilst that I saw the previous week which was a 15. I’m assuming that the stabbing itself is what got it the 18 cause the blood sure didn’t. It does feel like there is a bit of inconsistency when it comes to classification from the BBFC. Most of the deaths are stab related deaths but one was quite impressive and its when of them gets skewed on a drink lever and not only it remind me of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre but when the guy is finished being skewed on it the flow of beer through his mouth did make me chuckle and I thought it was the one creative death in the entire film. 

This is one of those times that I genuinely don't understand the hate. Ok it's not brilliant but it's not terrible either. The previous film was not just the worst film in the franchise but honestly the most boring horror film I have seen for some time and I'm not sure if I can see how this is worse. They will inevitably make an eighth one and a ninth one so it really doesn't matter what we say about these films cause as long as they keep making money then they will keep making them cause Paramount need to pay off that huge debt they’ve now got. Despite all the things wrong with the film it is still infinitely better than Return to Silent Hill.

EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (2025)

 I have never been the biggest Elvis Presley fan. You may wonder why someone who isnt an Elvis fan would go out of their way on a Friday night to see a documentary about the man but I thought that the experience of seeing it on the big screen would at least make it passable to watch. I think some of his songs are fine but could never understand the appeal. The 2022 Baz Luhrmann biopic managed to shed some light on his appeal but Elvis seemed like it was something liked by other people.

This was a screening that I saw at 6:30pm and at the time I booked the tickets was the only screening on but by the day itself they had added another three screenings. It was the largest screen at the cinema and if there were 20 empty seats then I would be surprised. It’s the most attended screening I can remember since Avengers: Endgame and there was a massive queue in the foyer which is something I don't remember the last time I saw that. This was an impressive achievement for a documentary and shows that people are still willing to venture out of the cinema and not just enjoy it on streaming.  

The documentary uses footage shot of his Las Vegas residency with other archival footage to tell a story of Elvis’ life in the military and in the movies. There was one clip of a film where he is starring opposite a guy dressed as a dog. I never wanted to see an Elvis film so badly. The performances and songs were all really good and made me appreciate what a great performer he was. He comments that people can listen to someone’s albums and enjoy them but when they pay to come an see a concert they want to experience it so you have to put on a on a show for them. It’s a great attitude to have.

There was a moment which seemed quite relevant to today and that is the issue of entertainers and he is asked at one point to comment about something and he responds by saying he will keep his opinions to himself cause he’s there to entertain and it is refreshing to hear that take cause we can’t go one awards ceremony without some millionaire popstar lecturing us on their opinions. 

I think that what a documentary should do especially if you are unfamiliar with the subject matter is show what type of person someone is and I think that this documentary does that. Elvis comes across as someone who loves the music, loves to perform but doesn't take himself too seriously that he can’t have a funny moment every so often. When the film ended, there was a thunderous round of applause and I could understand why. This was an amazing 100 minute documentary and it made a non-Elvis fan join in. The only real issue I had was that I wish it had been longer. I felt like it could have been another 30 minutes longer at least and its been a while since I have thought that. 

This is currently my favourite film of the year. I thought that it was fun to watch and it works for people who are Elvis fans and those that are not. I thought that I might like this but I wasn't expecting it to have the effect on me that it did. This documentary shows the reason why going to the cinema is still important. Had I watched this at home I would have enjoyed it but I know for a fact that it wouldn’t have had the same impact that it did end up having sitting in a room with about 300 other people. Definitely worth your time.

Whistle (2025)

 Is it possible for the guy who directed one of the dullest horror films ever to direct a good horror film? Well The Nun was awful on many levels so the chances of Whistle being worse was quite remote. The set up of the film is that Dafne Keen tries to pull off being a high school student and after arriving at her new high school goes to her locker which they haven’t bothered to clear out beforehand and she finds the titular whilst and after Nick Frost dies moments after trying to flog it on the antiques version of eBay the new friends that Chrys has befriended blow the whilst and death is now following them. 

The idea that when we are born our death is also born is kind of a neat idea although the film can’t help itself by being stupid and goes on to say that if we live to be 90, death will spend 90 years finding you and if you blow the whistle it finds you quicker.

Dafne Keen is perfectly fine as Chrys. She has a backstory where she is moving in with her aunt after she took drugs and killed her father. We never see the aunt or any adults really with the exception of Dean’s parents for about 30 seconds. Keen does well as the lead although I do think she just about gets away with being a High School student. The romance between Chrys and Ellie was one of the more interesting aspects of the two characters.

Nick Frost pops at the beginning and it would have been nice to have him do something more than deliver some exposition and then become greedy. Michelle Fairley’s role as Ivy is literally nothing more than exposition. She only has two scenes but they do nothing other than tell Chrys and Ellie what’s going on. She conveniently tells them how to cheat death and that is basically sacrificing someone else in their place. Even after telling them this they have to have it spelt out to them.

You would think that death would be the villain but they decided to introduce Noah (played by Percy Haynes White from Wednesday) who basically gives drugs to the kids from one of them overdosed so that makes him the bad guy and is the obvious choice for the sacrificing part but our scooby gang are so good that they don't want to go through with it even though he is loathsome.. The film gets around this by pretty much forcing  the situation so we get a satisfactory ending but the film ends with the most predictable sequel-bait ending where the pot containing the whistle has found its way back inside the locker. I’m not sure why the whistle doesn't try and find a new location but I suppose that doesn't really matter cause I am highly doubtful that we are going to get a sequel.

The deaths are quite good, especially Dean’s but that might be because he was very annoying and playing the typical irritating sports guy. Rel’s death was quite gory and I was surprised that it was a 15 because 10 years ago this would have received an 18 certificate but I think they probably got away with it because there is a surprisingly gory film and it seemed like the blood was real and no CGI blood which a lot of horror films seem to rely on.

I had very low expectations of Whistle and I have to say they were met. It’s nowhere near as bad as Return to Silent Hill because at least the film made sense but this will only really please people who want to stick on a dumb horror film on a Friday night when they don't have to pay any attention. It is neither terrible nor any good so average is probably the best word to use.

Crime 101 (2026)

 Crime 101 sees Chris Hemsworth play Mike who is a thief who after robbing people decides to plan his final score and encounters an insurance broker wanting out after being overlooked for promotion and the Incredible Hulk playing detective in pursuit. 

The first thing to note is that the cast is pretty impressive. Not quite sure when there was a film with this high calibre of actors in it. It’s nice to see Chris Hemsworth do something that plays in a cinema and isn’t Thor. I’ve seen plenty of non-Thor things but this is the first at the cinema that hasn’t seen him throw a hammer around. I quite liked his performance as Mike. He seems to want to have a quieter life but there is a part that seems like a pipe dream because he is too good at what he does. Mark Ruffalo plays Lou who is the cop who is after the 101 Thief and isn’t taken very seriously by pretty much anybody and even his wife leaves him. They do a thing later on where it's implied that Lou and Sharon have feelings for one another but it never really goes anywhere.

Halle Berry plays Sharon who is the Vice-President of the insurance company who is overlooked to be made a partner and decides to help Mike before getting an attack of conscience. It’s good to see Berry in a film again as it has felt like a long time since I can remember seeing her in a big film. Sharon isn’t the best written character but Berry knows how to make this character seem more interesting that she actually is (Storm in the X-Men film). Barry Keoghan plays Ormon who is someone that is working with Nick Nolte’s character. The thing about Keoghan is that he is very good in playing someone that isn’t full blown unhinged but enough to make him interesting. It’s a fairly 2 dimensional character but Keoghan squeezes everything out of the role.

Nick Nolte ‘stars’ in the film but that amounts to a couple of scenes where he is sitting down, mumbles and after a scene with Orion he is never seen, heard or referenced again. Not sure if there was meant to be more from him but given how hard it was to hear him talk it wouldn’t surprise me if they decided to cut their losses and just have him dropped from the film.

Despite the stellar cast which sees Thor reunite with Hulk, the film struggled with making the plot work. It really doesn't need to be 2 hours and 20 minutes. The only reason that it ended up being so long (I think) is that the film thinks it is Heat or French Connection but it really isn't. The film makes use of its star names to try and get you to the end and I think for that reason alone I was never bored.

The film probably wont win any awards for originality and its going to struggle to be remembered at the end of the year but its worth seeing for the star cast who are doing the best with a film that thinks it is Ocean’s Eleven but doesn't quite have the flair to pull it off. 

There Will Be Blood (2007)

Sometimes there are films that I get horribly wrong with the first viewing. One such film is The Witch and the other is this film. I watched about 20 minutes and got bored so I stopped it. I decided years later to rewatch it and I couldn’t believe how wrong I was. This film is as close to a masterpiece as it's possible to get. With One Battle After Another in the running to win all the big awards, it seemed like a good time to visit the cinema and rewatch this film but see it on the big screen for the first time.

Having recently started to appreciate music scores, I think that Jonny Greenwood’s score takes a great film and makes it even better. This is how I felt with the Sinners score. The score along with several shots of vast emptiness create a feeling that words never could. This is a great example of all areas of a film coming together to make something feel epic.  The final scene with Daniel Day Lewis and Paul Dano is one of the best final scenes that I have ever seen. It starts off seemingly pleasant enough but then ends with Daniel bashing Eli’s head in with a ten-pin and then tells the butler that ‘he’s done’. Not too long ago, Quentin Tarantino said not nice things about Paul Dano and didn’t seem to rate him as an actor and I don't know what bump to the head that Tarantino took but you cannot seriously watch this film and think Dano is a bad actor. There are moments where his performance could tip over to comedy but I think the skill that Dano has is to keep from tipping over. It’s hard to find a fault in Daniel Day Lewis’ performance and to be honest there isn’t one. There is a reason he has won so many Oscars and it's because he knows how to immerse himself in a role. I don't think it's as good or as menacing as the one from Gangs of New York but in this film it's a great performance.

The only thing that spoiled this screening was the fact that a couple got up and walked out. This is the third time this year that I have witnessed people getting up and leaving. I would expect people to have watched this film before and know that the film is very slow paced and yet this didn’t stop them from buying a ticket. 

If you dont like slow films that then this film would feel like torture especially as it runs at 158 minutes but if you dont mind things unwinding slowly and methiocically then I encourage you to watch it whenever you can. As I said this is a masterpiece and shows that you don't need to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to make something epic. Just have a story that is told well and actors that do the screenplay justice.