Unknown Origins, David Galan Galindo‘s first solo feature as director (he previously helmed one of the sections of portmanteau film Al Final Todos Mueren) brings the world of comic book fandom to the serial killer genre…
Brian Connor
Brian Connor
Originally from Newcastle Upon Tyne but a long-term resident of Alicante, Spain, Brian likes his music loud, his beer cold and his heroes walking away from explosions in slow motion.
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DocumentaryReviews
‘Boys State’ is a Fascinating Look at a Very American Event
by Brian Connorby Brian Connor“The desire to be a politician should bar you for life from ever being one.” – Billy Connolly Since 1935, The American Legion has sponsored Boys State (and Girls State, which is somehow a separated…
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Promising to do for Airbnb what Unfriended did for Skype, The Rental takes two genre types and blends them to chilling effect. Two couples, comprised of Silicon Valley tech-bro Charlie (Dan Stevens) and his partner…
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Clearing up after a film shoot, Day (Theeradej Wongpuapan) takes a break to float in a 6-meter deep pool on an inflatable. Unfortunately, it’s a slowly draining pool and after a little nap, he wakes…
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For a country with a population of only five million people, Norway punches above its weight in the world of scary movies. Maybe it’s the unfathomable depths of the fjords, maybe it’s the long dark…
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Streaming Action/AdventureStreaming Reviews
‘The Old Guard’ Kicks Ass and Should Make Names
by Brian Connorby Brian ConnorNetflix’s record with original Hollywood action movies is patchy at best. When the so-so Extraction is among the finer examples of their big-name blockbusters, there’s something not working. With The Old Guard, though, they might hopefully…
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HorrorReviews
‘The Beach House’ is a Great Place to Stay for Horror Fans
by Brian Connorby Brian ConnorYoung couple Emily and Randall (Liana Liberato and Noah Le Gros) travel to a getaway beach house for a weekend of relaxation. On arrival, they find the beach house double-booked with an older couple Jane…
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Streaming DramaStreaming Reviews
Adú Brings an Intelligent View to a Complex Situation
by Brian Connorby Brian ConnorAdú is director Salvador Calvo’s sophomore feature and is a big step up from the solid 1898: Our Last Men In The Philipines. It covers three lightly interconnected stories that take place across Africa. In…
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Streaming ComedyStreaming Reviews
‘Feel the Beat’ (and All the Feelings)
by Brian Connorby Brian ConnorLooking for a cinematic pick me up? Feel The Beat throws a bunch of feel-good genres into a blender, and delivers 90 minutes that should put a smile on 99% of faces. (There’s just no…
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Streaming Action/AdventureStreaming Reviews
‘The Last Days Of American Crime’ Is a Joyless Ordeal
by Brian Connorby Brian ConnorIn a (slightly more) dystopian near-future, The USA is preparing to turn on the ‘American Peace Initiative’, a signal that acts as “a synaptic dampener making it impossible for a person to carry out an…
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Retrospectives
20 Years On, Somehow Limp Bizkit Isn’t The Worst Part of ‘Mission: Impossible 2’
by Brian Connorby Brian ConnorTwo decades on, the after-effects of Mission: Impossible 2 are much stronger for other franchises than the Mission: Impossible franchise itself. M: I-2 villain Dougray Scott was famously lined up to take the role of Wolverine…
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How To Build A Girl is based on the semi-autobiographical novel by English journalist and broadcaster Caitlin Moran. As a woman who was writing for a national music magazine at 16 and writing for The Times…
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Streaming ReviewsStreaming Thriller
‘The Legacy Of The Bones’ Continues the Baztan Trilogy with Skill and Precision
by Brian Connorby Brian ConnorThe Baztan Trilogy by Dolores Redondo has sold over a million copies worldwide and has been translated into 31 languages so far. It was inevitable the three stories would be adapted for TV or film.…
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Streaming ReviewsStreaming Romance
‘Love. Wedding. Repeat’…Sigh, Yawn, Frown
by Brian Connorby Brian ConnorRomcoms generally exist in a world unlike ours. That’s to be expected, people like a bit of escapism. There’s nothing wrong with that. Especially at the moment, 90 minutes in a world of charming, attractive,…
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Streaming ReviewsStreaming Thriller
Netflix’s ‘The Occupant’ is an Uncommonly Intelligent, Gripping Thriller
by Brian Connorby Brian ConnorAfter last week’s The Platform, Netflix continues something of a roll for Spanish releases with David and Àlex Pastor’s The Occupant, a viscerally dark meditation on masculinity and status in an increasingly precarious world. (And…
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Streaming ReviewsStreaming Romance
‘To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You’…P.P.S., It’s Still A Great Ensemble
by Brian Connorby Brian ConnorTo All the Boys I Loved Before was one of Netflix’s more notable successes. Released to little fanfare in the middle of summer, it took off in a big way. It sits at 97% fresh…
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Streaming Action/AdventureStreaming Reviews
‘6 Underground’ Makes a Late Bid For Worst Film of The Decade
by Brian Connorby Brian ConnorImagine a world where billionaires decided who ran countries. Where Elon Musk could pay for a death squad to kill Bashar al-Assad and install whoever he wanted in his place. Where Mark Zuckerberg could send…
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Streaming ReviewsStreaming Romance
‘A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby’ is Too Stupid to Handle
by Brian Connorby Brian ConnorWhen Netflix released the first A Christmas Prince, its success seemed to take even the streaming giant itself by surprise. To the 53 people who've watched A Christmas Prince every day for the past 18…
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Streaming DramaStreaming Reviews
‘American Son’ Paints In Broad Strokes Of Black And White
by Brian Connorby Brian ConnorAmerican Son is listed by Netflix as a “Television Event” which feels like a pre-emptive defense about its un-cinematic look. Adapted from writer Christopher Demos-Brown‘s own play, the film takes place entirely within a Miami police station…
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Streaming DramaStreaming Reviews
F Is For ‘Fractured’ (and That’s Being Generous)
by Brian Connorby Brian ConnorFractured is from the writer of such cinematic milestones as Ballistic: Ecks vs Sever, Wrong Turn 5, and The Marine 4, which is the third sequel to a movie starring a wrestler that isn’t The Rock, and doesn’t…
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Streaming HorrorStreaming Reviews
‘In The Tall Grass’ Starts Spooktober Off Nicely
by Brian Connorby Brian ConnorFrom The Mind Of Stephen King… …is no guarantee of cinematic quality. For every Stand By Me or Misery, there’s a Pet Sematary or /shudders Maximum Overdrive. So where does this adaptation of King and Joe Hill’s In The…
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Streaming ReviewsStreaming Romance
Netflix Does Hallmark in ‘Falling Inn Love’
by Brian Connorby Brian ConnorIn July, Netflix released Secret Obsession, the streaming service’s take on a Lifetime movie. It….did not go well. The cast was weak, the story was not engaging, and it missed the whole point of a good…
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Streaming ReviewsStreaming Thriller
Film Review – The Red Sea Diving Resort (2019)
by Brian Connorby Brian ConnorNetflix can be a new route for films to reach an audience, a new distributor for good work that might not have the commercial pull to reach a deserved level of people in cinemas. Too…
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Streaming ReviewsStreaming Science Fiction
Film Review – See You Yesterday (2019)
by Brian Connorby Brian ConnorWhen a time travel movie actively courts Back To The Future comparisons, then either the makers know they have something special or they’re horribly deluded. Fortunately, See You Yesterday is the former. With Spike Lee acting as a…
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Streaming ComedyStreaming Reviews
Film Review – Despite Everything (2019)
by Brian Connorby Brian ConnorIt’s always worth noting what a new Netflix film means in the larger scope of the company. With the service essentially at saturation levels here in the U.S., the only way to expand is through…
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With the remake of Pet Sematary in cinemas, it’s more than appropriate to take a look at the original film version on its 30th anniversary. In case you’ve forgotten, Doctor Louis Creed, and his family — his…