The Lady in the Van (2015) ★★★★☆

Fans mourning the loss of Downton Abbey will thoroughly enjoy Smith’s performance. This year’s dose of Alan Bennett comes in the form of an adaptation of his West End play, The Lady In The Van. A peculiar period in Bennett’s (Alex Jennings) life is told, when an elderly woman (Maggie Smith) decides to park herself in…

Black Mass (2015) ★★★★☆

Depp at his most dismal.  Based on a true story, Black Mass looks back upon the crimes of one of the FBI’s most wanted, James “Whitey” Bulger (Johnny Depp) in South Boston, 1975. John Connolly (Joel Edgerton), an old friend, appears to take an interest in him, but not to take him down. Told in a…

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 (2015) ★★★☆☆

(Does contain mild spoilers!) The rotten apple of the bunch.  Picking up almost immediately from the last scenes of Mockingjay: Part 1, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) is rescued from the Capitol, though brainwashed, as proved after attempting to murder Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence). Meanwhile, Gale is wasting no time in trying to win Katniss back. The fight continues, though Katniss has something different in…

Dope (2015) ★★★★☆

The title says it all.  Straight-A student, Malcolm (Shameik Moore) is brought up in a town otherwise known as ‘the bottom’. Obsessed with 90’s hip hop, Malcolm is also part of a band with his friends, Jib (Tony Revolori), and Diggy (Kiersey Clemons). Especially applying for Harvard, it is proving impossible for him to keep his grades on track when there…

Crimson Peak (2015) ★★★★☆

A bloody masterpiece.  From the weird and wonderful director of Pan’s Labyrinth, Guillermo Del Toro returns with a Victorian extravaganza that you simply do not want to miss! Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska), wishes to pursue writing, of ghost stories in particular. Wait, not ghost stories, but stories that feature ghosts in them…Edith is only familiar with spirits herself, as she is visited…

Top Twenty: Disney Animation films

Before I begin, I have a bone to pick with Disney. You could say my faith in the company isn’t so strong, momentarily. The continuous throwing in of live-actions of which don’t fall beyond mediocre, have become almost unsightly. Decent hits, such as Frozen, are placed only few and far between. What happened to the good old hand-drawn classics?…

Zero Dark Thirty (2012) ★★★★★

The Hunt is on…  With a title meaning “30 minutes past midnight”, Zero Dark Thirty retells the well-known events of the greatest Manhunt in history – Osama Bin Laden. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), the film covers when Bin Laden claimed to be behind the tragedy of 9/11. The US government, including young agent, Maya (Jessica Chastain) along…

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015) ★★★★☆

What The Fault in Our Stars failed to become.  Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, socially awkward teenager, Greg (Thomas Mann), has one main purpose in high school – to be nothing more than civil to anyone. Earl (RJ Cyler) is the only person whom Greg spends time with, though still refuses to call a friend, and instead labels…

Gran Torino (2008) ★★★★☆

“Ever notice how you come across somebody once in a while you shouldn’t have messed with? That’s me.”  Set in Michigan, Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood), a grumpy Korean War veteran, battles with the thought of adjusting to life after his beloved wife’s passing. Walt’s old school attitude complicates a broken relationship with his alienated son Mitch (Brian…

Everest (2015) ★★★☆☆

Takes far too long to find a pulse.  In the year of 1996, a group of individuals, guided by their leader, Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) have come to push themselves to their limits as they work as a team in attempt to climb the summit of Mount Everest. Though, not everybody will be physically and emotionally up for…