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ETC.inema - Film Reviews, Northampton (2025)

01/02/2024

MONTHLY LOOKBACK:

Here are the big reviews of January.

What was your favourite film of last month?

Comment below! 🍿

22/01/2024

POOR THINGS (2023) Review 👗🧟‍♀️ 📕

Poor Things has to be seen to be believed. It is , in my opinion, one of the most boldly unique and unapologetically untamed and untampered pieces of creative art put on screen in years.

A completely bonkers but utterly profound piece. It is an existential odyssey of the human experience through the lens of s*x and conformity. Emma Stone gives a career defining performance as the living experiment Bella Baxter; a performance so perfectly tuned that you watch her gradually transform from pure baby-minded naivety to self-discovered learned woman. It is, perhaps, the most definitive female lead performance.

Completely unhinged and full of uncomfortable, visceral and boundary-pushing scenes of debauchery and absurdity. Lanthimos has crafted a piece of absurdist art that is also entirely profound.

Read the full review on my Letterboxd Profile:

https://boxd.it/5A3jvR

Have you seen Poor Things? What did you think ? 💬

Comment below, like, share and follow me on Letterboxd ! 🍿

07/08/2023

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM 🐢 🥷 🪰 REVIEW:

Summer 2023 has proven that cinema is alive and well, despite the oncoming threats surrounding it.

Right now you can see such a wide array of blockbuster entertainment, and the kicker is ; they’re all good movies!

This new TMNT flick is the perfect film to take the kids to this summer, a funny and energetic new take on a classic series. Equally entertaining for new fans and old alike. Mutant Mayhem modernises the Turtles perfectly for the current teenager. Thanks to a fantastic main voice cast of real teenagers with real chemistry- the four brothers feel so relatable and believable. It works better than any previous iteration has managed.

Flying by at a sweet 90 minute run time (which is something to be grateful for these days)- the film never stops and is as brisk and fun as you’d need from a Nickelodeon-produced feature film.

What makes it worthwhile is that it actually has a well-written and well-rounded heart. The emotional core of story is what will make it memorable. For the first time in a long time I cared about Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Raphael and Donatello as characters.

Mutant Mayhem nails the tone, nails the characters, and modernises them in a pretty spot-on way. With that fresh Spiderverse animation style it could easily feel derivative. But instead; it feels purposefully less-refined than Spiderverse. Not afraid to be a bit uglier, a bit more monstrous. It works well.

The soundtrack is killer, the humour is tight, and all in all it’s a perfectly entertaining film that is fun for all ages.

There’s so much to see at the movies this summer. Go see em all. There’s something for everyone.

Have you seen Ninja Turtles ?
What did you think?
Comment below, like, share and follow me on Letterboxd! 🍿

26/07/2023

OPPENHEIMER 💣 🧪 👨‍⚖️ REVIEW:

What makes a masterpiece?

Like the atomic bomb itself, for a film to be a masterpiece requires a cumulation of intricate and complex achievements. Every single element has to be working in tandem to its full potential in order to achieve that reaction. The complex miracle.

For me, Oppenheimer is a masterpiece. It’s a combination of efforts. Every single element behind this film is working a high standard. Both cast and crew are in unison, giving their all (and for many their career best).

It boasts this generation’s most impressive ensemble cast of talent. All bringing their A-game whether they have 50 minutes to shine, or 50 seconds. Every performer is finely tuned.

Nolan himself is at the top of his game, directing a clear passion project with aplomb. His signature skills of tension building and cross-cutting on full display and turned up to the max. His commitment to in-camera effects in an age of AI and CG, proof that it’s still possible to make practical look beautiful. This film is his magnum opus, and cements him as one the all-time greats.

Ludwig Goransson’s harrowing and beautiful score is omnipresent- and certain tracks will become iconic within modern cinematic scoring. Paired with some incredible sound design, particularly in any of Nolan’s breakout intense moments. Moments of Robert’s nightmarish realisation and doubts, paired with haunting sounds, make for some unforgettable scenes.

This 3 hour biopic feels so massive, yet deals with moments and conversations that feel simultaneously massive in scale, and small in reality.

Cillian Murphy captures a near impossible portrait of a man who’s brilliance is but the surface of a complex iceberg. His conflict, his extreme moral doubt. A situation none of us can ever imagine feeling ourselves. What if we created the weapon that killed thousands? It’s all captured in his eyes rather than his performance of words. A fantastic performance.

Robert Downey Jr. At his most serious and transformative, perfectly embodying the snide and calculating game of US wartime politics. In the film’s final act he soars as you see the layers peel away. A superbly committed performance of a real-life antagonist.

It’s been a while since a film has moved me and stirred me the way this has. Nolan is a personal favourite auteur of mine, and this has all the makings of his crowning achievement.

A couple of sequences in particular will stick in my brain as some of the most effective combinations of direction, performance, sound, score and editing in modern cinematic history. The Trinity test and Oppenheimer’s reception after the bombing of Japan. Two sequences that prove the heights at which cinema can achieve.

This is a film for the ages. It’s designed for the big screen. It will be remembered, and like the titular man himself; it will be talked about for years to come.

Have you seen Oppenheimer? What did you think?

Comment below, like, share and follow me on Letterboxd! 🍿

24/07/2023

BARBIE 💓👠🛼 REVIEW:

Barbie lives up to a momentous marketing campaign and delivers a film that will surely become iconic in the modern history of Hollywood.

Greta Gerwig has crafted a definitive feminist think-piece. To call it merely feminist does it a disservice however; as it’s more of a macro-view on the female existence and its yin and yang relationship with masculinity. Does it wear its messages firmly on its fashionable sleeves? Perhaps, but that’s the point.

It’s a wildly enjoyable piece of film. Side splittingly funny with its dry sardonic exploration of inequality; and delivering an in depth look on both the s*xes and their social constructs.

Read the Full Review on my Letterboxd Profile:

https://boxd.it/4zjg3l

Have you seen Barbie? What did you think?
Comment below, like, share and follow me on Letterboxd 🍿

11/07/2023

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE- DEAD RECKONING: PART ONE 💻 🚂 🚙 REVIEW:

Mission Impossible 7, or Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One has a LOT to live up to. Its predecessor, the sixth in the long-running action franchise, was the standout action blockbuster of the 2010s. It perfectly heightened everything that had came before. Most franchises would absolutely fumble the next step. I’m delighted to report that Tom Cruise does not miss that mark.

While MI7 is not the perfect action movie that Fallout was, it proves that this series is not lightning in a bottle. It’s a sure fire success strategy for entertainment value . Compared to other recent action sequels; MI7 proves you can keep these things going as long as you want provided you have the creativity and pure mad-cap bravery to keep pushing like Cruise does.

Like I said it’s not perfect. The central plot involves a pretty convoluted Macguffin device; with a slightly over-the-top sense of dramatism. It’s not as gripping as the previous films focus on brute strength vs emotional humility as embodied in Cavill v Cruise. This time it’s man vs ghost. Man vs machine. While it may seem silly it’s actually quite relevant with its AI themed danger.

There’s sometimes a few too many things going on, and a few too many character to keep track of (as is customary with a franchise 7 movies in). Unlike a Fast and Furious 10 however; Mission Impossible 7 seems to have planned out a reason for every one of these characters to figure into the narrative importantly. Comebacks aren’t just cameos- they’re integral. Henry Czerny’s slippery Kitteridge makes a 30-year return but not for a wink-and-nudge ; instead as a major player in the new game at hand.

Any little nitpicks that may dare to peek over the top of the glossy, exciting action flick are completely squashed and deterred by the sheer entertainment of this franchise’s action set-pieces.

It’s a pulpy spy series-turned-modern blockbuster done right. The 60s sensibility of cliffhangers and gasp-enducing twists and turns met with the big budget production value of a mega movie.

The unexpected treat with this 7th instalment is that it feels most spiritually aligned to the very first movie from 1996. Dead Reckoning feels like the perfect bridge between that first film’s simple spy thriller and the massive stunt-based action franchise it has become. It perfectly harkens back to visual motifs and characters from that original outing in a way that can’t be purely coincidental.

The cinematography seems desperate to echo Brian De Palma’s focus on paranoia, trust and suspicion. It all makes for a pretty solid tie between the franchise’s past and present.

The final 30 minutes of Dead Reckoning Part One are pure Mission Impossible brilliance; a sequence that alleviates any doubts you may have had about this never-waning series of fun. Cruise cannot be beat when it comes to chair-gripping thrills and this finale is no exception, standing toe-to-toe with the unforgettable third act of Fallout.

When your white-knuckled watching Ethan Hunt narrowly avoid death, you forget all about the negatives. The complicated exposition, slightly disappointing villain, overstuffed moments. They no longer matter. Because when these movies kick into fifth gear- they fly.

Movies are back, and once again it’s that crazy fearless Scientologist at the forefront. You can’t help but be in awe of it. The summer of 2023 took a while to get going at the cinema, but it’s definitely here now.

8/10

Have you seen MI7 ? What did you think?

Comment below, like, share and follow me on Letterboxd! 🍿

20/06/2023

EXTRACTION 2 🔫🚞🚁 REVIEW:

Extraction 2 is better than a Netflix original action sequel has any right to be.

A follow up to the surprise COVID-era hit; I must admit the first film’s memorability had faded on me.

I remembered the action being the standout part, and that Chris Hemsworth’s gruff hero was a supportable, if slightly forgettable lead.

This sequel is a step up in pretty much every way. It confounds expectation. It has all the hallmarks of a generic modern action film. A basic setup involving a rescue mission in a lawless European state, a cast of flimsy but likeable characters, and gruff eastern villains with all the cliches; mysterious scars, strong family values and religious symbolism.

What follows is one of the years biggest surprise hits. There’s nothing forgettable about Extraction 2. It’s got some of the most entertaining and state of the art action choreography in the business. While it never reaches John Wick’s levels of character and story, Extraction can stand toe to toe when the punches are being thrown.

Read the full review on my Letterboxd Profile:

https://boxd.it/4p85Rd

Have you seen Extraction 2? What did you think?

Comment below, like, share and follow me on Letterboxd! 🍿

15/06/2023

THE FLASH ⚡️🦸‍♂️ 🕰️ REVIEW:

The Flash is a movie of two halves. The first is a real pleasant surprise. A fun, energetic Flash movie set within the now dormant post-Snyderverse. Complete with its little appearence from justice League characters; the more bright and unapologetically comic-book tone, paired with a much more colourful costume, makes for the ideal solo film for Miller’s often previously divisive portrayal of Barry Allen.

Aside from the personal baggage outside of acting; Miller’s Flash has never truly felt like Allen. This film opens with a spark of hope as the hero finally feels like he’s becoming the Flash we all know and love.

What makes it so entertaining is both a jovial sense of heroism (saving screaming civilians from a far-fetched hospital explosion in a sequence that feels like it’s straight out of a Sam Raimi Spider-Man film), its more comedic use of oddball humour, and a really engaging emotional impetus for the plot involving Barry’s tragic past. While hinted at in previous films; this full exploration of the loss of Barry’s mother and his father’s wrongful imprisonment add a really heartfelt touch and motivation to the narrative.

Read the full review on my Letterboxd Profile:

https://boxd.it/4nzMDf

Have you seen The Flash?
What did you think?

Comment below, like, share and follow me on Letterboxd! 🍿

05/06/2023

SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE 🕷️ 🦸‍♂️ 🧬 REVIEW:

The animated films lead the way in 2023.

Between Puss in Boots 2 and this it’s becoming increasingly clear that the animation medium has so much more to give if its handled properly. While other companies are turning their back on their animated roots, Sony is doing its best work with it.

Spiderverse 2 had a LOT to live up to. The standout surprise hit of 2018, and a film that reinvigorated animated films for a generation. Every film has wanted to tap into the Spiderverse style since. The focus on style and hyper-realism. The pastiche homages to comic book lines and illustrations. Now the challenge was to expand on the origin story and give audiences a mature and solid sequel.

Spiderverse 2 does more than that. It gives the animation genre its very own perfect sequel. Empire Strikes Back, Godfather Part II, The Dark Knight, Across the Spiderverse. The madmen actually did it.

Read the full review on my Letterboxd Profile:

https://boxd.it/4k09TB

Have you seen Spiderverse 2? What did you think?

Comment below, like, share and follow me on Letterboxd! 🍿

02/06/2023

MAY MONTHLY LOOKBACK / JUNE FLASHFORWARD

Didn’t manage to get out to every release this month as I’ve been under the weather, but nonetheless;

What was your favourite film of May, and what are you most looking forward to in June? 🍿🍿🍿

24/05/2023

ARE YOU THERE GOD? ITS ME, MARGARET 🙏🏻 👧 💋 REVIEW

A beloved book in the US: this story is not one that should remotely relate to me; a 20-something male in the UK.
Nonetheless I went to see it as I’ve heard good things.

AYTGIMM (not the catchiest acronym) is a really sweet and sincere coming-of-age tale from sophomore director Kelly Fremon Craig. Taking the novels original early 70s aesthetic and translating it honestly onto the big screen; the film is an exercise in unity between talented director and talented cast.

Read the full review over on my Letterboxd Profile: https://boxd.it/4hOfE1

Have you seen Are you there God? What did you think?

Comment below, like, share and follow me on Letterboxd! 🍿

19/05/2023

FAST X 🏎️💣💥 REVIEW:

Fast X either knows exactly what it is, or it’s the best unintentional action-comedy of the 2020s.

Ten movies (11 if you count Hobbs and Shaw) into the franchise; you’ve already seen the shark jumped innumerable times by now. Whether it was driving lambos between skyscrapers, fighting nuclear submarines in sports cars, or going supercharged into space: this franchise is beyond reality now.

Fast X is no different. What makes this so bizarrely fun is the sheer commitment to the franchise canon. The relentless and ridiculous amount of characters that show up in this 2.5 hour flick is hard to quantify. There are half a dozen former villains, a handful of formerly-dead former allies and a NOS-tank full of extra surprise cameos. If you haven’t seen the other 9 you stand no chance.

It’s perhaps the least accessible action film for general audiences since Avengers: Endgame. But if you like Fast and Furious and its ridiculous gravity-defying physics; you’re in for a fun new ride.

Read the full review on my Letterboxd Profile:

https://boxd.it/4gwkGB

Have you seen Fast X? What did you think?
Comment below, like, share and follow me on Letterboxd! 🍿

ETC.inema - Film Reviews

01/02/2024

22/01/2024

07/08/2023

26/07/2023

24/07/2023

11/07/2023

20/06/2023

15/06/2023

05/06/2023

02/06/2023

24/05/2023

19/05/2023

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