Yes, it’s long, but the endless sewing and rate negotiations do give a sense of what life is like for the people working in the clothing workshops in Zhejiang. It will make you look differently at any Chinese-made clothing you have in your wardrobe! ★★★★☆

It has dark and hilarious moments, but never really coheres as a satisfying film. ★★★☆☆

Great script, impeccably made, and full of good performances. Spielberg at his best. ★★★★★

The dubbing is distracting, yes, but the story and cinematography are superb. Clint Eastwood is as good as he ever was, but even more credit should be given to Eli Wallace for his comic but believable role as Tuco. ★★★★★

A gripping thriller about a serial killer in a small town in Korea in the 1980s. The incompetence and violence of the local police is both hilarious and awful, and the descent of the big city Seoul cop to their level handled convincingly. The 80s aesthetic and locations are also great. This is superb. ★★★★★

After the non-character that Ethan Hunt was in the first two movies, Tom Cruise finally realizes he should turn on the charm and make us like the protagonist. With that improvement together with the nastiness of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s performance, this Mission Impossible succeeds. ★★★★☆

It’s a good film with some unique action and moments of beautiful cinematography. Plot, script, and acting are more workmanlike. A solid B-movie. ★★★☆☆

A clever script, fantastic acting from all the leads, and great cinematography. This is an absolutely outstanding modern western. ★★★★★

Gloriously fun, with continued brilliance of animation and music. ★★★★☆

Not quite Airplane! but there’s still enough ridiculous jokes to make this extremely (re)watchable. ★★★★☆

A melodramatic zombie flick that is fine but fails to surprise. ★★★☆☆

It’s not Fury Road but still a hugely enjoyable action spectacle. ★★★★☆

A dull plot, and Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt is still a non-character, but John Woo’s fun action choreography and stylistic touches elevates this into an entertaining action oddity. ★★★★☆

It’s surprising how unlikeable Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt is in this one, but it’s a highly-effective spy thriller. ★★★★☆

Cate Blanchett’s performance as Tár is phenomenal. The film also allows us to believe in Tár’s brilliance at the same time as loathing her disregard for everyone around her. A great film. ★★★★★

Less of a horror and more of a comedy, but better for it. It reminds me of Gremlins in some ways, but never reaches the darkness or madness that made that film so entertaining. A fun watch nevertheless.★★★☆☆

What begins as a stylishly-shot detective mystery slides into hallucination and confusion as the detective fails to make proper sense of 1990s China. Director Wei Shujun 魏书钧 clearly intended to leave the puzzle unsolved and it was never dull watching Zhu Yilong 朱一龙, though some might find it all a little portentous.★★★★☆

The plot is standard anti-imperialist fare, but the fighting is exceptional. Jackie Chan at his physical best: lightning-fast, acrobatic, and funny. Special mention also to Anita Mui, who is hilarious as Fei-Hong’s stepmother. ★★★★☆

It’s too long, the plot is silly, and the dialogue is awful, but it’s got a great final third. Some very good work also by Lorne Balfe on the score. ★★★★☆

Young drummer Andrew believes he can be a truly great jazz drummer; bandleader Fletcher believes that verbal and emotional abuse is necessary to elevate students beyond mediocrity. It is supposed to be about ‘art’ and the ‘artist’ but it is so po-faced about artistry that you can’t help but begin to doubt. Is all the effort worth it for a slightly different version of “Caravan”? Should I be impressed at the end or just sad that Andrew is so needy that he’ll perform for his abuser? Or am I just not sophisticated enough to understand the greatness of the solo?

I could read the film as an indictment of sad people trapped in jazz history’s shadow, but then in La La Land the director has another jazz obsessive stuck in a rut we are supposed to sympathize with. Does Chazelle really think these are underappreciated geniuses? Does he think he is an underappreciated genius? I should try Babylon to see for sure, I suppose. ★★★☆☆