Director: Aaron Sorkin
Starring: Mikey Madison, Jeremy Allen White, Wunmi Mosaku, Betty Gilpin, Billy Magnussen, Bill Burr, Jeremy Strong
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 112 mins

A follow-up to The Social Network, The Social Reckoning is a legal thriller that dramatises the 2021 Facebook leak by whistleblower Frances Haugen. It’s once again written by Aaron Sorkin, who also steps into the director’s chair, replacing David Fincher. While Sorkin’s a fine writer, he’s got a chequered history as a director – Molly’s Game was fine, The Trial of the Chicago 7 was very solid, but Being The Ricardos was terrible. Jeremy Strong replaces Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg, and the cast is lead by Anora‘s Mikey Madison as the whistleblower and Jeremy Allen White as Jeff Horwitz, the Wall Street Journal investigative journalist Frances talks to.

My expectations were low for The Social Reckoning and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this follow-up. It’s a completely different film to its predecessor, and the best way to consider this is as a companion piece – this leans far more into being a legal thriller than the original’s biographical drama framing. Sorkin spins a gripping yarn out of the fascinating data leak, and while the film would have been more timely if it had released a couple of years ago, it’s still an important story.

Mikey Madison’s magnetic as the intelligent, but social awkward data scientist. She shares an excellent chemistry with Jeremy Allen White as Horwitz, as the two continually try to break the ice – Horwitz’s tech knowledge is lacking, and Haugen needs to educate him in a way that doesn’t put her career at risk. There’s also a strong turn from Billy Magnussen as a snarly media relations executive for Facebook, who has to navigate Horwitz’s investigation. While Jeremy Strong is fine as the Goliath-like Mark Zuckerberg, he’s no Jesse Eisenberg and doesn’t have anywhere near as much charisma.

While The Social Reckoning is gripping, it could have really been something special with a more energetic director, such as Fincher. It’s competently shot by returning cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth, but it’s lacking in visual style and despite the large-scope story, it feels smaller in scale. The film unfolds in a non-linear narrative, but things like a timeline being portrayed on-screen when we’re shifting years, feel rather static.

One of the crucial ingredients that made The Social Network really sing was Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ pulsating electronic score. Here, they’re replaced by Alexandre Desplat – an excellent composer, but one faced with an impossible act to follow. He wisely doesn’t try to emulate them and some of the themes he’s concocted are excellent. However, the way in which the score is mixed into the film can sometimes be on the nose, and the score feels manipulative into how we’re supposed to feel in certain scenes.

While The Social Reckoning doesn’t quite reach the masterful heights of the original, it’s still a very reasonable legal thriller with an engaging script and some excellent performances. It’s a very solid follow-up that’s best viewed as a companion piece to The Social Network – there’s plenty to admire here.

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Starring: Tom Cruise, Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jesse Plemons
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 129 mins

Digger is the intriguing new big-budget Alejandro González Iñárritu film that sees the multiple Oscar-winning Mexican director pair with Tom Cruise and a star-studded cast for a satirical black comedy shot on VistaVision. Wearing rather a lot of prosthetics, Cruise plays an aging oil tycoon, who colludes with U.S. President Compson (John Goodman) to extract oil in Alaska and Greenland. Despite repeated warnings, Digger learns that one of his rigs has malfunctioned, and a sizeable ice shelf is hurtling its way towards Europe which will trigger environmental catastrophe, prompting him to very quickly meet with Compson and his staff to find a resolution.

The reception to Digger has been rather divisive, and this is a hard film to review because of several twists that have a fundamental effect on the story. I find myself mixed, erring towards being more negative than positive. This is a film that’s deliberately provocative, and while it has some admirable aspects, I found large portions of it a trudge. It reminded me of Dr Strangelove with elements of Don’t Look Up, the latter of which deals with similar themes with more profundity.

I’m generally not a fan of Tom Cruise, and his filmography is rather varied in quality – while I love Eyes Wide Shut, Collateral and Rain Man, he’s made than his fair share of films where I find him a smug screen presence. Cruise’s performance works here, and he conveys the absurdity of the wily oil tycoon with a real energy. It’s a shame he’s saddled with some rather indulgent dialogue, and a scene in which he delivers a monologue that some are touting as the film’s high point dragged in my view.

The always reliable John Goodman is the star of the show here though, with a very multi-layered character that demonstrates a lot of comedic chops. Jesse Plemons and Riz Ahmed are the other highlights, although I found Ahmed’s character often exhausting, and it’s a shame that Sandra Hüller and Michael Stuhlbarg get seriously short-changed with underdeveloped characters.

Outside of the performances, the film’s handsomely shot by Emmanuel Lubezki, who won an Oscar for his work on both Birdman and The Revenant. While Digger looks like an expensive film, there’s nothing here to rival the camera work of those films, be it Birdman‘s illusion of a single continuous shot or the tremendous opening battle of The Revenant. The production design is very admirable though, with the minutiae reminding me of a Wes Anderson film, and there’s an exceptional debut score by Cosmo Sheldrake, which does a lot of the heavy lifting.

Digger‘s biggest problem is ultimately its script and ideas – it often felt like an indulgence and it’s a film that’s very pleased with itself. The more I think about it, the more surface-level its ideas are. And it’s not a film that’s had much staying power, which is why I’m leaning more negative – I don’t see myself rushing to rewatch it. Iñárritu is a brilliant director and he really shines with his drama works. I’ve liked his satirical black comedies (Birdman, Bardo and now Digger) less, although this is a stronger film than Bardo, which I found a particular patience-testing exercise.

Director: Na Hong-jin
Starring: Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon, Taylor Russell, Cameron Britton, Alicia Vikander, Michael Fassbender
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 156 mins

Hope is South Korean director Na Hong-jin’s first film in a decade, who last made the excellent supernatural horror, The Wailing, in 2016. His latest is a creature feature (and that’s not a spoiler because the trailer gives the game away) and reportedly the biggest budget South Korean film ever. The film opens as police chief Ko Bum-seok (Hwang Jung-min) inspects a dead cow with some villagers, with the cow having some unusual wounds. Shortly after, more cattle and the farm’s owner are found slain with similar injuries, and he teams up with retired colonel Ahn Nak-yeon (Lee Sang-hee) to track it down.

The first 45 minutes of Hope are excellent – Na Hong-jin crafts a simmering tension with the mystery of what could possibly be going on with some grim imagery. Mid-way through a gonzo chase sequence, the director then chooses to reveal the horror that’s been causing these deaths, and you’ll either get on board with the film or you won’t. While it shifts down a gear from that tension-fuelled opening, I still found plenty to like and I could overlook the dreadful CGI because the film is so ambitious. Hope melds all kinds of tones, from the horror to some truly comic sequences, such as a graphic autopsy and an extended story from an eyewitness that involves diarrhoea. There’s also a very solid score by Michael Abels, Jordan Peele’s preferred composer and it’s beautifully shot by Parasite cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo.

Unfortunately, the film falls apart in the third act, where it reveals more about the entities behind these horrific acts and becomes less about the characters that we’ve followed for the past two hours. It also teases a possible franchise continuation, which I found quite wearing. On top of that, what starts as a thrilling action sequence in the forest that then turns into a car chase becomes quite wearing at its climax because it’s overlong.

Hope is an odd film – it starts off brilliantly, then decides to reveal its hand which takes away some of the mystery, although that’s offset by some high-octane action sequences, arresting cinematography and moments of comedy, only to then completely fall apart in the final act. And that misguided final act really is a chore to sit through and the idea of having to sit through that again really puts me off rewatching Hope. It’s a shame because there’s so much good work here and Na Hong-jin continues to prove why he’s one of South Korea’s most exciting directors. While Hope has a lot of outstanding elements, it’s ultimately a deeply flawed misfire.

Director: Anthony Maras
Starring: Andrew Scott, Brendan Fraser, Kerry Condon, Chris Messina, Damian Lewis
Certificate: 12A
Run Time: 100 mins

Pressure is an adaptation of the stage play of the same name by David Haig about meteorologist, James Stagg (Andrew Scott), who helps Dwight D. Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) plan the Normandy landings during the Second World War. Stagg is tasked with providing Eisenhower with an accurate forecast – it wouldn’t be wise for the troops to storm the Germans in poor conditions. While he’s stationed at Southwick House, he clashes with Colonel Irving P. Krick, who leads the US section of the team and predicts the weather based on historical pattern readings – Stagg quickly tells him this isn’t the right way to go about this because of Northern Europe’s unpredictable climate. Back at home, Stagg’s wife Liz (Tamsin Topolski) is pregnant and heading into hospital any day – but James is kept in the dark at Southwick House because outside communications are not permitted.

While you can occasionally tell Pressure is based on a stage play, this is a gripping war drama with some excellent performances. Andrew Scott is terrific in the lead as the mild-mannered, but fiercely logical Scotsman and Brendan Fraser is excellent as the towering Eisenhower. There’s fun turns from the rest of the star-studded cast, including Kerry Condon, Chris Messina, Damian Lewis and Con O’Neill. Volker Bertelmann’s score is rousing, and it’s competently shot by Jamie D. Ramsay, especially a shot of bloodied bodies washing up on the French shore.

It’s just a real shame that there’s so many historical inaccuracies, with examples including but not limited to the fact that Norwegian Sverre Petterssen was the decisive meteorologist on whether D-Day could be carried out, that Stagg joined the staff just days before the invasion and that his wife gave birth to their son immediately after. While all of these ingredients contribute to Pressure‘s high stakes, knowing that what the film is representing isn’t true really cheapens it.

I can understand why biopics take some creative liberties, but fabricating events to this extent is just beyond the pail – Eddie The Eagle is another example of a very engaging biopic, but one that’s also cheapened by a ton of inaccuracies.

So while Pressure is undeniably a well-directed film with some top-notch performances and a thoroughly enjoyable cinema experience, it’s significantly marred by its historical inaccuracies.

Director: Michael Sarnoski
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jodie Comer, Bill Skarsgård, Murray Bartlett, Noah Jupe
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 122 mins

The Death of Robin Hood is a new and darker adaptation of the 17th-century ballad and stars Hugh Jackman as an aged Robin who lives in a self-imposed exile. He soon finds himself wounded after a mission with Little John (an unrecognisable Bill Skarsgård) and recovers at a priory run by Sister Brigid (Jodie Comer), where he takes a shining to her and an orphaned girl. The film’s written and directed by Michael Sarnoski, who I haven’t been a fan of – I despised Pig, and A Quite Place: Day One was fine, but nothing more.

I feel similarly about The Death of Robin Hood. While a darker take on the heroic outlaw sounds interesting, there’s not much substance – certainly not enough for 122 minutes. Hugh Jackman’s reliably great in the lead, even if his accent wanders around a bit, but we’ve seen him play a washed-up wreck of a man many a time, for example in Logan. There’s a few good set pieces, especially the brutal central sequence where Robin sustains his injury. The film picks up somewhat once Jodie Comer’s prioress enters the fray, but not enough to sustain the film to the finish, where it begins to meander in its last act. I found Sarnoski’s meditation on the outlaw sporadically interesting, but I was never gripped and I think it would have fared better if 20 minutes were chopped.

Similarly, there’s the occasional arresting shot from cinematographer Pat Scola and the impressive sound effects of the changeable weather do a good job of conveying the harsh environment, especially when seen on a big screen. Jim Ghedi’s score is exactly what you’d expect for this kind of film, and doesn’t really bring much to the party. Ultimately, The Death of Robin Hood is a passable one-time watch that has a good Hugh Jackman performance and some occasionally interesting visuals, but that’s about it. Sarnoski has made a film that thinks it’s more important than it is.

Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, Allison Janney, Benedict Wong, Ewan Bremner, Sam Spruell, Guy Pearce
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 118 mins

The Dog Stars is the new Ridley Scott film, an adaptation of a post-apocalyptic 2012 novel by Peter Heller. Set in 2035, mankind has been almost eradicated by a devastating pandemic. Jacob Elordi plays Hig, a civilian pilot who lives with his dog, Jasper, and former Marine Bangley (Josh Brolin) on an airfield. They take it in turns to keep watch, and Hig regularly flies a small propeller plane with Jasper into a depopulated Denver for supplies. When Hig’s life gets further upended and he picks up on a radio signal from Grand Junction, he decides to leave the airfield and discover if that might be a better place to live.

Sadly, The Dog Stars has received a very muted reception, with many finding the film underpowered and derivative. That’s a shame because I found Ridley Scott’s latest to be a riveting and contemplative piece with some terrific performances and exciting set-pieces. It’s no surprise that the world building is first-rate, given Scott’s back catalogue – underneath the rural and lush landscapes lies a simmering threat that people’s lives are expendable. There’s some stunning aerial photography by Erik Messerschmidt and Scott directs the rare outbursts of violence with real flair – three characters trying to escape a field by plane is particularly tense, as is an action sequence set at an airport.

The performances are uniformly excellent – Elordi downplays the quiet Hig as someone who doesn’t know what to do with his life, while Brolin’s clearly having fun as the toughened Bangley. Margaret Qualley is brilliant as Cima, a young medic Hig encounters, as is Guy Pearce as her untrusting father, who may well be the highlight of the quartet. Although in smaller roles, there’s also fun turns from Allison Janney and Benedict Wong, and the largely acoustic guitar-based score from Harry Gregson-Williams compliments the film’s introspective tone.

The Dog Stars may not break new ground, but I really admired its reflective, yet downbeat tone and its willingness to take things at a gentle pace, with the script refreshingly prioritising developing its well-rounded characters, who bond over their shared losses. Although it’s a dystopian sci-fi, The Dog Stars is more akin to a futuristic Western. I had a great time with it, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it were to be critically re-evaluated as time passes – this is an excellent late Ridley Scott effort and I’m looking forward to rewatching it.

Director: Jane Schoenbrun
Starring: Hannah Einbinder, Gillian Anderson, Jack Haven, Patrick Fischler
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 112 mins

Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma is the new film by Jane Schoenbrun, most notable for directing I Saw The TV Glow which I passionately detested. Although that film was dripping in style, it was saddled with a trite script, unlikeable characters and a dull and aimless narrative. Although Schoenbrun’s latest looks to emulate that film’s beautiful visuals, this time they’re exploring the slasher genre.

Camp Miasma is a fictional long-running slasher franchise, with Little Death (and that name is very important!) its central villain who uses a spear to slaughter his victims. Like many horror franchises, after the first one turned out to be a hit, the filmmakers made a load of sequels that degraded in quality and profitability. Queer filmmaker Kris Williams (Hannah Einbinder) is hired to direct a reboot, and it’s the classic case of the studio wanting one type of film, whereas she has other ideas from her genuine attachment to the series as she’s grown up. She’s interested in casting Billy Presley (Gillian Anderson), the final girl of the original, and Schoenbrun’s film opens as Kris travels to the campground Billy lives on to talk her ideas through.

The first third of Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is excellent – I really liked the attention to detail Schoenbrun takes with crafting all the minutiae of the fictional series, and the film’s very cineliterate in how it examines the studio system and how directors approach their art. Hannah Einbinder makes for an excellent lead, really conveying her love for the series with her overly academic interpretations that won’t appeal to a mainstream audience – this is the kind of role that cements Einbinder as a future star. Gillian Anderson’s also great (when isn’t she?) and is clearly having fun as the past-her-prime actress, and the two share a palpable chemistry. There’s an interesting score by Alex G, with some memorable acoustic guitar-based themes but some of the song choices didn’t work for me. And of course, it’s beautifully shot by Eric Yue, with the film looking like it’s straight out of the 1980s.

Unfortunately, the film really ties itself in knots after about 45 minutes and chooses to divert away from being an astute examination of the film industry and the codes and conventions of the slasher genre into an exploration of sexuality. While not without its occasional bright spots, the rest of the film is rather languorous and I just didn’t care for the characters or see its purpose. Schoenbrun’s clearly made a film that feels personal, but I felt like an outsider to what they’re trying to explore in a way that becomes garbled. The film’s also completely devoid of tension or stakes and the attempts at humour never landed with me (although it did with quite a lot of the audience in my screening).

While undoubtedly better than I Saw The TV Glow (although that’s not a high bar!), Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma begins as a sharp deconstruction of the slasher genre, ultimately to become disinterested in that and explore sexuality instead. It’s certainly visually arresting with two top-notch performances at its core, but as soon as the film decides to switch its focus, I quickly became disinterested.

Director: Jacob Chase
Starring: Amelia Eve, Brandon Perea, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Lin Shaye, Sam Spruell, Island Austin
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 107 mins

Insidious: Out of the Further is the sixth instalment in the long-standing horror series that’s been surprisingly consistent in terms of quality – there’s yet to be a bad entry. With Insidious: The Red Door thought to be the series finale, given how it provided closure on the Lambert family, nothing’s ever really ‘final’ in the film industry when you have a profitable property. This sixth entry is set after The Red Door and follows a young dental hygienist called Gemma (Amelia Eve), who witnessed her mother’s suicide as a child. Now that she has a daughter of her own, Maya (Island Austin), Gemma starts to get haunted by malevolent spirits once they see three strange-looking elderly people while walking to school.

Although it’s not on the level of the first three films, Insidious: Out of the Further is another entertaining instalment that expands the series in an interesting way. With the exception of the worryingly poor opening, it’s well directed by series newcomer Jacob Chase (who also writes the film), who crafts some decent scares and manages to sustain tension. While lots of the jump scares are familiar, Chase knows how to draw them out to keep audiences tense – a scene set in a dentist is particularly effective, and he crafts a particularly well-drawn villain. That said, he’s no James Wan or Leigh Whannell when it comes to scares and atmosphere, and while many have pointed to a sequence set in a pillow fort as the film’s strongest scare, it came across as quite silly to me, especially coming so quickly after Backrooms.

Amelia Eve is solid, if unremarkable as Gemma, although she shares a good chemistry with her daughter, Maya, with the young Island Austin turning in an excellent performance. Although Lin Shaye is mainly saddled with exposition, it’s still great to see her return as Elise. Sam Spruell is a highlight in an unexpected role and Joshua Lopez is brilliant as Lester, the chief of the three elderly people, who turn out to be acolytes of the villain. The score by series regular Joseph Bishara is solid, with one particularly memorable new synth-based theme.

While it’s far from groundbreaking, Insidious: Out of the Further is ultimately a fun outing and far better than a sixth instalment in a long-standing franchise has any right to be. It takes the series in an interesting new direction, should further sequels be commissioned (which I’m sure will be), and it’s certainly a stronger film than Insidious: The Last Key and probably on a par with The Red Door – that film is stronger in the writing department before it fumbles the third act, whereas this is more consistent throughout.

Director: David Robert Mitchell
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Maisy Stella, Christian Convery
Certificate: 12A
Run Time: 99 mins

The End of Oak Street is the first film to be directed by David Robert Mitchell in almost a decade, after (the highly underrated) Under The Silver Lake, his follow-up to It Follows, landed him in director’s jail. Teaming up with J. J. Abrams’s Bad Robot production company, The End of Oak Street follows a family in 1982 whose suburban neighbourhood is transported back to prehistoric times. Anne Hathaway plays the matriarch, Denise Platt, who’s an aspiring novelist, while Ewan McGregor is her husband, who’s recently been laid off from his job and is working as a pizza delivery driver. Maisy Stella plays Audrey, the older teenage daughter, and The Monkey‘s Christian Convery stars as the younger son, Brian.

Much like his previous work, The End of Oak Street sees the director embrace classic older genre tropes, leaning into 1980s creature features and the nuclear family. It often has a warm Steven Spielberg-like tone, although it’s a little darker and stranger at times, especially a scene with two dinosaurs having sex.

Unfortunately, it’s David Robert Mitchell’s weakest film by a long shot. The script is oddly poor with shonky dialogue between the family, and while there’s a couple of interesting subtle moments, the film resorts to long bouts of exposition too. It also doesn’t manage to land the correct tone, feeling overly warm and that, plus the combination of a 12A rating, waters the film down and means it’s completely devoid of tension.

The film’s first half is all over the place, and although it takes less than 25 minutes for the dinosaurs to appear, its opening feels like it takes an age. Some of the set pieces feel episodic, although there are two excellent sequences in the second half, which is much stronger than the first – especially a nightmarish scene with a snake-like creature that finds its way into the house.

Mitchell reunites with his regular cinematographer, Mike Gioulakis, and while the action is crisply shot, Gioulakis oddly embraces the split diopter shot (which plagued Lee Cronin’s The Mummy earlier this year) in a terrible family conversation scene in the middle of the film. There’s also a honking Michael Giacchino score that apes John Williams, but isn’t particularly memorable and is too upbeat for the devastation unfurling on screen.

It’s a shame The End of Oak Street isn’t the return to form David Robert Mitchell deserves. Although he’s working with a thrilling concept, the film is messily constructed and doesn’t land the right tone. I never felt any jeopardy or peril, and the oddly wooden script hurts the film because I couldn’t connect to its characters. It’s not a bad film though – there’s a couple of excellent sequences in the second half. But it’s not consistently engaging, and that’s a red flag for what should be a thrilling creature feature.

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Florence Pugh, Tramell Tilman, Marisa Tomei, Mark Ruffalo
Certificate: 12A
Run Time: 145 mins

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the fourth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man series with Tom Holland as the web-slinger. Destin Daniel Cretton steps into the director’s chair, replacing Jon Watts who helmed the first three – Cretton’s no stranger to Marvel, having made the excellent Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and he was originally attached to direct the fifth Avengers film (then titled Avengers: Kang Dynasty), before Marvel rethought their strategy after the controversy surrounding Jonathan Majors, who was cast as the villain.

The film sees Tom Holland’s Peter Parker adapting to a world where people have forgotten he exists, after Doctor Strange cast his spell at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home. He pines after former girlfriend, MJ (Zendaya) but chooses not to reintroduce himself to her and best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) to keep them from harm. He keeps himself busy by defeating criminals on the New York streets, but soon faces a telepathic threat that tests him to his limit.

While Destin Daniel Cretton’s direction and the pivot to a more mature character-driven story are commendable, Spider-Man: Brand New Day doesn’t really reinvent the wheel and suffers badly from superhero fatigue. If it were released ten years ago, it’d be a pretty reasonable effort, but the fact it follows familiar beats without any real tension or threat lowers the stakes and entertainment value. It’s also drastically overlong at 145 minutes, and really could have done with having a half-an-hour chop for a tighter film.

Still, there’s some bright spots. This is probably Holland’s best performance as the superhero yet, a character transitioning from youth to adulthood who’s trying to find his place and the balance of being a superhero while not burning out. The best moments in the film are the most unassuming, for example where he’s connecting with MJ and Ned while they build Lego together. Sadie Sink is also very promising as a character I won’t spoil, and it’s nice to see Mark Ruffalo back as Bruce Banner / Hulk, after what’s been a five-year hiatus.

Although not as strong as his other work, this is also Michael Giacchino’s best score in the series, although it’s still lacking a memorable central theme to latch onto. The action’s also crisply shot, although I don’t think any of the set pieces are on a par with the train sequence in Spider-Man 2 or the final act in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

While by no means bad, Spider-Man: Brand New Day isn’t the web slinger’s strongest outing. In this series alone, Spider-Man: Homecoming and No Way Home stand head-and-shoulders above this, but it’s not the disaster that Spider-Man: Far From Home was. Destin Daniel Cretton tries to breathe a new lease with his more thoughtful direction and while there’s some nice teases for future outings, Spider-Man: Brand New Day suffers badly from superhero fatigue and from being plain overlong.