Rian Johnson is one of the hottest filmmakers of recent years. His take on Star Wars with ‘The Last Jedi’ utterly divided critics and fans, as he proved he could do something different with the seemingly formulaic nature of the franchise. With his new film Knives Out, he again proves a master of subversion, this time taking on the murder mystery genre.
After playing Dick Chaney in Vice, Christian Bale has now lost all that weight to star alongside Matt Damon in a film about racing. You’ve gotta love Bale for his diversity in choosing projects, but he clearly has a keen eye for greatness because this film, which sports some phenomenal racing sequences, is absolutely fantastic.
The Shining is widely regarded as one of the greatest horror films ever made (and has always been a firm favourite of mine). In 2013, Steven King (author of the original) wrote a sequel, and this is that adaptation. A sequel to the Kubrick masterpiece but still a film of it’s own, it’s a love letter to the original with enough scares and twists to stand alone.
Aardman have been responsible for some of the funniest and most British films of recent years. There aren’t many production studios that can take a minor character from another franchise, make a spin-off TV series from it, and then two feature films from that, and STILL maintain originality and freshness. However, with 'Farmageddon', they have managed to still do justice to that little sheep from ‘A Close Shave’.
Terminator 2: Judgement Day has long been one of my favourite films. Its action, its emotion and its CGI are all stunning for its age, and upon countless re-watches it still holds up as one of the greatest films ever made. The team behind Terminator: Dark Fate clearly noticed that, and decided to try duplicating that film. What’s left is a fairly enjoyable action flick with none of the flair of the originals.
Daniel Robinson: From Reel to Real 