TABLOID: SEX IN CHAINS (🇺🇲 US 2010) Absolutely bonkers story that keeps getting madder & weirder. Helped by a fascinating main subject & colourful characters, and an engaging docu format (fun graphics & archive photos / film.) The conclusion is a bit of a downer. SCORE: 6.5/10

LUCY (🇫🇷 FR 2014) Pop cinema masterclass with such cocksure, creative, and cool direction; blending high art & junk science. European/Asian fusion that unlocks 100% of my brain. Exciting, frenetic, entertaining, mind-bending madness; my definitive Luc Besson movie. SCORE: 9/10

CONFESS, FLETCH (🇺🇲 US 2022) Consistently funny, low-key, mid-budget outing; the type of film that nobody really makes anymore. A light, silly, knockabout screwball that was exactly what I was after. Would love to see more of these. SCORE: 7/10

AMORES PERROS (🇲🇽 MX 2000) Some dated dialogue, it's a touch too long, and a tough watch (especially for 'dog people'). However, very few films come close to telling their stories this viscerally & powerfully. Incredible Iñárritu debut; essential World Cinema. SCORE: 9/10

THUNDERBALL (🇬🇧 GB 1965) most of the runtime is a complete snooze-fest. Health spa shenanigans and tons of boring & protracted underwater scenes. Terrible speed ramping & rear projection feels cheap. Not nearly as exciting or exotic as previous films. Thunder-bore! SCORE: 3/10

BLINK TWICE (🇺🇲 US 2024) vibrant visuals, heightened audio, & rapid Instagram-reel direction fail to distract from the glacial hour-long setup, and the trite all-men-are-bastards pop-feminism. Final act is more fun, but it's all surface & no tension or payoff. SCORE: 5/10

THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM (🇬🇧 GB 1988) Shot & lit with flair to spare, this looks gorgeous. Amanda Donohoe is mesmerising; the wider cast are all on form. Wry script, fun dialogue, incredibly British: such a mad/unique movie! High class camp trash. Pure cult. Wild! SCORE: 9/10

THE PERFECT COUPLE (🇺🇲 S1 2024) a new pinnacle of Netflix Junk. From the cringe dancing credits to the mind-boggling accents & dodgy sitcom-level performances, this is a painful watch. Skipped 3 episodes & missed nothing. I hope Susanne Bier can at least retire now! SCORE: 3/10

MAXIMA (🇵🇪 PE 2019) one woman's fight against a global mining corporation. Breathtaking shots of mountain scenery butt up against unfathomably huge open-pit mines, environmental catastrophies, & human rights abuses. Powerful doc, and Maxima is a rousing personality. SCORE: 8/10

GRISELDA (🇺🇲 2024 S1) well trodden 'rise and fall' crime-boss arc, but with a LADY at the center!?!? Violent, sweary, slickly-made & surprisingly lean for six-episodes. Favourite part was the old-school orchestrated soundtrack pieces. Feels like a Narcos spinn-off. SCORE: 7/10

EL ASCENSOR (🇲🇽 MX 2021) two-hander about a bickering couple stuck in a time-looping elevator. Enjoyable performances, decent script, low-key flashy direction. Focuses more on the drama more than the Sci-fi aspect, and lost me a little by the final act. Aka: The Lift SCORE: 6/10

FLEE (🇩🇰🇫🇷🇳🇴🇸🇪 2021) a worthy & important film telling an incredible true story that deserves to be heard, now more than ever, but the animation (pretty as it is) feels like a hulking barrier between you and the incredibly candid interview audio. SCORE: 6/10

I've suspected Keir Starmer was taking glasses and haircuts as political gifts for a while... #FreeGearKeir

REVENGE (🇫🇷 FR 2017) Star-making turns on both sides of the camera, with confident & provocative direction and a film-stealing lead transformation. There's some fantastically scrungy violence & gore. A genre topping rape-revenge / survival thriller. SCORE: 8/10 B-MOVIE: 9/10

The Substance The Substance is going to be one of the cinematic events of the decade. Horror fans, Sci-Fi nerds, gore & SFX fiends, sickos, and extreme cinema enthusiasts should see this on the biggest loudest and busiest screen possible.

THE ASCENT (🇷🇺 RU 1977) wild that the actors, crew, & equipment didn't freeze, looks cold as shit! Very "actory" with tons of up-close reactions. Simple communist outing. Every time I watch a film so critically acclaimed & this boring it's always a Criterion release! SCORE: 3/10

FREE COLOR (🇻🇪 VE 2020) Follows a legendary 'optical artist' taking on his most ambitious project. Basic doc, but looks great; aided by tons of eye-popping imagery, artwork, & animations. Turns into a backdoor biography, with stereotypical "What is art!?" musings. SCORE: 5.5/10

THE WAY (🇺🇲🇪🇸 2010) International Stereotypes: The Movie. The easiest and gentlest type of film; with no peril or conflict - just a two hour cosy love-in. Feels quite low budget (simple/weird camerawork, no sweeping scenery) and drags a bit the end. SCORE: 6/10