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  Certificate: 15 Running time: 113 minutes  Starring: Carey Mulligan, Bo Burnham, Alison Brie, Jennifer Coolridge Directed by: Emerald Fennell The story: A woman seeks revenge against those she believes are responsible for a heinous crime.  The verdict: I cannot remember the last time that I cheered on an anti heroine or anti hero as much as I did during this film. Some might completely disagree with that sentiment but I find that I cannot seem to care too much. Sadly, I recognised so much of the toxic and disgraceful behaviour exhibited by most of the men in this film and even more sadly I have seen up close in real life of how devastatingly this behaviour can affect women, so yes I am #teamcassie all the way. Every film is made up of a number of components, both creative and technical and when you find something great about almost every component then that’s when you know that you have a great film on your hands. That’s exactly how I felt whilst watching Promising Yo...

  Certificate: 12 Running time: 109 minutes  Starring: Dylan O’Brien, Jessica Henwick, Michael Rooker, Ariana Greenblat, Hero the dog Directed by: Michael Matthews The story: Seven years after the monsterpocalypse, Joel Dawson decides to leave the relative safety of his underground bunker and risk a perilous journey to reunite with his high school girlfriend. The verdict: There are already plenty of films about the apocalypse and there are plenty of films about love, and yet Love and Monsters still manages to feel unique.  One of the things that I think is so great about this film is its origins. This is an original film that is not part of a recognised franchise and not a sequel but managed to get made with a reasonable budget and with attention from audiences and critics. Love and Monsters brings together a number of genres - sci-fi, romance, comedy to name just a few, and rather than feel disjointed or like a mishmash, it works together perfectly. The result is a rea...

  Certificate: 15 Running time: 120 minutes  Starring: Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke, Paul Raci  Directed by: Darius Marder The story: A heavy metal drummer finds his life in free fall when he loses his hearing. The verdict: The Sound of Metal is yet another film that I have been eagerly awaiting the U.K release of and so I could not wait to watch it as soon as it was available.  The Sound of Metal is a film that I wish so much that I could have seen in the cinema. It is such an immersive film and I know that would have only been intensified with the big screen experience.  As soon as the film opened, I was transported into the story and I felt almost as if I became the lead character Ruben. Throughout the film, I felt every emotion and feeling that he felt and I felt it strongly - his frustration, his isolation, his anger. This was largely due to Riz Ahmed’s performance. No wonder he has attracted so much awards’ attention, this is a stellar performance and certai...

  Certificate: 15 Running time: 90 minutes  Starring: Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, Meredith Hagner, JK Simmons Directed by: Max Barbakow  The story: Two wedding guests become trapped in the same time loop. The verdict: We have had to wait a long time for the U.K release of Palm Springs - hearing about this film and waiting for its release almost felt like an infinite time loop in itself. But finally it landed on streaming services today. There have been many time loop films and they can be quite divisive for some audiences who feel that it is hard to bring something new to the subgenre. I must admit that I love a time loop film and have enjoyed the majority of the films that address it. A time loop story can lend itself to any genre and comedy is no different. What I really enjoyed about Palm Springs is that it a not necessarily about anything ‘big.’ By that I mean that it is not focused on the science of the time loop or even the how and why. Rather the story is ver...

  Certificate: 15 Running time: 129 minutes  Starring: Jodie Foster, Tahar Rahim, Benedict Cumberbatch, Shailene Woodley, Zachary Levi Directed by: Kevin MacDonald The story:  Based on a true story, The Mauritanian sees a lawyer investigate the case of a detainee at Guantanamo Bay. As the case deepens, a far reaching conspiracy is uncovered.  The verdict: Any film based on a true story immediately impacts its audience and especially a film like this where you cannot believe that these reprehensible acts took place. The Mauritanian is not the first film to address Guantanamo Bay but because it is based on the 2015 memoir Guantanamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi, there is a more personal authenticity to it. For me Tahar Rahim, who plays Slahi, is the star of the film. He has a certain indomitable spirit that means that he never feels like someone you pity but rather someone that you are rooting for. The rest of the cast is strong too and overall I liked all the perf...

  Certificate: 15 Running time: 90 minutes  Starring: Sarah Paulson, Kiera Allen, Sara Sohn Directed by: Aneesh Chaganty The story: Teenager Chloe is wheelchair bound and homeschooled by her mother Diane. Soon Chloe becomes suspicious of her mother and discovers that her mother may be hiding a dark secret. The verdict: I think I’ve found yet another director whose work I’ll be closely following. The director of this, Aneesh Chaganty, made his feature length directorial debut with Searching which was one of my favourite films of 2018. Now he has returned with Run, and this is another film that I thoroughly enjoyed.  Run is a film that appears reasonably straightforward on the surface and perhaps you may even feel like it’s very predictable. However, it may very well surprise you and I certainly felt that there were plenty of “oh my gosh” moments. It definitely surprised me. The two central performances from Sarah Paulson and Kiera Allen are great and I felt that they ha...