Release Date – 31st January 2025, Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 37 minutes, Director – Drew Hancock

After a self-defensive murder, Iris (Sophie Thatcher) uncovers multiple secrets about herself and those she was spending the weekend with, whilst fleeing them in the surrounding woods.

One of the joys of Companion is the sudden twist which properly kicks everything off early in the run-time. While the teaser trailer did exactly what it should do and didn’t given anything away, the main trailer, and some reviews, give this detail away upfront. It’s a shame, as the moment in question brings in a lot of the mystery and ideas that the film subsequently plays with in entertaining fashion.

Iris (Sophie Thatcher) is spending the weekend at a lavish, isolated lakeside home, spending time with her boyfriend Josh (Jack Quaid) and his friends, who she thinks don’t like her. However, after being sexually assaulted and attacked by house owner, Russian millionaire Sergey (Rupert Friend, in an enjoyable brief and knowingly hammy role) Iris kills him in self-defence. Subsequently tied up and bound to a chair whilst those left alive wait for the police to arrive she quickly escapes and while strands about control play out the following few hours see her on the run an uncovering secrets about both her own life and those chasing after her.

While having billed as a horror Companion plays out as more of a dark comedy with thriller-like edges. There are plenty of laughs to be found throughout as the threat at hand is diminished by the various arguments unfolding between Josh and friend Kat (Megan Suri) – who may have their own plans together – and couple Eli (Harvey Guillén) and Patrick (Lukas Gage). There’s also a good deal to enjoy about Iris’ own adventure, with both a good deal of laughs and moments which simply bring about a knowing smile of anticipation as she learns more about herself and pushing herself out into the world around her – even if it is largely woodland surrounding the house and nearby lake.

As things move along with consistently fast pace, all contained in a short, well-handled 97-minute run-time, there’s a lot to enjoy. Largely from the overall tone of the piece but also the darkly comic laughs which come through more consistently the more the film goes on. Even in the closing stages the moments of splatter and bordering-on-18-rated gore allow have their own entertainment factor which works well alongside the suspense. Lines of dialogue around control might feel a little bit on-the-nose and as if they think the film has been making a grander point about this than it actually has, but it does make for a welcome smile for the details and nature of the closing shot. Perhaps, though, what makes it most worthwhile is the simple enjoyment there is to be found from the preceding hour-and-a-half. Both the humour and the occasional gore all held in a tightly and well-told thriller.

A tight and effective thriller with plenty of dark comedy held throughout, Companion is best seen knowing as little as possible. From there the mystery develops in entertaining fashion with likable humour and splatter for consistent enjoyment in the fast-flowing, not to mention short, run-time.

Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 31 minutes, Director – Mel Gibson

Back-in-the-field Madolyn Harris (Michelle Dockery) is air marshal for fugitive witness Winston (Topher Grace), however a safe flight through the Alaskan mountains soon turns deadly when their pilot (Mark Wahlberg) turns out to have other intentions.

Flight Risk feels as if it could be perfectly described by a report card that simply says ‘Poor’. Not an abysmal waste of time, but certainly an underwhelming and tiresome film that’ll quickly be forgotten. Screenwriter Jared Rosenberg’s script appeared on the 2020 Blacklist and was quickly picked up, however with the most basic of basic dialogue cropping up throughout the film it feels as if surely lines and scenes must have been changed and tweaked to turn a praised script into a mundane slog.

Nothing throughout the run-time ever feels as if it properly gels, there are hints in the performances of the central three characters which suggest that their hearts are never fully invested in the project, not helped by Mel Gibson’s wobbly direction which feels uncertain as to where to move and place the camera in the cramped confines of the plane in which much of the events take place. Flying over the Alaskan wilderness to take fugitive witness Winston (Topher Grace) to New York to testify against the Moretti crime family, deputy marshal Madolyn Harris (Michelle Dockery) finds herself facing a pilot (Mark Wahlberg – sporting a dodgy semi-bald look which is never explained) who may in fact be working for someone after Winston.

Throughout the various scraps and last-minute course corrections I found myself distracted by both the amount of ugly shots in the film and the overall lack of fun that it seems to be having. There may be a number of attempts at jokes, only one or two of which gain something of a sympathetic chuckle, but as a whole the humour of the film seems lacking as its events feel as if they could be cut down into a 30-45 minute TV episode rather than a 90-minute feature, a thankful run-time however. There are occasional glimmers of amusement, even amongst the confines the film creates for itself in its single-location thriller aspect, but not quite enough to give it a proper lift.

Instead things trudge along with little to amuse and engage. Instead, I largely sat there rather bored by everything I was seeing, all of which felt somewhat detached and disinterested, having a similar effect on the audience. What appears to want to be a simplistic, stripped back thriller feels too stripped back and therefore basic. It leads to an uncertainly made and eventually messy 90 minutes, all rooted in a rather boring set of sequences.

Far too bland and lacking to create any proper engagement, Flight Risk trudges along without feeling as if anyone involved’s heart is truly invested in the project, creating a boring, even if not doing enough to be worked up about, set of events which lack the thrills and fun that something like this should have.

Release Date – 24th January 2025, Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 25 minutes, Director – Steven Soderbergh

In the hope of seeking peace and a close-to-fresh start a family move into a new house, however they may not be alone and the ghostly goings-on send mixed messages.

Presence appears to unconsciously stylistically acknowledge the limitations of its own central conceit. Told from the first-person perspective of the titular presence each scene is made to seem like a one-shot with the unseen figure gliding through the house in which all of the events take place. Each time a scene ends there’s a brief cut to black before things start back up again with the next set of events. While keeping the slow pacing consistent throughout it does create something of an overly slow feeling in the opening stages as scenes feel more like short bursts rather than fully contributing to the overall arc of the film which is being established. When longer sequences, at least a couple of minutes, are at play the elements have more room to breathe and have a better chance of forming a connection.

The cut-to-black device may push some people away with a stop-start feeling, but what comes through more is the fact that it shows the limitations of the film. Restricted to the one location, and needing the family at the centre of the events to be present, there’s a confined feeling to the action which has a knock-on effect on the film as a whole which while leaning into the central style with good effect also finds itself reined in by it.

Mum and dad, Rebekah (Lucy Liu) and Chris (Chris Sullivan) have moved them and their two children, son Tyler (Eddy Maday) and younger daughter Chloe (Callina Liang), to a quieter area where they hope to find peace. Chloe is grieving the loss of two school friends who have taken their own lives, while her parents find themselves arguing constantly about their parenting, work stresses and matters of legalities within them. Tyler appears to be the only one cruising through life, although still finding himself in arguments with his family who he views as failing to move on.

While not a horror elements of the genre are still very much at play within the drama of Presence. It doesn’t go for scares, although prolonged developments in the climactic stages do reach very uncomfortable territory where one character’s actions really got under my skin. These closing stages make for some of the best stuff of the film, and indeed when using the ghostly viewpoint’s abilities instead of just having them wander through the house, as is often the case when observing the central family. Yet, with all the time spent watching them go about their lives, and question whether they’re alone in the house, there’s never a full connection formed with any of them during the short run-time, which for the most part, at 85-minutes, gets in and out just before things go on for too long.

As a whole, there’s little investment and involvement with the film beyond some interesting effect from the stylistic elements and the occasional impactful beat. For the most part I simply sat and watched it all unfolding on the screen in front of me. Presence moves along well enough and uses its style well, but it also unconsciously displays its flaws and hold backs, those which stop it from moving along with greater effect and engagement.

While there are interesting beats and elements courtesy of Presence’s central framing device, especially when at its most upfront, it also holds the film back as it shows the limitations and restrictions it brings to the narrative leading to a lack of full connection with the events as a whole.

Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 43 minutes, Director – Leigh Whannell

When travelling back to his childhood home in the middle of the woods, Blake (Christopher Abbott) is attacked by a mysterious animal. As the night goes on he begins to change, can he protect his wife (Julia Garner) and daughter (Matilda Firth) from himself?

For the most part Wolf Man isn’t a bad film. It has some nice ideas, good central performances and it handles the werewolf transformation story relatively well. Yet, there’s something about the film that somewhat fumbles this key element as the highly stripped-back and traditional leanings sometimes make for an air of blandness for the proceedings. For those going in expecting another social horror from Leigh Whannell after 2020’s The Invisible Man, also made under Blumhouse, this is far from a repeat. Wolf Man is an upfront transformation tale through-and-through.

When family man Blake (Christopher Abbott) is attacked after a near-collision in the woods, returning to his childhood home in the wake of his father’s death (played by Sam Jaeger in the film’s 90s set opening scene), he quickly falls ill. Rapidly deteriorating his behaviour becomes more frantic, with wife Charlotte (Julia Garner) and eight-year-old daughter (Matilda Firth) having to focus on the possible threat in the house with them, and the creature prowling outside ready to attack. While at times the intended gradual transformation can sometimes feel somewhat rushed when shown as happening almost all at once over a minimal number of hours there are some good ideas to be found. Eventually we get to see how Blake is seeing the world with his animalistic viewpoint compared to Charlotte as she tries to look after him, unsure as to what is happening.

There may not be many scares, despite some tension here and there, but Wolf Man works dramatically, while still landing firmly in the horror genre. There are likable elements to be found, particularly helped by Abbott and Garner’s performances; and indeed Firth puts in a good child performance, but occasionally things, especially in the first half, can feel very slow and over-familiar. You can see the classic influences on this film, and where it steps out to do something different, and overall it’s hard to argue that the film doesn’t achieve what it appears to set out to do in trying to make a traditional werewolf movie with one or two new ideas and elements, which work rather well.

There’s a successful claustrophobic feel in some scenes and visually there’s a good deal of detail when it comes to the changes in Abbott’s appearance. None more so than when you can see the inevitable, where from there the makeup department’s efforts pay off and then some with the changes and animalistic elements which begin to appear more rapidly – again, with the help of Abbott selling the role in these moments. There may still be elements of convention at play, but at least there’s still a likable sense to the film which stops it from dipping into a slightly staggering set of repeats as could so easily be the case. It takes a bit of time to get here after the wandering opening stages, but for the most part once in the house there’s enough to like and be amused by stylistically that Whannell and co manage to pull off this occasionally familiar, if perhaps forgettable, werewolf transformation flick.

Not a bad film, Wolf Man appears to achieve what it sets out to do. While sometimes the familiarity can be a bit too much and brings in a sense of blandness there are likable stylistic details at play that, even if lacking in scares, with the help of Garner and Abbot’s performances, makes for a lightly interesting and passable werewolf transformation film.

Cert -15, Run-time – 2 hours 20 minutes, Director – James Mangold

As the 60s begin, Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) arrives in New York City and takes the folk scene by storm, before shaking it up with his turn to electric.

A Complete Unknown wants to show just how much of a genius Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) is believed to be. How his songs had a strong impact on the world and those who heard them from the first chord he played. Yet, while scenes of performance are frequent highlights in the near two-and-a-half hour run-time when simply showing a performance it’s generally passes by and seems to take up a couple of minutes. Where these moments work best is when showing a connection to the music at hand, and the effect that it has. More than once the camera focuses on Elle Fanning’s face (playing Sylvie, a fictionalised version of Dylan’s girlfriend Suze Rotolo), close-ups show a range of emotions filling up and beginning to leak from her eyes as on multiple occasions the songs performed on stage bring to further light Dylan’s affair with Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro).

Yet, in others we simply see people working together to create music. A stripped-back, back-to-basics feeling that puts the focus on the sound and the instruments rather than the personalities, while still showing those personal feelings and that love of music. It’s a key point of co-writer (alongside Jay Cocks) and director James Mangold’s biopic as we see a young Bob Dylan arrive in New York City at the dawn of the 60s to meet his hospitalised hero Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy), subsequently he stays and throughout the decade shakes up the folk scene in multiple ways.

As his fame, and the constant acclaim he receives, rises so does the character of Dylan. How much of what we see is a persona is only lightly questioned, something left largely aside from the rest of the film’s dealings that feels as if there was more left on the cutting room floor. We get hints that Dylan changed his name from Bobby Zimmerman and the hint of an act when the sunglasses go on and the more his style and look changes, but nothing more upfront. Baez observes to him early on “you’re kind of an asshole, Bob”, although sometimes his behaviour makes “kind of” seem somewhat of an understatement the more the singer-songwriter, whose behaviour may feel like a persona due to the occasionally imitation style of Chalamet’s performance, feels constrained by the folk scene.

“A good song can get the job done without the frills; no drums, no electric instruments” claims Edward Norton’s Pete Seeger (a largely warm and kindly figure who could almost fill in for Mr Rogers) shortly after meeting a freshly-arrived Dylan. A folk purist, he too is shaken up when the young man he helped launch onto the scene turns to those electric instruments. At times treading near the conventional lines of new music receiving negative reaction from the old guard – as a whole Mangold avoids Walk Hard territory, after making Walk The Line, the film which inspired the still-accurate spoof – there’s no denying the effect that the music has. Perhaps it helps that I lean more towards Dylan’s electric tracks than his folk work as a whole, but as a whole there’s a likable use of a good deal of his catalogue, with a sprinkling of other folk tracks, throughout; adding an energetic kick to some of the proceedings, and moving the eventually well-paced run-time along quite consistently.

There is an occasional unevenness to A Complete Unknown, and it shows Dylan to be that way too, particularly in regards to his relationships and way he presents himself to others. But, in a similar way, the music is what helps to lift and drive things. Adding to character interactions and bringing a stronger effect to them. While not a musical this biopic understands the relationship that people can have with music and what it can say, do and bring out. Communicating just that in its best moments where the music can sometimes speak better than anything else, and can also create forgiveness when the central figure starts to come across as kind of an asshole.

While there might be some bumps along the way in regards to Dylan’s personality and a lack of insight into degrees of persona, A Complete Unknown leans into the music with the pivotal point of the connection and effect it can have. With that a better, more enjoyable, film forms with a good kick from its soundtrack.

Release Date – 31st January 2025, Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 49 minutes, Director – Jason Reitman

90 minutes before air, the cast of Saturday Night are fighting, there’s no audience and the schedule is over three hours. With risk of cancellation, producer Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) is trying to bring everything together in the hope of creating something revolutionary.

Throughout Saturday Night Gil Kenan and director Jason Reitman’s screenplay reminds us how the cast and, at least some of, the crew are setting out to create something revolutionary. A cathartic variety show of live entertainment for the generation who grew up with TV by the generation who grew up watching TV. Unfortunately, this doesn’t lead to a harmonious feeling behind the scenes of TV as 90 minutes before going to air producer and show creator Lorne Michaels (a truly fantastic Gabriel LaBelle, powering forward amongst the larger-than-life personalities and egos of the characters around him; his exclusion from the conversation is one of the big shames of this awards season) struggles to keep everything together in order to go live. That is if he gets the go ahead from disapproving studio execs (led by Willem Dafoe) who are looking to put on a re-run of The Tonight Show as soon as possible.

As we see fights between the cast (particularly Cory Michael Smith’s cocky Chevy Chase and Matt Wood’s serious, withheld actor John Belushi), split up by the occasional unifying drug use, crew struggle, or simply don’t bother, to set everything up to rehearse for an overbooked schedule there are constant reminders of how different this show was intended to be, and would be, from anything else on TV. It brings about an exciting feeling within the fast-paced countdown which frantically tracks Michaels’ slipping control of each situation.

Yet, there’s comedy in the chaos. Both from the characters we see on screen, easily established in the initial sparks of their first appearances, and their white-hot interactions – writer Michael O’Donoghue (Tommy Dewey) has great fun riling up a devout Christian NBC censor (Catherine Curtin) with his multitude of crude jokes and phrases. Much of this propelled by the strong performances from each cast member and the unit they form. Nicholas Podany’s Billy Crystal, worrying his sketch will be cut from the running order, is uncanny while Nicholas Braun seamlessly wanders around as Andy Kaufman in character as Foreign Man from the opening scene and doubles as a writer-tormented Jim Henson. Meanwhile, Rachel Sennott effortlessly rides the spiralling wave of the imminent show as writer Rosie Shuster, also helping to keep the cast and production calm and together, in addition to being Michaels’ wife – there’s a rather nice tone to the ‘it’s complicated’ nature of their relationship and their interactions which have the calmest, yet still pacey, moments of the film. And the cast list goes on without feeling overstuffed due to the understanding ensemble, and everyone getting their moment to shine.

While Saturday Night Live may not always be something that captures the humour of those outside America, the brief moments of sketches, outside of Weekend Update, in this film fail to conjure up many laughs, whether this is intentional or not I’m not sure; however the bulk of the film looking at the behind the scenes details have plenty. Remaining consistent even amongst the rising tension, particularly in the final half hour when everyone is at their most scattered.

Even here it would have been hard to wipe the big smile, and at times grin, from my face. From start to finish Saturday Night is a deliriously entertaining ride with an ensemble cast who instantly gel to create a tour de force build-up to TV history. You can feel a sense of unity amongst those making this film, coming across in just how well tracked it is – particularly by Reitman’s direction, and the tight screenplay – to create the disunity depicted. The hopes for and worries about the show at the heart of the production which is paid respect and admiration to. This is a love letter without the schmaltz. One which clearly shouldn’t be taken as gospel as it barrels forward with relentless pace and energy to make for a brilliantly entertaining ride to match the big personalities on display.

Gabriel LaBelle superbly leads and ties together the no-holds-barred pace and coverage of Saturday Night. Efficiently scripted and directed, there’s plenty of laughs to be found within both the film’s personality and the personalities it displays in full force for maximum entertainment and un-saccharine homage.

Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 30 minutes, Director – Jesse Eisenberg

Cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) embark on a week-long tour of Poland to learn about the country’s, and their Jewish family’s, history in the wake of their Holocaust survivor grandmother’s death.

There’s been praise directed towards A Real Pain for acknowledging the awkwardness that there can be around it subject matter. Tensions rise between ‘joined-at-the-hip’ cousins family-man David (Jesse Eisenberg – who also servers as writer, director and co-producer) and isolated Benji (Kieran Culkin) as they explore the past of their Jewish family through a tour of Poland in the wake of their grandmother’s death, herself a Holocaust survivor. As the pair join a small group of four other tourists, and their tour guide James (Will Sharpe), Benji’s emotional responses to the world around him vary strongly in the wake of possible depression and mental health issues. The film never outright says that this is the case and while at times dealing with them, and how David reacts to Benji’s behaviour, in a considered manner at other times feels as if it awkwardly dances around them.

Culkin’s performance has been much acclaimed, and he’s pitched as a likely Oscar frontrunner. His performance is quite a traditional one, it, alongside the film as a whole, feels as if it could have been sweeping the awards circuit in and around the 80s. This isn’t to say that either feel outdated, but there’s sometimes a lack of directness to Benji’s behaviour as it fluctuates throughout the tour. At one moment bubbly and energetic, eagerly socialising with the rest of the group; at another freaked out by the journey he’s on, suffering something close to an anxiety attack in the first class carriage of a train when reflecting how his family were herded into the backs to concentration camps almost 80 years before. Culkin does his best and indeed brings insightful layers to his character through a thoughtful performance, pushing through what the film doesn’t say.

It’s perfectly fine for things not to be said verbally, but sometimes it feels as if there’s a struggle for things to be said even in a look or air of understanding from at least the film, even if not David when explored over dinner one evening. As if the lightness of the film wants to stay on track as much as possible, even during more dramatic moments. Yet, perhaps the best sequence of the film is a directly serious, almost silent, one depicting the group’s respectful visit to Majdanek. Already during exposition shots of Poland Eisenberg’s camera captures a good deal of detail which brings you into the locations, but as it lingers throughout the concentration camp as it seems to dwarf the characters it pushes you back in your seat. Played out with little sound or dialogue as the return journey to the hotel begins you just want it to linger on to sustain the impact instead of going to another piece of Chopin.

Even after this moment there’s still room for humour. Before and after the visit there’s some well-balanced humour as the ‘more like brothers’ cousins, it’s noted that they were born three weeks apart, get reacquainted in the wake of their bereavement, taken particularly hard by Benji. While not everything quite gets a laugh this is less a film aiming for an out-and-out comedy, although it could fall into the comedy category, and more a light drama dealing with such serious themes. Perhaps to make them more accessible and highlight the continuing impact and different familial connections and lives lived because of it. Regardless, the laughs do manage to gently come in from the opening stages and help to move things along during the bumpier, more uncertain moments, only occasionally feeling as if they heighten or further show the uncertainty of how to deal with or present a certain idea or moment.

With everything contained within 90 minutes there’s a short journey yet one that gets a good deal in and manages to make the most of that time. Not outstaying its welcome and generally leaving some of the best moments towards the end of the film, where much of the most interesting details of the characters as individuals lies. While not everything entirely clicks during that short run-time there’s still enough to like and enjoy, particularly in regards to the humour and performances – there are some likable moments of conversation with other members of the tour group relating to identity and the various meanings of pain and what to do with it. Just sometimes its depictions of awkwardness come across as a general awkwardness from the film rather than in the situations its depicting.

Good humour and performances help A Real Pain to move along, at its best when it takes a moment to take in its characters behaviours and feelings, however it feels hampered by its own occasional awkwardness when approaching such matters creating something of a bumpy, if overall likable, ride.

Release Date – 10th January 2025, Cert – 18, Run-time – 1 hour 55 minutes, Director – Helina Reijn

Tech CEO Romy (Nicole Kidman) finds herself entering into an affair when a new intern (Harris Dickinson) fulfils her submissive sexual desires.

The sex scenes and montages highlighting the sub-dom relationship and desires of tech CEO Romy (Nicole Kidman, on strong and bold form) and new intern Samuel (Harris Dickinson) will likely be what creates people’s overall opinion of Babygirl. Some have found a humorous side to sequences where Dickinson commands Kidman to crawl around and lick milk from a saucer like a cat, others have simply viewed them as strange. Undeniably these scenes and the tension between the two construct a good deal of Halina Reijn’s film, one very different from her previous feature; the brilliant Bodies Bodies Bodies. They make way for themes of power and manipulation, however these feel only lightly touched upon.

When made the central focus and directly dealt with there’s an additional intensity to the film in regards to its dramas and the central relationship, which sees Romy entering into an affair with Samuel when he fulfils the submissive sexual desires that her husband (Antonio Banderas) doesn’t seem to understand, the opening scene sees her leave the bed to go to another film to climax to submissive porn. Yet, with the back and forth of the relationship, the worries that it will be uncovered and ruin Romy’s family life and career, there’s little time for the details of power and control. There’s an instant spark of interest to these moments when playing out, giving the film a jump, but it quickly fades away to get back into the various other points present in the narrative.

While generally dealing with things well when they appear there is something of a squash as things near the closing stages. While just under 2 hours the film starts to feel overlong whilst trying to push some of the lesser-dealt-with themes in order to further establish their appearance and mention in the closing stages – particularly regarding Sophie Wilde as Romy’s assistant Esme, wishing to progress in the company with the help of one of the few women who made it in the industry. However, as Esme appears to start her own relationship with Samuel Romy’s life begins to spiral further as she becomes increasingly drawn into her affair with the young intern.

Sex scenes largely find their impact after the fact in the ensuing dramas. They may be necessary for the narrative and relationship, and indeed the overall film that writer-director Halina Reijn is going for – and again they’ll likely be what creates something of a divided audience – but sometimes they feel split from the rest of the film as to who they’re aimed for. Perhaps because of the fact that the more they appear the more the dramatic effect appears in subsequent scenes and the focus of these moments almost solely becomes the erotic side of the erotic thriller. As a whole there’s still a generally consistent film unfolding, but one that on reflection is busier than it initially seems. It means that the best moments of drama don’t get enough room to breathe and fully develop, meaning that the various layers of power within the relationships at hand don’t feel fully explored with the film as a whole inevitably missing out on expanding its best ideas and moments.

With multiple dramas following on from the various intimate scenes there’s a busy and overlong film in Babygirl, led by Nicole Kidman on bold form the film is at its best, and most dramatically intense, when directly looking into the power dynamics within each relationship.