Release date – 7th February 2020, Cert – 15, Run-time – 2 hours 12 minutes, Director – Bong Joon-ho

A family manage to fraudulently make their way into obtaining jobs for a very wealthy family that they are all unqualified to do

Parasite, the latest from Okja and Snowpiercer director Bong Joon-ho, has been one of the quiet (ish) frontrunners of this years awards season. While it seems that titles such as Joker, The Irishman and Marriage Story have been picking up the most attention and steam in the race for Best Picture one of the other potential nominees that has been heavily talked about is Parasite. In fact it appears to be this year’s Roma; especially if it does get nominated for the top prize, and a number of other awards at the upcoming Academy Awards. And it’s no surprise why, because the film’s great!

The Kim’s are a struggling family, barely able to make ends meet in their semi-basement apartment. They spend their days mostly making boxes for a local pizza place, earning barely any pay for it. They rush to get more done and therefore make mistakes, which means earning even less money. However, things change when a family friend goes to study abroad. The son, Ki-woo Kim (Choi Woo-shik) is told to pretend that he is a graduate in English, so that he can tutor the student that his friend taught before going abroad. It just so happens that the girl that Ki-woo will teach is part of a very wealthy family. Soon the Kim family find themselves lying and fraudulently working their way into various jobs for the Park family. Disposing of those already in the position and making it seem as if they are all just friends, or friends of relations who have been working in their respective industries, such as driving, housework or teaching for many years.

The high levels of tension created by the fact that the Kim’s could be found out for who they really are at any second contrasts well with the successful doses of satirical humour that are spread throughout the plot and a number of the lines of dialogue throughout the piece. There’s no denying that this is a very funny film. With humour that helps to create a natural tone alongside engagement with the characters as they try to earn money to make their way in the world. The difference between the lifestyles of the two families showing a commentary on class and wealth, but also what it can do to anyone and what people will do to get it. Fully forming the satire while also creating a tension on par with the best of thrillers. As already mentioned with whether the Kim’s will be found out but also at how far they will go to keep their positions and obtain more.

Gradually the film becomes about greed and obsession, putting on an act and much more. As more is revealed and things begin to get better for the central family the tension also continues to rise. Placing the viewer in a place of constant edge-of-your-seat suspense. Pushed further not only by the wonderful pacing throughout the piece, helped by Joon-ho’s screenplay and direction, but by the brilliantly strong performances throughout the piece. None more so than Song Kang-ho as the father, and general leader, of the Kim family. Within him lies a great deal of the hope and desire of the family, but also the fear and worry that each one holds.

There’s a great deal of care and detail put into this film from both Joon-ho and all members of the cast. Helping to create a complex, layered and detailed piece that immerses the viewer within the world, at times almost as if they’re trapped in it – to the benefit of the tension, and at times slight fear factor, that the film creates. Almost immediately the audience is gripped by the film, brought into the world and engaged from start to finish. Intrigued by the story of the central family that they see. Initially trying to make ends meet and quickly being consumed, to violent degrees, by greed and obsession. Key elements that work towards the hints of satire while also working well with the breathless, nail-biting tension.

It’s difficult to talk about the elements that make this film so great without going into spoiler territory, one event links so well into another that once you begin to discuss one point you find yourself almost naturally discussing the other elements. And this is very much the case with the flow and pacing of the film as a whole. Things flow wonderfully well into each other, the 132 minute run-time flows by wonderfully quickly and is a pure joy, even if at times it’s a painful and sweat inducingly tense joy – the same way that some have described Uncut Gems, which if you were to watch in a double bill with Parasite your heart may very well explode due to how fast it’s beating from the relentless tension and gripping nature of the films.

Everything within Parasite works. It clicks and simply flows from tension into suspense into panic, worry and so on. Filled with a range of feelings and emotions this is a brilliantly tense film. Dominated by powerful directing that enhances the detail of the screenplay, alongside the fantastically strong performances that help to further convey new ideas and feelings. This might be a film that changes with repeat viewings, that remains to be seen. However, it’s sure to be as captivating, tense and gripping as it was the first time round, if not potentially more so.

Overflowing with tension thanks to the detailed nature of the script, also featuring appreciated elements of satire Bong Joon-ho’s latest is a true cinematic experience. One which has a wonderfully gripping impact on the viewer and brings them along for an unpredictably intense ride come the end of the film when everything comes together in the best way possible.

Release date – 26th December, Cert – U, Run-time – 2 hours 15 minutes, Director – Greta Gerwig

The March sisters (Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh and Eliza Scanlen) lives are shown through flashbacks as they come to the bed of their seriously ill sister.

Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel Little Women is undoubtedly one of the most iconic works of literature of all time. It tells to story of the March sisters as they make their way through their lives, with their own ambitions, hopes and dream and independent thoughts that they want to go out and achieve. In fact, the ideas presented in both the film and the novel may be best put by Saoirse Ronan’s central figure Jo. As it seems her world has come crashing down around her Beth passionately exclaims “Women have got ambition, they’ve got talent, as well as just beauty. I’m so sick of hearing people say that love is all that a woman is fit for. I’m so sick of it!” So, how do you bring a novel like this to the big screen with success, especially in today’s society. First of all you allow Greta Gerwig to write and direct the film, giving her full control of her vision. Gerwig’s directorial debut Lady Bird was praised by critics and audiences alike.

And that’s precisely what Gerwig does here, forming a comfortable, enjoyable and heartfelt tale. Detailed in both story and look to the point where it’s virtually impossible to not be almost instantly immersed within the world that the cast and crew all unite to create. This is a story about unity after all, but more importantly independence. While the March sisters very much support each other and want to see their family succeed they each have their own individual aims that they are determined to achieve. Jo wants to be a writer, selling short stories, although heavily edited by the publishing company, for small fees. She’s constantly told to make sure that her lead female characters are married by the end, keep it saucy and worry less about large chunks of detail and description. Meg (Emma Watson), while being shown as a strong actress has aims of getting married and starting a family. Amy (Florence Pugh) wishes to be an artist, travelling with her aunt (Meryl Streep) to Europe to develop her skills. All while youngest sister Beth (Eliza Scanlen) wants to play the piano, despite a rapidly growing illness that leaves her restricted to her bed. The hopes of each girl going against the wishes of their Aunt who tells them that they must marry well if they are to succeed in life. When it’s pointed out that she never married she quickly responds “well, that’s because I’m rich” in a way that only Meryl Streep can. It’s this kind of natural, quick humour that helps to make the world more vivid and believable. Slightly poking fun at the ideas of what women were meant to be in 19th Century America, compared with views today.

However, humour also comes from the defiance of convention that the March sisters represent. Timothée Chalamet very much plays the central love interest for Jo – the most defiant of the group, at one point she has to be told by Meg that “just because my dreams are different to yours doesn’t mean that they’re unimportant” – and a large part of the film. The son of rich neighbour Mr Laurence (Chris Cooper – sporting some absolutely smashing facial hair), who grows to form a close bond with Jo, who claims she will never marry. When Chalamet’s Laurie offers his arm to her after a trip to the theatre she hits him and quickly walks off to walk with her sister.

This is a film that’s overflowing with passion and heart from all involved. Each performance is spectacular and enhances the already detailed nature of the characters. Characters who are easy to connect with, enjoyable and you can’t help wanting to spend more time in their company. These are complex, well-designed figures that show proper varied emotions and thoughts. Translating to that being felt by the viewer. As the sister’s crowd around their increasingly ill family member the audience feels their pain, the cocktail of emotions that run through their minds over the course of the piece. Everything simply clicks and works and it all comes down to Gerwig’s screenplay. No matter where the narrative we are whether in the present day, for the characters at least, or as part of a flashback the viewer always knows who is who, what they’re like, when in time the film is showing and what has happened before that point. It all works and wonderfully flows, never loosing track of itself or becoming tangled up within its own plot, or where it is in it at different points in time. It all flows and happens with great ease, knowing exactly what to do and how to do it. Covered with the fingerprints of a cast and crew who care deeply about the project and making a strong and equally passionate feature. Having fun making it while also treating it with the seriousness that it requires and deserves. And that’s exactly what it’s like to watch the film.

Despite the pressures that the family have put upon them; including Laura Dern’s wonderfully calm, caring, yet equally restricted mother (alternatively known as Marmee) to the girls, the family still pushes through. Receiving great admiration from the audience who wants nothing but to see them succeed. Getting behind them and hoping that everything will turn out alright for them in the end, despite fears that they might be knocked back by the standards that society sets on them. And amongst all the period detail, the lavish costumes, sets and general look of the piece Gerwig manages to make this very much a film for a modern audience. A modern audience that covers a wide range of people. Not just the white middle-class women that the film looks upon. This is something for people of all ages (well, most ages, maybe not quite the very young), people of all genders, backgrounds, classes, this is a film that almost anyone can find delight in. It’s a pure joy that you can easily escape into and be entertained by. Taken on a journey with these wonderful, caring, heartfelt, heartwarming, emotional, complex and genuine characters. A step-up from Lady Bird, although a rather different film in certain aspects; although carrying on a number of the core themes and ideas, Greta Gerwig confirms that she is on track to dominate Hollywood and hopefully continue to change its landscape for the better!

Passionate, thoughtful, caring and much more more Little Women has a lot to say and it does it in a wonderfully eloquent and heartfelt way. Gerwig’s screenplay and direction and precise, finely sculpted and with strong performances from the cast and crew this is an altogether enjoyable, entertaining and energetic piece. Translating all of this into emotion, humour, character and story. A wonderful, effective mixture.

Cert – 12, Run-time – 2 hours 22 minutes, Director – J.J. Abrams

As the threat of the Sith becomes even bigger Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Co must find a way to track down the still alive Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), while Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) is close behind them.

This is where it ends (or at least where part of it ends). The Skywalker Saga. One of the biggest storylines, and indeed film series, of all time ends here, coming to a conclusion for the third time. Following on from the events of the somewhat divisive The Last Jedi Rey (Daisy Ridley), still training under the watchful eye of General Leia (Carrie Fisher), she aims to carry on the work of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) while developing her own Jedi skills and abilities. It’s not long until Rey finds herself going in search of a Sith wayfinder – of which there are only two in existence – in the hope of finding the recently returned Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), who was believed up until this point to have been long dead.

However, also on the trail of a wayfinder is Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). More enraged than ever, after more defeats in the previous film, and also far more intent on bringing Rey, whose powers are stronger than either of the pair realise, over to the dark side. Alongside this it appears that the numbers of the First Order have grown even larger, with multiple ships that have the ability to destroy entire planets that refuse to surrender to them. It seems as if there’s no chance of the Resistance fighting back and winning. And so, in the hope of having a chance Rey, Finn (John Boyega), Poe (Oscar Isaac), C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), BB-8 ( and Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo) find themselves flying from planet to planet in the hope of finding clues that will lead them to where they need to get to to end the fight and bring this saga to a close. Where’s classic droid R2-D2 amongst all this, again it seems as if noone has any idea what he’s mean to be doing and therefore is moved to the side to sit there and briefly be shown looking at other characters every now and then.

There’s a lot going on in this close to another Star Wars trilogy, and the Skywalker Saga as we know it. We’ve also got General Hux (Domnhall Gleeson) having to put up with Richard E. Grant’s General Pryde – it’s almost impossible to think that every time director J.J. Abrams (who also directed 2015’s The Force Awakens) yelled cut a huge grin spread from ear to ear across Grant’s, otherwise deadpan or enraged character’s, face at the fact that he was part of a Star Wars film. The two are clearly having a great time being a part of this film, unfortunately their screen-time is somewhat lacking. Another figure with limited screen-time is Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose Tico. Tico who was introduced in Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi almost seems to just be pushed to the side, Abrams unsure as to what to do with her, thus relegating her to a lesser role, more in the background, even if assisting Leia and the Resistance army. At least she hasn’t been completely pushed away like Adrian Edmonson’s comic relief Captain Peavey. Comic relief, or at least a more successful use of it, being something that The Rise Of Skywalker could use, or just less of the attempts at gags that don’t quite take off properly.

For the most part Abrams manages to keep track of what’s happening, who’s where and why they’re there. The film is relatively easy to keep up with and there’s a fair deal of enjoyment to be found from it. However, the feeling lies that it seems as if the writers are trying to tie up more threads than there actually are, as if they’ve given themselves more to do than they initially had. Maybe this is down to some fan-service. Giving Star Wars fans – of which I am not one, I’ve been able to appreciate and admire the series and a number of the films but am in no way a fan – a number of things to enjoy and connect with, things that they’ve seen throughout the previous 8 films and want to revisit one more time in this saga. This mixed in with a feeling that maybe something was mixed in the writing process. Initially Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow was on board to make this film, he’s credited, alongside Derek Connolly, with helping to write the story, alongside the pairing of Abrams and Chris Terrio, who collaborated on the screenplay.

It might be down to this that what’s been heavily advertised as the spectacular finale to the story of a generation (or two, maybe even three) is quite average. Amongst all the dashing about, and the occasional lightsaber battle, which are rather well done; made better by being backed by John Williams’, as always, strong and reliable score – his final for a Star Wars film. The performances throughout the film also help to hold things up. But the constant dashing about and travelling to and from various different planets and seeing the perspectives of a number of different characters. There’s so much going on and so many characters to keep track of that sometimes it seems difficult for the writers to focus on what they actually need to focus on. While the battles and action sequences are good, and this wraps up the saga well enough. It does seem as if there’s something missing, perhaps more spectacle. This almost as if the victory lap is being done before the final one. While it’s good, it’s not quite the main event that we may have been here for.

Focusing on story threads and ideas that it seems the writers have invented that weren’t initially there Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker feels, despite good action, score, visuals and general technical detail and good performances, as if it’s given itself too much to handle meaning that not everything quite feels properly wrapped up by the end despite a perfectly fine finale.

Cert – U, Run-time – 1 hour 50 minutes, Director – Tom Hooper

The Jellicle cats meet for the annual Jellicle ball where one cat will be chosen to restart with a new life.

What is a Jellicle cat? What makes a cat a Jellicle cat? How does a cat become a Jellicle cat if it isn’t born as one? Can cats be born as Jellicle cats? These are all questions that the smash hit West End musical Cats never answered. For those going into this high-budget film adaptation of one of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most famous works you won’t find them here either. In fact you may come out with more questions that you entered with, all part of the baffling, confusing, headache-inducing experience that is the film version of Cats.

There’s no denying the success that the original stage musical had, after all it spent over 20 years in the West End, and is one of the most successful musicals of all time, even if it does only have about one good song, doesn’t make sense and has, for some, become something to poke fun at when it comes to certain musical based jokes. So, it was only going to be a matter of time until a film version was made. In the musical cast members are dressed up in hairy costumes, with heavy make-up to give the impression of the common feline housepet. However, this film takes a slightly different approach. Giving the alleged cats human faces, hands and feet (and bodies – the female cats have breasts). It all makes for something that looks rather disturbing, during the opening sequence when central character Victoria (Francesca Hayward) – who does nothing but watch and stand in amazement at all other performances around her – is thrown into an alleyway by what was her owner various cats crowd around her singing about Jellicle cats, while never explaining what one is. The general look and feel of this sequence is one akin to an even more horrifying Pink Elephants On Parade, just with more fur.

The look of the characters of the film was criticised from the trailers, although many of us gave the film the benefit of the doubt due to the fact that the CGI probably wasn’t completed at the point, not that the new look looks any much better. In fact it’s lucky that the script and songs, which make up about 105 minutes of the 110 minute run-time – even for a musical this seems a bit excessive? – is filled with cringeworthy cat puns, almost one every five or so minutes, to remind you that these are cats, not weird humanoid figures in some form alternate universe. “Don’t mess with the crazy cat lady” explains Rebel Wilson’s Jennyanydots, a tabby cat who eats a group of humanoid cockroaches, to a disturbed response.

Ideas such as this bring an extra layer of confusion and bafflement to the film. Both of which, alongside the fairly poor and equally nonsensical songs, add to the headache that the viewer experiences during this loud film. Potential energy is simply transferred into hectic dance numbers, loud chorus’ that lead to the words not being properly heard or understood, not that many words need to be used to get the idea that James Corden’s Bustopher Jones is fat and likes to eat. Such simple points get three or four minute musical numbers before we see Idris Elba as Macavity, somehow transporting competition to an island with Ray Winstone – who is easily the best and worst thing about this film, a character that just needs his own film, not just a thirty second musical spot and growling – whose character is aptly named Growltiger.

So far this review has contained barely any mention of plot, and that’s because there isn’t one. The Jellicle cats meet at the Jellicle ball so that one can be chosen to go to restart with a new life. This is almost two hours of introductions, characters describing who they are and what their basic background is. From set-piece to set-piece we go, from naked cat body to furry coat wearing cat the general look of the sets, using large props and heightened sets to give the true impression of size, is something to be slightly admired, however much of the sets are darkly lit or aren’t seen for very long, so there isn’t much to be fully immersed in. Leading to something that creates a lack of connection with the viewer and something that’s very difficult to keep up with, especially with so many characters, songs and so little plot.

There’s a lot going on in Cats, yet at the same thing barely anything at all. When mixed with the musical numbers and the constant changes between scenes and ideas, some of which go on for too long, it’s difficult to keep up with the almost dizzying and confusing nature of the film. At the end of the day the designs are the least of the problems – even if you would genuinely forget that these are meant to be cats if you weren’t reminded every so often – the lack of plot, explanation and sense is. And therefore the film is brought down and simply can’t be enjoyed as much as the all-star cast (and director Tom Hooper – making something rather different to his Oscar hits Les Miserables, The King’s Speech and The Danish Girl) might hope that you would. It’s certainly an experience but it’s unlikely to create any lasting memory, or at least not one that could possibly fuel the odd nightmare.

The character design is at times questionable, and so are some of the alleged gags that run throughout, however Cats biggest flaw is its lack of plot, even still creating something confusing and headache inducing. Never properly clicking, or giving time to be immersed in what could otherwise be a detailed and decent looking world.