The Sofa and Popcorn Degree

THEIR FINEST starring Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin and Bill Nighy directed by Lone Scherfig A review by Helen J. Reynolds A number of WW2 films are coming to the big screen this summer; from Brian Cox donning the infamous cigar in a Winston Churchill thriller, to Christopher Nolan giving his epic treatment of Dunkirk, so it would be easy to miss an understated British movie like Their Finest .   Easy, but a mistake. This isn't a big movie (though the cast list is stellar) but it is one that will stick for all the right reasons.  Reminiscent of The Artist , we're shown a somewhat nostalgic view of the movie industry, though during wartime Britain; the film opens with footage of a propaganda clip showing a woman's factory making bullets. Catrin (Arterton) is hired to help write a movie with a female angle. The government wants something authentic with heroic romance and a fighting spirit - all so as to dazzle the Americans and induce them to join the war effort...

GHOST IN THE SHELL   starring Scarlett Johansson, Juliette Binoche and Pilou Asb æ k directed by Rupert Sanders   A review by Helen J. Reynolds Based on the anime and manga likewise named, Ghost in the Shell brings Masamune Shirow's creation of a dystopian ultra-tech Japanese society into 3D live action. In a world where humans are addicted to cyber netic upgrades, one company is looking to go further: produc ing a robotic "shell" linked with a human brain. Major (Scarlett J ohansson) is the first success s tory in this new chapter of human evolution and is the perfect government agent.  Sets and costumes are incredibly detailed though do reference other sci-fi films; holographic advertisements bring to mind Blade Runner , robotic arms recall Star Wars/Terminator and the beautiful meshing of the organic to metallic is highly suggestive of The Matrix , as well as the glitches that act as a motif to Major's searched for past. It's still a...

GET OUT starring Daniel Kaluuya and Allison Williams directed by Jordan Peele A review by Helen J. Reynolds Get Out is a horror suitably set in suburban America and rather than demons, ghosts and creepy kids, this film makes nightmares from deep-rooted racism. Samuel L. Jackson criticised the casting of British actor Daniel Kaluuya who plays Chris, a black man dating Rose (Allison Williams), a white woman, feeling an African-American would have more authenticity to give to the role. A fair point since racism is alive and well in America, with tension between the black communities and police too many times resulting in tragedy. Even their prison system is - as the Oscar nominated 13th documentary points out - really a system that perpetuates slavery. However, I feel Kaluuya was rightly cast. His performance in Black Mirror episode "Fifteen Million Merits" is not so dissimilar, in both he plays a character in a powerless situation, horrified by the t...