The Sofa and Popcorn Degree

DUNKIRK starring Fionn Whitehead, Tom Hardy and Mark Rylance directed by Christopher Nolan A review by Helen J. Reynolds I wasn’t too intrigued by yet another WW2 movie, but knowing Christopher Nolan ( Inception , Batman Begins ) was at the helm, got me in the seat and I wasn't the only one. It was a weekday but the screen was near full - the appeal couldn't just be it's famous director. Sitting on the other side to me was a man certainly in his 80s, having an evening out with his grown-up grandson. Suddenly the relevance of a war movie made absolute sense. That being said, to do another WW2 epic, there has to be something different in the telling. Cue Nolan. He did it for Batman, creating a fresh new franchise, and let’s not forget when he changed film narrative altogether, crafting a whole movie literally backwards. The man knows storytelling. For the battle at Dunkirk, he chose to make the closed off beach that much bigger in scale and we follow...

IT COMES AT NIGHT starring Joel Edgerton, Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Christopher Abbott directed by Trey Edward Shults A review by Helen J. Reynolds Modern-day horrors tend to be more psychological, see recent years The Badadook , Get Out etc. Taking it a step further, It Comes At Night focuses on the moral dilemmas an apocalyptic world brings rather than the danger itself. Not that there isn’t any danger. An unknown disease has taken over, wiping out (we can assume) much of humanity. Isolated in the woods, a family take every precaution necessary to protect from infection. This leads to a creppy opening with Sarah (Carmen Ejogo) breathing through a gas mask as she tells her dying father to ‘let go’. T he setting is very atmospheric and a real strength of the movie. Long shadows are cast by gas lights, tree branches grow Tim Burton-style and a big, bold red door is the single way in or out of their old, creaking house. Paul (Joel Edgerton) has the only key but this p...

DESPICABLE ME 3 starring Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig and Trey Parker directed by Kyle Balda and Pierre Coffin A review by Helen J. Reynolds The minions have flooded bakeries, filled balloons, oversized Halloween outfits and even have their own standalone movie, so it's no surprise Despicable Me brings out a third film. This time Gru's (Steve Carell) extended family adds one more as he discovers he has a twin brother, Dru (the plot twist of any aging franchise). The opening is a combination of all the teaser trailers that have been circulating, so you may have seen all the jokes already – Gru in a Borat mankini, a vacuum turned rocket and an 80s villain (cue excellent soundtrack). The problem with a good opening, however, is that the rest of the movie falls pretty flat in comparison. The minions have little to do in this movie, not a bad thing as the Minion movie certainly shows you can have too much of a good thing. Standout scenes include life behind bar...