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Hallow Road | Film Review

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  After receiving a call late at night, a couple (Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys) race to the scene of an accident to help their daughter (Megan McDonnell). I’d seen the premise of this film pop up again and again and I’d always registered that it looked interesting, but for whatever reason there were other films to watch. So I’m glad I finally watched it! I really liked this film. It’s always great when a little 90-minute thriller can surprise you! The first thing I noted was how good the tension is. It’s created from almost the first moment of the film and it holds onto you for the entire runtime. You’re as stressed as they are the whole way through. The story is really simple, but it’s told in such an engaging way. Despite being entirely dialogue, this is a full story with well written three-dimensional characters that we really get to know through their interactions with each other. A situation like this strips the characters of their airs and graces, and we get to know who the...
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I Swear | Film Review

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  This film follows the life of John Davidson (Robert Aramayo), a man who grew up with Tourette's syndrome in 1980s Scotland. I saw the trailer for this film at some point last year, and that in itself looked so powerful that I couldn't wait to finally see the full product. So it's no surprise that I loved the film. One of the best things about the film is the performances. Aramayo was brilliant in the role, but Scott Ellis Watson, who plays a younger Davidson, was equally fantastic and deserves just as much praise. The story is really powerful, as shown in the trailer, particularly because this isn't a story that we hear often, if at all, so everything we learn is really impactful. It doesn't gloss over everything or make light of the hardships Davidson goes through. And while doing that, it's also really informative about the condition. Part of this is due to how well written is it. The characters feel so real and authentic, and there's never a moment when...
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I Wish You All The Best | Film Review

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  After being thrown out of their family home for coming out as non-binary, Ben (Corey Fogelmanis) moves in with their estranged sister (Alexandra Daddario) and her husband (Cole Sprouse). I saw the trailer for this film randomly and immediately knew I wanted to watch it, so I was eagerly awaiting its release! I liked this film. Ben is such a great character to follow. They’re really sweet, and it’s easy to sympathise with them. All of the characters are great, and the actors do a really good job portraying them. Although the film moves slowly, it takes a long time before your interest starts to wane. For me I only started to lose interest towards the end, and by then I was invested enough in the lives of the characters that it didn’t matter. There were a few plot points that didn’t quite make sense to me, mostly around Ben’s parents, that took me out of the story. I couldn’t quite work out those characters and what their true thoughts and feelings were. At the beginning they were ...
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Regretting You | Film Review

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  After an accident reveals deeply buried secrets, Morgan (Allison Williams) and her daughter Clara (McKenna Grace) reconnect as they rediscover life and love. I’m firmly in the middle of the Coleen Hoover discourse – I’m not a fan, but I haven’t read enough of her work to hate her writing either, so when this film came out, I was neutral about it. Unfortunately, this one wasn’t good. However, the actors were great! They all played their characters really well. The story is so cheesy and insane, in true Coleen Hoover fashion. But at least it’s fun! Everything about the way the story is told is heavy-handed. It doesn’t give you a chance to figure things out and instead just hits you over the head with themes again and again. While the couples all had believable chemistry, their relationships were underdeveloped and moved way too fast. The audience can’t connect with them, root for them or ‘ship’ them because they’re all together before we even have time to get used to the idea of th...
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Book Review #151: His & Hers by Alice Feeney

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  When a woman in a small village is murdered, newscaster Anna Andrews and her ex-husband DCI Jack Harper both suspect each other's involvement. But in a town where everyone is lying about something, will the killer be caught before it's too late? This book was at the top of my 2026 reading list, mostly because I was really excited to check out the TV show adaptation (which I've seen and absolutely loved!). I've previously read one of Feeney's books and didn't love it, so I was slightly apprehensive about this one. Thankfully, I loved the book! I liked it from the opening. You get to know Anna really quickly and whether we trust her throughout the story or not, putting us on her side from the beginning is a great way to start things. I loved the dynamic between Anna and Jack. From the second they're together we understand so much about who they were, who they've become, and how explosive the rest of the story will be. Even though we don't trust eithe...
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If I Had Legs I'd Kick You | Film Review

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A down-on-her-luck mother (Rose Byrne) tries to navigate her daughter's (Delaney Quinn) mysterious illness. As we start getting into me watching movies just for the awards buzz, this is firmly in that category. The premise of the film didn’t appeal to me that much, so I’m firmly here for Rose Byrne’s performance. Unfortunately I didn’t love this film. It had a really slow start. The premise doesn’t give too much away so you’re essentially going in with not much information, and it takes a long time to get to grips with the story. The cast is so interesting – I’d never expect Conan O’Brien or A$AP Rocky to be in a story like this. But they didn’t pull me out at all, I really believed both of their characters. But of course Byrne is the standout. While I didn’t love the film, I think her performance was as good as everyone has said. She completely carried the movie and did it with ease. The story isn’t particularly engaging due to the way it is being told. It didn’t pull me in or mak...
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Keeper | Film Review

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  A woman (Tatiana Maslany) begins having terrifying visions while staying with her boyfriend (Rossif Sutherland) in a secluded cabin. I didn’t know much about this film before putting it on, but I really like Tatiana Maslany, so to be honest her being in it, and it being a horror film, were the only reasons I watched it. This film wasn’t great. There were parts of it that I liked, but the overall product had too many major flaws. But I will say that the actors all do a really great job, particularly Maslany who was the absolute standout. I was slightly apprehensive about the film when I heard who the director was – I’ve not been a fan of any of his previous movies, but that didn’t put me off. Unfortunately, this movie didn’t change my mind about his films. There was a lot of great imagery and visuals that made things feel genuinely creepy, particularly the visions. But as interesting as the visions could have been, they were too frequent and made the story feel disjointed and all ...
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