Film Review: The Florida Project

This film starts slow, then gets slower. There are no doubt lots of arty-farty types who will proclaim that I missed the point, but the pace is painful, and the story lacks substance. Even the cute kids get tiresome after some stretched scene. I certainly understand that some families struggle but by making all these families horrible, we have no sympathy for anyone. Apart from the motel owner, you would never want to live near any of these people. And when they get in trouble with the authorities, you hope they get their comeuppance. The one positive note is that the film does stay with you for a bit after the final credits have rolled. Brooklynn Prince, Bria Vinaite, Willem Dafoe Dir: Sean Baker "Find Your Kingdom." Genre: Drama

Film Review: Battle of the Sexes

Emma Stone and Steve Carell play well off each other in this true tale. Each has their own demons to content with, and as the plot moves from organisation, training to playing in the infamous tennis match there plenty of fun to be had. Emma Stone, Steve Carell, Andrea Riseborough Dir: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris "He made a bet. She made history." Genre: Drama, Sport

Film Rewiew: Suburbicon

Somewhat crazy mob story from the Coen brothers' pen (directed by George Clooney). The racial story running alongside the main story seems superfluous unless I totally missed some deeper meaning. Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, Oscar Isaac Dir: George Clooney "Where your problems disappear." Genre: Drama, Crime

Film Review: Daddy's Home 2

Passable comedy from some heavy weight stars, which has few surprises but lots of clichéd caricatures. Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Mel Gibson Dir: Sean Anders "More Daddies. More Problems." Genre: Comedy

Film Review: Justice League

You know the drill with these movie, lots of superheroes go up against lots of badies. Nothing special here but again lots and lots of action. I'm coming to the opinion that I prefer movies containing single heroes rather than films with wall to wall heroes. With less heroes we get an opportunity to enrich the characters otherwise they end up flat and all we get is scene after scene of destruction. Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa Dir: Zack Snyder "All In" Genre: Action

Film Review: Call Me By Your Name

Another movie where I think the prefessional reviewers are giving too much credit to a mundane story. Its not that the film doesn't have some merit (particularly some of the sexual tensions encounters), however many of the scenes are drawn out and often add nothing to the wider story. You could easily go the toilet for 10 minutes and miss nothing. The imaginary with the water, and swimming, is stuck on repeat even if we got it first time through. Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg Dir: Luca Guadagnino Genre: Drama, Romance

Film Review: Only The Brave

Interesting film telling the real-life story of a group of bush firefighters in the Californian hills. While the individual firefighter stories bring home the sacrifices they each make, it was the politics and strategies that I found particular interesting. Thought provoking. Josh Brolin, Miles Teller, Jeff Bridges Dir: Joseph Kosinski "It's Not What Stands In Front Of You, It's Who Stands Beside You" Genre: Action, Drama

Film Review: Paddington 2

Fun bear story which has great performance from both the actors and the animators. A must-see with the family. Ben Whishaw, Hugh Grant, Hugh Bonneville Dir: Paul King "Free Paddington" Genre: Comedy

Volunteer: Circus Of Horrors

Weirdest show I think I've ever seen, and certainly not for the faint-hearted. Expect to see a show which is a circus performance, with load rock music, scattered with several 'OMG, did I just see that?' moments. Some will hate this but others will love it. Which will you be?

Volunteer: Breaking The Code

Not an overly interesting play which left me a bit bored.

Film Review: Murder On The Orient Express

Kenneth Branagh is excellent in this remake as both director and lead actor. The whole cast come together to keep you guessing until the end, unless of course you've read the book or seen previous versions (which I hadn't). Kenneth Branagh, Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe Dir: Kenneth Branagh "TAGLINE" Genre: GENRE

Film Review: Happy Death Day

Groundhog day with a thriller/horror twist. Reasonable film which lacks any real charm or inventive storyline. Acting is also reasonable with a classic US college coming-of-age feel. Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Ruby Modine Dir: Christopher Landon "Get Up. Live Your Day. Get Killed. Again." Genre: Horror

Film Review: A Bad Mom's Christmas

Sentimental nonsense which fails to give either a decent laugh or paint viable dysfunctional families at Christmas. One moment its some moral point to make then the next we get inappropriate swearing and cheap teenager sex jokes. The original Bad Moms was passable but this misses the mark. Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn Dir: Jon Lucas, Scott Moore "Merry is relative." Genre: Comedy

Volunteer: Paul Zerdin

Paul and his puppets were excellent, and really worth checking out if you get the chance. His use of animatronics in particular are exceptional and far in advance of anything I've seen before.

Volunteer: The Nutcracker

After Swan Lake last year, I thought I'd give the ballet another go. Although the performance was good I still felt the music was the best part and ballet is somewhat repetitive. Customer feedback was great so probably just me.

Film Review: The Party

A British comedy which appears to have been lifted 'n shifted directly from the play. The farce has lots of twists as various details of the relationships emerge, and everyone gets angry at everyone else for some reason. Patricia Clarkson, Bruno Ganz, Cherry Jones Dir: Sally Potter "A comedy of tragic proportions." Genre: Drama