The Odyssey (2026)

An epic tale requiring an epic runtime. A non-linear narrative structure. A cast more stacked than the latest attempt from Marvel to win back their fanbase. It must be a Christopher Nolan movie. 

When it comes to classic tales of heroism and overcoming overwhelming odds, it's hard to understate the enduring impact of the hefty poetic work by Homer, one of the oldest surviving works of literature. If you're ever stuck on a desert island then you just need this book, The Bible, and the works of Shakespeare, and you have the seeds of every main story ever told

I'm not going to insult people by providing a summary of the plot. Nor will I work through each individual cast member. It's enough to say that Matt Damon is our flawed hero, Odysseus, trying to return home to his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), and son, Telemachus (Tom Holland), while many suitors hope that he remains absent, allowing them to compete for his wife, and the throne. There are various monsters, a big wooden horse, and an incursion into the city of Troy. 

I have never professed to being one of those people who absolutely loves everything that Nolan has directed. There's no denying, however, that he makes films that get people believing they need to get along to see them on the big screen. To help with his obsession, he has managed to make this the first film shot entirely on IMAX 70mm cameras, which should be appreciated by the relatively small amount of the population able to get themselves along to a proper IMAX screen. Nolan does two things very well: intelligence and spectacle. The Odyssey has those elements in place, and also has a decent amount of heart.

I admit to being worried when I saw the opening line of text stating "In a time of apparent magic...". I assumed that Nolan would be using that phrasing to avoid presenting a world overshadowed by gods and monsters, which is something I think is inherent to The Odyssey. That wasn't the case though. Yes, this is a bit more grounded in some ways (you don't see gods moving pieces around a board as you might in some classic adventure movies from yesteryear), but you get everything that should be here, from a cyclops to a dangerous beast picking off passing sailors, from a powerful witch to deadly sirens. There are giant warriors, there are prophecies delivered by the dead, and there's at least one nymph happy to keep someone captive and feed them amnesia-inducing lotus flowers. There are also a lot of human moments though, which all works in tandem with the more fantastical and spectacular moments. Odysseus MUST get home to his loved ones. Penelope has held out hope for his return over many difficult years. Telemachus can barely restrain himself from upsetting and fighting the suitors, and the half-blind Eumaeus (John Leguizamo) does everything he can to keep the household ready for his master's return.

Nobody here is mis-cast. Nobody. I was most worried about young Tom Holland in his role, but his role requires him to still convey the emotions and inexperience of a young boy pining for his lost father, and he works brilliantly in the role. Damon is superb, particularly impressive in the sequence that shows him dealing with the song of the sirens (as well as the entire third act), Hathaway gets to play arguably the best female character that Nolan has included in any of his films, and Leguizamo is only equalled by Samantha Morton when it comes to supporting cast members delivering career-best moments. Robert Pattinson is delightfully snide and villainous, Jon Bernthal is surprisingly impressive, and there are also excellent supporting turns from Himesh Patel, Corey Hawkins, Lupita Nyong'o, Logan Marshall-Green, Ryan Hurst, Elliot Page, Andrew Howard, and many others.

There may be one or two very minor complaints, I didn't even really process the score from Ludwig Göransson while immersed in the spectacle (although I have been listening to it over the past few days, and it's quite wonderful and a worthy companion to the visuals) and I do think the character played by Theron felt slightly mishandled, so I am happy for now to rate this as highly as I rate my other favourite Nolan movies. At his best, Noland matches his own desire for spectacular film-making with a knowledge of what audiences will want to see. He does that here, a number of times, and also makes use of the non-linear structure to tease us all on the way to a climax that has at least two incredible, and yet incredibly different in scale, set-pieces. It's hard to think of how he will top this (I suggest either Gulliver's Travels or a dark Jack The Ripper movie would be the way forward, personally), but he doesn't really need to. He could rest on his laurels now and rest safe in the knowledge that he's already an established cinematic great to so many.

That includes me. Even if I've yet to give one of his films a perfect score. There's either something just holding them back from being absolutely perfect, or I may need to revisit his entire filmography one day with the idea of reconsidering why I've been reticent to just agree with so many others and overlook some minor flaws. 

9/10

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Dogma (1999)

Writer-director Kevin Smith has a filmography that can be rated and ranked in a number of different ways. You can pick his best film, which will always be Red State for me. You can pick his funniest film, which is where I may end up going for the wonderful silliness of Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back. Or you can pick his most fully-formed and cinematic film. That is where Dogma comes in. Very cleverly having fun with some aspects of organised religion without necessarily making fun of those who have faith, Dogma is smart, funny, and has a couple of sequences that show Smith able to deliver more than just great dialogue.

Linda Fiorentino plays Bethany, a woman who is very surprised when she is visited in the night by Metatron (Alan Rickman) AKA the voice of god. Metatron tells Bethany that she must go on a quest, one to stop two angels (Loki and Bartleby, played by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck) being allowed to reclaim their places in heaven. If Loki and Bartleny manage such a thing, only made possible by a Cardinal (George Carlin) who has stupidly offered absolution to everyone entering his church, then it will prove God to be fallible. And if God is proven to be fallible then, well, that will destroy everything. Literally. Bethany finds herself accompanied on her quest by two unlikely "prophets" (Jay and Silent Bob, played, as ever, by Jason Mewes and Smith), an apostle named Rufus (Chris Rock), and the delightful Serendipity (Salma Hayek).

At 130 minutes, this is also the longest narrative feature from Smith, but it doesn't feel it. Taking time to get all of the pieces in place during a number of opening scenes that don't start to fully intertwine into a full main throughline until some time later, Smith remembers to keep the comedy dotted throughout until he can then relax and have the most amount of fun when everyone has been introduced and set on their respective journeys. Things step up a notch whenever Rickman, Damon, or Affleck appear onscreen, but it's also fun to watch the whole thing derail momentarily when the characters of Jay & Silent Bob barge their way into the story.

While the dialogue is still clearly the area in which Smith is most comfortable, he surrounds it in this film with a number of great ideas and a real sense of everything building towards a grand and satisfying ending. The execution is imperfect, arguably hampered by what I am sure were limitations that were placed on budget and resources for a film that many would start to protest even before it was released, but Smith tries hard to deliver some set-pieces that keep viewers aware of much more happening just outwith the edges of every frame. 

Fiorentino may not be the best lead, but she does well enough as someone both confused and hesitant to keep doing what she's being told must be done. It's the rest of the supporting cast who shine though, particularly the stars who you either wouldn't normally think of as being part of a Kevin Smith film (Rickman, Carlin, Hayek, and Rock) or stars who are very much well-suited to delivering his writing (Damon, Affleck, a delightfully devilish Jason Lee). Almost everyone feels as if they're having a LOT of fun, and that fun emanates from the screen. Elsewhere, film fans will enjoy seeing small roles for Bud Cort, Brian O'Halloran, Janeane Garofalo, Jeff Anderson, and Alanis Morissette. 

It seems fitting that Smith wrote and directed a movie that could at times feel like his most mature and smartest work, and at other times had some of the main characters battling against a demon made of poo. Dogma is very often crude, in both the dialogue and the film-making tricks used to get Smith's vision onscreen, but it holds up well because the intention is always clear. Faith is good, the wide spectrum of humanity is often also good, and the worst thing to happen to religion stems from the humans who decided to twist and wield it to suit their own agenda. 

I still love many of Smith's rougher comedies. I still love Red State. This remains his greatest cinematic achievement though. Amen. 

9/10

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Netflix And Chill: The Rip (2026)

While I knew that I would make a viewing of The Rip a priority because of it co-starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in lead roles, I was pleased to find out that it was directed and written by Joe Carnahan. Carnahan may not be working at the level that he once was, but the guy still delivers some decent entertainment.

Everything here begins with the death of Captain Jackie Velez (Lina Esco). This leads to her team being questioned, with nobody above suspicion. Things then get even trickier for the team when they're tipped off about a stash house, and soon discover that they're going to have to count and keep safe an amount of money that exceeds $20M. If ever there was a temptation for someone who wasn't hestitant to kill a police Captain, this should expose any traitors in the midst of the group.

Inspired by a true story, which was worked on by Carnahan and Michael McGrale, there's nothing here in the by-the-numbers plotting that should displease those who know what they're in for. The twists and turns are predictable, but also satisfying. The main cast members all look very capable while waving their guns around through the clouds of testosterone. Okay, there aren't really any memorable action set-pieces, but the rest of the film plays out as expected, and the story ultimately proves better for the focus on intelligence and mistrust ahead of fights and gunplay.

Damon and Affleck are a proven combo, they're the mac & cheese of millenial blockbuster stars (which I mean as a compliment, although I am sure others will use the same analogy as an insult), and they work as well as ever here. Damon is the one in charge, and the more level-headed one of the two, perhaps due to having a different view of the unfolding situation, but he's also under as much, if not more, suspicion than anyone else in the team. Steven Yeun gets a decent amount to do, Teyana Taylor continues to impress now that she seems to have been finding better roles for her talent, and Catalina Sandino Moreno is, well, there. She's fine, but not really given anything to do. Sasha Calle is very good as the young woman who has her home raided while hoping to skip and dance through some grey legal areas to avoid arrest, Kyle Chandler is a DEA agent who might return in time to help or hinder our leads in the third act, and Scott Adkins has a good time with his role, playing Affleck's brother.

The screenplay may not be stuffed with memorable dialogue, but it works for what the film wants to do. What doesn't work is the visual style (or lack of) throughout. I'm sorry to say, but cinematographer Juanmi Azpiroz presents everything in a horribly murky mix of muted blues and something akin greyscale. I assume this wasn't necessarily his choice, nor the result of his work alone, but I'm naming him as the main culprit because it's the worst aspect of the film and he should have looked through his viewfinder and convinced everyone else to do a lot better.

There are other good things about this, but they tend to be tied to the production and profit-sharing model put in place by Damon and Affleck. What's actually in the movie itself is decidedly average, all things considered. It could have been elevated by another one or two passes on the script and a few more meetings about getting the visuals improved, while keeping everything in line with the aesthetic that Carnahan wanted.

6/10

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Prime Time: Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron (2002)

It’s easy to forget now, but there was a time when Dreamworks didn’t really have any main identity at the heart of their animation department. They have now, and they have had great success, but there were a few years when they tried, and I would say failed, to impress audiences with classic adventures, biblical epics, and this . . . a tale of the old West as shown through the eyes of a strong stallion. And it should be said that I class these films as failures because of how they can be perceived in relation to other films from Dreamworks, not in relation to how I myself view them.

Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron isn’t great though. I have no idea how it was turned into a videogame and a number of small-screen spin-offs, considering how surprisingly dull it is, but those wanting more family viewing options featuring this character . . . knock yourselves out.

Matt Damon voices the titular character, a brave and noble stallion who enjoys the US countryside and looking after his friends and family. That is all out at risk when man barges through though, looking to train and tame horses, and looking to put railway tracks down throughout the fields and forests. Headed up by a stubborn and mean Colonel (James Cromwell), the men may spell the end of the blissful life for Spirit and co. 

Co-directed by Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook, this is a film that had me wary from the very opening scenes. Viewers follow an eagle as it flies over some picturesque scenery, in a scene that feels very much like people showing off how nice they can make their animation. It isn’t the only moment like that, although some other sequences marry the visuals to some enjoyable action and drama, and it ultimately highlights the weakness of the film. This is much prettier than it is interesting.

The script from John Fusco doesn’t help. He has written some fun stuff in the past (a certain Brat Pack Western being one of his best), but he focuses here on a central character, and central message, that ensures the focus remains on the serious messaging of the piece. From the very first lines of dialogue, which are awful, you just know that you are stuck with something that is weighed down by an overload of earnestness.

Damon is fine as the lead character, Cromwell is a good villain, and the other main cast member is Daniel Studi, who does well, but they also have to share some time with songs delivered by Bryan Adams, who seems to have watched the film and then handed over tunes that literally describe what is happening onscreen. Nobody is at their worst, I guess, but they are certainly not at their best either.

It generally stays pleasant to look at, there’s an exciting sequence in the third act with a large steam train, and it certainly didn’t pain me to watch it. I will probably forget it within a few weeks though, and I know I will never deliberately pick it for a repeat viewing. There’s not enough to appreciate or dig into beyond a one-time visit.

5/10

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Oppenheimer (2023)

A lot of the conversation around Oppenheimer has been as extreme as I thought it would be. Some are inevitably claiming that it is the best film yet from Christopher Nolan (which is saying something). While I wouldn't rush to agree with those people, I also wouldn't rush to disagree with them. This is the kind of polished and eye-popping cinematic experience that we've come to expect from Nolan, but it also contains a fair few "Nolan-isms", even if some work better here than they have in some of his past works.

Based on the book, "American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer", written by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin, Nolan uses his typical non-chronological approach to show us some key moments in the life of Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy). As fused with a man named Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr.) as he is with the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer is portrayed as a complex and flawed figure, a man who didn't really treat the women in his life well, didn't bother to be discreet about opinions that would have had less valuable individuals ostracised, or worse, and didn't seem to fully keep the full ramifications of his actions in mind as he pursued a once-in-a-lifetime chance to turn theory into deadly reality.

Bizarrely, despite almost everyone onscreen here doing great work, the cast ends up being the aspect of this film warranting the least discussion. Murphy is excellent, giving a performance that could be considered the best of his career. Downey Jr. is also excellent, doing the kind of work that I last saw from him before he helped to kick-start the MCU. Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh also do well, although both have to work a lot harder to overcome a script that, accurately or not, boils them down to something akin to the grit helping to form the pearl. Matt Damon gets some great moments, playing the military man who essentially serves as the boss to Oppenheimer, Josh Hartnett continues his upswing (after impressing in his Black Mirror role, in the best episode of the most recent series), and Tom Conti is an absolute delight as Albert Einstein, but there are also supporting roles for the likes of Alden Ehrenreich, Jason Clarke, Dane DeHaan, Macon Blair, David Krumholtz, Kenneth Branagh (who may never act in anything close to his more natural accent again), and MANY others. It’s a veritable cornucopia of familiar faces, sometimes shown in unfamiliar ways, and it feels as if Nolan did this to ensure people stayed attentive throughout a film made up of scenes full of dialogue and mathematics.

Knowing what the film is about, and knowing how things ended up (spoiler - it doesn’t go well for the Japanese), Nolan actually does himself a great favour here by taking his standard non-chronological approach to the material. There are three main strands being woven together here - the one that everyone expects and two that may be much lesser-known - and it’s a testament to the screenplay that the ending is as gripping and cinematically satisfying as it is, considering that most of us would assume to know the ending.

The visuals throughout are clear and beautiful, although sometimes showing some moments of real horror as characters consider what has been born into the world, and I must single out cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema, who has been excelling in that role for over two decades now. Different visual styles are used for different plot elements, but each one is about as perfect a match as you could ask for.

Dialogue is also, and it brings me much joy to say this, clear throughout. Part of my problem with a few of the recent Nolan blockbusters has been his misjudged (in my view) attempts to use the audio mix in a way that sometimes makes the dialogue difficult to understand. That issue could have made Oppenheimer a chore to get through, as every exchange feels loaded with information and characterization, but there’s no need for concern. The audio is still used in interesting and impactful ways though, not least when explosions and aftershocks (literally and figuratively) are shaking viewers in their seats. There’s also another superb score accompanying the visuals, this time from  Ludwig Göransson, who previously worked with Nolan on Tenet.

Despite some of the pre-release hype and marketing, I didn’t come out of Oppenheimer shaken and speechless. Nor did anyone else attending the packed screening I was at. I will give Nolan his due though, this was an experience that seemed designed to be both a front row seat to the moral quandary of the 20th century and a character study of someone who was almost equally respected and reviled. I certainly had to gather my thoughts for a while before even starting to write this review. The fact that it works so completely, and is an epic that many will want to rush to rewatch, is a brilliant achievement. Like the central figure, it’s imperfect, but impossible to dismiss. And if you don’t come out of it needing to spend some time fully considering the complexity and weight of what you have just witnessed . . . well, your cinema should still have more palatable entertainment available on a number of other screens.

9/10

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Prime Time: Air (2023)

If you are going to make a film about the creation of a superstar shoe then you should probably help yourself in a number of ways. First, make sure you have a good director and write combo. Second, assemble a great cast to keep the story compelling as we wind our way between obstacles on the way to the ending that we already know. Third, try to make it fun. Nobody wants to come away from a film feeling as if they have just watched a 2-hour advert for one product.

Air is all about the deal that got Michael Jordan working with Nike, lending his name to the famous Nike Air Jordan line, and now seems as good a time as any to turn that story into a film. Especially while Adidas are crying into a huge pile of Yeezy trainers, proving how costly it can be when these things go majorly wrong. Knowing that people won’t just want to see a deal, and trainer, being made though, Air is also 1980s: The Movie. If there’s something from the first half of that decade that you have a fond nostalgia for then the chances are good that you will see it onscreen. Some may not like that approach, but I definitely enjoyed it, helped by the fact that the decade was the time of my formative years (well, not counting the decades of emotional arrested development I had to work hard to break through in just the past few years).

Ben Affleck is in the director’s chair, as well as giving himself the role of Nike CEO Phil Knight, and he does a great job with the script from first-timer Alex Convery. There are lots of great dialogue exchanges throughout, and numerous fascinating titbits sprinkled here and there, with everything surrounded by ‘80s ephemera and soundtracked by a cracking selection of hits (from Dire Straits to Harold Faltermeyer, Bruce Springsteen, and many more).

Although Affleck has a decent role, he’s a supporting player. The main character is Sonny Vaccaro, played by Matt Damon. He is the man who sees the potential in Jordan, and the potential in this landmark deal. Well, to be absolutely correct, the main character is Michael Jordan, but, excluding a montage of his major life moments, he is only ever shown in part, played by an actor who is shown from the back or is kept just off frame. His mother and father are played by Viola Davis and Julius Tennon, and Davis gets a couple of great scenes that highlight how her approval was vital to clinching the deal. Jason Bateman, Chris Tucker, Chris Messina, Marlon Wayans, and Matthew Maher also play a variety of people who all end up playing a part, big or small, in making the collaboration happen, and everyone seems to enjoy being part of such a perfectly-cast ensemble.

The cinematic equivalent of “dad rock”, Air also manages to justify its own existence by showing just how important the Nike Air Jordan became to so many people, from the company making profits to the Jordan family, to the entire world of sport, the world of clothing brands, and to the fans who rushed out to buy a shoe they saw not just any shoe, but a genuine piece of their idol. It’s also a lot of fun.

7/10

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Netflix And Chill: The Departed (2006)

Although I had seen The Departed before, and I watched it more than once (between a cinema visit and viewings when I picked it up to add to my movie collection), I realised that my last viewing of it was over a decade ago. So now was as good a time as any to give it a revisit, and once the end credits rolled I knew that I wouldn't leave it over a decade until my next viewing. Because The Departed is an absolute triumph for everyone involved, and serves as another reminder that not all remakes are inherently bad (although I also need to rewatch Infernal Affairs soon, which I've ALSO not seen for well over a decade).

Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon play Billy Costigan and Colin Sullivan, respectively. Both are cops, but both are very different, and they don't know one another (which is very important for the plot). Costigan is judged to have the right background and character to be used as an undercover agent, tasked with the job of getting close to a criminal kingpin named Costello (Jack Nicholson). That's difficult enough, but Costello also has a cop who helps to keep him one step ahead of most investigations. And that cop is Sullivan. As things start to heat up for Costello, everything gets much more dangerous and intense for Costigan and Sullivan, and it looks likely that things will end up with even more names being added to the list of the recently departed. 

Director Martin Scorsese has good form when it comes to picking material to remake, having also done an absolutely stellar job with his version of Cape Fear. He arguably has stronger material to work with here, and an even more impressive roster throughout the cast (not to cast any aspersions on those he cast in Cape Fear at all, this just has more roles available due to the bigger canvas being painted on), and the script by William Monahan adapts the 2002 original with skill and care for each member of the cast being able to shine in their role. I'd still recommend that anyone watching, and enjoying, this film should check out the original, but this is so well reshaped towards the Boston setting and cast that I feel it's actually the superior telling of the tale (only just though). And it's worth noting that I have yet to watch the other two movies in the Infernal Affairs trilogy, despite owning the boxset for a number of years.

Nicholson may be a bit daffy, perhaps giving off an air of someone having too much fun in a very dangerous situation, but I think his performance works very well. He is a thug who at times tries to wear a cloak of civility, and he is always uncomfortable doing so, making him almost desperate for his own reign to come to an end. Damon is excellent, a really sneaky sonofabitch who you want to see get his comeuppance, but also end up thrilled by as he constantly pulls out audacious moves to keep his role a secret from those around him. DiCaprio owns the movie though, playing someone who is both tough and brave without ever taking anything for granted. You somehow never forget that he is the good guy, even during the scenes that have him participating in some awful criminal activities. Elsewhere, Vera Farmiga is superb as a police psychologist who becomes strongly attached to both men, all while remaining oblivious to them actually working on opposite sides of the law, Ray Winstone is once again a very convincing tough guy, and both Anthony Anderson and James Badge Dale are a couple of cops who may end up being played like pawns by those who know much more than they do. Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen, and Mark Wahlberg are cast appropriately, playing characters who know more than the young leads, and both Baldwin and Wahlberg (always a main choice for any Boston cop role) bring a lot of humour to the film, trading insults, riling people up, and happy to physically assault anyone they think isn't taking any of their major investigations as seriously as they should. There are also great supporting turns from David O'Hara, Mark Rolston, Kevin Corrigan, and Kristen Dalton.

As with pretty much every Scorsese movie, another main character is the soundtrack, with "Gimme Shelter" and "I'm Shipping Up To Boston" being the two to make the biggest impact. You also get the expected directorial flourishes, a load of profanity, and outbursts of violence that will make you wince. The final 20-30 minutes is an extended bloodbath, with every loose end being tied up by a number of fatal shootings and sudden deaths, and even those used to movie violence may be taken aback by scenes that seemingly dance from one major death to another.

Once again, I want to make one final clarification that I think the original film is superb. I NEED to revisit it. I used to have some problems with The Departed, mainly with the tone of a couple of the performances (Nicholson and Wahlberg sometimes seeming a bit out of place with the outbursts that made me laugh). I no longer have those problems. It all just works for me. While I expect few people to rate this as highly as I do, most should really like it, especially if you're already a fan of the director and/or stars. I now view it as a modern masterpiece. It's perfect, and I could happily rewatch it again right now.

10/10

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Rounders (1998)

Not actually a film about the British game that resembles a kindergarten version of baseball, Rounders is actually another fun film basing most of the action around card tables. It's all about poker, and the people who make their living from it. It's also helmed by John Dahl, a director who very rarely put a foot wrong for his first full decade or so of moviemaking, before he then started picking up much more work int he world of TV (helming episodes of shows as varied as Fear Itself, Breaking Bad, True Blood, Justified, Ray Donovan, House Of Cards, and Yellowstone).

Matt Damon plays Mike McDermott, a promising young law student who has a pretty good life. He has a lovely partner, Jo (Gretchen Mol), and has decided to try and leave his days of poker behind him, after losing a BIG chunk of money in a foolish move to earn himself a route to the World Poker Championship. Abstaining from the lure of poker proves to be almost impossible, sadly, when Mike welcomes his old friend, Worm (Edward Norton), back into his life. Worm has just finished a prison sentence, and he immediately wants to make up lost time and earnings. Not trusting the playing method of Mike, Worm is happy to win via some underhanded methods. He's also happy to borrow a lot of money with Mike as his guarantor. 

Considering what it is, poker makes for a fair amount of fun and tension, cinematically. Part of that is because movie poker often has people sitting around a table with hands that are often astronomically near-impossible to have dealt from the deck in the same game session, let along the same tense head to head, and part of that is to do with the interesting ways in which great poker players can be shown to be able to read their opponents and quickly calculate odds. Writers David Levien and Brian Koppelman make the most of this latter aspect, having Damon's character be quite the card savant. This is best illustrated by a superb scene in which he helps a judge (Martin Landau) bet high against his colleagues, explaining who is holding what cards in their hands. The use of Worm is another way to make things more exciting though, ensuring that the card games have real stakes. More than just chips and pride, a loss could lead to a lot of pain. And Worm's approach to the game, trying every grift possible to ensure a win, helps to make the lead character seem more like a true sportsman, an expert looking to relearn some lessons after being humbled by a major loss.

Dahl knows what he's doing here, easily keeping things lively and fun for viewers. You get to see cards, you get a peek at the mechanics of some of the trickery, and voiceover narration from Damon keeps everyone informed about the rules, the odds, and the methodology. The film maintains an energy and level of cinematic cool for almost the entire runtime.

While the lead role isn’t really a stretch for Damon, he does well playing another brand of genius without the social lubrication to keep a position in an upper-class world. Norton is very easy to dislike, also doing well as the kind of character destined to forever try too hard for success in a way that guarantees failure after failure. Mol is as underserved here as she has been so often, but she gives a performance so good that it makes you wonder why she never seemed to get a bigger break that others got, although she has built up a great body of work over the years. Landau steals the few scenes he has, John Turturro gets to play a fairly nice guy, for once, and John Malkovich is fun, with an added accent, as Teddy KGB, the big poker player who needs beaten on the way to a complete turnaround of fortune. There is also a small role for Famke Janssen, who is always welcome, and a cameo from poker superstar Johnny Chan.

It’s quite easy to see where this is going, and the lack of any major surprises in the third act is a bit of a shame, but Rounders doesn’t want to be a gritty and bleak film. It is a by-the-numbers sports movie, a tale of someone having faith in himself as others fall by the wayside. That sport may be poker, as opposed to any number of more energetic pursuits, but every other trope and story beat you expect is right here. Which ends up being a good thing, because this is one of the better sports movies I have watched in a while, but that may be to do with my love of poker.

8/10

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Stuck On You (2003)

The Farrelly brothers had a reputation that they had to uphold at the turn of the 21st century. After scoring big with Dumb & Dumber and There's Something About Mary (and Kingpin should have been just as huge, but I don't recall it making much of an impact until discovered by fans in the comfort of their own homes), they were the ruling kings of bad taste comedy. If a set-piece could be planned around some body functions, they could make it the best possible. In fact, they seemed to falter when seeming to try being a bit gentler in their approach (as happened with  Shallow Hal). Which explains why they gave audiences Me, Myself & Irene (a film with a lead character who has a severe dissociative identity disorder) and this, a comedy that focuses on a set of conjoined twins.

Matt Damon is Bob Tenor, and Greg Kinnear is Walt Tenor. The twins are fairly beloved in their local community, and they can also make the burgers in their dining establishment so quickly that anyone challenging the timer to get a freebie is usually left most disappointed. Walt wants to be an actor though, while Bob is a bit more shy. Anyway, they end up heading to Hollywood, for Walt to take his chance, and that leads to Walt eventually landing a part in a TV drama opposite Cher (played by . . . Cher, of course). This leads to another conversation about the twins perhaps taking a chance on the operation that could separate them, but can they work as well apart as they do together?

There's enough here to keep comedy fans entertained, and the central premise (as is often the case with the Farrelly brothers, deceptive little rascals that they are) allows us to view the main characters as others around them do, good-hearted individuals who happen to be different from many others, but a lot of the fun this time around comes from the casting. The runtime is just under two hours, yet it just about manages not to overstay its welcome, thanks to the final scenes featuring some wonderful pay-offs.

Damon and Kinnear work really well together, chatting to one another like two best friends who just happen to be a lot physically closer than most, which is pretty much what they are. Cher is a lot of fun, initially viewing Walt/Bob as a way to ruin a TV show that she is contractually obliged to, and shows herself willing to play up various perceptions of her image (from man-eater to diva, from wanting to be taken seriously as an actress to wanting to be left alone by people). Eva Mendes is also wonderful here, giving the kind of comedic turn that makes you wish she did it more, and there are great supporting turns from Seymour Cassel, Griffin Dunne (playing Griffin Dunne), and even Meryl Streep, as well as numerous celebrity cameos, both credited and uncredited.

It may lack the big set-pieces that there more successful movies contain, which may partially explain why this seems to stay so overlooked, but Stuck On You keeps the chuckles coming fairly consistently from start to finish, with a large proportion of the jokes avoiding the pitfall of laughing AT the lead characters.

I am sure I will stay in the minority for being a fan of this one, but that won't stop me from trying to get others to give it their time. It's not an all-time great, and not even one of the top three from the Farrelly brothers, but it deserves to have a few more fans.

7/10

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Contagion (2011)

Yes, I was as curious as everyone else who had been watching Contagion over the past week or two. So I caved in and gave it a watch for myself. It had been sitting on my shelves for a couple of years, to be fair, and I figured that now was as good a time as any.

It's the tale of a global pandemic, as unbelievable as that sounds, which is all inadvertently started by a bat (I know, I know, impossible). The first person to be affected by things is Gwyneth Paltrow, getting such a dose of the virus that not even a vagina-scented candle can heal her. She is married to Matt Damon, and they have a teenaged daughter. Other people who end up closely working with the virus include Laurence Fishburne (as Dr. Ellis Cheever), Kate Winslet (Dr. Erin Mears), Marion Cotillard (Dr. Leonora Orantes), Elliott Gould (Dr. Ian Sussman), and an Australian (?) blogger, played by Jude Law.

Written by Scott Z. Burns and directed by Steven Soderbergh, allowing him to utilise the kind of interweaving and fractured narrative style that he seems to prefer for stories with a BIG picture, Contagion is a film that most definitely feels more like a documentary right now. The timeline shown at every step of the way is scarily close to what we're going through here and now. That may prove some comfort, but may also worry some people more who are already worried, so I am not sure if it's one to recommend at this time or not. Interestingly, the one main factor not explored enough in the movie is the HUGE economic impact, something many of us (who have lost jobs or income) are all acutely aware of right now. People being told to self-isolate without sick pay, people being laid off, many venues eerily empty, cinemas, galleries, and museums closed, and if you think folks are rushing out to buy a car or house in the middle of a global pandemic then you can think again. Contagion conveniently forgets to show us that massive upheaval, because these kind of things never affect the Matt Damons of the world.

The performances are all generally very good, especially Fishburne, Winslet, and Damon. The jarring exception to that rule is Law. I don't know who decided that his character needed an accent, and I still am not entirely sure where it was supposed to be from, but it's so bad that it ruins what could have been an absolutely fine, if unnecessary, addition to the plot. His character is there to antagonise those in charge, and to pull back the curtain, in a manner of speaking, while showing what is being hidden from the general public. The point being that it is often hidden because a) those who are in charge aren't much further ahead, in terms of knowing how to deal with the situation, and b) protecting the general public from their own actions is as important as curing the virus (something I think we can all agree on after having seen the disgraceful behaviour of many in recent days). I just wish that point could have been made without using Law's character.

Engrossing from start to finish, and with a nice balance between standard thriller tension and something far more grounded than you might usually get from this, Contagion is the global pandemic equivalent of The Andromeda Strain. Both are riveting without aiming to sensationalise things too much. And you get some scary facts interspersed throughout, although finding them out now may just be enough to help us consciously change some of our behaviours/habits when they most need changed.

It's also worth remembering the tagline: "nothing spreads like fear". Take heart in something fictional, even if it is hewing VERY close to where we are right now, and do so while taking whatever precautions have been deemed necessary to protect people from a particularly nasty bug doing the rounds right now. Then follow it up with Osmosis Jones. It's the virus/Laurence Fishburne double-bill you never knew you needed.

8/10

Contagion is available digitally, which saves you battling to the shops to buy it.

Ford V Ferrari (2019)

A contender that never really seemed to have a chance in the awards season, Ford V Ferrari came to cinema screens with a small amount of fanfare, but no real way to sell it to anyone other than fans of stars Matt Damon and Christian Bale (and, yes, I went into this film thinking one played Ford and one played Ferrari). That's a shame, because this turns out to be one of the more enjoyable films put forward in various award categories over the past year. It's easy to see why others edged ahead in pretty much every category, and it's easy to dismiss it as a formulaic movie that takes no risks, but that shouldn't take away from the fact that the film deserves to receive a bit more praise than it got (from the response I have seen to it anyway).

Matt Damon is Carroll Shelby, the man who ends up tasked with designing a car for Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts) capable of beating the almighty Ferrari cars that have dominated the Le Mans racing event for many years. The car is only part of the solution though. What's also required is a driver who knows exactly how to get the most out of the machine. That's where Ken Miles (Christian Bale) comes in. But Ken is a racer who doesn't necessarily fit the image that Ford may want to put out there as the winning driver to get results that will also lead to more car sales.

Director James Mangold has a good foundation to work with here, with a smart and sharp script hammered into shape by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and Jason Keller, and his quality cast. He also shows a great understanding of how to use the technology at his disposal to best display the intensity of the racing moments without making it all feel like a CGI showcase.

Although Bale is as good as you would expect in the main role, he's a man with a very singular purpose. He knows cars, he wants to win races, he doesn't care for whatever else may be happening around him, in terms of the business and PR side. Damon gets to have a bit more fun, knowing when to play the game with people and when to do whatever it takes to protect the man who he knows is the best fit for the car. The supporting cast is also full of treats, from Letts as Ford, to Jon Bernthal as the vice president of Ford, to Caitriona Balfe as Mollie Miles, the supportive wife of Ken. Josh Lucas gets to be the kind of arrogant douchebag that seems to be the highlighted role type at the top of his CV, and he does it so well, and Ray McKinnon is Phil Remington, a team engineer who is also adverse to all of the games being played off the track, his only aim being to help Miles and Shelby make their case with the fastest lap times.

There may be few surprises for those who were already familiar with this tale (I wasn't, I have no knowledge of the history of racecar driving), but there's enough added, in terms of the character development and little fun details, to definitely make this worth the time of even those who think they know the story too well to find it tense or entertaining. Mangold uses a lot of tried and tested tricks to make sure that it is a complete, and completely enjoyable, cinematic experience.

8/10

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Netflix And Chill: The Great Wall (2016)

The first English language film from director Zhang Yimou, who has given us some absolutely gorgeous films in the past few decades, The Great Wall is a film that I think I can best sum up as being, well, one I never worked up the enthusiasm to watch. I didn't want to see it in the cinema, I didn't pick up the shiny disc until I saw it in a sale selection one day, and I didn't watch it until now. And, here's the thing, my lack of enthusiasm seems to have been warranted.

The story sees a couple of European Mercenaries (played by Matt Damon and Pedro Pascal) encountering a monster while they rest en route to the Great Wall. Once at their destination, they are looking to somehow get their hands on a load of gunpowder stored there, they are taken prisoner. While trussed up and helpless, they witness the wall being attacked by a horde of monsters. Managing to get free and join in with the vigorous defence of the wall, the two men are then made to feel more welcome. They learn the story of the monsters, they help to figure out a plan to potentially defeat them, and they may find themselves being rewarded with much more than just gunpowder. If they can resist the urge to steal and flee.

There are enough separate elements that work here to make The Great Wall an enjoyable enough piece of entertainment. The acting is generally okay (although it's a rather weak turn from Damon, who seems as puzzled as most viewers as to why he should be the lead), the special effects do what is needed, the story is a fun creature feature that makes good use of one of the most famous structures on the planet, and there are sequences that contain such colour and grace that remind you Zhang Yimou is sitting behind the camera.

Sadly, it's never as good as it could be. Compared to other monster movies, or action movies, or even the past highlights from Yimou, this is just okay. And just being okay can be okay, but it's disappointing when it comes from a director with this eye, and this much talent.

The screenplay, by Carlo Bernard, Doug Miro, and Tony Gilroy, never does enough to underline the points it is making about culture and order, about the nobility of the sacrifices being made by The Nameless Order, those tasked with protecting the wall from the attacks of the monsters. You get some decent exchanges between the main characters, but they're like gasps of breath in between crashing waves of muddy water. None of the characters feel as developed as they could be, and every relationship dynamic feels unearned and simply there to tick off the checklist that the film is working through.

Damon, as already mentioned, seems a bit out of place here, in more ways than one, and it's not one of his better performances. Pascal fares better, helped by the fact that his character is set up in a way that doesn't require him to go through any major transformation. Jing Tian and Andy Lau are both very good in their roles, even if they are working with material that feels slightly beneath them (not in terms of the standard content, I mean in terms of the way their characters are sketched/treated). Willem Dafoe is the other name worth mentioning, although he also suffers at the hands of the script.

It's always hard when foreign directors transition from working in their own language to working on an English language production, and it's good to see the sequences here that Yimou uses to indulge in his usual mix of bright colours and grace, but this isn't anywhere near the disaster it could have been. It's a mediocre movie with a couple of standout set-pieces that make it worth your time. Or you could just pick one of the better, subtitled, movies that Yimou has directed in the past. Hero, House Of Flying Daggers, and Curse Of The Golden Flower are all good choices to start with.

6/10

You can buy the disc here.
Americans can buy the disc here.

Downsizing (2017)

The latest film from Alexander Payne, who directed and co-wrote the script with Jim Taylor, is a very odd piece of work. In fact, it seems as unsure of itself as the main character, messily mixing together a sense of fun with some mixed messages about the way in which the human race can best move forward while attempting to undo the harm it has caused to this planet.

The basic plot revolves around the fact that science has perfected, pretty much, the ability to shrink things. Materials, products, even humans. And not only is that great for the environment, it can allow the humans to have a better quality of life. Which leads to Paul Safranek (Matt Damon) and his wife, Audrey (Kristen Wiig), wanting to give it a go. Things don't quite go to plan, and Paul finds himself in the downsized world with a telemarketing job, a fairly lonely life, and a sense that he isn't doing all that he wanted to do, despite not knowing what that is. An encounter with his more carefree neighbour (Dusan, played by Christoph Waltz) starts to open his eyes to ways in which he can improve his life, and the lives of others in the smaller communities.

Despite good performances from everyone involved, with Hong Chaun portraying the other main character not yet mentioned (a political activist who was downsized and now works as a house cleaner), Downsizing just can't overcome the fact that it is lacking focus. The opening sequences of the film show a sense of wonder, while also showing the division that also comes about from such major social change. The middle shows Damon adjusting to his situation and has a bit of fun with the fact that he is, ironically enough, still not thinking of the big picture. And then things get looser and more meandering as we move towards a finale that feels unsatisfying and, well, lacking any real impact or risk.

The script tries to get viewers to look at moments that it deems meaningful and important, and Payne directs in line with this, but it doesn't ever feel as if those moments really deserve the attention they get. And that's a shame for the likes of Damon, Waltz, and Chaun, all acting above and beyond the limitations of the whole thing. There are also enjoyable small turns (no pun intended) from Udo Kier, Jason Sudiekis, James Van Der Beek, Neil Patrick Harris, Laura Dern, and more. It's also a shame that the visuals aren't allowed to be as dazzling and impressive as they could be. This isn't a film about being shrunk down and looking at the giant world around you in awe. It's a film about being shrunk down and living in an environment that often matches that. But there still could have been one or two more moments that emphasise the wonder of it all.

As it stands, Downsizing is a lesser film from Payne. It fails to live up to its potential. Ironic.

6/10

Here is a link to order the American disc.

Hereafter (2010)

It sometimes frustrates me when it takes so long to get to films that I knew I might be interested in. Seeing Hereafter proved to be more frustrating than usual, mainly thanks to a first act that reminded me of a major recent release with one major difference. Hereafter did everything just a bit better. It's not a great movie, by any means, but there are moments that almost reach that level and that opening sequence, featuring a devastating tsunami, is one of them. The fact that it decided to go down a fictional path in order to best tell its story is the main reason for me preferring it to The Impossible, but it's not the only one.

I'd better clarify just now that the two films then go on wildly different trajectories. I simply couldn't help commenting on the similarities during the powerful first half hour of the movie because, well, that's what will spring to mind for many viewers nowadays. Now I'd better move on to the rest of the film.

Matt Damon plays a psychic, but he's a real psychic. It's not a gift that he has, it's a curse, and he's chosen to turn his back on it all. He doesn't want the money or any fame, he just wants to feel normal. His brother (Jay Mohr) keeps trying to convince him that he should be helping people, and making plenty of money, but "a life that's all about death is no life at all."
Cecile De France plays Marie Lelay, a journalist who finds herself caught up in that aforementioned tsunami and then, understandably, deeply affected afterwards.
George and Frankie McLaren play twin brothers who muddle through life together as their heroin addicted mother often leaves them to their own devices. When one twin is suddenly taken away in a fatal accident it all becomes a bit too much for the one who is left, a young man seeking answers and maybe just another chance to communicate with his brother.
These three people have all been touched by death in some way, but perhaps something good can come out of it.

Directed by Clint Eastwood, from a script by Peter Morgan, Hereafter is a strange mix of the jaded and the optimistic helped by a solid cast. It takes ideas of spirituality and plays them out in a completely straightforward, if sometimes slightly schmaltzy, manner.

I've been a big fan of Matt Damon for a number of years now and, whatever you think of the whole film, he's superb here as someone cursed with what some see as a gift. The scenes with him and Bryce Dallas Howard, as a woman he meets and wants to spend some quality time with, may be obvious and even a bit heavy-handed, but they're also quite affecting. Cecile De France has the least interesting journey in the movie, but she does fine in her role. George and Frankie McLaren are stand outs and the movie actually peaks during the sequence in which the boy visits a number of people who claim they can contact the dead and watches blankly as they go through different nonsensical procedures to convince him that they're communicating with "the other side".

Technically proficient, with a couple of absolutely superb set-pieces (one near the beginning and one at just about the hour mark), the biggest problem with Hereafter is the way in which Eastwood takes something that needs a more delicate touch and proceeds to make everything far too obvious and emotionally moving. It DID move me, but I'm a sucker when it comes to that kind of easy manipulation so all I can really do is warn others about it as it's already too late for me.

There are too many negatives for Hereafter to be a great film, not least of which is the way in which the central subject matter is treated (a way that will put many off), but it has some great moments within it. It's just a shame that they're placed in between scenes of much lower quality.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hereafter-Triple-Blu-ray-Digital-Region/dp/B004MKNOGQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1360705539&sr=8-3