Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)

When looking through the canon of movies in the MCU, which is now something I type out with a bit more resentment than affection, it's clear that Spider-Man remains a firm favourite. It's also pleasantly surprising to see that he's now the character to be featured in standalone movies (relatively speaking) that should remain at the top end of any ranked list of modern superhero movies.

After the events of the last movie, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) has to get used to a life of loneliness. He still pines for MJ (Zendaya) though. And misses his friendship with Ned (Jacob Batalon). Having fewer distractions does seem to help him fully grow into his "friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man" form though, but there's something within him that might be wanting to help him evolve even further. It feels dangerous, and Parker doesn't want to go out of control. That's why he heads along to get some advice from Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo). Meanwhile, a new villain is using people like puppets, which makes the city of New York an even more dangerous place, as if it wasn't dangerous enough with Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) causing carnage as he delivers his own brand of justice.

Written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, who have plenty of experience in the Spidey-verse, Spider-Man: Brand New Day feels like the most straightforward and well-plotted Marvel movie in years. While a couple of important plot points act as connections between the past and the future of the MCU, most people should be able to enjoy this without having to remember every detail of every past movie and TV show that Marvel have given us this century. You should be aware of the main characters who come in and out of the narrative, but none of the key players are minor figures in this long-running universe.

Director Destin Daniel Cretton, who previously helmed the very enjoyable Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings, seems very comfortable here, taking the opportunity to present numerous images and moments that could easily appear in any omnibus of Spidey comics. It's probably a bit lazy and tiresome to say that many scenes here feel as if they could have been ripped straight from the pages of the source material, but it's very true.

Holland has been growing better as an actor in line with the growth of his character, and this may well be his best Marvel performance yet. He also has the benefit of looking so young that it's even more hurtful to see his character being properly beaten down by various villains. Zendaya remains a great MJ, cool and considerate, and Batolon is still good fun as Ned. Ruffalo gets a couple of great scenes, in both Banner and Hulk form, Bernthal allows his Punisher to stay true to the essence of the character while also warily making a connection with someone he strongly suspects is just a bit too young and optimistic to deal with what the world will throw at them, and the plot creates reasons for both Florence Pugh and Marisa Tomei to be back in the picture. Liza Colón-Zayas is enjoyable in the role of Detective Jean DeWolff, Tramell Tillman continues to do well in roles that make the most of his ability to be charming and slightly unnerving, and there's very good work here from Sadie Sink, being introduced into the MCU in grand style. Other names to keep an eye/ear out for include Naomi Watts, Michael Mando, Keith David, and Marvin Jones III. 

Like most of these movies, it's a bit overlong. I'm also a bit irritated, as I have said many times before, when we get so many movies nowadays that can't just give viewers a standard and harsh villain. These are minor criticisms though. This works well enough as blockbuster entertainment. As a Spider-Man movie, specifically, it's right up there alongside the very best of them. I can't wait to rewatch it, and I may even allow my rating to move up after I've absorbed more of the details and treats packed in to so much of the runtime.

8/10

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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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Uncharted (2022)

I am not a massive gamer. I am too old and I was never that good at videogaming when I was a kid. But improved technology has delivered better and better videogame experiences over the years, including games that I have found absolutely hit the sweet spot for me. The Resident Evil series has always been an all-time favourite. I really like the more recent Tomb Raider games. Pinball, both real and in videogame form, has long been my jam (despite my enthusiasm being unmatched by my skill level). And the Uncharted games. With gameplay that mixes in some great puzzles, extended and intense action sequences, and often a hint of the supernatural, I can play and replay these games as long as the company keeps making them.

Other fans of the game may understand why I was hesitant to see the movie after the trailer dropped. Tom Holland, as much as I like him, seems very young for the role of our hero, Nathan Drake. The same goes for a Mark Wahlberg, playing mentor/friend/untrustworthy Sully. But I knew I had to give it a go sometime. So here we are.

The plot is fairly simple. Drake is hired by Sully to help him recover a legendary treasure. It can be found with the help of two ornate crosses. Unfortunately, the other cross is in the hands of Chloe Frazer (Sophia Ali). And they are being pursued by Braddock (Tati Gabrielle), as well as a number of other people on the payroll of the determined Santiago Moncada (Antonio Banderas). What follows is an adventure full of brainteasers, booby-traps, and some impressive parkour. And a very cool set-piece lifted from one of the main games that has our hero struggling to get back to an airplane he has been rudely ejected from.

Directed by the fairly dependable Ruben Fleischer, who seems to have a knack for turning something very silly into something that is at least solidly entertaining, Uncharted is a bit better than I expected it to be. It still suffers from the casting, which is perhaps more down to my attachment to those videogame characters than anything else, but it moves nicely from one sequence to the next, building up the scale of the action until you get a finale that is as entertaining as it is ridiculous.

It’s unsurprising to see a number of different names credited with writing the screenplay, but Rafe Judkins, Art Marcum, and Matt Holloway are the main ones I will mention, with the latter two having worked together, for better or worse, on a number of blockbusters released over the past decade or so.

Once you adjust to the fact that this is a younger, slightly inexperienced, Nathan Drake then it becomes easier to enjoy Tom Holland’s performance. He is a likeable presence, and has always managed to impress with his physical work onscreen. Wahlberg is Wahlberg in most of his movies, but he is also easier to enjoy as the film plays out, helped by some fun dialogue and a constant sense of weariness as things conspire to keep him from the treasure he knows is so close. Gabrielle is a badass, and an excellent one, and Ali is good as a someone who may be vital to finding the treasure, but may also be looking around constantly for a way to escape with a bigger reward. Banderas is as smooth and charming as ever, and Steven Waddington creates a few laughs as a villain with a Scottish accent that our hero finds impossible to understand.

All in all, this is good fun. The special effects are nicely done, with some big sequences being visually impressive without feeling overly busy, the score feels like a nice balance between movie music and something in line with the games, and there is one of the best fan-service cameos I have seen in a while. I could happily rewatch this, and I hope we get the sequel that is so obviously set up in the post-credits sequence.

7/10

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Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

If you have made it this long without having Spider-Man: No Way Home spoiled for you then I congratulate you. I'll also try not to spoil anything here, although that makes this review a little bit trickier. I AM going to work on the assumption that most people saw one or two of the trailers, revealing some familiar villains coming back to our screens.

The basic plot concerns Peter Parker/Spiderman (Tom Holland) having quite a miserable time of things, all because of the repercussions from his battle with Mysterio. Everyone knows who he is, and everyone has a view on his actions. Some of them believe the lie fabricated by Mysterio. Some don't. What's worse is that it's not just affecting Peter, but also the ones closest to him. His friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) and his girlfriend, MJ (Zendaya), are guilty by association, which leads to them being unable to get into the colleges they have applied for. Desperate for things to go back to how they were, Peter heads to Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and asks him to cast a spell that will make people forget who he is. The spell goes just a bit wrong, resulting in our universe being invaded by characters who have met other incarnations of Spiderman in other universes.

Director Jon Watts and writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers may not have been the only people shepherding this Spiderman through his latest cinematic trilogy, but they have certainly been there for each instalment, helping to maintain the balance of light fun and major peril that our friendly neighbourhood Spiderman has dealt with over the past few years. This is the darkest of the new Spidey films yet, but it still allows plenty of time for humour, and it still incorporates a bright, solid, colour palette for the majority of the runtime. It helps enormously that Holland has a brightness to him that lights the screen further whenever he's not being beaten down by overwhelming odds.

Holland does his best work yet here (in these movies, I'm not talking about his entire career), moving from lighter moments to moments that are all the more heartbreaking because of his vulnerability, and it's hard to imagine what the bigwigs will plan next for the character. They clearly have to keep making the most of having Holland in the role, but this feels like a tough one to top. And yet, somewhat paradoxically, it's far from the best Spiderman movie. It's overlong, it's overstuffed, it's all just a bit overdone, and the third act has to ensure that every single character gets at least one satisfying moment. And the CGI is equally overdone, even if it is generally at a very high standard.

As well as Holland, both Zendaya and Batalon are as good as they have been in the previous movies. Cumberbatch has fun, playing a strong supporting role. And there’s pure joy in seeing the return of characters played by Alfred Molina, Willem Dafoe, Jamie Foxx, Thomas Haden Church, and Rhys Ifans, with each actor appearing to relish the opportunity to give their character a better resolution. Marisa Tomei remains an excellent Aunt May, doing her best to help and protect her nephew as danger crowds around them. And there are at least three other cameos/supporting turns that will have fans enthralled and delighted while the screen is loaded up with one treat upon another.

It’s clear that this has been made with the aim of really pleasing fans of the web-slinger, especially those who have enjoyed every one of his modern cinematic outings. Pretty much every big rumour you already heard about is true, but that doesn’t lessen the impact of every wonderful moment, whether big or small. It’s just a shame that it feels like a bit too much, this is a film that would have worked better split into two. It’s stimulation overload, just barely allowing the quieter, more sombre, moments time to breathe. That doesn’t mean that it’s not great, it just also feels slightly exhausting as you move towards the inevitably super-busy third act.

With great film-making tools comes great responsibility. The people putting this extravaganza together have been very careful to treat the characters with care. They just weren’t quite so careful with the pacing and the excess of visual effects.

8/10

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Dolittle (2020)

Here is a perfect example of a film that, while not necessarily as bad as the very worst of them, stands out in the way it saps some fun out of the central concept and makes everything worse by over-reliance on CGI to make everything possible.

Robert Downey Jr. plays the man who can talk to the animals, and he has decided that his Dolittle should have a strong Welsh accent. He also doesn't want to deal with people any more, spending many years locked away after the loss of his adventuring wife. He is forced to change, however, when young Tommy Stubbins (Harry Collett) sneaks in to his home, carrying with him a squirrel that he accidentally shot. Dolittle is also forced to accept a request to help save the life of Queen Victoria, who has been struck down by a mysterious malady that can only be cured by the fruit of a tree that nobody has ever managed to reach. It's time for an adventure, and Dolittle has plenty of animals to help him on his quest. He also has at least one person, Dr. Blair Müdfly (Michael Sheen ), trying to stop him from succeeding.

After a slightly unsteady start, scenes giving viewers a quick summary of the life of Dr. Dolittle and then showing him talking to animals IN animal noises before we then get to the more enjoyable format of Dolittle and the animals all talking in English, Dolittle becomes a decidedly okay bit of family entertainment. The animals are enjoyably exotic (with three of the main characters being a parrot, voiced by Emma Thompson, a gorilla, voiced by Rami Malek, and a polar bear, voiced by John Cena),  things look bright and lively enough, and there's a sense that the whole adventure could be a lot of fun.

It's a shame that the script, written by Doug Mand, Dan Gregor, and director Stephen Gaghan, seems to have been written with the idea that the visuals and lead performances will carry everything along. The lead performances, voice acting aside, don't feel as strong as they could be. Downey Jr. may be having fun, I guess, but he doesn't feel right for the role, as much as I often like his onscreen presence. Sheen is more enjoyable, a proper pantomime villain, and Antonio Banderas is a welcome addition, although not involved for long enough. The same can be said for Jim Broadbent. Young Collett does fine, but he's really there to be caught up in the middle of the animal shenanigans. And while it is a bit of a coup to rope in such a variety of big names, including Ralph Fiennes, Tom Holland, and Selena Gomez, for the animals, few of them really add to their roles, unlike the standout, an ostrich voiced by Kumail Nanjiani.

It's also a shame that the makers of the film have decided to let the visuals carry so much of it when the visuals are, despite the fact that some may find me overly critical here, a bloody mess. So many scenes lose any sense of magic because it feels like CGI interacting with CGI, against a CGI background, with some more CGI being used to add flourishes here and there. I wouldn't mind if it was better, and some of the scenes have to contain what I assume is a lot of seamless CGI complementing the action, but some moments are jarring in how obviously fake they look. There's one scene in which Tommy is being taken on the back of a giraffe to catch a departing ship that looks, well, it looks as if it could have been lifted directly from some high-quality BBC programme from the early 2000s.

Younger viewers should find enough to enjoy, and there's an amusing fart gag during the finale that will prompt giggles, but this is a horrible attempt to reinvigorate a property that was handled better back in the late '90s. Maybe we'll get something better next time, when someone more suitable is put in the lead role.

4/10

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Psycho II (1983)

It's a bold move to make a direct sequel to one of the greatest horror movies of all-time. It's an even bolder move to use the first moments to show the most famous sequence from the original film. I am not sure how it was initially received, but everyone should now be aware of the fact that Psycho II is a pretty fantastic film, a smart and entertaining psychodrama that is more than worthy of following the flawless original.

It has been over two decades since Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins, reprising his role) was committed to psychiatric care after the grisly discoveries shown in the first movie. He has now been declared sane, which means he is a free man. This upsets Lila Crane Loomis (Vera Miles), also reprising her role from the previous movie, and Lila plans to get Norman sent back to prison as soon as possible. But Norman may have an ally, in the shape of the lovely Mary (Meg Tilly), even if Mary may also be manipulating Norman at times.

Although not quite on a par with his portrayal of the character in the first movie, being over 20 years older naturally removes some of the vulnerability and seeming innocence of Norman, Perkins is once again a captivating screen presence. Despite his past, viewers know that he's not necessarily bad, or evil. He's sick. And, compared to those around him who want to make him sicker, or want to take advantage of him, he's often sweet and well-intentioned.

Tilly is the heart of the film, Mary is a young woman with a way about her that makes it easy to believe Norman would fall for her, and want to believe the best about her. And Miles is fantastic, playing a relentless woman who wants justice, no matter how far she has to go to get it. Robert Loggia is also very good, playing the doctor who is trying to help Norman, Dennis Franz adds another sweaty douchebag role to his filmography, and Hugh Gillin returns to the role of Sheriff Hunt.

Director Richard Franklin doesn't overdo things, in terms of style and technical flourishes, he seems very much aware of the fact that the film relies on the brand name, the main character, and the script, from Tom Holland. Speaking of the script, it's a fantastic concoction of reworked moments from the original film, twists and turns involving the new characters, and a beautifully-crafted narrative that uses Norman, and his struggles with sanity, in a way that allows everything to move along on an intriguing journey that never betrays the essence of the central character.

There are some minor issues. It often feels a bit flat, more akin to a TV movie than a cinematic release, and it's a shame that the rest of the movie doesn't manage quite the same level of dark humour and playfulness that is packed into the superb third act. Those quibbles aside, however, Psycho II holds up as one of the best sequels ever. Nothing was really going to equal the first film, but this comes surprisingly close.

9/10

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Onward (2020)

Here's the starting point for this review. Onward is a disappointing film from Pixar. The fact that it IS from Pixar means there is still a lot here to enjoy, but it's disappointing, even if the message about sibling love/care feels like a slight improvement on the neverending stream of movies aimed at kids with a message all about how the people who created them during the act of sex are the best, and most important, people in the universe, and to be loved by them is the cure for everything ever. 

I admit . . . that has been a bugbear of mine for many years. I have my reasons.

Tom Holland voices Ian Lightfoot, the younger brother of Barley Lightfoot (Chris Pratt). The brothers live in a magical world that has left a lot of the old ways behind, for more convenient methods. They live with their mother, Laurel (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and the shadow cast by the death of their father. So it becomes an urgent matter when the brothers are given a gift from their late father, a magical staff and instructions on how to bring him back for one extra day with them. So begins a quest that will involve some erratic driving, some angry pixies, a number of death-defying moments, a manticore, and lessons about the people in your life who help bring out the best in you.

Visually, Onward is lovely. The quality of the animation is as you would expect from Pixar, although it's a shame that every scene isn't packed out with the usual selection of details and small gags that we've come to expect from them. Maybe they are now a victim of their own success, and there are certainly plenty of lovely touches to pick up on repeat viewings (while occasionally pausing the movie), but it definitely feels like this movie is set in a universe that was not as fully-formed as the environments in so many other Pixar movies.

Holland and Pratt are decent leads, and their vocal performances somehow emanate a nice helping of brotherly love, but the rest of the cast feels a bit . . . lacking. Louis-Dreyfus is a fine mom character, Octavia Spencer is wonderful as the Manticore, but they're the only ones who stand out. Mel Rodriguez gets a number of good lines, playing Colt Bronco, a centaur police officer dating Mrs Lightfoot (and let's not even start considering the ramifications of THAT relationship), but it would have been nice to have a more familiar voice in that role.

Director Dan Scanlon also co-created the story and screenplay with Keith Bunin and Jason Headley, and this feels like a film that may have been better handed over to someone a step removed from the story. Everyone involved treats it as something a bit too precious, which is why the better moments (the angry pixies being a highlight) are so few and far between. As sweet and predictable as the ending is, it also feels like the safest and dullest way to tie everything up in time for the pending end credits.

As mentioned at the very start of this review, however, there is still plenty to enjoy here. It's not as bad as The Good Dinosaur (which remains the worst of the many Pixar movies I have seen so far, although I have yet to watch the Cars movies, despite owning them). It's just not half as good as it could have been. It's Onward, but no step upward.

6/10

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