It's impossible to describe the love I have for Superman II in this blank space. It has been a headline act in my life for as far back as I can remember. It thrilled me as child. Superman was a God to me. The real God (sorry if you are real, God) never had a prayer. With my confused desire of 'the woman Ursa' it was my awakening. Those black thigh-length PVC boots with a slit up the trouser to…

I saw 3/4 of the Airport disaster films from the 1970's recently. It would be easy to overlook how popular those films were, not only in terms of their box office success, but as TV event films during the course of the 70's. They had big ensemble casts; Burt Lancaster, Charlton Heston, Jack Lemmon to name a few. They remain a certain amount of fun, mostly for those of us who fondly (or vaguely) remember them, as they are firmly…

I was at Meadowhall shopping centre with my mother and partner on a blazing sunny afternoon. The place was fairly empty and as we wandered by VUE cinema, the 13:20 showing of Top Gun: Maverick flashed its teeth at me. It turns out my Mum was up for it too!

My Mum has never seen Top Gun '86, but we're reminded enough of the past to make it not matter. That's the first success of this film. Its second success…

Among sections of film fandom, there exists a sense of wanting to start a new religion each time Chris Nolan or Denis Villeneuve release a film. Who would argue? Both directors make weighty stuff, loaded with deep philosophical and psychological components that have breathed fresh life into the modern definition of a blockbuster.

It could be said that both directors also make largely humourless, perhaps even airless films that weigh like a five-course meal.

Dune is hefty and gorgeously designed,…

The Matrix Remixed would have been an equally apt title. If I'm being less kind then I'd say 'Regurgitated'. There's only one shot at genius with these movies and it happened in 1999. That isn't to say they can't still arm themselves with fun, as evidenced in Reloaded.

Sadly, it's an overall misfire for me. I have affection left over for Neo and Trinity and it's pleasant to see Reeves and Moss back in this world. Some of the time,…