Lou Thomas

It’s a heartbreaking story and all the more brutal for its surface-level simplicity.

A deeply sad movie about thwarted love, The History of Sound is essential viewing.

Brilliant and unmissable.

One might question the need for yet another Oasis doc, but in this case the end the effort is justified, especially if you came of age to these very tunes.

It’s a lively, enthralling tale with some particularly emotive scenes in the final act that are bound to cause a tear or two. Some will ask why make this film at all? The answer should be, why not?

Among the best horror films of the year.

A riot of sex, murder and intoxication presented with an appropriate aural and sonic ferocity.

Meet Me In The Bathroom makes for a lively snapshot of a very exciting period in rock history. Veterans and newcomers alike should check it out.

The Killer is an entertaining, crowd-pleasing banger that stands up to multiple views. It’s a superior hit-man romp that doesn’t outstay its welcome from a director who misses the target less than his protagonist.

Lovers of the currently unfashionable historical epic, however, mostly aren’t eager to see Napoleon for the love story at its core. What they want is a battle – blood and thunder writ large. On this front, there’s little in modern cinema to equal what Scott and his team manage.

With a uniformly impressive cast, spectacular scenes of carnage and the unshakeable feeling that anything could happen, this zombie franchise is as thrilling as it’s ever been. It’s well worth taking a trip to The Bone Temple.

A lively, in-depth examination of the fascinating and important heavy metal icons, this Ballad is well worth listening to.

Hardcore horror fans should expect less of a full-on festival of bloody carnage and more a new-school chiller in line with the first two films by Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar) or Jordan Peele (Get Out, Us). Regardless: for a top-ranking summer fright from Down Under, don’t miss Talk To Me.

Lynne Ramsay directs the hell out of this intense, twisting story.

It’s honest and unflinching, tough but not witless and, for the most part, an immersive, overwhelming sensory experience. It should be compulsory viewing for warmongers of all ages and young conscripts.

There’s ultimately lots to love about Final Reckoning and if this is the end, Cruise and Co are finishing on a high. It’s just a shame it takes so long to get going.

What makes this fifth film the best of the franchise is its tense, paranoid latter half.

Its rich tone of regret, guilt and unspoken malice comes across in careful direction from Tim Mielants, Frank van den Eeden’s shadowy cinematography and subtle, measured performances across the board.

Sweeney is excellent as the whistleblower who slowly but surely realises the game is up and creeps from poised confidence to frightened, tearful regret. Hamilton and Davis are also very believable as agents in complete control.

It’s easy to question the motives of pop stars who get behind a cause, but the end-product here is a joyful night for people who’ve experienced unimaginable hardship. Cynicism can (and should) be put aside for now.

Garland, having dipped with his interesting-but-flawed puzzler Annihilation, returns to the form of the excellent Ex Machina here with a shocking, hilarious and terrifying take on grief and masculinity at its most toxic. Thrilling stuff.

It’s best to think of Belfast as a great, crowd-pleasing coming-of-ager set in the city, rather than a serious, nuanced depiction of the conflict. Branagh’s tale leans heavily on the autobiographical and it’s about feelings rather than facts.

Hardy fans keen for a laugh will lap it up and forgive the slightly incomprehensible plotting, while those who just want a break from reality can happily chuckle at a comic book (anti)hero who is uncommonly free from the navel-gazing that afflicts bigger names of the genre.

To give Gunn his due, he crafts a world that’s as close to the DC Comics Superman that we’ve ever seen, with characters like the shapeshifting Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan) adding real texture. It’s a promising start-point to his plans for the DC Universe.

Despite its superficially dark material, Wolfs isn’t meant to be difficult or challenging, it’s just an enjoyable time hanging out with some chilled, reassuringly handsome gents as they get to the bottom of their not-a-murder mystery.

Director and co-writer Justin Chon’s film is not saying anything new here, just presenting it slightly abstractly with brief flashbacks (and flash-forwards) alongside Joyo’s unusual tree and plant-based rituals.

When Campbell, Cox or both are on screen, Scream 7 is at its best. Campbell now is as indefatigable a scream queen as Jamie Lee Curtis in the Halloween series, while Weathers is probably Cox’s greatest role, even if the Friends faithful prefer Monica Geller. So, even an average Scream film is worth seeing for the dark thrills and bloody spills we can depend on. Just don’t expect to be wowed.

It’s enjoyable enough. It’s also a real treat to watch a Marvel film that doesn’t depend on viewers having seen a dozen other films and TV shows.