What’s it about?
This true story describes the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks in America where an elite team of 12 American soldiers were sent into Afghanistan to bring American wrath to the anti-American Taliban. America!

What we thought
Dan says: If this were a work of fiction it would be scorned for being two dimensional and predictable. The good guys ride in like white knights, the bad guys are all in black and faceless – perfect for a good bullet to the face. The main villain looks a bit like Jaffar from Aladdin sans parrot.

True stories of war succeed when they cast light on the subtitles of both sides. This story is stripped of all its nuance and packaged up to be perfect wank fodder for the audience members who really hate terrorists (I guess that’s most people). It does leave me feeling unsettled to know that I’m being manipulated into feeling delight when a person’s head explodes.

Nice visuals, occasionally muddy sound and good performances especially from Trevante Rhodes and Michael Shannon.

What’s it about?
A guy with a suit that makes him practically invulnerable fights another guy in a suit that makes him practically invulnerable. Yes, it’s another a Marvel movie. Oh, and 99% of the cast is black. And 95% are women.

What did we think?
Stephen Scott says: Empowerment just reached new highs – which is a good thing. This movie is going to inspire millions of downtrodden kids who’ve never seen anyone like them be the hero – not just non-caucasians, but also non-steroid-pumped-white-males. The women in this flick KICK SERIOUS ASS (physically and intellectually).

Unfortunately a stellar cast and unique premise does not a movie make, and it’s hard to be drawn in by the lacklustre story that doesn’t take any great risks.

There are many great themes touched on – the importance of traditions and when to bend or unfollow them, how to follow your moral compass even if it risks changing everything you believe in, the strength in self-belief – but when the ending is just the rehashed finale of Iron Man AGAIN the whole superhero flick concept just starts getting jaded.

What’s it about?
Seventeen-year-old Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (Saoirse Ronan) yearns to break free from her turbulent relationship with her mother and her cash-strapped suburban life.

What did we think?
If 2018 is the Year of the Woman, then certainly Lady Bird is the movie of the Year of the Woman. Writer/Director Greta Gerwig takes the well-trod trope of the coming-of-age tale and somehow makes it feel both comfortingly familiar and like we’ve never been there before. The humour and wit of Gerwig’s semi-autobiographical story mixes with the pain of a suburban adolescent existence to create a bittersweet dramedy brimming with honesty.

What’s it about?
Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) is a renowned fashion designer to the elite in 1950s London. A confirmed bachelor, his cold personality and obsession with work makes it difficult for him to form a substantial relationship with anyone besides his sister Cyril (Lesley Manville). On a countryside trip, Reynolds takes an interest in waitress Alma (Vicky Krieps), whom he brings back to London as his assistant and lover; a romance which turns complicated, tense and deadly.

What did we think?
James Tinniswood says: Daniel Day-Lewis? Daniel Dresses-Ladies! (What? Never mind.)

Firmly in the grand “There Will Be Blood”/”The Master” style of Paul Thomas Anderson movies – not the needle-dropping “Boogie Nights”/”Magnolia” style – this is one of his good ones. DDL is, naturally, fantastic: there’s a shot where he’s just putting on pants and it’s utterly compelling. Woodcock isn’t prone to snap rants about drinking milkshakes, but DDL again brings such a soft-spoken intensity that you think he just might. The kitchen scene near the end is Tarantino-like in its suspense-building.

The movie looks and sounds great; a score that’s alternatingly beautiful and tense, gorgeous costumes and cinematography.

An unconventional “romance” question mark?

What’s it about?

After an injury derails her Olympic skiing career, pre-law student Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain) finds her way into the world of underground, high -takes poker. As business grows, Molly soon finds herself in dangerous waters, attracting the attention of both the Mafia and the FBI.

What did we think?

James Tinniswood says: I dug this. That dialogue is unmistakably Sorkin; it’s like jazz – may not always get what’s going on, but damn it’s got a rhythm. His first time as director, Sorkin’s rapid editing style sometimes matches his dialogue style: more cuts than a game of cards. Chastain is great as Molly – a strong, smart and glamorous woman who takes no BS and (mostly) sticks to her principles in the face of very real danger. Idris Elba is solid as Molly’s reluctant lawyer, as is Kevin Costner as Tough Love Dad. Worth going all in on, and other poker puns.

What’s it about?
The true story of a poor but gifted ice skater who became embroiled in an assault charge on a competitor.

What we thought

Dan says: I expected this film to be ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’ but with skating and knee bludgeoning. Instead, the two dimensional villain from the 24/7 news cycle turns out to be a nuanced and tragic, actual human being. The tale is a poem of violence and bullying.

I’ve seen films with unreliable narrators before but the charm in this film comes from each of them wilfully fighting each other for narrative control. This film’s character work is intimately shot but will then “double axle” into the ice skating scenes that are so well crafted they actually make ice skating routines watchable.