a close up of a girl with red eyes Alt: a girl with blond hair, red eyes, pupils like a lizard, dressed as a maid, red scarf, stares into the camera at the viewer

#filmsky Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: A Lonely Dragon Wants To Be Loved (2026)

Surprisingly emotional covering parenting and the desire for connection. Great 3d air combat and fantastic land battles. It expands on the lore without writing itself into a corner. Char screen time is well balanced

a cartoon character with red hair and a helmet on Alt: an animated character with red hair, blue eyes, is running wearing a light and dark blue mech suit with a transparent helmet

#filmsky All You Need is Kill (2025)

Beautiful film with a strong 1st half but rushes the 2nd. Superbly animated, great action choreography, good creature designs & grabs you at the start. But 2nd half rushes the exposition reducing the emotional payload. Love the mech and equipment designs.

a man and a woman are standing next to each other and the man is saying it 's called a lance hello ! Alt: a man and a woman are standing next to each other and the man is saying it 's called a lance hello !

#filmsky A Knight's Tale (2001)

Still a great watch, with its fun use of music in the setting and its themes of trying to change your fate. Ledger, as William, shows the lengths he's willing to go to. Bettany great at playing off Ady and Tudyk. Sewell is great on his high horse. Love Fraser as Kate

White man in a black shirt and a black cowboy hat staring at something in the distance. His eyes glow slightly

#filmsky Westworld (1973)

Quieter and less bloody film than I was expect. The cheesy opening with the news reporter made me think it was going to lead into a typical blood bath but was more introspective. Lack of cheesy lines lets the horror sink in. Very interesting watch

A red devil man with a beard and missing his horns looks at something in the distance. He is wearing a cream coloured trenchcoat as well. A man in the background wearing a jacket and hat looks in the same direction.

#filmsky Hellboy The Crooked Man (2024)

Interesting version of Hellboy that is faithful to the story. The body horror angle worked well esp with the choice of story. Crooked Man is a great design. Glad to see the Hellboy prosthetics were kept min to allow acting. Lighting too dark in certain scenes

a man in a white shirt is smoking a cigarette in a dark room Alt: a scared man with white clothes holds up a lit match and tilts his head

#filmsky Shutter Island (2010)

Even knowing the twist, it's interesting to watch it again and spot the clues. Between the sense of time over which it's taking place and seeing how the chars react, it makes for a very different experience watching it a second time. Leo and Ruffalo make a great pair

a man in a suit stands in a dark room looking at the sun Alt: a man in a suit stands in a dark room looking at the sun

#filmsky Blade Runner (1982)

Great watch between the aesthetics and vibes. Lack of voiceover in the Final Cut makes it a film to ponder requiring multiple watches. Final sequence is the most interesting. Ford runs away from the hero stereotype whilst Hauer burns the last of his life away with games

a close up of a man with horns and the words one i 'll always look this good Alt: A close up of a red devil man with a side burns and a small bear. His horns are filed off to a smooth surface. He says "One: I'll always look this good"

#filmsky Hellboy (2004)

All time favourite film that faithfully adapts the source material. Del Toro's version of Mignola's creatures are brought to life through fantastic creature costumes and prosthetics. Perlman shines depicting the troubled hero trying to find his place. Still hoping for a 3rd

A small character in lightly coloured clothes and a smiling mask is pulling forward a small girl dressed in earth tones over a series of rocks towards a waterfall. A red rope with knots along its length runs alongside them going towards the waterfall

#filmsky Another World (2026)

A surprisingly dark non linear story with a strong positive message about forgiving yourself. Beautifully animated with striking colours and well choreographed action scenes. The non linear order of events was confusing at first but came together beautifully in the end

a man with long hair is typing on a keyboard Alt: a man with long hair is typing on a keyboard

#filmsky Iron Lung (2026)

Really good film from a first time director. The limited space is used well both to drive the char's panic but also the limited access to outside info. Good acting from Mark's. Great use of clothing and state of his body to show the breakdown of sanity. Excited to see more

a group of people are dancing in a dark room with a window in the background Alt: a group of nurses walking down a dimly lit corridor unnaturally

#filmsky Return to Silent Hill (2026)

Disappointing with some occasional good moments. Wooden acting, poor CGI and green screening drag the film down. Indoor scenes had physical sets which were much better. Great monster costumes esp the nurses. Lots of added story elements that added little.

a man says it 's okay to pretend in a rental family poster Alt: A white man in a cream-coloured jacket stands in a colourful art exhibit that bathes him in a blue hue. He says, "It's okay to pretend"

#filmsky Rental Family (2026)

Brilliantly surprised by this. Interesting premise that starts off light but gets into some deep emotional subjects. The light soundtrack complements the story without detracting from it. Beautiful cinematography gives scenes room to breath and viewers time to ponder.

a man with a beard and a sword says i summon you to fulfill your oath Alt: A man with a beard and a sword walks forward saying, "I summon you to fulfil your oath"

#filmsky The Return of the King Extended Edition (2003)

The epic conclusion to spotting P. Jackson as a bk char. Both Shelob and the undead army are terrifying on the big screen all these years later. Wood drives some emotionally powerful scenes alongside Austin beautifully. Serkis also being epic.

a man with a mask on his face is standing next to a teddy bear in a dark room . Alt: An extremely pale-faced man with no eyebrows, oily black hair and a black cloak stands up saying, "Late is the hour"

#filmsky The Two Towers Extended Edition (2002)

Viggo breaks his toe in this one. Helm's Deep continues to age extremely well showing how a battle of this scope can be experienced /wo losing the viewer in the details. Tourif is terrific as Wormtongue along with the commanding voice of Lee.

a man with a beard is wearing a helmet with the letter x on it Alt: A short dwarf with an auburn beard and a grey helmet inlaid with gold on his head screams "YES" before running off.

#filmsky Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition (2001)

Jackson's films are important and good examples of epic fantasy, high production quality and digestible exposition. It is a difficult balance to maintain esp in an epic fantasy /wo taking up excessive screentime. A great start to an epic tale.

a man is holding flowers in front of a stack of skulls Alt: a man is holding flowers in front of a stack of skulls

#filmsky 20 Years Later The Bone Temple (2026)

A surprisingly hope filled film demonstrating the desperate need for structure & connection in a failing world. Fiennes and O'Connell clearly had fun filming. They show a terrifying range of emotions and what their chars are willing to do to survive.

a rock with googly eyes is sitting on the ground Alt: a rock with googly eyes is sitting on the ground and turns to look at the audience

New thread of films for this year

Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)

Not my first time watching the film and the message still hits hard. Excellent acting is wrapped in glorious SFX exploring self acceptance, generational trauma, connectedness and the need for whimsy. Had me craving bagels.

a train that says w.b. on the side Alt: A black and white tracking shot of a train. A man climbs from the wooden carriage up onto the boiler. In the background are hills covered in pine trees.

#filmsky The General (1926)
Great film continues to demonstrate that comedy can be pure. Physical comedy showing its power. Engaged me more than I thought. Constantly trying to guess what the next gag was going to be. Buster Keaton demonstrates marvellous physicality and outperforms modern films

a black and white photo of a city with a sign that says ' oasis ' on it Alt: Two black and white shots of a futuristic city. The first shot shows tall buildings with packed roads connecting them and planes flying around. The second shot shows a large imposing tower surrounded by buildings lit up like Vegas.

#filmsky Metropolis (1927)

A truly impressive film for its time from the sets, to the special effects and the overall production scale. I'm increasingle appreciating how silent film actors convey story through movement. A standout performance was the Thin Man, dracula like and dominating the space

a cartoon character is running with his fist up Alt: an anime char with messy black hair and a beige jumper running towards the camera with all his might

#filmsky 100 Meters (2025)

Fantastically animated study of what it means to be an athlete & the toll it takes. Animators clearly studied ref material from the high level of detail they added to even bk chars. Beautiful bks highlight a great cast where each gets to talk about their own philosophy

a man in a purple tuxedo is standing in front of a crowd with the words welcome to the running man written below him Alt: a black man in a purple tuxedo is standing in front of a crowd with the words "welcome to the running man" written below him

#filmsky The Running Man (2025)

Good remake that emphasizes the updated message & unsubtle themes. Has some good Easter eggs nodding to the original. Wright's signature physical comedy is scattered through the film. Found myself preferring the OG hunters. The ones in this felt bland in comparison.

a man in armor is holding a large sword in a forest Alt: An alien in armour unfurls a sci-fi bow and checks the aim

#filmsky Predator Badlands (2025)

Great addition to the Predator franchise. Was worried when it was first announced. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Well trodden themes explained the Predator culture without prior knowledge. Great action scenes showing off some iconic tools and ecology.

a man in a top hat is standing next to two women Alt: a man in a top hat and cane stands beside a sleeping man in a box and a woman in a dress. The first man points towards the sleeping one with his cane dramatically

#filmsky The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)

Intellectually interesting. Modern viewer's perspective, strange watch with the acting feeling more comedy than horror. Film theory perspective, it's a great blend of physical acting, gorgeous set pieces & a twist that clearly influenced many modern films

a man with curly hair is standing in a dark room with a light shining on him Alt: a man with curly hair is standing in a dark room with a light shining on him finishes putting a glove on his right hand

#filmsky Frankenstein (2025)

Fantastically faithful adaptation of the book. I recognised set pieces & some dialogue that I've rarely seen in other versions. GDT's use of colour and texture lends itself wonderfully to the set designs and the monster, played as a brilliant blend of sorrow and anger

a person in a blue shirt is standing in front of a window at night Alt: a person in a blue shirt is standing in front of a window at night

#filmsky Chainsaw Man Reze Arc (2025)

Fantastic animation and a soundtrack that can keep up with its high-paced nature. Char designs transferred well to the big picture format. I did find the choreography a bit hard to follow during the final act. Certain actions needed more frames to smooth it out

a man says it 's all in the reflexes Alt: a man says "It's all in the reflexes"

#filmsky Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

Giant cheese fest that feels like a TTRPG session. You have to watch several other films to understand the tropes it pokes fun at in order to fully appreciate it. Most interesting bit was seeing the famous practical effects in a different context.

a man in a white shirt with the words fine it 's done on his chest Alt: A pale white man in a white shirt closes his eyes, looks up and then brings his head down, saying, "Fine. It's done".

#filmsky Constantine (2005)

An interesting adaptation of the titular char. Whilst not hitting all the right aesthetic notes, the writing tries to capture the attitude John has towards rules. The standout performance is, of course, Peter Stormare as the Devil. Curious to see where the sequel goes

a man in a leather jacket with a patch on his eye says call me snake Alt: a man in a leather jacket with a patch on his left eye says "call me snake"

#filmsky Escape from New York (1981)

Whilst not John Carpenter's best work IMO, it's still a great watch for the worldbuilding and overall style. It gives you small pieces of info that really help explain how the community has survived, and that helps make it feel more engaging. Extremely quotable.

a woman is wearing a wreath of flowers on her head and neck . Alt: a woman is wearing a wreath of flowers on her head and neck smiling.

#filmsky Midsommar (2025)

Interesting study of pacing and changing the viewer's perspective on the film's events. Viewers start by sympathising with all chars, but by the end, you only like one. Constant light shows how unashamed the cult is with its acts, a contrast to the usual use of shadows.

a man in a dark room says i 'll be seeing you very soon Alt: A white man with short, grey hair stands on the other side of a chain link fence saying "I'll be seeing you very soon"

#filmsky One Battle After Another (2025)

Really well-made film with well-orchestrated action sequences, where the true strength is in the dialogue. Reminds me of Heat. Decaprio is truly fantastic in this, but the true standout is Penn as Slackjaw. Walk cycle, ticks and dedication to the hatred