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Ella McCay (2025) Review – A Film That Tries to Be Everything
In one sentence: Thrust into leadership by circumstance, Ella McCay struggles to balance public responsibility with private chaos as everything threatens to collapse at once. Some films try to balance ambition, emotion and quirk in equal measure, but Ella McCay struggles under the weight of its own intentions. What aims to be a warm, character…
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Kangaroo (2026) Review – Finding Purpose in the Australian Outback
In one sentence: Kangaroo follows a disgraced TV weatherman and a grieving young girl whose shared care for an orphaned joey leads them both toward healing, purpose and an unexpected community. Kangaroos are synonymous with Australia, but how much do we really know about these springy animals and the place they hold in Australian culture?…
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Permission (2017) Review – Testing the Boundaries of Commitment
In one sentence: Permission follows a long term couple who, on the brink of engagement, agree to explore other relationships, only to discover that freedom comes with unexpected consequences. How can you be sure your partner is the one? Permission confronts this question head on. Anna (Rebecca Hall) and Will (Dan Stevens) are a couple…
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Maggie’s Plan (2015) Review – A Rom-Com That Knows Life Is Complicated
In one sentence: Maggie’s Plan follows a single woman determined to become a mother on her own, whose carefully laid plans unravel when she falls for a married academic. Romantic comedies often follow a familiar formula and can feel overly predictable. Too frequently, women are portrayed as waiting for a man to arrive before their…
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Ideal Home (2018) Review – Love, Laughter and an Unlikely Family
In one sentence: Ideal Home is a warm comedy about an unlikely family navigating unexpected guardianship and the joys and frustrations that come with it. There was a time when I would have actively avoided a film led by Steve Coogan, but those days are long gone. Since the excellent Philomena, Coogan has grown into…
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It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947) Review – A Christmas Story of Kindness and Community
In one sentence: It Happened on 5th Avenue is a classic festive tale of kindness and community in post-war New York. Christmas is synonymous with generosity and togetherness and most of us can easily name a handful of films that celebrate these ideals. Yet the same titles tend to dominate festive schedules year after year.…
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Eternity (2025) Review – Love, Choice and the Afterlife
In one sentence: Eternity is a speculative comedy drama that envisions the afterlife as a choice-filled journey where individuals decide their eternal destination. Most of us have probably wondered what awaits us after we pass and A24’s Eternity presents a refreshingly original answer. The afterlife here resembles a vast and bustling conference centre, complete with…
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Bell, Book and Candle (1958) Review – A Bewitching Christmas Classic
In one sentence: Bell, Book and Candle is a festive romantic classic blending witchcraft, love and ‘50s style. James Stewart is perhaps best known for Christmas favourite It’s a Wonderful Life, which often tops lists of the greatest festive films ever made. What is less widely known is that he also stars in another…
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Delivery by Christmas (2022) Review – A Polish Christmas with Heart and Humour
In one sentence: Delivery by Christmas centres on delivery driver, Maria, whose parcels are tampered with before Christmas, setting off a chain of events that leads to both comedic moments and unexpected romance. We are inundated with cookie-cutter Christmas TV movies and, I will admit, sometimes they have their place. They are easy, undemanding viewing.…
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I’m Your Man (2021) Review – Can Love Be Engineered?
In one sentence: I’m Your Man is a German romantic sci-fi that explores love, companionship and what it means to choose the right partner. There are films that announce their genre clearly and then there are films like I’m Your Man; gentle, curious and impossible to pin down. Starring Dan Stevens and Maren Eggert, this…
Rhiann’s Reels 