Wednesday, 18 March 2026

Doctor Who: The Collection: Season 13: Blu Ray review

Doctor Who: The Collection: Season 13: Blu Ray review

Published by BBC
Released by Madman Home Entertainment

Arguably one of the Fourth Doctor Tom Baker's most iconic series, Doctor Who: The Collection: Season 13 is a must for any true fans of the show - despite some of the shonky work done by AI on upgrading the collection.

The six stories collected, covering the period of the iconic TARDIS team of Harry, Sarah and the Doctor, remain some of the most beloved work done by the series. From tales of monsters loose in Scotland to the iconic Pyramids of Mars, this collection is one of the finest runs of stories ever created for the sci-fi time traveller show, mixing horror, gothic chills and monsters that lived on for decades - and there's not even a Dalek in sight.

Doctor Who: The Collection: Season 13: Blu Ray review

But it's the mix of special features that makes this such an essential collection.

From a doco about Ian Marter who played Harry through to the myriad of bonus footage from shows and fandom around that time, it really does represent some of the best of what the show could offer - as well as some high-quality documentaries from an award-winning team.

Ultimately, Doctor Who: The Collection: Season 13: Blu Ray is a piece of memorabilia that no true fan of the show should be without - and even those curious about the show's appeal would be wise to jump in on this and understand why it's been so beloved for so long.

Tuesday, 17 March 2026

Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come: Movie Review

Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come: Movie Review

Cast: Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, Elijah Wood, Nestor Carbonell
Director: Tyler Gillett, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin

The 2019 original Ready Or Not was a bloody blast.
Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come: Movie Review


A fresh idea on the horror genre that also satirised the idea of in-laws and marriage, it offered a wave of originality and gore while delivering a complete story about Samara Weaving's Grace and her descent into hell.

So a second film faced a problem from the start - with everything wrapped up, there was only the lore to expand and the gore quotient to be upped to ensure that this feels like something different from the first.

Unfortunately, despite an extremely strong performance from Weaving as the clearly traumatised Grace, Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come never quite gains the pace of the first film - or the smarts.

Picking up just moments after Grace has burnt down her past encounter and survived the game of hide and seek until dawn, she's reunited with her sister Faith (Newton) whom she abandoned seven years ago. Bitter about each other's treatment, the pair is kidnapped by a group of Satanists who want to seize the power vacuum left by Grace's murderously protective spree and take control of the High Seat, which Grace's in-laws previously controlled.

It's all a McGuffin really for six new families to try and hunt Grace and Faith down, while the two sisters bicker and quarrel their way through their issues.

The problem with Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come is that after the first 30 minutes or so, the movie loses steam and becomes repetitive, hitting the same beats and delivering the same human blood-sack explosions that the first did. But this becomes a case of diminishing returns, given how predictable the story devolves and how tiresome it gets.

One sole sequence that shines involves a wronged bride, a wedding reception and pepper spray. That, coupled with Bonnie Tyler's anthem, marks the film's only moment of originality - a brutal, funny and cleverly executed set-piece in among a sea of indifference.

And there's an incredible amount of uncomfortable brutality against the women in this film. Every punch they receive, every kick they're given - they all land with painful edges and feel a little like the filmmakers are overegging their desire to inflict pain. Netwon alone receives such a beating at one point that it feels like a flashback to Maddie Palmer's death in Twin Peaks in its nastiness.

None of this is to detract from Weaving's performance throughout. Despite the sisters-reunited subplot never really hanging together, she's fierce, frightened, broken and occasionally hopeful as she wearily accepts what's going on and how to survive it.

A lack of real villains in the piece - other than Gellar and Hatosy's twins, most of the menace feels like an amorphous blob waiting to be punctuated by a bloody self-explosion - also cripples proceedings with the well-defined antagonists of the first film feeling like an afterthought.

When it comes down to it, Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come struggles for a true raison d'etre. Viewed simply as a sequel that's become necessary because of the cult success of the first, it struggles to get out of its own circle of hell - and because of that, at times, this feels like an unwelcome visit to cinematic hell.

Resident Evil Requiem: Xbox Series X Review

Resident Evil Requiem: Xbox Series X Review

Developed by Capcom
Published by Capcom
Platform: Xbox Series X

The Resident Evil series takes a leap into the future in this graphically engaging, almost cinematic approach to the long-running franchise.

Resident Evil Requiem: Xbox Series X Review

This time, it follows FBI Agent Grace Ashcroft as she investigates a series of murders linked to her mother's death at a hotel. But the further she begins to look into these matters, the more it places her on a collision course with series protagonist Leon S Kennedy and a wider conspiracy.

To say more about Resident Evil Requiem is to deny the game the shocks it has in store for those willing to submit to its mix of jump scares and atmospheric dread. But this is more than simple carny-level shocks - there's some deeply unsettling psychological stuff at play here in a game that's as technically polished as it is utterly terrifying.

From rain-soaked streets to dark corridors that hide their horrors, there's much to endure and enjoy with Resident Evil Requiem - and needless to say, the ability to switch between protagonists makes for a thrilling experience.

Resident Evil Requiem: Xbox Series X Review

But it's more than just the immersion into the character world that makes Resident Evil Requiem work - there's a tension and suspense littered throughout Grace's section that feels like it's ripped from the best horror films in the world and the action that perpetuates Leon's sections is the perfect antithesis to what has gone before.

All in all, this coalesces into the kind of game that's rarely seen on consoles within its genre - an excellent, unsettling experience that's only all the better for how incredible it all looks.

Monday, 16 March 2026

The Oscars winners 2026: The complete winners list

The Oscars: Complete winners list

Here is the complete list of winners at the 98th Academy Awards, taking place in Los Angeles on March 15, 2026.

The Oscars: Complete winners list

Picture

"Bugonia"

"F1"

"Frankenstein"

"Hamnet" 

"Marty Supreme" 

"One Battle After Another" - WINNER

"The Secret Agent"

"Sentimental Value"

"Sinners" 

"Train Dreams" 


Directing

Paul Thomas Anderson, "One Battle After Another" - WINNER

Ryan Coogler, "Sinners" 

Josh Safdie, "Marty Supreme"

Joachim Trier, "Sentimental Value" 

Chloé Zhao, "Hamnet" 


Actor in a Leading Role 

Timothée Chalamet, "Marty Supreme" 

Leonardo DiCaprio, "One Battle After Another"

Ethan Hawke, "Blue Moon"

Michael B. Jordan, "Sinners" - WINNER

Wagner Moura, "The Secret Agent"


Actress in a Leading Role

Jessie Buckley, "Hamnet" - WINNER

Rose Byrne, "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You"

Kate Hudson, "Song Sung Blue"

Renate Reinsve, "Sentimental Value"

Emma Stone, "Bugonia"


Actor in a Supporting Role

Benicio del Toro, "One Battle After Another"

Jacob Elordi, "Frankenstein"

Delroy Lindo, "Sinners"

Sean Penn, "One Battle After Another" - WINNER

Stellan Skarsgård, "Sentimental Value"


Actress in a Supporting Role 

Elle Fanning, "Sentimental Value"

Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, "Sentimental Value"

Amy Madigan, "Weapons" - WINNER

Wunmi Mosaku, "Sinners"

Teyana Taylor, "One Battle After Another"


Animated Feature

"Arco"

"Elio"

"KPop Demon Hunters" - WINNER

"Little Amélie or the Character of Rain"

"Zootopia 2" 


International Feature

Brazil, "The Secret Agent"

France, "It Was Just an Accident"

Norway, "Sentimental Value" - WINNER

Spain, "Sirât"

Tunisia, "The Voice of Hind Rajab"


Documentary Feature Film

"The Alabama Solution"

"Come See Me in the Good Light"

"Cutting Through Rocks" 

"Mr Nobody Against Putin" - WINNER

"The Perfect Neighbor"


Documentary Short Film 

"All the Empty Rooms" - WINNER

"Armed Only With a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud"

"Children No More: 'Were and Are Gone'"

"The Devil Is Busy"

"Perfectly a Strangeness"


Animated Short Film 

"The Butterfly"

"Forever Green"

"The Girl Who Cried Pearls"  - WINNER

"Retirement Plan"

"The Three Sisters"


Live Action Short Film

"Butcher's Stain"

"A Friend of Dorothy" 

"Jane Austen's Period Drama"

"The Singers" - JOINT WINNER 

"Two People Exchanging Saliva" - JOINT WINNER


Adapted Screenplay

"Bugonia," Will Tracy

"Frankenstein," Guillermo del Toro 

"Hamnet," Chloé Zhao and Maggie O'Farrell

"One Battle After Another," Paul Thomas Anderson - WINNER

"Train Dreams," Clint Bentley and Craig Kwedar


Original Screenplay

"Blue Moon," Robert Kaplow

"It Was Just an Accident," Jafar Panahi, Script collaborators – Nader Saïvar, Shadmehr Rastin and Mehdi Mahmoudian

"Marty Supreme," Josh Safdie and Ronald Bronstein

"Sentimental Value," Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt 

"Sinners," Ryan Coogler - WINNER


Original Song 

"Dear Me" from "Diane Warren: Relentless"

"Golden" from "KPop Demon Hunters" - WINNER

"I Lied to You" from "Sinners" 

"Sweet Dreams of Joy" from "Viva Verdi!"

"Train Dreams" from "Train Dreams"


Original Score 

"Bugonia," Jerskin Fendrix

"Frankenstein," Alexandre Desplat

"Hamnet," Max Richter 

"One Battle After Another," Jonny Greenwood

"Sinners," Ludwig Göransson - WINNER


Film Editing

"F1," Stephen Mirrione

"Marty Supreme," Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie

"One Battle After Another," Andy Jurgensen - WINNER

"Sentimental Value," Oliver Bugge Coutté

"Sinners," Michael P. Shawver


Production Design 

"Frankenstein," Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau - WINNER

"Hamnet," Fiona Crombie and Alice Felton

"Marty Supreme," Jack Fisk and Adam Willis 

"One Battle After Another," Florencia Martin and Anthony Carlino

"Sinners," Hannah Beachler and Monique Champagne 


Casting

"Hamnet," Nina Gold

"Marty Supreme," Jennifer Venditti

"One Battle After Another," Cassandra Kulukundis - WINNER

"The Secret Agent," Gabriel Domingues

"Sinners," Francine Maisler


Cinematography

"Frankenstein," Dan Lausten

"Marty Supreme," Darius Khondji

"One Battle After Another," Michael Bauman

"Sinners," Autumn Durald Arkapaw - WINNER

"Train Dreams," Adolpho Veloso


Costume Design

"Avatar: Fire and Ash," Deborah L. Scott

"Frankenstein," Kate Hawley - WINNER

"Hamnet," Malgosia Turzanska

"Marty Supreme," Miyako Bellizzi 

"Sinners," Ruth E. Carter


Makeup and Hairstyling 

"Frankenstein," Mike Hill, Cliona Furey and Jordan Samuel - WINNER

"Kokuho," Kyoko Toyokawa, Naomi Hibino and Tadashi Nishimatsu 

"Sinners," Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine and Shunika Terry

"The Smashing Machine," Kazu Hiro, Glen Griffin and Bjoern Rehbein 

"The Ugly Stepsister," Anne Catherine Sauerberg and Thomas Foldberg


Sound

"F1," Gareth John, Al Nelson, Juan Peralta, Gary A. Rizzo and Gwendowlyn Yates Whittle - WINNER

"Frankenstein," Greg Chapman, Christian Cooke, Nelson Ferreira, Nathan Robitaille and Brad Zoern

"One Battle After Another" Jose Antonio Garcia, Christopher Scarabosio and Tony Villaflor

"Sinners," Chris Welcker, Benjamin A. Burtt, Felipe Pacheco, Brandon Proctor and Steve Boeddeker

"Sirât," Amanda Villavieja, Laia Casanovas and Yasmina Praderas


Visual Effects

"Avatar: Fire and Ash," Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett - WINNER

"F1," Ryan Tudhope, Nicolas Chevallier, Robert Harrington and Keith Dawson

"Jurassic World Rebirth" David Vickery, Stephen Aplin, Charmaine Chan and Neil Corbould

"The Lost Bus," Charlie Noble, David Zaretti, Russell Bowen and Brandon K. McLaughlin

"Sinners," Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter and Donnie Dean

Hoppers: Movie Review

Hoppers: Movie Review

Cast: Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, Jon Hamm, Kathy Najimy, Dave Franco
Director: Daniel Chong

For those worried Pixar's animation arm has lost its way, Hoppers is the perfect rejoinder to such complaints.

Funny, random and emotionally scary when it wants and needs to be, this tale of all living together and trusting crosses both generations and species. It's the story of Mabel Tanaka (Curda), a young eco-warrior in training who starts the film jail-breaking animals kept in school classroom cages during term time and ends with her sitting atop a rock with a beaver.

When the mayor of Beaverton Jerry (Jon Hamm) decides to build a flyover across Mabel's beloved glade where she grew up with her grandma, she decides to spring into action. Upon learning that all it takes to make the area decreed a nature reserve is a beaver, Mabel sets about to achieve what she believes is a simple goal.

However, she soon finds herself part of the animal kingdom after her consciousness is transported into a robot beaver...

Hoppers: Movie Review

Wildly inventive, deeply heartfelt and above all, completely engaging and joyous, Hoppers is a madcap adventure that is Pixar at its very best. With characters feeling rounded as well as grounded, and the emotional journey a complex and well-executed one, what emerges from it is a story that's genuinely laugh-out-loud funny as well as affecting when it needs to be.

But it's also not afraid to take some swerves into genre territory too, mixing in Fly-like body horror and sci-fi tropes as it all plays out.

The end result is that Hoppers, with its wild array of characters, manages to juggle action sequences and character moments with real aplomb - and never losing sight of any of the basics along the way. From the stand-out creation of the natural world where everything feels aligned to the empathy of loving all creatures, foibles and all, there's just something cohesive here that's utterly charming and exquisitely clever when it needs to be.

However, what's most impressive about Hoppers is the ease with which it manages all of these elements, and leaves you wanting more of the world it's created. It's inevitable there'll be spinoffs here - and quite frankly, they'd be unbelievably welcome.

Sunday, 15 March 2026

Project Hail Mary: Movie Review

Project Hail Mary: Movie Review

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Sandra Huller
Director: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller

Based on Andy "The Martian" Weir's 2021 novel of the same name, Project Hail Mary finds Ryan Gosling as Dr Ryland Grace, Earth's last hope when the sun threatens to wipe out all human life.

Project Hail Mary: Movie Review

Waking on board an interstellar ship, Grace realises he has no idea where he is, what he's doing and why...


28 Years Later: Neon NZ Movie Review

28 Years Later: Neon NZ Movie Review

Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes, Alfie Williams, Jodie Comer, Jack O'Connell
Director: Danny Boyle

Three decades after the original 28 Days Later leant into the vibe of a disease being released from a lab and infecting the whole world, director Danny Boyle has returned to the scenario that gave the world the then-unknown Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy.

28 Years Later: Movie Review

This time around, the story follows a group of survivors quarantined on a heavily guarded island. But when one of them heads away from the island, what they discover rocks the core of their foundations of belief...

To say much about 28 Years Later is to steal away from what threadbare plot there is - which sounds like a disservice but is anything but. The story revolves around the loss of innocence of a child, of discovering a role model is not what you thought they were and of the lies we tell ourselves and others to survive.

Taylor-Johnson is Jamie, who, as the film begins - after a brutal massacre of children watching of all things Teletubbies - is taking his younger than hunting age son Spike (a terrific Williams) out for his first kill on the mainland they live over the water from. However, things don't go entirely to plan...

The best thing to say about 28 Years Later is that it's a film that does everything new with the post-apocalyptic zombie genre that's been run ragged by countless copies and revitalised by The Last Of Us. Not once does Boyle follow the pack, and spends most of the film breaking out from doing so. Even a coda at the end delivers one heck of a punch that will land with those au fait with British pop culture. ("Let's be pals" will be the most terrifying of words uttered this year for those who know about tracksuits and children).

From having the zombie kills play out like elements of the X-Ray cam on Rebellion Games' Sniper Elite to an entirely elegaic ending that is not what you'd expect, but is entirely what you deserve, 28 Years Later delivers nerve-shredding moments mixed with a disturbing calm, and a rich world that brims with contemporary allegories and parallels. (An isolated Britain filled with rage-hating populace covers so many bases right now).

But central to it all is Williams' brave portrayal of the coming-of-age Spike, forced to kill out of goading from his father and uncertain of his right to do so before inevitably having to take the lead and become his own man.

The film looks spectacular too - lush green run-riot plants curl over decrepit buildings; the infected have evolved into different types of creatures and the passing visuals are nothing but upsetting in a hope-less way.

28 Years Later is visceral cinema at its finest - and it's an unmissable in-cinema experience.

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