Romantique (2022)

The French romantic comedy Une comédie romantique was directed by Thibault Segouin, and I have another confession to make—I'm only here for Golshifteh again! Romantic comedies are really not my thing, especially American ones, but I will give more of a chance to European outings—especially if they are good. Which this one actually was.

Salomé is Golshifteh Farahani's character, who was in a relationship with César (played by Alex Lutz) over three years ago, right before he just disappeared—and nobody in his Parisian circles has seen him since. Not even his brother Pierre (played by Olivier Chantreau) or sister-in-law Camille (played by Lucie Debay), who is, as our tale begins, heavily pregnant. The two brothers are as full of insecurities as each other, it turns out, and not at all confident in anything much they do in life.

At the start of the film, César has been staying in his brother's flat while they have been away—and trashed it! When they turn up and catch him, it's obvious that Camille has little tolerance for her brother-in-law and storms off to spend a night in a hotel while the two brothers clear up the mess! When they have done so, it becomes obvious that César has nowhere to live, so he drops in on Salomé. She is fuming and hurls whatever she has to hand at him for disappearing without notice, but it's clear through it all that she harbours feelings for him.

The bombshell for César is that Salomé has a three-year-old little girl, Loulou, which she tells him is his. The age of the girl fits with when they were last together, so he is clearly delighted and the three of them start to get to know each other and, eventually, form a bond as a small family unit. He is great as a dad with Loulou and all three of them are happy. However, in order not to let Salomé think badly of him—more insecurities—he spins a pack of lies about where he is now living, what he does for a living, and how he has made money. He gets various people, including his brother, to play along and string out the lies.

Awkward family anxieties, half-truths, avoidance, and domestic pressures are the things that the film pokes fun at so well here. A comedy of mishaps and errors, bending facts to fit and worrying about what other people think of you. It's very Woody Allen in terms of set-up and script too. I can just see him doing something very similar.

Anyway, determined not to repeat past failures, César steps up! The film steers clear of standard Hollywood sweet-talk and conventional, sugar-coated romance, and instead uses its 1 hour 38 minute runtime to explore human insecurity. Farahani's grounded, emotionally intelligent performance (which rightly earned her praise and festival recognition) ensures that the film functions as a gentle, bittersweet subversion of the usual genre, vomit-fodder and all!

It's very funny in places, well-shot with nice sets, making the absolute most of Montmartre and Sacré-Cœur, the Eiffel Tower, and other Parisian landmarks. Salomé even has a job driving the famous white Montmartre train around for tourists! The acting is very convincing by all, and they've even got the late Tchéky Karyo (Baptiste himself!) to do a turn as an equally insecure, coming out of a relationship and not happy, dad of the two men at a very funny dinner party. Everyone's insecure, and that's the main feature driving the story. The more I think about it, the more Woody Allen it is—no wonder he started making his films in Europe for appreciation.

Hang about for the end credits as two of our characters are walking away from the camera, chatting, then as they get further along the road cheekily break the fourth wall, turning their conversation directly to (and about) the very cinema audience that just watched them! It's charming, winking end to a funny film that refuses to take traditional romantic tropes too seriously. Recommended.

Wild Horse Nine (2026) - A Guest Review by Chad Dixon

This is a cinema-released black comedy brought to us from director Martin McDonagh. Set in 1973, veteran CIA Agent Chris Carlisle (John Malkovich) and his long-time colleague Lee Chesterfield (Sam Rockwell) are nearing the end of their undercover mission in Santiago, Chile, where they have been secretly laying the destabilising foundations for a US-backed military coup d'état against the democratically elected, socialist-leaning president. It is now time to head to Chris's choice of Easter Island for a break from their covert operations.

Both ready for that vacation, they find themselves in the airport departure lounge when a couple of young local women sit opposite them. After starting a discussion with the students, Chris immediately starts shooting his mouth off, saying, "Well, enjoy your left-wing president while you can, ladies". The young women are shocked, but Lee immediately interjects to say it is a joke. However, Chris cannot stop himself from revealing more of what is in store for Chile. When the flight is called, Lee hurriedly drags him away to the waiting plane, profusely apologising for his friend's inappropriate words.

On board, sitting in their own row, Carlisle continues being a blabbermouth, speaking of his past life as a spy, how many people he has killed, and in which countries. Chesterfield, continuing to be mortified by his colleague's loose lips, tells him to "shut the fuck up"! What is clear is that Chris—now in his seventies and suffering from terminal cancer—not only cares little about what he says, but often forgets what he has said just a few days prior. Is he a liability? Finally, they arrive at their modest hotel on Easter Island, and after a night's rest, it is time to see 'The Heads'—and, incidentally, a small band of wild horses.

Featuring the truly unique backdrop of Easter Island/Rapa Nui for the remainder of this two-hour film, the setting is easily a major highlight of the feature. Malkovich is also at the top of his game, portraying an equally paranoid and confused veteran agent while delivering wickedly sharp dialogue with a wonderfully sardonic yet sinister edge. He is brilliantly supported by Rockwell, who is in just about every scene with him; the viewer is left wondering how the Chesterfield character could have tolerated working closely with someone quite as erratic for so many years in the service.

The other notable performance comes from Steve Buscemi as MJ, the Chief of the CIA South American Bureau and boss to both men. As Chesterfield's telephone reports back to him in Santiago grow progressively more unsatisfactory, his faith in Carlisle as a competent agent diminishes even further from the very low base it was already at. As a result, the wheels of a much darker plan of subterfuge are set in motion.

The Cycle (2026)

Directed by Jordan Downey - who previously made waves with his indie dark-fantasy The Head Hunter - Shudder's horror-thriller The Cycle is a well-constructed genre-hybrid that toys brilliantly with audience expectations. It smartly masquerades as a gritty, slow-burn crime procedural and serial killer mystery before pulling the rug out and throwing the audience into something entirely different, anchored by jaw-dropping practical special effects.

The story follows Meg, played wonderfully by Deborah Ann Woll (True Blood, Daredevil), an estranged daughter and forensic professional whose father vanished 36 years prior. Her life is upended when a body is suddenly discovered at the site of a brutal, horrific crime scene - and forensic testing reveals the corpse is none other than her long-lost father! As Meg teams up with law enforcement and investigators - including a great supporting turn by Jeffrey Donovan (Fargo) - to unravel the mystery, she expects to uncover a dark past of secret crimes, serial killings or hidden identities. Instead, she steps straight into a terror-filled, horrific supernatural nightmare.

The film intentionally uses a familiar, moody atmosphere and a clinical crime-investigation pace. It makes you think you are watching a psychological cat-and-mouse hunt about a disturbed killer or old family skeletons, especially when one turns up in Meg's house one dark and wet evening, feeling a bit like The Silence of the Lambs or Mindhunter in its opening acts. But as Meg digs deeper into what her father was actually doing all those decades, the writer-director duo of Downey and co-writer/cinematographer Kevin Stewart pivot the film into uncharted territory. It truly is a movie of two halves!

Her father was not quite the man who had abandoned her and her bitter mother when she was four years old; he had become tied up with something altogether more sinister, which the film keeps under tight wraps. Beyond the clever plotting, the production shines through its dedication to tactile, old-school filmmaking - eschewing excessive CGI in favour of heavy physical practical effects, creeping body horror and fabulous, decomposing transformations that give the climax a gripping, hands-on dread!

Bolstered by Stephen King’s high-profile public endorsement ahead of its release, The Cycle proves that smart casting, moody world-building and practical craft can still breathe fresh life into traditional horror subgenres. It was filmed on location in Astoria, Oregon - the historic, moody coastal port town best known as the setting for The Goonies and heavily utilised for its striking Pacific Northwest landscapes and gloomy weather - which fitted well with the general mood of the film - that isolated, timber-and-coastline atmosphere! So yes, it's dark and atmospheric in most of the second half as our characters try to unpick what on earth is going on! It's a very enjoyable watch, as is much of the content on Shudder, and recommended. Well worth the subscription now and again.

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

In April 2019, whilst reviewing Guillermo del Toro’s Cronos (1992), I said that I had previously tried to watch his Pan's Labyrinth and gave up on it as "daft", but promised that I'd try again, having enjoyed Cronos so much. Well, seven years on, I made good on my promise and tackled it, living to tell the tale now! It's another Spanish-language outing, originally called El laberinto del fauno, which I was able to watch via my DVD with subtitles.

So the film is a fantasy tale set in post-Civil War Spain in 1944. It's very much about a young girl, Ofelia—played beautifully throughout by the then 11-year-old actress Ivana Baquero—who is trying to escape a brutal, realistic world where she is trapped by circumstances, by conjuring up a fantasy one for herself. Her dad has been killed, and her mum, Carmen—played equally well by Ariadna Gil—has had to try to make good, to survive, by marrying Captain Vidal, who, as it turns out, is a sadistic, nasty officer in Franco's army.

Carmen is heavily pregnant, and we join the story as she goes to join her husband at an outpost plagued by anti-Franco guerrilla rebels hiding in the nearby mountains, accompanied by Ofelia. She is encouraging Ofelia to try to address her new husband as 'father', on the grounds that doing so, and respecting him as such, is their best chance of not falling into poverty or worse. As soon as Ofelia arrives, she starts to see creatures—fairies, fauns and other beings cooked up in her imagination—but very real to her.

Vidal is a cold man, obsessively fixated on his late father’s legacy, and cares only about Carmen delivering a son to carry on his name. At one point when she is unwell, he tells the doctor to save the child over his is wife if a choice must be made. The mill where they have made camp is a grim, hostile place. Ofelia finds solace only in Mercedes—played by Maribel Verdú—a local young woman working as the housekeeper who is secretly aiding the republican rebels (including her brother, Pedro).

So Ofelia heads off into the woods, exploring, and stumbles into the ancient, overgrown labyrinth near the mill. She first meets a giant stick insect, whom she follows to the middle of the maze. There, she encounters a terrifying, horned creature known as the Faun. The Faun reveals a shocking secret to her: that she is not a mere mortal, but Princess Moanna, the long-lost daughter of the King of the Underworld, who vanished into the mortal realm centuries ago and died from the sunlight. Believing her spirit still wanders Earth, the Faun offers her a chance to return to her royal kingdom, but she must first complete three dangerous tasks before the next full moon. He gives her a magical book, The Book of Crossroads, which only reveals its pages to her.

So Ofelia starts to try and conduct these magical tasks whilst watching out for her mum's condition, her stepfather's annoyance—especially when she's missing for an important dinner party and ruins a new dress she has been given by crawling through the mud amongst the trees and the labyrinth—and the troops all looking to kill the resistance fighters. There are imaginary keys, doors, locks, and underground palaces; it starts to feel very much like an even darker-than-usual Alice in Wonderland at times!

Meanwhile, the real world turns increasingly violent. We know all along that various people in service to Vidal are in fact sympathisers, and as he starts to suspect those around him, the tension builds. We see him ruthlessly torture some and employ gruesome methods to obtain information from people. The members of the resistance gain in strength and get violent themselves, and it's an all-out battle at times, often in relentless downpours of rain. While this is going on, Carmen's health takes a fatal turn as she goes into labour, so we also live through the trauma of all that, and the fallout, alongside Ofelia.

We head towards the sad finale as Ofelia's fantasy comes to a conclusion amidst various outcomes for the two fighting forces, leaving us to wonder what, of all this, was supposed to be real or imagined! My money is on it being all in Ofelia's head—a lonely, traumatised girl reading fairy tales in a brutal war zone. She invents the fantasy world and creatures to cope with her mother's illness, abusive stepfather, and the horrors of war. It is clear from one scene particularly that nobody can see any of her world or the creatures except for her.

But for those who would like to take the opposite view, there's enough in what happens to argue that her world is entirely real—which I'll leave you to spot! It's clear that Del Toro deliberately leaves the whole thing ambiguous, suggesting that imagination is just as powerful as reality. For Ofelia, her fantasy world provides agency, dignity, and a moral compass that the brutal adult world lacks.

But laying aside all that analysis, it's a beautifully imagined tale, really well acted by the whole cast. The special effects for the day are very impressive, the setting is hugely atmospheric—a lot of it very dark, candle-lit or rain-drenched—and it's well worth a viewing (or re-viewing if it's been a long time since). Recommended very much, and I'm glad that, eventually, I did get back to it and give it another whirl!

Motorola Edge 70 Max

Huge Motorola fan as I am, I'm not quite sure where the firm is pitching this handset. Don't get me wrong, it's a lovely bit of kit and in many ways hugely desirable and indeed powerful. But in others, maybe not so - particularly the lack of any telephoto camera. Still, we'll come to that later and see how well the main shooter makes up for it. So the Edge 70 Max sits, kind of, beside the Edge 70 Pro really, but with some differences. Pros and cons. If we consider the Motorola Signature to be, in effect, the Edge 70 Ultra, the flagship candybar, then these two (Edge 70 Max and Edge 70 Pro) sit equally, I think, in the next-spot-down.

In the box, which is a perfumed white one, we have a USB-C to USB-C cable, no charger - get your own(!), a SIM card tray ejector tool, some papers, the phone of course and a very basic soft plastic case. Better to have one than not, I guess, but it certainly could have been one of those simple clear TPU ones from days gone by. Oh well. Given that the phone is glass on the back as well as the front, which I'll come to, it's really not going to be a very smart idea to try and use it without some sort of case - and most buyers will be absolutely fine with the supplied one. And it certainly fits like a glove - a tight-fitting glove at that! Pantone colours are here again with Onyx Black (Dark Shadow), Sage Green (Aqua Grey) and Glacier Blue (Ice Melt). This one is the black one - but I think if I was buying one, I'd go for the green!

In the hand, the phone is a big one. 164mm tall, 77mm wide, 8.3mm fat and 221g in weight. Compared to my Signature and the Edge 70 Pro, it's a bit bigger in every direction - and decidedly hefty. In actual fact, when I first held it, it reminded me of the Nokia XR20 from back in 2021 to some degree. It feels big, too, partly because of the flat screen. Most Moto phones these days tend to have the quad-curved screen making them feel, at least, smaller. Not here. It's a beast in the hand and comes with a strangely higher-than-usual resolution at 1440p when most others, almost universally from Moto these days, get 1080p. So perhaps that's it - it's for people who want a huge, flat screen for watching media - the notion supported by it having a whacking great big battery. Whatever you think, whether it suits your needs or not, it's certainly interesting and great that Moto are offering their customers choice.

The aluminium frame has a two-step design, reminding me very much of the Sony Xperia 5 Mk V phone's frame. With the front and back panels being flat and glass, I guess curved edges are out. But, like with the Xperia, it actually looks quite classy. There are antenna cut-outs dotted around the frame, of course, to get signals in and out. High up on the left is the MotoAI button (now QiraAI), which I'll come to later. Higher and out of the way is probably a good idea to make sure that when it's pressed, the user meant to press it. It can be assigned to various functions on long-press and double-press in settings. Nothing else on the left side.

Up top, we have just microphones and antenna cut-outs. On the right, a volume rocker and underneath, the power button - which can also be assigned to various actions in settings. I like it set to the power menu, but the default is Gemini and other choices are QiraAI or nothing. Double-press can be assigned to Camera, Wallet or nothing. Wallet would seem to make sense as the camera can be invoked by a Moto Gesture of twist-twist anyway (as I'm sure you probably know if you're reading this)! Anyway, all the buttons seem solid and firm in use.

Down at the bottom, we have the Dual-SIM card tray (back-to-back, 2 physical 5G SIMs as well as eSIM - any 2 at the same time), USB-C port and the bottom-firing 'right' speaker of the stereo pair. The phone is really slippery - I have it out of the case just now to write this and I nearly dropped it twice! But that will depend on your hands, I guess. Not sure why Moto have gone back to a glass back here, but I guess it's good that both back and front are Gorilla Glass 7i certified for some protection against smashing and scratching. The phone is also rated IP68/IP69 and MIL-STD-810H for ingress and even more protection. You can see how well-constructed it is when you pull out the SIM card tray with its gasket around the perimeter.

The back of the phone, apart from all the aforementioned, is clean. There is a Moto "M" in the middle, and the only other feature is the camera island, top-left in portrait, which again is a deviation from Moto's recent design choices. We're used now to seeing that sloping curve stuff going on from the back panel up to the island. Not here - perhaps because it's glass. So we have a chamfered stand-alone island instead. It still looks classy enough - but the whole design makes the phone feel more 'industrial' than fashion-stylish. Which is not a bad thing at all - and will appeal to many users fed up with the in-vogue stuff! I like it. There are 4 'circles' on the camera island, which I'll come to later.

The front panel is flat, as I said. As a pancake! The 'corners' of the frame are pretty sharp compared to some, but yes, the 'boxy' look and feel is a 'thing' these days and so we need to live with that, I think. This new fad certainly maximises available screen use, but it can make for corners digging into the palms of hands, especially with such a big phone. Up top, there's the other speaker of the stereo pair, doubling up as the earpiece speaker for calls - and a selfie camera cut-out very high up, when the phone is in use, in the middle of the Status Bar. It's quite small compared to some.

So that big 6.82" front panel is an LTPO AMOLED (hurrah for Always-On Display), refreshes at up to 144Hz in the right conditions and apps in use - mainly high-performing games and super-resolution video - and down to 1Hz when conditions allow, peaks out at 7,000 nits (again, under the right conditions) and delivers 510ppi. Which is pretty high these days for Moto, as I said earlier. The pixel count is 1,440 x 3,168 and yes, the screen is super sharp, wonderfully colourful and vibrant. It's a joy to use, like most Moto OLED panels - but this time, especially so with that Quad HD, "2K" resolution.

I'm particularly conscious now of the whole PWM thing as we have a member of our MeWe Groups who gets migraines if it's not just right. As you probably know, Pulse Width Modulation is crucial for migraine-sensitive users to know about prior to any purchase decisions. The Edge 70 series apparently uses a low base PWM frequency (around 180Hz–240Hz at lower brightness levels). The bottom line is that this is not quite as good for him as the Edge 60 Pro, for example, which offered higher-frequency dimming. Motorola does, however, add a software toggle to reduce flicker in dark environments. This swaps the PWM dimming for a DC-like dimming scheme, which some PWM-sensitive people find more tolerable than PWM, at the expense of a risk of introducing visible noise on the screen (some pixels being brighter than their neighbours) and can lead to uneven blacks and colour tinting. But I'm afraid that, for him, this is no 5-year-old LCD Poco (which is what he uses and seems to do best with). This is certainly something that some OEMs are trying hard to sort out - Honor comes to mind - so he'll be happy when they all crack this one.

I do sometimes think that I approach what many call 'bloat' in the wrong way! I'm sure that many non-techy people enjoy seeing the stuff that comes with their new phone and playing about with games, not having to install apps that half the world use anyway - likely them too - rather than us techy people who work as hard as we can to make the whole experience a clean plate, knowing what apps and services we want to use on our phones and not a bunch of other 'suggestions'. So perhaps we're wrong! And good luck to those who want to play and tinker with the OEM offerings (some baked into the ROM, but most, for us people at least, uninstallable). But it seems only fair to report what I find after setup.

Installed with no option to say "no" are Opera Browser, Perplexity (which is now, to some degree, 'baked-in' to Moto's range of AI options), Adobe Scan, LinkedIn, FIFA Heroes, Amazon Music, Facebook, Temu, Pinterest, Copilot, Instagram, Alarm Clock (doubling up on the Google one installed anyway), Gallery (ditto for Google Photos), PDF Reader, about 10 games fit only, in my humble opinion, for 2-year-olds and Global Connect (which is apparently Moto’s official travel connectivity app, powered by Gigs, designed to let you buy and activate international mobile data plans using your phone's built-in eSIM). So there's that for those who are likely to buy and set up a travel data plan without needing a physical SIM card when going to visit one of the 160 supported nations. Google away for more on that!

I thought it best to use my Signature with Google's standard Android backup and restore, and it worked very well, as it seems to these days, even between different OEMs' devices. Home screen layouts all replicated, many apps already signed into, settings mostly made it across intact - not all, but not bad. It did it wirelessly by default, but I think you can still interrupt that and use a cable if you want to. Anyway, it arrived on Android 16 (with a promise of 3 OS updates, so to Android 19), updated efficiently to October security patches (in 3 steps - June, August, October) and Google's Play System updated right up to October in one hit. They are promising 5 years of security updates, so to summer 2031 in theory. As soon as all that was done, MotoAI updated itself to Qira AI, which I'll come to.

The Edge 70 Max has a Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 (3nm) and so far flies through everything I have thrown at it, so no complaints. This UK model as supplied by Moto PR has 256GB of storage (as do they all, apparently) and 8GB RAM (though there is a 12GB version out there in some regions). The storage is UFS 4.1 and there's no microSD card slot for expansion. Still, I reckon 256GB these days, for me, is perfectly good enough, although it did seem a little odd as the Moto 'standard' just now tends to be slipping up to 512GB, even in lower-end/cheaper models, let alone this kind of higher-mid-range device. Still, it's OK for me. Same with the 8GB RAM in this UK sample, not 12GB like some regions get. I do realise that at the time of writing the whole 'RAMageddon' memory constraint issue is live, so some models are coming out with less, though in most other handsets Moto seems to be ignoring this - perhaps the supply impact just takes time to knock on. Is 8GB RAM OK? Well, the industry line is that you really want 12GB for heavy AI processing, but all the features here, including Gemini and Qira, work perfectly well. Where 8GB might eventually bottleneck is with intensive on-device local AI processing rather than fast cloud-based requests, but in practice on this device, it feels absolutely fine to me.

The stereo speakers seem great to me - certainly as loud, if not louder than my Signature's. Maybe not quite the same quality at top volume, with a little less bass and a little more top-end, but there's not a huge amount in it. The stereo effect feels wide enough, though not quite the same as having the 'left' speaker upward-firing like the Signature's. Dolby Atmos is baked into the ROM as usual with Moto these days, though the whole 'Tuned by Bose' collaboration isn't present here - not that I personally place much value on that over Dolby Atmos anyway. There's no 3.5mm audio jack, of course, but you do get 24-bit/192kHz Hi-Res output via USB-C (with a suitable DAC adapter) alongside Hi-Res Wireless audio over Bluetooth. Both routes sound fabulous tested here - far too loud for my old ears and top-quality either way.

The USP of this phone, though, is clearly the large battery. It's a 7,100mAh Lithium-Ion Silicon-Carbon battery which is apparently split into two halves in order to fly under the EU/UK's radar on cell sizes. It can be charged at 90W with a cable and appropriate charger, giving a full charge from flat in under an hour, and half-way there in under 25 minutes. I think, for a Moto first, it complies with Qi2.2 offering 25W wireless charging. And it has a magnetic ring on the back so accessories made popular by Apple can be utilised. I have a basic magnetic ring charger here for testing and sure enough, it works as described (though with my test unit, not at 25W). If you use this method, with a properly maxed-out Qi charger, you can charge the phone from flat in about an hour and a half and get half-way there in 45 minutes. There's even 5W reverse-wired charging for emergencies via the USB-C port - if you have a cable with you!

My findings on the battery are that yes, the endurance of the phone is very, very good. On my 10% Reading Test it outstrips any other phone I have tested in recent times and a genuine two days of my average use is perfectly doable. I'm an every-night, overnight Qi charging person, but if for some reason I was away from base for a night, in a powercut or off for a weekend's camping, I'd be pretty confident that it would last until the next night, or until I got back. I do find that these tests are very subjective as it always depends on lots of factors, including how much time one is shooting or watching video, how long the screen is on and also considerations like how stable your cellular connection is away from WiFi - and if it keeps 'hunting'. It's impossible to say for everyone, which is why I have tested this way, for me and my use, for decades now. I am confident that my playing field is level and over all these years, the results are meaningful. At least, to me!

Connectivity is solid every which way. Wi-Fi, I have tested on 3 networks; GPS with Google Maps and other apps which rely on it; NFC for pairing up with other equipment and paying in shops with Wallet; and the Bluetooth range I have tested with various headphones, earphones and watches - and that all seems good too. Cellular connectivity for voice and data in my tests here sounds and functions perfectly fine over my 5G network with very good and fast speeds. Of course, your mileage will vary on that as it's very much dependent on cell coverage and masts.

Away from over-the-air and onto cable, the USB-C is sadly only rated at 2.0, so no DisplayPort stuff here for hooking up by cable to monitors, TVs and so forth. Wireless connectivity via various 'sharing' routes is very, very good these days - but yes, there might be that one occasion when you really need a cable. Beyond testing, I can't ever say that I've had to use that with my Signature. Lastly, there's Smart Connect - Moto's (much better) version of Samsung's DeX (especially for those of us sat in front of a PC). I have talked long and hard about Smart Connect, so at the risk of repeating it all, I'll link you here to my coverage.

In terms of security, there's an under-display optical fingerprint scanner (so not the heights of the Signature's Ultrasonic), the target for which is very low on the screen, but apart from that, it works just fine. Quick to set up and to use in practice, supported by the equally good face unlock. This was also quick to register and seems to be functioning well - always a challenge for me as I have a full beard and that can catch these systems out sometimes. Between the two of them, whatever the light conditions are, they will snappily get you into action and past the lock screen.

On to the software - and yes, during my review period Qira AI arrived to replace MotoAI, and replace it it does - lock, stock and barrel! It's a hookup with Lenovo's system, which I have written about at length recently in my review of the Moto Razr 70 Ultra, which I'll link you to here. It's all working beautifully well with my Moto Watch, Moto Watch Fit, Moto Buds Loop, Moto everything (more links to even more of my reviews)! It all even works with my Moto Sound Flow speakers in stereo, though because there is no UWB support on this phone, we don't get the higher-end clever stuff that the Signature, Razr 70 Ultra, Razr 60 Ultra, and Edge 50 Ultra get. For a deep dive on all that, follow the Moto Sound Flow Speakers link. But when hooked up, fancy stuff or not, it all sounds fabulous. I do really like my Sound Flows!

I mentioned briefly earlier the Always-On Display and yes, it's one of my major tick-boxes personally. The first thing I look for in a phone, along with wireless charging. And both are here. The AoD works pretty much just like it does on the Signature - same options, same clocks, colours, and so forth - so again, head for my Signature review for a deeper dive on all that.

For some buyers, the camera setup on the Edge 70 Max might feel a bit underwhelming on paper. If you are comparing spec sheets side-by-side in a phone shop at this £700 price point, you will easily spot competitors offering dedicated telephoto zoom lenses or higher-resolution ultrawides for less money - and it may be a dealbreaker for some. The hardware lineup consists of a 50MP main sensor (f/1.8, 1/1.56", OIS) paired with a 13MP ultrawide lens (120° FOV, which doubles as a macro shooter), alongside a 32MP front selfie camera. In practice, that main 50MP lens is plenty capable for day-to-day point-and-shoot snaps, family photos and quick video clips. But my personal take on phone cameras remains unchanged: if I want to produce real art, I'll pick up a 'proper' camera. For everyday mobile snaps, this setup does the job just fine for me, but if heavy optical zoom or high-end mobile photography is your primary reason for buying, you may well find yourself looking at the Signature or others.

As usual at this point, I will link out to our friends at GSMArena, who know much more about digital photography than me, and their deep dive on all things camera with this phone with plenty of analysis and samples. Their coverage starts here. The short version is that they, too, felt the camera system on the Motorola Edge 70 Max consists of relatively unremarkable, solid mid-range hardware whose lack of a telephoto lens and basic ultrawide feel a bit at odds with the phone's price tag. Despite the unpretentious components - highlighted by a 50MP Sony Lytia main sensor and a 13MP autofocusing ultrawide - the phone manages to deliver very respectable performance, producing sharp daytime shots, good 2x zoom results, solid low-light main camera photos and surprisingly great selfies. But click through for a proper read.

The Motorola Edge 70 Max is an interesting beast of a handset that delivers a distinct, heavy-duty alternative to the typical mid-range crowd. By pairing a industrial, tank-like glass-and-metal chassis (IP68/IP69 rated) with a massive 7,100mAh battery, a razor-sharp 1440p LTPO display and magnetic Qi2.2 wireless charging, Motorola has built a device tailor-made for media lovers and power users who prioritise endurance and screen size above all else.

However, at its £700 asking price, it asks buyers to accept a few notable trade-offs. The lack of a dedicated telephoto zoom lens and a relatively basic 13MP ultrawide shooter mean that mobile photography enthusiasts will find better camera versatility elsewhere for similar money. Additionally, the industrial design brings significant weight in the hand (221g) and the single 256GB storage/8GB RAM UK configuration might feel restrictive for power users looking for headroom.

Ultimately, if you want a clean software experience, stellar battery life and a gorgeous flat display without paying top-tier flagship money, the Edge 70 Max is a hugely capable workhorse. But for those on the fence about the camera setup or the bulk, waiting for the inevitable price drops will make it a far more compelling bargain - or indeed plumping for the Signature, especially now that it has, itself, come down in price.

Wind River (2017)

This film is about missing Native American women in the USA, focusing on an example drama concerning one of them, written and directed by Taylor Sheridan (Hell or High Water, Sicario). “While missing person statistics are compiled for every other demographic, none exist for Native American women. No one knows how many are missing” is the claim—at least when this film was made. MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women) data couldn't be found because federal databases (like the FBI’s NCIC) historically failed to properly classify or track Native Americans, often mislabeling them or leaving them out entirely. So he decided to create a film about it to make the point, which he does admirably well.

We start off in the snow-smothered wilderness of the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) is a local U.S. Fish and Wildlife tracker who spends his days culling predatory wildlife threatening livestock—and his personal life quietly grieving the tragic death of his own teenage daughter three years earlier. We see him caring for his son, caring very much about his ex-wife (who is also Native American), going about his craft of meticulously preparing the bullets for his job, and just generally going about his work. It is clear that he and his ex-wife have split, having never fully dealt with the tragedy of their daughter.

Anyway, one day, while he's out tracking mountain lions in the deep snow, Cory discovers the frozen body of an 18-year-old local Native American woman, Natalie Hanson (Kelsey Asbille). We actually see her running across the snow, barefoot, clearly anguished, in the opening scene of the film.

The FBI arrives in the shape of rookie agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen), looking and behaving much like Clarice Starling from Thomas Harris's Silence of the Lambs series of books and films! She's green, under-prepared, and has been sent there from Las Vegas alone—not even with a partner. It's clear that the FBI are not prioritising this very highly. She arrives completely unequipped for the brutal Wyoming winter (wearing heels and a light jacket) and immediately realises she is out of her depth. Cory volunteers to act as her guide and tracker.

Jane gets a taste of how you get around in the snow in Wyoming with a fast-paced ride on Cory's snowmobile, riding shotgun! They study the body and she asks the local chief of police if Cory can help her. Even though he's not a cop, he knows the terrain inside-out. An autopsy reveals that the girl died from exposure after running miles through the freezing sub-zero night, but crucially, she had been violently raped prior to her flight. Because she choked on her own lung-blood from the sub-zero air, the coroner ruled it a homicide caused by exposure rather than a direct murder, which initially limits federal jurisdiction.

So Cory and Jane trace Natalie’s final steps, finding more evidence of wrongdoing on the way, and eventually—with a team of local cops for backup on snowmobiles—arrive at a remote trailer where her boyfriend, Matt Rayburn (Jon Bernthal), lived with a group of men working as security guards at a fracking camp. From here, we start to get the reveals as to what happened to Natalie via some flashbacks. We spend some time with Natalie's parents, who are obviously devastated, with her mum breaking down completely.

So the rest of the film is the hunt, really—across the snow with an experienced tracker and rifleman, with a rookie FBI agent in tow, and it's a question of whether justice can be served, by whatever means the people involved can find. There's a tense shootout in the mix, plenty of taut atmosphere, and lots and lots of cold snow!

It's a moving film in many ways. It can be slow-paced here and there, but the drama rescues it from ever being dull. The cinematography does its own job really—tailor-made for Taylor! It's nicely directed and the main leads do a convincing job. Elizabeth Olsen plays the rookie FBI agent convincingly enough, switching from a green girl out of her depth to a capable professional when the shit hits the fan. But mostly, there is Jeremy Renner as the male lead, whose quiet resolve and calm exterior belie his readiness to leap into action as needed.

It's not a true story, as I intimated above, but a symbolic one to look at the issues. It dips a little into some of the jurisdictional complexities of who has power on what land or territory, and also highlights the plight of people who live in such isolated communities, often in poverty and unemployment. We also get a taste of the reality of living in a place where enforcement backup (and indeed medical assistance) is hours away and law resources are tiny.

Apparently, the film’s release actually helped put pressure on lawmakers, eventually leading to the introduction and passing of legislation like Savanna’s Act and the Not Invisible Act, which aimed to fix these exact reporting and data collection gaps. It is certainly an intelligent and engaging watch, making some important humanistic points.

Motorola G Stylus (2024 vs 2025 vs 2026): A UK Importer’s Dilemma

Quick Summary (TL;DR)

• The Core Experience: Dimensions, stylus functionality, 50MP camera, stereo speakers, and 3.5mm jack remain essentially unchanged across all three models.
• The Big Upgrades: The 2025/2026 models bring huge leaps in screen brightness (up to 5,000 nits), 68W fast charging, IP68/IP69 waterproofing, and faster UFS 3.1 storage.
• The UK Verdict: Unless you desperately need extreme outdoor display brightness or rapid charging, the 2024 model still holds up well enough to save you the cost and hassle of importing.

When evaluating Motorola’s G Stylus range over the past three generations, it is clear that the company has focused on refining an already solid foundation rather than reinventing the wheel. I have the 2024 version here which is now stuck on Android 15 forever, and security updates (now quarterly) will stop in May 2027. So I was thinking about whether or not it's a good point at which to try and import a newer one. Import, because these G Stylus units are US-only and I'm in the UK!

One of the things I like about the unit is the built-in pen in a silo in the phone, much like what Samsung does with its S-series Ultra phones. The stylus is not as 'smart' as Samsung's, but works well enough with Moto's built-in software layer for casual users and quick note-taking. It's also a nice size in the hand, not too small like some. So yes, not essential, but a bonus. Being inside the phone is also a big plus—my Motorola Signature's Moto Pen Ultra has to sit in a completely separate piece of charging/housing hardware, which means, of course, it won't be with me when I need it. And if it is, probably not charged! With this simple, 'dumb' pen, there are no worries about any of that.

From a physical perspective, anyone upgrading from the 2024 model to either the 2025 or 2026 iteration will feel right at home. The chassis dimensions, weight and general ergonomics have remained essentially identical, featuring the same comfortable silicone polymer eco-leather back and plastic frame. As I said above, the built-in stylus, housed neatly in its dedicated silo alongside Motorola's customised note-taking software, continues to be a standout feature in this price bracket. It's a nice-enough size in the hand, well-balanced and not too fat. My version here is the red colour, which is gorgeous!

Just a quick note here to say that much of the text here is based on my research, not hands-on experience with the 2025 and 2026 models, as I don't have them! I have tried to deep-dive and get opinions from people using the newer models, mostly, as you'd imagine, in the USA. So bear that in mind going forward—where I speak confidently about features, changes and capability, a lot of it has been scooped up and summarised from other users. I come at this owning the oldest of the three and asking myself whether or not I want to try and upgrade, as I say.

Durability has seen a monumental leap. Where the 2024 model settled for basic water-repellent coating and unspecified front glass, the subsequent releases stepped up to robust Gorilla Glass 3, proper IP68 dust and water resistance and MIL-STD-810H durability compliance. The 2026 variant pushes this protection even further to IP69, giving peace of mind against high-pressure water jets as well as total submersion. I don't use this 2024 version daily, by any stretch of the imagination, nor in tough conditions, but when I have spent spells with it, I see no cause for alarm regarding screen scratches on that flat front glass at least.

The most dramatic visual upgrade lies in the display technology. While all three models sport a 6.7" OLED panel, the transition from the P-OLED panel used in 2024 to the brighter AMOLED panels in the newer generations makes a world of difference outdoors. Peak brightness has skyrocketed from an adequate 1,200 nits on the 2024 model to a blinding 3,000 nits on the 2025 version, culminating in an extraordinary 5,000 nits peak on the 2026 variant.

Furthermore, clarity has received a welcome bump. Motorola moved from standard Full HD+ (1080p, around 395 pixels per inch) on the original to a crisp 1220p resolution (often referred to as 1.5K) on the two newer models, pushing the sharpness to 444 ppi. However, despite these dramatic panel upgrades, Motorola remains stubbornly resistant to offering a true, persistent Always-On Display on the G Stylus phones which an LTPO panel would bring. Instead, you are still left relying on Moto’s signature Peek (or Wake) Display—which only lights up when moved, tapped, or when a notification arrives. If you want a standard, non-stop ambient clock sitting on your desk, you will still need to resort to a third-party app from the Play Store, as Motorola continues to restrict a genuine AOD to its pricier Edge and Razr flagships. The one I usually use with best results and least impact on battery (depending on how it is set up) is Always On Display XPath by "aodlink.com" in the Google Play Store. Free mostly, but some features (including the 'always' always-on rather than timed) are behind a cup-of-coffee-priced purchase. I have done this as it supports development and encourages the developer to keep improving the app.

The wireless networking setup across the three models reveals a slightly curious path of progression rather than a straight upward trajectory. The 2024 model laid the groundwork with Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), which was then superseded on the 2025 release by Wi-Fi 6E. Wi-Fi 6E is particularly noteworthy as it introduces access to the dedicated, less congested 6GHz frequency band alongside standard 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels. On the latest 2026 iteration, Motorola lists "Wi-Fi ax", which is simply the official technical designation for standard Wi-Fi 6. While Wi-Fi 6 ("ax") delivers significant efficiency, capacity and speed improvements over the older Wi-Fi 5 standard, it strictly operates on 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. Consequently, while the newest unit offers robust wireless performance for modern home networks, the 2025 model actually holds a niche advantage for anyone equipped with a tri-band 6GHz router. On my 2024 model I have had no connectivity issues, regularly switching between three routers, two landline-based and one cellular.

When importing a North American handset like the Motorola G Stylus to the UK, network connectivity is often a primary concern, though UK buyers can generally not worry. The essential 4G LTE frequency bands used across Britain—including B1, B3, B7, B8, and the long-range B20 band crucial for rural and indoor coverage—are fully supported on both the 2025 and 2026 US models. For 5G, the critical n78 band (3.5GHz) that underpins primary high-speed coverage for EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three is present across all three generations, supplemented by key bands like n1, n7, and n28. While standard voice, SMS and high-speed data work seamlessly out of the box on an unlocked US device, there are a couple of small quirks worth noting. Network-specific features like VoLTE and Wi-Fi Calling can occasionally be hit-or-miss depending on whether your UK carrier recognises the US-spec software profile, though most modern UK SIMs handle unlocked Snapdragon hardware without fuss.

Furthermore, while the built-in eSIM activation works flawlessly via standard UK carrier QR codes, taking full advantage of the newer models' rapid 68W TurboPower wired charging will require a third-party UK Power Delivery plug, as any bundled adapter will naturally feature a US two-pin connection. I have had no problems at all using my 2024 model here in the UK with connectivity, VoIP too, and would not let this stop me ordering a newer model.

Under the hood, performance improvements are steady rather than revolutionary, though usability gains are noticeable. The jump from the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 (4nm) chipset in the 2024 phone to the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 powering the newer models delivers a modest boost in everyday responsiveness and efficiency. Memory remains sensible, with 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of expandable storage via microSD across most configurations. Crucially, storage speed has evolved significantly: moving from unspecified flash storage in 2024 to UFS 2.2 in 2025, and finally to UFS 3.1 in 2026. This means app loading times, file transfers, and general system fluidity will feel noticeably snappier on the latest model. Software longevity has also improved slightly; while the 2024 handset was burdened with a stingy single OS update, Motorola now provides two major OS upgrades on the newer versions. Still not great, compared to the now becoming-widespread 7 years of support from various OEMs (to be fair, Moto included now with their latest flagships).

Interestingly, the camera and audio setups have remained practically static, which is no bad thing given their strong performance. You get the same reliable 50MP main sensor with optical image stabilisation (OIS), a 13MP ultra-wide lens, and a 32MP selfie camera, all capable of 4K video recording at 30fps. Audio enthusiasts will appreciate that Motorola has retained both stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos support and the increasingly rare 3.5mm headphone jack equipped with 24-bit/192kHz Hi-Res audio capability. I must admit that I don't often use the 3.5mm jack, much the same as I'd say for my Sony Xperia phones, but it's better to have the option than not. The audio sounds great on my 2024 model, via that jack or Bluetooth, so hopefully that is also true of the newer models.

The optical under-display fingerprint reader and NFC also carry over unchanged and work well, as does the face unlock. All quick to register and work together to get you into the action as soon as possible! Note that with the above-mentioned Always On Display app, this does put a layer between the user and these features. Double-tap the AOD though and you're away. The main battery capacity sees a tiny bump to 5,200mAh on the 2026 model compared to 5,000mAh on the older pair, but the real charging triumph is wired speed: the 30W charging of 2024 has been replaced by rapid 68W TurboPower charging, with Moto's proprietary charger, on both newer handsets, while keeping 15W Qi wireless charging across the entire line-up.

Is it worth importing to the UK from a 2024 unit? If, like me, you already own the 2024 Motorola G Stylus, upgrading requires careful consideration, especially given the hassle and cost of importing these North American-focused handsets into the UK. The core daily experience—taking notes with the pen, snapping photos, listening to wired audio and enjoying standard smartphone tasks—will feel largely identical. My current phone is working well, so importing the 2025 model makes very little sense, as the performance jump is modest and you miss out on the speedier UFS 3.1 storage. I think I'm talking myself out of this, though it is good to assess. Living with an outdated version of Android is less of a problem these days with many services being app-based, reaching back across OS versions—and even if/when security updates stop, people are generally safe enough if they keep their Google Play System up-to-date for years to come. Ten years of use should not be beyond reason really, as long as one is not bothered about new features and AI stuff!

Anyway, importing the 2026 model presents a far more compelling argument if you are genuinely struggling with outdoor screen visibility or battery top-up speeds. The combination of a 5,000-nit 1.5K display, extreme IP69 ruggedness, UFS 3.1 storage speeds, and 68W fast charging creates a significantly more modern device. Unless those specific pain points—display brightness, charging speed, and ruggedness—are critical to your daily usage, holding onto your 2024 model for another cycle remains the most practical choice. For me, as I say, I think I'll sit tight. The battery on this unit seems good and lasts as long as it did on Day 1, and I'm not really bothered about new features as long as the ones designed for the phone continue to work. Finally, I'll link here to my blog review of the 2024 model, which I 'penned' in 2024 (with a keyboard, not the Moto G Stylus pen)!

So finally, for those in the UK who want to upgrade (or buy the newer models), where and how is best to do it? Probably one of the 'safest' routes is via amazon.com (rather than amazon.co.uk, as you won't find one there)! Looking today I see that the 2026 model is available for just under $500, offering me delivery as a Prime member in just under a week. This does seem to be just the 128GB/8GB version, so maybe look elsewhere for the 256GB variant (though don't forget that you have that microSD card slot). There is a 256GB/8GB 2025 version there, which might actually be the better value at $299. Import charges have been added and in my basket it is showing £285 total. At that price, it feels somewhat tempting! Final note—Motorola won't ship it to the UK, either via their UK or US stores, so it's third-party all the way. Try eBay if you like, but I'd rather stick with Amazon!

Intruders (2011)

The film really, really should have been called Hollow Face, as Intruders sounds like a standard home-invasion thriller, which is plain misleading and no doubt conjures up an expectation of some kind of slasher/thriller rather than, as here, a psychological horror about trauma and childhood monsters.

Anyway, leaving aside my clear talent for (re)naming films(!), our story starts in two parts. First up, we're in Madrid where a 7-year-old boy named Juan (Izán Corchero) lives with his single mother, Luisa (Pilar López de Ayala). Juan is enthusiastically writing a scary story about a faceless phantom, Hollow Face, who sneaks into children's rooms at night to steal their faces because he lacks one of his own. Soon, we see Juan being terrorised by this creature.

Luisa seeks help from a local priest, Father Antonio (Daniel Brühl), but religious intervention fails to keep the entity away. He wants to do some sort of exorcism, but his older colleague rules it out on the grounds that he thinks the mother and son are mentally ill and there's nothing there to even work with. All in Spanish with subtitles up to now.

We skip to London where 12-year-old Mia (Ella Purnell) discovers an unfinished story on a scrap of paper inside the trunk of a tree at her grandparents' home. She reads the story of Hollow Face, finishes it for a school assignment, and in doing so, accidentally triggers Hollow Face and claims to be attacked by it/him. Her dad, John Farrow (Clive Owen), steps in to defend her. By the way, apparently, the name Mia Farrow was not in any way planned to have anything to do with Woody Allen's leading lady and was a pure accident.

Anyway, back to John, who even sees Hollow Face himself and gets into physical altercations with the being, prompting him to install security cameras around the house. As Mia's distress deepens, she loses her voice. The family, who by now don't believe either of them - especially when they discover supporting video evidence from the cameras - call in psychiatrists. They suspect that John and Mia are experiencing a rare psychological phenomenon called folie à deux (a shared delusion).

We leap back and forth between Juan and Mia as they have various sightings and appearances of Hollow Face, usually at night and alone in their bedrooms, adding to the already eerie and suspenseful mystery. And then we start to get to the reveals which put the pieces together as to what is going on, whether or not Hollow Face is real, a ghost, or something else otherworldly, so I'll leave you to enjoy them as the mystery unfolds. And I hadn't worked it out, for the record. But then I'm a bit thick like that!

The film was directed by Spanish filmmaker Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, who previously gained international fame for directing the intense horror sequel 28 Weeks Later (2007). His background in high-tension filmmaking heavily influenced the atmospheric shadows, lighting, and spatial dread here. Cinematographer Enrique Chediak deliberately used high-contrast lighting and deep shadows to make rooms look like they were changing shape in the dark, for purposes that I won't spoil here!

Special note for Ella Purnell, who was only about 13 during filming. Intruders was one of her very first feature film roles (following a brief appearance in Never Let Me Go). Her performance was widely praised for carrying the emotional core of the British storyline alongside Clive Owen (Children of Men, Closer, Gosford Park). As I'm sure you know, she has gone on to greater things such as Sweetpea, Tim Burton's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Ordeal by Innocence, Fallout and loads more. The film also brought together a prominent international cast, including Carice van Houten (Game of Thrones) as John's wife Susanna and Daniel Brühl (My Zoe, The Colony, The Zookeeper's Wife, Alone in Berlin) as Father Antonio.

It's a decent little chiller, thriller, drama, spook-fest with some interesting turns and a really good atmosphere throughout. Well-produced and pleasing to consume at 1 hour 40 minutes. You can catch it on various streaming platforms now, as it's clearly 15 years old. Enjoy!

Inside (2007)

Directed by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, Inside (À l'intérieur, 2007) is a cornerstone of the New French Extremity movement, apparently! Practical special effects artist Jacques-Olivier Molon relied almost exclusively on practical gore and prosthetic suits over CGI, which accounts for the realistic feel of the film's body horror.

We join the story in the middle of a car crash - two cars colliding in bad weather - in which Sarah, who is pregnant, is barely alive, while her husband has died instantly. She is told that there were no other survivors from the incident. We then leap four months into the future and join Sarah at her hospital bedside as she is just about to be discharged. She is heavily pregnant by now, with the medics wanting her to return in the morning if labour has not started naturally.

Sarah is a photojournalist and spends her time taking photos of everything she possibly can - it looks like Canon sponsored this film! She rejects the help of friends and prefers to spend tonight, which happens to be Christmas Eve, alone in her home, mentally preparing for the trauma of the birth the next day.

There is a knock on the door and the doorbell rings. An unidentified woman (La Femme) is outside asking to be let in to use the phone as her car has broken down. Sarah is sceptical and refuses time and again. She tells the woman to go away and be quiet as her husband is sleeping. The eerie moments begin when the woman tells Sarah that she knows that is not true because her husband is dead! Sarah calls the police, who arrive, inspect the perimeter, and promise to return periodically throughout the night.

Sarah falls asleep and has weird dreams about childbirth. We are shown abstract moving images now and again of the child inside her, swimming around. The woman comes to the window, cracks it with her fist, and marks the beginning of the rest of the bloodbath - body horror, siege, survival, blood, guts and gore. Nothing is left to the imagination as both women get creative about what they can use as weapons!

Various people enter the house over the course of the night to check on her and try to help - returning police officers and a member of her family - but I will leave you to discover what happens with them, by them or to them, in equal measure! We do get an explanation as to why all this is happening at the end, which I must say I guessed early on, but that is not really the point. The film is about much more than a by-the-numbers mystery!

Alysson Paradis, who played Sarah, endured weeks of physically demanding filming on cramped, blood-drenched sets, delivering a completely convincing performance. Béatrice Dalle played La Femme, the intruder, with a scary chill - spooky and unsettling throughout. The few others in the cast did their duties admirably as well as their characters joined the chaos in the house, by which time everyone, including the viewer, has completely forgotten that it is Christmas Eve!

In terms of the gore, as I said at the outset, realistic physical effects were employed. They apparently used gallons and gallons of fake blood, with the directors opting for physical prosthetics and mechanical puppets over CGI to create the gruesome landscape. It is brilliantly shot, putting the viewer right in the middle of the action - and in some cases... Inside! The musical score was really interesting as it hauntingly dwelt on solo piano and cello. It was composed by François-Eudes Chanfrault, who used a deliberate, classical, laid-back approach to create a stark contrast against the extreme physical violence and gore. Hang about for the credits, during which the music will haunt again.

Great film. I really enjoyed it. Not for the squeamish, though, or anyone who has just had a large lunch! It comes and goes on UK streaming services as you would imagine, nearly 20 years on. Track it down, I say - do not spoil it with dubbed versions, go for the original French with subtitles (though I am sure you could probably skip reading them and not miss a beat)!

Hope (2026)

Directed by Na Hong-jin (The Wailing, The Chaser), Hope is a chaotic, long (2 hours and 37 minutes), dark comedy and sci-fi action film set in Hopo ("Hope") Port, a remote Korean mining village. And that's where we join the story.

Everyone's getting paranoid in the village and signs near the border warn residents to watch for infiltrators, the inference being clear! Local police chief Beom-seok (Hwang Jung-min) and hunter Sung-ki (Zo In-sung) find a huge cow or bull on a rural road, which has been brutally mutilated. The locals start a hunt, convinced at first that it's a bear, before ruling that out in favour of a tiger!

They are alerted to chaos in the middle of the village where most people live and the shops reside. It's chaotic because people are being mauled, killed, maimed and disfigured by what they still think at this stage to be a tiger. Our police chief bravely goes on the hunt, assisted by various people along the way, running through the streets and leaping into buildings while dodging flying debris and victims, with the perpetrator always just out of sight. In fact, we're teased for 45 minutes into the film before we start to get a peep at the alien creature - but the tension is often handled well.

Our chief's sidekick at the station is Sung-ae (Hoyeon), a spunky young woman who turns up on the scene in a police car packed with weapons and ammunition to help him stop this creature once and for all. We then enter a stretch of the film where the pair are in the police car, blazing at high speed through the streets, pursued at equal speed by the creature as they lean out of the windows to try and shoot it! I didn't time it, but it felt like nearly half an hour of breakneck car chasing and shooting!

The creature is an oddly shaped, giant 10-foot-tall alien warrior with some features that look almost human. Sung-ae manages during the car chase to blow off half of the creature's leg, which slows it down a bit, but the village is destroyed because of all this - with most of the population dead or in the local makeshift hospital space!

While all the above is going on, Sung-ki (Zo In-sung) and a posse of his hunters venture into the forested mountains, where they are conducting their own series of chases as we discover that our alien wrecking the village wasn't alone. But enough of the spoilers, enjoy the unfolding for yourself! I will say, however, that two of them are played by some familiar non-Korean names. The pair are even married in real life - J’aur is played by Alicia Vikander and Ma’veyyo by Michael Fassbender. So there's that to watch out for.

The film switches rapidly from a straightforward tale of monster-invasion/hunting into a dark comedy of errors, in fact. Other villagers come forward with new information about what they have seen in the woods over the previous weeks, which pads out the story and gives the reveals and outcomes some substance. And there is an explainer at the end (as well as a cliffhanger of sorts, leaving the door open for a sequel), bonkers as it might be!

There are also some half-arsed "messages" in the mix about humans, relationships, power struggles, rage, family values, racism, selfishness and selflessness, as well as understanding and kindness. Not that it's in any way soppy! It's very much a high-octane survival actioner with explosions, crashes, death, gore, blood, decapitations and body-horror bits that will keep a person on the edge of their seat for much of the duration - and yes, for me, that long runtime flew by, even with subtitles slowing my brain down a bit!

Having said all that, it is quite an absurd plot with plenty of inconsistencies along the way for those who want to pick at it, but it is also very funny at times. For example, there's an unfeasibly long dialogue in the middle of the film when a man describes his recent experience in the woods when he had seen some of the above, but was desperate for a shit and couldn't do it while trying to keep quiet! So there is plenty of good, nutty entertainment all round!

In terms of acting, everyone played their part and played it well. The main leads did an excellent and absurdly convincing job! On production notes, it seems that Na Hong-jin spent years developing the film with primary backing from Plus M Entertainment and it was mostly filmed across South Korea. A final word goes to cinematographer Hong Kyeong-pyo (also the cinematographer of Parasite and Burning) for having made the most of the landscape and working with the team to make the special effects somewhat convincing too. Great film. Really enjoyed it. It's only at cinemas just now, but apparently coming to streaming in the UK in about a month from the time of writing.