Some of the most absurd elements come into play with the universe hopping, as they do odd things to trigger jumps and explore each alternative universe. In other lives, Evelyn is a film star, a chef, a scientist, a sign spinner... a rock, a pinata, and a woman with hot dog fingers. The rock universe is has some really touching moments for the family drama; this film is genre-rollercoaster.

The troubled relationships between Evelyn and her husband, Evelyn and her daughter, and Evelyn and her father take up this aspect. Just as there are all these multiverse versions of her, she is also juggling the laundry business, her own hopes and dreams, and her relationships like multiple lives. Her husband is less her life partner to her than he is her business partner, she wants to be close to her daughter but distance her sexuality and girlfriend from her elderly father, and the timing of this multiverse news clashes with both her father's birthday party and the laundrette being last-chance audited.

The villain reveal is heavily foreshadowed, as is the ultimate moral of kindness and happiness. Regardless, the impact it has on Evelyn is powerful, and the audience either reacts with her or can really take in her reaction. Just looking at the poster gives a good idea of the busy-ness, the artfulness and the brilliance of this film, and the fun it has. You'll never look at googly eyes, hot dogs or even the small local businesses around your city the same again.

In fact, the city's corruption is a huge part of the plot. While the villain is just going after the politicians and officials who are undeniably abusing their power, it's a fun grey area. I wanted the Batman to succeed, but I kind of wanted the Riddler to do enough to make a difference. The Riddler himself is excellently written, and excellently portrayed by Paul Dano. A familiar villain, but not as overplayed as the Joker, he is exaggerated enough to live up to the comic book character people will expect, but still held within real life bounds. Question marks abound, but in a black hunting mask and using Zodiac-like symbols rather than in a bright green bodysuit. His use of codes and unfinished jokes lets him fit the name well.

Zoë Kravitz' Catwoman is yet another brilliant casting, and yet another believable character. Her motives are noble but her methods (and the life surrounding her) are criminal, her cats and bisexuality are portrayed in a positive light, and her costume is realistic. Likewise, the Penguin, Alfred and James Gordon are all well balanced portrayals. The story is engaging, the action is exciting and the visuals are excellent. Whether you're a Batman fan, a Robert Pattinson fan or just a general film fan, The Batman is a great film worth catching at the cinema. It would have been nice to have had one whole film without the Joker, but his last second appearance did show that this is the first film in a series, and that the Joker is not going to be the terrible Jared Leto version.

The ending is clear early on, but its slow inevitability is enjoyable. If the silly parts were removed, the pessimistic idea of just waiting for the end of the world would make for an interesting film. The ironic switch between Leonardo DiCaprio's and Jennifer Lawrence's characters' media abilities and reception is fun and funny; more focus on their characters' relationships would have been better, as DiCaprio's Dr Randall Mindy's relationships plotline is witty. Lawrence's Kate Dibiasky has some relationship time with Timothee Chalamet's Yule, which is far more entertaining than any of the news scenes or Hill's entire character.

​The most annoying part of this film, really, is that it isn't bad. It's just not good. It sits there, teetering between failure and the potential that the concept has. The main actors are great and there are some really strong satirical points, like the Bash capitalism and monopoly parody. But, ultimately, its stunted by its own childish humour. The whole "Don't Look Up" thing is a rushed montage and heavy-handed point about the deliberate ignorance of the right wing. The idea that mainstream groups of people would refuse to look at the sky and say that looking at the sky is propaganda is too far, even in a world with flat earthers and anti-vaxxers.

You can tell that the creators here were patting themselves on the back smugly from the very beginning, and perhaps if they hadn't been so immediately pleased with themselves they might have pushed past their first thoughts and made a clever film. With all the generic versions of things and people, it's amazing NASA allowed their name to be used. The post-credit scene is a giggle, if you can be bothered to wait that long.

Despite being spoiled on the poster, DVD cover or streaming thumbnail, one of the two major reveals still packs a punch with the sheer body horror. Not for the squeamish, there are some very gross deaths and injuries. Don't think too hard about them, they're already unpleasant enough! And, on the topic of warnings and things that are unpleasant, the racism is pretty heavy. The sister and dad have some terrible blanket ideas, but the granddad ramps it up with overt slurs. They're more along the mispronounced generics, with a complaint about "Johnny Bongo-Bongo" than the n-word, but it's still some heavy-handed writing.

This is one half of the theme: the granddad is an abusive ex-military man who spouts hatred, and his abused son is the repressed, uptight head of the household. The sister, pregnant and outspoken, is to be protected and revered, with her husband the second in command. The mum, too old to be in the protected role of baby-making, is the unloved caretaker. The main couple are the failure of the family - a son who dares to not follow the authority and toe the line, coming back from a period of estrangement with a (insert shocked gasp) a "middle eastern" girlfriend who thinks dares to be more educated than them!

The dad becomes more and more unhinged as things get worse, needing so badly to prove that his belief system is correct and that following the rules will solve things. The sister and brother in law have little glimmers of redemption, the chance to stand up to the white supremecist patriarchy, but their relapse is immediately followed by punishment. This is where a horror staple slips away: while repugnant granddad does die first, second-in-line dad makes it to the finale and angelic mum doesn't. Waiting for that perceived poetic justice is frustrating.

Some haphazard Christianity comes crashing in with the dramatic peak, with a Son of Sam style God-in-the-TV and some second coming of Christ that comes entirely out of left field. This does almost link the other theme, which is the less interesting cliche of TV is bad and brainwashing us all. It's a bit overdone and hypocritical coming from a television screen itself, but could have been an interesting critique of the place of TV in the family if it had been properly explored. There's also a completely unacknowledge hallucination or dream of a wide open field, adding more mess to the symbolism.

Overall, mediocre characterisation and confused conclusion aside, the horror elements and racial points are enjoyable. Not an instant classic by any means, but the suspence had me hooked until the end, even if I did forget the characters names.

While the first group declared less valuable are the elderly, a pregnant woman and young girl are soon singled out as either most important or most sympathetic, and the group divides into two factions. One side want to work together to ensure at least one of the two reach the end, ensuring one may potentially survive. The other, lead by a bearded man, argue that they should be killed, as they aren't actually any more important than anyone else in the room and the sympathy for them condemns everyone else. It's a morally complex film, uncomfortable to watch. What would you do in that situation? What is the correct outcome? Are you making your decisions based on stereotypes or your own prejudices?

In what could have been a heavy handed moral moment, one black man calls on the other black people in the group. He says they will be killed by the white people, who immediately get heated and insist race is meaningless. The other black people refuse to engage, saying that whether or not he is correct, drawing negative attention to himself will just get him killed. It's put aside, but he is the last black person alive and in one last second redirection one white person literally says "Kill the black guy!" and he is zapped. Vocal male characters are only voted off for enraging everyone else; the rich jerk guy only faces the killer beam after an intense homophobic rant and the scruffy guy only after a blatent series of lies that are a blatent attempt to get everyone to kill the woman next to him.

In the moment, these deaths aren't even satisfying beyond shutting the ranter up. All but one is earmarked for death, and it's clearly going to come down to the pregnant woman and the girl. The question of why comes up a lot. The scenario is apparently the aftermath of alien invasion, mass panic and fleeing the city, and potentially random abduction. Staying in the circle right until the last scene, we not only do not see the aliens but also do not find out the answers to any of the questions posed. Why these fifty people in particular? Why are they voting each other off in a contactless battle royale? Is there a correct way to play, is it a judgement of humanity or is even anyone even watching? Unanswered and unimportant; the film is not about the motivations of the aliens, but the behaviour of the people.

As the cast slowly lowers in number and the conflict becomes the sole focus of the discussion, the outcome becomes more and more certain. The tension stays high and the 'leader' of each faction continues to outlive their groups. A last second twist leaves one survivor, released as it was guessed (or hoped) into the desolate city. Walking along a tunnel to echoes of their most effecting quotes, the survivor joins a small group of children and adults, and they all stand and watch one of the many giant circular spaceships over the city.

What does it all mean? It isn't clear. Just like the point of the game, the morally correct thing to do, and the truth of any of the people, the film is not here to give us any answers. With more courage, the film might have something to say about human nature, prejudice and selfishness, but it leaves it all up to the viewer. There's a missed opportunity for an amazing ending, if it had turned out that the fallen people were unconscious and they all had to face their victims. Interesting but ultimately unsatisfying, its worth watching if just for the concept.

With literally just two cast members, Patrick Brice as Aaron and Mark Duplass as Josef, the film itself is very pared back. With no gore, monsters or high action sequences, Creep instead relies entirely on the acting and interplay between the two characters. The result is brilliant. Josef is both a scary and pitiful man, seeming entirely genuine or completely deceptive from second to second. Aaron is a competant everyman, making mostly sensible decisions and reacting in a normal way to strange and scary things. 

The found footage genre is not for everyone, putting severe limitations on the way the plot is presented and what can be included. The filmmaker premise works very well, and Aaron's rising fear gives good reasoning for the expanding scope of what he records. Josef's desperate attempts to befriend him and erratic stalking work well. There are some suprises, red herrings and minor jump scares along the way, all adding to the atmospheric horror more than any special effects could. 

The pace and real-world setting plant Creep firmly in the psychological horror camp. While my heart raced and my hair stood on end, it was not anyone in-film I was afraid for. Dangerous people who may or may not want to kill you are real, and the possibility that you are in danger with zero evidence to take to the police is the kind of logical adult fear that worries you in the early hours of a sleepless night.

When all the character driven tension is eventually resolved, the fact that things are actually resolved is more shocking than the jump scare. There's a little wrap up that confirms your suspicions and makes space for the sequels. Watch in the afternoon, and follow it up with some kitten videos, or watch it late at night with the window open to keep you from sleeping.

When the name of the film itself is a reference to two others (the book Slaughterhouse-Five and the film The Cider House Rules) it's practically a Where's Wally of references. References to Harry Potter abound, and the dialogue references Goodbye, Mr Chips, 300, Freaks, Braveheart. and even Fifty Shades of Grey.

The plot is simple and classic; working class boy goes to public school, and his fish-out-of-water story is disrupted by a monster attack. Three doomed romance subplots, some character rivalries and a Chekhov's lighter; Pegg, Frost and Sheen are having a whale of a time under writer and director Crispian Mills. 

It's pretty funny, it's a little bit scary, and it's exciting. Well worth an afternoon.

Likewise, it can be as easy for a director to become typecast as an actor; Robert Pattinson has broken away from the dull love interest he played in Twilight, and this follows an almost-arthouse role in The Lighthouse. While a viewer might expect a different feel of film from Nolan, the action-heavy style of Tenet is not a flaw.

John David Washington's protagonist is a brilliant mix of a proactive instigator and an audience surrogate, buffeted along by the plot. What is happening? he asks, and How does this time reversal thing even work?. As we move through the film, his awareness and comprehension matches ours, ending with a satifying conclusion and the set up for the events before the beginning of the film.

While the plot and the time travel concept is measured out, the climactic battle scene is wild and chaotic. The gist and the core events are easy to follow, but the details are confusing. Just like a real battle, it's hard to spot the red and blue armbands or keep track of where the action is happening. The balance of action-packed moments and exposition-packed dialogue make this a textbook Nolan, in that watching it once is nowhere near enough to spot everything. Luckily, I found it so enjoyable I'm looking forward to those further viewings.

In conclusion, it's a brilliant sci fi.

Alma, picked up as a clumsy waiter and turned into a model and girlfriend, ignores danger sign from the first date. The foreshadowing of the poisonous mushrooms is so obvious it's painful, and the awful behaviour of Reynolds had me saying "kill him!" out loud on multiple occasions. The lack of consquences that any character faces for their abuse of each other is frustrating.

Reynolds treats everyone around him like garbage and Alma especially. The times that she is gaslit, dismissed and treated like a stranger increase, even as their relationship strengthens. A glimmer of romance is dangled in the New Years party, but instead of his character having growth or redemption, Reynolds drags Alma away like a naughty child. Kill him, I urged. But no, lackluster plot and horrifying romance prevailed, and she seeks to make him fall in love with her. Unsatisfyingly, we sort of stumble to an end.

Feeling very unfinished, we are told that he is okay with her Munchausen's plan and also they somehow live happily ever after. Forgotten is the rivalry with Reynold's sister, forgotten the chance of death, and forgotten the fact that his good behaviour post-poisoning was far from permanant. A barely-romanticised abusive relationship and an abrupt ending, and I wonder how this film got all the accolades it did. 

Where the film fell down on some of the original's unknowable aspects, it also excelled. Instead of a protagonist who can't comprehend what they saw or a witness too traumatised to explain, we have some truly disgusting body horror and the fate worse than death that comes with it. With this comes quite a lot of gore, and perhaps falling into the trap of mistaking gruesome for scary. These bloody moments are in stark contrast with the brilliance of the colour and framing; the moments that are not nauseating are a delight to see.

Keen eyes will enjoy the slow shifting in colour palette and distracted eyes will really enjoy the scenery and the house. The characters are developed far better than HP Lovecraft's stories often manage, and once the film has its fun with the red spray effects the ending really relies on the viewer caring about the fates of the characters. A tale with minimal "cosmic" in the "cosmic horror" the Cthulhu writer is known for, the visuals of the titular colour and visions lay the foundations for the cosmic elements of the mythos.

A thriller for fans of the story and newcomers alike, be sure there are adaptions to come.