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.

Director Yorgos Lanthimos also directed notably weird films The Killing of the Sacred Deer, The Lobster, and Dogtooth. His style comes through with the title cards, one titled "This Mud Stinks" and another "I Dreamed I Stabbed You In The Eye", and some enchantingly wide-angle lens shots distorting rooms and people. The title cards and credits have an interesting ultimately-justified spacing choice, separating letters to the edges of lines; aesthetically good but unfortunately unreadable.

The story is of contrasts; the soft and kindhearted Abigail and her dark life, Abigail's kindness and the cruelness of those around her, her kindness and her descent into cruelty; the kindness and cruelty of Sarah to both Abigail and Queen Anne; the mix of love and abuse between the couples; the tragedy and rage of Queen Anne; the difference between the cousins Sarah and Abigail in their fight to be the titular favourite of Queen Anne.

The tragedy of Queen Anne's character is masterfully depicted by Olivia Colman. The pain of her disability and seventeen lost children strongly affect her actions and explain to us, the audience, her otherwise irrational behaviour. Even as she dismisses important issues and hurts people for her own gain, she is a sad figure clearly acting out of pain. Her transferred motherly affection to her rabbits is mistreated by her lovers, and the moment near the end where Abigail cruelly presses on one rabbit with her foot was shocking to me; the callousness Sarah has towards Anne's lost children was an early indicator she was not also wholly on the side of the Queen.

Other animal abuse shown is the repeated motif of Sarah and Abigail shooting birds together; one moment has a bird shot too close and blood spatter on white clothing. While not too gory, there is also a scene of a horse riding accident and the battered face it gives the victim. The sexual content also teeters around the concept of consent, and both the word and concept of rape are thrown wantonly by characters (but not out of story context). The strange title cards are also sudden and the music deliberately jarring; while far from arthouse, it was surprising to see such a weird film in the cinema.

There are long, uncomfortable close ups with no action to highlight long, uncomfortable silences, and the film just ends with a sudden cut after a long build up. The music also ends mid credits, leaving the way for ambient sounds; both the ending and this lack of music makes you feel more is coming, but there is no post credit scene. The story being told is complete but, as life and history, it carries on after the narrative.

With strong, engaging themes, this is either the weirdest film you will enjoy or a pleasant jump into history or romance for your weirdness. Apart from the historical realism enforcing secrecy and shame, the lesbian theme is casual and the female characters take the foreground and strong and successful - the cheating is more shocking than the fact they are both women, and class is more of a factor than gender, with the male characters nonplussed to treat women as intellectually and power-wise as equal players.

This received Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Lead Actor (Female), Best Supporting Actor (Female) twice, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Production Design and Best Costume Design. It deserves them, as it really is outstanding. The big screen is best for those warping wide angles, so catch it in the cinema while you can.

For what could have been a rushed-out and forgettable movie, the big stars involved put the effort in and made this a really great film. The two romantic relationships shown are very different but also both believable and well portrayed; the characters are well developed and layered. Gruff murderer-for-hire Kincaid reveals he refuses to kill innocents and enjoys his job killing criminals, but isn't too concerned with his moral status. His wife is a violent badass and swears hatefully down the phone to him, but protects him and seems to truly love him.

The genocidal dictator in the background storyline does make for some unpleasant scenes, and a main character does remove a bullet from their leg. These aren't gratuitous and you aren't entangled with other scenes, so you can easily look away for a moment. The action plot violence is mostly from a distance, leading to exciting sequences without unpleasant gore.

The characters do feel very familiar: With this film being made and released between the massively popular and perfectly cast Deadpool and Deadpool 2, it's easy to see why Reynolds character feels like a pre-cancer or alternative universe Wade Wilson. Instead of a lowly heavy for hire, Bryce was at the top of his career as a bodyguard until a client was assassinated. The comparison is more of a fun aside.

Likewise, Jackson has addressed slight criticism that he plays "that same motherfucker" in every film; his Kincaid feels like an older Jules Winnfield. Darius is a hitman with morals and seems to think he's indestructible. In Pulp Fiction, Jules is a hitman who believes a miracle saved his life, and decides to get out of the underbelly work he does. His plan to "wander the earth like Caine in Kung Fu" until G-d gives him a sign of what to do next might have led him to hitmanning. He has the skills, he only kills crimelords, and he still thinks divine intervention is keeping him safe.

Even without this further, theoretical reading, this is a great film with believable and likeable characters. You'll be invested in the storyline and feel sympathetic to the characters. A fun ride through the journey to the court, it's worth putting aside an afternoon to enjoy. By the end, the two men has learned to respect each other and the audience has grown to genuinely care what happens to them now.

The plot is a lot deeper than the cross-dressing, too, giving a logical series of events for the disguise. The mob murder they witness at the start of the plot keeps them on the run from the gangsters right until the end of the film, and the disguise is their only way out of city where the crime took place. As starving artist musicians, they find the rare opportunity to leave Chicago immediately for a while in a band. Only they would need to be under 25. And blonde. And female. Cue disguises. The fact that everybody sees them as female and the men around them are attracted to them isn't played for laughs; it's the men's sleazy behaviour that is the joke, and their realisation of what the women around them face, as well as their trouble staying in character around attractive women.

The romance parts of the romantic comedy aren't as detailed as they could be, but the every plot development is exciting and easy to follow. The band does sort of fall into the background towards the end, playing without their saxophone and double bass for some reason. The end of the film does have a sort of happy ending, with the iconic scene and the line you were waiting for. And just like Osgood says to Daphne/Jerry, nobody's perfect. It's worth a watch but it's unlikely to become your favourite film.

Marilyn Monroe is a sex icon, and her wardrobe in this film is outstanding. She sings a Betty Boop esque "I Wanna Be Loved By You" in a dress that gives a strong impression of toplessness while still being very classy. Covered in glittering sequins, it also has an open back that shows off her curviness. She plays the "dumb blonde" archetype incredibly well, but even as the eye candy there is more to her character; she's the only one that calls herself "not very bright" and shrugs off the criticism of running off with another broke sax player who has already lied to her. The levels of depth to all the main characters is probably why it's stood the test of time. 

On the topic of Hognob, the football plot takes up most of the action and plot, and at no point is it referred to as soccer, nor is any concession made to the fact that people might not be familiar with the sport. Football team name jokes and other British references like the hobnob biscuit are thrown unapologetically and so refreshingly. The plot is a classic underdog story with the unrelated livelihoods of the underdogs on the line. Some smaller subplots pepper the plot with interesting events with a Bronze Age woman who isn't allowed to play because it's a man's sport, an older chief who is at odds with the young and ambitious hunter, and the Bronze Age leader hiding his money-hungry actions from his actual-monarch boss.

Although it is hinted at, there is no romance subplot. There is a thirsty mum, but she's just vaguely after a boyfriend to the never ending embarrassment of her teenage son. There are two main heroes, one male and one female, and they meet and grow to like each other. Making an incredibly welcome change, however, they do not inexplicably fall in love or replace their original, vital happy endings with a romantic one. She gets to play football in front of a cheering crowd, he gets to go home, and no obligatory heterosexual pairing is shoehorned in. They are friends and that is such a relief.

Having seen some behind the scenes videos, the process and sheer scale of a real stop-motion feature film is still hard to comprehend. The small team roots of Aardman is still there at the core, with a surprisingly small team making the huge sets and numerous models of each character. The handmade aesthetic is kept by doing so much by hand, and being sure not to smooth away all the thumbprints. The ridiculous amount of work that goes into an Aardman Animation really shows, and the beauty of the models and items is breathtaking. Take a moment to admire the artistry in any moment, and keep an eye out for the repeated football motif all over the city sets.

As always, Nick Park and co have really nailed the concept of a family film. The characters are simple but believable, the story easy to follow and compelling, and the humour funny to adults without going over children's heads. This diverse appeal means it can thoroughly entertain the children without annoying you, or you could happily watch this by yourself. As per usual, Aardman shows the rest of the children's film business how it should be done.

The basic plot is that, to judge humanity, a random person is given the power to do... well, absolutely anything. You can guess every single thing that happens next: he wants a sexy body... he gets a sexy female body; his coworker wants the hot coworker woman to worship him... she starts a religion; he wants to be in a relationship with the hot neighbour woman, and messes it up in trite romcom fashion. The aliens find humans despicable, like dogs and have an overly long winded 'weird' sounding language. Nothing was even amusing, just a pile of cliches and barely-bothered story.

The women are treated like objects by the men, the protagonist sort of learns a lesson about power, the dog talks about sex and biscuits, it all ends with things back to the status quo with the slight improvement that he's actually spoken to the hot neighbour woman.

You could write it off as a children's film, except for the fact that it deliberately presents itself as not a children's film. Before he is aware of his powers, Simon Pegg's character shouts "Screw you!" at a truck driver and we are shown the driver's suddenly-sex reaction. Once the dog is given the ability to talk and think rationally, he makes sexual references. It doesn't want to be a children's film, but it hasn't got it in it to stand up to an adult's standards of 'funny'.

An utter waste of the big names and Monty Python cast, of the plot idea, and of the Arri Alexa memory space it was filmed on. It's worst offence, of course, is being the last film the legendary Robin Williams was in. This is a film that you not only should not watch, but should forget the existence of entirely. 

Yes, half dressed and pretty faced Harley Quinn is also the highly intelligent psychologist Dr. Harleen Quinzel. She's been broken and driven insane by the Joker, but she retains her quick wit and the ability to 'read' people like books in an instant. This three-dimensional portrayal is par for the course, as all the characters are this complex and interesting. Despite there being ten of them, the film manages to show us them all in detail.

Will Smith is a fantastic Deadshot. The assassin who never misses a shot is not only a dead shot, but a deadpan snarker. His depth comes from his family; he wants to provide for his daughter by doing the well paid job that he's incredibly skilled at, but at the same time he wants to be a less villainous person to earn his daughters respect and moral approval.

​Likewise, Diablo is conflicted and is actually a reformed gangbanger when we meet him. His powers and reputation come before him, and his face tattoos make him very visible, but he's rather not hurt people any more. Boomerang, on the other hand, is an unrepentant jewel thief who refuses to take any of it seriously. He enjoys killing and takes opportunities for beer breaks, and just wants to escape and go back to stealing diamonds. Both grow as characters through the film, revealing backstory and changing their plans for the future.

Making way for the amount of characters are being introduced, the plot is not overly complicated or hard to follow, but does have some twists and turns. The mission and villain of the film was unexpected, at least to me, and there were plenty of moments that really took me by surprise. Perhaps a bit disappointing for a huge DC fan hoping for their favourite parts of the many Suicide Squad comics, it's still a great watch and a sign DC are really pulling their finger out to compete with Marvel.

There are plenty of callback and references to the original: Keep your eyes peeled for cameos, quotable lines from the original, and Slimer and Stay Puft. The little moments are satisfying for older fans, and aren't too over-the-top so wouldn't stick out awkwardly to newer viewers. The creation of the ECTO-1, the name "Ghostbusters" and the logo are all amusing, too, as in between the big laughs are constant giggles.

A big part of the film is the genderswap aspect, and they make good use of it. The Ghostbusters have a ditzy blonde secretary who's not competent enough to answer a phone but is very much eye candy, swapping the the gender for that role with the delicious Chris Hemsworth's Kevin. While this may bring cries of 'misandry', it is more a reflection of contemporary female stock characters. There are ironic misandrist jokes, which will appeal to the dry humour of many adults watching for the female empowerment. It's worth mentioning misandrist joke don't have the social weight to cause harm that misogynist ones do; this is an argument for another day and another person.

The plot itself is multilayered but not complicated. Lecturer Erin Gilbert loses her job at a prestigious university when old friend and colleague Abbie Yates publishes the paranormal science book they wrote year before. The baddy, Rowan, is the archetypal nerdy outsider seeking revenge on the world as a whole, and is trying to release every malevolent ghost into the world. The Ghostbusters are trying to investigate the paranormal with genuine scientific interest while the media are portraying them as fakes and non-scientists.

Overall, this is a really important film in the history of women in film, passing the Bechdel Test, the Sexy Lamp Test, the Mako Mori Test and the Furiosa Test. Definitely a must-watch for young girls, and for any men or boys who don't know why female media is important. It's a great film for all Ghostbusters fans, and a really good laugh.

There isn't much to 'make up' for this harmful garbage, as the plot is riddled with plot holes, obvious funny situations are glossed over, and some of the situations are simply... boring. A massive plot hole occurs with Saffy's daughter; she's a main character until she isn't needed anymore, then disappears with no explanation until much later, and isn't really even seen again. A great joke is set up every time Partsy and Eddie have to hide from people who would recognise them, and each time the film doesn't really 'do' anything with the situation; nobody talks to them while they're in disguise, nobody looks at their clothes while they're mannequins, and nobody notices them walk through the swimming pool. The heavy handed commentary on the silliness of the fashion world is just dull, as the world hams it up mourning Kate Moss and models whose job it is to walk perfectly in near-crippling heels cry over a stubbed toe.

There are plenty of big names in the cast, which would normally be impressive as the characters aren't fighting for screen time or being awkward distracting cameos. Unfortunately, the bad script and disgusting attempts at jokes just make you wonder if the actors bothered to read the script before agreeing, and noting down all the stars who chose to play transphobic characters. It's very disheartening to see so many famous people standing behind this.

Overall, my less socially-critical mother who brought me up on the TV programme and others like it gave it a minus rating and it was two hours of my life I'm annoyed I'll never get back.

It's fairly easy to stereotype animal personalities, but the pets and wildlife avoid, play with and subvert these stereotypes. The hamster is stupid and not cutely behaved, the pig is a thug and his appetite doesn't come up, and the Pomeranian dog is brave and her princess-iness is played with. The 'secret life' part comes in nicely with a posh man's poodle, which switches his classical playlist for some metal, and the constant party that the elderly dog's home is. Obviously, there is only one pet cat shown, and her 'secret' behaviour is exactly what a cat does when you're there too: She eats a chicken from the fridge and comes and goes as she pleases. The daily lives and interpersonal relationships of dogs is far easier to play with, after all. The way the dogs see their relationships with their owners is interesting, and the love interest doesn't feel shoe-horned in or too predictable.

This is a children's film, and the danger and violence are on a child-acceptable level. The vague threat of the Animal Pound, being bitten or eaten without gore, and drowning in a crashed car are the threats, and the only violence we see is the bloodless kung-fu style fighting and an over-the-top bloodless slapstick squishing. The humour regularly plays into juvenile interests, with some poop jokes and silly lies.

Luckily for the adults, there are some good jokes aimed at adults, including an obvious Monty Python killer bunny reference and a subtle Some Like It Hot "nobody's perfect" shoutout, and some subtle references to humorous pet behaviours like the cat sitting in a small box and the hawk's trouble with not eating the smaller pets are quite amusing. Compared to many adults reactions to Illumination Entertainment's minions, being amusing to adults is something amazing.

Especially after the recent mess of disability representation in serious adult media, the way the elderly, disabled dog is portrayed is fantastic. His doggie-wheelchair is a minor point, part of his travel decisions, but not a plot point or any sort of character flaw like it can so often be shown as. His vision impairment is used for a couple of jokes, as he has an assistant to lift his baggy brow to help him see, and sees the cat character as very attractive if blurry. Both are most likely age related, and only humour in what they cause him to do, not in themselves.

With all of these coming together to make a really great film , it might be a sign Illumination is going to be a very big player in animation. Either way, this is a great film for all the family.