A love letter to film preservation, Nate Neal’s Treasure of the Lost Reel is Indiana Jones for cinephiles.
Heck (Sean Shannon) is a teacher by day and a hunter of lost film in his spare time. His latest acquisition is a rare Boffo cartoon. He’s approached by Bellamy (Kevin R. Free), who makes a convincing argument that his grandfather created a character, Biffo, which the company Pinnacle (who are definitely not Disney, no, sir… not at all) used to ‘inspire’ Boffo. With the original cartoon seemingly lost, Bellamy has no claim for copyright infringement. Heck takes on the task of finding the missing film, as does his ex, Laurel (Katie Hannigan), who runs a film-based show and wants to screen the cartoon. Pinnacle, however, wants to find the movie for more sinister reasons, since it would void the trademark on their Boffo character. They put their Mr Fix-it (William Russ) on the case, and he’ll go to extreme lengths to ensure Biffo never comes to light.
Populated with likeable characters, Nate Neal’s film is a passionate yet whimsical tale that feels as if it came from a different age itself. The love of physical film formats and classic animation is clear; the extracts from the shorts are pitch-perfect, evoking the classic Max Fleischer Betty Boop style. It also provides a quick guide to copyright law and an exaggerated look at how far some companies (ahem) will go to keep their characters from entering the public domain. At its heart is the timeless story of the little guy fighting a big corporation, with some memorable exchanges between Heck and Pinnacle’s Mr Fix-it; the park chase being a highlight. Shot on the streets of New York, there’s a low-key charm to the film that’s difficult to resist.
TREASURE OF THE LOST REEL had its world premiere at New York Big Apple Film Festival and screens at Manhattan Film Festival on Thursday, June 18th.
Five decades on from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and visionary director Steven Spielberg returns with his latest sci-fi adventure. Unfortunately, if his Disclosure Day is anything to go by, then it seems as though the well has run well and truly dry. The man who once made us believe that dinosaurs could walk the Earth struggles to do the same for a garden-variety fox. Let alone aliens.
The little green grey men are real, and Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor) has evidence. He’s ready to share it with the world, but first he needs to get away from scary government stooge Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), who’s set on silencing the rogue nerd before he can blow the whistle. With Daniel on the run with girlfriend Jane (Eve Hewson), matters become further complicated when local weather-lady Margaret (Emily Blunt) begins babbling in guttural clicks like a parseltongue version of that one scene from Bruce Almighty.
The comparison is even more apt than that. Scanlon, you see, fears that the confirmation of alien life will send the world as we know it into an existential panic, upending all the major religions. Not that the world is doing particularly well in the first place. On the brink of World War III, Kellner and Margaret’s big day comes with all the major nations teetering on the precipice. Will their news bring the world together, or simply push it over the edge?
Spielberg, ever the sentimental, has his ideas, but there’s nearly two hours of rote chase film to get through first. Part Paul and part Watchmen, the story barrels from one low-effort set piece to the next, from dingy farmhouses to even dingier motel bathrooms. The urgency it does muster is undermined by the visuals, particularly during a climactic chase, which can’t even spare the pixels for a convincingly real-looking car. Rather that than the wildlife, which seems to have been dredged up from the same uncanny valley his alien lifeforms hail from.
O’Connor, Blunt and Hewson do their best with what they’ve been dealt, but David Koepp’s screenplay does nobody any favours. At least Firth has the good grace to ham it up – everyone else (including a wildly underused Colman Domingo) simply powers through with a faintly embarrassed expression upon their miscast faces. There’s no subtlety to be found here, and the script seems to have been written to best cater to those not even paying attention, largely relying on an exposition-barfing phone call from Blunt or Domingo whenever the characters get stuck. It’s little wonder poor Wyatt Russell looks so baffled the whole time.
Disclosure Day is a calamity, made all the more disappointing for the calibre of talent involved. Spielberg’s message is well-intentioned and necessary but the delivery is so far off the mark it’s practically on another planet.
Kraken is unashamedly ambitious. From its Spielberg-like stylings to its Lovecraftian imagery, Pål Øie’s new film is part tourist marketing video and part 90-minute telling off about the risks of messing with nature. And it pulls it off… just about.
On Norway’s largest fjord, Sognefjord, some scientists are blasting sonic waves into the water to protect their salmon farm from lice. Predictably, there are consequences to these actions, the greatest of which is attracting the attention of a Cthulhu-sized squid monster, the titular Kraken.
There isn’t much here you haven’t seen before – including a strong Jaws template of less is more running throughout – yet Øie instils genuine heart and jeopardy into his film. Marine researcher Johanne (Sara Khorami) is summoned to investigate what’s going on in the fjord, encountering an old flame and revisiting former friendships, all of which are convincingly handled. Apart from one scenery-chewing corporate bad guy, there is sincerity in each of the characters, and when some are inevitably dispatched by the multi-limbed eco-avenger and its cohorts, you do feel the sense of loss.
Øie is also very patient and understands his task. The plot, loose as it is, is given dramatic depth and weight through its use of location. This is a stunning film, from the sweeping views of the fjord and surrounding mountains to the murky underwater shots that feel as claustrophobic as those above feel vast and awe-inspiring.
Ultimately, Kraken does what it sets out to do, delivering a warning on the risks of ecological tampering using a giant monster as the conduit. And it’s a lot better than Troll 2.
KRAKEN is available to buy or rent on digital platforms.
The fundamentalist section of the Latter-day Saints is an unsettling gift for documentarians and filmmakers, and with justifiable cause. Convicted cases of abuse and extreme behaviour are common, and present them as more akin to a cult than a religious group. Diabolic, a new film from Daniel J. Phillips, leans into that element.
Elise (Elizabeth Cullen) is a former member of the church, wholly traumatised by her experience and suffering from terrifying blackouts. Her therapist suggests that Elise – for reasons not entirely clear – returns to her roots for an extreme form of exposure therapy in order to confront the source of her nightmare.
On face value, Diabolic is a perfectly functional religious horror. There are quirky, hysteria-heavy fanatics who may or may not have Elise’s best interests at heart, and flashbacks that slowly reveal the source of the evil and the reasons for her abrupt departure from the group. And there’s some genuinely disturbing imagery, even if some moments feel lifted from an entirely different film altogether.
The cinematography is solid, with the film given a washed-out, almost Southern Gothic feel, and the cast does a decent job with a script that at times veers a little too close to parody.
And yet, Diabolic doesn’t quite rise above the average. Recent films such as Heretic(2024) and Immaculate(2024) brought something new and interesting to the religious horror subgenre, pushing the boundaries of discomfort and challenging the viewer. Diabolic comes across more like a list of specific plot points woven into a manageable script: creepy, witch-like monster… check! Undertone of sexual tension… got it!
A decent, if sadly largely forgettable entry.
DIABOLIC is available to buy or rent on digital platforms.
It’s been almost 40 years since He-Man’s rippling abs last graced the big screen, and this reboot of the beloved Mattel toyline, which is equally as inspired by the likewise cherished ‘80s animated series and the now-cult 1987 feature film adaptation, has been a long time coming. Undergoing a lot of changes over its years in development, it is by the power of Grayskull that this new film has found its way to summer blockbuster season.
Masters of the Universe sees young Prince Adam thrust to Earth, as he has to flee his planet of Eternia due to the invading forces of Skeletor. Losing his sword of power and in turn his way back, he grows up on Earth, never forgetting his home and never giving up on a way to return. And when he finds the sword, he must assemble a team of old allies to reclaim Eterniafrom the clutches of evil and become the hero he was born to be.
This is the perfect He-Man film,and one we all could have never imagined getting; in fact, it’s a film some have waited a lifetime for, ever since playing with those toys as tikes. Director Travis Knight has warmly embraced the source material’s joys and delivered the kind of movie that Hollywood has slowly stopped making. A pure cinematic thrill, and this generation’s answer to Flash Gordon, only on an even grander scale, this is the most fun film you’ll see this summer.
Thecraft on display dazzles, with Eternia bouncing off the screen with explosive colour and imagination, and great special effects sitting comfortably alongside some wowing practical sets and costumes. All while Daniel Pemberton’s score (of the year) rocks the house with rousing guitar work, and some by the legendary Brian May, and even a sequence backed by Queen’s banger “Princes of the Universe”. What’s not to love?
It never takes itself too seriously, and yet it knows when to be serious, resulting in an ‘80s-style fantasy adventure romp, all-embracing of its own ridiculousness but never to the point of mockery. This affectionate film feels made by fans and for fans but also with an accessibility for a wider crowd not in the know, much like Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
It’s popcorn summer blockbuster entertainment with cult–classic–in–the–making sensibilities. From Battle Cat MGM logo roar to one particular stellar cameo, the nostalgia is powerful, cheeky and fun, butnot all that drives the movie forward. Particularly effective is the film’s honest heart, and genuinely strong message of true strength and acceptance of self, one particularly perfect for young lads of today.
NicholasGalitzine cuts a mighty charismatic figure as He-Man/Adam, with great supporting turns by Idris Elba as Man-At-Arms and Camila Mendes as Teela, among a subtly impressive cast of familiar faces and voices. However, while he is very much cinema marmite to many, the film is stolen by a nigh-on unrecognisable Bane-meets-IanMcKellen Shakespearean vocal tour-de-force by Jared Leto as Skeletor, in one of his greatest ever performances. His Skeletor has a strong claim to being the villain of 2026 on the big screen. Moustache-twirlingly evil, hilarious, scary and theatrically grand, he is an utter joy whenever on screen and reminiscent of a bygone age of show-stealing golden age villainy.
Go and see Masters of the Universe, folks! It kicks ass.No, seriously.This is the kind of gleeful summer fantasy that barely exists at all anymore. Action-packed, hilarious, poignantand with true heroic flair and villainous deliciousness. Not to mention a third act that resists being the atypical crash, bang, wallop fare in favour of something rather more interesting, thematically breaking down the idea of muscle-bound heroism in the climactic face-off. Oh, and stay for all the credits too!
Masters of the Universeisa colourful, hopeful blast from start to finish. This seriously has the power!
In our review of Warhammer 40000 : Armageddon we briefly touched on the fact that the box comes a rule book for the new edition of the rules. (Indeed, the point of the box is to launch those rules.) You can download them here, but the core point is that this latest iteration of the world’s most popular sci-fi skirmish game is still recognisable to players of previous, recent editions.
It’s still a unit focused tabletop wargame, with one player taking their turn, then the other. 6 sided dice and tape measures are used as basic tools of the game, and it’s focused on painted models that vary from a person sized piece to larger models that include large walking robots and big alien monsters. Tanks, bikes, artillery etc also make up a usual army.
Which brings us to the first big change; units are organised by detachments (a thematic collection of units), and you can have multiple detachments in your army list; basically you can swap out various bits of your army in order to optimise special abilities. The rules for the detachments will be available online and in physical form. This might seem a bit involved for those of us who are used to simpler (but more detailed) force organisation. This also affects your potential win conditions, as they vary depending on the way you put your army together.
This also means that gamers aren’t really punished for choosing models because they’re cool rather than optimal; they are a lot of ways to put your horde of Orks together to make them playable, so if you like just collecting and painting models but also like the odd game, this is a solid change; rule of cool is allowed.
Terrain is also now more important. You have to actually interact with the terrain in order to claim it, rather than lurking about near it for a tactical advantage. If you want to hold that ruined temple, you need to be inside it. Which is great, because the new rules make cover much more effective, and much easier to hide in if your unit is good at hiding. Makes for a more cinematic game. (Special abilities will be also updated, to fit in better with the changes.) This includes ‘main character’ style units, who look like they’ll be getting buffed to work with or without their allies.
Melee has been improved, to the delight of Ork and Tyranid players, but also for everyone else. Even Tau. The guidance on rolling all those dice makes for a smoother game also, but older players will probably stick to their bad habits.
Overall, a stronger, more unified system that seems to work for every style of play, and should make tournaments more accessible to players. More importantly; Games Workshop have listened to their players and added in things we’re already doing to make the game more fun. Which is how it should be.
What began as a viral YouTube series makes its feature debut in Kane Parsons’ horror film of the same name. Most YouTube filmmakers could only dream of doing so for A24 though – let alone scoring actual Chiwetel Ejiofor as their star. In that respect, Backrooms is of a classier vintage than most.
Sure, Backrooms loyalists may baulk at the big-name actor (or actors, depending on where you place Mark Duplass) and move toward traditional filmmaking. At their heart, the original shorts were a smattering of found footage films which bore more in common with a V/H/S segment than your average A24 film. Not so this feature-length adaptation, which largely eschews the found footage approach in favour of a tale about one man’s desperate need for validation, and the woman responsible for talking him down. Boiling it down more than that? It’s The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror IV meets Severance.
Ejiofor plays furniture salesman Clark, who discovers an entrance to the titular Backrooms in the basement of his strip mall showroom. Immediately hypnotised by this labyrinth of beige carpets and magnolia walls, what he soon comes to realise is that he’s not alone. There’s more lurking in the back (rooms) than wonky-looking furniture and headache-inducing ceiling lights. Enter the man’s therapist, Mary (Renate Reinsve) becoming involved when Clark leaves a chilling message on her answering machine. Full of worry for her patient, she enters the Backrooms herself. Will she, like so many dead seagulls and lost souls before her, find only her demise there? Or does something even messier await in the flickering shadows?
That’s more depth than some would have liked from a series founded on creepy visuals and shaky camerawork. With it, a sneaking suspicion that something has been lost in translation. Could Parsons have spent two hours just vibing it with a handheld camera? Sure. Should he have? That’s up for debate. Regardless, the story’s structure should ultimately help Backrooms cater to an audience wider than those who’ve discovered the word ‘liminal space’ within the last five years and made it their whole online personality.
Ejiofor is delightfully messy as the whiskey-chugging, showroom-sleeping Clark, and a fine vessel to traverse the Backrooms with. It’s hard not to draw a parallel from his plight to that of the modern AI user, especially as he falls further down the rabbit wonky chair hole. And then there’s Reinsve’s Mary, who finds something entirely different in this pocket dimension – a man who would rather surround himself with Broken Mirror imitations of reality than take accountability for his actions. And the more literal monsters, of course.
However one feels about the approach, Backrooms still manages to do justice to its setting. The visuals look tremendous, having lost nothing in the transition from YouTube to the big screen. It’s still gratifyingly real, throbbing with a disquieting wrongness which pervades every frame. The 1990s setting helps get across that essential feeling of nostalgia, while Parsons and co-writer Will Soodik extend the scope in a manner which feels natural yet true to the location. Those worried that the film might over-explain its unknowable locale can rest assured – it’s denouement is every bit as baffling and obtuse as the YouTube series which preceded it.
Its approach may divide opinion, but Backrooms emerges as one of the year’s most striking horror films. It’s Backrooms for the masses, but has lost none of the core weirdness which made it so enthralling in the first place.
Terrain is a key element in the latest edition of the Warhammer 40,000 game, so much so that the wise folk at Games Workshop have produced all sorts of exciting terrain options for folk to have fun with.
Terrain is a tricky thing to manage; ruins, burnt out vehicles, statues, forests and the like for your toy soldiers to fight over are an essential part of most war games. But that also makes them pretty chunky sort of things; if you’ve got limited storage space or have a house so full of stuff that you have to play games elsewhere, moving these things about can be a challenge.
The wargaming industry has come up with all sorts of solutions in the past, from pop up books to just using any old stuff you have lying around. GW loves to give you options, and they do have plenty of old-fashioned plastic terrain pieces, as well as various guides on how to make the stuff. Their latest solution it the Terrain Area Set, a cardboard envelope with sixteen full colour, double sided cardboard tiles.
They lie flat and essentially have ruins printed on them. Because the new game has very specific terrain rules, these work fine. And they also function as beer coasters of sorts for actual terrain that you may want to use without scuffing up your nice table.
It’s a nice, if odd idea, and our main take away is that the folder they come in opens from the bottom and doesn’t really re-seal, meaning that you’ll end up finding a new place to store them. Or using they as fancy mats for your drinks. Odd, but useful, and we do wonder why they weren’t in the excellent Armageddon box.
It’s become something of a trope that Games Workshop is a hoarder of ideas. Certainly, they love to hang on to good ideas, often taking decades to return to long-forgotten storylines and products. This even applies to their flagship products, such as Warhammer 40,000, now in its eleventh edition.
Big boxes for new editions have been a thing ever since the 2nd edition of the game; that initial big box pretty much launched Warhammer as a staple of Christmas presents across the UK and beyond, with the Argos catalogue listing still coming up as a topic in pretty much every relevant nostalgia-fueled retrospective we’ve ever seen. So nine editions later, why does that matter? Because 9 editions later, we have returned to the theme of that classic box; Orks versus Blood Angel Space Marines. The new box landed on our desk with a thud (thanks to GW in Nottingham for sending a copy over for review).
In the Warhammer 40,000 Armageddon box, we get a small horde of plastic models that are easy to assemble (but you’re still going to need a knife or pair of clippers to get them off the sprue). 61 models in total; 23 Space Marines and 38 Orks of varying sizes and types. Plus Two decks of boxes that both feel like their own card games that have escaped confinement. We get a cargo-pants pocket-sized rulebook, a pile of datasheets for each unit in the box and some transfer sheets so you don’t have to hand-draw numbers and logos onto the models when you paint them. No dice, which is reasonable; the game uses six-sided dice, and you absolutely have those. Fancy six-sided dice in bright colours are available separately if you need them.
Orks are the best xenos (alien) faction in the game; fun to paint, simple enough rules-wise for a new player to grasp and filled with lore that is entertaining and clever. 38 Orks are enough to start your own horde, and they break down nicely into command units, cannon fodder and heavy hitters.
Ork vehicles are meant to have a Mad Max / Wasteland look to them, and we get two of these scrappy monstrosities in the box: a War Trakk and a Big Mek DakkaRig. The Trakk is a bizarre-looking motorbike/ tractor hybrid, brimming with missiles and controlled by a crazy looking ork looking to blow up the world if it can. The DakkaRig is a walking gun platform, and is a shout-out of sorts to the old 2nd edition box, which was meant to have a similar sort of model (called a dreadnought), but GW at the time couldn’t quite make it work and instead gave us a cardboard counter. This new model isn’t cardboard, it is lovingly detailed plastic and looks totally wild (and will delight folk who like to modify their models.
The command orks (referred to hilariously as nobs) comprise of single models for the Warboss, Big Boss, Bannernob, Painboy and Weirdboy. Ork hero models have always been full of character, and each of these is very, very distinct; you’re unlikely to confuse the Weirdboy (Wizard) with the Bannernob (standard bearer). Only one of these, the Painboy (medic) comes with a adjutant model, which is a pity as Orks tend suit lots of little lackeys following the about.
Speaking of lackeys, though, we do get 10 Gretchen models. These are basically space goblins and are an essential part of any Ork army as they’re intended to soak up enemy fire. They are hilariously posed and obviously doomed. We also get 20 Boyz, the standard military unit of the Orks. Each model is an angry looking creature (that will look great painted green), toting an improbably large weapon and clearly yelling something obscene. They’re great Orks, and if you already collect these creatures (and why wouldn’t you, they are the best army), then these boyz will happily add to your collections.
The rest of the models are Blood Angel Space Marines, in the new style, which is a nice way of saying that they’re a bit taller and a bit more science fiction than the older models. For a faction that hasn’t innovated its technology in 10,000 years, they sure do seem to get regular design updates. Still, these Space Marines do fit the brief of looking like vengeful demi-gods that serve a super-horrid version of humanity.
We get one vehicle, but it’s a very nice one; Land Speeder. It’s a nice take on a classic model; the third edition of the game also had a Land Speeder in it’s launch box and this is a much better (but still recognisable) take on the vehicle. It’s essentially as armoured, flying sports car car covered in weapons and is absolutely meant to swoop in, wipe out an important enemy unit and then explode.
We also get five Vanguard Veterans; heavily armoured looking chaps sporting very big jet packs and space-aged swords, so they can swoop down with the Land Speeder and chop up the poor defenceless Orks (who are honestly just minding their own business. Though that business is invading worlds and starting fights, so fair enough.)
Our grunt units include three Eradicators armed with Heavy Bolters; basically, tall space marines with huge guns that will blow up things like walking gun platforms. They’re lovely looking models and snap together very easily.
They are assisted by ten intercessors, the basic troops. The storytelling on these models is great; their armour is a mismatch of other design types from across the galaxy. Basically, they’ve been fighting for so long that supplies are limited, and they’re now wearing the wrong sort of helmet and pauldrons. This gives them a ‘desperate eternal warrior’ vibe, which we have to admit is pretty cool.
Our command team includes a Captain, a Librarian, a Chaplain and an Ancient. The Ancient rocks a huge banner and is slightly smaller in stature than the rest of his fellows; basically, he’s been at this war stuff for a very long time. The Captain rocks a massive shield that feels like a relic from another time. The Librarian (a wizard) has a goatee and a techno-magic staff, and Chaplain ( priest/political officer) rocks a hazardous looking jet back and a massive melee weapon. Essentially, all of the leaders look like they have been fighting this one war forever, which is very in setting.
Rules wise, we’ll break it down in more detail in a seperate review, but the short version is ‘faster, flatter, more focused on terrain and missions, with a bunch of tweaks to make the game more accessible and more fun. Most gaming groups will house-rule their games to suit their resources and sense of fun anyway. Those who care about tournament rules and require strict standards will be delighted to learn that the core rule-set leans into competitive play as efficiently as it can without being too difficult for new gamers. The two-deck boxes of cards, the rule book and the unit cards make the game pretty smooth.
We also get a book called Operation Imperator, which gives us an overview of the storyline. The world of Armageddon is one of the more detailed parts of the world of Warhammer 40,000, so there’s a lot to get your teeth into. As always, this functions as a way to get inspiration for your painting and modelling projects.
The best Warhammer 40,000 box we’ve ever seen, and we’ve been watching this for a long time.
Over the years, Yoshi seems to have become something of an experimental vehicle for Nintendo. His first appearance, in 1995’s Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, completely changed people’s expectations of what a Mario game would (or should) be like, and pretty much all of the games that he’s starred in ever since have been, at the very least, a bit unconventional. But despite the gimmicks, Yoshi games have largely all been charming, quirky and fun, while never quite sticking to the standard platformer formula.
This trend continues with the Mysterious Book, which finds a gigantic talking encyclopedia, Mr E, arriving on Yoshi’s island. His pages have fallen out, and Yoshi is tasked with diving into the book and restoring its contents. Each chapter has a double-page spread which you’ll examine using a magnifying glass before zooming in on one of the weird and wonderful animals that inhabit that particular chapter. Each creature has its own dedicated level which you’ll need to thoroughly explore, using the creatures’ abilities to solve puzzles, find hidden flowers and earn stars.
Yoshi is able to jump, gobble up creatures, whip them onto his back, and shoot eggs to reach distant objects. It’s only a small suite of abilities, but each creature that you discover has a whole range of unique uses, which combine with Yoshi’s abilities to give a huge amount of possibilities. The froggy Croakaoke sings songs and has a head that can be bounced off, Glubbits create bubbles that Yoshi can float around in, while fluffy dandelion-like Scatterpuffs can be (slightly awkwardly) pushed around the screen in an attempt to make them land in the right place to grow into larger plants that you can bounce off. There are almost 60 creatures across the game’s 6 chapters, and the more you experiment, the more discoveries you make, although some of the creatures’ abilities can be a bit obtuse and more than a few levels will require a bit of trial and error to figure out.
The Mysterious Book is a curiously short game – a more skilled player could see the end credits within around 4-5 hours – but it crams a lot of endearing silliness into its brief appearance. Those looking for the type of platformer that Nintendo has become known for might find that this doesn’t quite scratch the same itch, with its unique approach to level design and the sometimes stubbornly confusing objectives, but a more inquisitive (and potentially younger) audience is likely to be more appreciative of its emphasis on exploration and experimentation.
