By Lorna Baker
 
Today’s review is of Helen Walsh’s debut film The Violators. This is a powerful indie film that has been both written and directed by Walsh.
 
Shelly (Lauren McQueen) is a teen, living a life of poverty on a run-down estate. When a glimmer of hope of a better life arrives in the form of pawn shop owner Mikey (Stephen Lord), Shelly is drawn in. This throws her into the path of fellow dysfunctional outcast Rachel (Brogan Ellis). Despite the girls’ polar opposite class backgrounds, they become friends through shared feelings of isolation, abandonment and neglect. What follows is a story of the dangerous world of manipulation and sexual abuse.

By Adam Ray Palmer
 
Today’s review is of the live-action adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic The BFG. Steven Spielberg returns to the big screen with this 2016 fantasy.
 
I also complete a returning act to the Phoenix Leicester to catch this classic children’s tale. In recent weeks, the Phoenix have shown a great variety of children films and this is another addition to the back catalogue.
 
I was quietly excited for this supposedly epic piece of cinema…

By Adam Ray Palmer
 
Today’s review is a bit of nostalgia for you all, well that is if you’re over a certain age perhaps? Remember that 90s sitcom Absolutely Fabulous? Well now it has a movie too.
 
All the regulars return including Jennifer Saunders (also on writing duties), Joanne Lumley (with a few cigarettes in tow) and Julia Sawalha (still as reluctant as ever).
 
With a packed audience at the Phoenix Leicester, everyone was raring to go. I just hoped it captured the sitcoms comedy and originality…

By Adam Ray Palmer
 
Today’s review brings you one of the biggest, if not the biggest, blockbuster of the year. The Ghostbusters reboot has been highly anticipated for a couple years and now it's finally here.

The 2016 version has had a role reversal for the four protagonists compared to the 1984 hit as the quartet have had a gender swap.

A few primary characters survive from the 80s phenomenon as they make a cameo but Paul Feig is adamant to spawn new life into this franchise…

By Adam Ray Palmer
 
Today’s review is one for the summer holidays and for the youth that have broken up from school. I popped along to my local cinema, Phoenix Leicester, to catch this family-fun film at the weekend.
 
Kids were really excited for this film, but to tell you the truth, so was I. Let’s be honest, we would all like to know what our pets do behind our backs and this film is the closest thing we have to that.
 
A cluster of stars are on hand to lend their voices to the four and two –legged animals as we follow a day in the life of our pets…

​By Adam Ray Palmer
 
Today’s review is of a film that originally premiered at the 66th Berlinale back in February.
 
As this screwball comedy has received great acclaim, I went along to the Phoenix Leicester to see Maggie’s Plan as it’s the only cinema in the city showing it for the next seven days.
 
Maggie’s Plan stars Greta Gerwig as Maggie, Ethan Hawk as John, Julianne Moore as John’s ex-wife Georgette with Bill Hader and Maya Rudolph in supporting roles as Maggie’s friends Tony and Felicia. 

By Adam Ray Palmer
 
Today’s review is a sequel to the 2013 film Now You See Me. This next instalment is aptly named Now You See Me 2, of course.
 
Three years on from the first and all but one of the regulars have returned. The usual crowd of Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Dave Franco and Morgan Freeman all feature with great additions in Daniel Radcliffe and Lizzy Caplan.
 
After seeing this movie receive criticism, I feared the worst. I really enjoyed the first one so I had to give number two a go…

By Adam Ray Palmer
 
Today’s review swiftly follows our most successful interview of all time. I say this because today’s review is of the mammoth Disney epic, The Legend Of Tarzan.
 
We interviewed the central protagonists on Friday; you can read about our chat here, just before visiting the cinema to catch the blockbuster later that evening.
 
Margot Robbie and Alexander Skarsgard were entertaining and intriguing; I just hoped the film followed suit…

By Adam Ray Palmer
 
Today's review would have been a difficult one to write had I not liked the film. Luckily for Elvis & Nixon, I very much enjoyed it.
 
I visited one of my favourite cinemas in the form of Phoenix Leicester to see a movie about one of my favourite artists ever in the form of The King.
 
To say I was brimming with excitement was understatement, but having followed Mr. Presley's life so closely with even a trip to Memphis; I had fears it would have been a Hollywood mess...

By Adam Ray Palmer
 
Today’s review is the latest picture from Gomorrah director Matteo Garrone. He brings the world a fantasy drama called Tale of Tales.
 
The stars are out in force here with Salma Hayek, Vincent Cassel and Toby Jones all central protagonists. Supporting cast includes John C. Reilly, Jessie Cave and Shirley Henderson.
 
I caught this surreal flick at the Phoenix Leicester… I’m so glad they allow alcohol into screenings, you’ll need it to get your head around this…