Peter Gray, Author at This Is Film - Conversations in Film and Pop Culture

This may be an unpopular opinion but I think Jennifer Lopez is a good actress. There, I said it! Now, i’m certainly not defending some of her career choices but…

Creed II (2018)

November 29, 2018

creed, creed 2, dolph lundgren, michael b jordan, rocky, rocky balboa, sequel, sylvester stallone, tessa thompson

Essentially ushering in a new generation to the Rocky franchise, as well as satisfying the masses who have come to know and love the Sylvester Stallone-led series, Ryan Coogler’s 2015…

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018)

November 25, 2018

ballet, Disney, helen mirren, keira knightley, mackezie foy, morgan freeman, richard e grant, the nutcracker, the nutcracker and the four realms

What an odd little production The Nutcracker and the Four Realms turned out to be. An exercise in fascination as to what a film should and shouldn’t be, the shared-directing…

Hunter Killer (2018)

November 1, 2018

action, common, gary oldman, gerard butler, hunter killer, linda cardellini, submarine

In all honesty I was expecting Hunter Killer to be awful, so when I exited the film mildly amused at the mediocre actioner I had just witnessed I chalked it…

Night School (2018)

September 27, 2018

Comedy, fat joe, girls trip, kevin hart, mary Lynne rajskub, night school, rob riggle, romany Malco, tiffany haddish

It makes sense after earning critical praise as the breakout performer of last year’s surprise success Girl’s Trip that Tiffany Haddish would graduate to leading role status. It’s something of…

Smallfoot (2018)

September 21, 2018

animation, channing tatum, common, Family, gina rodriguez, James Corden, smallfoot, zendaya

Though it has a certain charm and attempts depth beyond its surface, Smallfoot is a mostly standard animated romp that hones the best of intentions, working more so as a…

Johnny English Strikes Again (2018)

September 21, 2018

action, Comedy, Emma Thompson, johnny english, johnny english strikes again, olga kurylenko, rowan atkinson, sequel, spy, universal

Despite being incredibly vain, incompetent, and inexplicably conceited, Johnny English – the not-so-suave secret agent at the centre of Johnny English Strikes Again – manages to somehow be disarmingly likable. And it…

Christopher Robin (2018)

September 10, 2018

brad garrett, christopher robin, Disney, eeyore, Ewan McGregor, Family, hayley atwell, jim cummings, piglet, tigger, winnie the pooh

After last year’s Goodbye Christopher Robin sought to tell the darker side of A.A. Milne’s classic Winnie the Pooh stories, Marc Forester’s Christopher Robin embraces the far more majestic aspects. …

You Were Never Really Here (2017)

September 5, 2018

Drama, joaquin phoenix, lynne ramsay, psychological, Thriller, you were never really here

Had You Were Never Really Here had its release shifted around to be more in the forefront of voters’ minds come award season, you’d have to imagine Joaquin Phoenix’s performance…

BlacKkKlansman (2018)

August 13, 2018

Adam Driver, blackkklansman, john david washington, spike lee, topher grace, true story