Movie reviews of Eric Hillis

For much of its narrative you could be watching a thriller as straightforward as Bad Influence. Yet Mortimer and DeLeeuw leave you in no doubt that this is an allegory for mental illness, with Daniel a representation of a voice in Luke's head, compelling him to strike out against a world he feels cheated by. Review

On the surface, The Wretched has a lot going for it - charismatic young leads, a great creature design and a chilling central concept - but it never quite digs beneath that surface to explore just how interesting its ideas could be if fleshed out by more nuanced filmmakers. Review

Bullets of Justice is a mix of tedium, immaturity, laugh out loud intentional comedy, laugh out loud unintentional comedy, and the odd moment of visual inventiveness. In other words, it's more satisfying than most Hollywood blockbusters, and a lot more original. Review

Despite combining over the top bloodshed with unrelenting misanthropy and a decidedly politically incorrect brand of humour, Why Don't You Just Die! never feels nasty and attention seeking in the manner of something like the Kingsman movies. While... Review

This is as generic a story as you'll find any Saturday night on cable TV, but like the auteurs who discovered that the simplicity of the western allowed for examinations of the male psyche, McKee understands that this well-trodden thriller premise gives him the chance to focus on his characters, and the plot becomes secondary to the relationship of the three women at its centre - think Mermaids, if Winona Ryder's character was p... Review

You may have to dig deep to find this one, but if you appreciate a knockout plot twist, you'll be telling your colleagues at the water cooler about I See You's narrative thrills. Review

What it lacks in budget and polish, She Never Died attempts to make up for with some affable performances. Review

Onscreen for almost every frame of the movie, it's ultimately Bloom's performance, which keeps us guessing as to just how brainwashed she's become, that makes this lodging worth a rent. Review

It's all a bit like visiting that ghost train you rode as a kid, only to find it's now decrepit and run down. The magic you once revelled in is long gone. If you're a fan of The Shining, you might want to Overlook this one. Review

It makes up for the boredom of the preceding film to a small degree, but we're ultimately left feeling Alive would have worked better as a short episode of an anthology. Review

While The Black String comes off its hinges in a final act that runs out of ideas and descends into horror clichés, it's Muniz's performance that keeps us hooked, a manic cry for help that falls on deaf ears. Review

As with so many indie horror movies, Bliss lives or dies on the strength of its female lead, and I hope Begos gave Madison a very nice bottle of champagne at the end of his shoot as it's her performance that ultimately keeps you engaged. Review

But no amount of storytelling gimmickry would likely cover up the fact that this is a sequel that exists solely because its predecessor made so much money that it simply had to be made. Review

As Godard said, all you need to make a movie is a girl and a gun. When the gun is being wielded by a killer cyborg from the future, surely it shouldn't be as dull as Terminator: Dark Fate? Review

Brooklyn is the sort of movie you don't see much anymore. In a past era it might have been labelled a "woman's picture", and the stars would have been a lot more glamorous, but in essence you could picture a young Bette Davis portraying a character like Eilis. Review

The only thing that saves Little Monsters from taking a hard right turn to Turkeyville is the presence of Nyong'o and England, who share a genuinely palpable chemistry, elevating their poorly written characters with some undeniably infectious charm. Review

As a character study, Wounds hooks you in from the start, but the further it evolves into horror territory the less interesting it becomes. Review

Like its walking dead antagonists, the film shambles from one half-baked scenario to the next in search of something to sink its teeth into, but comes up empty every time. Review

By the Grace of God's biggest issue is in how uncinematic its storytelling is, its narrative relying far too heavily on epistolary correspondence rendered in voiceover between Alexandre and Barbarin. Review

Disney cracked a crowd-pleasing formula with Maleficent, but with its sequel, the spell is well and truly broken. Review

A comedy in the loosest sense of the label, Lucky Day has a crude and immature sense of humour that, much like the film's ensemble crime structure, is a holdover from the '90s. Review

As we're left to endure endless on-the-nose debates about paper versus digital versus audio books, watching Non-Fiction is a lot like attending your spouse or partner's office party, where you neither know nor care for any of the people present and are only kept awake by trying to guess which of their co-workers they might be sleeping with. Review

Official Secrets is at its best when it accepts that its covering storytelling ground that's far from fresh. The strongest scenes are those that explore the journalistic side of the story, with foul-mouthed journalists and editors bickering in their offices like the embittered real estate agents of Glengarry Glen Ross. Review

With its globe-trotting plot, digital aesthetic and on-the-nose dialogue, Gemini Man plays how I imagine Brian de Palma movies play for people who don't like Brian de Palma movies. Review