Movie reviews of Eric Hillis

The biggest failing of The Bad Batch is that it's all constructed with far too much sanity. It seems inspired by genuine cult movies like Alejandro Jodorowsky's psychedelic western El Topo, but you're always aware it's the creation of a control freak rather than a genuine lunatic. Review

It's at this point that Bonello's film becomes a lot less interesting, a half-baked commentary on consumer culture that fails to hold a candle to its obvious inspiration, George A Romero's Dawn of the Dead. Review

A film that will make you question how you might react in a similar scenario, Killing Ground is survival horror with a capital S and a capital H, the most refreshing take on the genre in quite some time. Review

The kids are a delight to watch, Skarsgard is effectively deranged as Pennywise and the movie doesn't shy away from the darkness of its subject matter. But 135 minutes just isn't enough. Review

While in the west we have to settle for the mini-skirt clad Wonder Woman, ironically, it's the male-dominated cultures of the Middle East and South Asia that have been offering us the most defiantly feminist role models. Review

In Between is by no means a perfect film, and its protagonists are equally flawed. But that's what makes them so real. Hamoud isn't interested in making her characters 'likeable'. They're not seeking our approval, just our acceptance. Review

I can't speak for Harrower's play, but the film he has fashioned as a scriptwriter suggests he has scant interest in anything other than exploiting a shocking subject. Review

Insyriated offers an intriguing setup for a chamber drama, but it quickly veers into over the top melodrama that too often relies on character behaviour that's difficult to swallow. Review

What should have been a high concept horror movie is instead a drab detective story, one which can't decide if it wants us to root for Holmes or Moriarty. Review

Most of us would cross the street to avoid men like this in real life, but as portrayed by Vaughan-Lawlor and Ward, it's difficult not to warm to the pair. Review

Medina's drab film is occasionally enlivened by the music hall interludes, which are as primitive and bawdy as you would expect, but Cooke really throws herself into them, displaying a side of the young star we haven't seen before. Bored with The Limehouse Golem, I begin to daydream how great a remake of My Fair Lady with Nighy and Cooke could be. Review

Cruise's shit-eating grin and boundless enthusiasm are vital in helping us believe this man could get away with so much wrongdoing, thanks to his not-so-innocent charm. It's a chance to exercise both his dramatic and comic chops, and Cruise seizes it with the amount of enthusiasm you would expect from this workaholic. Review

Somehow Sheridan manages to make this material feel fresh, and he even subverts some of our expectations regarding this genre. Review

As McConaughey might say, it's not quite awful, awful, awful, but neither is it quite alright, alright, alright. Review

Like any addictive force, regardless of your experience with The Untamed, it's a film you may find yourself wishing to revisit. Review

With Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven remake it felt like we were watching a bunch of friends having fun making a movie, and that enthusiasm somewhat translated to the audience. With Logan Lucky you similarly get the sense that everyone involved was having a blast, but this one's no fun for the viewer. Review

If you're neither a fan of boxing or the Rocky series, The Bleeder will likely play as a second-rate biopic. Pugilism devotees however will find it an easy-going tribute to a forgotten figure of the sport, while for Rocky buffs it will prove an insightful piece of background detail. Watch out for Morgan Spector's amusing turn as the Italian Stallion himself. The Bleeder won't be remembered as the greatest of boxing movies, but i... Review

Give Theron a decent script and a character that's something more than a violent mannequin, and we might have a convincing substitute. Atomic Blonde has some dazzling highlights, but it needs to take better care of its roots. Review

Planetarium shares some of the same themes and elements as the superior Grand Central - love triangles; an unseen menace lingering in the distance; a fascination with the workings of a particular industry - but here they're rendered in the most lacklustre and uncompelling of fashion. Review

Sadly, the film wastes an opportunity to provide a much needed role model, with Janice nothing more than an agency-free punching bag for the film's various ghouls and ghosts. Review

Ultimately, The Ghoul is a sympathetic and understanding insight into depression. Review

America's complex racial issues deserve far better treatment than this, but as a fan of exploitation cinema, I'd be lying if I claimed Detroit wasn't one of the most impactful experiences I've had in a cinema in 2017. I can separate a badly rendered film from a well made movie. Review

If you're wondering why I haven't made mention of the film's plot, it's because I have no idea what any of this is about. Review

A Ghost Story's reluctance to commit to its fascinating premise results in one of the great missed opportunities in recent cinema. Review