Movie reviews of Eric Hillis

The premise of Passengers is akin to Sleeping Beauty being woken by a kiss from Maleficent - oh wait, we already got that movie - or Dawn of the Dead, if the male protagonists had faked the zombie apocalypse in order to get laid. Review

Save for the odd minor dramatic cliché, Denial is a restrained piece of storytelling, free of showy monologues and raised voices. It offers some very talented actors the chance to turn in subtle but effective performances. Review

It's a testament to Will Smith's charisma that he manages to come out of this fiasco with an ounce of dignity intact, but he commits to his performance when all around him are clearly cashing cheques. Review

There's a lot more visual storytelling on display here than you might expect from a narrative of this nature, and Lonergan's leading man is required to deliver a largely silent performance. It's not Affleck's dialogue we ultimately remember so much as his moments of silence. Review

Remove the Star Wars trappings and Rogue One resembles an exceptionally well made version of the sort of movies that attempted to cash in on George Lucas's blockbuster in the early '80s - Krull, Battle Beyond the Stars, Spacehunter - but without their rickety charm. Review

As I watched Japanese Christians subjected to torture after torture, I found myself asking what they were getting from Christianity that Buddhism failed to offer, but the film never contemplates this question, unfairly pitting Christianity at its best against Buddhism at its worst. Review

A South American with leftist leanings, Pablo Larrain was never likely to deliver a love letter to an American First Lady, but nor is Jackie a hatchet job, falling somewhere between the sycophancy of Steven Spielberg's Lincoln and the mockery of Oliver Stone's W. Review

Loving's premise may read like a cynical bid for Oscar glory, but minutes into the film it becomes apparent that this is simply a story Nichols believes is worth telling. He commendably avoids the sort of dramatic clichés we expect from tales of injustice. Review

Shyamalan deals with subjects he shouldn't touch with a barge pole here, exploiting the most sensitive subject imaginable, and in the poorest taste. It's a topic that once introduced, means the film can no longer be viewed as a piece of entertainment, and has no right being broached in what is otherwise a popcorn thriller. Review

In most director's hands, Krisha would likely resemble a talky filmed play, but Shults's film is a cinematic spectacle. His characters are constantly talking, but his story unravels in visual terms; what's said in this troubled home is never as important as how it's heard. Review

This is Teller and Eckhart's film, and the bromance that develops between the pair is endearing and touching, but never sentimental. Two men broken in very different ways, Pazienza and Rooney bring out the best in each other. Review

At best, The Unknown Girl plays like a mediocre pilot for the sort of crime dramas currently beloved of Northern Europe's TV networks. It's a frustratingly lifeless drama, a miscast misfire from filmmakers who really are better than this. Review

Is Sully a hero or simply a professional whose skill helped him pull off a remarkable feat? The movie suggests, as is fair, that the latter makes him the former by proxy. He's certainly a hero in the hearts and minds of the people whose lives he saved, and in the psyche of New Yorkers. Perhaps Eastwood's film will play better to members of either group, but for casual viewers it's a dramatically inert slog. Review

Weng Weng may have had a short life, but decades later, his legacy continues to bring delight to those adventurous enough to look beyond Hollywood for their cinematic thrills. The Search for Weng Weng is a must see for anyone who falls into such a category. Review

Zemeckis' previous movie, The Walk, was close to insufferable for most of its running time, saved in part by a knockout final act. The reverse applies to Allied, an exciting 30 minute war movie followed by a dull 90 minute one. Review

As Nadine, the narcissistic hero/villain of Craig's film, Hailee Steinfeld is a raging fireball of self-destructive energy, both entertaining and uncomfortable to watch. Think a high-school set As Good as It Gets with a 17-year-old proto-hipster in the Jack Nicholson part. Review

Saint Amour features some of the funniest and smartest moments comedy cinema has offered in recent years, from Bruno's hilarious lecture on 'the 10 stages of drunkenness' to a sight gag involving Depardieu's considerable corpulence that's one for the comic ages. Review

The Coulins' film is at its strongest when focussing on Ariane Labed's Aurore. The rest of the film's characters are largely glorified background figures, making The Stopover's ultimate dramatic denouement a little difficult to swallow. Review

A Monster Calls refuses to wear kid gloves, and is brutally honest about the cruelties of life, yet it's never cynical. It's a heartfelt, humanistic tribute to how we cope with forces beyond our control, as hopeful as it is heartbreaking. Review

As a representation of a story previously untold, The Innocents offers enough surface material to hold your attention, but its refusal to get dirt under its fingernails renders it more frustrating than compelling. Review

For its first half, Fantastic Beasts keeps us thrilled, charmed and intrigued. But then it gets to a point where the plot kicks in, and it's highly derivative, falling back on some of the most tired clichés of the superhero genre. Review

The martial arts on display here are incredibly impressive, and if that's all you demand, you'll be more than satisfied. If you require more than continuous bone-breaking, the movie becomes tedious as it fails to offer variety in its action set-pieces and roundly ignores little details like character and plot. Review

Director Cody Calahan delivers a solid exercise in brooding menace... Review

You can get away with a story like this as an episode of a TV anthology show, but as a feature length movie it's far too reliant on pulling the rug from under our expectations to set it apart from the crowd. Review