Movie reviews of Eric Hillis

If it doesn't quite offer enough originality in its storytelling to make for a great standalone entry, Kingdom fills its obligations as a new trilogy kickstarter, laying the foundation for an exciting new round of the ongoing conflict between man and ape. Even those who are unconvinced by this chapter will be pumped for the potential its ending sets up. Review

Thanks to Hoffman's late intervention, the audience may leave the film with a curiosity for O'Connor that the rest of the film fails to inspire. Review

There's a ton of evidence here to suggest Carmoon is an exciting talent, as indeed are her two young leads. Hoard is a movie that teems with life, in all its messiness. Review

For over two hours this is a magical and moving tribute to a lost era of filmmaking and film appreciation. Review

When it comes to mining scares from its own premise, Tarot isn't playing with a full deck. Review

I'm unconvinced if it all really amounts to anything substantial, but La Chimera is often intoxicating, the sort of movie that makes you feel like you're on an adventurous holiday. Review

Demons Are Forever never gets under your skin like its grittier predecessor. Review

Chavleishvili's performance is simultaneously alive and closed, forcing us to work hard to figure out what Etero really wants from her life. Review

Far from faceless victims, Rosman makes sure to humanise these people so that we're genuinely affected by their fates, and later the toll the realisation of her condition takes on Jessica. Review

For all the flashy visuals - which ironically come courtesy of Sayombhu Mukdeeprom – this is a movie that's all about performance, both of the athletes at the centre of its story and of the three young stars embodying them. Review

For all the commentary on the silliness of our earthly disputes, I.S.S. descends into a rather by the numbers space thriller. Review

At one point Colt jokes with a visual FX artist about having his face replaced by Tom Cruise. This only serves to make us think about how much fun this might have been if Cruise had been involved in the project. Now there's someone who understands both action and comedy. Review

Is Basket Case icky? Certainly. But nasty? Hell no, far from it. Henenlotter's film is as warm-hearted as horror gets. Review

The more Jessica is splashed with blood, the more Sula's empathetic performance, which had been the film's greatest asset, is drowned in a sea of spook show shenanigans. Review

There's just about enough to amuse fans of this sort of stuff (of which I am most definitely one), but despite the gallons of blood on screen, you'll be left thirsty for genuinely great vampire thrills. Review

Hunt Her Kill Her is a minor masterclass in visual storytelling, with Swinson and Thiessen mining tension from every nook and cranny of their confined setting. Review

With Altman now associated primarily with his ensemble dramas, it's easy to forget how many great individual lead performances his early films featured. Review

The young Layla is quite a find. It's a difficult role as she's essentially playing a young woman who is herself putting on an act with almost everyone she interacts with and she's asked to simultaneously embody desperation and defiance. Review

With Jericho Ridge however Gilbey's made an action movie that will appeal just as much to a female audience as to the typical bloke seeking something heavy on gun play to watch while he polishes off a post-pub curry on a Friday night. Review

Thankfully Vanicek's unconvincing writing is balanced with some very convincing set-piece staging. Review

Alex Garland's Civil War is about how viewing tragedy through a screen makes us numb to it. Review

The Stolen Valley does have two things going for it. Its Utah setting means practically every shot is easy on the eye and adds a veneer of production value to a movie filmed in an unspectacular fashion. Despite how badly written the characters are, there are some compelling performances. Review

While Hood Witch lacks substance, it's not short of style. Review

This is a monster movie for people who actually like monster movies, made by a filmmaker who, unlike some of his peers, doesn't feel embarrassed about working in the horror genre. Review