Movie reviews of Eric Hillis

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

Nic Lamont is stellar as struggling filmmaker Catherine, who finds herself making a series of increasingly ludicrous compromises in order to get her 'zombie comedy' made, from including a talking dog to casting Human Centipede 2 star Laurence R Harvey as a wildly inappropriate romantic lead. Review

The Swedish monolith proves himself a surprise master of comic timing in the role of a demon hunter who arrives in a small Mississippi town ravaged by an unexplained series of killings. Review

Parker uses his limited stage to good effect, the claustrophobia adding to the increasing tension between the various players. Review

On the evidence of his debut, writer-director Sean Spencer may need to develop his writing, but he's arrived fully formed as a director, and in an industry bereft of black filmmakers, his is a name to look out for. Review

My Father Die moves at a blistering pace, and Stretch's vengeful biker is as menacing a villain as you could want from a genre thriller like this. Review

It has all the gloss and sheen of a Hollywood production, and I wouldn't be surprised if we see the Finnish director cross the Atlantic in the near future. Review

As far as humour goes, Attack of the Lederhosen Zombies is far too light on laughs, and the zombie mayhem offers little in the way of the sort of creative 'splatstick' that makes or breaks this genre. Review

American Pastoral has the look of a classy cable TV production, and ultimately we're left in little doubt that this is a story that could have prospered on the small screen, with more time allotted to fill in the many frustrating blanks that riddle McGregor's big screen adaptation. Review

Dog Eat Dog is the first movie to come along in quite some time that's unafraid to, and skillful enough to portray crime and violence as exciting, snuff porn for our lizard brains. It's the cinematic equivalent of Ice T's Cop Killer album; we know it's an immature and misguided message, but damn if the riffs aren't catchy as hell. Review

There's a park in Paterson, New Jersey devoted to one former native, comedian Lou Costello. It may seem like a laughable idea, but I bet the residents of Paterson are proud of it. They should be proud of Paterson the movie too. Review

A film that plays like a Monday morning lecture, A United Kingdom will find its natural home on TV/DVD combo players wheeled into classrooms by teachers too hungover to deal with their pupils. Review

Patchwork is a distinctively L.A. story, a reminder of how lonely a big city can become if you don't fit in. Together, the film's three heroines are like a Cowardly Lion, Tin Man and Scarecrow, but their ultimate plan is to bash the Wizard's brains in. Review