Tag / 2025

by hutchwp

Film review: The Lost Bus (Paul Greengrass, 2025)

The Lost Bus is an intense action thriller based on the 2018 Camp Fire incident in Paradise, California. The action focuses on bus driver Kevin (Matthew McConaughey), who volunteers to retrieve and carry 22 children and their teacher Mary (America Ferrera) to safety.

At 130 minutes this film has plenty of time to explore sub-plots and give backgrounds to the main characters. Despite the length, it doesn’t feel like it drags at any point. Part of this is due to a careful mixture of suspense building as the town of Paradise is engulfed in the red-orange mist of the wildfire, with intimate camerawork and a relentless score from James Newton Howard working in unison to heighten the unfolding disaster.

Paul Greengrass is a master of this kind of film now, having established and honed his skills in the Bourne franchise, along with films like Green Zone and Captain Phillips. His last film, Western drama News of the World, also made its way to Apple TV+, and it was a happy partnership that led to multiple Oscar nominations in 2021. Whether this film will also be recognised in the same way remains to be seen, but it would hardly be undeserving.

by hutchwp

Kunitsu-Gami – a brilliant underrated Switch 2 launch title flying under the radar

If you’ve been excitedly waiting for the delivery of your new Switch 2, chances are you’ve already decided on what games to buy. You aren’t short of options! One of the launch bundles includes Mario Kart World, which is the biggest title out on release day and the flagship game that Nintendo are pushing., whilst a few other big hitters are on the radar from the likes of Zelda and Sonic.

I suspect most people are also going to have another game on the way, be that Street Fighter 6 or maybe one of the Zelda upgrades. Perhaps some have opted to pre-order the Mario Party or Donkey Kong games that will hit the shelves next month.

Whilst most of the launch titles are available in physical form, one title seems to be flying under the radar a bit, and I can honestly say it’s one of the best games I’ve played recently.

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a beautiful game that’s awash with Japanese folklore. In it, you play as Soh, a warrior on a mission to return the legandary Mount Kafuku to peace, free from evil spirit monsters and defilements, and guide the divine maiden Yoshiro back to the peak of the mountain in safety.

The genre is officially an action-strategy, but in reality it is part tower defence and part third-person slasher. You get a full daytime to prepare your village, converting villagers into different ability classes and placing them around the fighting area to strategically defend against an onslaught of monsters (“seethe”) when nightfall hits.

The music plays a huge part in building the atmosphere. Chikara Aoshima provided 53 tracks that range from twee musical background music to full-on nightmare. As night time approaches, the tension builds as you frantically rebuild structures around the village, search for items that will help your cause and generally begin to panic that you didn’t quite have enough time. The balance always feels just perfect – you can’t do everything and you have to prioritise what you think will help you most.

Visually it is a stunning proposition. It’s a Capcom game directed by Shuichi Kawata, who previously brought us Resident Evil 4 and 5, along with Shinsekai: Into The Depths.

It’s a substantial game, taking me over 70 hours to complete New Game+ when I played through on the Xbox Series X. There are further benefits to aim for by playing through New Game+ several times over, though I haven’t gone down that route yet.

It’s also full of horror visuals so is certainly not one for children!

If you find yourself wanting an extra game to supplement Mario Kart World this weekend, you could do much worse than give this a go. If you do, be prepared to lose a good few months to this wonderful game!

by hutchwp

BAFTAs 2025 – Full list of winners

Best film
Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave – WINNER!
Emilia Pérez

Outstanding British film
Bird
Blitz
Conclave – WINNER!
Gladiator II
Hard Truths
Kneecap
Lee
Love Lies Bleeding
The Outrun
Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer
Hoard, Luna Carmoon (director, writer)
Kneecap, Rich Peppiatt (director, writer) – WINNER!
Monkey Man, Dev Patel (director)
Santosh, Sandhya Suri (director, writer), James Bowsher (producer), Balthazar De Ganay (producer) [also produced by Alan McAlex, Mike Goodridge]
Sister Midnight, Karan Kandhari (director, writer)

Best film not in the English language
All We Imagine As Light
Emilia Pérez – WINNER!
I’m Still Here
Kneecap
The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Best documentary
Black Box Diaries
Daughters
No Other Land
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story – WINNER!
Will & Harper

Best animated film
Flow
Inside Out 2
Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – WINNER!
The Wild Robot

Best children’s & family film
Flow
Kensuke’s Kingdom
Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – WINNER!
The Wild Robot

Best director
Anora, Sean Baker
The Brutalist, Brady Corbet – WINNER!
Conclave, Edward Berger
Dune: Part Two, Denis Villeneuve
Emilia Pérez, Jacques Audiard
The Substance, Coralie Fargeat

Best original screenplay
Anora
The Brutalist
Kneecap
A Real Pain – WINNER!
The Substance

Best adapted screenplay
A Complete Unknown
Conclave – WINNER!
Emilia Pérez
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing

Best leading actress
Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez
Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Hard Truths
Mikey Madison, Anora – WINNER!
Demi Moore, The Substance
Saoirse Ronan, The Outrun

Best leading actor
Adrien Brody, The Brutalist – WINNER!
Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes, Conclave
Hugh Grant, Heretic
Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice

Best supporting actress
Selena Gomez, Emilia Pérez
Ariana Grande, Wicked
Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
Jamie Lee Curtis, The Last Showgirl
Isabella Rossellini, Conclave
Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez – WINNER!

Best supporting actor
Yura Borisov, Anora
Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain – WINNER!
Clarence Maclin, Sing Sing
Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice

Best casting
Anora – WINNER!
The Apprentice
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Kneecap

Best cinematography
The Brutalist – WINNER!
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Nosferatu

Best editing
Anora
Conclave – WINNER!
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Kneecap

Best costume design
Blitz
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Nosferatu
Wicked – WINNER!

Best make up and hair
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Nosferatu
The Substance – WINNER!
Wicked

Best original score
The Brutalist – WINNER!
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Nosferatu
The Wild Robot

Best production design
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Wicked – WINNER!

Best sound
Blitz
Dune: Part Two – WINNER!
Gladiator II
The Substance
Wicked

Best special visual effects
Better Man
Dune: Part Two – WINNER!
Gladiator II
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Wicked

Best British short animation
Adiós
Mog’s Christmas
Wander to Wonder – WINNER!

Best British short film
The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing
Marion
Milk
Rock, Paper, Scissors – WINNER!
Stomach Bug

Rising star award
Marisa Abela
Jharrel Jerome
David Jonsson – WINNER!
Mikey Madison
Nabhaan Rizwan