A widow investigates an insurance company; a complicated web of financial fraud unravels. Superficially similar to The Big Short and Vice in its mix of drama, comedy and mockumentary, The Laundromat offers a clear and accessible primer to the Panama Papers scandal, and to Mossack (Oldman) and Fonseca (Banderas), both gleeful at its heart.
Tag: James Cromwell
Species II (1998, dir. Peter Medak)
The first Mars mission returns an alien infection to Earth. Trashy and at times bad taste sequel which – a couple of knowing/funny moments aside – focuses on female nudity, cut-price creature effect-based gore, rape fascination, and shouty characters doing dumb things. For Martian completists only.
Star Trek: First Contact (1996, dir. Jonathan Frakes)
Picard and crew time-travel to mid-21st century Earth to ensure the Borg do not disrupt human space development. Action-centric first full feature for the Next Generation crew; this series continuation does a lot of stuff right, though there’s a lot of fan-service here.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018, dir. J. A. Bayona)
A mission to rescue dinosaurs from Isla Nublar turns out to be a double-cross. Awkward sequel which doesn’t make a lick of sense, being a string of chase and rescue set-pieces stitched together; the third act is the best, with a horror movie feel to it.
I, Robot (2004, dir. Alex Proyas)
In 2035, a robot-hating detective investigates the suicide of a tech genius. CG-heavy SF action thriller based very loosely on Isaac Asimov stories. Some interesting production design, but linear and clunky plotting make this hollow, despite star Will Smith’s obvious charisma.
255 Review 