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Projection Room: 2016- what a year it's been for the cinema.

Well, we did it. We’ve made it to the end of a very weird and wonderful year for pop culture in general- but luckily cinemas have welcomed us with op…
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Projection Room: Announcing my shortlist for Film of the Year

As I write this, it’s just gone 10am on December 23rd, and I’m about to head down to my local multiplex for the final time this year. That means it’s…
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First Take: Boyhood- at least I didn’t wait 12 years to see it

SYPNOSIS: The life of Mason, from early childhood to his arrival at college Yes, I’m a few years late to the party, but now felt like the right time to…
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First Take: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story- this is NOT Episode VIII

Spoiler free as usual . Because Darth Vader doesn’t forgive and he never forgets.  SYPNOSIS: The Rebellion makes a risky move to steal the plans for th…
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First Take: Rain Man- I’m an excellent driver.

SYPNOSIS: Selfish yuppie Charlie Babbitt’s father left a fortune to his savant brother Raymond and a pittance to Charlie; they travel cross-country. Le…
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First Take: A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night- officially the first horror film I successfully sat through

SYPNOSIS- In the Iranian ghost-town Bad City, a place that reeks of death and loneliness, the townspeople are unaware they are being stalked by a lone…
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First Take: Chinatown- going back in time around 40 years

SYPNOSIS: A private detective hired to expose an adulterer finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption and murder. Ah, Roman Polanski’s 1974…
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First Take: Moana- Disney’s best since Frozen.

SYPNOSIS: In Ancient Polynesia, when a terrible curse incurred by Maui reaches an impetuous Chieftain’s daughter’s island, she answers the Ocean’s cal…
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Projection Room: Why I love independent film more than the blockbusters

As part of the whole new vibe for the blog (and also partly due to a visit to the HOME arts complex in Manchester), it’s time for things to get a lit…
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First Take: Allied- well, this is awkward

SYPNOSIS: In 1942, an intelligence officer in North Africa encounters a female French Resistance fighter on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. When …
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First Take: Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them- and so a new franchise begins

Spoiler free as usual. Because this film is merely exposition. SYPNOSIS: The adventures of writer Newt Scamander in New York’s secret community of witc…
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First Take: The Dressmaker- a review nearly a year in the making

SYPNOSIS: A glamorous woman returns to her small town in rural Australia. With her sewing machine and haute couture style, she transforms the women a…
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First Take: Arrival- damn near perfection. It’s that good.

SYPNOSIS: A linguist is recruited by the military to assist in translating alien communications Denis Villenueve has been a director who has really hit…
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First Take: A Street Cat Named Bob- possibly the first film where my opinion changed AFTER the screening

SYPNOSIS: Based on the international best selling book- the true feel good story of how James Bowen, a busker and recovering drug addict, had his life…
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First Take: The Accountant- maths degree not needed for full enjoyment.

SYPNOSIS: As a math savant uncooks the books for a new client, the Treasury Department closes in on his activities and the body count starts to rise. D…
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First Take: Jack Reacher: Never Go Back- another very good action flick from the Cruise

SYPNOSIS: Jack Reacher must uncover the truth behind a major government conspiracy in order to clear his name. On the run as a fugitive from the law, …
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First Take: Doctor Strange- the Sorcerer Supreme hits the big screen

Spoiler free as usual . Because sometimes the American audiences deserve a surprise. SYPNOSIS: A former neurosurgeon embarks on a journey of healing onl…
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First Take: Storks- where do babies come from again?

SYPNOSIS: Storks have moved on from delivering babies to packages. But when an order for a baby appears, the best delivery stork must scramble to fix …
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First Take: Trolls- this feeling cannot be stopped

SYPNOSIS: A troll princess and her companion, the one unhappy troll try to rescue her friends from being eaten by their nemeses. DreamWorks. A studio t…
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First Take: Inferno- worthy of a rant that Dante would be proud of

SYPNOSIS: When Robert Langdon wakes up in an Italian hospital with amnesia, he teams up with Dr. Sienna Brooks, and together they must race across Eur…
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First Take: The Girl on the Train- for the 50th time this year...

SYPNOSIS: A divorcee becomes entangled in a missing persons investigation that promises to send shockwaves throughout her life. Paula Hawkins’ novel b…
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First Take: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children- a typical Burton film that might confuse some audiences

SYPNOSIS: When Jacob discovers clues to a mystery that stretches across time, he finds Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. But the danger de…
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First Take: The Magnificent Seven- yet another average remake

SYPNOSIS: Seven gun men in the old west gradually come together to help a poor village against savage thieves. Hot off the heels of the Ben-Hur remake …
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First Take: Ben-Hur (2016)- remaking a seminal classic is never always a good idea

SYPNOSIS: Judah Ben-Hur, a prince falsely accused of treason by his adopted brother, an officer in the Roman army, returns to his homeland after year…
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First Take: Bridget Jones’s Baby- pens at the ready, it’s diary time

Spoiler free as usual. Because this really isn’t worth spoiling. SYPNOSIS: Bridget’s focus on single life and her career is interrupted when she finds …
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First Take: Kubo and the Two Strings- the team at Laika nail it yet again

SYPNOSIS: A young boy named Kubo must locate a magical suit of armour worn by his late father in order to defeat a vengeful spirit from the past. The a…
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First Take: Nine Lives- it’s rant o’clock once again

SYPNOSIS: A stuffy businessman finds himself trapped inside the body of his family’s cat. Well then, this is going to be a very short review. Nine Liv…
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First Take: Sausage Party- probably the most surreal experience I've had in 13 years of cinemagoing

SYPNOSIS: One sausage leads a group of supermarket products on a quest to discover the truth about their existence and what really happens when they …
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First Take: Swallows and Amazons- brace yourselves, there be a rant cometh

SYPNOSIS- Four children dream of an escape from the tedium of a summer holiday in the Lake District with their mother. When finally given permission…
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First Take: David Brent: Life on the Road: an idiot doesn’t travel abroad here.

SYPNOSIS: A camera crew catches up with David Brent, the former star of the BBC Two series The Office as he takes his band out on a tour. Ricky Gervai…
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First Take: Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates- a comedy that has the laughs, but fails in the editing

SYPNOSIS: Two hard-partying brothers place an online ad to find the perfect dates for their sister’s Hawaiian wedding. Hoping for a wild getaway, the …
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First Take: Pete's Dragon- Disney fail to impress for the first time in years

SYPNOSIS: the adventures of an orphaned boy named Pete and his best friend Elliot, who just so happens to be a dragon. Disney generally have a good ey…
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First Take: Nerve- don't hate the player, hate the game.

SYPNOSIS: A high school senior finds herself immersed in an online game of truth or dare, where her every move starts to become manipulated by an anon…
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First Take: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Ultimate Cut- here we go again.

SYPNOSIS: Fearing that the actions of Superman are left unchecked, Batman takes on the Man of Steel, while the world wrestles with what kind of a hero…
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First Take: Suicide Squad- definitely worth the hype

Spoiler free as usual. Because a DC film like this isn’t worth spoiling. SYPNOSIS: A secret government agency recruits imprisoned supervillains to exec…
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First Take: Finding Dory- Pixar officially begin their renaissance years

Spoiler free as usual. Because being at the very first public showing rocks. SYPNOSIS: The friendly-but-forgetful blue tang fish begins a search for he…
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First Take: Jason Bourne- we all know his name

SYPNOSIS: The most dangerous former operative of the CIA is drawn out of hiding to uncover hidden truths about his past. The Bourne franchise has been …
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First Take: Star Trek Beyond- beam me up.

Spoiler free as usual. SYPNOSIS: The USS Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a new ruthless enemy w…
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First Take: The BFG- Spielberg delivers yet another masterclass in family film-making

SYPNOSIS: A girl named Sophie encounters the Big Friendly Giant who, despite his intimidating appearance, turns out to be a kindhearted soul who is c…
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First Take: Ghostbusters- never trust the internet.

SYPNOSIS: Following a ghost invasion of Manhattan, paranormal enthusiasts Erin Gilbert and Abby Yates, nuclear engineer Jillian Holtzmann, and subway …
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First Take: The Legend of Tarzan- I’m not angry...

SYPNOSIS: Tarzan, having acclimated to life in London, is called back to his former home in the jungle to investigate the activities at a mining enca…
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First Take: Ice Age Collision Course- Scrat's still not got his acorn?

SYPNOSIS: Manny, Diego, and Sid join up with Buck to fend off a meteor strike that would destroy the world. Ice Age is a franchise that I simply adore…
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First Take: Now You See Me 2- how not to make a film about magic

SYPNOSIS- The Four Horsemen resurface and are forcibly recruited by a tech genius to pull off their most impossible heist yet. Louis Leterrier’s surpr…
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First Take: Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie- a very rare example of a TV adaptation that works incredibly well on the big screen

SYPNOSIS- Edina and Patsy are still oozing glitz and glamour, living the high life they are accustomed to; shopping, drinking and clubbing their way …
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First Take: Central Intelligence- action and comedy work together in harmony

SYPNOSIS- After he reconnects with an awkward pal from high school through Facebook, a mild-mannered accountant is lured into the world of internatio…
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