Enola Holmes 3 (2026)

 "There are two paths you can take, Enola. Yours, or the path others choose for you."

This sequel, with the same ensemble cast and the same writer in oft-rumoured future Doctor Who showrunner Jack Thorne, is exactly what we might expect, from the rollicking adventure to the nicely plotted mystery to the in media res beginning. This is, of course, no bad thing. This film is bloody good, giving us exactly what we expect and exactly what we want as far as the characters are concerned, with a satisfying whodunit to provide the mystery.

Yes, the film is full of anachronistic social attitudes to things like colonialism, gender roles, marriage and social class, especially with regards to a happy ending that could never fly in the actual 1880s. But this, again, is no bad thing. There are films where one can legitimately be demanding in terms of historical accuracy, yes indeed. This is not one of them. A family friendly romp should not concern itself with (SPOILERS!) the impossibility of a peer disclaiming his peerage eighty years before Tony Benn, or the even greater impossibility of the concluding ceremony being accepted as any kind of marriage at the time. Such things do not matter- a modern audience, with modern (and much more enlightened) values, must be entertained.

This film is, quite simply, fun. The cast is magnificent, the feminine contingent especially. Sharon Duncan-Brewster is extraordinary as a Moriarty with a surprising amount of depth. Helena Bonham Carter is, well, Helena Bonham Carter. And Millie Bobby Brown, with her charisma and her delicious fourth wall moments, carries the whole thing. Little Miss Llamastrangler (who called the film "peak") give this film our thorough endorsement.

Enola Holmes 2 (2022)

 "You really are a nincompoop!"

It's been a while, but I've finally got round to seeing the sequel, in large part due to the pleasure of some truly exquisite company last night! And not only was it a thoroughly enjoyable experience, but I noticed in the credits that the writer was one Jack Thorne, whose distinguished career has included Adolescence among other things (must get round to that!) and who is, rather interestingly, rumoured as a possible new showrunner for Doctor Who... but we'll see.

The script is superb, working perfectly both as a murder mystery with twists and turns which all makes perfec sense at the end but also as a fun, watchable drama with a light touch, lots of fun and lots of wit. It's also, as last night's exquisite company remarked last night, based on the match girls' strike, a very real historical event, and the scandal with white phosphorus was a very real thing.

But Millie Bobby Brown yet again carries the whole thing with aplomb, a truly talented leading lady despite her youth, carrying the whole thing with wit, charisma and those delightfully quirky asides to the camera. To say that she carries the whole thing means a lot given the cast we have here- Henry Cavill as Sherlock Holmes and Helena Bonham Carter as their mother Eudoxia, in particular. I love the little Sherlockian moments, and it's clear from fairly early on that the film will end with Holmes meeting Watson.

In the end, then, a splendid film. A pedant may observe that the film is set in 1885, too late for Holmes meeting Watson and too early for the match girls' strike (Sarah Chapman is a historical figure), but I'm learning to be better with my pedantry. A hugely enjoyable film.

Tenet (2020)

 "We are being attacked from the future."

This is one of those Christopher Nolan films that are a massive puzzle box, like Inception and The Prestige, if not quite as good as those two. How much you enjoy these types of film depends on whetheryou like a film to be a puzzle box, in this case a big timey-wimey palindrome thingy. 

Confession time: yes, I understood the broad nature of the plot, but I immediately went on to watch a YouTube video to so I understood it... well, "fully" is an awfully strong word. Again, there will be those who, understandably,don't fancy the idea of a fil that takes effort, and even multiple viewings,to work out what's going on,especially if said film happens to be two and a half hours long.

It's worty it, though. This film is extraordinary, and it's a shame how a certain spiky virus sort of sabotaged it at the box office, although admittedly that's hardly the worst of the many sins of said virus.

The central concept is fantastic- inversion of entropy, meaning that an object or person can be "inverted", moving backwards through time instead of forwards. Hence, there's a lot of time travel in this film, but you have to live through events in real time, whether forwards or backwards. There are great concepts arising from this, such as the "temporal pincer movement" and the rather clever little time paradoxes around the characters, and particularly around the true nature of John David Washington's Protagonist. The fact he's known only as that is a clue.

It's not all that, of course. There's humour. There's Kenneth Branagh being superb as an evil (is there any other kind?) Russian oligarch. There's a chilling yet tasteful exploration of domestic abuse. There's a delightful cameo from old Michael Caine. This film is a joy.