Mad Max: Fury Road

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Mad Max: Fury Road!

Original image located here. Accessed 26th June 2026

Well, I've put this one off for long enough.

I have something of a history with the Mad Max movies. I knew of them when I was a kid, knowing enough of them that they consisted of violence, car chases, deserts and people with strange names. Clearly this was something for adults.
Nevertheless I did get my first experience with the Mad Max movies when I saw the Road Warrior in my tween years (!!!). Granted it is questionable if I should've been watching it in the first place but it is difficult to deny that it was, and still is, one of the greatest action movies ever made. And it isn't hard to see the Road Warrior as being the face that launched a thousand ships and inspired a whole host of imitators - indeed, it's doubtful the Warhammer 40,000 universe would exist without it. 
Years later, I got to see the sequel, Beyond Thunderdome. And a funny thing happened: Whereas The Road Warrior was a film tween me shouldn't have been watching, Beyond Thunderdome came across as more kid-friendly - especially in the second half. But, irony of ironies, I hated it. Okay sure it was fun to see Angry Anderson and Tina Turner hamming it up, sure the ideas of rebuilding and a cargo cult were interesting but this was devoid of the bleakness that made the Mad Max films what they were. Would I dare suggest said identity was softened? 
And finally when I reached adulthood, I got to see the first Mad Max movie. In retrospect, it was certainly a world apart from its younger brethren but still very impressive as a low budget feature. 

So, preamble over: I knew very well what I was getting myself in for when I got off my lazy arse and watched this. So what is there to say? 
Violence, car chases, deserts and people with strange names. And it was utterly deranged.
So yeah, this is very much a Mad Max movie. 
And it was frickin' great. 
Pretty much all there needs to be said, really.

Lincoln

 And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Lincoln!

Original image located here. Accessed 19th June 2026

Yep, another movie that had success in it's day but somehow passed me by. But then again, does anyone really care when you come to a movie?

You know, if you're going to make a movie about one of the most beloved US Presidents, then you may as well go all out and get the best people for the job: Steven Spielberg in the directors chair, John Williams for the score, Tony Kushner for the screenwriting, Janusz Kaminski for photography and as many character actors as one can muster. But really this is all Daniel Day-Lewis' show: He breathes new life into Lincoln, changing the perception of an actor inhabiting a role and into flat-out resurrection. 
I've heard that both Day-Lewis and Spielberg invested a lot of research into the Honest Abe and it shows. The Lincoln here has plenty of humanity brought to the forefront and is intent on breaking down the myth to show the man. 

As for the rest of the film, it's a mixed bag: On one hand it, there are signs it's operating like a heist movie with the 13th Amendment being the prize. But on another, it is political drama with all the skulduggery that comes with it.
But this is clearly the most Oscar-bait of movies, as it ticks all the right boxes: It is a historical drama. It has a lead with proven Oscar success. It has a stacked cast. It is telling the inspiring story of someone who changed history, stuck up for the oppressed and had to evade the nay-sayers to do so. 
Given such observations, they are hard to avoid and did effect my enjoyment of this movie. 

But let's be honest: is Day-Lewis' performance enough to make this film? Damn straight it is. 

The Hunt

And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Hunt!

Original image located here. Accessed 12th June 2026

This came recommended to me. So may as well take a look.
So what we have here is a Danish film wherein a school teacher is accused by one of his students for something heinous. The accusation is false but this movie is more concerned as to what happens next.

Clearly this movie is one intent on raising questions: We see the teacher's life collapse, the community turn against him and the words of the accuser flip-flop between truth and dishonesty. The answers aren't always clear, favouring instead to let the audience make up their own mind.

Personally I find this movie was at it's most compelling in showing how a community turns on someone. And it is done with a cold ruthlessness: No indication that this was a bunch of people circling like sharks waiting for blood in the water; no stopping to consider any discrepancies in the child's account; no pausing to stop paternal instincts to ponder on the consequences of one's actions.
Indeed it took me a while to realise there is little to no soundtrack in this movie, favouring instead to let the silence weigh in. 
And it's that coldness that makes this movie so striking. 

Also, if Die Hard is a Christmas movie does that mean this is a Christmas movie as well?

Malcolm X

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... Malcolm X!

Original image located here. Accessed 5th June 2026

Surprisingly I haven't seen any of the filmography of one Spike Lee. The immediate impression is that he is a black movie director making movies for a black audience - which subsequently places me in a considerable disadvantage. 
Still I've been meaning to watch this as a) I seen Denzel Washington in numerous movies and he never disappoints, b) I am curious to find out more about a historical figure that I have heard a lot about but only in name and c) I am willing to consider a perspective different from my own.

But what does it matter? Turns out this movie was something unexpected: A biopic that transcends it's intent and becomes something more epic. I mean it worked for Lawrence of Arabia...
Seriously though, this is very effective as a character study, taking us through Malcolm's life, highlighting key points and showing his passion for civil rights. His speeches, teachings and white-hot rage (pun unintended) are all incorporated and even moments when his views are challenged (i.e. his pilgrimage to Mecca and what happens afterward) are included. Indeed, even if the widely-known image of Malcolm X is one of anger, this movie does indeed go to great lengths to show there was a humanity tied to him. 
When one watches a biopic, one gets the feeling that they are watching a propaganda piece but I never got that that with this movie - which means it did it's job better then anyone could've hoped for. 

Funny thing: I did find the first hour a bit of a mess but it really got more focused once Malcolm went to prison, had a religious revelation and began heading on his path of being a civil rights activist. But having typed that sentence out, it would appear that that was the point....