I have watched so many good movies lately and they all deserve lengthy reviews, but I’m going to keep these short and sweet for now!

The Trial of the Chicago 7 is honestly fantastically well done. It recounts the court hearing of seven (eight) activists – Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, David Dellinger, Lee Weiner and John Froines – charged with starting a riot in Chicago to protest the Vietnam War, and another – Bobby Seale – who wasn’t in the area but is dragged into the court room regardless. If you’ve studied the Vietnam War protests and the Civil Rights and counter culture movements, then this is definitely up your alley. It’s also a harrowing depiction of the brutality and racism so many faced simply for existing. It’s directed by Aaron Sorkin and definitely has his signature take and will grip your heart and not let go.

Ready Player One was so, so brilliant. Knowing Steven Spielberg directed it was what pushed me to give it a go as I wasn’t quite sold on the premise by itself. I’m not a gamer or into virtual reality, so the prospect of a dystopian future where VR is the only good thing wasn’t quite what I had in mind. But I gave it a go and I’m delighted that I did! The visuals are amazing, the Easter eggs and throwbacks to retro games, 80s music and classic movies were super cool. It felt like a love letter to pop culture wrapped up in a dystopian adventure and I enjoyed every second. In fact, I liked it so much that I watched it twice in a row: once alone and then again with my partner after work because I knew it would be in his lane. And he adored it, so win!

About Time was such a lovely rewatch! I saw it a few years ago but I wanted to show it to my partner because I think the message of the film is genuine and sincere and wholesome. It’s a movie to watch when you need uplifting, yanno? It follows a family where the first born sons have the ability to travel through time. Tim, the main character, at first tries to use the power to fix his love life, but quickly learns that even with time travel, things aren’t that simple. The focus of this story is characters, their relationships and on the importance of appreciating every moment of life. The fantasy/science fiction aspect takes a backseat and is never explained beyond we can time travel, but it works very well and it’s a movie I can see myself rewatching a lot because it’s just so darn lovely.

The Aeronauts was absolutely fantastic. It’s inspired by real events, so it’s not a direct take on history. Basically, the film follows real life meteorologist James Glaisher and fictional pilot Amelia Wren (Amelia Rennes is also used in the film, perhaps because her surname is Anglicised from her French husband’s? Not sure, not explained). Anyways, Amelia Wren is a composite character based on a few real life female aviators: Sophie Blanchard and Margaret Graham. Her husband is partially inspired by Jean-Pierre Blanchard and Thomas Harris. James and Amelia and the events the characters go through in the film are used to really cover the era, and I like what the director’s trying to do. It’s important to note that James’ real life historical partner, Henry Coxwell, isn’t included, and I understand the criticism of omitting his role in James’ flight, but the director’s reasoning of wanting to represent the female aviators of the time makes sense. It’s not meant to be a documentary, it’s an inspirational film based in history, so just go into that knowing the divergence. James is real, Amelia is fictional, but the end result is wonderful.

In the film, two years after Amelia’s husband Pierre falls to his death from a hot air balloon, she’s coaxed back into the skies by James, a scientist determined to prove that you can predict weather (he’s the father of weather forecasting, basically), but he’s been laughed out of the Royal Society in London for his ideas, which many claim are far-fetched and based in fantasy. He and Amelia agree to try and outdo the French record of reaching 23,000 feet while taking readings as they go up, in an effort to help James understand weather patterns. The intensity of the flight cannot be overstated and I gasped throughout the entirety of it, but it was brilliantly done. Absolutely fantastic movie! I’d love to see a documentary on the era and James Glaisher’s real life flight with Thomas Coxwell if anyone knows of any docs? Also, any docs on female aviators, please send my way!

Jupiter Ascending was definitely unexpected but I’m glad I finally watched it! I never got into The Matrix (much to everyone’s horror, I know) but I absolutely adored Sense8, so I figured I would give this one a go (same directors). I don’t know if I loved it as much as I wanted to (and considering how much I adore Eddie Redmayne and Sean Bean as actors), but there was definitely a lot to like. Visually it was gorgeous and I thought the plot was fascinating. The idea of other creatures engineering the start of Earth, mass civilisations out there in the galaxy, all very cool. If you’re a fan of space opera, this one is well worth a go!