Phoenix FM Film Reviews

This week Mark reviews: September 5 - During the 1972 Munich Olympics, an American sports broadcasting crew finds itself thrust into covering the hostage crisis involving Israeli Athletes. The Last Voyage of the Demeter - A crew sailing from Varna in Belgium to Whitby, England, via the Black Sea, find they are carrying very dangerous cargo. Small Things Like These - In 1985, devoted father Bill Fu...

This week Mark reviews: Saturday Night - At 11:30pm on October 11th, 1975, a troupe of young comedians and writers changed the face of US TV forever. However, the ninety minutes leading upto their first broadcast was anything but simple. The Front Room - Belinda and Norman are a newly married couple who are forced to take in Norman’s estranged, and ailing, stepmother. Hard Truths - Pansy, angry an...

This week Mark reviews: The Brutalist - When a visionary architect and his wife flee post-war Europe in 1947 to rebuild their legacy and witness the birth of modern United States, their lives are changed forever by a mysterious, wealthy client. Nightbitch - A woman pauses her career to be a sat-at-home mum, but soon her domesticity takes a surreal turn. Smile 2 - About to embark on a world tour, g...

This week Mark reviews: A Complete Unknown - At the Newport Folk Festival in 1975, a young Bob Dylan shakes up his act by going electric and siring rock as the voice of a generation. Unstoppable - Wrestler Anthony Robles was born with one leg, but went on to win a national championship while competing at the Arizona State University. Juror #2 - While serving as a juror in a high-profile murder tri...

This week Mark reviews: Maria - Maria Callas, the world’s greatest Opera singer, is in her final days. However, she wants to give one last performance. Get Away - A family’s vacation to a remote getaway takes an unexpected turn when they discover the island they’re on is inhabited by a serial killer. A Real Pain - Mismatched cousins David & Benji reunite for a tour through Poland to honour the...

This week Mark reviews: Nosferatu - In 19th Century Germany, Solicitor Thomas Hutter is sent to meet Count Orlok as he seeks to purchase a property in London. But the Transylvanian Vampire is seeking more than just property as he stalks Hutter’s wife. We Live In Time - Recently divorced Tobias and up-and-coming Chef Almut find their lives changed forever when a chance encounter brings them togethe...

It's that time of year again. Phoenix FM presenter Spencer Carter and film critic Mark Searby discuss their favourite films of 2024. Will Spencer's choices annoy Mark? Has Mark chosen an obscure Eastern European arthouse film? Will either of them agree on at least one film they both enjoyed?

This week Mark reviews: Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl - Gromit becomes concerned that Wallace has become over-dependent on his inventions, which proves justified when Wallace invents a “smart gnome” that seems to develop a mind of its own. The Order - A series of bank robberies and car heists frightened communities in the Pacific Northwest. A lone FBI agent believes that the crimes are...

This week Mark reviews: The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim - A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm Hammerhead, the King of Rohan, and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient strong hold of the Hornburg. Queer - Lee, who lives in Mexico City and is constantly drunk and trying to pick up you...

This week Mark reviews: That Christmas - A snow blizzard hits a Suffolk seaside town, setting off entwined tales of family, friends, love and loneliness – and Santa making a big mistake. Alien: Romulus - While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonists come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe. The Count of Monte Cristo - After...

This week Mark reviews: Moana 2 - After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure until anything she has ever faced. Conclave - When Cardinal Lawrence is tasked with leading one of the world’s most secretive and ancient events, selecting a new Pope, he finds himself at the centre o...

This week Mark reviews: Wicked – Part 1 - Elphaba, a misunderstood young woman because of her green skin, and Glinda, a popular girl, become friends at Shiz University in the Land of Oz. After an encounter with the wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads. The Piano Lesson - The Charles family grapples with family legacy and difficult decisions as they determine the fate of th...

This week Mark reviews: Gladiator II - After his home is conquered by tyrannical emperors who now lead Rome, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum and must look to his past to find strength to return the glory of Rome to its people. Bookworm - 11-year-old Mildred’s world is turned upside down when her estranged father, the washed-up magician Strawn Wise, comes to look after her and agrees to tak...

This week Mark reviews: Paddington In Peru - When Aunt Lucy goes missing from the Home for Retired Bears, Paddington and the Brown family fly to Peru and set out to find her. Along the way a mysterious ship captain and his daughter appear to help. Bird - 12-year-old Bailey lives with her brother Hunter and her father Bug in a squat on the North Kent coastline. Bug doesn’t spend much time with his...

This week Mark reviews: Anora - Anora, a young sex worker from Brooklyn, meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as his parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled. Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story - Reeve’s rise to becoming a film star follows with a near-fatal horse riding accident in 1995 that left him p...

This week Mark reviews: Longlegs - In pursuit of a serial killer, an FBI agent uncovers a series of occult clues that she must solve to end this terrifying killing spree. The 4:30 Movie - In 1980s America, a group of friends spend the day cinema-hopping. Starve Acre - An idyllic rural family life of a couple is thrown into turmoil when their son starts acting out of character.

This week Mark reviews: The Apprentice - Charting the rise of a young Donald Trump and his real estate business in the 1970s and 80s in New York, and showing the helping hand he had from infamous lawyer Roy Cohn. The Radleys- The Radleys are a seemingly ordinary family. But they hold a dark secret: They are vampires. However, they choose not to drink blood and have become Vegan Vampires. That is u...

This week Mark reviews: Transformers One - Optimus Prime and Megatron, as former friends, bonded like brothers. Their relationship ultimately changes Cybertron’s future forever. A Quiet Place: Day One - Sam finds herself trapped in New York City during the early stages of an invasion by alien creatures with ultra-sensitive hearing. The Exorcism - A troubled actor begins to exhibit a disruptive beh...

This week Mark reviews: Joker: Folie A Deux - Arthur Fleck is institutionalized at Arkham, awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker. While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur not only stumbles upon true love, but also finds the music that’s always been inside of him. In A Violent Nature - When a locket is removed from a collapsed fire tower in the woods that entombs the rotting corpse of Johnn...

This week Mark reviews: The Outrun - After living life on the edge in London, Rona returns to the wild beauty of Scotland’s Orkney Islands (where she grew up) hoping to heal and come to terms with her troubled past. Hellboy: The Crooked Man - In the 1950s, Hellboy and a rookie B.P.R.D. agent are sent to the Appalachians, where they discover a remote community dominated by witches and led by a sini...

This week Mark reviews: His Three Daughters - Three estranged sisters return to their father’s New York apartment to care for their ailing father. Along the way they try to mend their broken relationship with each other. Bad Boys: Ride or Die - When their late Police Captain gets linked to a drug cartel, wisecracking Miami cops Mike Lowry and Marcus Burnett embark on a dangerous mission to clear h...

This week Mark reviews: Reawakening - John and Mary’s daughter went missing while she was a child. Fourteen years later she reappears without explanation. Something In The Water - A group of five friends must fight for their lives in open water after a dream wedding turns into a nightmare. In Camera - Aden is a young actor who is constantly being rejecting for roles. After receiving multiple knock...

This week Mark reviews: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice - After a family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her teenage daughter, Astrid, accidentally opens the portal to the Afterlife. Firebrand - Katherine Parr, the sixth wife of King Henry VIII, is named regent while he battles abroad. When th...

This week Mark reviews: Touch - Kristofer, now a widower, embarks on a journey to find his first love, who disappeared 50 years ago. The Watched - A young artist gets stranded in an extensive, immaculate forest in Western Ireland, where, after finding shelter, she becomes trapped alongside three strangers, stalked by mysterious creatures. Sasquatch Sunset - A year in the life of a unique family. I...

This week Mark reviews: Kneecap - When fate brings Belfast teacher JJ into the orbit of self-confessed ‘low life scum’ Naosie and Liam Og, the needle drops on a hip hop act like no other. Rapping in their native Irish, they lead a movement to save their mother tongue. Cuckoo - A 17-year-old girl is forced to move with her family to a resort where things are not what they seem. The G - A mysterious...