REVIEW: Frankenstein (2025 film)- Starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, and Christoph Waltz

Review by Jon Donnis

Guillermo del Toro's 2025 take on Frankenstein feels like a filmmaker pouring his heart into a story he has cherished for years. It shows from the opening moments on the icebound Horisont Navy Ship. The film settles into a confident stride straight away, using the familiar framing of Victor recounting his sins while the shadow of his creation closes in. It taps into the soul of Mary Shelley's novel with a level of devotion that never feels stiff. Instead it feels lived in, tender in places, and achingly sad in others.

Oscar Isaac gives Victor a cold brilliance that suits the character's inflated sense of purpose. His fall from promising surgeon to broken fugitive has real weight, helped by the film's astonishing design work at every stage. Del Toro fills each frame with towering sets, rich colour, and the sort of textured detail that makes even the bleakest landscape feel strangely inviting. The world around Victor and the Creature has an almost painterly glow. It feels crafted by someone who understands the gothic tone down to its bone marrow. When the story shifts to the Creature's memories, the change in mood is gentle but striking. The forest scenes, the warmth of the blind man's home, the eerie calm of the Arctic. Everything is lit and staged with a confidence that reminds you why del Toro has long been considered a master of monsters.

Jacob Elordi's version of the Creature is one of the film's strongest elements. He captures the pain, confusion, and flickers of fragile hope that define the character. His scenes of learning and companionship are some of the film's most affecting. The only drawback is physical. Elordi plays the emotional notes beautifully, yet he never quite looks as imposing as the classic image of Frankenstein's creation. It is a small gripe, though it does stand out when the story leans into the Creature's terrifying strength.

The length will also test some viewers. At around two and a half hours the film never feels slow, yet it is still a solid commitment. The emotional heft piles up steadily. By the time Victor and the Creature meet again in the present, you can feel the journey in your chest. Their final moment together is quiet, painful, and beautifully earned.

What impresses most is how del Toro reshapes a tale we all know without distorting its essence. This is still a story about life, death, grief, and responsibility. It simply tilts the focus a little more toward forgiveness. Personally, I found myself missing a touch more of the Creature's rage, something closer to the fury of Shelley's original. Even so, it is hard not to admire the sincerity behind this version. It is crafted with love and it shows.

In the wider landscape of adaptations, this may be the finest screen telling so far. It looks extraordinary, it feels deeply human, and it marks a strong return to form for del Toro. I walked away convinced he was born to make this film.

A confident and resonant triumph, and an easy 9 out of 10.

Out Now on Netflix - https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81507921

And in Select Cinemas

REVIEW: Roofman (2025 Film) - Starring Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, LaKeith Stanfield, Juno Temple and Peter Dinklage

Review by Jon Donnis

"Roofman" is one of those stories that almost sounds too bizarre to be true. Directed by Derek Cianfrance, it tells the tale of Jeffrey Manchester, an ex-soldier turned roof-climbing burglar who once hid inside a Toys "R" Us for half a year without anyone noticing. On paper, it sounds like a madcap heist comedy, but what unfolds on screen is far more complex, sitting somewhere between tragedy, absurdity and a strangely touching love story.

Channing Tatum gives one of his most grounded performances to date as Manchester, a man whose crimes seem less driven by greed than by desperation and loneliness. Cianfrance, known for intimate dramas like Blue Valentine and The Place Beyond the Pines, brings that same raw emotional style here. His camera lingers on quiet, mundane details, making even the sight of Tatum brushing his teeth in a toy store feel oddly human. It's funny, yes, but never cartoonish.

The film's strongest stretch comes during the Toys "R" Us sequence. Manchester's life among dolls, bicycles and baby monitors becomes a sort of twisted domestic fantasy, half survival story, half suburban dream. His relationship with Leigh, played by Kirsten Dunst, is handled with tenderness. She brings warmth to what could have been a throwaway role, grounding the film's stranger moments in something recognisably real. When the romance blossoms, it's oddly sweet, even though the audience knows it's built on lies.

There's also excellent support from LaKeith Stanfield as Steve, Manchester's pragmatic old army mate, and Peter Dinklage as the weary store manager Mitch. Dinklage, in particular, adds a dry sense of humour that cuts through the film's more sentimental edges.

The problem is that once Manchester's life outside the store takes over, the story begins to sag. The pace slows, the tone darkens, and the tension that once made the film so compelling slips away. The final act feels heavier, more procedural, and less inspired than the early scenes. Cianfrance's interest in emotional fallout overtakes the playfulness that made the premise so unique.

And despite the film being sold as a crime comedy, the laughs are rare. It's more melancholy than madcap, often reflecting on isolation, regret and the longing to belong. That's not a flaw so much as a mismatch of tone between marketing and reality, but some viewers might be caught off guard.

Still, "Roofman" is an engaging, original take on the true-crime genre. It's stylish, well-acted, and deeply human. Tatum's performance captures both the absurdity and sadness of a man trying to rebuild his life inside a toy shop, while Dunst provides the heart that keeps it from collapsing under its own weirdness.

It loses some magic once the fluorescent lights of the store fade, but as a character study, it lingers. "Roofman" may not be the laugh-out-loud caper its trailers promise, yet it offers something better: a bittersweet glimpse at a man trapped between redemption and self-destruction.

A flawed but fascinating piece of storytelling. I'd give Roofman a solid 7 out of 10.

Out now on Digital

Apple TV - https://apple.co/49j0ITw

COMPETITION: Win The Life Of Chuck on 4KUHD

THE LIFE OF CHUCK from STUDIOCANAL is available to buy and rent from digital platforms and available to own on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD right now.

And to celebrate we have a copy on 4K UHD to give away!

Synopsis:

Adapted for the screen and directed by renowned filmmaker Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep, The Haunting of Hill House), THE LIFE OF CHUCK stars Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan and Mark Hamill, alongside an ensemble cast including Jacob Tremblay, Matthew Lillard, Mia Sara and Nick Offerman. The film was produced by Mike Flanagan and Trevor Macy. 

Based on Stephen King’s novella, THE LIFE OF CHUCK is the tale of a seemingly unremarkable man called Charles Kranz (Tom Hiddleston). Told in reverse order, Chuck's life story unfolds over three chapters, reminding us that even the most ordinary life contains multitudes.

Special features on disc:

On-set Interviews with Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill & Chiwetel Ejiofor

Making of The Life of Chuck

Feature Commentary with Writer / Director Mike Flanagan (4K Ultra HD only)

 

Pre-Order from https://amzn.to/47yY6zt

Enter now for a chance to win.

Who directs The Life Of Chuck?

Send your name, address and of course the answer to competition365@outlook.com

Quick Terms and conditions - For full T&C click here

1. Closing date 24-11-25

2. No alternative prize is available

3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.

4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

5. Entries that come directly from other websites will not be accepted.

COMPETITION: Win MaXXXine on 4K

From Second Sight Films comes MaXXXine Limited Edition 4K UHD Box Set, set to arrive on 17 November, alongside a Standard Edition.

And to celebrate we have a copy on 4K Standard to give away!

Synopsis:

Modern horror icons Mia Goth (Frankenstein, Infinity Pool, Suspiria) and Ti West (The Sacrament, The Innkeepers) reunite for a glamorous, gritty and gore-filled conclusion to the acclaimed X trilogy with MaXXXine, which now receives a star studded new Limited Edition Box Set release from the best in the business, Second Sight Films.

Goth once again cements herself as a magnetic screen presence with her show stopping performance as Maxine Minx. This seductive horror that pays tribute to Italian Giallo and eighties cinema with its satanic panic, pulp, seedy PIs, corrupt cops, thrilling showdowns and a visual feast of fluorescent colours.

Lauded by The Hollywood Reporter as ‘a gleeful dive into retro movie tropes with vivid period evocation’ the film has gone on to become the highest-grossing film of the trilogy, and now MaXXXine Limited Edition 4K UHD Box Set is set to arrive on 17 November, alongside a Standard Edition.

Pre-Order from https://amzn.to/43R6eZM

Enter now for a chance to win.

Who MaXXXine?

Send your name, address and of course the answer to competition365@outlook.com

Quick Terms and conditions - For full T&C click here

1. Closing date 24-11-25

2. No alternative prize is available

3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.

4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

5. Entries that come directly from other websites will not be accepted.

PREVIEW: M: Beyond the Wasteland (2025 Film) - Starring Matej Sivakov and Sasko Kocev

By Jon Donnis

In a world overrun by the undead, two young boys form an unlikely bond as they struggle to survive a brutal post-apocalyptic society in the award-winning sci-fi thriller M: Beyond the Wasteland.

Directed by Vardan Tozija (Amok), this haunting and deeply moving fable follows a boy's desperate search for what remains of humanity amid a landscape ravaged by plague-ridden creatures.

After an acclaimed festival run, including a screening at Grimmfest 2024, the celebrated Macedonian survival drama is set for its UK digital release on 10 November, courtesy of GrimmVision.

In a desolate future where zombies, known as the Evil Ones, have wiped out much of civilisation, a lonely boy named Marko (Matej Sivakov) lives deep in the forest under the strict care of his mysterious father (Sasko Kocev). His world changes when he meets Miko (Aleksandar Nichovski), a gentle boy with Down syndrome, whose kindness sparks both friendship and curiosity about the world beyond their secluded home.

When fate intervenes and Marko's wish for freedom is suddenly granted, his journey becomes one of peril, discovery, and the faint hope that humanity might still endure.

Set against a stark and chilling backdrop, M: Beyond the Wasteland is a powerful and emotional tale of connection and resilience, reminding us that even in ruin, hope can still survive.

Available on digital from 10 November via GrimmVision.