Atomic Blonde is director David Leitch previous (John Wick), staring Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, Sofia Boutella and John Goodman. Lorraine is MI6's best even if her methods are somewhat hazardous. After she is sent to Berlin right before the collapse of the wall - she must uncover a list of double agents while investigating the murder of a former agent. 

Bi-spy sparks an enthrallingly lead amongst an immensely bland narrative. Atomic Blonde in itself a quirky concept, bright hair, big moves, bad storytelling- Leith struggles to drain any life from the success of John Wick and imagines too few new ideas. Modern action flicks have proved to be as colourfully ascetic as they are creative. Even with the addition of its punk late 80's setting - Atomic Blonde follows a dismally, chaotic, run-of-the-mill job. 

Although it's of the spy genre it doesn't mean the plot has to be a secret as well. What seems to be an intriguing look into the corruption behind the cold war plays out as yet another baffling first hand account that jars between past and present day. The story cuts from a debriefing - in which Goodman incoherently explains the plot to us - and a slightly more energetic look into the mission. It lacks a simple fluidity of a story and crunches both style and substance into one cluttered romp.

Atomic Blonde requires you to dot the dots together, and with such a confusing yet aggravatingly unimaginative story - you are simply not invested enough to care. To its core there is something quite special there - approached in such a round about way - whatever is there was clearly left on the cutting room floor. 

Blonde Bomb Shell Lorraine holds her own against the tired and cumbersome world of espionage Leitch attempts. Theron tugs the weight of this movie almost alone, neither Goodman or Boutella's brief but notable performances standout against Theron. She is the face of this movie and delivers a layered yet original character who does a whole lot more than kick, punch and run.

Along with this there are few but still some moments magnificently drenched in style. The glaring neon juxtaposed against the grey and murky streets of berlin offers a little colour variation, easy on the eye. And if not its story but action elements are extracted from John Wick - offering a prominent one take, ten minute sequence and some of the best choreographed action of the year. 

Atomic Blonde's leading lady tugs the weight of an otherwise humdrum story. Fabulous appearances from its cast can't atone for the unforgivably poorly told story. It brags an all to familiar, if not overused soundtrack and overly intelligent writing for the material - either I'm just stupid or something doesn't add up. 

I am going to give Atomic Blonde:

4.8/10

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets sees the latest creation from legendary director Luc Besson. Adapted from french comic book series Valerian and Laureline - Dane DeHann stars alongside Cara Delevinge as the intergalactic operatives racing to identify the unknown dark force threatening space station alpha. 

​A visual milky-way electrified by no limits of imagination. Exploring the outer bounds of space and despite similarities on the surface, Besson's latest adventure breaks new grounds in the superhero-sci-fi category. Seemingly a parallel lies between Valerian and the creatively abstract Star Wars and Star Trek. With page to page accuracy from the fabulously quaint comic series and smart creative control from its director - Valerian is a gleaming star amongst its iconic competitors. 

On paper - both DeHann and Delevinge are as pretty and they are compatible. Although a slight imbalance of character growth, there is a midpoint in which you realise the two work magnificently. DeHann suffers not only a lack of charm but has clashing traits to the usual hero template - never the less providing something a little different. Whereas Delevinge proves she is certainly not just a character actor. Offering her finest performance yet - Delevinge amasses all, redeeming herself from   the indifferent Suicide Squad, given her celebrated acting debut in paper towns - adding the extra unique spark Valerian needs.

It's easy to pass Valerian as yet another throw away, popcorn romp; with phenomenal visuals - Valerian sparkles a unique adventure of its own. Whilst it may not achieve the emotional, thought provoking impact of Besson's earliest masterpiece 'Léon', the originality lies within the imagination rather than the complexity of the narrative. Besson paints an entirely new and unique cinematic world, interplaying between the story and its characters - not just a picturesque backdrop in order for the movie to play against. Visualised through jaw dropping cg-effects, polished of with some abstract shots and dazzling colour- Besson brings his trademark style to this intergalactic adventure. His noticeable arrangement of costume brings out the radiant colours in each shot. 

The only thing that restrains Valerian from zooming comfortably into light speed is its a time muddling plot. It may just be the unique way in which Besson adapts the source material; caught up in all the enjoyment, the plot seems to slip away for a large enough portion of the last act. A long with a few script issues - including some out of this world cheesy quips - with a few nips and tucks Valerian would've been almost as special as I already thought it was. 

Forget Girls Trip - Valerian is the biggest surprise of the year. Boasting interstellar effects, driven by Besson's creatively inspired perception - Valerian is a stellar sci-fi movie nobody asked for yet we all deserved. Delevingne offers sass, class and is bad ass - DeHann maybe underwritten - but the two work wonders as a likably quippy pair. Weird wacky and colourful with a few minor plot issues - Valerian bursts limits of imagination. 

I am going to give Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets:

8/10

The Emoji Movie is directed by Tony Leondis and stars T.J. Miller as Gene the 'meh' emoji. After discovering he has more than just one emotion, Gene sets out on a quest across the phone alongside Jailbreak and Hi-Five, in order to fix his so called 'malfunction'. 

Where can I find the vomit emoji? With absolutely no attempt to create an original kids caper, the emoji movie is one of, if not the worst movies to come out of modern cinema. As the movie starts you have a moment of absolute clarity - you think to yourself this could be okay, what if it isn't the western fall of civilisation everyone is calling it? Those who saw this movie can't deny there was that moment and for the first three minutes it's actually okay. And then they start talking. 

The Emoji Movie wastes the entirety of its talented cast displaying fantastic voice performances trapped inside the bodies of blobby, yellow circles. It's praiseworthy how each actor pushes through one of the poorest scripts in a long while. If you thought toilet humour would be the target source of jokes - you'd be wrong. Turning almost every cup, cookie and crying face into the next gag, The Emoji Movie's script is built upon ear scraping puns and senseless writing. If I may indulge you for a second, 'Throw some sauce on that dance burrito', 'He'll wipe the phone - gesturing to poop - 'Ha she said wipe' - that's the sort of stuff you're in for. 

Sony are so intent on conveying the important adolescent message of expressing yourself that the logic is near to non-existent. Characters make important points about certain things that establish their views and how they differ to other emojis. Next thing you know that exact same character is doing the thing it was so horrendously against - it doesn't make sense. There are various moments in the movie where it painfully contradicts itself right up until the end where the message it pushed so hard for is abysmally backtracked.

Whilst it doesn't help having the blandest character, the 'meh' emoji, as the frontrunner of your adventure. The underdeveloped characters and story are the core reason as to why The Emoji Movie bombed. It would be a lot easier to get invested into the characters and story if they were given the slightest ounce of interest. The movie drones on about wide ranges of emotions yet its characters don't have either the appeal or empathy to ever understand.

Most frustrating of all, this could have been a worthwhile adventure. I am certainly with the minority in saying The Emoji Movie seemed like a great concept - there are hundreds of different expressions to explore. It's clear decent movies can created from rather intangible source material - Toys with The Lego Movie, Emotions with Inside Out. So how could something so popular, be completely demolished by its creators.  

There are drops of creativity - the idea of online trolls had some comedic affect and the keyboard design sees some inventive influence. With the absurd introduction of Candy Crush, Youtube, Instagram, Spotify all in order to reach Dropbox - yes that is the plot. The Emoji Movie increasingly detracts from being a coherent adventure and turns into a pain induing product placement. 

This is sony's desperate attempt to recycle any current animation for a quick cash grab. Hitting the exact same notes as Inside Out, Wreck it Ralph and The Lego Movie, The Emoji Movie is the laziest kids movie with a rather ingenious concept and cutesy animation. Its endlessly agonising script, and characters along with an entire story fuelled by product placement and a formulaic plot that seems to lead one way only. The Emoji Movie is a toxic phenomenon that has one thing and one thing only on its mind. 

I am going to give The Emoji Movie: 

1/10

Girls Trip is directed by Malcom D Lee and stars our best version of Fantastic Four we are going to get for a while - Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith and Tiffany Hadish. Reuniting four lifelong friends commonly referred to as the Flossy Posse, they travel to New Orleans to attend the annual Essence Festival.  Along the way, however, they rediscover themselves and truly let out their wild side.

A Girls Trip worth attending. Booze, Bums and unfiltered humour - Girls Trip (GT) is the rare adult comedy that stretches its jokes up to the point exhaustion - but finds the perfect place to stop. The excessive amount of dick jokes and smutty humour ultimately work in the film's favour - intentionally over the top, Girls Trip is one raunchy comedy that delivers on the raunch. 

Precisely where last year's Bad Moms fail to, Girls Trip and its leads are fantastically hip. Bad Moms struggled to find any humour in its oddly amusing premise - as if a bunch of mums happened to write the script - what seemed naughty was simply lame. Not just its family UN-friendly gags but common dialect used across the lengthy 122 minute run time makes GT a wonderfully trendy experience. 'Turnt', 'Slay', 'Preach' are sure to remind you of the current texts, tweets or conversations you and your friends have. 

A distinctive ensemble of Bridesmaids and The Hangover - Girls Trip stands alone amongst a previously white male brand. 2017 once again shines its influence from Drama (Moonlight) to Biography (Hidden Figures) and now blows the doors of comedy. GT is driven by its magnificently black dominated cast, writer and director. With recent comedies from the industry, we aren't offered anything new - its mainly the same people doing the same idiotic things. Girls Trip however is a breath of fresh air, we may have seen the events before but the faces taking part in them is what's so exciting - making GT not only enjoyable but important for the black community.

It goes without saying, Girls Trip is charged by its not only hilarious but compelling characters that make up the adorably fantastic foursome. Whether you're that friend who's too uptight, a major gossipmonger, awfully reckless or responsibly level headed - this is one buddy movie you may easily find a piece of yourself in. It conveys important messages about friendship and sister hood; in the mist of where slapstick and sentimental collide - GT is a comic recipe of just the right ingredients. 

Alcohol, Sexy Slang, Hallucinations and Dance Fights - a road trip worth the extra baggage. Joining the trend in one of the most successful years for the film industry - Girls Trip too finds excitingly new ways to spice up the genre. It may dip and never establish where exactly the story is going - but with the chemistry of its four leads and offering some genuinely likeable characters - Girls Trip is the summer's biggest surprise. 

I am going to give Girls Trip:

7.9/10