jamesashleysmith-884-910475

Beware the Slenderman is a fascinating documentary exploring the tragic stabbing of a young girl by two of her friends. The young girls became infatuated with a fictional online character (Slenderman) and believe they must kill their friend Bella or the Slenderman will kill their families. Crazy right? Well yes, but lets get to know why... and that is exactly what Irene Brodsky (director) does.

The documentary gives an insight into the act of killing, the repercussions, the crazy US justice system, the effects on family and friends and the ​issues of mental illness in children. I imagine the victims family did not want to be interview for the film but I would of been interested to contrast the families pain after this awful event.

The film is careful ​about how it challenges the​se​ subjects​,​ however does so by showing the very real and heartbreaking story of this particular case. The film is well made, brilliantly directed and challenges how we view and 'treat' mental illness. A lot of people might of been excepting a rubbish horror movie when they saw the title of this film but I can assure you this film is far more scary, distressing​ but an important watch.

Netflix has commissioned some great shows of late, Making a Murderer, Better Call Saul, Narcos, Bloodline and now Stranger Things.

When you see the trailer you think, OK a homage to the 80's but so what... Well I've not seen a series of it's genre that not only shocks, scares and thrills but actually builds likable yet flawed characters through great writing, directing and acting (and very well edited of course).

The main stars of the show are the children who are natural, funny and utterly believable. Think Pans Labyrinth meets a Spielberg film but darker and better! Give it a go.

I have never been a huge Star Wars fan, however I am a huge film fan, So I went into Star Wars with no expectations despite the massive publicity. It's probably not needed to put much of a synopsis in this review as actually it may well spoil the film and confuse the reader (and reviewer).

When Disney first paid 5 billion for the rights to the franchise, I was a little worried that the film would be even more 'kiddy' than the older versions and contain huge amounts of CG sets and more animated characters than real ones. However what's evident in The Force Awakens is the amount of real sets and decent actors who help make you fully immerse yourself into the writers (and partly Lucas') world.

It's great having the original cast back in the film but actually what the writers and director does so well is make you fully relate to, and care about the new characters, particularly "Rey' played by Daisy Ridley and 'Finn' played by John Boyega.

The action is as fun as ever and despite a few cringe moments, overall Star Wars definitely feels like Star Wars again. I imagine plenty of Star Wars fans will disagree with this but to be honest just go in and watch the film for what it is; A fun film to be enjoyed with the family. None of the old films were amazing and neither is this, however it's a good watch and worth the overpriced popcorn.