With 2019 now upon us, we take a chance to look back at the great, and not so great, movies and TV shows that we have reviewed through the past year. This is a discussion of our personal favourites, and a little rant on the films that disappointed us the most. We discuss Guillermo del Toro, Masaaki Yuasa, Matt Groening, sequels, horrors and superheroes. 

We have also decided that this will be our last podcast episode, and last blog entry, as His and Hers Movie Reviews. We are excited to go forward into new projects, and we would just like to thank everyone that has taken the time out to listen to our reviews and read our articles. It has been fun!

You can find Ross Bell's website Man on the Post here, and Leigh Spence's blog Dancing with the Gatekeepers here.

With the BBC's upcoming CGI version coming to television at Christmas, we decided to take a look back at the notorious 1978 animated version of Richard Adam's Watership Down. Directed by Martin Rosen, this gorgeously watercoloured version sees the trials of a group of rabbit's try and find a new home away from the dangers of their current warren, but doesn't shy away from the constant peril that marks Hazel, Fiver and Big Wig's journey. We discuss what makes this version so great - and yes, the violence does make it great - and our fears for the tempered down BBC version. Featuring the voice talents of John Hurt, Richard Briars, Zero Mostel and Lyn Farleigh.

www.hisandhersmoviereviews.co.uk Make sure you subscribe to us on itunes here and leave us a review, as well as following us on twitter and facebook. Intro and outro music by Leigh Spence of Dancing with the Gatekeepers and The Leigh Spence Moment.

Boots Riley knocks it out the park with his debut feature, the absurdist dark comedy Sorry to Bother You. Starring Lakeith Stanfield as Cassius, we see our protagonist navigate a perilous work place within a increasingly nihilistic America and wonder if he can achieve well in his shady job or stick up for his friends trying to unionise. Co-starring Tessa Thompson, Steven Yeun, Armie Hammer and Omari Hardwick, Sorry to Bother You is a surreal sci-fi comedy that is so down to earth as to be truly terrifying.

www.hisandhersmoviereviews.co.uk

Make sure you subscribe to us on itunes here and leave us a review, as well as following us on twitter and facebook. Intro and outro music by Leigh Spence of Dancing with the Gatekeepers and The Leigh Spence Moment.

This review contains some spoilers.

Directed by Rich Moore and Phil Johnston, the sequel to 2012's Wreck-It Ralph sees the computer game characters venture into the vast metropolis of the world wide web. Ralph Breaks the Internet sees bad-guy-but-not-bad-guy Ralph and saccharine racer Vanellope venture into WIFI to bid for the replacement steering wheel for Vanellope's game. However, their friendship is put to the test when the tiny racer falls in love with violent online game Slaughter Race, leading Ralph to venture into the seedy world of the dark web. While visually impressive in parts, Ralph Breaks the Internet middles around with memes and unfunny references and is full of fan service when the princesses turn up. Starring John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, and Gal Gadot.

www.hisandhersmoviereviews.co.uk

Make sure you subscribe to us on itunes here and leave us a review, as well as following us on twitter and facebook. Intro and outro music by Leigh Spence of Dancing with the Gatekeepers and The Leigh Spence Moment.

David Mackenzie's biography on the rebellion of Robert the Bruce from English king Edward I, Outlaw King, has made it's way to Netflix. Starring Chris Pine as the Scots King, we see how Robert rallied up support in the wake of William Wallace to take on the southern invaders, complete with the beautiful Scottish countryside and big muddy battles. Unfortunately, abrupt editing leaves this film feeling like it's just going through the motions to his climax, and poor characterisation of Robert leaves him feeling like a bland hero. Co-starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Florence Pugh, Billy Howle and Stephen Dillane.

www.hisandhersmoviereviews.co.uk

Make sure you subscribe to us on itunes here and leave us a review, as well as following us on twitter and facebook. Intro and outro music by Leigh Spence of Dancing with the Gatekeepers and The Leigh Spence Moment.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs review starts at 21:22

We visit the outings of both the cinema and Netflix in this weeks episode. First up we have Luca Guadagnino's remake of Dario Argento's 1977 horror classic Suspiria, which sees a young dancer (Dakota Johnson) join a prestigious East Berlin dance school, only to learn that it is run by a coven of witches. Gruesome, mesmerising, and tension filled, this supernatural horror and lures it's audience in with it's unnerving tale. Co-starring Tilda Swinton, Mia Goth, and Chloë Grace Moretz.

Next, we head to Netflix where the Coen Brothers present to us an anthology of fable-esque short stories all based in the American frontier in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. With stories ranging from the charming outlaw to the lowly paraplegic performer, we are shown stories that dip from the fun to the depressing, but always with that Coen Brothers sense of cynicism and dark humour. Starring Tim Blake Nelson, James Franco, Liam Neeson and Zoe Kazan.

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Make sure you subscribe to us on itunes here and leave us a review, as well as following us on twitter and facebook. Intro and outro music by Leigh Spence of Dancing with the Gatekeepers and The Leigh Spence Moment.

Award winning director Steve McQueen returns after the masterpiece that was 12 Years a Slave with Widows, based on the early '80's TV series and the book by Lynda La Plante. Co-written by Gillian Flynn of Gone Girl, Widows sees the partners of heist gang deal with the fallout of their deaths, which includes a tightly fought political campaign in Chicago, and use the plans for the next heist to pay off the dept's their husbands and partners left them in. With delicate, engrossing character development, plot twists and excellent acting, Widows sees McQueen deliver on a smaller scale but just as subtle and smart addition to his back catalogue. Starring Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Liam Neeson, Daniel Kaluuya, Colin Farrell and Brian Tyree Henry. 

www.hisandhersmoviereviews.co.uk Make sure you subscribe to us on itunes here and leave us a review, as well as following us on twitter and facebook. Intro and outro music by Leigh Spence of Dancing with the Gatekeepers and The Leigh Spence Moment.

Psychedelia, heavy metal and Christian cult's all mingle together in a feast for the eyes in Panos Cosmatos' Mandy. Starring Nicholas Cage and Andrea Riseborough as a couple terrorised a messed up LSD biker gang and a egotistical cult leader, leading Cage's Red to go on a revenge trip filled with gore, chainsaw's and an orcish war axe. With evocative cinematography by Benjamin Loeb and a soundtrack by the late Jóhann Jóhannsson, Mandy may be a bit arty to some, but it is a spectacle to enjoy.

www.hisandhersmoviereviews.co.uk

Make sure you subscribe to us on itunes here and leave us a review, as well as following us on twitter and facebook. Intro and outro music by Leigh Spence of Dancing with the Gatekeepers and The Leigh Spence Moment.

With a troubled production, Queen biography Bohemian Rhapsody sets to become a crowd pleaser, but can it really do much better then just putting on one of the bands records? Directed by Bryan Singer (with much help from Dexter Fletcher and cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel), the film tries to be a tale of the band, but is irresistibly drawn to Freddie Mercury's story. With the film being in two minds about what it wants to be, it trudges it's way through the plot and is held afloat by Rami Malek's spot on performance and, of course, the music.

www.hisandhersmoviereviews.co.uk

Make sure you subscribe to us on itunes here and leave us a review, as well as following us on twitter and facebook. Intro and outro music by Leigh Spence of Dancing with the Gatekeepers and The Leigh Spence Moment.

Our final Halloween Horror podcast of the month is John Carpenter's 1982 classic The Thing. While now a well known tale of paranoia in Antartica brought on by an ancient alien, at the time it wasn't well loved at all. We discuss the vitriol the film received on it's initial release and look at how well the film has aged, admiring it's special effects, its subtlety, and it's nihilistic tone.

www.hisandhersmoviereviews.co.uk

Make sure you subscribe to us on itunes here and leave us a review, as well as following us on twitter and facebook. Music by Leigh Spence of Dancing with the Gatekeepers and The Leigh Spence Moment.