28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Review: Turning it Up to Eleven.

28 Years Later was one of my favorite films of 2025.
I found it to be a gripping post-apocalyptic coming-of-age story, which carried a touching message about the acceptance of death.
That being said, the film was divisive among general audiences, mostly due to its bizarre ending.
While I did enjoy said ending, I can definitely see how a group of ninja, Satan worshipping, Jimmy Saville cosplayers showing up out of nowhere rubbed people the wrong way.

The wackiness of *28 Years Later*‘s ending is instantly dropped for a brutal reality.

Nevertheless, after the film ended, I was immediately on board for its follow up, The Bone Temple.
Being shot back-to-back with 28 Years Later, we thankfully did not have to wait two years to see it, like most sequels these days.
Having seen the film on the day of release, I can say that The Bone Temple definitely lived up to my expectations, even if I do prefer the previous movie.
Picking up from 28 Years Later’s cliffhanger, The Bone Temple sees the young Spike (Alfie Williams) violently inducted into the Jimmy gang, led by the charismatic and deranged sadist, Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell).
At the same time, Dr Ian Kelson (Ralph Fieness) finds himself forming an unusual bond with the Infected Alpha he has named Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry) and begins to wonder if treating the Rage Virus is possible.
As the film progresses, the two storylines converge, resulting in a confrontation between Jimmy and Kelson at the titular Bone Temple and the conflict of their embodied ideals: peace vs chaos, kindness vs brutality.
These two opposing characters with their opposing beliefs are the focal point of the film.

Pure good meets pure evil in *The Bone Temple.*

I already loved Dr Kelson’s character from 28 Years Later.
Spending over two decades in isolation and building a temple of bone to memoralize the deaths of millions, Kelson kept his humanity, helping to ease the suffering of Spike’s mother.
He continues his humanitarian efforts in The Bone Temple through his aid of Samson, with Ralph Fieness playing the role to perfection.
In times of despair and chaos, we need a man like Dr Kelson.

Kelson’s humanity is a shining light in a world of darkness.

What we certainly do not need is a man like Jimmy Crystal.
Played brilliantly by Jack O’Connell, the traumatised young survivor of the outbreak has transformed into a demented cult leader, hellbent on bringing as much pain and suffering he can in the name of his imagined father “Old Nick.”
His cult members are almost as demented, gleefully indulging in Jimmy’s idea of “charity.”
Their childlike nature is just as disturbing, with it being abundantly clear that these violent lunatics were once ordinary children before Britain fell.

O’Connell has a knack for playing unhinged villains.

This makes the characters obvious visual similarities to notorious predator Jimmy Saville all the creepier.
Just as he twisted the innocence of children in real life, so has this brutal world the Jimmys grew up in.
And, boy, is it brutal.
28 Years Later was violent but The Bone Temple is on another level.
Brains are eaten and skin is flayed in numerous wince inducing scenes which, again, made the humanitarian efforts of Dr Kelson all the more important.
If the Jimmy gang are the children destroyed by the world, Samson is the child Kelson hopes to restore.
Chi Lewis-Parry brings both a sense of brutality and innocence to the role of the Infected Alpha.
Samson is a complex character, whether he is ripping someone’s head off, remembering the past or, more often than not, running around butt naked with all 28 inches flopping around in the wind…

Sorry, could not resist making that joke.

However, while I do think the characters of Kelson, Jimmy and Samson are all great, I unfortunately found Spike’s to be a bit limited in this move.
He mostly just stands around looking horrified at what the Jimmys are doing which, fair enough, but I kind of wanted to see him do more after the first film.
There is also the character of Jimmy Ink (Erin Kellyman), by far the most humanized of the Jimmys, due to her sibling-like bond with Spike.
While I think she was well acted, the writing let her down a little because, even after the movie ended, I was not entirely sure what her goals were, or what she had planned after those goals were met.

I feel like I needed a little more detail to fully understand Jimmy Ink’s character

Along with this, while I liked the style of director Nia DaCosta, I missed the unique flair of Danny Boyle’s from 28 Years Later.
My final criticism is that there was one scene hyped up in the trailer that was absent from the film.
Although this is more the trailer’s fault than the movie’s.
All of that being said, these are only minor issues, and the rest of the film more than makes up for them, especially the third act.
As I stated, the conflict between Kelson and Jimmy is the highlight of the film, culminating in a tremendous climax, which needs to be seen in theaters.

Prepare to get Iron Maiden’s The Number of the Beast stuck in your head.

Although I prefer 28 Years Later’s emotional journey, The Bone Temple offers a more than worthy sequel, with a compelling battle of ideals between its protaganist and antagonist.
I look forward to seeing the third film in this trilogy, where an iconic actor is poised to take center stage… or, at least, he will in about two years when that final film comes out.
Yeah, since the third movie was only recently greenlit, we are unfortunately going to have to wait a while for its release, unlike The Bone Temple.
So, until then, memento mori.

Oppenheimer Review: One of Christopher Nolan’s Best.

Christopher Nolan is one of my and many other’s favourite directors working today.
His name attached to a project alone is enough to get my butt in a set.
I have even liked some of his films which have received criticism, like most recently Tenet.
Nolan’s Oppenheimer, however, has been getting mostly non-stop praise and, after seeing the film in Xtremescreen, I can say that this praise is entirely deserved.
Oppenheimer is a biographical film following the life of the titular J. Robert Oppenheimer, called the father of the atomic bomb.
Cillian Murphy plays Oppenheimer in his first leading role in a Christopher Nolan movie, and he does so flawlessly, conveying so much emotion with just his eyes.

This is Murphy’s best performance to date.

His performance is masterful, as we watch Oppenheimer go from studying abroad, to eventually leading the Manhattan Project, to his downfall during the shameful years of the McCarthy Era.
I would not be surprised if we saw Murphy get at least an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
He should not be alone in getting a nomination, however, for there are other actors whose roles in Oppenheimer make them deserving as well.
There is Emily Blunt as Kitty Openheimer, who steals the scene in an interrogation with Jason Clarke’s Roger Robb, which makes her deserving of a Best Supporting Actress nod.
As for Best Supporting Actor, the nomination without a doubt has to go to Robert Downey Jr, who delivers what is one of the best performances of his career as Lewis Strauss.

I will be upset if Robert Downey Jr. does not at least get nominated for his role in *Oppenheimer.*

Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Rami Malek, Gary Oldman, and Casey Affleck are some of the many, many big name actors who makes appearances in this film and they all do excellent.
But what is good performances without good direction, and Christopher Nolan delivers that in spades with a stunning look into Oppenheimer’s mind in all of its beauty and terror.
This terror especially comes into play with the Trinity Test, the first test of a nuclear bomb, which is the most intense moment I have seen on screen all year.

The build up to the blast had my heart pounding.

The way the cinematography (Hoyte van Hoytema), the editing (Jennifer Lame) and score (Ludwig Göransson) all combine during the Trinity Test creates such a beautifully haunting moment.
This moment is maybe even matched by Oppenehimer’s reaction to the aftermath of the successful bomb drops on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which killed hundreds of thousands.
Nolan and Murphy portray the effect these horrible events had on Oppenheimer perfectly, leading an ending scene which gave me goosebumps.
I think the last time a movie’s ending left me feeling so haunted was when I saw the ending to Bong Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder.

The ending of *Oppenheimer* will stick with me for a while.

After seeing Oppenheimer I would go as far to say that it is not just an excellent film but one of Christopher Nolan’s best, right up there with the likes of Inception and The Dark Knight.
The film is three hours long and when it was over it felt like barely any time had passed and that may be the highest praise I can give it.
I cannot recommend Oppenheimer enough.
It not only provides a haunting look at the creation of nuclear weapons but a look at the flawed yet sympathetic man who fathered them.

A Quiet Place Part 2, Review: An Intense Theater Experience.

I loved A Quiet Place when I first saw it in theaters and my appreciation for it has only increased as the years have gone by.
So, obviously, I was very excited for the sequel, once again directed by John Krasinski.
But then, of course, COVID hit and the film was delayed, until recently.
Well, I just saw A Quiet Place Part 2 and can say that it is a worthy sequel, which I quite enjoyed.
I do prefer the original, but Part 2 is still a great follow up that provided an intense experience that needs to be seen in theaters.
As the trailers revealed, the film begins by cutting to day one of the alien attack, where it is interesting to see how the Abbott family survived the invasion.
From here, Part 2 moves to the present, right after the events of the first film as Evelyn (Emily Blunt), Regan (Millicent Simmonds), Marcus (Noah Jupe), and the newly born baby, are forced to leave their home, now armed with the knowledge of how to kill the aliens.
Coming across another survivor named Emmett (Cillian Murphy), the family come to realize that the aliens are not the only threat, but people are as well.

Murphy does an excellent job as the isolated and traumatised Emmett.

A Quiet Place Part 2 has stellar acting across the board, with each of the cast providing a standout moment.
Blunt portrays her character’s grief of recently losing her husband excellently, and Jupe delivers a harrowing moment during the first act of the film expertly.
The standouts, though, are definitely Simmonds and Murphy.
I would actually argue that Regan is the main character of this film, as she tries to live up to her father Lee’s legacy, following his tragic sacrifice at the end of the first film.
As for Murphy, he also does a fantastic job as Emmett, portraying his trauma well, and I really liked the slow bond that grew between his character and Regan.

I would have preferred to see a bit more of Emmett, though.
We get to see how the Abbott’s experienced day one and I kind of wanted to see Emmett’s story, leading up to him meeting the Abbott’s in Part 2.
Along with the great acting, the feeling of intensity from the original film is, thankfully, still present here.
I found myself often gripping the chair I was sitting on in scenes where the characters desperately tried to stay quiet to keep away the aliens.
This involved various scenes with intercutting, as each of the separated characters found themselves in mortal danger where the slightest noise could mean their inevitable deaths.
It was amazingly edited togethor.

Just when you think one character is done for, the scene cuts to another character in a situation somehow even more dangerous that the other one’s.

As for the ending, it ends abruptly, like the first, only I would say more so.
Even though the ending to the first film felt abrupt, it was satisfying enough to the point that it didn’t feel like a sequel was necessary.
This ending, on the other hand, definitely needs to be followed up on with a Part 3.
Maybe they could give us more of Emmett’s backstory in this potential sequel.
Either way, I do find A Quiet Place Part 2 to be a worthy sequel.
It has great acting and delivers many intense scenes that are best viewed in theaters to deliver their full effect.