Skip to main content

Film review archive

You can also browse our DVD archive and short film archive.

B — 1209 results

  • Breathing In (2023)
    Review preview for Breathing In

    Succeeds in creating and maintaining a chilly atmosphere of the sort rarely found in modern cinema.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    A young soldier fighting in the Second Boer War finds himself ill at ease when sheltering in a hut with a mysterious woman and her beautiful daughter.
  • Breathless (1960)
    Review preview for Breathless

    A visually innovative film... Godard has done a masterful job, and his witty script never struggles to hold audience attention.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    A young criminal hides out with a woman who can't decide whether or not she loves him. Plus read our exclusive interview with assistant director Pierre Rissient.
  • Breeder (2019)
    Review preview for Breeder

    Dahl wants to make a certain type of film but Sissel Dalsgaard Thomsen's script just isn't right for it.

    Jennie Kermode · 2 out of 5
    A renowned health supplement company, run by a ruthless businesswoman, is selecting and abducting young women as part of an experiment bio-hacking babies’ DNA to enable her clients to reverse the ageing process
  • Breuer's Bohemia (2021)
    Review preview for Breuer's Bohemia

    The more personal the remembrances get, the more we can fill in what it must have been like to grow up in a world where the architecture provided a feeling of calm and order, while the personal lives of the adults were causing havoc all around

    Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
    A documentary exploring a series of homes designed by legendary architect Marcel Breuer.
  • Brian And Charles (2022)
    Review preview for Brian And Charles

    Its droll charm feels in touch with the slow, go-nowhere vibe of the Welsh countryside setting.

    Jeremy Mathews · 3 out of 5
    A story of friendship, love, and letting go. And a 7ft tall robot that eats cabbages. A comedy shot in documentary format.
  • Brian Banks (2018)
    Review preview for Brian Banks

    Shadyac and screenwriter Doug Atchison really over-egg the pudding.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    A football player's dreams of playing in the NFL are halted when he is wrongly convicted and sent to prison. Years later, he fights to clear his name within an unjust system.
  • The Bricklayer (2023)
    Review preview for The Bricklayer

    The dialogue is terrible but it has enough energy and spirit to entertain many viewers nonetheless.

    Jennie Kermode · 2.5 out of 5
    An ex-CIA agent is reactivated when an extortionist targets the agency.
  • The Bride! (2026)
    Review preview for The Bride!

    For all its quality, and there's plenty, it doesn't quite feel a thing complete. Its characters are disobedient, but their film is in part disordered.

    Andrew Robertson · 3 out of 5
    In 1930s Chicago, Frankenstein asks Dr. Euphronius to help create a companion. They give life to a murdered woman as the Bride, sparking romance, police interest, and radical social change.
  • Brides (2025)
    Review preview for Brides

    This is acclaimed theatrical director Fall’s cinematic feature debut, and she proves adept at both evoking the warmth of her characters and capturing memorable images.

    Jeremy Mathews · 4 out of 5
    Two teenage girls in search of freedom, friendship, and belonging run away from their troubled lives with a misguided plan of traveling to Syria.
  • Bridesmaids (2011)
    Review preview for Bridesmaids

    Don’t be tempted to dismiss it as another fluffy chick flick – this is a film with balls, bite and plenty to appeal to both sexes.

    Maria Realf · 4 out of 5
    Despite her best attempts to be a model member of the bridal party, an unlucky-in-love singleton finds herself rapidly becoming the ’maid of dishonour’.
  • Bride Of Chucky (1998)
    Review preview for Bride Of Chucky

    The script was thrown out of Sickville and now resides in a multiplex near you.

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 1 out of 5
    A sequel in which the malevolent doll is brought back to life by his girlfriend, who promptly becomes trapped in the body of a doll herself.
  • Bride Of Frankenstein (1935)
    Review preview for Bride Of Frankenstein

    Although there are grand themes at work here, the real power of the piece – as often in the Gothic, comes from the ways in which they clash, rather than from something built out of their unity.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    Doctor Frankenstein's creation persuades him to make him a mate.
  • The Bride Who Has Returned From Hell (1965)
    Review preview for The Bride Who Has Returned From Hell

    Jin makes a strong lead and the romance is nicely developed, feeling like something organic despite the short time in which it emerges.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    A young woman investigates the mysterious death of her sister.
  • The Bride Wore Black (1968)
    Review preview for The Bride Wore Black

    A great story, however flawed.

    Chris · 3.5 out of 5
    New Wave brat scholar Tarantino swears blind this was not the inspiration for Kill Bill? You decide.
  • Bridges Of Time (2018)
    Review preview for Bridges Of Time

    both a love letter to the documentarians from the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania... and a dialogue between the period in which these poetic pioneers were working and the present day.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
    Essay documentary about the less remembered generation of cinema poets of the Baltic New Wave.
  • Bridget Jones's Diary (2000)
    Review preview for Bridget Jones's Diary

    The ending is a pastiche of the worst kind of Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks wet hanky job and a sop to the American market.

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 2.5 out of 5
    Overweight middle-class secretary has trouble with men and other appetites in London. Re-released for its 25th anniversary.
  • Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason (2004)
    Review preview for Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason

    Firth is immaculately buttoned up and Grant delightfully flirtatious, although there is not enough of either.

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 3.5 out of 5
    Bridget continues to put her fat foot in it, ending up in a Thai prison.
  • Bridge Of Spies (2015)
    Review preview for Bridge Of Spies

    What seems dry and dusty on the page is far from it on the screen

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 4.5 out of 5
    An American lawyer is recruited by the CIA during the Cold War to defend a Russian spy
  • The Bridge: Season 4 (2017)
    Review preview for The Bridge: Season 4

    Season 4 proves to be difficult, absorbing, dark and of the highest quality of Scandi Crime.

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 4 out of 5
    Final season of the Scandi crime drama.
  • Brief Crossing (2001)
    Review preview for Brief Crossing

    One of Breillat's most accessible works.

    Chris · 4.5 out of 5
    A romantic liaison on a ferry crossing.
  • Brief History Of A Family (2024)
    Review preview for Brief History Of A Family

    Lin and Sun studiously maintain the enigma around Shuo so that we are left guessing as to whether he’s just a disadvantaged teen trying to make his way in the world or a cuckoo in the nest.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
    A middle-class family’s fate becomes intertwined with their only son’s enigmatic new friend in post one-child policy China, putting unspoken secrets, unmet expectations, and untended emotions under the microscope.
  • Brief Story From The Green Planet (2019)
    Review preview for Brief Story From The Green Planet

    Whatever you expected to happen is not about to do so.

    Jane Fae · 3 out of 5
    When Tania finds out that her grandma has spent her final years in the caring company of a cute purple alien, she embarks on a journey through small-town Argentina with two close friends to deliver the creature back to its origins.
  • A Brighter Tomorrow (2021)
    Review preview for A Brighter Tomorrow

    While there's plenty to be said for a subtle approach, Qnia is too laidback for his own good.

    Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
    A thief tries to reconnect with his estranged girlfriend and child.
  • Brighton 4th (2021)
    Review preview for Brighton 4th

    After the fantastic opening scene, snapshots of their life in Georgia set the tone.

    Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
    The story of a Georgian wrestler, Kakhi, en route to Brooklyn to help his son out of a gambling debt.
  • The Bright Side (2020)
    Review preview for The Bright Side

    While we all know there will be, as per the title, a bright side to all this, Kate is satisfyingly complex and Meehan is always looking for ways to take us further in to her headspace.

    Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
    Cynical stand-up, Kate, has lost her way, but she gains friends and a new perspective on life when she goes through cancer treatment with an unlikely band of companions.
  • The Brilliant Terror (2021)
    Review preview for The Brilliant Terror

    This is an impressively thorough piece of work which manages to fit in a great deal whilst remaining fun to watch.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    A documentary about the grassroots horror phenomenon, the filmmakers, the fascination and the brilliant terror.
  • Bringing Out The Dead (1999)
    Review preview for Bringing Out The Dead

    The movie resembles ER on speed. The hospital... is like a war zone.

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 4 out of 5
    A night-shift paramedic in Hell's Kitchen finds himself on the brink of breakdown.
  • Bring Her Back (2025)
    Review preview for Bring Her Back

    A strong cast put flesh on the bones of strong ideas, but ultimately what animates it all is imagination.

    Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
    A brother and sister uncover a terrifying ritual at the secluded home of their new foster mother.
  • The Brink (2019)
    Review preview for The Brink

    Whilst one cannot imagine that the film provides quite the propaganda he might have hoped for, understanding the subtlety of what Klayman has created requires a type of empathy that it's not clear he possesses.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    Following former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon through the 2018 mid-term elections.
  • The British Guide To Showing Off (2011)
    Review preview for The British Guide To Showing Off

    Jes Benstock's documentary is a big glittery hug of a celebration.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
    Celebration of the art of Andrew Logan and his Alternative Miss World.
  • Brittany Runs A Marathon (2019)
    Review preview for Brittany Runs A Marathon

    The problem - and it's a massive, elephant in the room style problem - is that it is very hard to tell whether this is a woke film trapped in a judgemental body or vice-versa.

    Jane Fae · 2.5 out of 5
    A woman living in New York takes control of her life – one city block at a time.
  • A Brixton Tale (2021)
    Review preview for A Brixton Tale

    At just 76 minutes, it has the feel of an extended short, that could either do with condensing back or extending further into the psychological drivers of the two main characters .

    Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
    Wealthy YouTuber Leah chooses shy youth Benji as the subject of her Brixton documentary. They fall for each other, but the desire for edgy footage leads them down a violent path.
  • Broadcast Signal Intrusion (2021)
    Review preview for Broadcast Signal Intrusion

    Timely in its exploration of how we determine what’s real and how easy it is for what seems like legitimate research to become unbalanced and lead to strange places.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    In the late Nineties, a video archivist unearths a series of sinister pirate broadcasts and becomes obsessed with uncovering the dark conspiracy behind them.
  • Broil (2020)
    Review preview for Broil

    A handsome setting, gorgeous costumes by Nataliya Fedulova and a sumptuous score by Hugh Wielenga give this film a real touch of class.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    A bored girl is sentenced to live with her draconian grandfather, August, after a violent incident at school. Locked inside the sprawling Sinclair Estate, she begins to question the source of her family's immense wealth and power.
  • Broke (2025)
    Review preview for Broke

    Both Russell and Quaid are very much at ease around the trappings of the ranch where their characters live, their background behaviours adding to the overall sense of authenticity.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    A rodeo rider struggles to cope after he's told that the damage done by repeated injuries means he should never get back on a horse.
  • Broken Bird (2024)
    Review preview for Broken Bird

    Broken Bird is primarily a character study, and Calder is its greatest asset.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    A lonely mortician who has spent her whole life looking for love finds her reason slipping away from her, her dark desires becoming more insatiable and progressively more out of control.
  • Broken Ceiling (2018)
    Review preview for Broken Ceiling

    It's Kendrick who really shines.

    Jennie Kermode · 2 out of 5
    After being passed over for promotion yet again, a woman takes drastic action.
  • Broken City (2013)
    Review preview for Broken City

    The cardboard characters' motivations and agendas are clearly signposted, often in unintentionally hilarious ways.

    Owen Van Spall · 2 out of 5
    A private detective gets caught up in a conspiracy involving elected officials and murder.
  • Broken Embraces (2009)
    Review preview for Broken Embraces

    There is a violence here, a passion, all beautifully shot, all haunting.

    Andrew Robertson · 4.5 out of 5
    A tale of obsessive love and contested identity within the world of filmmaking.
  • Broken Keys (2020)
    Review preview for Broken Keys

    A tale of quiet resistance and hope for a better future in the face of conflict, which though a little broad brush in its strokes and tending towards sentimentality in places, nevertheless packages its difficult themes well for a mainstream

    Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
    A pianist living in an ISIS-held Syrian town attempts to rebuild his piano in order to escape.
  • Broker (2022)
    Review preview for Broker

    More pedantic than poetic, making for an unfulfilling watch.

    Dora Leu · 2 out of 5
    Drama following a group of people brought together by "baby post boxes" used to help abandoned babies.
  • Bronson (2008)
    Review preview for Bronson

    Tom Hardy makes other movie hardmen look like they belong on the Muppet Show.

    Tony Sullivan · 4.5 out of 5
    Examination of the life of Britain's self-titled "most dangerous criminal". Out on re-release.
  • The Brood (1979)
    Review preview for The Brood

    Though not entirely successful as a piece of entertainment, it represents an important stage in the development of body horror cinema.

    Jennie Kermode · 2.5 out of 5
    The use of experimental psychology to treat a troubled divorcee coincides with a series of mysterious attacks by mutant children.
  • Brooklyn 45 (2023)
    Review preview for Brooklyn 45

    Viewers can expect to find their sympathies shifting over time, and to disagree as to who deserves sympathy in any given moment.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    Friday, December 27, 1945. Five military veterans gather in the ornate parlour of a Brooklyn brownstone. Best friends since childhood, they’ve reunited to support their troubled host – but when his invitation for cocktails turns into an impromptu séance, the metaphoric ghosts of their past become all-too-literal.
  • Brother (2000)
    An exiled yakuza leads a drug war against the mafia.
  • Brother (2025)
    Review preview for Brother

    The performances of Wiłkomirski and Szymczuk form the emotional backbone of Brother.

    Kaiyrkul Abdyrakhmanova · 4 out of 5
    A family sticks together despite everything.
  • Brotherhood (2010)
    Review preview for Brotherhood

    Canon never pauses for breath or allows even a moment for reflection, editing his scenes with a rapid-fire staccato.

    Anton Bitel · 3.5 out of 5
    A frat house hazing goes badly awry.
  • Brotherhood Of The Wolf (2001)
    Review preview for Brotherhood Of The Wolf

    It bites off far more than it can chew, but the result is still interesting and, in places, gripping viewing.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    A naturalist philanderer and an Iroquois martial artist search for a peasant-eating beast in 18th century.
  • The Brothers (1947)
    Review preview for The Brothers

    The Brothers is a cruel tale, very much in the tone of the old stories, with moments of real brutality.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    A young woman working as a servant on the Isle of Skye struggles with the consequences of male attention and is caught up in a doomed love affair.
  • The Brothers Grimm (2005)
    Review preview for The Brothers Grimm

    The true fault lies with the script, which brings no life to the real, or indeed fantasy, characters.

    Anton Bitel · 2.5 out of 5
    Bogus ghostbusters finally meet their match in a genuine enchanted forest.

News and features

Paul Rowley on moving to New York, the Pulse massacre, and Gays Against Guns

Going ape Antonin Niclass on character creation, empathy and animated short Into The Forest

Freeform Will Niava on grief, new immigrant experiences and Jazz Infernal

In silence Emir Kumova on child marriage in Türkiye, moral challenges and making The Witness

Taking a ride into liminal spaces Katharine Round on making documentary Ghost Town

Flying blind Michael Woloson and Scott Tinkham on improvisation, experimental writing and Littermates

In deep water Dominic Curran on internet overexposure and A Little Learning Is A Dangerous Thing

More news and features

Festival coverage

Festivals
Cannes festival coverage, 2026

We're bringing you all the latest news and reviews from the Cheltenham International Film Festival, the Leeds International Film Festival, the Thessaloniki International Film Festival and Tallinn Black Nights.



We're looking forward to the French Film Festival and DOC NYC.



We've recently brought you coverage of the Belfast Film Festival, Halloween Frightfest, the Scottish Queer International Film Festival, Newfest, the London Film Festival, the New York Film Festival and Grimmfest.



Read our full for more.


Visit our festivals section.