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Alistair Harkness

Alistair Harkness's reviews only count toward the Tomatometer® when published at Tomatometer-approved publication(s).
Publications:

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
The History of Sound (2025) 70% 2/5 EDIT “But as film zeroes in on Mescal's Lionel as he embarks on an illustrious, decades-spanning career in search of the happiness he once felt, it never soars emotionally; the epic sweep of the story is mostly at odds with the thinly conceived characters.” – Scotsman Jan 22, 2026 Full Review No Other Choice (2025) 97% 4/5 EDIT “...[Park Chan-wook's] proven ability to glide between different modes of storytelling within a single movie makes this a state-of-the nation satire devoid of assaultive polemics and rich in pulpy genre thrills...” – Scotsman Jan 22, 2026 Full Review H Is for Hawk (2025) 77% 2/5 EDIT “Though the scenes with Foy and Mabel the goshawk are well done, too much of it is composed of unconvincing, theme-explicating scenes that feel as intrusive as the over-bearing score and the performative smoking Foy’s Macdonald indulges in through out. ” – Scotsman Jan 22, 2026 Full Review Saipan (2025) 90% 2/5 EDIT “Given Ireland ended up doing pretty well at the 2002 World Cup, the film succeeds only in making it all seem like a meaningless storm in a teacup. ” – Scotsman Jan 22, 2026 Full Review 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) 93% 4/5 EDIT “As the middle part of a new trilogy, the film certainly embraces its second-act status, expanding the ideas and setting up a concluding chapter with another provocative cliffhanger. ” – Scotsman Jan 13, 2026 Full Review The Voice of Hind Rajab (2025) 95% 4/5 EDIT “...it’s the film’s immediate and primal ability to connect audiences directly to the atrocity it’s exploring that justifies its existence. ” – Scotsman Jan 13, 2026 Full Review Rental Family (2025) 87% 2/5 EDIT “...the Japanese practice of hiring actors to pretend to be family members gets a sentimental treatment in Rental Family, a fairly innocuous vehicle for Oscar-winner Brendan Fraser. ” – Scotsman Jan 13, 2026 Full Review Giant (2025) 61% 2/5 EDIT “...the film coasts by on the standard rise-and-fall structure of the sports movie. ” – Scotsman Jan 6, 2026 Full Review Hamnet (2025) 86% 2/5 EDIT “Like a glum spin on Shakespeare in Love, Hamnet, in the end, plays too much like primo Oscar bait. ” – Scotsman Jan 6, 2026 Full Review The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (2025) 81% 2/5 EDIT “... while there’s nothing wrong with providing pure cinematic silliness for five, six and seven-year-olds, there’s no joy or craft in the jokes on offer; it’s just a barrage of zaniness. ” – Scotsman Dec 18, 2025 Full Review Peter Hujar's Day (2025) 92% 4/5 EDIT “...Peter Hujar’s Day offers a fascinating snapshot of the life of an artist in a much mythologised time.” – Scotsman Dec 18, 2025 Full Review Song Sung Blue (2025) 78% 3/5 EDIT “...Song Sung Blue’s stranger-than-fiction tale of a Neil Diamond impersonator’s turbulent life comes with the sort wild twists that almost justify the celebrity downsizing. ” – Scotsman Dec 18, 2025 Full Review The Housemaid (2025) 74% 4/5 EDIT “The plot twists may be wild but the cast...fully commit to the go-big-or-go-home performance styles required to make it all work. ” – Scotsman Dec 16, 2025 Full Review Sentimental Value (2025) 97% 3/5 EDIT “[Sentimental Value] is enjoyable enough thanks to the collective efforts of the cast and a few self-lacerating jokes about the changed state of the film industry.” – Scotsman Dec 16, 2025 Full Review Marty Supreme (2025) 93% 4/5 EDIT “It’s a dizzying piece of filmmaking and Chalamet’s whiplash-inducing performance is one of the best things he’s done.” – Scotsman Dec 16, 2025 Full Review Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025) 66% 2/5 EDIT “...as a storyteller [James Cameron is] so in love with the hermetically sealed world he’s created he seems intent on trapping us there beyond what his hokey plot will support.” – Scotsman Dec 16, 2025 Full Review Preparation for the Next Life (2025) 97% 3/5 EDIT “Though stretched-thin in places, Behtiyar and Hechinger have plausible chemistry – and Liu’s gorgeous visuals capture the paradoxical allure of a city defined by struggle.” – Scotsman Dec 10, 2025 Full Review Lurker (2025) 95% 4/5 EDIT “...debut writer/director Alex Russell is so attuned to the world he’s exploring that what transpires feels sickeningly real and relatable.” – Scotsman Dec 10, 2025 Full Review Silent Night, Deadly Night (2025) 77% 3/5 EDIT “Silent Night, Deadly Night re-imagines the murderous Santa from the controversial 1984 slasher movie of the same name as a more creatively rendered psycho for this loose remake.” – Scotsman Dec 10, 2025 Full Review Eleanor the Great (2025) 67% 3/5 EDIT “Despite the script’s own clunky insistence that it’s about grief, it’s really about celebrating the importance of all lives, even when those lives are modest and uneventful.” – Scotsman Dec 10, 2025 Full Review Sisu: Road to Revenge (2025) 95% 2/5 EDIT “The ensuing action is outlandishly grizzly, but the plot and character motivation is so rote it’s hard to invest in his titular quest for vengeance. ” – Scotsman Dec 2, 2025 Full Review The Thing with Feathers (2025) 46% 2/5 EDIT “As a film about grief it’s a cringey mix of elevated horror movie clichés and the kind of calculated heart-tugging you might find in a John Lewis Christmas ad. ” – Scotsman Dec 2, 2025 Full Review Wicked: For Good (2025) 66% 2/5 EDIT “Wicked: For Good may thoroughly deconstruct the rich lore of The Wizard of Oz, but like the characters left behind at the end, what it builds in its place is devoid of magic. ” – Scotsman Dec 2, 2025 Full Review Alpha (2025) 56% 3/5 EDIT “If Ducournau sometimes struggles to make the drama compelling enough to follow such narrative breadcrumbs, her extraordinary finale helps the film transcend its frustrations. ” – Scotsman Nov 13, 2025 Full Review The Running Man (2025) 62% 4/5 EDIT “Directing his first all-out blockbuster, Wright puts the film-geek sensibility he honed on the likes of Shaun of the Dead and Baby Driver to good use here, skewering the barbaric TV world that serves as a backdrop to the film. ” – Scotsman Nov 13, 2025 Full Review
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