Alex Cann's Weekly Film Blog - 19th June

I've become a lot bolder with spiders these days. I found a pretty massive one in Studio 3 at Tameside Radio the other week, and set it free using a glass and a copy of this newspaper. My younger brother Nik is absolutely terrified of them, and I doubt he'll have watched this film.

Sting sees a spider descend from outer space, and become the pet of twelve year old Charlotte, who keeps him in a jar and realises she can communicate with him via a secret whistle. She doesn't seem unduly worried as he quickly grows, but soon her alien pet is terrorising the run-down apartment block in search of flesh.

It's not massively scary, unless you have a huge phobia of spiders I guess, but it's pretty enjoyable, silly viewing. Doesn't outstay its welcome at just over 90 minutes, and whilst it's not one that will linger long in the memory, you'll have fun watching it, I reckon. The story is quite predictable, but there are some good dark moments & it feels quite retro, like something you might have rented from Blockbuster Video in the 90s. Perhaps an unofficial successor to 1990's Arachnophobia.

Inside Out 2 is a colourful visual feast, especially when viewed in the IMAX format, and almost a decade since the first film, adds a number of new emotions, including anxiety. In the tradition of the best Disney Pixar films, it handles some really thorny issues around growing up and mental health in a smart, intelligent and tender way. It didn't make me cry, but it's certainly one that has been making many cinemagoers mist up, and I guess if you have children, it will probably resonate hugely as they walk that tricky tightrope between childhood and adulthood.

My nephew was captivated by it throughout, and especially liked the French character Ennui (or "Wee Wee", as he's nicknamed). The portrayal of the sheer terror of a panic attack and looping thoughts, plus the competing sentiments of your inner voice, along with the need to belong to a 'tribe', all combine to make this a beautifully executed animation, and definitely one to see at the cinema if you can.

And there are a couple of interesting additions this month. Hit Man stars man of the moment Glen Powell as a nerdy professor who moonlights as a fake hit man for the New Orleans Police Department. It's all going pretty well for him until he falls for a potential criminal, and sets off a chain of events as his alter ego 'Ron'. Genuinely funny, and sizzling chemistry between Powell and co-star Adria Arjona, make this the perfect date night movie. 

Plus I can't wait to watch James Blunt : One Brit Wonder on Netflix. It's from the same team behind the unintentionally hilarious Bros documentary After The Screaming Stops, and I'll report back next week once I've given it a whirl! I'd best be nice about it on Twitter, as Blunt specialises in acerbic replies to sarcastic tweets.