Thursday 29 December 2022

Critical Week: When the night falls

It's been a very quiet week, so I've spent some time catching up on movies and television shows (I am still far behind on the small screen!). One film I saw in a cinema was I Wanna Dance With Somebody, the Whitney Houston biopic that's rather straightforward but livened up by a terrific performance by Naomi Ackie. Lena Dunham's Catherine Called Birdy is a delightful modern-minded comedy set in medieval England, starring the wonderful Bella Ramsey. And Toni Collette lends some badly needed earthiness to the goofy black comedy The Estate, about cousins circling around their dying wealthy aunt (an up-for-it Kathleen Turner). 

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Wildcat • Corsage
Peter Von Kant
ALL REVIEWS >
A bit further afield, All Quiet on the Western Front is a staggeringly well-made German drama about World War I. It may have the usual war-is-horrific message, but its perspective and first-rate production values make it worth a look. From Japan, Inu-oh is an extremely offbeat historical drama that's worth a look for its originality and dazzling animation, even if the storytelling is messy. And there were three docs: the absolutely gorgeous Moonage Daydream recounts the life and work of David Bowie using a swirling collection of archival footage; the deeply engaging Wildcat follows a damaged young man to the Peruvian Amazon to find a sense of purpose; and the chilling Navalny exposes the Russian government's ruthless attempt to murder an opposition politician.

This coming week I still have quite a few awards-worthy films to catch up with at home, plus some things I've been putting off like the sequel Disenchanted and the Disney animation Strange World. Actual press screenings won't be back until 9th January. I'm also still way behind on my television viewing - I've only just begun this last season of The Crown, and I haven't yet started the last season of A Handmaid's Tale or indeed House of the Dragon.


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