Critical Week: Ladies who lunch

While many of my colleagues are in Cannes, I've been here in London catching up on lots of movies. Bigger titles included Book Club, which stars Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen, Jane Fonda and Mary Steenburgen as women who find new spark when they read Fifty Shades of Grey together. It's lazy but amiable enough. And then there was Deadpool 2, in which Ryan Reynolds reprises his irreverent superhero for another anarchic adventure. It's a lot better than the overrated first film, very funny but less smug and more complex.

Nicole Kidman goes enjoyably punk in John Cameron Mitchell's How to Talk to Girls at Parties, a punk sci-fi romance that's bursting with scruffy energy but struggles to maintain its oddball plot. The Sundance hit The Miseducation of Cameron Post stars Chloe Grace Moretz as a teen sent to gay therapy camp. It's strikingly realistic with terrific performances and an important theme. The American indie caper romp Carter & June is energetic but far too misogynistic for its own good. And the British indie thriller Welcome to Curiosity weaves a few plot strands together in ways that are colourful but ultimately flimsy.

There were also two films from Mexico: A Place to Be is a sensitive fact-based drama that explores immigration issues from unexpected angles, while Boy Undone is a gripping amnesia thriller with a romantic emotional core. And there were also two star-packed docs: in McKellen: Playing the Part, Ian McKellen recounts his life and career with honesty and insight, while 50 Years Legal features a range of noted figures (including McKellen of course) talking about the history of gay rights in Britain.

The big screening this coming week is, of course, Solo: A Star Wars Story. Looking forward to that. Also in the diary: Travis Mathews' drama Discreet, the street-life doc Hooked, Paul Wright's collage doc Arcadia, the film producer doc The Fabulous Alan Carr, the Mongol Derby doc All the Wild Horses and a restoration of The Beatles' animated romp Yellow Submarine.

Critical Week: Teen spirit

A highlight this week was the Oscar-nominated Mustang, a pointed Turkish drama about five sisters whose strong personalities are at odds with their restrictive culture. It's beautifully made by first-time feature filmmaker Deniz Gamze Erguven (she's a Turk based in France, so it's the French entry for the Academy Awards). The film has such a striking point of view that it's impossible not to be caught up in its earthy, honest narrative. And what it has to say is remarkably timely.

Other movies screened this week include Ryan Reynolds' entertainingly snarky superhero romp Deadpool, which is perhaps too snarky for its own good but will have genre fans overflowing with praise. Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson, Leslie Mann and Alison Brie grapple with sex and the city in the comedy How to Be Single. Keanu Reeves investigates a perplexing, possibly supernatural-tinged murder in the choppy mystery Exposed. Natalie Dormer seeks her twin in the horror movie The Forest, which is unsettling and creepy until it turns silly. The creepy Austrian drama Goodnight Mommy, which morphs into an original but over-the-top horror thriller as it goes along. And a young junkie throws his life away on the streets of Montreal in the murky, meandering arthouse drama Love in the Time of Civil War.

Coming up over the next week we have a very late screening of Ben Stiller's comedy sequel Zoolander 2, Christian Bale in Terrence Malick's Knight of Cups, Richard Gere in Time Out of Mind, Aidan Gillen in John Carney's Sing Street, and the Belgian comedy The Brand New Testament.

Wolverine attacks!

To tie in with Guardians of the Galaxy, Morph Costumes gave me a chance to test out one of their suits and then offer two Shadows readers the chance to win one for themselves. When the Wolverine costume arrived, I dutifully put it on to see if it lives up to the promises in the advertising copy. 

Amazingly, these photos of me in the suit look pretty cool, not too far from the promotional artwork (below). This is surprising because I generally don't look great in spandex of any kind. But the suit has all kinds of manly contours drawn onto it.

It also covers every single inch of the body, which makes operating things like a smart phone rather tricky (although you can). The main issue is that it's very difficult to see anything. The bit covering the face is rather a lot like having ladies' stockings stretched over your head, bankrobber style. It smashes your features and clings so tightly that even blinking is a bit tricky. Sight is also rather limited, like seeing everything through a dark fog.

But it would be a great costume to wear to a party (eating is impossible, drinking would be messy). There's also a pouch for a smart phone, which will light up the belt buckle and create the illusion of Wolverine claws on a camera screen (other suits have their own tricks).

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C O M P E T I T I O N

Shadows partnered with Morph Costumes to give readers the chance to win one of the most advanced pieces of costume engineering known to man. Congratulations to Angel in Shoreham-by-Sea and Paul in Whiteley - we're sure they'll look great in their Spider-man and Deadpool costumes, plus their custom added superpowers of chainsaw arms and telepathy, respectively.

For more information, follow Morph Costumes on TWITTER or FACEBOOK. Marvel Morph Costumes include: Wolverine, Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man and Deadpool.