Critical Week: Window shopping

There's yet another heatwave in London this week, which makes sitting at home watching movies less enticing! But lockdown rules continue, even if they're being loosened each week at the moment by the government on the basis of the economy, not the science. So I'm still being careful out there. Cinemas are set to open on July 4th, with distancing in place. They're saying no masks required, but that seems dangerous. And I suspect it will be much longer before we have a press screening.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Nobody Knows I'm Here
Irresistible • Fanny Lye Deliver'd
On the Record • Beats
PERHAPS AVOID:
Inheritance
FULL REVIEWS >

In the meantime there are some good movies to watch on streaming sites. I loved Jon Stewart's Irresistible, a snappy political satire with Rose Byrne and Steve Carell (above) as big-time political operatives squaring off in a small-town campaign. Wasp Network tries to cram an entire miniseries worth of story into a two-hour movie. At least it's very well-made, with an ace cast (Penelope Cruz, Gael Garcia Bernal, Edgar Ramirez, Ana de Armas). And Lily Collins and Simon Pegg do their best despite being miscast in Inheritance, an underwritten thriller that's far too serious for its own good.

Maxine Peake is terrific in the astonishing British thriller Fanny Lye Deliver'd, which takes on Puritanism in 17th century England. The true story of groundbreaking jockey Michelle Payne, Ride Like a Girl is a rousing Aussie feel-good drama. The dance-competition comedy Feel the Beat is a thinly developed star vehicle for the Insta-ready Sofia Carson. Homewrecker is a vicious black comedy that centres on a standoff between two tough women. From Chile, Nobody Knows I'm Here is a flat-out gorgeous drama with a lot to say, and a wonderful central performance from Jorge Garcia (Lost). It's very subtle and slow, but worth the time. And the skilfully made doc On the Record properly challenges the audience as it explores sexual harassment against black women in the music industry.

This coming week, I'm looking forward to watching Will Ferrell's pastiche Eurovision Song Contest, the adventure Four Kids and It, Disney's film of the stage hit Hamilton, the German thriller Cut Off, Swedish war thriller The Spy, the Danish fantasy adventure Valhalla: Legend of Thor, and the WWII drama Shepherd: The Hero Dog.

Critical Week: I need a hug

I've tried to get outside more this past week, simply because after three months lockdown is doing my head in. A few days out in sunny weather were a welcome break from watching movies at home. This week also brought word that film production will begin again in the UK at the beginning of July, around the same time cinemas will be re-opening with some level of social distancing. And we also found out that awards season is being extended by two months, with the Oscars set for April.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Young Ahmed • Da 5 Bloods
On a Magical Night • The Painted Bird
WORTH A LOOK:
The King of Staten Island
7500 • Babyteeth
FULL REVIEWS >

The biggest films I watched this week included the warm and gently comical The King of Staten Island, Pete Davidson's fictionalised autobiography costarring Marisa Tomei (above). Spike Lee's powerful drama Da 5 Bloods follows four Vietnam vets back to the battleground 50 years later on a secret mission. It's staggeringly timely, hugely involving and strongly pointed. And Kevin Bacon and Amanda Seyfried star in the horror thriller You Should Have Left, in which a family's holiday getaway becomes very darkly haunted. It's a bit thin, but sharply put together.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars in the German thriller 7500, a gritty, contained drama set in the cockpit of a plane that's hijacked. It's a little contrived, but very well-made, and Gordon-Levitt is excellent. Jesse Eisenberg stars in the German drama Resistance, which traces Marcel Marceau's involvement in the French Resistance during WWII. It's a great story, even if the filmmaking is somewhat standard. The indie American comedy horror Driven follows a cab driver who picks up a demon-slayer and spends the night trying to save the world. It's silly but very entertaining. And the Dardenne brothers' Young Ahmed is another fiercely well-observed drama, low-key and unnerving as it follows a teen who has fallen under the influence of an extremist imam in Belgium.

Among the movies to watch this coming week, there's Penelope Cruz in Wasp Network, Maxine Peake in Fanny Lye Deliver'd, Teresa Palmer in Ride Like a Girl, the comedy thriller Homewrecker, the dance comedy Feel the Beat, the French thriller Lost Bullet, and the sexual assault documentary On the Record.

Critical Week: Under siege

I'm now 90 days into lockdown and, while things aren't great in the UK the rules are beginning to relax a bit. In between watching movies at home (and quite a few TV episodes), I have been getting out into the streets most days. This week the traffic and crowds seem back to normal levels for the first time, even though many shops remain closed. And while the film industry is getting back into production, the question of opening cinemas is still a big one. Frankly, I can't imagine sitting in a press screening room quite yet!

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Dating Amber • The Australian Dream
Days of the Bagnold Summer
The Surrogate • You Don't Nomi
PERHAPS AVOID:
Darkness Falls
The Ascent/Black Ops
FULL REVIEWS >

Bigger movies in my personal screening room this past week included Artemis Fowl, Disney's lavishly produced fantasy adventure with a cast of young newcomers plus Judi Dench (above), Colin Farrell and Josh Gad. It's colourful and far too busy. But it's a gem compared to the epic The Last Days of American Crime, a near-future heist thriller that's simply loud, violent and stupid. Both films will find their audiences.

Smaller fare included the rude, sassy comedy Banana Split, with Hannah Marks and Liana Liberato; the simplistic, cheesy thriller Darkness Falls, starring Shawn Ashmore and Gary Cole; the charming, inventive Irish comedy Dating Amber, with rising star Fionn O'Shea (Normal People); the darkly engaging dramatic horror 1BR; the provocative, thoughtful parenthood drama The Surrogate; and the creative but rather thin surreal British action thriller The Ascent (US title: Black Ops). Foreign options were the breezy, enjoyably pointed Italian comedy Citizens of the World and the lurid Chilean 1970s prison drama The Prince, a remarkable film that won a top award at Venice last year. And finally, from Down Under the doc The Australian Dream explores the experience of football legend Adam Goodes, making pointed and timely observations about systemic bigotry.

Coming up this next week are Spike Lee's Vietnam drama Da 5 Bloods, Pete Davidson in The King of Staten Island, the supernatural thriller Driven, the timely doc On the Record, and the French dramas Joan of Arc and Young Ahmed.

Critical Week: Hearing voices

Another week of lockdown, another unusual collection of movies released into the streaming networks. At least the weather has been glorious, tempting me outside in between the films. The best thing I've seen in several weeks, The Vast of Night is a low-budget sci-fi thriller by first-time filmmaker Andrew Patterson that skilfully nods to 1950s classics while echoing present day issues.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Guest of Honour
The Vast of Night • You Don't Nomi
The Uncertain Kingdom
PERHAPS AVOID:
A Clear Shot • The Accompanist
The Dinner Party

The highest profile film was The High Note, starring Dakota Johnson, Tracee Ellis Ross and Kelvin Harrison in an enjoyable but trite romantic comedy-drama set in the music world. The Last Full Measure has a powerhouse cast and an inspiring story, but is belittled by its over-worthy tone. David Thewlis is superb in Guest of Honour, Atom Egoyan's perceptive drama about identity and connection. And Willem Dafoe gives a full-bodied performance in Tommaso, Abel Ferrara's Rome-set dark drama about a filmmaker who's losing the plot.

Steven Berkoff puts his one-man-show version of Edgar Allan Poe's Tell Tale Heart on the screen as a moody freak-out. Three micro-budget indies are somewhat underpowered: The Departure is a sharp but abrasive dating drama, The Dinner Party is a bonkers cultish horror romp, The Accompanist is a quirky overserious romantic drama. And for Pride month, HomoSayWhat is a fascinating, provocative doc about the origins of societal homophobia.

Coming up this next week, there's another offbeat collection of movies, including the British comedy Dating Amber, the futuristic thriller The Last Days of American Crime, the award-winning Chilean drama The Prince, the Italian comedy Citizens of the World and the football doc The Australian Dream.