Critical Week: Scary movies

It's been a busy week at the movies for me, even if the cinemas are a bit hit and miss at the moment, with a bunch of releases that look unlikely to threaten Barbie's dominance of the box office. I finally caufht up with Disney's remake of Haunted Mansion, which is as much of a limp mess as the 2003 film was, abandoning characters for corny references and mindless action. Much better was Aporia starring Judy Greer, an inventive and involving time-bending drama with no special effects at all. I also enjoyed Ben Kingsley teaming up with Jane Curtin and Harriet Sansom Harris in the stranded-alien caper Jules, which is simple and charming.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Red, White & Royal Blue
Aporia • Dreamin' Wild
L'Immensita • Medusa Deluxe
PERHAPS AVOID:
Haunted Mansion
REVIEWS >

A bit further afield was the gorgeous stop-motion animation in The Inventor, which recounts the story of Leonardo da Vinci with wit and colour. Lucy Hale and Grant Gustin star in the cute romcom Puppy Love, which is fine for those looking for something unsurprising. Jeremy Allen White is terrific in a supporting role in Fremont, a clever and very quirky arthouse movie about Afghan immigrants. The superb Japanese drama Love Life remains remarkably sunny as it explores some very dark themes. And the Romanian drama RMN takes no prisoners in its exploration of xenophobia in a rural community.

This coming week I'll be up in Edinburgh watching shows at the Fringe and covering them here. I also have a couple of films to catch up on if there's time. I also hope to reattend the new staging of La Cage Aux Folles at the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park, as the press night was rained out after about an hour of the show on Tuesday.