Critical Week: Break on through

Awards season continues apace, and I enjoyed being in the room with winners like Timothée Chalamet, Jessie Buckley and Paul Thomas Anderson on Sunday at the 46th Critics' Circle Film Awards on Sunday, attending as a voting member, rather than as chair, for the first time in 15 years (see below). As for watching movies, the comical thriller Cold Storage is a lot of fun, starring Joe Keery and Georgina Campbell as night watchmen who stumble into an alien fungal nightmare, with added Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
My Father's Shadow
Pillion • Twinless • Scarlet
ALL REVIEWS >

I also caught the staggeringly gorgeous Japanese anime thriller All You Need Is Kill, based on the same novel as Tom Cruise's Edge of Tomorrow. The skilful animation and immersive story make it hugely entertaining. And then there was the K-pop concert film Stray Kids: The DominATE Experience, a great introduction to this band's impressive musicality. Although the 4DX screening was a bit exhausting for two and a half hours. I also watched three more documentaries: the Oscar/Bafta-nominated Mr Nobody Against Putin is wonderfully inspiring, powerfully moving and eye-opening; The Librarians is a blood-boiling tale of politically motivated censorship hiding behind religiosity and the important heroes who are fighting it; and Everybody to Kenmure Street covers a momentous 2021 Glasgow standoff in a way that's thrilling, emotive and timely.

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi in Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights, Daphne Keen in Whistle, the animated adventure Goat, Stephen Graham in The Good Boy, horror thriller Jimmy and Stiggs and Cairo-set action in Eagles of the Republic, plus catching up with more docs, including Apocalypse in the Tropics and The Alabama Solution, plus a live performance of Sweet Mambo at Sadler's Wells.

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Critical Week: And they called it puppy love

It's been another busy week in awards season, with screenings every night and lots of films to watch at home on links during the day. I also somehow have to find time to write about them all. It was great to catch up with festival breakout hit Pillion, Harry Lighton's offbeat romance starring Harry Melling (above) and Alexander Skarsgard. It's notorious for its dominant-submissive sexuality, but is actually a rather sweet and moving drama. By far the biggest movie was the European premiere of Wicked: For Good and I got to meet Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, along with director Jon Chu, at a reception before the screening. Unsurprisingly, the film is spectacular, much darker and more emotional than the first part. I also saw two gorgeous animated adventures: In Your Dreams is a fabulously colourful trip into the imagination, and Arco skilfully uses hand-drawn style anime to tell a pointed story from the future.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
In Your Dreams
Arco • Jay Kelly
Night of the Juggler
ALL REVIEWS >

At another starry awards screening, Kate Winslet presented her directing debut Goodbye June, alongside costars Toni Collette, Timothy Spall, Andrea Riseborough and Johnny Flynn, plus gifted young screenwriter Joe Anders (who happens to be Winslet's son). It's a funny and moving ensemble film. The Broadway cast of Merrily We Roll Along, including Tony winners Daniel Dadciffe and Jonathan Groff, features in a superbly filmed stage performance of Stephen Sondheim's powerful exploration of art and friendship. 

A bit further afield, Tom Blyth stars in the perhaps too-snappy investment banking comedy Bull Run. Jorma Tommila is back for the entertaining and outrageously grisly Finnish action sequel Sisu: Road to Revenge. The Danish drama Sauna is a darkly thoughtful romance. Hong Kong drama Valley of the Shadow of Death, explores grief and redemption in an involving faith-based story. From Argentina, 300 Letters deconstructs a romance in ways that are sexy, funny and moving. And I finally caught up with the breakout animated hit KPop Demon Hunters, which is a lot of bright-hued fun, packed with great music. On top of all of that, I attended the seriously epic UK premiere of the first episode of Stranger Things season 5.

Coming up this next week, I plan to watch Timothee Chalamet in Marty Supreme, Amanda Seyfried in The Testament of Ann Lee, Nicolas Cage in The Carpenter's Son, Emma Mackey in Ella McCay, June Squibb in Eleanor the Great, British-Nigerian drama My Father's Shadow, Iraqi drama The President's Cake, French drama Nino and Taiwanese drama Left-Handed Girl, plus a premiere screening of Landman season 2.

Screen: July TV Roundup

While several high-profile shows are back with new seasons, it's been the new series that have captured the buzz over the past couple of months. It's always fun to discover something new, whether it's a limited series or something that is likely to go on for a few more seasons at least. Not that anyone is willing to let a hit simply pass into memory without milking at least one more collection of episodes. I've had time to catch up with a few things, starting here with new shows...

Too Much
Lena Dunham is back as writer-director (and occasional costar) of this sparky London-set comedy starring the awesome Megan Stalter and Will Sharpe. As with Girls, the show explores ambition, friendship and romance in ways most TV series would never dare, remaining honest and jaggedly funny while never shying away from the way real people interact both professionally and personally. Over the course of 10 episodes, Dunham crafts a perfect romcom that breaks every rule in the book. She also pokes fun at the American-in-London trope. And she peppers scenes with top-tier support from Richard E Grant, Naomi Watts, Andrew Scott, Andrew Rannells, Adele Exarchopolous, Rita Wilson, Rhea Perlman and many more. (Netflix)

Your Friends & Neighbors
Jon Hamm stars in this darkly comical series about a bigwig Wall Street trader whose wife (Amanda Peet) leaves him for his best friend (Mark Tallman). Then he's sacked by a greedy boss. So he decides to burgle his wealthy neighbours' homes to keep his head above water, as you do. It's all rather implausible and smug, only pretending to lampoon the lifestyles of the wildly wealthy while secretly revelling in them. And the overall story arc feels extremely constructed, with little air for real-life honesty to interfere. But Hamm is hugely watchable as always in an unusual role that combines comedy and drama, and the ensemble cast around him have strong moments of their own. The question is whether we'd watch a second season. (Apple) 

Sirens
This limited series is like a mashup of The White Lotus, Nine Perfect Strangers and The Perfect Couple, set at a New England island retreat run by the imperious Michaela (Julianne Moore). The action centres around her over-efficient assistant Simone (Milly Alcock), who is not happy that her distinctly working-class sister Devon (Meghann Fahy) has dropped in unannounced to ask for help in caring for their dad (Bill Camp). Wrinkles abound in relationships and connections, as secrets and mysteries emerge from the shadows to engulf everyone. And where it goes is refreshingly unexpected. Moore is hilarious as the earnest Michaela, like Gwyneth Paltrow with cult-leader vibes. Terrific costars include Kevin Bacon and the ubiquitous Josh Segarra. (Netflix)

Overcompensating
With its lively writing and likeably chaotic characters, this half-hour comedy is entertaining even if it's one of those shows that spins its wheels and never quite gets anywhere. The premise is clever: university freshman Benny (played by the show's creator Benny Skinner) has always exceeded expectations as an athlete and student, and is suddenly challenged to be his true gay self for the first time. But old habits die hard, and the closet isn't easy to escape. Characters are well-written and vividly played by a fresh cast, and the writing has hilariously knowing insight into the power of expectations and peer pressure, especially with the frat house antics. But over eight episodes, the story only takes baby steps, ending just as things begin moving. (Amazon)

Murderbot
Alexander Skarsgard is terrific in this comical sci-fi thriller series, which packs a lot of humour, suspense and barbed interaction into each of its half-hour episodes. He plays a sentient security robot who hacks the programme that limits his actions, which triggers an odyssey in which he explores who he is and what he means in the face of humanity. His opinions about people are hilariously astute, and it's a lot of fun to see how he awkwardly bonds with his oddball crew (including the terrific Noma Dumezweni and David Dastmalchian). This offers a terrific look at the nature of emotional interaction, while also lampooning the genre with amusing scenes from shows within the show. (Apple)

B A C K   F O R   M O R E

The Bear: series 4

Still not a comedy, despite winning all the awards, this bracing show boasts some of the best acting and writing on television. So while the never-ending miserable chaos sometimes feels exhausting, there's plenty of depth to it. The seriously first-class actors grow more riveting each series as talented people trying to keep a top tier restaurant from failing. Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri should win every prize going. And the supporting cast too, for that matter. Although showrunner Christopher Storer does love achingly cool montages (sometimes entire episodes are assembled this way). This season was packed with memorable elements, with a constant flurry of surprises. And that wedding episode. (FX)

The Last of Us: series 2 

Jumping ahead five years, this season kicks off with riveting episodes that set up powerful storylines and complex interactions. With shocking twists, the show feels far more propulsive than the first series, adding a proper sense of urgency that drives the action forward on a larger scale. As Ellie, Bella Ramsay continues to be a force of nature on the screen, one of the most complicated young people on television. Ellie's rippingly intentional character drives the action alongside Isabela Merced, Young Mazino and Gabriel Luna. Kaitlyn Dever has terrific presence as this season's villainous figure, alongside a taut Jeffrey Wright. And Catherine O'Hara takes no prisoners. But the departure of Pedro Pascal's thoughtful Joel was hard to watch. (HBO) 

Nine Perfect Strangers: series 2 

Now in an Alpine spa in Switzerland, Nicole Kidman's Masha assembles another group of mysteriously connected people for more psychedelic treatment that's just beyond what might be considered ethical. The ensemble cast is once again excellent, superbly playing people with dark secrets who are pushed into exploring their own minds. Standouts here include Annie Murphy, Murray Bartlett, Dolly De Leon, Henry Golding, Mark Strong, Lucas Englander and the great Christine Baranski. The snowy setting and offbeat old/new architecture offer very cool visuals for this season, but the best thing is the increasingly twisty internalised drama grows between these not-exactly strangers. It's not rocket science, but it's insinuating fun. (Hulu) 

And Just Like That: series 3 

The Sex and the City gang is back for more meandering New York comedy, settling into their new routines with the usual foibles about dating and relationships. Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis, Sarita Choudhury, Nicole Ari Parker and friends are as effortlessly charming as always, so even if the plotting feels as lazy as ever the dialog crackles with witty life and also finds some emotional resonance along the way. Plus a few enjoyably silly plot turns. It may be difficult to identify with the troubles of these almost ludicrously privileged people, but there are enjoyable moments along the way that keep us watching, largely because we've now invested nearly three decades into these characters. (Max) 

Fubar: series 2 

More nonsense ensues with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Monica Barbaro as father-daughter CIA operatives. This action comedy is packed with silly gags and utterly ridiculous plotting, accompanied by surprisingly grisly violence. This season digs a bit deeper into back-stories of the various teammates, pitching Schwarzenegger's Luke against his villainous ex Greta (a raucously camp Carrie-Anne Moss) while Barbaro's no-nonsense Emma is hilariously wooed by her British nemesis Chips (Guy Burnett). The growing ensemble has a lot of fun diving into the increasingly nutty mayhem. So it's entertaining to go along for the ride, in a switch-off-your-brain sort of way. But honestly, these should be half-hour episodes. (Netflix) 

T H A T ' S   A L L ,   F O L K S

Andor: series 2 

While the first season left me cold with its emphasis on people dryly discussing political plots in static rooms, this keeps that far more contained. These episodes have a superb driving kick that balances the over-intense discussions with proper dramatic tension and rather a lot of thrilling action and suspense. As the timeline counts down to the events of Rogue One (and of course the original Star Wars), the story wraps itself tightly around the audience, meaningfully grappling with big ideas about heroism, courage and political idealism in an unjust system. The real-world parallels are often chilling, especially because they feel so unintentional. And the cast is first rate, including Diego Luna, Genevieve O'Reilly, Stellan Skarsgard and Denise Gough. (Disney)

Squid Game:
series 3 

Picking up in the middle of the scene that cut out at the end of the second season, this final series continues to follow the messy attempts by those who escaped to get back in and stop these sadistic games. And the games are even nastier this time, starting with a particularly brutal round of Hide and Seek. As before, there's a tendency to over-egg the emotional moments, and the monstrous wealthy patrons are even more cartoonish this time. But the tension between our terrified-but-determined hero Gi-hin (Lee Jung-jae) and game's conflicted leader In-ho (Lee Byung-hun) has a terrific simmer to it. Enjoyably, the ghastly pay-off will divide audiences, as will the A-list cameo that leads into David Fincher's forthcoming American spin-off. (Netflix)

The Handmaid's Tale: series 6 

Elisabeth Moss is back as the fiery June, watchable as ever especially when she squares off against Yvonne Strahovski's glacial Serena. The extended narrative has become rather unwieldy over the past few seasons, with a lot of back and forth between peril and safety, and this season is no exception, adding big twists on several fronts. There's also a shameless overuse of Moss' now-iconic death stare (and others get to glower as well). As the overarching story evolves in some pointed directions, there are smaller details that niggle simply because they feel both unnecessary and unsatisfying. But it's held together by the determined drive of these embattled women to reclaim the just society that was so horrifically turned upside down by religious zealots. (Hulu)

GUILTY PLEASURES: The Traitors NZ, I Kissed a Boy

NOW WATCHING: The Sandman 2, Single Out 3, Stick, Adults, Olympo, Long Way Home, The Wild Ones

COMING SOON: Chief of War, The Tuesday Murder Club, Dexter: Resurrection, Peacemaker 2, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 3, Acapulco 4.

Previous roundup, MAY 2025 >

Bifan: Fun in the sun

After rain and clouds on the first two days, which I'm told is normal for Seoul this time of year, Saturday was clear blue sky, which made it even hotter (but thankfully a but less humid). I'm enjoying the brief windows between films, usually around two hours, to explore the streets of Bucheon and try out the local food, which is delicious. These days are perfect for big bowls of cold noodles. Meanwhile, Bifan continues to offer up films from around the world - our international jury has been travelling quite a bit. Three more competition films are below, after another film I'd seen earlier...

Infinity Pool
dir-scr Brandon Cronenberg; with Alexander Skarsgard, Mia Goth 23/Canada ***
Gleefully gruesome, this bonkers horror thriller touches on serious ideas that give it a wonderful sense of something much bigger. Although writer-director Brandon Cronenberg is more focussed on visually arresting imagery than mining the material for something unnervingly resonant. That said, there's a terrific sense of menace, and it's all so personal and internalised that it can't help but work its way under the skin. As it were... FULL REVIEW >

The Seeding
dir-scr Barney Clay; with Scott Haze, Kate Lyn Sheil 23/US ***.
Skilfully creating an atmosphere of claustrophobic dread, writer-director Barney Clay echoes a range of wilderness horror classics to create a modern-day folk tale. Nothing is terribly original here, but the movie has a confident sheen, building sympathetic characters against the odds as it cautions against venturing into isolated, and insulated, parts of the American West.

Bad Education
dir Kai Ko; with Kent Tsai, Berant Zhu 22/Taiwan ****
An electrically charged sense of pitch-black humour runs through this genre mashup from Taiwan, which throws three teens into a series of unspeakable situations. While sending their characters on an odyssey that mixes high school comedy with Tarantino-style violence, director Kai Ko and writer Giddens Ko continually examine what it means to be a good or bad person. Full of prickly dialog and unexpected nastiness, the film's wry sense of humour makes it worth a look.

Superposition
dir Karoline Lyngbye; with Marie Bach Hansen, Mikkel Boe Folsgaard 23/Denmark ***.
Strikingly well shot and edited, this Danish thriller has a premise that's intriguing and entertaining, tapping into some pungent themes relating to identity and gender politics. So it's a bit frustrating that the writing and direction leave absolutely nothing to chance, carefully identifying every plot nuance and therefore eliminating most of the possible surprises. This tidy approach also leaves the deeper ideas feeling oddly undercooked.

Critical Week: Hyper-masculinity

For some reason, I only had one press screening this past week. Film criticism has been contracting for about a decade now, and I am getting increasingly exhausted chasing screenings of big Hollywood studio movies, which are about the only ones that get wide releases. It's easier to keep up with smaller films, both with press screenings and viewing links. I've never needed to watch everything (that would be impossible anyway), and I will no longer relentlessly pursue screenings. I'd rather spend my evenings watching stage performances anyway, and hope to do more writing about these.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Charli XCX: Alone Together
The Northman • The Lost City
ALL REVIEWS >

As for that one screening, it was a good one. Robert Eggers' astonishing Viking action epic The Northman is a wildly thrilling film with full-bodied performances from Alexander Skarsgard, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang and Anya Taylor-Joy. I also watched The French Boys 4, another collection of terrific French short dramas about complex masculinity from the folks at NQV. And that left me with a bit of time to catch up with three very different movies I'd missed along the way...

The Adam Project
dir Shawn Levy; with Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo 22/US ***
This time-travel romp isn't nearly as smart as it tries to be, but it's definitely entertaining. The reliably witty Reynolds plays a fast-talking jerk who travels back from 2050 to the present, where he needs help from his annoying 12-year-old self (the sharp Walker Scobell) to save the timeline. As Adam's dad, Ruffalo brings some terrific attitude, as do Jennifer Garner, Catherine Keener and Zoe Saldana. And the effects are first-rate. While the usual time-twisting chaos adds plenty of interest, it's a shame the story and characters are never much deeper than a warm hug.

Studio 666
dir BJ McDonnell; with Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel 22/US **.
Goofy humour and terrific old-school effects infuse this horror romp in which the Foo Fighters play themselves, recording their 10th album in a properly creepy rock-n-roll Encino mansion that was the site of a grisly murder. In the grip of writer's block, Dave Grohl is convinced he's already composed all of his original songs, then he's possessed by a demonic spirit. Slasher movie antics follow. The film tries to be funny and scary, but ends up merely silly and grisly. Although there are hilarious moments (and cameos) along the way, plus lots of fun for the band's fans.

Loev
dir Sudhanshu Saria; with Dhruv Ganesh, Shiv Pandit 15/Ind **** 
I missed this Indian drama six years ago at BFI Flare, then re-met the filmmakers at this year's festival and caught it on Netflix just before it disappears. It's an unusually nuanced drama about a complex romantic triangle, as Sahil (Ganesh) takes old friend Jai (Pandit) on a weekend trip. But Sahil is also preoccupied about his relationship with his boyfriend Alex (Siddarth Menon). The characters have big personalities that aren't always likeable, so the way they interact is both sharp and sometimes provocative. It's also made in an earthy style that finds unexpected wit and emotion while never overstating the themes.

This coming week, I have a number of films to watch, including Gaspar Noe's Vortex and the shorts collection Upon Her Lips: Butterflies. And I have two theatre press nights as well.

Critical Week: Fight the power

As lockdown slowly eases and London descends into a late-winter chill, the most striking film I saw this week came from Russia. Andrei Konchalovsky's Bafta-nominated Soviet drama Dear Comrades is a viscerally relevant story of profound injustice. It's unmissable. Otherwise, the week's big movie was a very late online screening of the monster mash-up Godzilla vs Kong, after it had already been released online in the USA, and therefore was already on all the pirate sites. It was an enjoyable action blockbuster, with above-average effects (even on a laptop screen) and a great cast running around pointlessly in the background. Really can't wait to be able to see these kinds of movies on enormous screens where they belong, but there's still around five weeks before cinemas in the UK reopen.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK: 
Palm Springs • The Truffle Hunters
Moffie • Rose: A Love Story 
Sequin in a Blue Room 
PERHAPS AVOID: 
Love, Weddings & Other Disasters
ALL REVIEWS >

Everything else was tiny by comparison. Christopher Smith's The Banishing is an above-average horror, with a solid script that deepens characters to make us care, and then to scare us. Sensation is a rather thinly written British sci-fi thriller about a guy who discovers he has some sort of sense-manipulative powers, although it's never terribly clear. Also a bit tentative, the underpowered British romcom I'm Not in Love is a well-played look at a key relational turning point. From Argentina, A Common Crime is a tricky thriller told in an uncanny low-key, often silent style. And the documentary The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart tells the remarkable story of the Gibb brothers, along with a strikingly relevant look at the music industry over the past half-century, plus of course a lot of great music. I also finally caught up with this documentary, which has been nominated for a Bafta on Sunday...

The Social Dilemma
dir Jeff Orlowski
scr Vickie Curtis, Davis Coombe, Jeff Orlowski
with Skyler Gisondo, Vincent Kartheiser, Jaron Lanier, Tristan Harris, Tim Kendall, Jeff Seibert, Shoshana Zuboff, Bailey Richardson
release US/UK 9.Sep.20
20/US Netflix 1h34 ****

Exploring the impact of big tech, this essential documentary opens with a quote from Sophocles: "Nothing vast enters the life of mortals without a curse." The filmmakers interview pioneers who built big platforms like Facebook, Google, Twitter and Instagram, who speak of how they're now frightened of the consequences. The central question is why the world seems to be going crazy at the moment, and why tech giants are so resistant to ethical design. And it's shocking to see how much control these companies have over their users.

The issue isn't easy to define, as social media impacts society in such a wide variety of ways, often hard to see. Platforms were deliberately designed to be addictive, and to implant subconscious thoughts users would never have on their own. So the point is that advertisers are clients, and the user's attention is the product that they're buying. Fine details about our lives and habits are fuelling huge profits, because advertisers are desperate for data that predicts our actions. This film lifts the curtain on exactly how all of this works, as well as the unintended consequences of letting this cat out of the bag.

Interviews and clips are framed with a knowing family drama (featuring Gisondo) that acts these things out, accompanied by whizzy, sci-fi effects sequences with Kartheiser as algorithmic puppet-masters. The raw truth is that these companies don't want to make our lives better, and they're not evil either; however, they're exploiting our psychology to make unprecedented profits without regulations or competition. And the impact is clear: anxiety levels have exponentially increased among young people, leading to a marked rise in self-harm and suicide. And since we're only seeing news that targets us, we're believing lies and building an increasingly polarised society.

This lucid, fascinating film outlines all of this clearly, including how these systems were designed to learn and evolve on their own, to the point that even the people who manage them don't know how they work and don't yet have the will to correct them, because capitalism demands increased profits. Which is deeply terrifying as persuasive technology magnifies conspiracy theories and makes people willing to kill for them, literally threatening civilisation. So simply being aware that this isn't a fair fight is a positive step. As is taking steps to break the addiction. More importantly, never get your news from online-only outlets. And watch this film.

12 themes, language, violence • 6.Apr.21

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Coming up this next week, I'm planning to watch Dustin Hoffman in Into the Labyrinth, Dakota Fanning in Effie Gray, Ed Westwick in Me You Madness, and the docs Gunda, Steelers, Truman & Tennessee and Henry Glassie: Fieldwork.

Critical Week: Teacher's pet

This week's line-up of press screenings was refreshingly female-oriented, offering a respite from the usual masculine bravado that's trumpeted on the big screen. Maggie Gyllenhaal is terrific in the understated drama The Kindergarten Teacher, which is remarkably sympathetic for how creepy the story turns. Brie Larson storms the superhero genre in Captain Marvel, an unusually engaging character-based action thriller with a cool 1990s vibe. Keira Knightley is at the centre of The Aftermath, a post-war romantic melodrama that's finely shot and acted but let down by a drippy script. And the bracingly original Icelandic comedy-thriller Woman at War focusses on a mother-to-be trying to protect the planet from abuse.

The rest of the week's movies were just as eclectic. The futuristic comedy-drama 2050 is witty and stylish as it explores falling in love with sexbots. Set in a foreboding forest, Devil's Path is a creepy thriller following two men who seem to be hiding secrets. An inventively intense drama from Portugal, Sunburn features four friends on holiday struggling to deal with repressed 10-year-old emotions. Peccadillo's short film collection No Ordinary Boy: Boys on Film 19 is another set of skilfully made mini-dramas exploring, this time, a darker angle on sexuality. And on my flight back to London I revisited the 1976 version of A Star Is Born, starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. It's a far more female-oriented version of this story than last year's hit remake, which makes it even more strongly involving and ultimately much more moving. I'm not sure I'd seen it since watching it as a young teen on its original release (I loved it back then too).

Screenings this coming week include Julia Roberts in Ben Is Back, Jessie Buckley in Wild Rose, Paolo Sorrentino's Loro, the black comedy Bruce!!!, the caveman thriller Iceman, and two documentaries: Last Breath, about a stranded deep-sea diver, and Silvana, about the Swedish hip-hop artist.

Critical Week: Out of the shadows

Amid an unprecedented onslaught of snow and freezing temperatures, London critics caught up with a few big titles this week. Jennifer Lawrence is the main reason to see Red Sparrow, an overlong, rather muddily plotted Russian spy thriller. And Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams make the most of a surprisingly smart, funny script in the action-comedy Game Night. Then there were two new sci-fi films by hotshot British filmmakers, released directly to Netflix in the UK: Annihilation is Alex Garland's followup to Ex Machina, and it's a swirling, gripping, smartly obtuse odyssey starring Natalie Portman. Duncan Jones' Mute stars Alexander Skarsgard against type as a shy Amish barman in a Blade Runner-esque Berlin, but the plot gets lost amid its murky gyrations.

Further afield, The Lullaby is a gleefully grisly South African horror film that plays with some deeper, darker themes but never quite digs in to them. From Russian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa, A Gentle Creature is a gorgeously shot and cleverly acted Kafkaesque parable about a nation that has lost its own soul. And I tracked down the final two Oscar nominated features I hadn't seen: The Breadwinner is a powerfully moving, flat-out gorgeous Irish-Canadian animated drama set in Taliban-era Kabul, while there was also this best actor nominee...

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Roman J. Israel, Esq.
dir-scr Dan Gilroy; with Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell 17/US ***
Denzel Washington gives one of his most enjoyably textured performances yet in this offbeat legal drama, which tells an intriguing story while grappling with some very big issues. Washington is the title character, a veteran lawyer whose life changes drastically when his more-public partner dies. He ends up going to work for slick hotshot George (Colin Farrell) while trying to help some vulnerable clients and taking some dodgy actions that benefit him personally but also put him in danger. The film is gripping as it follows Roman as he begins to emerge from his shell, breaking rules, ruffling feathers, flirting with an unfeasibly gorgeous charity lawyer (Carmen Ejogo) and, when he discovers that George has both a mind and a conscience, begins mentoring him without him even realising it. As it gets increasingly knotted, writer-director Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler) loses control of the overlong narrative, with some over-detailed tangents and undercooked themes. And the side characters never seem to have a life of their own. But the smart script allows Washington to continually add wit and subtext to each scene. And he makes the film worth watching.

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It's Oscar night on Sunday, which here in London means staying up all night to watch the ceremony live from Los Angeles. Naps will be required. And this coming week, I'll catch up with Rooney Mara in Mary Magdalene, Domhnall Gleeson in Peter Rabbit and the documentary Mansfield 66/67, among other things.

Critical Week(s): With a little help from my friends

I'm catching up on two weeks of film-watching here, since I took last week to write about theatre and TV instead, and also because screenings have been rather thin. There were two big sequels shown to UK critics: Finding Dory is an enjoyably colourful and slightly less satisfying follow-up to Disney/Pixar's 2003 hit, while Now You See Me 2 is an entertaining and somewhat convoluted continuation of the 2013 heist thriller about magicians. 

And then there are the pre-established properties: Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie brings the beloved sitcom characters to the big screen more than 20 years after they first appeared for a film that's better than anyone expected. And The Legend of Tarzan is an odd hybrid of a sweeping period epic and a silly action blockbuster, with an unusually strong cast. As for original stories, Ira Sach's Little Men is an exquisitely observed family drama, and Thomas Vinterberg's The Commune is a complex look at relationships in 1970s Denmark. I also caught up with the seriously stunning, unmissable Italian immigration doc Fire at Sea and the offbeat, segmented arthouse drama Like Cattle Towards Glow, exploring the link between lust, love and violence.

Coming up this week: the Ghostbusters remake starring Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig, the animated sequel Ice Age: Collision Course, Dave Franco and Emma Roberts in Nerve, Pedro Almodovar's new drama Julieta and Michel Gondry's Microbe and Gasoline.

Critical Week: I've got your back

Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington provided some muscle for British critics this week in the action-comedy 2 Guns, which surprisingly is more skilfully written, directed and acted than most of this summer's action options. A pumped-up Wahlberg turned up to meet the press, right off the plane from the set of Transformers 4, charming us with his chatter. Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa turns out to be another above-par action-comedy - it's a hilariously well-written and impeccably played romp bringing Steve Coogan's iconic 1990s radio/TV character to the big screen. The week's other big movie was the sequel no one really asked for, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. It's pacey and perfectly thrilling for its target pre-teen audience.

More high-brow fare came with Julianne Moore in What Maisie Knew, a strikingly astute family drama costarring Steve Coogan (again!), Alexander Skarsgard and astonishing newcomer Onata Aprile. We also had the trashy delights of Paul Shrader's The Canyons, starring a frazzled Lindsay Lohan alongside swaggering porn-icon James Deen; the fiercely clever and not quite as bleak conclusion to Ulrich Seidl's trilogy Paradise: Hope; the impeccably made but far too long girl-gang drama Foxfire; Ferzan Ozpetek's latest clever mix of present-day Italy with the ghosts of WWII in A Magnificent Haunting; and the involving true story of a gender-bending scandal at the Olympics in Berlin '36.

Coming this week: Cate Blanchett in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine, Paul Rudd in Prince Avalanche, Keri Russell in Austenland, Bryan Cranston in Cold Comes the Night, Kristen Scott Thomas in Looking for Hortense, the Austrian-Turkish drama Kuma, Rikki Beadle Blair's bigotry drama Bashment and Lucy Walker's snowboarder doc The Crash Reel.