Critical Week: Making Music

We're charging into both festival and awards seasons here in London at the moment, led by the London Film Festival and followed by a flurry of niche festivals over the coming months. And the movie awards season is already underway as my inbox fills with for-your-consideration emails. But this means I can finally start catching up on the year's high-profile movies. And with the writer's strike settled, we can hope the actor's reach an agreement soon so red carpets can get back to their former glitz. 

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
The Old Oak • Flora and Son
The Exorcist: 50th Anniversary
PERHAPS AVOID:
The Plus One
The Re-Education of Molly Singer
ALL REVIEWS >

Films this week included John Carney's latest gorgeous music-infused Irish drama Flora and Son, starring Eve Hewson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (above). I attended the very cool UK premiere of Gareth Edwards' The Creator, a hugely involving and expertly made sci-fi thriller with John David Washington and a wonderfully villainous Allison Janney. And Benicio Del Toro is excellent in the crime drama Reptile, an overlong plod livened up by strong performances. 

For the youngsters, there was a return to Robert Rodriguez's franchise with the enjoyably silly reboot Spy Kids: Armageddon and the animated adventure Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie, which only very young viewers will love. There were two American comedies: The Plus One is a destination wedding comedy, while The Re-Education of Molly Singer is a back-to-university romp. Both have their moments, but aren't original or funny enough to stand out. 

I also attended the lively world premiere of I Am Urban, an authentically gritty 1990s-set British true-life drama that's more experimental than narratively engaging. This year's Palme d'Or winner Anatomy of a Fall is a riveting drama starring the magnificent Sandra Huller. The lovely Sundance award winner Smoke Sauna Sisterhood is a powerful doc featuring Estonian women ... naked. And finally there was the Kyiv City Ballet's Tribute to Peace at the Peacock Theatre.

This coming week looks just as busy, with the 50-years-later sequel The Exorcist: Believer, Emerald Fennell's Saltburn, David Fincher's The Killer, British comedy Mind-Set and acclaimed doc The Eternal Memory, plus even more as the 67th London Film Festival kicks off next Wednesday.

Critical Week: Ask tough questions

London has been shifted back into severe third-tier restrictions. But cinemas are closed again, as are theatres and restaurants (all places where it's easy to remain distant), but inexplicably not shops, schools, gyms (where it isn't). Thankfully, I had a few actual cinema screenings in between lockdowns, including Kevin Macdonald's superb The Mauritanian, starring Jodie Foster (above) along with Tahar Rahim, Shailene Woodley and Benedict Cumberbatch. It's the powerful true story of a Guantanamo detainee. An even bigger screening was WW84 (that's the film's only title on-screen), the Wonder Woman sequel, which was screened to us on the huge BFI Imax screen. It's a lot of fun, if a bit messy in the final act. What a shame that it can't open in London cinemas as planned this week.

 

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Education • The Prince
American Utopia
PERHAPS AVOID:
Come Away • Modern Persuasion
ALL REVIEWS >

Steven Soderbergh's all-star comedy Let Them All Talk is also good fun, with a lively ensemble led by Meryl Streep improvising dialog while sailing from New York to London. And George Clooney dons a Santa beard to save the world in The Midnight Sky, which isn't a Christmas movie: it's a smart sci-fi adventure that's intriguing and moving.

Alicia Silverstone is terrific in Sister of the Groom, a likeably odd concoction that feels like it should be a romcom but is actually a serious family drama. Alicia Witt leads a nutty ensemble in Modern Persuasion, a present-day take on Jane Austen that's actually another rather corny romcom. From Argentina, The Weasels' Tail is a madcap play on old-world cinema glamour defending itself from corporate sharks. From Mexico, I Carry You With Me is a beautiful drama about connections between people and cultures. And The Boy Is Mine is a collection of five well-made shorts from five countries, each tackling an aspect of youthful masculinity.

This coming week I have another eclectic bunch of films to watch, including the Roald Dahl biopic To Olivia, Celia Imrie in Love Sarah, Rupert Everett in The Warrior Queen of Jhansi, the Kiwi drama Savage, the Swedish drama Are We Lost Forever, the Mexican drama Identifying Features and probably a few more awards season contenders, as they're coming in by the minute.