Critical Week: On the road again

I'm taking a break from the movies over the next few days, and I've travelled up to Edinburgh to watch some shows in the Fringe. Reviews are incoming - watch this space! But before I left London, I caught a few movies. Nimrods is a rambunctious cross-country road movie following three dopey teens for a rendezvous in Los Angeles with Green Day. It's too messy to be a classic, but will definitely find a cult following. And Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor dive fully into the chaos of The End of Oak Street, as their suburb is invaded by voracious dinosaurs. This is a pure guilty pleasure, worth seeing on a big screen laughing and screaming along with the crowd.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Tony • Nimrods
The End of Oak Street
Songs of Forgotten Trees
ALL REVIEWS >

Claire Foy and Andrew Garfield lead a strong British cast in the colourfully quirky fantasy The Magic Faraway Tree, based on the beloved Enid Blyton novel. A blast of sharp wit makes this a lot more fun than expected. Agniezka Holland's Franz is an impressively artful, fascinating but too-fractured biopic about legendary author Franz Kafka.  The queer Australian horror Leviticus has an unusually romantic undercurrent that evokes very deep emotions amid some terrifying grisliness. And Anuparna Roy's award-winning Indian drama Songs of Forgotten Trees is a beautifully observed story of two young women facing challenges in the big city. 

Finally, there were two more films that are premiering at the Edinburgh International Film Festival this week, including Queen at Sea, a powerfully involving British drama featuring devastating performances from Juliette Binoche and Tom Courtenay. And the entertaining documentary The Mad World of Harvey Kurtzman traces the life of the creator of Mad magazine. It's also a remarkable look at the emergence of comic books and mid-20th century pop culture.

Coming up this next week, after I get back to London, I'll be watching Hugh Jackman in The Death of Robin Hood, Andrew Scott in Pressure, the comedy Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, the Bolivian drama The Condor Daughter and the documentary Super Nature.

Critical Week: Let it all go

I've been working very long hours on a TV crew these days, so haven't had a lot of time to keep up with film releases. So I only managed to see four movies in the past seven days! (But I am very much enjoying working on set each day.) One of the big releases this week, Speak No Evil stars Scoot McNairy and James McAvoy (above) in a hugely unsettling thriller that starts light and almost comical before twisting the suspense to nail-biting levels in the final act. And then Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield came along for a Q&A with director John Crowley for We Live in Time, a powerfully involving emotional drama that feels bracingly authentic. It's bound to get awards-season attention.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
My Old Ass • In Camera
Speak No Evil • Winner
My Favourite Cake
ALL REVIEWS >

The biopic Winner is the third movie in recent years to tell the story of the whisleblower Reality Winner, this time with a snappy comical edge. Emilia Jones is excellent in the title role, and the film properly gets under her skin. And Dead Teenagers is the third scary film in writer-director Quinn Armstrong's Fresh Hell trilogy, this time cleverly twisting the teenage summer movie into something meta and genuinely creepy.

I'll have a little more time to attend screenings this coming week, so I'm planning to see the animated adventure Transformers One, Will Ferrell's documentary Will & Harper, reform school drama Nickel Boys, British comedy-drama Portraits of Dangerous Women, New York comedy Notice to Quit and British horror Inherit the Witch, plus anything else I can find time to see. 

The Best of 2021: 41st Shadows Awards

It's been another strange year, with more lockdowns, uncertain film releasing schedules and on-off film festivals. As always, these are my favourites from the movies I actually watched in 2021, regardless of when they were released (some weren't). As in the past two years, I was reluctant to choose this particular film as my best, simply because everyone else seems to be naming it too. But it's the one I haven't been able to get out of my head since I saw it on a big screen in October.

What follows here are my top 10s in the main categories. There is rather a whole lot more ON THE WEBSITE. 

BEST FILM: 

1. 
   The Power of the Dog
2. Benediction
3. Quo Vadis, Aida?
4. Judas and the Black Messiah 
5. Flee
6. Petite Maman 
7. Night of the Kings 
8. Tick, Tick... Boom! 
9. Drive My Car 
10. Dune

DIRECTOR: 

1. 
   Jane Campion - The Power of the Dog
2. Jasmila Zbanic - Quo Vadis, Aida?
3. Celine Sciamma - Petite Maman
4. Terence Davies - Benediction
5. Laura Wandel - Playground
6. Denis Villeneuve - Dune
7. Philippe Lacote - Night of the Kings
8. Shaka King - Judas and the Black Messiah
9. Ryusuke Hamaguchi - Drive My Car
10. Kaouther Ben Hania - The Man Who Sold His Skin

SCREENWRITER:

1. 
   Terence Davies - Benediction
2. Celine Sciamma - Petite Maman
3. Jane Campion - The Power of the Dog
4. Jasmila Zbanic - Quo Vadis, Aida?
5. Asghar Farhadi - A Hero
6. Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe - Drive My Car
7. Pedro Almodovar - Parallel Mothers
8. Marley Morrison - Sweetheart
9. Ramin Bahrani - The White Tiger
10. Sian Heder - Coda

ACTRESS: 

1. 
   Penelope Cruz - Parallel Mothers
2. Jasna Djuricic - Quo Vadis, Aida?
3. Olivia Colman - The Lost Daughter, Mothering Sunday
4. Cate Blanchett - Nightmare Alley, Don't Look Up
5. Nell Barlow - Sweetheart
6. Maya Vanderbeque - Playground
7. Jennifer Hudson - Respect, Monster
8. Tilda Swinton - Memoria, The French Dispatch, The Souvenir: Part II
9. Julia Vysotskaya - Dear Comrades
10. Renate Reinsve - The Worst Person in the World

ACTOR:

1. 
   Andrew Garfield - Tick Tick... Boom, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Mainstream, Spider-Man: No Way Home
2. Benedict Cumberbatch - The Power of the Dog, The Courier, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, Spider-Man: No Way Home
3. LaKeith Stanfield - Judas and the Black Messiah, The Harder They Fall
4. Jack Lowden - Benediction
5. Kone Bakary - Night of the Kings
6. Javier Bardem - The Good Boss, Being the Ricardos, Dune
7. Dev Patel - The Green Knight
8. Franz Rogowski - Great Freedom, Undine
9. Woody Norman - C'mon C'mon
10. Adarsh Gourav - The White Tiger

SUPPORTING ACTRESS: 

1. 
   Jessie Buckley - The Lost Daughter, The Courier
2. Rita Moreno - West Side Story
3. Dianne Wiest - I Care a Lot
4. Ariana DeBose - West Side Story
5. Dominique Fishback - Judas and the Black Messiah
6. Milena Smit - Parallel Mothers
7. Millicent Simmonds - A Quiet Place Part II
8. Jo Hartley - Sweetheart
9. Ruth Negga - Passing
10. Emma Thompson - Cruella

SUPPORTING ACTOR: 

1. 
   Daniel Kaluuya - Judas and the Black Messiah
2. Kodi Smit-McPhee - The Power of the Dog
3. Ray Liotta - The Many Saints of Newark
4. Andre Holland - Passing
5. Anders Danielsen Lie - The Worst Person in the World
6. Theodore Pellerin - Underground
7. Noah Jupe - A Quiet Place Part II, No Sudden Move
8. Rajkummar Rao - The White Tiger
9. Sope Dirisu - Mothering Sunday, Silent Night
10. Richard E Grant - Everybody's Talking About Jamie

WORST FILM: 

1. 
   Space Jam: A New Legacy 
2. The Reckoning 
3. Joe Bell 
4. Tom and Jerry 
5. Red Notice
6. The Birthday Cake 
7. Hide and Seek 
8. Those Who Wish Me Dead
9. Voyagers 
10. Cry Macho 

N O N - F I L M   D I V I S I O N

TV SERIES: 

1. 
   It's a Sin (BBC)
2. The Underground Railroad (Prime)
3. Ted Lasso (Apple)
4. Mare of Easttown (HBO)
5. Brand New Cherry Flavor (Netflix)
6. Call My Agent (Netflix)
7. The White Lotus (HBO)
8. Shameless (Showtime)
9. Succession (HBO)
10. Young Rock (NBC)

SINGLES: 

1. 
   Montero (Call Me By Your Name) - Lil Nas X
2. Caroline - Arlo Parks
3. Energy - Pa Salieu & Mahalia
4. Love Is Back - Celeste
5. Todo de Ti - Rauw Alejandro
6. 3, 2, 1 - 24kGoldn
7. Don't Be Late - Michael Kiwanuka
8. Waiting on a War - Foo Fighters
9. Apricots - Bicep
10. Overpass Graffiti - Ed Sheeran

Critical Week: The eyes have it

Screenings are beginning to crank up as awards season begins. I'm a member of three groups of critics that give out year-end awards, and there are quite a few films I still need to catch up with before ballots are due, starting in mid-December. I managed to see one this week, the biopic The Eyes of Tammy Faye, adapted from a favourite documentary of mine (from 2000), now starring Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield as tele-evangelists Tammy and Jim Bakker. Even if it feels a bit satirical, it's a strikingly well-made, even-handed film with a strong emotional kick. Samantha Morton stars in the Welsh comedy-drama Save the Cinema, based on a true story about a community trying to save their local theatre, with a little help from Steven Spielberg. It's perhaps too warm, but thoroughly engaging.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
The Power of the Dog • The Feast
Petite Maman • C'mon C'mon
Bad Luck Banging or Looney Porn
Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time
PERHAPS AVOID:
Hide and Seek
ALL REVIEWS >

Jonathan Rhys Meyers stars in Hide and Seek, a thriller remade from a Korean movie. It's slick, but seems to have lost much of its oomph in the translation. Celine Sciamma continues to surprise with the wonderful Petite Maman, an inventive look through a young girl's curious eyes. The Spanish drama Isaac bristles with nostalgia in a knowing story of old friends reconnecting. And the documentary Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time unpicks the life of one of my favourite authors with lots of wit and some seriously amazing archival footage, plus the personal story of a long friendship.

Coming up this week, I'll be watching Nicole Kidman in Being the Ricardos, Lady Gaga in House of Gucci, Keira Knightley in Silent Night, Lea Seydoux in France, Disney's animated musical Encanto, the animated sequel Sing 2, the double collection of shorts The French Boys and the Nazi legacy doc Final Account. I also have a few stage shows to watch.

Critical Week: In your face

After a very long five-month lockdown, cinemas are once again open in the UK, and distributors are flooding screens with both new films and several that have been previously released online but really should get some big screen love. I'm hoping to revisit some titles over the coming weeks. New films I watched this week include Mainstream, which stars Andrew Garfield as an influencer who takes social media by storm. It's a bold, overreaching film that demands attention. On the big screen with an awesome sound system, I watched John Krasinski's sequel A Quiet Place Part II, once again starring Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe as a family trying to keep silent around terrifying monsters. It's a nail-biter, packed with thrillingly scary set-pieces.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Hating Peter Tatchell • Nomadland
Ammonite • Minari • Undergods
PERHAPS AVOID:
Those Who Wish Me Dead
Rare Beasts
ALL REVIEWS >

Less effective was the thriller Those Who Wish Me Dead, with Angelina Jolie as a tough guy smokejumper. The plot was even more contrived than that, but the filmmaking is solid. A Hitchcock homage, The Woman in the Window is gloriously well-made, with a terrific cast led by Amy Adams and a plot that barely holds water. Finn Whitehead stars in the loose, relaxed drama Port Authority, as a homeless teen who falls for a trans dancer. Another British-based animated drama from Studio Ghibli, Earwig and the Witch is visually innovative but narratively awkward. From Austria, Why Not You is an involving, very dark drama about a young man struggling in the aftermath of a terrorist attack. And from Australia, Hating Peter Tatchell is a riveting, expertly assembled doc about the groundbreaking London-based activist.

Oddly, press screenings seem to be re-opening very slowly, and I only have one in the diary for this coming week, namely the dark drama Zebra Girl. But I suspect more will come along soon. In the mean time, there are screener links to watch for Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead, Emma Stone in Cruella, the Hollywood romcom Introducing Jodea and the documentary A Space in Time. I also have some theatre and dance performances to attend, so watch for those reviews here.

Critical Week: Fly away

I'm getting ready to get on a plane today and head off to Los Angeles. With this timing, it probably sounds like a glamorous Oscar trip, but actually I'll be there to celebrate my mother's 80th birthday! And as a side benefit I get to watch the Oscars during the day time, instead of staying up all night in London.

This week's screenings included Willem Dafoe's Venice Best Actor winning role as Vincent van Gogh in At Eternity's Gate, Julian Schnabel's beautifully artful biopic. The awesome Florence Pugh holds her own opposite Dwayne Johnson (grandstanding as himself) in the quirky British comedy-drama Fighting With My Family, based on the true story of a young woman from Norwich who became a WWE champion. Rebel Wilson has a lot of fun in the romcom pastiche Isn't It Romantic, although the lazy script almost scuppers her chances. Still, it's mindless good fun.

What They Had is a dark drama with a powerhouse cast including Hilary Swank, Michael Shannon, Robert Forster and Blythe Danner. It's a bit heavy, but also moving as it explores a family dealing with ageing parents and Alzheimer's. Under the Silver Lake stars Andrew Garfield as a slacker in Los Angeles who gets caught up in an absolutely bonkers mystery. And the Carlos Acosta biopic Yuli is a sweepingly artful exploration of Cuba an dance, with Acosta playing himself in the framing scenes.

Sunday night's Bafta ceremony (or to give it its proper title: The British Academy Film Awards) continues to ripple, with people wondering how it might impact Oscar in just over a week's time. The wild cards now are Rami Malek and Mahershala Ali, clearly loved by their peers as they upset the favourites in their categories (Christian Bale and Richard E Grant). The other question is whether Roma can walk off with the big title, or if they'll go for something more mainstream. No one seems to have a clue, which makes this year's show more interesting than usual.

I have no idea if I'll see any films while I'm away. I have a few streaming links I need to watch, but if past trips are anything to go by, those are doubtful (if I could stream on the plane it would be perfect!). There's nothing in American cinemas I particularly want to catch up with - perhaps Miss Bala or What Men Want.

LFF: Inhale on day 1

The 61st BFI London Film Festival kicked off tonight with the UK premiere of Andy Serkis' directing debut Breathe (pictured above). I feel like I barely caught my breath in the one week between my trip to the Venice Film Festival and the start of press screenings for this festival. It's been an intense two and a half weeks, and now we have 12 days of even more! The trick isn't watching four films a day, it's finding the time to write about them and keep up to date on my work in general. And I'm too old to skip sleeping! Anyway, here are some highlights from today and tomorrow, including a couple of films I saw in Venice now linked to full reviews...

Breathe
dir Andy Serkis; with Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy 17/UK ****
For his directing debut, Andy Serkis tells the true story of Robin Cavendish, a pioneer who sought independence for the disabled, including himself. With this subject matter, the film is obviously inspirational. But it's nade with splashes of colour and personality, dcatching the imagination to help redefine what it means to lead a fulfilling life. It's also finely shot by cinematographer Robert Richardson and beautifully acted by a sparky cast... FULL REVIEW >

Lean on Pete
dir-scr Andrew Haigh; with Charlie Plummer, Steve Buscemi 17/US ****.
There's an unusual depth of character to this finely crafted odyssey about a teen who hits the road in a last-gasp effort to find some hope. While there's plenty of potential for bleakness, writer-director Andrew Haigh instead infuses the film with warmth and honesty, facing the darkest moments head-on as the only way to get through them. It's an extraordinarily tough story told with a light touch that brings the viewer right into the journey... FULL REVIEW >

Brigsby Bear
dir Dave McCary; with Kyle Mooney, Matt Walsh 17/US ****
Like a fanboy-infused variation on Room, this darkly comical drama takes on a potent story about a young man rescued from a lifelong kidnapping. The clever script is very funny, keeping the audience laughing brittlely. And the film is also grappling with some rather intense issues in a meaningful way. This is a striking feature debut for director Dave McCary... FULL REVIEW >

Racer and the Jailbird
dir Michael R Roskam; with Matthias Schoenaerts, Adele Exarchopoulos 17/Bel ***.
Filmmaker Michael Roskam reteams once again with Matthias Schoenaerts for this personal drama set against the criminal scene in Belgium. More of an epic romance than a thriller, the film has plenty of emotional moments that draw the audience into the central romance. Although it's all perhaps a bit too dark for its own good, as the film runs out of hope before we're ready to give up on these people... FULL REVIEW >

The Cakemaker
dir-scr Ofir Raul Graizer; with Tim Kalkhof, Sarah Adler 17/Isr ***.
Warm and open, this Israeli-German drama takes a sensitive approach to a complex relationship. Writer-director Ofir Raul Graizer stirs in strong issues without ever losing sight of the internal journeys the characters are taking, and how their interaction helps them move forward. And with its low-key style, the film is beefed up with some powerfully resonant undercurrents... FULL REVIEW >

Roller Dreams
dir Kate Hickey; with James Lightning, Sara Messenger 17/Aus ***.
It may seem like a straightforward documentary about a specific time and place, but this film mixes its frankly awesome archival footage with both a moving narrative arc and powerfully resonant political themes. So it becomes much more than the story of a multi-ethnic community's nostalgia for a lost time. It's also darkly personal journey and a striking chronology of a city's shockingly racist history... FULL REVIEW >

~~~~~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~~
C R I T I C A L   W E E K
I've only had three non-festival films this past week, namely Denis Villeneuve's astonishing sequel Blade Runner 2049, Jessica Chastain in Aaron Sorkin's fast-talking true story Molly's Game, and Josh Hartnett in the true survival thriller 6 Below.

37th Critics' Circle Film Awards: words and pictures...

These three ladies were the stars of Sunday night's 37th London Critics' Circle Film Awards, held at the May Fair Hotel. I'm the chair of the event, so spend most of the year organising it with a hard-working committee, lots of helpers and some great sponsors. And we spread the winners around this year. Above: Kate Beckinsale won British/Irish Actress, Isabelle Huppert won both Actress of the Year for Things to Come and the Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film, and Naomie Harris won Supporting Actress for Moonlight.

Here's the team: me, our actor-filmmaker hosts Alice Lowe and Steve Oram, and Critics' Circle President Anna Smith.

When Isabelle Huppert was presented with the Dilys Powell Award - an honour we have wanted to bestow on her for years - the audience rose for a standing ovation.

Tom Bennett won Supporting Actor for Love & Friendship, Ken Loach won British/Irish Film of the Year for I, Daniel Blake.

Lewis MacDougall won Young British/Irish Performer for his work in A Monster Calls, while writer-director Babak Anvari won Breakthrough British/Irish Filmmaker for Under the Shadow.

Naomie Harris poses with her award alongside her Moonlight costar Alex Hibbert, who accepted the Supporting Actor award for Mahershala Ali. And on the right, director Brady Hood with his lead actress Jessica Barden - winners of British/Irish Short Film of the Year for Sweet Maddie Stone.

Accepting the Documentary prize for Fire at Sea were editor Jacopo Quadri and producer Donatella Palermo. And here's an intriguing couple: will we see Isabelle starring in Ken's next movie?

Some winners who couldn't be with us recorded video messages. These included Casey Affleck, who won Actor of the Year for Manchester by the Sea, and Andrew Garfield, who was named British/Irish Actor of the Year. Two winners sent written messages: Kenneth Lonergan for Screenplay accepting Manchester by the Sea, and Maren Ade accepting Foreign-Language Film for Toni Erdmann.

Damien Chazelle recorded his video to accept Film of the Year for La La Land on his phone just after landing on a flight to China. Laszlo Nemes sent thanks for Director of the Year for Son of Saul from the middle of pre-production on his new film in Hungary. And cinematographer Sturla Brandth Grovlen thanked the critics for his Technical Achievement Award for Victoria from Montserrat.

Nominees celebrating with us for the evening included Dave Johns (I, Daniel Blake), Sennia Nanua (The Girl With All the Gifts) and Ferdia Walsh-Peelo (Sing Street).

More nominees: writer-director Mia Hansen-Love (Things to Come), filmmaker Otto Bell (The Eagle Huntress) and composer Mica Levi (Jackie).

Special guests with us included Love & Friendship costars Morfyd Clark and Emma Greenwell, as well as George MacKay.

And finally, here are a couple of snaps of me - on the left with Kristina Rihanoff and Ben Cohen, and on the right with Kate Beckinsale. The Sun ran this photo hinting that I was her "dapper" date for the evening. Hmmm!

Critical Week: Pray for mercy

London critics caught up with Martin Scorsese's new film Silence  this past week. It's a strikingly thoughtful movie, a quest for faith for Portuguese priests in 17th century Japan - a bit academic perhaps, but powerful. And then there's the biggest movie of the year: Gareth Edwards' stand-alone Star Wars story Rogue One, which is a startlingly edgy war thriller with complex characters and situations that don't go as expected. It's a properly grown-up movie unafraid to embrace its darker elements.

There were two starry year-end dramas: Taraji P Henson and Octavia Spencer lead the ensemble in Hidden Figures, about the women whose mathematics expertise got Nasa into space in the early 1960s. And Michael Keaton stars in The Founder, about McDonald's ruthless entrepreneur Ray Kroc. Both films are solidly made, finely acted and worthy of acclaim, if not actual Oscars.

Further afield, The White King is a strikingly well-made dystopian thriller with a somewhat murky plot; The Eyes of My Mother is an inventively harrowing monochrome drama with elements of grisly horror; and London Town is an enjoyable riff on the music scene of the late 1970s. I also watched the rather uneven TV spectacular Hairspray Live!, which had a great cast but struggled to maintain this fantastic musical's energy levels. And there were two films I hadn't covered on their UK releases...

---

Chicken
dir Joe Stephenson; scr Chris New; with Scott Chambers, Yasmin Paige, Morgan Watkins 15/UK ***.
Based on the Freddie Machin play, this British indie drama tells a very dark story in a remarkably breezy way. It's a skilful feature directing debut for Joe Stephenson, anchored by fierce performances from the three main cast members. The story centres on Richard (Chambers), a mentally disabled 15-year-old whose best pal is a chicken named Fiona. He lives in a caravan in a field with his big brother Polly (Watkins), a hothead who simply can't hold his temper long enough to keep a job. Then new landowners arrive, threatening their already fragile existence. And Richard befriends their annoyed daughter Annabell (Paige). The shifting dynamics between the characters are fascinating, helping add some deeper feelings to a rather gimmicky plot. In the end, the twists and revelations are so big that they leave the film feeling oddly distant. But it's still powerful stuff, beautifully written, directed and acted.

---

Don't Think Twice
dir-scr Mike Birbiglia
with Gillian Jacobs, Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Birbiglia, Chris Gethard, Kate Micucci, Tami Sagher 16/US ***
Not only is this a serious drama about comedy, but it's also a scripted story about improv, and both of these things make the film difficult to go along with. The central theme is a strongly involving one, that this six-person improvisational team is like a family that has a strong bond even as circumstances pull them apart. When one member (Key) gets his break on a live TV show and their theatre faces closure, all of them are forced to reconsider their career and life choices. Most of this is a little simplistic, but it's very nicely played by likeable actors who bring out strong details in their roles. And some clever cameos and side roles add a bit of spice here and there. Definitely worth a look for anyone interested in the rather grim realities of life as a comedian, but not great if you're looking for a laugh.

---

This coming week I'll be seeing the James Franco/Bryan Cranston comedy Why Him?, the Will Smith drama Collateral Beauty, Michael Fassbender in Assassin's Creed, Ang Lee's Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk and the adventure romp Monster Trucks, plus various last minute screeners to watch in time for voting deadlines.

Abu Dhabi 2: From 18 to 99

The film viewing schedule here at the 8th Abu Dhabi Film Festival isn't too strenuous for our Fipresci jury (just two or three films per day), but I am also trying to catch a few outside our remit. The festival organisers are feeding us to within an inch of our lives - skipping meals will soon become imperative, I think. And the transitions from hot sunshine to chilly air conditioning have already started me sniffling. Otherwise, this is a fascinating city, and I'm enjoying the chance to see bits of it in between screenings. Yesterday I visited the central souk, a stunning marketplace with a modern design that feels intriguingly classic. I also saw two films...

The Wanted 18 is a documentary by Amer Shomali and Paul Cowan offering a remarkably fresh perspective on the Israel-Palestine conflict as it traces the actions of the residents of Beit Sahour, who in the late-1980s bought 18 cows in an effort to gain a bit of independence from the regime (which forbade private enterprise and most other things). These cows became public enemy No 1 to the Israeli security forces, who searched the town as the residents moved them around, continuing the supply of milk. The film's light, comical approach makes all of this into a kind of caper heist, even though it includes references to arrest and torture and essentially is exploring the nature of the intifada, a system of civil disobedience and (mostly) peaceful protest against the occupying Israelis, who were demanding that the oppressed population pay its taxes (even one Israeli official acknowledges how unfair this is). The filmmakers take an inventive, comical approach using interviews, dramatisations, comic book frames and even claymation (giving voices to the cows as rather ridiculous Sex and the City type divas). It's a little fragmented and frantic, but it sharply highlights the absurdity of the situation.

99 Homes is an American drama by Ramin Bahrani set during the housing crisis in 2010. It centres on a Florida builder (Andrew Garfield) who loses his job and is evicted from his cruelly foreclosed home by an estate agent (Michael Shannon) who later offers him a job working with him. The script skilfully highlights the issues, even if the plot feels over-constructed and a bit too reliant on coincidence. It also gets darker and darker, which makes it clear that something is going to have to snap somewhere - and that there will be an obvious moral message to trumpet at the end, which indeed there is! Still, it's well shot and acted with raw intensity by Garfield and Shannon, plus a strong but somewhat truncated supporting turn from Laura Dern (as Garfield's mum). And it's the performances that hold the interest right through the story's creepy progression into a moral quagmire and out the other side. Garfield in particular brings a real emotional kick to the whole film.

> NB. Internet access can be a bit hit and miss here, but I'll keep updates coming whenever possible. I'm also tweeting and posting Instagram photos along the way.