Critical Week: Campfire stories

The new year has kicked off in London with rather a lot of wind and rain, which makes me want to shelter indoors rather than going out to see any movies. But screenings are starting up again this week, so I'm venturing out into the cold and damp. Meanwhile, movie awards season is cranking up another gear with more voting deadlines and the completely revamped Golden Globes coming on Sunday night. I voted in them again this year, so will be curious to see who wins, although I'll have to wait to read about it on Monday as no one broadcasts the ceremony in the UK.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Memory • Scala!!!
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Filmwise, I watched the timely near-future thriller The End We Start From with Jodie Comer (pictured above with Benedict Cumberbatch) as a new mother in a flooded Britain - the perfect movie to watch on a very rainy day! The odyssey plays cleverly through emotions and perspectives rather than action or plotting. Bricklayer is a preposterous action thriller set in Greece with Aaron Eckhart and Nina Dobrev, directed by explosion-master Renny Harlin. The loose-limbed thriller He Went That Way follows two men on a 1960s road trip. It's a bit awkward but nicely played by Jacob Elordi and Zachary Quinty. And I also watched the five intriguing shorts nominated for the London Critics' Circle Film Awards.

This coming week I'll be watching the new adaptation of the stage show Mean Girls: The Musical, the thriller You Can't Stay Here, London-set drama Silver Haze,  Chilean drama The Settlers and the documentaries Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer and The Disappearance of Shere Hite.

Critical Week: It's party season

December is here and festive gatherings have started to pop up, a nicely warming alternative to cold, damp winter nights. I'm still catching up on movies, seeing things for various awards voting deadlines. Nominees start coming in next week. This past week's films included Daniel Levy's warm-hearted Good Grief, an uneven comedy-drama that has some strong things to say about grief (above: Himesh Patel, Levy, Jamael Westman and Ruth Negga). Pierce Brosnan loses none of his charm as a grizzled fixer in Fast Charlie, a predictable crime thriller that's surprisingly engaging.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Poor Things • Wonka
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
The Boy and the Heron
Origin • The Peasants
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Higher brow films included George Clooney's The Boys in the Boat, which recounts a wonderful true story in an oddly bland way. Ava DuVernay's Origin tackles a massive issue with an involving story and perhaps too much to think about. Kelly Reicherdt reunites with Michelle Williams for Showing Up, a loose but observant comedy about the art world. Juliette Binoche cooks up a storm in the French period drama The Taste of Things, which is overlong and far too mouthwatering. Trace Lysette is magnetic in Monica, a tough and moving drama about a mother and daughter. From Poland, The Peasants is an superb historical drama with a strong kick, animated using oil paintings. And I also saw three live on-stage performances: Lunar Halo at Sadler's Wells, Tossed at Royal Vauxhall Tavern and Gary Starr Performs Everything at Southwark Playhouse.

Movies this week include Jodie Comer in The End We Start From, Eva Longoria's Flamin' Hot, Michael Winterbottom's Shoshana, the Turkish drama The Teachers' Lounge and more that need catching before the next voting deadline.