Critical Week: Who runs the world

I've only had one actual press screening this week, which seems a bit odd with so many huge movies floating around that need to be seen (to be fair, I saw several of them in Venice). Instead, I managed to catch a special preview at my local Picturehouse of The Woman King, the heavily fictionalised historical epic starring Viola Davis as leader of a 19th century West African all-female army. Even if the film sidesteps some facts, it's a rousing movie that audiences should enjoy, especially with terrific performances from Davis, Lashana Lynch, John Boyega and Thuso Mbedu. And then there were George Clooney and Julia Roberts hamming it up in Ticket to Paradise, a comedy without many actual laughs. But when they're not goofing around, the stars find both chemistry and some surprising dramatic textures.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Blonde • Athena • After Yang
Juniper • In Front of Your Face
ALL REVIEWS >

Smaller films this week included the quietly riveting Irish drama It Is In Us All, starring the superb Cosmo Jarvis; the pointed and perhaps a bit contrived New Zealand drama The Justice of Bunny King, anchored by another terrific performance from Essie Davis; Korean auteur Hong Sangsoo's involving, sensitive and unusually perceptive drama In Front of Your Face; and the warmly engaging doc A Bunch of Amateurs, about a 90-year-old movie-making club in the North of England.

Coming up this next week are Francois Ozon's new film Peter von Kant, the horror thriller Smile, the sci-fi thriller Control, the mystery thriller The Razing, the French drama Rodeo, the Icelandic drama Godland.

Critical Week: Let it burn

A much-promised heatwave failed to materialise in London this week. It's been a bit warmer, but not worth planning to be outside instead of in a cinema. Press screenings this week were lower key than they have been - no blockbusters this week. Caleb Landry Jones has been rightfully winning awards for his textured turn in Nitram, a fact-based story from Australia that's involving and very chilling. 

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
The Quiet Girl • Vortex
Everything Everywhere All at Once
This Much I Know to Be True
ALL REVIEWS >

Two films skilfully mangled genres. Emergency looks like a standard American stoner comedy romp, but is actually much darker and deeper in its exploration of race and class issues. All My Friends Hate Me looks like a standard British reunion comedy, but is actually an unnerving exploration of 30-something insecurities. The experimental military drama Foxhole takes a pointed, involving look at war by putting its cast into action on three very different battlefields. The Chilean drama The Sea tackles issues of love and sexuality in offbeat, impossible to stereotype ways. And the documentary The Princess chronicles Princess Diana's life using only news and paparazzi footage, creating a powerful narrative in the process.

This coming week, films to watch include Tom Cruise's 35-years-later sequel Top Gun: Maverick, the 50-years-later sequel The Railway Children Return, Jesse Buckley in Men, Rebel Wilson's comedy Senior Year, the Romanian drama Uppercase Print and the Chinese drama River of Salvation.

Critical Week: Lord have mercy

It's been another slow week for screenings, which has been helpful as it's been a crazy one in the movie awards world - both sifting through the big award winners and the way they impact the season as a whole, and organising the London Critics' Circle Film Awards, which take place next week.

The three movies I saw were: The Rhythm Section, an action thriller with a female perspective starring Blake Lively, Jude Law and Sterling K Brown; True History of the Kelly Gang, Justin Kurzel's stylish take on the Aussie folk hero starring a staggeringly good George MacKay, Essie Davis and Nicholas Hoult; and the feel-good British comedy-drama Military Wives, a true story from the director of The Full Monty, starring Kristin Scott Thomas, Sharon Horgan and Greg Wise.

There was also the launch event for New Nordics Festival, which will be presented by theatre company Cut the Cord 18-21 March at Yard Theatre in East London. It's a clever new initiative that involves six playwrights from six Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the Faroe Islands) teaming up with six UK-based directors to bring their work to a British audience for the first time. This is a superb display of Brexit-defying collaboration between northern European countries that share elements of climate, culture and history. And the plays all look intriguing, grappling with social issues, environmental awareness and gender equality. With a bit of Ikea thrown in for good measure. For full details: YARD THEATRE 

In addition to another theatre press night, I also have film screenings of three acclaimed arthouse films this coming week: the Icelandic drama A White, White Day; the Swedish drama Koko-Di Koko-Da; and the housing crisis documentary Push.