Critical Week: Play ball

I've been laying low this week, watching few films to recover after the glut of the London Film Festival (42 features in two weeks!). The final weekend of the festival featured a few movies that will be hitting cinemas over the coming months, including King Richard, starring Will Smith in a biopic about Richard Williams, the father of Venus and Serena. It's a crowd-pleasing movie, but would have been stronger if it was actually the sisters' story. Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand lead a strong cast in Joel Coen's The Tragedy of Macbeth, a retro-style Shakespeare movie that's bold and riveting, even if it's never surprising. 

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
The French Dispatch Dune
The Harder They Fall
PERHAPS AVOID:
The Show
ALL REVIEWS >

Further from the beaten path, Memoria is a surreal Colombian odyssey by Thai filmmaker Apichat Weerasethakul starring Tilda Swinton. It looks and sounds amazing, never mind what it's about. From provocateur filmmaker Paul Verhoeven, Benedetta audaciously mixes religion with sexuality in the true story of a 17th century French nun. Dashcam is a riotously inventive London-set horror thriller as seen through a live-stream camera. Todd Haynes' doc The Velvet Underground traces the story of the iconic New York art scene band with an inventive mix of visuals and music. The terrific Mexican doc A Cop Movie blurs the lines between fact and fiction with its skilfully layered approach. And the British doc Rebel Dykes recounts the important story of 1980s queer activists with the energy and attitude they deserve.

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching Oscar Isaac in The Card Counter, the big-budget horror thriller Antlers, the British-Indian horror Barun Rai and the House on the Cliff, the vampire thriller Dead & Beautiful and the Turkish drama Love, Spells & All That.

LFF: If looks could kill

The 65th BFI London Film Festival came to an end tonight with the closing night gala screening of Joel Coen's The Tragedy of Macbeth. As always, I've enjoyed catching up with a lot of great films over the past month, and there are some I still need to chase in the coming months. Here are my favourites from this year's festival, and three more highlights...

RICH'S BEST OF THE FEST

• 
  BENEDICTION (Davies, UK)
• FLEE (Rasmussen, Den)
• THE POWER OF THE DOG (Campion, NZ)
• THE FRENCH DISPATCH (Anderson, US)
• A HERO (Farhadi, Irn)
• PLAYGROUND (Wandel, Bel)
• BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN (Jude, Rom)
• COMPARTMENT NO 6 (Kuosmanen, Fin)
• HIT THE ROAD (Panahi, Irn)
• MEMORIA (Weerasethakul, Col)

The Tragedy of Macbeth
dir-scr Joel Coen; with Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand 21/US ***.
Joel Coen takes a strikingly stylised approach to Shakespeare's Scottish play, shooting it in the style of a 1950s movie adaptation with grand-scaled stage sets and glowering black and white cinematography by Bruno Delbonnel. It looks spectacular, and the fine ensemble cast throw themselves fully into the dialog and action. Although the over-egged sound mix muffles their words, the emotionally energetic performances give the film several strong kicks... FULL REVIEW >

Wild Indian
dir-scr Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr; with Michael Greyeyes, Chaske Spencer 21/US ****
As it grapples with issues of identity and justice, an ethereal tone engulfs this dark indigenous American drama. Drawing on his own Objiwe heritage, writer-director Lyle Mitchell Corbine add layers to characters and situations that force audience to engage on an especially intense level. It may get a bit melodramatic, but this is a sensitive, thoughtful film that has a lot to say in a short time.

Dashcam
dir Rob Savage; with Annie Hardy, Amar Chadha-Patel 21/UK ****
Shot as live-stream footage, this horror romp makes The Blair Witch Project look like it was made for the Hallmark Channel. With relentless action, raucous violence and a continuous stream of hilarious gags, this is another fantastic genre reinvention from Host filmmaker Rob Savage, who is clearly a flan of classic horror movies. This is hugely enjoyable filmmaking that delights in both shocking the audience and keeping us laughing.

All full reviews of festival films will be published as possible and linked at Shadows' LFF HOMEPAGE

LFF: Chin up

While it's packed to the brim with an astonishing array of high-profile movies and small gems from all over the world, the 65th BFI London Film Festival will probably be remembered just as much for all of the queuing involved. Today I got caught in a brief rainshower standing in a urine-soaked alleyway outside a cinema waiting to get into a press screening - which is something I've had to do for two to three hours each day between films. The things we do to watch movies we've read about but haven't had a chance to see yet! And in most but not all cases, it's well worth the effort...

The French Dispatch
dir-scr Wes Anderson; with Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand 21/Fr ****.
Wes Anderson creates yet another offbeat, fully realised universe in this witty homage to old-school journalism. With a fabulous cast of hundreds, including at least two dozen A-list stars, the film has a sprawling feel to it but remains engagingly intimate as it traces a series of contained stories. Mainly set in the 1970s, it's even more gorgeously designed than expected, packed with hilarious touches and audaciously inventive storytelling... FULL REVIEW >

Ron's Gone Wrong
dir Sarah Smith, Jean-Philippe Vine; voices Zach Galifianakis, Jack Dylan Grazer 21/US ***.
Lashings of goofy charm, wildly coloured imagery and frantic action make this resolutely silly animated romp enjoyable. And it even has a decent message buried under all the usual guff about the importance of family and friends. The filmmakers perhaps try a bit too hard to keep the jokes firing throughout the slapstick narrative. But it's ultimately impossible to resist a movie that's this warm and funny... FULL REVIEW >

Last Night in Soho
dir Edgar Wright; with Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy 21/UK ***
A luridly over-the-top sensibility makes this crazed London drama compulsively watchable. And while it looks terrific, the film becomes rather exhausting in the way it depicts a young woman's struggle with madness. Filmmaker Edgar Wright pours style into each scene, skilfully using real locations to playfully mirror the present day with the swinging '60s. And the superb ensemble is fully committed to even the most outrageous moments... FULL REVIEW >

True Things
dir Harry Wootliff; with Ruth Wilson, Tom Burke 21/UK **
Like an indulgent autobiographical first film, this British drama is so insular that that it becomes increasingly difficult to identify with the characters. Director-cowriter Harry Woodliff is actually adapting a novel, which adds an odd sense of distance to the material. It looks gorgeous with its swirly cinematography and dreamy editing, and Ruth Wilson gives a tremendous central performance. But the pushy filmmaking leaves it feeling empty.

Costa Brava, Lebanon
dir-scr Mounia Akl; with Nadine Labaki, Saleh Bakri 21/Leb ***.
With an earthy pace, this film set on the outskirts of Beirut is both a sparky family drama and a lament for a nation engulfed in corruption. It's skilfully shot in a terrific location, with a few surreal touches that reveal the characters' internal journeys. And its universal themes about justice, regret and expectation carry a nice kick, as the politics are deliberately drowned out by the personal story... FULL REVIEW >

Full reviews of festival films will be published as possible and linked at Shadows' LFF HOMEPAGE 
For full information, visit BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL 

Critical Week: Dog days

With cinemas open again in the UK, things are slowly getting back to normal, and I've had a few press screenings and even a premiere to attend in-person this week. It's great to see movies on the big screen again - I'd begun to forget the joy of being in a darkened room away from distractions. The social distancing guidelines mean the communal experience in audience reaction isn't quite back to normal, but it's getting there. We have another month like this before restrictions will be re-evaluated and perhaps even lifted. Of course, all of this means that freelance critics must now return to negotiating with distributors for precious screening seats, facing seemingly random decisions. For example, despite holding a number of screenings, Disney only offered me an online screening link for the 101 Dalmatians prequel Cruella. I loved the film's subversive approach, its feisty script and characters, and especially the sterling scene-stealing work from Emma Stone and Emma Thompson.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
First Cow • Zebra Girl
A Quiet Place Part II • Cruella
PERHAPS AVOID:
Earwig and the Witch
ALL REVIEWS >

Jason Statham reteams with Guy Ritchie for Wrath of Man, an unusually gritty and bleak movie for both of them. It's very well-made, riveting and darkly involving. Zack Snyder makes his return to the zombie genre with Army of the Dead, an entertaining but overlong rampaging heist epic set in a locked-down Vegas. James Corden is back to voice the title role in Peter Rabbit 2, but the script this time lacks the witty humour. Kids will love the silliness. Director Stephanie Zari and actors Sarah Roy and Tom Cullen attended the premiere of Zebra Girl, a superbly crafted British drama with waves of wit and emotional horror. And I was in heaven finally watching Nomadland on the big screen this week. It was my favourite movie from 2020, but I'd only seen it on my laptop. It's a masterpiece, and looks even more spectacular projected.

In addition to getting my second vaccine, this coming week I have Dylan O'Brien in the sci-fi thriller Flashback, Elia Suleiman's acclaimed It Must Be Heaven, the actor doc The Most Beautiful Boy in the World and the war dancer doc Being Thunder.

LFF: Light the way

The strangest London Film Festival in memory is heading into its final weekend, and I still have yet to have any physical evidence that anything has actually taken place - no printed programme, press badge, not even a single in-person screening. But I've watched a lot of amazing films over the past couple of weeks (two of the best so far are below). I did get out of the house again yesterday for a theatre press night, which was good fun (watch for that review once this LFF blog ends on Sunday). In the meantime, here are four more highlights...

Nomadland

dir-scr Chloe Zhao; with Frances McDormand, David Strathairn 20/US *****

A hybrid between drama and fly-on-the-wall doc, this astonishing film takes a journey through an unseen segment of US society, chronicling the thousands of Baby Boomers whose lives have been irrevocably changed by the 2008 Great Recession. Almost everyone on-screen is playing themselves. Filmmaker Chloe Zhao, Frances McDormand and gifted cinematographer Joshua James Richards create a powerful portrait of a vast community on the move around the American West.

Another Round

dir Thomas Vinterberg; with Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen 20/Den ****

With his usually realistic approach, filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg takes a deep dive into Denmark's heavy drinking culture. Even with the high-concept premise, the film is beautifully character-based, centring on four middle-aged men on a frankly ridiculous quest to prove that humans achieve optimal performance with alcohol in their system. So as warning signs begin to appear, the shift from warm comedy to dark drama is astute, complex and provocative... FULL REVIEW >

Limbo

dir-scr Ben Sharrock; with Amir El-Masry, Vikash Bhai 20/UK ****

An offbeat approach to storytelling sets this film apart as it recounts the experiences of a refugee. Writer-director Ben Sharrock sees the narrative through a cheeky, artful eye, catching tiny absurdities and deeper resonance. With snappy production design, bleak landscapes and expectant faces, this is a wonderfully human approach to an important topic. And it worms its way under the skin, surprising us with laugh-out-loud humour and strong emotions.

Notturno

dir-scr Gianfranco Rosi; with Ali Ali, Mohamas Ali Monajed 20/It ****.

Shot over three years in Syria, Kurdistan, Iraq and Lebanon, this masterful documentary by the gifted Gianfranco Rosi immediately reminds us of the intensely personal stories behind headlines about war. This film digs deeply beneath the news to recount the human impact of political and religious violence. Shot by Rosi like a particularly beautiful narrative feature, it has elements of family drama, adventure and heart-stopping thriller woven into it.

NB. My anchor page for the LFF is HERE and full reviews will appear in between these daily blog entries. The backlog will start shrinking soon.

Critical Week: Oscars for everyone

The 90th Oscar ceremony on Sunday night felt unremarkable, running along without incident with a line-up of winners that was never surprising. There were some nice touches along the way, including host Jimmy Kimmel's opening newsreel montage and his dry, sharply pointed opening monolog. Many of the thank you speeches were also topical, touching on key themes of inclusion and diversity. The star moment went to an impassioned Frances McDormand.

Meanwhile, the show was stolen by Tiffany Haddish and Maya Rudolph, who appeared holding their high heels to present a couple of awards. That made as strong a statement as any, and their banter was flat-out hilarious. Clearly the producers worked overtime to compile a diverse list of presenters, with an emphasis on women and ethnicities. Some of the homage sequences were a little odd (looking at war movies through the decades?), and Kimmel's star-packed trip to the cinema next door was clever but rather corny.

Other highlights included powerful performances of all five song nominees and welcome wins for A Fantastic Woman and long-time nominee Roger Deakins. Although the sweep by The Shape of Water felt somewhat excessive. A good film rather than a great one, its message to outsiders was certainly timely. And frankly, if the ceremony was more entertaining, we wouldn't mind if it was longer.

Meanwhile, back in the screening room, Rooney Mara stars in the biblical drama Mary Magdalene, which is a little too reverent to properly spring to life, despite a strong cast that includes Joaquin Phoenix, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Tahar Rahim as Jesus, Peter and Judas, respectively. Gringo stars David Oyelowo, Charlize Theron and Joel Edgerton in a lively, funny, entertaining but ultimately pointless action comedy. Peter Rabbit is a fast-paced, genuinely amusing romp mixing photo-real animation with live-action (Domhnall Gleeson and Rose Byrne are adorable) to riff on the classic Beatrix Potter stories. And the documentary Mansfield 66/67 traces the final years of the iconic bombshell, whose notorious friendship with Satanic church leader Anton LaVey sparked rumours of a curse surrounding her death at age 34.

Coming up this week are screenings of Alicia Vikander in the Tomb Raider reboot, Bella Thorne in Midnight Sun, Mathieu Amalric in My Golden Days, the dark drama My Friend Dahmer, the teen drama Screwed and something called Attack of the Southern Fried Zombies.

Out on a limb: Oscar picks & predictions

Here we go again: it's the 90th Academy Awards, and it seems as predictable as always. Hopefully they'll throw some surprises in on Sunday night. So even though I rarely get many of these right, here are my votes, who I think will win and who might sneak in and take home the prize. I'm always hoping for an upset...

BEST PICTURE
Will win: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Could win: The Shape of Water
Should win: Dunkirk

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Will / should win: A Fantastic Woman
Could win: The Insult
Dark horse: Loveless

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Will / should win: Coco
Dark horse: The Breadwinner

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Will / should win: Faces Places
Could win: Strong Island

DIRECTING
Will win: The Shape of Water - Guillermo del Toro
Should / could win: Dunkirk - Christopher Nolan

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Will / should win: Call Me by Your Name - James Ivory
Could win: Molly's Game - Aaron Sorkin
Dark horse: Mudbound - Virgil Williams, Dee Rees

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Will / should win: Three Billboards - Martin McDonagh
Could win: Get Out - Jordan Peele
Dark horse: Lady Bird - Greta Gerwig

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Will / should win: Frances McDormand - Three Billboards
Could win: Sally Hawkins - The Shape of Water
Dark horse: Saoirse Ronan - Lady Bird

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Will win: Gary Oldman - Darkest Hour
Should win: Timothee Chalamet - Call Me by Your Name

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Will win: Allison Janney - I, Tonya
Could win: Laurie Metcalf - Lady Bird

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Will / should win: Sam Rockwell - Three Billboards
Could win: Willem Dafoe - The Florida Project

ORIGINAL SCORE
Will win: The Shape of Water - Alexandre Desplat
Should win: Phantom Thread - Jonny Greenwood

ORIGINAL SONG
Will win: This Is Me - The Greatest Showman
Should win: Remember Me - Coco

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Will win: Blade Runner 2049 - Roger A Deakins
Should win: Dunkirk - Hoyte van Hoytema

FILM EDITING
Will win: Baby Driver - Paul Machliss, Jonathan Amos
Should win: Dunkirk - Lee Smith
Dark horse: I, Tonya - Tatiana S Riegel

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Will win: Blade Runner 2049
Should win: The Shape of Water

COSTUME DESIGN
Will / should win: Phantom Thread

VISUAL EFFECTS
Will / should win: Blade Runner 2049
Dark horse: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2

MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
Will / should win: Darkest Hour

SOUND EDITING / SOUND MIXING
Will win: The Shape of Water
Should win: Dunkirk
Could win: Blade Runner 2049

Venezia74: Speak your mind on Day 6

I finally made it across the lagoon in the warm sunshine from the Lido to Venice today. (It took me this long last year as well!) After the two morning films, I jumped on the vaporetto, and then spent the afternoon roaming around one of my favourite places on earth, visiting a couple of museums (Damien Hirst's fabulous Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable at Palazzo Grassi, and the glories of the Guggenheim Collection) and of course eating gelato. Then back over to Lido for two more movies at the 74th Venice Film Festival, so a rather full day...

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
dir-scr Martin McDonagh; with Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson 17/US *****
Writer-director Martin McDonaugh is on blistering form with this fiendishly clever personal drama, which arrives masquerading as a funny, violent police thriller. With take-no-prisoners performances from the entire cast, particularly a storming Frances McDormand, the film tackles our angry world head-on with a surprisingly heartfelt plea for compassion. And it tackles the riveting story as well as a series of pungent themes with remarkable honesty.

The Third Murder
dir-scr Hirokazu Kore-eda; with Masaharu Fukuyama, Koji Yakusho 17/Jpn ****.
Expertly orchestrated by master filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda, this is on the surface a police procedural thriller. Except that it's actually a detailed exploration of a group of intertwined characters who may or may not be telling the truth. Which is kind of the point for what turns out to be a provocative look at the nature of justice in a world full of imperfect people. It's also the kind of movie that demands close attention from the audience.

A Family [Una Famiglia]
dir Sebastiano Riso; with Micaela Ramazzotti, Patrick Bruel 17/It 1h37 **
This may look like a gritty Italian drama that addresses a dark corner of Roman society, but nothing about it feels very believable. Despite some strong acting by the lead actors, the characters are impossible to sympathise with simply because their overpowering self-interest is so contrived. There are some intriguing comments about male-female dynamics and co-dependence, but any astute observations seem to emerge almost by accident.

My Generation
dir David Batty; with Michael Caine, Paul McCartney 17/UK 1h25 ***.
A groovy trip through swinging 1960s London, this colourful documentary explores the seismic shift in British society as working class artists teamed up to break the rules and become global stars in music, acting, art and fashion. Narrated by Michael Caine, its full of enjoyable personal anecdotes, terrific songs and lots of clips edited together into a swirling concoction. It may feel rather gimmicky, but it's packed with entertaining surprises.

Tomorrow we have the world premiere one of the most anticipated films of the festival: Darren Aronofsky's Mother! There's also Jim & Andy, about Jim Carrey and Andy Kaufman, and Loving Pablo, with Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz.