Critical Week: It's an emergency!

Well, I'm back in London after a couple of weeks visiting friends and family in Southern California. Of course, I also caught a few films out there. There were press screenings for two movies that open this week: Stop! That! Train! is a silly disaster movie satire with RuPaul Charles and a bevy of drag queens (including Ginger Minj and Jujubee, above) on a runaway train through a stormagaza. It's profoundly ridiculous, and fairly hilarious. Steven Spielberg is back in the alien business with Disclosure Day, a riveting thriller starring Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Colin Firth and Colman Domingo. It's expertly assembled in a way that's hugely entertaining, and also thought-provoking.

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There was also a screening of The Invite, a pungent, play-like drama featuring just four characters superbly well-played by Olivia Wilde (who also directs), Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton. And Boorman and the Devil is a fascinating multi-layered documentary exploring John Boorman's biggest bomb, Exorcist II The Heretic (1977). Back in London, there was the fiercely original Mexican stop-motion animated fantasy I Am Frankelda, the slickly made Norwegian underwater monster movie Kraken, and the uneven but provocative indie dramatic horror thriller Red Lights. 

While in California, I took my parents to see Project Hail Mary on the big screen, as I wanted to see it again, and loved it just as much as the first time. We also caught up with Rob Reiner's And So It Goes (2014). a scrappy and warmly likeable romcom starring Diane Keaton and Michael Douglas, and The Union (2024), a dopey but likeable action comedy with Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg. It was a special treat to attend a retro British concert at the Hollywood Bowl featuring 1980s icons The Human League, Soft Cell and Alison Moyet (see below). On the flight back to London, I finally watched last year's amusingly nutty reboot of Anaconda, starring Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Thandiwe Newton and some big cameos, as well as the expansive two-part doc Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!, which I enjoyed a lot.

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching Pixar's Toy Story 5, Joan Collins in A Murder Between Friends, British comedy Virginia Woolf's Night and Day, British drama Ish, US drama Blue Film and global doc Super Nature. And the 34th Raindance Film Fest kicks off on Wednesday.

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LFF 2: It's a woman's world

Another day of movies at the 58th BFI London Film Festival. I had a superb interview with Brazilian filmmaker Daniel Ribeiro in the morning about his film The Way He Looks (see below), and then ended the day with a Q&A after a screening of The Cut with filmmaker Fatih Akin and actor Tahar Rahim. Meanwhile, festival highlights on Day 2 included Peter Strickland's astonishing The Duke of Burgundy (above). Here are some short comments on that and other films - full reviews will be on the website soon...

The Duke of Burgundy
dir Peter Strickland; with Sidse Babett Knudsen, Chiara D'Anna 14/UK ****
After Katalin Varga and Berberian Sound Studio, no one expects British filmmaker to make a straightforward movie, and this is far from the mainstream. Yet despite its superficially shocking premise the film is actually about the core elements in any relationship, and the vivid filmmaking and raw performances bring this out as the story develops.

Queen & Country
dir John Boorman; with Callum Turner, Caleb Landry Jones 14/UK ***
Essentially a meandering collection of nostalgic anecdotes, this gentle military comedy-drama is somewhat undermined by its uneven performances and unfocused plot. But it's full of likeable characters and enjoyable moments. And it nicely continues the tradition of irreverent war movies.

Pasolini

dir Abel Ferrara; with Willem Dafoe, Riccardo Scamarcio 14/It **

Swirling with ambition, this odd collage of a movie never quite connects its disparate parts together to communicate anything very meaningful to the audience. Shot in a murky, uneven style, director Ferrara has made it difficult to make out what writer Braucci intended with this Fellini-esque dip into the mind of an iconic filmmaker. 

The Way He Looks

dir Daniel Ribeiro; with Ghilherme Lobo, Fabio Audi 14/Br ****

Brazilian filmmaker Ribeiro expands his award-winning short I Don't Want to Go Back Alone in to a feature, the title of which translates, cheekily, Today I Want to Go Back Alone. Yes, he's taking a different approach this time, not just by expanding the cast and the themes, but also in his relaxed approach to what is a startlingly warm and effective coming-of-age drama.

Wild Life

dir Cedric Kahn; with Mathieu Kassovitz, Celine Sallette 14/Fr ****

Based in an astonishing true story, this free-spirited French drama can't help but get under the skin with its pungent premise and sharp characters. It's also directed with earthy honesty by Kahn to bring out the rougher edges of the people and places. And it quietly builds to a powerful emotional kick.