Critical Week: Scary movies

It's been a busy week at the movies for me, even if the cinemas are a bit hit and miss at the moment, with a bunch of releases that look unlikely to threaten Barbie's dominance of the box office. I finally caufht up with Disney's remake of Haunted Mansion, which is as much of a limp mess as the 2003 film was, abandoning characters for corny references and mindless action. Much better was Aporia starring Judy Greer, an inventive and involving time-bending drama with no special effects at all. I also enjoyed Ben Kingsley teaming up with Jane Curtin and Harriet Sansom Harris in the stranded-alien caper Jules, which is simple and charming.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Red, White & Royal Blue
Aporia • Dreamin' Wild
L'Immensita • Medusa Deluxe
PERHAPS AVOID:
Haunted Mansion
REVIEWS >

A bit further afield was the gorgeous stop-motion animation in The Inventor, which recounts the story of Leonardo da Vinci with wit and colour. Lucy Hale and Grant Gustin star in the cute romcom Puppy Love, which is fine for those looking for something unsurprising. Jeremy Allen White is terrific in a supporting role in Fremont, a clever and very quirky arthouse movie about Afghan immigrants. The superb Japanese drama Love Life remains remarkably sunny as it explores some very dark themes. And the Romanian drama RMN takes no prisoners in its exploration of xenophobia in a rural community.

This coming week I'll be up in Edinburgh watching shows at the Fringe and covering them here. I also have a couple of films to catch up on if there's time. I also hope to reattend the new staging of La Cage Aux Folles at the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park, as the press night was rained out after about an hour of the show on Tuesday.

LFF: How did I get here?

I got to take a break last night from the London Film Festival and head down to the Archlight cinema next to the Battersea Power Station to watch the short film Cognition, which was partly filmed here. It was my first real trip away from my home since the festival began more than a week ago, and it was a relief to do something completely different. I have a theatre press night tonight, so another chance to get out. Meanwhile, the festival films are still screening through the online portal, keeping me busy. Here are a couple of highlights, plus my usual weekly roundup below...

David Byrne's American Utopia

dir Spike Lee; with David Byrne, Chris Giarmo 20/US ****

A filmed version of David Byrne's triumphant 2019 Broadway show, this is a musical and visual extravaganza photographed and edited with precision. Director Spike Lee brings the audience right on-stage to become a part of the performance, drawing out the show's striking exploration of the highs and lows of US society. The film will thrill Byrne's fans, and should also spur newcomers to take a dive into his catalog.

After Love

dir-scr Aleem Khan; with Joanna Scanlan, Nathalie Richard 20/UK ****.

Written and directed with sensitivity by Aleem Khan in his feature debut, this British drama approaches weighty themes with a remarkably light touch. It's a tender, internalised story that pulls the audience in deeply without the need for much in the way of dialog or exposition, skilfully revealing a complex story through observations and reactions. And it compassionately speaks to major cultural issues without ever pushing a message.

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C R I T I C A L   W E E K

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Over the Moon • Time
The Other Lamb • I Am Greta
Martin Eden • Herself 
PERHAPS AVOID:
Honest Thief • War With Grandpa 
FULL REVIEWS >

This week has been mainly about the LFF, so I've only seen four films that aren't part of that: Liam Neeson as good as ever in the tediously cliched action thriller Honest Thief; Paul Bettany in a superbly textured role in the powerful but a little too pushy topical drama Uncle Frank; the Faustian horror thriller Nocturne; and Andrew Scott and Jeremy Irvine in the lavishly produced half-hour sci-fi epic Cognition. I should have watched more, but there just wasn't enough time.

There's an enormous list of releases slated for next week that I need to watch, so we'll see how many of these I can get through, including: Colin Firth and Julie Walters in a new version of The Secret Garden, Malin Akerman in the comedy Friendsgiving, Jamie Dornan in the thriller Synchronic, the cycling drama The Climb, the fantasy adventure Max Winslow and the House of Secrets, the Train to Busan sequel Peninsula, and the short film compilation The Italian Boys.

Critical Week: Women on top

Two big films screened to London press this week have strong female voices. Lily Tomlin stars in Grandma, as a sparky 70-year-old on a mission with her granddaughter (Julia Garner). It's a funny, involving film with unexpected depth. Much more overtly political, Suffragette explores the real events a century ago when women demanded that they should no longer be treated like slaves, beginning with the right to vote. It features a blistering performance by Carey Mulligan, plus strong support from Anne-Marie Duff, Helena Bonham Carter, Natalie Press and, in a cameo, Meryl Streep.

Women are also at the centre of the scruffy comedy Addicted to Fresno, starring Judy Greer and Natasha Lyonne as sisters who get involved in a silly caper. A Haunting in Cawdor is a moody horror thriller centres on a young woman (Shelby Young) in a summer work-release theatre camp. And the messy British comedy Convenience stars Vicky McClure as a savvy mini-mart clerk dealing with two idiotic robbers.

Both Grandma and Suffragette are screening in the London Film Festival, for which we also had press screenings including: Clemence Poesy and David Morrissey in The Ones Below, Idris Elba in Beasts of No Nation, Mads Mikkelsen in Men & Chicken, Deepa Mehta's Beeba Boys, Marco Bellocchio's Blood of My Blood and the British addiction doc Chemsex. More comments on these as the festival gets underway.

Coming up this week we have Ryan Reynolds in Mississippi Grind controversial filmmaker Gaspar Noe's Love, the doc Listen to Me Marlon and the British animated romp The Big Knights. London Film Festival screenings include Truman, The Invitation and James White.