Critical Week: So in love

It's been another busy week at the movies, as Cannes announced its programme of films, instantly launching next year's awards season with a bang. Almodovar! Refn! Pawlikowski! Farhadi! Zvyagintsev! Kore-eda! Sachs! Hamaguchi! Dhont! The Javis! Meanwhile, I bought a ticket to see Zendaya and Robert Pattinson in The Drama, because I wasn't invited to the one and only press screening. I really enjoyed it, an unhinged black comedy that pushes the audience to take a side.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Outcome • The Stranger
Father Mother Sister Brother
California Schemin'
ALL REVIEWS >

Otherwise, there was the family comedy whodunit The Sheep Detectives, an enjoyably silly Babe-style romp starring Hugh Jackman and Emma Thompson, with the voices of Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Bryan Cranston. Keanu Reeves leads Jonah Hill's quirk-filled Outcome, a smart comedy-drama about Hollywood packed with fantastic characters. The cast includes Cameron Diaz, Matt Bomer, Martin Scorsese and Susan Lucci. Gaten Matarazzo, Lulu Wilson and Sean Giambrone star in the riotous stoner comedy Pizza Movie, which is far smarter than it looks thanks to filmmakers Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney. The Japanese anime romcom ChaO looks like nothing you've ever seen, and tells an oddly engaging story about a man who marries a fish. And I also attended a special cast and crew screening of the pointed and involving short film Geronto, plus a live performance of Palatable Gay Robot at Udderbelly Boulevard.

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching the British romcom Finding Emily, Jude Law in The Wizard of the Kremlin, Charli XCX in Erupcja, Bob Odenkirk in Normal, John Magaro in Koln 75, the romantic comedy Almost Us and the French comedy-drama Colours of Time.

Critical Week: It wasn't me

It's been a momentous week in the UK, with a general election on Thursday that delivered on its expectations to completely upend the nation's government. On the 4th of July, no less. Meanwhile in the movies, Eddie Murphy returned for a fourth time for Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, an overly retro sequel that feels like a movie we saw 40 years ago (we did). But Murphy is still great on-screen in this role. Also on Netflix, Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron reteamed for A Family Affair, which is as silly as it looks, and also an amusing guilty pleasure.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Kill • The Conversation
Orlando, My Political Biography
Unicorns • The Nature of Love
ALL REVIEWS >

I saw two horror creep-outs: Mia Goth is back for MaXXXine, the third film in Ti West's series about young women seeking fame, this time a pornstar going mainstream while yucky violence breaks out all around her. Also very yucky, Longlegs stars Nicolas Cage in perhaps his most bonkers role yet (which is saying a lot). It's a relentlessly unsettling freak-out. And I was also delightful stressed out revisiting one of the finest thrillers ever made, Francis Ford Coppola's 1974 gem The Conversation, followed by a terrific Q&A with legendary sound and film editor Walter Murch.

Three films use surrealism to address big themes: Julia Louis-Dreyfus stars in the eerie dark drama Tuesday, as a mother confronting death (in the form of a parrot) about her daughter's life. Ewan McGregor and Ellen Burstyn lead the offbeat and intense Mother Couch, about a woman who forces her adult children to grapple with her mortality. And Paul Raci is a guru teaching The Secret Art of Human Flight in an quirky comedy-drama that's bleakly emotive. And then there were father and son Stellan and Gustaf Skarsgard teaming up for the gloomy and haunting Scandinavian mystery What Remains, and fiercely inventive Chinese drama Black Dog, which deservedly won a couple of prizes at Cannes. I also attended Carlos Acosta's breathtaking stage production of Carmen at Sadler's Wells.

This coming week isn't looking quite as crazy as this one was. I'll be watching Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum in Fly Me to the Moon, Sandra Huller in Sisi & I, Korean thriller Sleep, Iranian drama My Favourite Cake and the British animated adventure Kensuke's Kingdom. In live theatre, I'm attending Dorian: The Musical and the opening cabaret for Soho Theatre's Clown Festival.

Critical Week: Stay cool

This is an almost comically hyped-up cinematic week, as #Barbenheimer heralds the release of two of the year's most anticipated releases, Greta Gerwig's Barbie and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer. Annoyingly, Universal refused to let me attend any Oppenheimer press screenings, but I'll still see it. Of course, Warners launched Barbie in a big splash of pink, and it's a hugely enjoyable film, far smarter than expected, with a strong point underpinning its candy-coloured hilarity. Teyonah Parris, Jamie Foxx and John Boyega (above) star in the funky comedy-thriller They Cloned Tyrone, which oozes style as it tells a bonkers story that also has a much more serious edge to it. More gleefully ridiculous, Joy Ride is an entertaining and perhaps too-riotous romp following Ashley Park, Stephanie Hsu, Sherry Cola and Sabrina Wu into various crazy situations in East Asia.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Oppenheimer • Barbie
ALL REVIEWS >

Much more subtle films included Julia Louis-Dreyfus reteaming with writer-director Nicole Holofcener for the comedy You Hurt My Feelings, which astutely observes relationship issues from a knowing perspective. The stunningly well written, directed and acted drama Mutt follows a young trans man as he reconnects with three people from his past. The literally breathtaking thriller The Dive remains contained around two sisters who have a terrifying underwater crisis. There were also two docs: the sassy and profoundly moving Kokomo City, about Black trans sex workers caught between their various communities, and Bobi Wine: The People's President, a riveting portrait of a populist politician standing up against corrupt rule in Uganda. I also caught two superbly masculine shows at the end of Sadler's Wells Flamenco Festival.

Tomorrow I'll buy a ticket to see Oppenheimer in 70mm but not Imax, as those are all sold out. In addition, I'll be watching the romantic comedy Red, White & Royal Blue, plus the French drama Smalltown Boys, the Malaysian thriller Walid, the animated adventure Mavka: The Forest Song, the Tibetan doc Baato, and the 23rd Boys on Film shorts collection Dangerous to Know.

Critical Week: The plane! The plane!

That'll be me tomorrow - flying off to paradise. Well, to see my parents, who happen to live in Los Angeles (not tropical, but can't complain). Anyway, that's a photo from the new film adaptation of the classic 1970s TV series Fantasy Island. Although the filmmakers seem unsure what they wanted to achieve, including some of the show's cheesy humour alongside corny melodrama and grisly horror. It never settles into one thing, and the story never comes together. A real waste of a solid cast that includes Michael Peña, Maggie Q, Michael Rooker and Austen Stowell. But hopefully the cast and crew had a nice holiday on that lovely island.

Much better was Onward, Pixar's new brother-centred animated adventure that's packed with comedy, action and, yes, emotion. It's simply gorgeous, perhaps more aimed at boys than girls. Daniel Radcliffe continues to eschew Hollywood with Guns Akimbo, a bonkers action movie from New Zealand that has great energy and rather a lot of gratuitous gore. Showing at Cinequest and Outfest Fusion over the next week or so, Breaking Fast is a superbly thoughtful comedy-drama about a gay Muslim who finds love unexpectedly.

I didn't have time to watch any other films this past week - other than revisiting Orlando (1992), for the first time on a big screen. It was screened at BFI Southbank as part of the Tilda Swinton season, and it was introduced on-stage by Swinton and writer-director Sally Potter, who offered a hilarious unscripted stream-of-conscience commentary (see below). A real joy. And the film hasn't aged at all - it still feels bracingly present-day.

There are several films I'm hoping to catch up with in cinemas while in California, including Emily Blunt's A Quiet Place Part II, Ben Affleck's The Way Back, Annette Bening's Hope Gap, Javier Bardem's The Roads Not Taken, and the cycling comedy The Climb. Whether I'll have time for any of those is yet to be seen...

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Sally Potter and Tilda Swinton provide priceless entertainment before last night’s screening of the eerily timeless masterpiece #Orlando

A post shared by Rich Jack Cline (@ukcline) on Mar 3, 2020 at 5:40am PST

LFF 4: Meet the filmmakers

I've reached that point in the London Film Festival when my backlog of reviews begins to swell, and my lack of sleep begins to affect my ability to carry on a coherent conversation. But it's been a good weekend of movies, wrapped up with Pawel Pawlikowski (above with festival director Claire Stewart, photo by me on the front row) presenting his gorgeous new film Ida, one of my favourites so far. The stars and filmmakers were out in force over the weekend, enjoying the crisp sunshine on Saturday and the gloomy rainshowers on Sunday. Here are some more highlights...

All Is Lost 
dir JC Chandor; with Robert Redford 13/US ***.
Shot with an astounding attention to detail, this film puts us right in the middle of a life-or-death situation with its only character, a sailor whose boat founders in the middle of the Indian Ocean. But Chandor's remarkable skill as a director is slightly undone by a plot that piles on too many disasters... FULL REVIEW >

Enough Said 
dir-scr Nicole Holofcener; with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini13/US ****
With her usual style of off-handed honesty, writer-director Holofcener gives the rom-com formula a welcome grown-up twist. And even if the story is somewhat simple, the characters bring out layers of insight in every scene. It's smart and often very funny, with brittle, flawed people we can easily identify with... FULL REVIEW >

The Zero Theorem 
dir Terry Gilliam; with Christoph Waltz, Melanie Thierry 13/Rom *** 
Terry Gilliam updates the look and feel of Brazil to the digital age with this lively and raucously imaginative adventure-drama. So it's a shame that the plot runs out of steam about halfway through, leaving us unable to piece together the big ideas that flood through every corner of the script... FULL REVIEW >

Closed Curtain 
dir Jafar Panahi, Kambuzia Partovi; with Kambuzia Partovi, Maryam Moqadam 13/Irn *** 
Banned filmmaker Panahi continues to work by making movies with other filmmakers and distributing them outside Iran. Packed with clever ideas, this feels more like an expression of his frustration than a fully formed feature. After an intriguingly provocative first half, it turns surreal and far too metaphorical... FULL REVIEW >

Teenage
dir Matt Wolf; with Jena Malone, Ben Whishaw 13/US **. 
An odd hybrid, this film mixes authentic newsreel footage with fictional re-creations to explore the concept of the teenager, which didn't exist before World War II. But ultimately the film merely traces American and European history from 1904 to 1945, only offering a flash of insight in its final moment... FULL REVIEW >