Critical Week: Troubled teens

After a very nice break, screenings have started up in London again, and I've had a couple this week. It's been a gentle start to a new year, with the usual offbeat January releases alongside awards-season gems that are being released this month. My first screening was the comedy-horror Get Away, written by and starring Nick Frost (Sebastian Croft and Maisie Ayres, pictured, play his kids). It's nutty and gleefully grisly enough to keep fans happy, but is a bit undercooked. Claes Bang stars in a big-scale account of the Swiss legend of William Tell. The settings are gorgeous and the starry cast is terrific, even if it's never hugely involving.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Hard Truths • A Real Pain
The Girl With the Needle
Babygirl • Maria
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From France, the always enjoyable Laure Calamy stars in It's Raining Men, a comedy about a middle-aged woman who tries to spice up her marriage by hooking up with other men. It feels a little simplistic, but is likeable enough. A UK production filmed in India, filmmaker Sandhya Suri's Santosh is a riveting if slightly underpowered procedural thriller with very strong character beats. And the meta-comedy Extremely Unique Dynamic his hilariously packed with layers of gags as it highlights the friendship between filmmakers Harrison Xu and Ivan Leung.

This coming week, among the films I'll be watching are Michelle Yeoh in Star Trek: Section 31, Julia Garner in Wolf Man, Tom Hanks in Here and the documentaries Changing the Game and Zodiac Killer Project.

Critical Week: Fun in the sun

The sunshine finally emerged in London this week, which won't bode well for this week's box office as everyone takes advantage of the weather. It's also not great for film critics who spend more time than most in darkened basement screening rooms. At least one of the films this week was bright and summery: Two Tickets to Greece is a French road trip movie about two old friends island hopping in the Cyclades. It's watchable because of stars Laure Calamy and Olivia Cote (above), plus the always incandescent Kristin Scott Thomas. There was also this week's blockbuster Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, which has markedly upped the impressive digital effects and performance-capture work, but feels more formulaic than the previous trilogy.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
La Chimera • Aisha
ALL REVIEWS >

Less flashy was the British drama The Almond and the Seahorse, which features Rebel Wilson in a rare serious role in a story about the repercussions of brain injury. The Image of You is a feverishly trashy thriller with Sacha Pieterse and Parker Young, a proper guilty pleasure. Lazareth is a gripping but somewhat overserious post-apocalyptic thriller with Ashley Judd. Hazard is a raucous action comedy from Poland, an enjoyably messy guilty pleasure with an emotional core, And Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In is a fiercely impressive action thriller from Hong Kong with a vivid narrative and fabulous characters. I also caught rather bonkers and thoroughly crowd-pleasing The Opera Locos at the Peacock theatre.

This coming week I'll be watching Ryan Reynolds in IF, Chris Pratt in The Garfield Movie, Daisy Ridley in Young Woman and the Sea, Lena Dunham in Treasure, Elizabeth Hurley in Strictly Confidential and the horror thriller In Flames. I'mm also watch Dave Hill's stand-up show Caveman in a Spaceship.

On the Road: What's for dinner

I'm visiting family and friends in California for a couple of weeks, enjoying the bright sunshine and rather outrageous food. Yes, I went straight to In-n-Out from the airport, and have also had fish tacos most days. Plus an amazing brisket taco at the notorious Heritage Barbecue in San Juan Capistrano and a gorgeous short rib taco at personal favourite Amor y Tacos in Cerritos. And a church potluck. But it's not all about food. I finally saw a film in a cinema, plus catching up with a couple on the plane, and two more besides...

Killers of the Flower Moon
dir Martin Scorsese; with Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro 23/US *****
Martin Scorsese recounts a true story with a remarkable sense of scale, keeping events intimate while exploring the much larger issues and ramifications. It's a harrowing lesson in American history, highlighting the systemic injustice that peppers pretty much everything that happened once the Europeans claimed North America as their own. Expertly made on every level, the film never boils over, maintaining a riveting simmer of menace so urgent that we don't want to blink.

Moving On
dir-scr Paul Weitz; with Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin 23/US ***. 

There's a surprising edge to this comedy-drama reuniting Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in more serious roles than usual. As they confront an awful event from their distant past, they also grapple with where they are now. It's nostalgic, but never overplayed, and writer-director Paul Weitz keeps the film truthful and smart, with occasional hints of a breezy caper that seems a bit out of place with dark theme at the story's centre. Thankfully, strong writing and characterisations add more nuance than expected.  

Full Time [À Plein Temps]
dir-scr Eric Gravel; with Laure Calamy, Anne Suarez 21/Fr ****
With a riveting central performance by Laure Calamy and a nonstop running pace, this French drama has an electric kick in its exploration of the hectic pace of modern life. Writer-director Eric Gravel keeps the audience right with this single mother as she navigates a series of personal and professional issues amid a calamitous national strike. It's sometimes exhausting to watch her flail against these obstacles, but her tenacity is inspiring, and the film includes sharp humour and honest emotion.

Before leaving London, I caught up with William Oldroyd's period-style melodrama Eileen with Thomasin McKenzie and Anne Hathaway, which is finely produced but oddly underwritten. And I also watched Luc Besson's spy thriller Anna, which I'd somehow missed when it was released. Although it's such a familiar plot, even with its plot fragmented into a choppy mess, that it can't help but cause deja vu. Fun turns from Helen Mirren (as a gruff Russkie), Luke Evans and Cillian Murphy.

This coming week, I'll catch up with a few films at AFI Fest in Hollywood, namely Kate Winslet in Lee, Pater Sarsgaard in Memory, JA Bayona's Society of the Snow, and the festival season favourites Evil Does Not Exist  and Io, Capitano.