Critical Week(s): Lights, camera, action!

I've rather enjoyed stepping out of my usual routine over the past month or so, with a long catch-up break visiting friends and family after two years, then two weeks of film festival capped by the all-night mayhem of this year's Oscar ceremony. Whether I'll return to my usual schedule is still up in the air, but I'm definitely re-thinking how I spend my time. For example, I was unable to attend the only press screening of Marvel's latest epic Morbius, and I was fine with that. It's the first one I've missed, and I feel that if the studio doesn't want me to see a movie, that's going to be OK from now on. This post is catching up on about two weeks of regular-release movies I watched between festival films... 

BEST NEW FILMS:
The Worst Person in the World
Poppy Field • Jump, Darling
Mothering Sunday • Down in Paris
PERHAPS AVOID:
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
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The most starry of these films was The Bubble, which being a Judd Apatow movie is of course far too long for what it is: a comedy about making a movie during the pandemic. It has its moments, and the cast is up for it, but tighter editing and sharper writing never go amiss. Much more fun was The Lost City, a relentlessly silly romp in the jungle with Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum and Daniel Radcliffe. On the other hand, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 merely honed in on the most irritating things about the likeable 2020 movie, so this one feels painfully unfunny and manages to waste Jim Carrey as well.

Further afield, Jennifer Reeder's offbeat horror Night's End is witty and very clever, creating a terrific sense of gnawing fear, plus some big jolts. Francois Ozon's expertly made French drama Everything Went Fine is based on a true story about dying with dignity, but manages to avoid politics for something more engagingly personal. The Shakespeare Sisters adapt William Shakespeare's iconic romance into the present-day comedy Much Ado, making the most of a low budget and talented cast. Antony Hickling's thoughtful odyssey Down in Paris is a fascinating night of earthy soul-searching. And the British horror comedy Followers finds a new way to use video-screen imagery to create tension, even if the film feels a bit thin.

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching the blockbuster sequel Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Jake Gyllenhaal in Ambulance, Nicolas Cage in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Dermot Mulroney in Agent Game, the French comedy Anais in Love, the Irish thriller You Are Not My Mother and the quirky biopic Aline.

Critical Week: Meet the neighbours

After nearly a year of on-off lockdown, it's beginning to feel like I'll never get to make a new friend again. Everyone is feeling the ongoing boredom of staying home all day during this third London lockdown, only getting out for a bit of exercise each day. This may be great for catching up on movies and binge-watching series, but it's also wearing us down. At least I'm keeping busy, which is perhaps much of the battle. But with a drastic reduction in work for self-employed people like me, the strain is getting much more serious.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Days of the Bagnold Summer
Nomadland • The Mauritanian
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So it helps to watch mindless rubbish like The Croods: A New Age, the enjoyably bonkers sequel to the much more coherent 2013 animated romp about a caveman family, this time with added eco-farmers voiced by Peter Dinklage and Leslie Mann. Also disappointing was Nicholas Jarecki's ambitious opioid thriller Crisis, interweaving three important plots headlined by Gary Oldman, Armie Hammer and Evangeline Lilly. Doug Liman's Locked Down was also uneven, a cleverly made but over-egged British pandemic heist comedy with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Anne Hathaway. 

I connected much more strongly with some films from off the beaten path. Sh*thouse (UK title: Freshman Year) is a scrappy university comedy, written and directed with offhanded charm by its young star Cooper Raiff. From Ivory Coast, Night of the Kings is a bracingly original prison drama with some stunning mystical touches. From Hong Kong, Twilight's Kiss recounts a sensitive, secertive romance between two fathers in their late 60s. And the shorts collection Boys Feels: Desire in the Dark features five intense European mini-dramas exploring angles on masculinity.

I have a list of films to watch over the coming weeks, including Dylan Sprouse in Tyger Tyger, Olivia Cooke in Pixie, Quentin Dupieux's comedy Keep an Eye Out, the British drama Justine, and two more collections of male-oriented short films: The Latin Boys Volume 2 and Boys on Film 21: Beautiful Secret. There's also the programme launch event for this year's BFI Flare film festival, which runs 17-28 March.

Critical Week: Hello sailor

Screenings are slowing down for the holidays, so these were my last movies in screening rooms for the year. Welcome to Marwen is ambitious, an introspective true story augmented with clever effects. So Leslie Mann and Steve Carell (above) play part of their roles as remarkably expressive dolls. It's solid, but more thoughtful than entertaining. All Is True has a hefty cast including Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench and Ian McKellen, intriguingly tracing the final years in Shakespeare's life. It's well-made and a bit offbeat. Papillon is a true story remake about a man (Charlie Hunnam) sent to a vile French penal colony in the 1930s. Beautifully made, finely acted, but a bit stiff. And the Argentine drama My Best Friend tells a quietly involving coming-of-age story about a teen who develops an unexpected crush. And I also caught up with these two...

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Dumplin’
dir Anne Fletcher
scr Kristin Hahn
with Danielle Macdonald, Jennifer Aniston, Odeya Rush, Luke Benward, Harold Perrineau 18/US 1h40 ***.
Warm and not terribly sophisticated, this gently involving comedy-drama has buckets of charm thanks to its cast and a collection of fabulous Dolly Parton songs on the soundtrack (including new ones written for the film). The seriously gifted Danielle Macdonald stars as Willowdean, who signs up for the beauty pageant her mother Rosie (Aniston) won as a young woman and now runs. This is partly to honour her late aunt, partly to annoy her mother and partly to prove to herself that she isn't bothered by people who make fun of her. But of course there are other lessons she needs to learn. And she also needs to work out her messy relationship with her always preoccupied mother: Rosie loves Willowdean, but dismisses her because of her weight. Macdonald offers a detailed portrait of a bright girl with some dark emotional issues. Her complex mix of confidence and insecurity rings refreshingly true, never simplifying her journey. Although her issues with her mom, best friend (Rush) and the cute boy (Benward) who likes her are less nuanced, leading into the usual teen angst. Of course she sabotages every good chance she gets before ultimately learning to be comfortable in her own skin. Thankfully, it's beautifully played by the eclectic cast (including Perrineau as a drag queen mentor) and directed with enough spark to make it earn the sentiment. It will also offer badly needed encouragement to teens who need it most. As Dolly says, "Figure out who you are, and then do it on purpose."

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Blindspotting
dir Carlos Lopez Estrada
scr Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs
with Daveed Diggs, Rafael Casal, Janina Gavankar, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Ethan Embry 18/US 1h35 ****.
Set in Oakland, this is a comedy with a razor sharp edge to it. Lively and audacious, it touches on a range of big issues with wry humour and snappy characters. With just three days left on probation, Collin (Diggs) begins to worry about his friend Miles (Casal), whose obsession with guns and drugs threatens his freedom. Then he witnesses a cop shooting an unarmed man. But he doesn't dare say anything because it was after his curfew. And he doesn't dare challenge the police. The tension in certain scenes is powerfully intense, and always meaningful on much deeper levels. Actor-writers Diggs and Casal create terrific chemistry between them as young guys just trying to make a living with their moving van, developing their private lives and struggling with a system that's tilted against them. While the script is very funny, it is constantly underscored with serious topics and populated with complex characters, each of whom feels like he or she has a big life off-screen. And director Estrada maintains a lively vibe that's entertaining and provocative. This is a powerful look at a young man desperate to prove that he is more than what society tells him he is: a convicted felon. And while the script touches pointedly on racial issues, it's perhaps an even more potent comment on the broader effects of toxic masculinity and gun culture. This is a bracingly well-observed film that's both hugely involving and vitally important. The climactic scene is devastating cinematic poetry.

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There are no more screenings for the rest of the year, but I do have a stack of awards-consideration DVDs and streaming links to watch as I navigate the voting season (two sets of nominations down, one to go, then the final voting rounds) and prepare my own year-end list. Things I still need to catch: Private Life, The Kindergarten Teacher, Bad Times at the El Royale, Shirkers, The Other Side of the Wind, They'll Love Me When I'm Dead, and so on...

Flare 4: Walk on the wild side

The British Film Institute's 32nd Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival continues on the Southbank, and my main tasks over the past few days has been to watch films and interview filmmakers and actors. So I missed the special screening of Maurice, which reunited Hugh Grant and James Wilby on-stage. There are still a few parties to go, so I'm looking forward to seeing friends and getting to know some more of the guests who are in town. Here are some highlights...

The Happy Prince
dir-scr Rupert Everett; with Rupert Everett, Colin Firth 18/UK ****
With lush, deep-coloured production design, this film traces the last three troubled years in Oscar Wilde's life. It's a swirlingly artful approach, shifting around in time to paint a vivid, emotionally charged portrait of a shattered man trying to stoke the embers of his once-grand life. And he's beautifully played by Rupert Everett, who also makes a notable debut as a writer-director.

Becks
dir Elizabeth Rohrbaugh, Daniel Powell; with Lena Hall, Christine Lahti 17/US ***.
Skilfully shot and acted, this warm drama is grounded in an earthy sense of authenticity as it follows a young woman trying to rebuild what's left of her dreams. Even though the plot gives in to structural demands, filmmakers Elizabeth Rohrbaugh and Daniel Powell tell the story in an engaging way, quietly bringing out important themes without pushing them...
FULL REVIEW >

Mario
dir Marcel Gisler; with Max Hubacher, Aaron Altaras18/Swi ***.
Gently observant, this Swiss drama uses a gripping, personal story to confront a much bigger issue: the prejudice against homosexuality in football. Thankfully, director-cowriter keeps the approach personal, creating a character-based romance that's genuinely involving even when the politics threaten to take over. So although it feels rather overlong, it's packed with powerful moments.

Pulse
dir Stevie Cruz-Martin; with Daniel Monks, Caroline Brazier 17/Aus ***.
There's an earthy authenticity to this very slightly fantastical Australian drama that catches the attention right from the start. Shot in an urgent, realist style, it never seems like the actors are performing, and some scenes are so raw that audience members feel almost invasive watching them. As it continues, the story becomes formulaic, but the characters remain solidly grounded.

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C R I T I C A L    W E E K

Outside of Flare, I've seen two very nice surprises, genre films that more than live up to expectations, namely the properly hilarious comedy Blockers and the genuinely terrifying A Quiet Place. There was also the somewhat dense financial scandal doc The Outsider, and a fabulous screening of GW Pabst's 1929 silent classic Pandora's Box, starring the incandescent Louise Brooks.

And the only non-festival screening in the diary for next week is the rescheduled one for The Hurricane Heist. But there are a few things I need to catch up with.

Critical Week: Teen spirit

A highlight this week was the Oscar-nominated Mustang, a pointed Turkish drama about five sisters whose strong personalities are at odds with their restrictive culture. It's beautifully made by first-time feature filmmaker Deniz Gamze Erguven (she's a Turk based in France, so it's the French entry for the Academy Awards). The film has such a striking point of view that it's impossible not to be caught up in its earthy, honest narrative. And what it has to say is remarkably timely.

Other movies screened this week include Ryan Reynolds' entertainingly snarky superhero romp Deadpool, which is perhaps too snarky for its own good but will have genre fans overflowing with praise. Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson, Leslie Mann and Alison Brie grapple with sex and the city in the comedy How to Be Single. Keanu Reeves investigates a perplexing, possibly supernatural-tinged murder in the choppy mystery Exposed. Natalie Dormer seeks her twin in the horror movie The Forest, which is unsettling and creepy until it turns silly. The creepy Austrian drama Goodnight Mommy, which morphs into an original but over-the-top horror thriller as it goes along. And a young junkie throws his life away on the streets of Montreal in the murky, meandering arthouse drama Love in the Time of Civil War.

Coming up over the next week we have a very late screening of Ben Stiller's comedy sequel Zoolander 2, Christian Bale in Terrence Malick's Knight of Cups, Richard Gere in Time Out of Mind, Aidan Gillen in John Carney's Sing Street, and the Belgian comedy The Brand New Testament.

Critical Week: Side of beef

London critics caught up with the new Zac Efron/Seth Rogen comedy Neighbors (international title Bad Neighbours) this week, but aren't allowed to talk about the film quite yet. Suffice it to say that Zac doesn't like to wear a shirt, for obvious reasons. Also embargoed (until tomorrow) is the Cameron Diaz/Leslie Mann comedy The Other Women, costarring Kate Upton, Nicolai Coster-Waldau and Nicki Minaj. And I need to wait until next week to review Plastic, a British heist movie starring rising-star young Brits Ed Speleers, Will Poulter and Alfie Allen.

But I can talk about: Transcendence, the achingly slow sci-fi thriller starring Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany and Rebecca Hall; Pompeii, the wonderfully preposterous Ancient Roman disaster romp starring Kit Harington and a villainous Kiefer Sutherland; Authors Anonymous, a funny but uneven improv-style comedy starring Chris Klein and Kaley Cuoco; Benny & Jolene, an uneven and awkward improv-style British comedy starring Charlotte Ritchie and Craig Roberts; and Who Is Dayani Cristal?, a clever, powerful dramatic documentary about immigration from Central to North America.

This coming week we've got Paul Walker's thriller remake Brick Mansions, Roman Polanski's theatrical drama Venus in Furs, Ozu's classic An Autumn Afternoon and fashionable pensioner doc Advanced Style. I also have a line-up of screenings this week as part of the Sundance London Festival, which runs next weekend. In my diary are, alphabetically: The Case Against 8, Drunktown's Finest, Finding Fela, Hits, Kumiko, Little Accidents, Memphis, The One I Love, They Came Together and The Voices. I'll be blogging and tweeting about Sundance from Friday.

Critical Week: Smash it up

Press screenings for London critics this past week included Disney's energetic new animated comedy-adventure Wreck-it Ralph, which is already out in the US but won't open here until February. We also finally caught up with Chris Smith's astute Indian drama The Pool, which inexplicably took six years to reach UK cinemas; the hugely engaging Canadian comedy-drama Starbuck; the involving Oscar-nominated Belgian drama Bullhead (starring Rust & Bone's Matthias Schoenaerts); the hilarious micro-budget sci-fi comedy pastiche Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same; and the dense and creepy Japanese horror X Game. And I actually bought a ticket to see Breaking Dawn: Part 2 at midnight last Thursday with a cinema full of teenagers and middle-aged women. The film is utterly bonkers - and more fun than the other four parts of the franchise put together.

As for awards-consideration screenings, we had Judd Apatow's hilarious extended sitcom This Is 40, starring the wonderful Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann; Daniel Day-Lewis' measured and astute performance in Steven Spielberg's epic political argument Lincoln; and Matt Damon's reunion with Good Will Hunting director Gus Van Sant for the beautifully assembled Promised Land.

This coming week, the screening schedule is still in flux. In the diary already are: Clint Eastwood in Trouble With the Curve, the acclaimed British indie Broken, the Muslim stand-up comedy drama Material, the school bullying doc Bully, and the indie Christmas comedy Walk a Mile in My Pradas.