Critical Week: All for one

I've spent the past three weeks in California with my parents, and moviegoing wasn't at the top of the list for things to do. Now back in London, I need to do rather a lot of catching up. This is especially true for TV series, as ballots are due in about 10 days for the Dorian TV Awards. And time is complicated by the arrival of a new film festival in London next week, as SXSW takes over the slot was previously occupied by Sundance London for the past 11 years. As for this past week, I basically got off the plane, took a power nap and then headed to a press screening of Karate Kid: Legends, an enjoyable bit of formulaic entertainment that teams up Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio with newcomer Ben Wang (above).

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Tornado • The Salt Path
The Phoenician Scheme
The Astronaut Lovers
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The only film I watched in the US was the big one, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, in which Tom Cruise once again impresses us with his stunt skills (plus some acting too) in a story that's a bit heavy on exposition. But it's still a must-see on a large screen. Disney's live-action remake of the animated classic Lilo & Stitch is enjoyably energetic but less anarchic than before. 

Wes Anderson is back with another stylised comedy, the star-packed The Phoenician Scheme, which is a lot of fun even if the plot begins to feel a bit dense. Jesse Armstrong's pointed comedy Mountainhead stars Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Cory Michael Smith and Ramy Youssef as tech billionaires. It's talky and rather uneven, but also entertaining and astute. And from Australia, Dangerous Animals is an enjoyably nasty twist on the shark-attack thriller, with Jai Courtney as a deranged killer who uses his victims as bait. Genre fans will love it.

This coming week I'll be watching Ana de Armas in the John Wick spinoff Ballerina and Andrew Rannells in I Don't Understand You, catching up with Natalie Portman and John Krasinski in Fountain of Youth, and attending the first SXSW London film festival.

Critical Week: Mask up

The weather in the UK has broken all records, unbearably hot temperatures for a nation that has so little air conditioning. Thankfully, I was able to escape to cool theatres and cinemas! And the warm weather is continuing, so I'll be on the look out for ways to avoid the sweatiness. Films this past week included the Austen-style period romance Mr Malcolm's List starring Freida Pinto and Sope Dirisu. It's engaging but feels very gimmicky. And then there was Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank, a surprising remake of Blazing Saddles as an animated kid-friendly romp set in feudal Japan. It's silly fun, perhaps too messy for children, but fans of the original will enjoy the references, including Mel Brooks voicing a new take on his original role.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
The Big City • My Old School
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A little further afield is the British historical drama Prizefighter, about 1800 boxing champ Jem Belcher. It's simplistic, but is boosted by having Russell Crowe and Ray Winstone in key roles. Katie Holmes writes, directs and stars in the pandemic romance Alone Together, which is warm and engaging, and also predictable. The comedy-drama The Shuroo Retreat, follows a journalist to a wacky self-help weekend, with results that are funny and remarkably complex. The British romantic drama You Are My Sunshine is clearly a labour of love by inexperienced actors and filmmakers. It's awkward but has its moments. And there were two more selections of shorts in the Girls Feels series: Forces of Nature and Skin Deep, taking bold, insightful looks at young women coming of age.

Films to watch this coming week include the animated adventure DC League of Super-Pets, Juliette Binoche in Both Sides of the Blade, Will Poulter in The Score, Billy Porter's comedy-drama Anything's Possible and the horror thriller Hypochondriac.

Sundance London: See the world

The Sundance Film Festival London continues today with an event about the ethics of documentary filmmaking and a special screening of Visconti's classic Death in Venice, which is of course the subject of the festival doc The Most Beautiful Boy in the World. This is a busy, short blast of a festival, and many of these films will never see a big screen in Britain again, so it's worth the effort to get down to Picturehouse Central or some of the other venues that are hosting screenings and events. 

Cryptozoo
dir-scr Dash Shaw; voices Lake Bell, Michael Cera 21/US ***
Essentially Jurassic Park with fantastical creatures, this energetic animated romp is made by various artists in their distinct styles, then inventively stitched together on-screen. There's a wildly original mix of imagery, all beautifully hand-drawn from sketches and line art to vividly detailed colour illustrations. Writer-director Dash Shaw's story may not be terribly complex, but it's loaded with deeper themes and properly grown-up touches that will win it a following.

The Nest 
dir-scr Sean Durkin; with Jude Law, Carrie Coon 20/UK ***.
Earthy and intriguing, this intensely personal drama has a terrific balance of humour and darkness, keeping the audience on edge with a subtle sense of foreboding. Writer-director Sean Durkin is determined to subvert expectations, carefully guiding the point of view to deepen the characters in unexpected directions, mirroring the misdirection that fills each person's life. And even if the film meanders a bit, the cast relishes the sharp dialog... FULL REVIEW >

Human Factors 
dir-scr Ronny Trocker; with Mark Waschke, Sabine Timoteo 21/Ger **.
There's an intentionality to this dark German drama that holds the interest, even if writer-director Ronny Trocker keeps everything far too enigmatic to properly connect with the audience. But then this is a film about disconnection, as a family is quietly pulled apart by a series of misunderstandings, clashing personalities and unnervingly insidious betrayals, some of which are unconscious. Still, letting the viewer in would have helped a lot.

Pleasure 
dir-scr Ninja Thyberg; with Sofia Kappel, Revika Anne Reustle 21/Swe ***
There's a bold point at the centre of this Swedish drama set in the Los Angeles porn industry: that even women who are intentional about becoming adult movie stars are still being exploited and often abused by men. Filmmaker Ninja Thyberg says this through virtually each scene in this compelling but repetitive story. It's finely acted and shot with a riveting point of view. But it never feels personal.

• For more festival information: PICTUREHOUSE: SUNDANCE
• Visit Shadows on the Wall's anchor page for SUNDANCE LONDON for links to all reviews.

Critical Week: No wallflower

As awards season heats up, the films screened to critics begin to feel more eclectic than usual. One higher-brow offering was Lady Macbeth, which I missed in the festival rounds last autumn. Florence Pugh stars as a woman who finds a rather grisly way to take control of her life in 19th century England. It's gruesome and clever. The Space Between Us is a romance between two teens in which a sci-fi plot point becomes little more than set dressing. It's a well-made film, but the script remains resolutely superficial.

On the extreme other end of the spectrum, The Lego Batman Movie is a frantic comedy that's very funny but also somewhat exhausting. From Romania, Graduation is a powerfully challenging drama that grapples with huge themes in a way that's sharp and resonant. And All This Panic is a loose, beautifully shot and edited documentary that feels like a narrative feature about a group of teen girls navigating crises that feel like the end of the world. To them at least.

I'm flying off to California for the next couple of weeks to visit family and friends. And I'll also catch up with some movies along the way, which I'll cover here. First on my list is John Wick Chapter 2, as I'm missing the big London press screening. I'll also be over there for Bafta on Sunday night, and perhaps more relevantly for Oscar two weeks later.

Critical Week: Take aim

Critics got back to work this week with the first press screenings of the year accompanied by a glut of awards action - including nominees from Bafta as well as producers, directors and writers guilds. This weekend's Golden Globes kick off the ceremony season, while Oscar nominations next Wednesday shift things up another gear. But back to the movies...

Perhaps the most fun this week was had watching Bounty Killer (above), a trashy B-movie action romp that isn't very good but makes up for that with a lot of lurid energy. More low-budget fun was had with The Devil's Bargain, a devilishly twisty micro Brit-horror about three people cavorting naked in a field before the world ends ... in 1974.

Only slightly more mainstream, Giuseppe Tornatore's art-world thriller The Best Offer stars Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sturgess and Donald Sutherland. It's slightly underpowered and predictable, but looks great. Michael Cera and Gaby Hoffmann play Yanks abroad in intriguingly offbeat Chilean road movie Crystal Fairy & the Magic Cactus. Rising star Tom Schilling is a likeable slacker in the Woody Allen-style German comedy-drama Oh Boy. And the snappy documentary 1: Life on the Limit oddly blends a celebration of Formula One history with a rather sobering chronicle of the sport's fatalities over the decades.

This coming week is a mixed bag, as we've already seen most of the awards contenders that are opening in cinemas over the next month. Up next are Zac Efron and Michael B Jordan in That Awkward Moment, Nick Frost in Cuban Fury, the British comedies Svengali and 8 Minutes Idle, and the award-winning Greek mystery Miss Violence.