Critical Week: Sucker punch

There were three big movies screened to critics this week. Liam Neeson takes on the lead role (as the son of Leslie Nielsen's iconic character) for the reboot/sequel The Naked Gun, which is flat-out hilarious. And as wonderfully stupid as we hoped it would be. Pedro Pascal leads the action reboot The Fantastic Four: First Steps, alongside Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bacharach. Groovy visual stylings and superbly character-rooted comedy make it thoroughly engaging. And Sam Rockwell is back for the animated sequel The Bad Guys 2, which is just as funny and action-packed as the first movie. With some terrific new characters and bigger set-pieces. 

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Dying • The Bad Guys 2
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
ALL REVIEWS >

Further afield, Fiona Shaw and Katherine Waterston are as good as expected in the mother-daughter drama Park Avenue, which is involving but elusive. Even more the evasive, Gazer is a stylised mystery thriller that intrigues but never quite pays off. Slovenian drama Little Trouble Girls is also somewhat slippery in its coming-of-age story about a teen choirgirl. 

Much more gripping is Love, the second chapter in the Oslo Stories Trilogy, which features fascinating characters on offbeat journeys. I also loved watching the 100-year restoration of Eisenstein's silent masterpiece Battleship Potemkin, with a new score by the Pet Shop Boys. I'd never seen it on a big screen, and it looks and sounds gorgeous. It also feels thoroughly modern. Finally, I attended a special 3D premiere of the new trailer for Avatar: Fire and Ash, which looks properly epic. The film itself comes out in December.

This coming week I'll be watching the horror thriller Bring Her Back, British road movie The Ceremony, Dutch coming-of-age drama Young Hearts, the final chapter of the Oslo Stories Trilogy, Sex, and the Ukrainian documentary 2000 Meters to Andriivka. I'll also attend the premiere of the second season of the Netflix show Wednesday.

On the Road: Comfort movies

One of the hazards of being a film critic is the airline entertainment system: scrolling through the hundreds of movies that are on offer looking for something that (1) I haven't seen before and (2) want to watch. Occasionally something that fits this criteria pops up but, on my recent flight to California to spend some time with my family, there wasn't anything. In these cases I tend to turn to favourite comedies or musicals that will amiably pass the time. On this flight, the 1999 classic Galaxy Quest did just the trick. I hadn't seen it in years, and I'd forgotten how great the cast is: including Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tim Allen, Sam Rockwell, Tony Shalhoub and Daryl Mitchell (above). This isn't a film you ever get tired of revisiting. I also revisited the 2005 musical Rent, a film that isn't quite as potent as the stage version but still boasts excellent performances. And I watched all eight episodes of The Franchise (it's a long flight!), an amusing comedy series about the cast and crew of a superhero movie. It's likeable and sometimes very funny, but feels a bit random.

Before leaving London I also watched two very small American dramas: Midnight in Phoenix is a micro-budget thriller about two guys who go on the run after witnessing a violent robbery. It's a bit uneven, but has strong emotions and solid characters. Things Like This is a snappy New York romantic comedy that's a little awkward but features nicely complex characters and connections.

While I'm out here, I am hoping to catch Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, and possible also Disney's live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch. But my emphasis is on spending time with my family, and it's nice to have movies take the back seat for a couple of weeks.

BEST NEW FILMS: The Wedding Banquet (9th May cover with Lily Gladstone and Kelly Marie Tran) • Motel Destino • The Extraordinary Miss Flower • Good One (16th May cover with Lily Collias) ALL REVIEWS >

Critical Week: Hold that thought

I'm even busier this week as the date approaches for the 44th London Critics' Circle Film Awards, which I am organising on Sunday. So much to organise, including the slippery business of wrangling celebrities. But the ceremony and party are going to be great. Meanwhile, the big movie this week was Matthew Vaughn's Argylle, in which Henry Cavill plays a suave super-agent living in the mind of novellist Bryce Dallas Howard. The idea is clever, but the film is far too busy, loud, violent, twisty and long to work properly. Still, some colourful moments and a great cast (Sam Rockwell, Samuel L Jackson, Ariana DeBose) make it almost watchable. The animated adventure Migration is a lot more fun, gorgeously animated and packed with great characters thanks to screenwriter Mike White (of The White Lotus fame).

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
The Zone of Interest • Skin Deep
American Fiction • Disco Boy
How to Have Sex • Blue Giant
ALL REVIEWS >

Further afield, the drama Shayda centres closely on the experiences of an abused Iranian wife seeking shelter in Australia. It's beautifully acted, involving and hugely emotional. The Japanese animated jazz-infused drama Blue Giant is packed with a spectacular imagery and music, and a strongly engaging story. And the dark drama Pornomelancholia is the thoughtful, naturalistic story of a young man who wants to become a pornstar in Mexico. I also got the chance to revisit my best film of 2023, Andrew Haigh's All of Us Strangers, as it finally opened in UK cinemas last weekend. It hit me in a very different way the second time - astonishing filmmaking that I will revisit again.

This coming week I'll be watching the biopic One Love: Bob Marley, the thriller Out of Darkness and the drama Hoard, among other things and getting some sleep.

Critical Week: Movie night

I've started off the new year catching up on things I had hoped to see last year, including three acclaimed foreign-language titles that have been in this year's awards conversation. From Spain, Alcarras is a lively, remarkably authentic drama about a family facing a big change. From Pakistan, Joyland is a proper stunner about a young couple straining against a society full of expectations and restrictions. From Brazil, Mars One is a lovely, loose drama about four family members who have their own distinct dreams.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Till • Piggy • Alcarras
Mars One • Women Talking
ALL REVIEWS >

Two films coming out this week are The Enforcer, a skilfully made thriller with an under-developed plot, anchored by a terrific Antonio Banderas as a growly mob heavy. And the mystery thriller Exploited is enjoyably lurid even if it's awkwardly assembled.

I also caught up with Disney's latest animated adventure Strange World, an enjoyably colourful romp that feels a bit simplistic in its themes. A sequel to the guilty-pleasure hit Enchanted, Disenchanted has lots of great songs but a story that feels rushed and, well, all wrong. The British period whodunit See How They Run creates an enjoyably witty vibe but strains to engage the audience. The animated romance Entergalactic looks fantastic, and has some nice underlying themes, but ultimately sticks too close to the genre rules. And then there was The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, a throwback to those vintage TV specials. It's nutty and entertaining, and offers some terrific scenes with favourite characters, but it's never quite as bonkers as we hope it will be.

Movies I'll be watching this coming week include the horror thriller M3gan, Jim Parsons in Spoiler Alert, Nicolas Cage in The Old Way, Gillian Jacobs in The Seven Faces of Jane, and catch-up screenings of Cha Cha Real Smooth, Broker, The Swimmers and others.

Critical Week: On the run

Awards screenings continued this week with several strikingly good movies. Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner Smith star in the superb, pointed, involving road movie Queen & Slim. George MacKay and Dean Charles Chapman star in Sam Mendes' bravura WWI adventure 1917, which also features cameos from Benedict Cumberbatch, Andrew Scott, Mark Strong and Colin Firth. Mark Ruffalo takes on an evil corporation in Todd Haynes' riveting true drama Dark Waters. And Paul Walter Hauser is stunning as the title character in Clint Eastwood's Richard Jewell, the true story of a man whose life was ruined by media sensationalism in 1996.

Not looking for awards are Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan, back with all their friends for the lively, silly Jumanji: The Next Level, which has a bit mote texture than the first one. And John Cena and John Leguizamo lead the charge as firefighters in Playing With Fire, a dim but rather enjoyably ridiculous mix of comedy and action.

Further afield, Jennifer Reeder's unhinged Knives and Skin is an enjoyably deranged mystery-thriller with blackly comical edges set in small-town America. And Helen Hunt leads the horror thriller I See You as a doped-up housewife whose already strained life is upended by what seems like a ghost in the family home. There was also this important reissued drama from 1985...

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Buddies
dir-scr-prd Arthur J Bressan Jr
with Geoff Edholm, David Schachter, Damon Hairston, Joyce Korn, Billy Lux, David Rose, Libby Saines, Susan Schneider, Tracy Vivat
release US 12.Sep.85 • reissue US 21.Jun.18, UK 6.Dec.19 • 85/US 1h21 ****

Digitally restored to a pristine state, this is one of the earliest dramas about Aids, made as the epidemic was only just starting in 1985. It's one of the most humane treatments of the topic, centred around a friendship between two young men who are facing their mortality in very different ways. Filmmaker Arthur Bressan has some tricks up his sleeve, but his storytelling is disarmingly simple, which makes the characters and situations deeply engaging.

As a volunteer for a gay community centre, 25-year-old David (Schachter) introduces himself to 32-year-old Aids patient Robert (Edholm), who is in hospital with no real chance of recovery. David is nervous, and Robert is confrontational, but as they get to know each other, barriers come down and they share their very different personal journeys. David sneaks some porn into the room, while Robert challenges David to get involved in pushing the government to end its silence and stop a disease that is killing a generation.

While the film's tone feels simplistic and old-fashioned, there's a sophistication to the characters and issues that is far ahead of its time. Even three decades later, this is a bracingly complex exploration of the Aids epidemic, the political cruelty that sparked it and the social opinions that exacerbated it. So the way the film presents David and Robert as normal guys just trying to live their lives has an everyday quality to it, as well as something revolutionary. It's beautifully acted by both Schachter and Edholm, who bring sharp humour and warm emotion to every scene. The other cast members remain mainly just out of sight, because this isn't their story. So not only is this a vital document of a place and time, but it's also a remarkably involving, provocative drama that needs to be seen today.

 4.Nov.19 • Berlin

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This coming week I'm hoping to get into a screening of the animated adventure Spies in Disguise, and there are also Justin Long in After Class and Gary Oldman in The Courier, plus catching up with the animated film Missing Link, the footballer doc Diego Maradona and the Tarantino doc QT8: The First Eight.

London Film Fest: Camping it up

Well, today was my first semi-meltdown at the 63rd BFI London Film Festival, as I shockingly skipped two screenings to come home and get some work done instead, the result being that all of the films mentioned below link to full reviews. But today I reached my limit; there's always a point during a festival when you say to yourself, "I don't actually need to watch every film on my want-to-see list." Well, I did start at an 8am screening this morning, which is a bit extreme no matter what the film is (it was Noah Baumbach's wrenching Marriage Story). It's also been raining off and on, and that has a way of wearing you down as you trudge from screening to coffee to screening to coffee. It can't be much fun for those walking red carpet at the big evening gala screenings. But then I don't see the stars, I only see the movies. And here are some more highlights...

Jojo Rabbit

dir-scr Taika Waititi; with Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie 19/Cz ****

Making a comedy about Nazis may be rather risky, but actor-filmmaker Taika Waititi strikes a clever balance between silliness and sadness with this provocative coming-of-age tale. The film is solidly well-made, with a terrific cast of comical geniuses romping through the scenery. So while the mood change from wacky to serious feels abrupt, the central story's pathos strikes a chord.... FULL REVIEW >

Abominable

dir-scr Jill Culton; voices Chloe Bennet, Albert Tsai 19/Chn ***

The script for this animated adventure is oddly unambitious, recycling themes and action beats to tell a predictable story that contains no real tension. Thankfully it looks terrific, mainly due to spectacular settings that create a travelogue around China. So if the character design and big set-pieces lack imagination, at least there are some nicely engaging situations that keep it lively.... FULL REVIEW >

Monsoon

dir-scr Hong Khaou; with Henry Golding, Parker Sawyers 19/UK ****.

Director Hong Khaou continues on from the delicate beauty of Lilting with this gentle, finely crafted exploration of personal history and identity. Set in Vietnam, it also centres around a death, but this time as a window into the past as the central character quietly allows his lost connection with his roots to wash over him and change him. It's a stunner of a film packed with moving moments.... FULL REVIEW >

Rialto

dir Peter Mackie Burns; with Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Tom Glynn-Carney 19/Ire ***

Dark and very moody, this Irish drama excavates the life of a married man in his 40s who is grappling with issues relating to his job, family and sexuality. It's a little too mumbly and mopey to engage properly, and perhaps too deliberately pointed as well (it's based on the stage play Trade). But it's so intimately directed by Peter Mackie Burns that it can't help but be moving... FULL REVIEW >

Real

dir-scr Aki Omoshaybi; with Aki Omoshaybi, Pippa Bennett-Warner 19/UK ***.

There's an everyday authenticity to this British drama, capturing very present-day pressures on normal people who are trying to get their lives in forward motion. Actor-filmmaker Aki Omoshaybi has created a warm, involving spin on the kitchen sink tradition. While the situations are grim, the people in this film are very easy to identify with, especially as they're so relentlessly likeable.... FULL REVIEW >

Don't Look Down [Haut Perchés]

dir-scr Olivier Ducastel, Jacques Martineau; with Geoffrey Couet, Francois Nambot 19/Fr ***

Like a stage play, this film puts five characters in an apartment and watches them over the course of a single night as the talk to each other. French filmmakers Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau use deep colourful lighting to give the film a lush look and feel, and each of the cast members has a vivid sense of physicality. This is a seductive, mysterious little film that pulls the audience in.... FULL REVIEW >

Links:

Shadows LONDON FILM FEST homepage (full reviews will be linked here) 

Official LONDON FILM FEST site 

Critical Week: Fun for the family?

It's been frustrating that the biggest releases of the week are simply not being screened to the press (favourite critics see them, but no one else), so I never got to review the top two films on both the US and UK box office charts, namely The Predator and The Nun. With these titles I'm not that bothered, but others are coming up very soon that I can't really skip, like the Bradley Cooper/Lady Gaga remake of A Star Is Born or Tom Hardy in Venom, neither of which have announced London screenings yet. It seems to be becoming a strategy for bigger studios to withhold films from the majority of reviewers, which is putting our jobs in jeopardy.

So this week I didn't see any big movies, just smaller ones. Support the Girls (above), starring Regina Hall, is being oddly billed as a comedy when it's actually a wry drama. It's not a bad one at that, as it gently takes on America's sports-bar culture. Sam Rockwell stars in Blue Iguana, a scruffy British heist comedy that has its moments but never quite becomes notable.

Smaller than those, The Song of Sway Lake stars Rory Culkin and Robert Sheehan as young men caught in a swirl of nostalgia in old-money America. It's dreamy and intriguing, but not very satisfying. Summer '03 is an oddly abrasive coming-of-age story that boldly takes on some big issues without really saying much. Never Here is a noir mystery that's moody and evocative, even if it never goes anywhere. And Padre is an offbeat Italian film starring writer-director Giada Colagrande and her husband Willem Dafoe. The acting is great even if the central exploration of grief feels underwhelming.

More satisfying were the three documentaries: Won't You Be My Neighbour is a gorgeous trip through the life of American TV Icon Fred Rogers, beautifully capturing just why he was so magical for several generations of children (including me!). Tea With the Dames (original UK title: Nothing Like a Dame) is an extended conversation between old friends Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright and Eileen Atkins, with wonderful observations on life and work over the past 60 years. And Science Fair is the hugely entertaining look into the world's biggest teen science competition through the eyes of these lively aspiring scientists.

This coming week's films include Ryan Gosling in First Man, Keira Knightley in Colette, Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish in Night School, Rachel Weisz in Disobedience, the Joan Jett doc Bad Reputation, and a pair of Supreme Court docs: RBG about Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Reversing Roe. Press screenings also start for the London Film Festival, so I'll be banking reviews to run when the festival is on 10-21 October.

Critical Week: Oscars for everyone

The 90th Oscar ceremony on Sunday night felt unremarkable, running along without incident with a line-up of winners that was never surprising. There were some nice touches along the way, including host Jimmy Kimmel's opening newsreel montage and his dry, sharply pointed opening monolog. Many of the thank you speeches were also topical, touching on key themes of inclusion and diversity. The star moment went to an impassioned Frances McDormand.

Meanwhile, the show was stolen by Tiffany Haddish and Maya Rudolph, who appeared holding their high heels to present a couple of awards. That made as strong a statement as any, and their banter was flat-out hilarious. Clearly the producers worked overtime to compile a diverse list of presenters, with an emphasis on women and ethnicities. Some of the homage sequences were a little odd (looking at war movies through the decades?), and Kimmel's star-packed trip to the cinema next door was clever but rather corny.

Other highlights included powerful performances of all five song nominees and welcome wins for A Fantastic Woman and long-time nominee Roger Deakins. Although the sweep by The Shape of Water felt somewhat excessive. A good film rather than a great one, its message to outsiders was certainly timely. And frankly, if the ceremony was more entertaining, we wouldn't mind if it was longer.

Meanwhile, back in the screening room, Rooney Mara stars in the biblical drama Mary Magdalene, which is a little too reverent to properly spring to life, despite a strong cast that includes Joaquin Phoenix, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Tahar Rahim as Jesus, Peter and Judas, respectively. Gringo stars David Oyelowo, Charlize Theron and Joel Edgerton in a lively, funny, entertaining but ultimately pointless action comedy. Peter Rabbit is a fast-paced, genuinely amusing romp mixing photo-real animation with live-action (Domhnall Gleeson and Rose Byrne are adorable) to riff on the classic Beatrix Potter stories. And the documentary Mansfield 66/67 traces the final years of the iconic bombshell, whose notorious friendship with Satanic church leader Anton LaVey sparked rumours of a curse surrounding her death at age 34.

Coming up this week are screenings of Alicia Vikander in the Tomb Raider reboot, Bella Thorne in Midnight Sun, Mathieu Amalric in My Golden Days, the dark drama My Friend Dahmer, the teen drama Screwed and something called Attack of the Southern Fried Zombies.

Out on a limb: Oscar picks & predictions

Here we go again: it's the 90th Academy Awards, and it seems as predictable as always. Hopefully they'll throw some surprises in on Sunday night. So even though I rarely get many of these right, here are my votes, who I think will win and who might sneak in and take home the prize. I'm always hoping for an upset...

BEST PICTURE
Will win: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Could win: The Shape of Water
Should win: Dunkirk

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Will / should win: A Fantastic Woman
Could win: The Insult
Dark horse: Loveless

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Will / should win: Coco
Dark horse: The Breadwinner

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Will / should win: Faces Places
Could win: Strong Island

DIRECTING
Will win: The Shape of Water - Guillermo del Toro
Should / could win: Dunkirk - Christopher Nolan

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Will / should win: Call Me by Your Name - James Ivory
Could win: Molly's Game - Aaron Sorkin
Dark horse: Mudbound - Virgil Williams, Dee Rees

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Will / should win: Three Billboards - Martin McDonagh
Could win: Get Out - Jordan Peele
Dark horse: Lady Bird - Greta Gerwig

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Will / should win: Frances McDormand - Three Billboards
Could win: Sally Hawkins - The Shape of Water
Dark horse: Saoirse Ronan - Lady Bird

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Will win: Gary Oldman - Darkest Hour
Should win: Timothee Chalamet - Call Me by Your Name

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Will win: Allison Janney - I, Tonya
Could win: Laurie Metcalf - Lady Bird

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Will / should win: Sam Rockwell - Three Billboards
Could win: Willem Dafoe - The Florida Project

ORIGINAL SCORE
Will win: The Shape of Water - Alexandre Desplat
Should win: Phantom Thread - Jonny Greenwood

ORIGINAL SONG
Will win: This Is Me - The Greatest Showman
Should win: Remember Me - Coco

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Will win: Blade Runner 2049 - Roger A Deakins
Should win: Dunkirk - Hoyte van Hoytema

FILM EDITING
Will win: Baby Driver - Paul Machliss, Jonathan Amos
Should win: Dunkirk - Lee Smith
Dark horse: I, Tonya - Tatiana S Riegel

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Will win: Blade Runner 2049
Should win: The Shape of Water

COSTUME DESIGN
Will / should win: Phantom Thread

VISUAL EFFECTS
Will / should win: Blade Runner 2049
Dark horse: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2

MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
Will / should win: Darkest Hour

SOUND EDITING / SOUND MIXING
Will win: The Shape of Water
Should win: Dunkirk
Could win: Blade Runner 2049

LFF: Kick back on Day 12

Well, it's all over for another year, so I can start to get back to normal life now. Tonight's closing film is Martin McDonagh's Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (that's Sam Rockwell above), with the usual red carpet premiere and gala party after. But for me it's been about the films, and there have been some great ones (plus a few duds). And as always, there is a long list of movies that I desperately wanted to see but couldn't fit into my schedule. Here are the winners of the festival's official juried awards, my 10 best films (including some I had seen previously), and a final collection of highlights...

BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL 2017 AWARDS

• Best Film: LOVELESS
• Doc (Grierson Award): KINGDOM OF US
• First Feature (Sutherland Award): THE WOUND
• BFI Fellowship: Paul Greengrass

MY BEST OF THE FEST 2017:

1. A FANTASTIC WOMAN
2. YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE
3. THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
4. CALL ME BY YOUR NAME
5. 120 BEATS PER MINUTE
6. LOVELESS
7. LAST FLAG FLYING
8. LEAN ON PETE
9. THE FLORIDA PROJECT
10. CUSTODY

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
dir-scr Martin McDonagh; with Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson 17/US *****
Writer-director Martin McDonaugh is on blistering form with this fiendishly clever personal drama, which arrives masquerading as a funny, violent police thriller. With take-no-prisoners performances from the entire cast, particularly a storming Frances McDormand, the film tackles our angry world head-on with a surprisingly heartfelt plea for compassion. And it approaches the riveting story and pungent themes with remarkable honesty... FULL REVIEW >

Zama
dir-scr Lucrecia Martel; with Daniel Gimenez Cacho, Lola Duenas 17/Arg ***
This is a fairly difficult movie even by the standards of adventurous Argentine filmmaker Lucrecia Martel. An existential odyssey based on the 1956 novel by Antonio Di Benedetto, it simply refuses to coalesce into any kind of sensible narrative as the title character's life becomes a swirling nightmare of bureaucracy and cross-cultural messiness. And that's actually the point. At least it's fascinating, beautifully shot and acted, and packed with witty satire... FULL REVIEW >

The Prince of Nothingwood
dir Sonia Kronlund; with Salim Shaheen, Sonia Kronlund 17/Fr ****
A fly-on-the-wall look at prolific Afghan filmmaker Salim Shaheen, this documentary is both playful and chilling in the way it explores the life of a colourful man and a nation's momentous history. French-Swiss journalist Sonia Kronlund follows Shaheen into some rarely seen parts of Afghanistan, which he calls "Nothingwood" due to his no-budget filmmaking style. It's an entertaining and eye-opening film.

Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco
dir-scr James Crump; with Bill Cunningham, Jessica Lange 17/US 1h30 ****
A fast-paced, skilful portrait of an artist who isn't very well-known outside fashion circles, this film is infused with the sensuality of its 1970s period. Through lively, expressive interviews and a wealth of footage and stills, Antonio Lopez springs to life before our eyes, making us wish we had a chance to get to know him, because he seems like someone we'd probably fall in love with just like everyone else did.

Venezia74: Speak your mind on Day 6

I finally made it across the lagoon in the warm sunshine from the Lido to Venice today. (It took me this long last year as well!) After the two morning films, I jumped on the vaporetto, and then spent the afternoon roaming around one of my favourite places on earth, visiting a couple of museums (Damien Hirst's fabulous Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable at Palazzo Grassi, and the glories of the Guggenheim Collection) and of course eating gelato. Then back over to Lido for two more movies at the 74th Venice Film Festival, so a rather full day...

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
dir-scr Martin McDonagh; with Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson 17/US *****
Writer-director Martin McDonaugh is on blistering form with this fiendishly clever personal drama, which arrives masquerading as a funny, violent police thriller. With take-no-prisoners performances from the entire cast, particularly a storming Frances McDormand, the film tackles our angry world head-on with a surprisingly heartfelt plea for compassion. And it tackles the riveting story as well as a series of pungent themes with remarkable honesty.

The Third Murder
dir-scr Hirokazu Kore-eda; with Masaharu Fukuyama, Koji Yakusho 17/Jpn ****.
Expertly orchestrated by master filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda, this is on the surface a police procedural thriller. Except that it's actually a detailed exploration of a group of intertwined characters who may or may not be telling the truth. Which is kind of the point for what turns out to be a provocative look at the nature of justice in a world full of imperfect people. It's also the kind of movie that demands close attention from the audience.

A Family [Una Famiglia]
dir Sebastiano Riso; with Micaela Ramazzotti, Patrick Bruel 17/It 1h37 **
This may look like a gritty Italian drama that addresses a dark corner of Roman society, but nothing about it feels very believable. Despite some strong acting by the lead actors, the characters are impossible to sympathise with simply because their overpowering self-interest is so contrived. There are some intriguing comments about male-female dynamics and co-dependence, but any astute observations seem to emerge almost by accident.

My Generation
dir David Batty; with Michael Caine, Paul McCartney 17/UK 1h25 ***.
A groovy trip through swinging 1960s London, this colourful documentary explores the seismic shift in British society as working class artists teamed up to break the rules and become global stars in music, acting, art and fashion. Narrated by Michael Caine, its full of enjoyable personal anecdotes, terrific songs and lots of clips edited together into a swirling concoction. It may feel rather gimmicky, but it's packed with entertaining surprises.

Tomorrow we have the world premiere one of the most anticipated films of the festival: Darren Aronofsky's Mother! There's also Jim & Andy, about Jim Carrey and Andy Kaufman, and Loving Pablo, with Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz.

Critical Week: They're baaack...

Screenings in London this past week included two very late-screening films coming out this week: Poltergeist (pictured above) is a remake of the 1982 Spielberg/Hooper classic. It's nicely shot and acted but feels rather exactly like other ghost movies being made at the moment (most notably Insidious). Tomorrowland is a relentlessly optimistic Disney movie starring George Clooney with a strongly positive message, a solid cast and some lovely effects, although it's a bit too simplistic to be something special.

Two other films featured veterans in a relaxed mood: Al Pacino is an ageing rocker in Danny Collins, a chilled-out comedy-drama with strong support from Annette Bening, Jennifer Garner, Christopher Plummer and Bobby Cannavale. Dustin Hoffman is a master conductor in The Choir (aka Boychoir), an enjoyable if somewhat too-earnest coming of age movie.

Further afield: Olivia Colman leads the ensemble (which includes Tom Hardy) in the artfully offbeat musical London Road, using actual transcripts to explore a community's reaction to a serial killer. Everyone's Going to Die is an underpowered British drama about a connection between two extremely mismatched strangers. Unhallowed Ground is a rather cheesy British horror movie that has some terrific freak-out moments along the way. Infini is an underwritten Aussie sci-fi horror that looks cool but fails to develop its characters. And Seek is a scruffy-charming Canadian indie about a geeky journalist looking for his dream man on the nightclub scene in Toronto.

This coming week we have screenings of: Slow West with Michael Fassbender, Mr Holmes with Ian McKellan, Return to Sender with Rosamund Pike, Results with Guy Pearce and the festival favourites Eden and Les Combattants. Plus another three-day weekend!

LFF 9: At the movies

I decided to take a day off from the 56th BFI London Film Festival today - it was supposed to be a catch-up day seeing a few films I'd missed, but honestly I can't see everything! Instead I've been home writing. Not sure that was a wise choice - probably should have gone out for a bit of exercise. Anyway,  the red carpet last night featured Gemma Arterton and Terence Stamp at the Song for Marion premiere (below). And today Omar Sharif will attend the special screening of Lawrence of Arabia. There's only one day left in the festival, and the buzzy questions are (1) who will win at tonight's awards ceremony and (2) what will be tonight's surprise film? In the meantime, a few more highlights...

Seven Psychopaths
dir Martin McDonagh; with Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell 12/US ****
Both a freewheeling crime comedy and an astute exploration of the creative process, this clever film teeters on the brink of absurdity. But it's so much fun, and so brilliantly well-played, that it wins us over... REVIEW >

Song for Marion
dir Paul Andrew Williams; with Terence Stamp, Vanessa Redgrave 12/UK ***
After London to Brighton and Cherry Tree Lane, you'd never expect this kind of heartwarming drama from Williams. Maybe he's just cleansing his palate, but at least he injects some dark shadows into a predictable story, even if it feels like a geriatric episode of Glee... REVIEW >

Sightseers
dir Ben Wheatley; with Alice Lowe, Steve Oram 12/UK ****.
As with both Down Terrace and Kill List, director Wheatley playfully bends genres in this romantic-comedy road movie so we never know what might happen next. because this is also a serial killer movie, which adds a jolt of adrenaline that's both entertaining and unexpectedly engaging... REVIEW >

Lawrence of Arabia
dir David Lean; with Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness 62/UK *****
Digitally restored for its 50th anniversary, this film looks jaw-dropping on the big screen with a bright 4K digital image. Yes, this is the epic of epics, a staggeringly big movie that tells a remarkably intimate true story... REVIEW >