Critical Week: Bump in the night

It's been the third heatwave of the summer already, and I've been seeking refuge in air conditioned cinemas. There have been a few big screenings this week. We had a properly blood-soaked screening of the super-violent Evil Dead Burn, which kind of sidesteps the franchise for some gory horror. The live-action remake of Moana, is exactly like the 2016 animated original, but it helps to have actors Catherine Laga'aia and Dwayne Johnson on screen. 

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Shoot the People
The Last One for the Road
ALL REVIEWS >

As for movies outside the mainstream, Willem Dafoe gets a fantastic lead role in the smart, funny, moving drama Late Fame, costarring a scene-stealing Greta Lee. Sean Bean menaces Mackenzie Foy in the atmospheric, wintry Western The Isolate Thief. Finn Whittrock confronts his past in the thoughtful drama Westhampton. Summer campers get very silly, but also find some deeper meaning in The Floaters. And the doc Shoot the People is a bracing look at the work of British photographer Misan Harriman. 

Meanwhile, I also finally caught up with the brightly lit, extremely creepy Backrooms, complete with the Everything Must Go extra footage. And I finally watched the superb doc Marty: Life Is Short, celebrating the extraordinary life and career of Martin Short. Finally, there was a live performance of a bold Spanish-produced take on Shakespeare's Richard III at the Cockpit.

Coming up this next rather busy week, I'll be watching Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, teen romance Heartstopper Forever, the biopic De Gaulle: Resistance, a film of Hadestown: The Musical, action thriller Son of the Soil, British romance A Year in London, Mexican drama Last First Time, the AI doc Synthetic Sincerity, the designer doc Brunello: The Gracious Visionary and a live performance of Blue Mist at the Theatre Royal Stratford East.

LFF: Face your fears

I deliberately took it a bit slowly today at the virtual London Film Festival, watching only one festival film. Although I've still been staring at the computer screen, because I used the time to write up some reviews. I also needed to watch a couple of non-festival films for work purposes, leading to more writing - it's a never-ending circle! Anyway, here are some more LFF highlights... 

WolfWalkers

dir Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart; voices Honor Kneafsey, Eva Whittaker 20/Ire ****

With beautiful storybook-style animation, this Irish animated adventure harks back to a magical time. Children will love the tale's darker edges, as it never shies away from enjoyably yucky realities or political tensions between Ireland and its interloping British rulers. So even if the line between good and evil is a bit too clear-cut, the characters are hugely engaging, and the story takes several surprising twists and turns... FULL REVIEW >

Siberia

dir Abel Ferrara; with Willem Dafoe, Dounia Sichov 20/It 1h31 ***.

A provocative, often baffling collision of ideas and feelings, this bonkers film is impossible to watch at face value, as filmmaker Abel Ferrara takes a dreamlike dive into the psyche of a grizzled man played by frequent collaborator Willem Dafoe. The settings have a fable-like quality, with imagery that seems to come directly from the subconscious. It's a gorgeously assembled existential odyssey that's alternately funny, horrific and unnervingly thoughtful... FULL REVIEW >

Wildfire

dir-scr Cathy Brady; with Nora-Jane Noone, Nika McGuigan 20/UK **.

Almost terrifyingly current, this drama set in Northern Ireland tells a story set against the fragile peace that has held since the 1998 Good Friday agreement, which the UK government is currently violating with its Brexit plans. The tone of this film is very gloomy, which matches the grim themes. But because it's so relentlessly bleak, writer-director Cathy Brady never achieves the catharsis the story seems to be seeking... FULL REVIEW >

Time 

dir Garrett Bradley; with Sibil Fox Richardson, Robert Richardson 20/US ****

Using a collage of black and white images, both new and from grainy home video, this artful, astute documentary explores America's thriving mass-incarceration industry, which disproportionately targets mainly poor people from ethnic communities. Filmmaker Garrett Bradley has a terrific eye for imagery and storytelling rhythms, drawing the audience deeply into the story. She packs so much into 81 minutes that this film feels like an urgent epic... FULL REVIEW >

NB. My anchor page for the LFF is HERE and full reviews will appear in between these daily blog entries. Yes, there's a backlog.