Critical Week: Cool kids

It's that odd period in the year when cinemas are full of amazing movies that are taking home Baftas and various guild prizes while awaiting Oscar night (coming on 12th March), but the box office champions at the moment are decidedly mediocre fare released by distributors now to cash in on the audience desire for mindless entertainment. Everyone asks me where the good movies are, and I reply that you need to look past the blockbusters that are dominating multiplexes and headlines: good movies are everywhere at the moment. 

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Close • Wandering Heart
ALL REVIEWS >

Speaking of blockbusters, I saw two this week: Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guere is Guy Ritchie's latest snarky action romp, with a terrific cast and gorgeous locations, lively twists and a barely serviceable script. It's thin but fun (largely thanks to a scene-stealing Hugh Grant, opposite Aubrey Plaza, Jason Statham and Bugzy Malone, above). Also suffering from script problems, Creed III is sharply well acted by a superb cast, and Michael B Jordan shows real talent as a director. It's rousing and worth a look, but simplistic the way it deploys toxic masculinity.

I also caught up with the British romantic comedy What's Love Got to Do With It, which adds some South Asian spice into the comfy mix with a snappy story that circles around arranged marriage in Pakistani immigrant families. Colourful cultural touches and strong turns from Lily James, Emma Thompson and Shazad Latif make it engaging. Michael Shannon is a bit too subdued in A Little White Lie, as a handyman posing as a reclusive author. Despite lacking energy, the film does generate some charm, and has a solid supporting cast. And from France, Love According to Dalva centres around a remarkable performance from Zelda Samson as a 12-year-old who believes she's a grown woman. It's a provocative, important take on the realities of child abuse.

Films this coming week include the sequel Scream VI, Woody Harrelson in Champions, horror comedy Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, rural comedy-drama The Middle Man, Australian drama Lonesome, offbeat sci-fi drama Lola, Italian horror Sound of Silence and filmmaking doc Brainwashed.

Venezia79: Staring at the sky

The 79th Venice Film Festival is holding its final screenings today before handing out awards tonight. I'll report those here tomorrow, along with my own best films of the festival and a report on my immersive/virtual reality experience here. But I'm now done with screenings, and I certainly won't miss having the opening of each movie interrupted by restless and late-arriving audience members who clamber over you right when the lights go out without warning (I have actual bruises) then refuse to settle down or sometimes carry on chatting at full voice. While the ushers shine flashlights in your eyes. In other words, it will be nice to once again be able to settle in and watch how a movie starts. Here are my final films...

The Listener
dir Steve Buscemi; with Tessa Thompson, Rebecca Hall 22/US ***
Anchored around a sensitive performance by Tessa Thompson, with no one else on-screen at all, this is an engaging look at the life of a helpline operator. It's also directed by Steve Buscemi to be achingly picturesque, while Alessandro Camon's script is somewhat overwritten, making each character perhaps too articulate. Combined with the film's cozy production design, this makes everything feel somewhat artificial. But even if the big emotional beats in a series of phone calls are perhaps too tidy, there are continual points of resonance. [Closing film of Venice Days]

The Hanging Sun
dir Francesco Carrozzini; with Jessica Brown Findlay, Alessandro Borghi 22/UK ***.
Based on a Jo Nesbo novel, this British-Italian production is a dark drama with subtle undertones of a thriller. A solid cast brings intriguing textures to the characters and situations, while director Francesco Carrozzini maintains some gently gnawing tension and an earthy sense of connection between people in a community that seems to sit right on the edge of the world. So it's a bit frustrating that Stefano Bises' script never digs very deeply, and also simply abandons at least one major plot thread along the way. [Closing film of Venezia79]

Pearl
dir Ti West; with Mia Goth, David Corenswet 22/US ***.
There's an outrageously heightened style to this bonkers horror comedy, which is a prequel to filmmaker Ti West's previous movie X, this time cowritten with star Mia Goth. The film harks back to classics from The Wizard of Oz to Psycho, but everything is drenched in Technicolor hues. As a story of a young woman who feels trapped by her life, there's some emotional resonance along the way, but the seriously grisly nuttiness continually undercuts this. What remains is an entertainingly nasty tale about the birth of a killer.

No Bears
dir-scr Jafar Panahi; with Jafar Panahi, Vahid Mobasheri 22/Irn ****.
Despite being banned from making movies, master filmmaker Jafar Panahi continues to tell powerful stories about life in Iran. This hugely involving film uses wry humour to capture the absurdities of culture as they have an enormous impact on two love stories. It's also a knowing glimpse into the art of making a movie in such a convoluted place, as well as a deeply personal exploration of the situation for people who are struggling to survive when traditions and borders turn them into desperate refugees.

Full reviews will be linked at Shadows VENICE FILM FESTIVAL page, eventually!  It may take awhile to catch up.

Critical Week: On a night like this

As Britain experiences a heatwave during the final week of Wimbledon and the start of the Euro-2022 women's football championship, it's perhaps a bit unlikely that people will be abandoning the sunshine for cinemas. Although Thor is likely to have some pull, smaller films will suffer. And the weather looks like it will continue like this for a couple of weeks (yay!). I saw two very big movies on the big screen this week. The riotously action-packed The Gray Man pairs the fabulous Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans as duelling, scene-stealing hitmen, while Ana de Armas (above) almost walks off with the whole film. Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson and Taika Waititi are back for Thor: Love and Thunder, Marvel's first slapstick action comedy. It's a lot of fun, even if the formula is as stale as ever.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Brian and Charles • Cop Secret
The Railway Children (1970)
ALL REVIEWS >

Adrien Brody is terrific in the redemption thriller Clean, although the script (which he cowrote) never has something original to say. The offbeat British drama All Is Vanity is very odd indeed, a great idea that struggles to have some impact. Alan Cumming leads the doc-drama hybrid My Old School, a fascinating and remarkably involving account of an epic deception. And two collections of short films explore issues of identity and sexuality in inventive, sometimes superbly provocative ways. Both Boys on Film 22: Love to Love You and Girls Feels: Into the Blue are well worth a look.

Coming up this week, I'll be watching Daisy Edgar-Jones in Where the Crawdads Sing, Juliette Binoche in Both Sides of the Blade, the Jordanian drama The Alleys, the trans activist doc Donna and the shorts collection Girls Feels: Force of Nature.

LFF: Under a big sky

Yes, there was more queuing today for the journalists covering the 65th London Film Festival, but by now we're getting better at using the hours standing in the alleyways to write up film notes on our phones or get to know our fellow delegates. Today's weather was variable, with both sunshine and rainshowers. But it was worth it for the movies. Meanwhile, somewhere far from us there's an actually festival going on, with star-studded red carpets, private parties and lots of schmoozing. Or so I imagine. Here are some more highlights...

The Power of the Dog
dir-scr Jane Campion; with Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst 21/NZ ****.
Writer-director Jane Campion masterfully combines spectacular landscapes with complex internal journeys in this provocative Western set in 1925 Montana (which is beautifully played by New Zealand). A collection of characters and connections are delicately played to pull the audience into an intriguing web of desire, expectation and legacy. And while much of the big emotion is under the surface, the film still packs a vivid punch.

Passing
dir-scr Rebecca Hall; with Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga 21/US ***.
Shot in iridescent high-contrast monochrome, this brittle period drama raises some powerfully haunting themes before its more standard plot takes over. Finely written and directed by Rebecca Hall, and circling around a remarkably layered performance from Tessa Thompson, the story offers a lot to think about. This helps make the film involving even when the metaphors get a bit obvious, and when the story seems to veer off-topic.

Boiling Point
dir Philip Barantini; with Stephen Graham, Jason Flemyng 21/UK ***.
Bravura filmmaking elevates this propulsive British drama, as personal issues engulf a group of characters over one fateful evening in a busy restaurant. Unfolding in real time as a single, continuous handheld take, it remains fast and busy all the way through, and frequently gets very intense. The collision of momentous plot lines in a small space feels somewhat overwrought, but the ace cast make it gripping.

Playground
dir-scr Laura Wandel; with Maya Vanderbeque, Gunter Duret 21/Fr ****
Despite a tough theme, this film has such a bracing sense of authenticity that it can't help but deeply engage the audience even as it gets under the skin with some provocative issues. Actor-filmmaker Laura Wandel shoots it with both doc-style urgency and intimate emotionality, while eliciting powerfully complex performances from a cast of young children. It's a remarkable achievement, putting us into the perspective of a little girl.

Full reviews of festival films will be published as possible and linked at Shadows' LFF HOMEPAGE 
For full information, visit BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL 

Critical Week: Learn that dance

It's awards season, so I had two more virtual screenings this week accompanied by cast and crew zoom-style Q&As. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is a faithful adaptation of the acclaimed August Wilson play, and it's somewhat overplayed and stagebound. But the actors are superb, including the late Chadwick Boseman (all other actors should abandon Oscar hopes this year) and Viola Davis. And Carey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes star in The Dig, an unusually earthy period film about a history-changing archaeological discovery. Without the accompanying Q&As, I also caught up with Soul, in which Pixar outdoes even themselves with flat-out awesome animation and a staggeringly deep story, and Steven Soderbergh's Let Them All Talk, in which a starry cast (Streep! Bergen! Wiest!) explores deep themes in an offhanded shipboard comedy.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
The Stand In • Alex Wheatle
Funny Boy • The Prom
Song Without a Name
ALL REVIEWS >

The final two episodes of Steve McQueen's unmissable Small Axe series screened: Alex Wheatle is a superb biopic about the awakening of an acclaimed novelist, while Education is an exhilarating drama that takes on racism in Britain's school system. Riz Ahmed is simply stunning as a drummer dealing with deafness in Sound of Metal. Tessa Thompson transcends the muted period vibe in the romance Sylvie's Love. And Sienna Miller shines in the moody odyssey Wander Darkly. 

I also caught up with two excellent foreign films: Funny Boy is a moving, gorgeously made drama from Sri Lanka by ace filmmaker Deepa Mehta, while Cocoon is a German coming-of-age drama that catches an intimate perspective. And there was also one film screened in a cinema, and the freaky British horror Saint Maud is definitely worth seeing on a huge screen with a rumbling sound system.

This coming week, I have two more screenings in actual cinemas: delayed blockbuster Wonder Woman 1984 and the true conspiracy drama The Mauritanian starring Tahar Rahim, Jodie Foster and Benedict Cumberbatch. There's also Diane Lane in Let Him Go, Alicia Silverstone in Sister of the Groom, Alicia Witt in Modern Persuasion, the dance-based romance Aviva and the shorts collection The Boy Is Mine.

Critical Week: Just walk away

Lockdown continues in London, as I try to keep my eye on new films that are available on streaming platforms. It's been a very mixed bag this week, with the bigger titles more disappointing than some smaller gems. The main frustration at the moment is that there's nothing else to do but watch a movie, which for me is work. So sometimes I dip into a TV series, and I try to take a walk outside every day or two just to keep my legs from locking up. The weather has improved dramatically this week, so it's not very easy to stay in, especially when movies aren't terribly inspiring.

The Netflix action comedy Coffee & Kareem looked promising, but just never comes together at all, despite valiant efforts from Ed Helms and Terrence Little Gardenhigh (above), plus Taraji P Henson. Universal made the bold decision to release the sequel Trolls World Tour straight to streaming, while all other big releases are being delayed. But the film is perfect for watching at home - less inventive than the first one. And Disney debuted its live-action remake The Lady and the Tramp on its streaming service, again unsurprising since it's not terribly ambitious, although it is good fun.

BEST NEW FILMS THIS WEEK:
Same Boat
Who You Think I Am • Danger Close
PERHAPS AVOID:
Coffee & Kareem • Gold Dust 

Much better is the Curzon release Who You Think I Am, a slinky French thriller with romantic comedy overtones starring Juliette Binoche. Tigertail is a dull but moving drama about a Taiwanese-American man (the great Tzi Ma) reminiscing about choices he made. The Lost Husband is a very gentle downhome romance-novel style story starring Leslie Bibb and Josh Duhamel. Danger Close is a grippingly well-made battlefield movie dramatising a little known battle involving Anzac forces. And The Iron Mask is a bonkers Russian-Chinese coproduction featuring Jackie Chan and Arnold Schwarzenegger, an elaborately staged action fantasy odyssey.

Even further afield, Sea Fever is a claustrophobic horror movie from Ireland set on board a fishing boat. Also at sea, Same Boat is a genuinely hilarious comedy thriller shot guerrilla style on a cruise ship - it's a proper gem of a film. There's more horror in Behind You, a nasty bit of demon ghost grisliness that's creepy if not actually scary. The micro-budget Gold Dust is a not terribly funny comedy romp about treasure hunters in the desert. And Seeing Is Believing is a short film collection featuring high-quality segments from six countries exploring issues of identity and sexuality.

Coming up this week, more lockdown! Films I need to watch include the Sam Claflin romcom Love Wedding Repeat, the pitch-black comedy Why Don't You Just Die, the Baghdad-set terrorism drama Sergio, the sexu thriller Getaway, the monster movie Abominable and more horror 1BR.

Critical week: He's behind you!

It's been a busy week catching up with movies here in London. The biggest films were entries in decades-old franchises. Child's Play is a reboot, rather than sequel, updated to the artificial-intelligence era and starring Aubrey Plaza. Toy Story 4 tells another superbly engaging story, again bringing these indelible characters together with action and emotion. And Men in Black International attempts a fresh turn in the saga, with younger stars Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth, rather too much digital nuttiness and an only OK plot.

Three small-screen movies will be covered in another blog entry: Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler reunite for the dopey Europe-set comedy whodunit Murder Mystery, Randall Park and Ali Wong star in the snappy-silly rom-com Always Be My Maybe, and Matthew McConaughey plays to type as the stoner title character in the somewhat unfocussed comedy The Beach Bum (out this week on VOD).

As for more arthouse fare, there was Joanna Hogg's new film The Souvenir, another exploration of British upper-class repression, starring Tilda Swinton and her daughter Honor Swinton Byrne, plus Tom Burke. All are excellent, and the film is deeply chilling. Swinging Safari is a wild and woolly Aussie 1970s-set comedy starring Guy Pearce, Kylie Minogue and Radha Mitchell. It's a bit over-the-top and chaotic. The American-set British thriller Division 19 is set in a near-future society in which privacy is outlawed. It looks great but makes little sense. From South Africa, the musical Kanarie is a powerful exploration of bigotry and self-acceptance, as a young man goes through his mandatory military service as a member of a choir. From India, Unsaid is a dark drama about deep family secrets, powerfully well played. And the British documentary Are You Proud explores the Pride movement with an intriguingly critical eye.

Coming up this next week, we have Benedict Cumberbatch in The Current War, Alicia Vikander in Euphoria, Angus Macfadyen in Robert the Bruce, the Oscar-nominated drama Never Look Away, the French water polo comedy The Shiny Shrimps, the Indian drama Roobha, and the doc Southern Pride, among others....

Critical Week: Sleep tight

It's been a relatively quiet week, screening-wise, partly because the bigger studios have decided to stop showing their larger releases to the press. For example, this week's remake of Hellboy had no press screenings at all. And we're beginning to wonder what will happen with some rather important upcoming blockbusters. Thankfully, the smaller films and mid-sized ones are still available for us write about. This week I caught up with Neil Jordan's bonkers horror thriller Greta, starring Isabelle Huppert and Chloe Grace Moretz (above). It's nutty and entertaining. I also watched Tessa Thompson and Lily James in the gritty, powerful rural drama Little Woods.

My favourite film this week was the concert doc Amazing Grace, filmed in 1972 and only just released, revealing the awesome Aretha Franklin in all her gospel-infused glory. Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich is a riotously grisly 80s-style slasher movie about an army of killer Nazi puppets. It's both hilarious and seriously nasty. No Chocolate, No Rice is a micro-budget comedy from Washington DC, a bit clunky but full of great ideas and likeable characters. And the sparky, beautifully assembled German documentary Beauty & Decay, catches up with three punk-art stars from the early 1980s in Berlin today.

This coming week we have Zac Efron in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, Julianne Moore in Bel Canto, Robert Pattinson in High Life and the offbeat animation Doozy. I've also got a couple of events, and possibly another stage performance to cover.

Critical Week: Eye on the prize

As awards season arrives, I have a lot of for your consideration screenings alongside the regular upcoming releases, which creates a rather offbeat mix. This week we saw Otto Bathurst's ambitious new take on Robin Hood, starring Taron Egerton and Eve Hewson (above), plus Jamie Foxx and Ben Mendelsohn. Pity it's such a predictable, uneven movie. Creed II was also a disappointment, especially after the high point of Creed. This one should probably have been titled Rocky VIII, because it falls back on the old formula.

Far more satisfying were Steve McQueen's Widows, a wonderful reinvention of the heist movie starring Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez and Elizabeth Debicki. The Old Man & the Gun is a terrific true drama starring Robert Redford and Sissy Spacek on top form. And the Cannes winner Shoplifters is another masterpiece by Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Koreeda. There was also the scruffy, rather awkward micro-budget gay wedding comedy The Rainbow Bridge Motel, plus two documentaries: the fascinating and beautifully assembled Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story, and this one...

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Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
dir Matt Tyrnauer; with Scotty Bowers, Stephen Fry
release US 27.Jul.18 • 18/US 1h38 ****
As legendary Hollywood party boy Scotty Bowers turns 80, he spills the beans on his decades of procuring men and women for the stars. These stories may be salacious, dropping some of the biggest names in cinema history, but they humanise these celebrities and finally open a door on the industry's long-hidden secrets. After serving in the Marines during the war, Scotty worked as a gas station attendant in Hollywood, where he stumbled into a network of closeted gay and bisexual men for whom he organised discreet trysts. While managing a team of rentboys, he met George Cukor then the likes of Cary Grant, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Cole Porter, Cecil Beaton and on and on. They had to hide their true natures due to morals clauses in their contracts, so they created myths and entered arranged marriages. When questioned about outing dead people, Scotty comments rightly that there's nothing negative about being gay, and it's no longer breaking any contractual agreements. In addition, the film outlines Scotty's childhood, including trading sex for cash from a very young age and being part of Kinsey's research study. It's fascinating to see Scotty now, chatting openly about his experiences and living amid mountains of memorabilia without any regrets at all. So the film becomes an important exploration of culture and history, as well as attitudes toward sexuality then and now.

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This coming week's screenings are an eclectic mix, including Disney's sequel Ralph Breaks the Internet, Mahershala Ali in Green Book, Emily Blunt in Mary Poppins Returns, Christian Bale in Vice, Margot Robbie in Mary Queen of Scots, Felicity Jones in On the Basis of Sex, Alicia Vikander in Tulip Fever and the Sundance hit Eighth Grade.

Requisite Blog Photo: Crimson Fury

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