On the Road: Can we talk?

This week my main focus has been on family and friends, hanging out and celebrating Thanksgiving in California. Of course, since I grew up in Ecuador, I've also been keeping an eye on the World Cup! And my family had a full Ecuadorian meal instead of turkey, sitting outside in the sunshine. 

I only watched one movie this week: the powerful drama She Said, which traces the true story of two New York Times journalists (played by Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan) as they investigate stories of abuse surrounding Harvey Weinstein. It's a must-see film - urgent and powerfully well-made. REVIEW >

There was also a trip to the theatre, seeing Aaron Sorkin's stage adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, starring Richard Thomas. It's a terrific approach to Harper Lee's classic novel, packed with present-day resonance that's strongly played.

Still to come are screenings of films like Damien Chazelle's Babylon, Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio, Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical, Hirokazu Kore-eda's Broker and the war drama Devotion, among other awards contenders before my first nominations ballot deadline on 7th December.

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: Just chilling

Press screenings are starting to crank up again after an early-May lull, perhaps because so many big movies are coming up. Although it's likely to quiet down when most London-based journalists (not me, thankfully) decamp to Cannes 17-28 May.

I enjoyed catching up with the Sundance hit The Big Sick, Kumail Nanjiani's autobiographical comedy, which cleverly depicts multi-cultural America with its awesome ensemble cast. The indie road comedy Folk Hero & Funny Guy was also enjoyable, starring the superb Wyatt Russell and Alex Karpovsky as childhood pals with a surprisingly complex relationship. But of course this week's biggest movie was Alien: Covenant, Ridley Scott's skilfully made sequel/prequel, which plays out almost like a reimagining of his original 1979 sci-fi horror classic. It's uneven, but entertainingly scary.

A bit further afield, the British-made drama Interlude in Prague focusses on some lusty intrigue for Mozart as he wrote Don Giovanni. It's very nicely shot on location, and the story is involving if a bit dry. Spark is a lively animated adventure with an all-star voice cast, but the animation isn't quite up to big studio standards. Eric Stoltz makes his feature directing debut with Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk, a sharply observed comedy-drama that tackles some big themes (religion! sex!) without flinching. And Tomcat starts out as a gentle relationship drama before morphing into something dark and boldly disturbing, which is perhaps unsurprising since it's an Austrian film.

Blockbusters begin arriving over the next week, including the Baywatch movie, Guy Ritchie's King Arthur: Legend of the Sword and the Schumer-Hawn adventure Snatched, plus the acclaimed Chinese drama I Am Not Madame Bovary and the documentary Machines.

On the Road: Nice work if you can get it

Our Brand Is Crisis

dir David Gordon Green; with Sandra Bullock, Billy Bob Thornton 15/US ***.

Despite an uneven tone, this breezy political drama touches on several important themes as it freewheels through a scruffy story of American campaign strategists working for rival candidates in an election for Bolivia's president. Based loosely on real people, the film has an authenticity to it that holds the attention, even as it veers wildly between politics, comedy and even slapstick. Of course, Bullock can bridge these gaps effortlessly, and she's terrific as the burn-out reluctantly making a comeback against her fiercest rival, played by an underused Thornton. But then all of the supporting roles are thinly written. This is Bullock's show, and her performance makes the film worth a look. As does what it says about the American political system.  

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CRITICAL WEEK
There are several other films out now in America that I'm hoping to catch up with, including The 33 and By the Sea, and also - purely for work reasons of course, as they open later in the UK - The Peanuts Movie and Love the Coopers.