tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67944907649874090142024-03-13T10:31:28.344-07:00"As human as the rest of us..."Andy Winter's film blogAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.comBlogger309125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794490764987409014.post-5113259622974105702018-07-02T01:17:00.000-07:002018-07-02T01:17:41.827-07:00Moving day...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This blog is continuing at my new Internet home - <a href="http://andywinter.online/">andywinter.online</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Over there right now, you'll find <a href="http://andywinter.online/blog">My Top 20 Favourite Movies of 2018 so far (#20-11)</a>. Part Two (#10-1) will follow tomorrow.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Don't be a stranger!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794490764987409014.post-57372980047892146102018-05-30T01:55:00.000-07:002018-05-30T01:55:13.820-07:00We're moving...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Apologies for the lack of recent content on this blog, but I haven't been idling. As well as continuing to write reviews and conduct interviews for the lovely people at <a href="http://www.filminquiry.com/">Film Inquiry</a>, I've also been working on something new - namely, a website that will take over the hosting of this blog from the end of June onwards.</b></div>
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<b>As Human As The Rest Of Us will remain right here, but only as an archive of the film stuff I've written between its launch in late 2014 and now. The new site's blog will probably commence with a rundown of my Top 10 films of 2018 so far. I'm also going to have a go at a podcast, but don't hold me to that, as technology is seldom my friend. </b></div>
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<b>In the meantime, you could check out my critic's page on <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/critic/andrew-winter/movies">Rotten Tomatoes</a>, which contains links to every review I've written for Film Inquiry so far. I'll pop back here towards the end of June to reveal the url of the new site.</b></div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794490764987409014.post-68302049430336781832018-05-02T02:34:00.001-07:002018-05-02T02:34:06.123-07:00Avengers: Infinity War - Hero-stuffed MCU juggernaut is hugely entertaining<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Chincredible: </b>Thanos has come to destroy the MCU... well, half of it </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Ratings guide: <span style="color: red;">WWWW</span></b> - Wonderful <b><span style="color: red;">WWW</span></b> - Worthwhile <b><span style="color: red;">WW</span></b> - Watchable <b><span style="color: red;">W</span></b> - Woeful</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>This review contains spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War (but none of the really big ones)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Avengers: Infinity War</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Directors:</b> Anthony Russo, Joe Russo</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Starring:</b> Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Running time: </b>149 mins</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've read enough comic-books over the years to know exactly what makes for a successful multi-part, multi-character, multi-team superhero crossover event. You need a huge threat, you need genuine stakes, you need a crazy-arsed story that nevertheless makes some kind of sense, you need beloved characters (who perhaps haven't met before) interacting entertainingly and, of course, you need colossal action scenes. <i>Avengers: Infinity War</i> – the 19th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – delivers on nearly all those counts. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Forget the company's previous big crossover movies, such as <i>Captain America: Civil War</i>, and the first two Avengers films, none of them can hold a candle to the sheer dizzying scope of this film's ambition. Nor its quality. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yes, at two hours, 29 minutes it's punishingly long. Yes, there are a ridiculous number of characters to keep track of (all 20+ heroes on the <a href="http://www.impawards.com/2018/avengers_infinity_war_ver2_xlg.html">movie poster</a>, plus various villains and supporting cast). And, yes, you probably need to have seen a good few of the previous 18 MCU films (starting with 2008's <i>Iron Man</i>) to understand exactly who everyone is and get the most out of what is going on. It could have been a sprawling, confusing mess, but instead is a pristinely crafted epic. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The stake</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">s in many superhero movies rarely seem particularly high. If Black Panther loses the throne of Wakanda or The Avengers have to do as the government tells them, is it really that big a deal? Even in those films when the fate of the Earth/galaxy/universe is at stake, you never believe for a moment anything truly bad will ever be allowed to happen. Here, all of that goes right out of the window. There's a palpable sense of dread that grabs you by the short and curlies within the film's first 10 minutes, as Thanos (Josh Brolin beneath some seriously impressive CG) and his minions lay waste to the survivors of the Asgard conflagration we saw at the end of <i>Thor: Ragnarok</i>, including The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and the thunder god (Chris Hemsworth) himself. That sets up Thanos very nicely as the most imposing threat The Avengers and their allies (the Guardians Of The Galaxy, Dr Strange, Black Panther and Spider-Man) have yet faced, especially when you discover our Big Bad's end game is to gather six super-powerful infinity stones (they fit into the big gold gauntlet he wears on his left hand) and use them to wipe out half the universe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Directors Anthony and Joe Russo </span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> the brothers who brought us the last two <i>Captain America</i> movies and take over <i>The Avengers</i> franchise from Joss Whedon here <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> keep that sense of foreboding at fever pitch as the action switches first to Earth as we see Dr Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) and the newly-returned Hulk face off against more Thanos minions, before zipping back into deep space where the Guardians encounter a beaten and bloodied Thor. Ahead of a climax in Wakanda that couldn't possibly be more <i>sturm und drang</i> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">if it tried, we also undertake a whistle-stop tour of the universe, visiting a variety of places with names you only ever find in SF or fantasy (Knowhere, Nidavellir, Vormir). It's breathlessly paced but that works to the film's advantage. There's a palpable sense of panic here – of time running out – as our far-flung heroes race to stop Thanos's insane master plan. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The thunder god's encounter with the Guardians is a particular delight, provoking as it does jealousy in Star Lord (Chris Pratt) and awe in everyone else (Dave Baustista's Drax: "It's like a pirate had a baby with an angel"). In fact, many of the film's highlights are contained in interactions between characters who we've never seen on screen together before <span style="color: #222222; font-size: x-small;">–</span> Dr Strange and Tony Stark relentlessly bicker, Thor and Rocket (Bradley Cooper) make an instant connection, Thanos and his "daughter" Gamora (Zoe Saldana) undergo a heart-breaking reunion. </span><span style="font-family: "arial";">You could argue some characters are a little too marginalised (and a couple of notable MCU luminaries are missing altogether), but that's balanced by previously uninteresting heroes <span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: x-small;">– </span>Vision (Paul Bettany) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) <span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: x-small;">–</span> not just being allowed a turn centre-stage, but flourishing in that spotlight.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Oddly enough, though, my favourite thing here is something that <i>doesn't</i> happen rather than something that does. Iron Man/Tony Stark and Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> two characters who we're desperate to see together again after their massive fall out and punch-up in <i>Civil War</i> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> are deliberately kept apart for the duration. Obviously, there will be an emotional reunion in next May's as-yet-untitled <i>Avengers 4</i>, but that will be a full three years since they beat the tar out of each other at the end of 2016's film. It's a canny piece of storytelling and something that speaks to the patience with which this decade-spanning story has been put together. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Stark reality: Star Lord (Chris Pratt) meets Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another impressive element of Infinity War is its tone. Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely's script expertly manages to juggle <i>GOTG</i>/<i>Ragnarok</i>-style humour with the darker material a plot in which 50 per cent of the universe is about to be wiped from existence requires. At times it reminded me of <i>Buffy, The Vampire Slayer</i> in its pomp, which is ironic seeing as how Whedon, who wrote and directed the first two Avengers films, never came close to matching his work on the iconic TV show in either movie.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">One of my issues with the MCU has been that its villains rarely live up to expectations. Loki was great but all-too-quickly converted into a loveable antihero, even with James Spader's voice The Avengers' comic-book arch-nemesis Ultron disappointed, while Zemo was resourceful, vengeful... and thoroughly ordinary. <i>Thor: Ragnarok</i>'s Hela and <i>Black Panther</i>'s Killmonger were big steps in the right direction and Thanos continues the trend. In fact, the "Mad Titan" is far more intriguing and complex a character than his various cameos in MCU films over the years have suggested. He may be a homicidal maniac, but at least Thanos is conflicted, can feel proper emotion, and has a point of view, as flawed as that may be. He believes that halving the population of the universe will make life better for everyone who is left and restore balance to all things. Although that doesn't make him "sympathetic" as some reviewers and commentators have suggested, it makes him Super Hitler.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />And, while we're on the subject, Thanos's plan doesn't actually make a scrap of sense. Thanos tells Strange that by wiping out half of existence he'll ensure the survival of a universe threatened by overpopulation. To which you can only say, "Dude, you do know just how BIG the universe actually is, right? I doubt overpopulation is going to be a big deal any time... ever." Besides, even killing off 50 per cent of everyone still wouldn't eradicate poverty, exploitation and the scarcity of resources because political systems – including capitalism – depend on precisely those things to thrive. If half of the US population was somehow killed off tomorrow, people would still be poor because the rich wouldn't suddenly become more benevolent and keen to share their wealth. Yes, you might have a period when wages and conditions would improve because work would be plentiful, but it wouldn't be long before things were back to normal. In fact, with even more resources up for grabs, the 1% would probably become even greedier and more venal. Perhaps The Avengers should have given Thanos some Noam Chomsky to read instead of punching him in the face. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I was also left wondering how this "destroying half of all existence with a snap of his fingers" schtick was meant to work exactly. What if Thanos killed off too many doctors or nurses or teachers or engineers or builders? And how are the peoples of the universe meant to come to terms with the massive collective shellshock of losing half the population of their worlds, including friends and families? How does any of that translate into the "paradise" Thanos boasts his actions will result in? How exactly does it "preserve the balance of the universe"? Or perhaps I'm just overthinking it...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">We've had enough superhero team movies now for certain tropes to have become somewhat overused. All three Avengers movies feature our heroes having to battle an army of some kind – the Chitauri in <i>The Avengers</i>, killer robots in <i>Age Of Ultron</i>, and alien monster thingies set upon them by Thanos's minions here. It gives the CG guys a chance to run wild and allows our heroes to actually let loose with their powers and kill something, but has already become something of a cliché. In fact, it would be an interesting exercise to count up just how many times this type of sequence happens across the various MCU and DCU movies. In a third of the films? Half? More?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Without going into details, <i>Infinity War</i> serves up some genuinely shocking moments and a cliffhanger finale devastating enough to make Han Solo being sealed in carbonite at the end of <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i> look like small potatoes. But along with all the horror of those final minutes must come a warning. Marvel (the comic-book publisher) has become increasingly derided for the fact they "kill off" their characters only to bring them back months, years, or, in some cases, decades later to the point where death has become meaningless and, at times, no more inconvenient than a bad cold. I'd hate to see the MCU go the same way and hope that whatever reset button is coming in the next film it doesn't undo everything that happens here. That would be a terrible cop out.</span><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-bottom: 0px; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Rating: <span style="color: red;">WWW</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* Check out my review of horror movie <i>Pyewacket</i> at Film Inquiry <a href="https://www.filminquiry.com/pyewacket-2018-review/">here</a>.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794490764987409014.post-90959867215039743922018-04-17T01:57:00.001-07:002018-04-17T01:57:21.512-07:00Gook, I Am Not An Easy Man, Come Sunday, Better Watch Out, and Brigsby Bear (Your Week In Film: April 16-22)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY0jWMs73uICIE_8sc8tj2wfqJeBYoTROpZ7zr7pSCeWWeIuQZJzMY3LPi4YDA2sHbWCFnO4y7XV9HV-YMRXvhBJ7-WY-ZhNnOUg85I9Ftwq7eVUiPs3_Bv1W9VhFqIOsU34scpezJDlBy/s1600/better+watch+out.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="631" data-original-width="1024" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY0jWMs73uICIE_8sc8tj2wfqJeBYoTROpZ7zr7pSCeWWeIuQZJzMY3LPi4YDA2sHbWCFnO4y7XV9HV-YMRXvhBJ7-WY-ZhNnOUg85I9Ftwq7eVUiPs3_Bv1W9VhFqIOsU34scpezJDlBy/s400/better+watch+out.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: x-small;">We're a bit tied up: Better Watch Out puts a smart horror spin on Home Alone</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br />The best and worst of this week's UK home entertainment releases on DVD, Blu-ray and digital. All the films mentioned are available to buy, rent and/or stream now, unless otherwise stated.<br /></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Ratings guide: <span style="color: red;">WWWW</span></b> - Wonderful <span style="color: red;"><b>WWW</b></span> - Worthwhile <span style="color: red;"><b>WW</b></span> - Watchable <b><span style="color: red;">W</span></b> - Woeful </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Certain reviewers have sought to compare <b>Gook</b> (DVD and VOD) <b><span style="color: red;">WWW</span></b> with Kevin Smith's <i>Clerks</i> (1994). But apart from taking place in and around a shop and being filmed in black and white, <i>Gook</i> is a far more serious-minded and dramatic enterprise than Smith's profane, freewheelin' debut.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Set during the 1992 Los Angeles riots, which exploded across the city following the acquittal of four police officers involved in the infamous beating of Rodney King, Justin Chon's film focuses on Eli (Chon himself) and Daniel (David So), two bickersome Korean-American brothers struggling to keep their late father's shoe store open. Racial tensions in the area are high and the brothers are frequent targets of abuse and worse from local African-American and Hispanic street thugs; "Gook", an offensive term for East Asians, is spray-painted across the bonnet of Eli's car at one point. Seemingly, their only friend is Kamilla (Simone Baker), a young black girl who helps out at the store when she is supposed to be at school.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Fictional and documentary takes on the LA Riots usually <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> and entirely understandably <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> focus on the city's African-American community and its scandalous treatment at the hands of local law enforcement, but this offers a very different perspective. It's clear LA's Korean-Americans felt just as under siege as their black counterparts, but for very different reasons. Owning businesses in predominantly African-American neighbourhoods, they were often seen as interlopers only there to exploit the local community, something that led to ill will on all sides. This resentment and mutual enmity occasionally transformed into something altogether uglier, such as the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Latasha Harlins in 1991, by a Korean convenience store owner, during an altercation over alleged shoplifting. These were not communities that lived side by side with any great affection for each other and it is that friction which <i>Gook</i> explores.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You could argue Chon's film paints the local blacks and Hispanics as the bad guys, but, to the Koreans, that is how they must have seemed. Besides, this isn't a film about apportioning blame or stirring up more distrust, but about the tragedy of misdirected rage. It isn't an angry movie, but rather a very sad one; its tone starts off quite light but becomes darker and more melancholic the further in we go. The final 15 minutes are just plain heart-breaking. The riots are barely glimpsed, but, nevertheless, play a pivotal role in the movie, as lawlessness spread across the city from South Central, out to engulf the brothers' shoe store. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Chon's second feature as director, after years as an actor and a couple of shorts, is nicely shot; he has a good eye for the gnarled beauty of urban decay and clearly gets a kick out of filming weathered concrete and cracked pavements, while one repeated sequence in which Kamilla dances beside a building engulfed in flames is haunting and poetic. But the decision to film in black and white keeps you at arm's length a bit too much. LA robbed of the crackle of its vibrant colour palette isn't LA at all. Maybe it was a financial consideration or perhaps Chon was trying to underline the fact all this happened in the past (almost like old newsreel footage). I rather suspect, though, he was seeking to make a point about the alienation suffered by these characters <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> both from each other and the city itself. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I predict a riot: Gook is a compelling study of racial tension</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Regular readers of this blog might be forgiven for thinking I have a downer on Netflix, but nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, a fair few of their original movies are terrible (<i>Bright</i>, <i>Irreplaceable</i>, <i>Game Over, Man!</i>), but I appreciate the fact the streaming giant provides so much new content, is willing to take risks, and is committed to producing and releasing work in a wide variety of genres. Take this week's two new Netflix Originals, which couldn't possibly be more different. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>I Am Not An Easy Man <span style="color: red;">WWW</span></b> is a satirical French rom-com of sorts which sees Damien (Vincent Elbaz), an arrogant, chauvinistic app designer, bashing his head and waking up in a world in which gender roles are totally reversed. Women are dominant, with men subservient and frequently marginalised. There he meets and falls for successful but reckless author Alexandra (Marie-Sophie Ferdane), whose love-'em-and-leave-'em attitude to relationships mirrors his own. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Eleonore Pourriat's film <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> based on her 2010 short, <i>Oppressed Majority</i> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> succeeds because it's genuinely funny and incredibly smart. She plays with gender stereotypes, isn't afraid to get silly when she has to, and crams in a lot of jokes for good measure. My favourite gag reimagines the most famous scene from Jean-Luc Godard's classic of French cinema, <i>Le Mépris</i> (1963), with a male actor laying face down on a bed, pert bottom on display, in place of the original's Brigitte Bardot. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The film's leads are both excellent. Elbaz has a ball with his character's transformation from boorish alpha male to committed metrosexual, while the statuesque Ferdane – a woman so suffused with Gallic cool she probably eats Gauloises for breakfast – has charisma to burn, owning every scene she is in. There's a pleasing meticulousness to <i>I Am Not An Easy Man</i> too – you see every bit of the hard work that went into putting it together right there on screen – from its casting, to its world building, to its script, to its soundtrack, which includes a particularly fine version of 'You're The One That I Want', from <i>Grease</i>. Pourriat's might not be the most original premise in the world (Brits of a certain age will remember <i>The Two Ronnies</i>' similarly-themed <i>The Worm That Turned</i> from 1980), but its intriguing take on matters of misogyny is pretty much irresistible all the same.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just about the only thing <b>Come Sunday <span style="color: red;">WW½</span></b> has in common with <i>I Am Not An Easy Man</i> is that it features a lead character seemingly full of certainties suddenly made to question everything about them. In this case, it's Chiwetel Ejiofor's preacher Carlton Pearson, who shocks America's evangelical establishment when he gives a sermon suggesting that Hell does not exist and that saint and sinner alike all go to Heaven. Suffice to say, there is uproar as Pearson's followers desert him in droves and he is branded a heretic.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Based on a true story, Joshua Marston's powerful but low-key drama invites viewers to really think about what Pearson is saying and interrogate their own religious views as a result. It also captures every nuance of his spiritual quandary, with Ejiofor ridiculously convincing as the conflicted preacher. In fact, <i>Come Sunday</i>'s starry cast, which also includes Martin Sheen, Lakeith Stanfield, Danny Glover, Condola Rashad, and Jason Segel, all deliver performances that are pitch-perfect. The film's most compelling scenes are those in which its focus is narrowed to explore Pearson's fraught relationships with his wife (Rashad), his right-hand man (Segel), and a gay youngster struggling with his sexuality (Stanfield). In the wrong hands, <i>Come Sunday</i> could have been self-righteous and every bit as hectoring as one of Pearson's sermons. The fact it instead exudes so much decency and humanity is to be applauded.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Taking it Easy: Vincent Elbaz stars in an unusual French rom-com</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Brigsby Bear</b> (DVD, Blu-ray, and VOD) <span style="color: red;"><b>WWW</b></span> is a sort of <i>Dogtooth</i> for nerds, which begins with Kyle Mooney's James being freed from the couple who had kidnapped him as a baby 25 years before. James' "parents" – Mark Hamill and Jane Adams – kept him completely isolated from other people for all that time and fed him a warped version of reality to control, educate and distract him, including a fictional TV show called <i>Brigsby Bear Adventures</i>, with which he is completely obsessed. Finally free, he struggles to come to terms with his new family and life, especially as it means a future without his beloved Brigsby. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Produced by The Lonely Island crew – including Andy Samberg – and directed by Dave McCary (<i>Saturday Night Live</i>), Brigsby is an unexpected joy from beginning to end. A charming, funny celebration of obsession, and a most unusual coming-of-age tale, it also tackles notions of "putting aside childish things", and the fear of change, with great sensitivity and warmth. The incredible care and invention that has clearly gone into creating Brigsby's fictional universe is perhaps most impressive of all though.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Bear necessities: McCary's Brigsby is an unexpected joy</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm going to choose my words carefully about <b>Better Watch Out</b> (DVD, Blu-ray, and VOD) <b><span style="color: red;">WWW</span></b> because the film contains a really big twist before the halfway mark, and the fewer hints I drop about its nature the better. Set at and originally released in cinemas at Christmas, Chris Peckover's movie is a spiteful little horror confection that centres on Luke (Levi Miller), a frustrated 12-year-old with a major crush on his older babysitter, Ashley (Olivia DeJonge). When his parents go out for the night, Luke sees it as the perfect opportunity to share his feelings and seduce her. Of course, proceedings don't run smoothly as the pair are soon under threat from a person or persons unknown trying to get into the house...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There's never a dull moment as Peckover and screenwriter Zack Kahn keep things ticking over at an impressively frenetic rate. It reminded me of <i>Home Alone</i> at times, but this is a far more troubling affair, its violence not so much cartoonish as just plain visceral. Watching a Christmas movie in the middle of April might seem a little weird, but <i>Better Watch Out</i> is worth sitting through any number of cheesy festive songs for (although the inclusion of The Ramones' 'Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight<i>)'</i> is to be applauded). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Horror films such as <i>Ghost Stories</i> and <i>A Quiet Place</i> have been quite rightly critically lauded, but the likes of <i>Better Watch Out</i>, <i>Happy Death Day</i>, and Netflix's <i>The Babysitter</i> are just as successful on their own, perhaps more traditional terms. These movies are unlikely to appeal to an arthouse crowd, but that doesn't mean they aren't inventive, smart and thoroughly enjoyable. Just a word to the wise: <i>Better Watch Out</i>'s trailer (below) dances around the movie's big twist to the point where you might be able to guess what it is, so proceed with caution...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Season's beatings: Better Watch Out is surprisingly visceral</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Film of the week:</b> It's an unusually strong week, but, if I absolutely have to pick a winner, it's <i>I Am Not An Easy Man</i>. To be honest, though, any one of the films mentioned here is well worth checking out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>What I will be watching this week: </b><i>Love, Simon </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Top 10 UK DVD/Blu-rays (movies only)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. Star Wars: The Last Jedi</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. Paddington 2</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. Justice League</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4. Wonder</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5. Moana</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">6. Thor: Ragnarok</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">7. Murder On The Orient Express</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">8. Daddy's Home 2</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">9. The Boss Baby</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">10. Paddington 1 & 2</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794490764987409014.post-76019359101411671822018-04-09T02:36:00.002-07:002018-04-09T02:36:20.560-07:00Star Wars: The Last Jedi, The Disaster Artist, Suburbicon, and 6 Balloons (Your Week In Film: April 9-15)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkODDx2r80sAuHvEd4p0XG62EUHBbFOyw6iemxP40dXb9vCERwtBG1gA1eR7NeG4wQQbe112rE5FWK-BsewyOiHGkdYV5gO_WuipmW1RbKA07U0nJHASerX50Ek0F5C5EfEhYZ98UF7sOQ/s1600/kylo-ren-star-wars-1515098855%255B1%255D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="768" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkODDx2r80sAuHvEd4p0XG62EUHBbFOyw6iemxP40dXb9vCERwtBG1gA1eR7NeG4wQQbe112rE5FWK-BsewyOiHGkdYV5gO_WuipmW1RbKA07U0nJHASerX50Ek0F5C5EfEhYZ98UF7sOQ/s400/kylo-ren-star-wars-1515098855%255B1%255D.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Top Ren hit: Adam Driver's charismatic anti-hero makes The Last Jedi a must-see</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>The best and worst of this week's UK home entertainment releases on DVD, Blu-ray and digital. All the films mentioned are available to buy, rent and/or stream now, unless otherwise stated.</b></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><br /></b></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Ratings guide: <span style="color: red;">WWW</span><span style="color: red;">W</span></b> - Wonderful <b><span style="color: red;">WWW</span></b> - Worthwhile <b><span style="color: red;">WW</span></b> - Watchable <b><span style="color: red;">W</span></b> - Woeful</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Despite the terrible prequels, the daft teddy-bear thingies in <i>Return Of The Jedi</i>, and the fact <i>The Force Awakens</i> was little more than a cynical rehash of <i>A New Hope</i>, <b>Star Wars: The Last Jedi</b> (DVD, Blu-ray, and VOD) <span style="color: red;"><b>WWW</b><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">½</span></b></span> has upset certain fans of the franchise more than anything else in its chequered history. They don't like the diversity of its new cast, hate the liberties taken with the original movies' characters, especially Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), and can't abide some of the film's storytelling twists. Not only are these people wrong, but to quote Reynolds Woodcock from <i>Phantom Thread</i>, they should be "spanked in public". </span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The Last Jedi</i> is, simply put, the best Star Wars film since <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i> (1980) and the reasons for that are almost entirely down to all the things the reactionaries dislike so much. The new cast members – some introduced during <i>The Force Awakens</i>, others seen here for the first time – are an intriguing bunch, every bit as brave, selfless and inspiring as Han, Leia and Luke were way back when. The fact more of them are women (Daisy Ridley's Rey, Laura Dern's Vice Admiral Holdo and Kelly Marie Tran's Rose Tico) and some are non-white (Tran again and John Boyega's Finn) has to be the most ridiculous and offensive reason to take against them imaginable, especially when matters of gender or ethnicity are never mentioned here. It's easy to get angry with racists and misogynists, but perhaps healthier to just pity them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Meanwhile, Skywalker is far more fun as a bitter old misery guts, sick of bearing the weight of the Force upon his ageing shoulders, than he ever was as a fresh-faced but vanilla young hero, only made truly interesting by the matter of his paternity. The story's twists are all good ones, two in particular delivered so expertly they made audience members in the screening I attended audibly gasp. Writer/director Rian Johnson (<i>Brick</i>, <i>Looper</i>) takes a lot of risks, trying stuff that might not come off, and it's a credit to him so much of it does. It's surely a good thing when a story doesn't go the way you expect it to and <i>The Last Jedi</i> makes an enjoyable </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">habit of confounding your expectations. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">He has a way with a visual too <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> the climactic Skywalker v Kylo Ren lightsaber face-off is like something straight out of Kurosawa, while one character's ultimate sacrifice makes for a moment both heart-rending and mind-bending. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The movie's crowning glory, though, is Adam Driver's Ren, comfortably the most compelling anti-hero-cum-bad-guy we've seen in any blockbuster franchise for many a year. His journey from Vader-lite apprentice of the ludicrous Snoke in <i>The Force Awakens</i> into something altogether more dangerous and exciting is worth the price of admission on its own. Driver is probably the most charismatic young(ish) actor in Hollywood right now and <i>The Last Jedi</i> really belongs to him and Ridley's Rey, perhaps to the exclusion of other characters at times. And while this eighth entry in the main franchise might take a while to get going, it has given the Star Wars universe the bloody good shake up it sorely needed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Force of nature: The Star Wars franchise is finally back to its best</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The most memorable thing about <b>Suburbicon</b> (Amazon Prime Video) <b><span style="color: red;">WW</span></b> is its misleading trailer (see below) which, somehow, amidst all the blackly comedic japes about mob-related murder and mayhem, neglected to properly mention that a large chunk of the film involved a </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">harrowing tale of small-town racism. It was as if the movie's producers thought including such a difficult subject in its highlights reel may put people off. As it turns out, the race plot on its own might have been a far more interesting subject for a movie than the rather clunky crime caper – based on an old Coen brothers script – served up here alongside it by director George Clooney.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Set in 1959, in a predominantly white suburban US town (the titular Suburbicon), it sees supposed family-man Gardner Lodge (Matt Damon) up to his neck in trouble after conspiring with the Russian mob to bump off his wife Rose (Julianne Moore). He even moves in her twin sister Margaret (also Moore), who wastes no time slipping into her dead sibling's role of partner and mother. A dodgy claim alerts Oscar Isaac's insurance man, which is a problem for Gardner as he needs the cash to pay off the Russians. The murder and its aftermath casts a pall over the town and its residents start looking for scapegoats, starting with the Mayers, the town's newly-arrived African-American family...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Suburbicon</i> is saved by a strong cast (Moore and Damon are good, Isaac's extended cameo excellent), the occasional funny moment (most of which appear in the aforementioned trailer) and a script that expertly peels away the layers of Gardner's true self to reveal a 24-carat rotten bastard. It also has some timely points to make about the scapegoating of minorities and the ugliness of mob rule (you can imagine, I'm sure, what has inspired such notions). The problem is that the two parts of the story aren't an especially good fit and the black family have little agency. They're just victims with little to do outside of that (Mr and Mrs Mayers are given few lines and no first names either). Clooney's film (his sixth in the director's chair) is ambitious and certainly visually pleasing, but somehow never quite coheres into anything genuinely worthwhile or even particularly memorable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Without a Cloo: Director George's sixth movie underwhelms </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You don't need to have seen <i>The Room</i> to get a kick out of <b>The Disaster Artist</b> (DVD, Blu-ray, and VOD) <span style="color: red;"><b>WW<span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.66px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="color: red;">½</span></span></b></span>, but a working knowledge of Tommy Wiseau and his infamous movie would be a definite advantage. James Franco's debut as a director tells the story of how the "worst film ever made" came to be. It follows the mysterious Wiseau (Franco), as he meets partner-in-crime Greg Sistero (played by James's brother Dave), his eventual co-star in <i>The Room</i>, who went on to co-author the novel this film is based upon. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The pair are both struggling actors and when they fail to set Hollywood alight, wealthy Wiseau writes and finances a movie of his own, which becomes a cult success, despite being as terrible as anything the likes of Ed Wood or Uwe Boll ever came up with. Franco Senior is amusing and convincing as Wiseau, getting the filmmaker's bizarre mix of naivete and megalomania just right, and topping it off with that utterly preposterous Eastern European accent. The film itself is sporadically funny but, in reality, provides little more than a rummage through <i>The Room</i>'s best bits, several of which are lovingly recreated here ("You're tearing me apart, Lisa", "Oh, hi Mark" etc). The real Wiseau pops up for a cameo in a funny post-credits sequence.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Rock on, Tommy: James Franco plays The Room creator Wiseau</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There has been a recent debate about whether Netflix Originals count as "proper films", with even Steven Spielberg dismissing the streaming giant's features as "TV movies" and suggesting they should qualify for Emmy rather than Oscar consideration. I can't imagine this week's new Netflix releases will do much to change his mind. <b>6 Balloons <span style="color: red;">WW½</span></b> is an economically told drugs drama (only 74 minutes long) that sees <i>Broad City</i>'s Abbi Jacobson charging around southern California desperately trying to find her heroin-addicted brother (Dave Franco) a detox programme, but facing obstacle after obstacle. For the most part, it's smartly, inventively told by writer/director Marja-Lewis Ryan, while comedian Jacobsen excels in a dramatic role. Unfortunately, there's a drowning metaphor that is worked into the ground and Ryan fumbles the ball badly with a "tough-love" ending that at best lacks compassion and seems to misunderstand the nature of addiction. <br /><br />Despite its faults, <i>6 Balloons</i> has the edge on <b>Orbiter 9 <span style="color: red;">WW</span></b>, a Spanish sci-fi movie about a lonely young colonist (Clara Lago's Helena) on a 40-year journey from Earth to a new planet called Celeste. Hatem Khraiche's film (his first) is one of those Everything You Know Is Wrong tales with a couple of decent twists and a nicely worked ending. Somehow, though, it never sets the blood racing, although Lago – who has a slightly unearthly quality – is very good.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Burst Balloons: Marja-Lewis Ryan's movie is a mixed bag</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Finally, allow me to point you in the direction of a few films previously recommended here that have very recently popped up on Netflix. Click the links to check out my views on <a href="http://ashumanastherestofus.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/luc-bessons-valerian-and-city-of.html"><b>Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets</b></a>, <a href="http://ashumanastherestofus.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/hounds-of-love-gods-own-country-and.html"><b>God's Own Country</b></a>, and <a href="http://ashumanastherestofus.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/the-villainess-alien-covenant-and-first.html"><b>The Villainess</b></a>. <br /><br /><b>Film Of The Week:</b> <i>Star Wars: The Last Jedi</i><br /><br /><b>What I will be watching this week:</b> <i>Ready Player One</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>UK Top 10 DVDs/Blu-rays (movies only)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Paddington 2</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Justice League</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Wonder </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Moana</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Thor: Ragnarok</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. Daddy's Home 2</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7. Murder On The Orient Express</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8. Paddington 1 and 2</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9. Beauty And The Beast (2017)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10. The Boss Baby</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794490764987409014.post-46711883556728858922018-04-02T02:55:00.000-07:002018-04-06T03:58:24.009-07:00The Bachelors, Blade Of The Immortal, and Ravenous (Your Week In Film: April 2-8)<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The hunger games: On the run from zombie-like creatures in Ravenous</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The best and worst of this week's UK home entertainment releases on DVD, Blu-ray and digital. All the films mentioned are available to buy, rent and/or stream now, unless otherwise stated. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Ratings guide: <span style="color: red;">WWWW</span></b> - Wonderful <b><span style="color: red;">WWW</span></b> - Worthwhile <b><span style="color: red;">WW</span></b> - Watchable <b><span style="color: red;">W</span></b> - Woeful</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Kurt Voelker clearly isn't a big fan of psychotherapy. J.K. Simmons, who plays distraught widow Bill Palet in the writer/director's second feature <b>The Bachelors</b> (Curzon Home Cinema) <b><span style="color: red;">WW</span></b>, is given all manner of counselling, medication and, at one point, a course of ECT, to cure his chronic depression, but none of it works. In fact, the whole process (including Harold Perrineau's therapist) is treated as something a little bit sinister and not to be trusted. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As it turns out, all maths teacher Bill had needed to get the black dog off his back was for son Wes (Josh Wiggins) to shout at him and hurl a glass full of soda at a wall. Whilst no expert, I'm not entirely sure this is how mental illness – or the alleviation of its symptoms – actually works. Surely, it's just a more extreme version of telling a patient to "pull themselves together", albeit with added broken glass and stained paintwork.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bad brain science apart, as melodramas about troubled rich people go, <i>The Bachelors </i>isn't bad. It sees the Palet boys move to Los Angeles after the untimely death of wife/mother Jeanie (Kimberly Crandall). An old friend has offered Bill a job at his exclusive boys' school and it's a chance for father and son to start again, with the help of two new women in their lives – Bill's teacher colleague Carine (Julie Delpy) and student Lacey (Odeya Rush), who Wes helps with her French homework. Of course, you're waiting for the two relationships to blossom into more than friendship and Voelker throws in a few deft twists and turns as his story winds its way to an inevitable and uplifting conclusion. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The main weapon in <i>The Bachelors</i>' armoury is a fine cast. You can't go wrong with Simmons and Delpy, but the kids are good too, especially Rush, who finds new dimensions to explore in amongst her character's "beautiful but disturbed" tropes. Lacey's family aren't in it very much but give the film its best scene <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> all sat round a table during an excruciating dinner that Wes has been invited to. Lacey's mum and dad are going through a divorce and the pair's disdain for each other crackles off the screen as they take verbal pot-shots at each other. They're hilariously awful and should have been in this far more.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Legendary Japanese director Takashi Miike's 100th film (yes, really) is a flawed but entertaining adaptation of Hiroaki Samura's <b>Blade Of The Immortal</b> (DVD, Blu-ray, and VOD) <b><span style="color: red;">WW</span></b>, a long-running manga which ceased publication in 2012 after 19 years. <br /><br />As the title implies, <i>Blade</i> tells the tale of a mighty samurai – Manji (Takuya Kimura) – cursed by a witch to walk the Earth forever. He takes pity on a young girl, Rin (Hana Sugisaki), and vows to be her instrument of vengeance against Anotsu (Sôta Fukushi) and his band of master swordsmen, who murdered her father. <br /><br />The opening sequence – filmed in moody black and white as Manji "dies" before receiving his curse – is truly electrifying, but, due to its extended running time and repetitive action sequences, <i>Blade</i> sags somewhat in the middle. However much you love well-choreographed, ultra-violent sword fights, with high body counts and lopped-off limbs, there comes a point where you just think, "Any chance Manji could do something else for a bit – maybe a spot of shopping or some gardening?" Thankfully, Miike pulls it all together in time for an impressively over-the-top grand finale, featuring Manji, Rin, Anotsu, and a few of the colourful supporting characters we've met along the way. </span></div>
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There will be blood: Miike's 100th movie is violent but repetitive</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Netflix adds so much new content to its catalogue these days that it's easy for something rather good to slip through the cracks unnoticed. The fact that latest "something" is a zombie movie, called <b>Ravenous</b> (Netflix) <span style="color: red;"><b>WWW</b></span>, is surprising because, let's face it, the undead horror sub-genre hasn't exactly been renowned of late for its gems, hidden or otherwise. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Robin Aubert's film doesn't particularly do anything outrageously original – a band of survivors in upstate Quebec are menaced by an army of undead – he just does it very well. The characters are all interesting (especially Monica Chokri's Tania), it's directed with style and imagination, and the creatures themselves have one or two intriguing quirks to mark them out from the usual limb-chewing throng. In fact, I don't know whether it's right to call them zombies at all, as the fast-moving monsters here are more redolent of those from <i>28 Days Later</i> or <i>The Girl With All The Gifts</i>. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We all know what zombies look like – and it's got a bit boring – but Aubert is more interested in what they <i>sound</i> like. His creatures let out a terrible, soul-piercing shriek that reminded me of the inhuman sound emitted by the alien duplicates in <i>Invasion Of The Body Snatchers</i> (1978). It's like nails down a chalkboard and genuinely unsettling, especially in a film set amidst the peace and stillness of Quebec's countryside. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The longer the movie goes on, the further it strays from the undead template, becoming stranger and more artful as the exploration of ideas takes over from straightforward storytelling. Aubert leaves us with a lot to ponder (some reviews have suggested rather too much), but figuring out the hows and whys of this particular apocalypse is half the fun. <i>Ravenous</i> leaves you with some powerful images – the creatures build weird piles of furniture and technology for some unfathomable reason – and that awful shriek in your head. Although it isn't quite in the same league, it reminded me a little of Julia Ducournau's extraordinary <i>Raw</i> from last year. Take that as a recommendation.</span></span></div>
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Cutting edge: Ravenous reinvents the zombie movie<br /></div>
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<i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Film of the week:</b> <i>Ravenous</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>What I will be watching this week:</b> <i>Journeyman</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>UK Top 10 DVDs/Blu-rays (movies only)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. Justice League</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. Paddington 2</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. Wonder</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4. Thor: Ragnarok</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5. Murder On The Orient Express</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">6. Daddy's Home 2</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">7. Paddington 1 and 2 (boxset)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">8. Moana</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">9. Beauty And The Beast (2017)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">10. Cars 3</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794490764987409014.post-92148747311382247622018-03-27T03:45:00.004-07:002018-03-27T03:45:53.729-07:00Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool, Game Over, Man!, Roxanne, Roxanne, and Justice League: Your Week In Film (March 26-April 1)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM5bnvhMyHmUeep8Oz_giovUex7NHtvxmaO-sX8ZBBqu5nuCAO3vXC_65vLbI2M61NpxRUpc69_frQOPHM_PoQbKB0IQzdIbf4mHejYCsidMDelO9tW_eVzZfv0X6AsCvgE0deNeM_bGIl/s1600/game+over.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="970" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM5bnvhMyHmUeep8Oz_giovUex7NHtvxmaO-sX8ZBBqu5nuCAO3vXC_65vLbI2M61NpxRUpc69_frQOPHM_PoQbKB0IQzdIbf4mHejYCsidMDelO9tW_eVzZfv0X6AsCvgE0deNeM_bGIl/s400/game+over.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Lame Game: Die Hard-inspired "comedy" is an absolute stinker</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>The best and worst of this week's UK home entertainment releases on DVD, Blu-ray and digital. All the films mentioned are available to buy, rent and/or stream now, unless otherwise stated. </b></span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: none; border-image: none; border: 0px rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; outline: transparent 0px; overflow: visible; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: none; border-image: none; border: 0px rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; outline: transparent 0px; overflow: visible; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>Ratings guide: <span style="color: red;">WWWW</span></b> - Wonderful <b><span style="color: red;">WWW</span></b> - Worthwhile <b><span style="color: red;">WW</span></b> - Watchable <b><span style="color: red;">W</span></b> - Woeful</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Roxanne Roxanne</b> (Netflix) <b><span style="color: red;">WWW</span></b> is a brave, bold and occasionally brilliant biopic of Roxanne Shante, the trailblazing female hip-hop star who had Stateside hits with the likes of 'Roxanne's Revenge' and 'Go On Girl' in the 1980s. She wasn't nearly as well known in this country, although a couple of her singles did make the UK Top 50. Michael Larnell's film starts off as a typical rags-to-riches tale, before becoming something quite different and altogether darker. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Y<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">oung Roxanne (real name Lolita Gooden and played here by impressive newcomer Chanté Adams) is a bright but troubled 14-year-old from Queens, New York, who escapes her hard-scrabble existence by taking on and defeating all comers in local rap battles. She hooks up with neighbourhood producer Marley Marl (Kevin Phillips) to cut a record and, before she knows it, is being played all over the radio and heading out on tour with fellow rapper Sparky Dee (</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cheryse Dyllan). What the film is more interested in exploring, though, is Shante's difficult relationship with her mother, Ms Peggy (the superb Nia Long), and the damage inflicted</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> upon them both by the men in their lives.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shante and her three younger sisters already have an absentee father when Ms Peggy's boyfriend disappears having stolen an envelope stuffed with cash she had saved up to move her family out of the projects. Devastated by the betrayal, Peggy takes to drinking as she and Shante's bond becomes ever more strained. The rapper, in turn, is seduced by malevolent older-man Cross (<i>Moonlight</i>'s Mahershala Ali), who beats her up with such startling regularity that when he tells her: "I only hit you because I love you", it's almost a catchphrase. There's one shocking scene in which Shante is at a photoshoot being urged to smile, only to testily explain she can't move her mouth because her jaw is broken. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Told with great sensitivity and real visual style by Larnell, this is powerful, unsettling stuff, but while it's absolutely crucial this story is told, it does somewhat overshadow everything else in the film. We lose sight of Roxanne's achievements in the music business or even what made her so special in the first place. As a celebration of "Shante the survivor" it is nigh-on perfect, but as an exploration of what she brought to the table as a ground-breaking hip-hop artist, <i>Roxanne, Roxanne</i> falls a little short.</span></div>
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Rap battle: Hip-hop star Shante suffered domestic abuse </div>
</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As neologisms go, I always thought teen-pop bible <i>Smash Hits</i>' "swoonsome" took some beating. Most often used to describe dishy lead singers or intensely emotional love songs, it's a perfect descriptor for <b>Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool</b> (DVD, Blu-ray, and VOD) <b><span style="color: red;">WWWW</span></b> too, a film so achingly, tragically, perfectly romantic, it had broken my heart three times before the halfway point.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Based on a true story – and the book it inspired – the film sees faded Hollywood star Gloria Grahame (Annette Bening) slumming it in a London stage play in the late 1970s, her Oscar-winning glory days of the <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">'</span>50s far behind her. She meets a struggling Liverpudlian actor, Peter Turner (Jamie Bell) and, despite being old enough to be his mum, they fall in love and conduct a passionate affair. The relationship turns sour for reasons we are not immediately privy to, and Peter doesn't hear from her again until a couple of years later, when he receives a call saying Gloria's been taken ill on stage in Lancaster and is asking for him...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you overlook <i>Victor Frankenstein</i>, director Paul McGuigan has a decent CV, filled with the likes of <i>Gangster No.1</i>, <i>Lucky Number Slevin</i>, and a few episodes of <i>Sherlock</i>, and he really brings his A game here. <i>Film Stars</i> has visual brio to burn, as McGuigan effortlessly and imaginatively transitions between locations (London to Liverpool to New York to California) and time periods, evoking something unique and memorable about them all. This is a film steeped in nostalgia, longing, faded glamour and working-class grit, with Liverpool an almost mythical place where even an ageing, poorly former film star believes she can become whole again. <br /><br />The film would be nothing without Bell and Bening who, despite an age gap of almost 30 years, have palpable chemistry. You believe in them, want the unlikely flame kindled between them to grow, and feel keenly the ache of their separation. Bening's Grahame is a complicated, capricious woman, oversensitive about her age and the maker of many mistakes, including four failed marriages, one to her former stepson. She has an Everest-sized mountain of emotional baggage and yet Bening – shamefully overlooked for an Oscar nom – imbues Grahame with such warmth and pathos, you are soon every bit as smitten with her as Peter is. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>Film Stars</i> is a classic romantic drama and a real crowd pleaser, which boasts a fine supporting turn from national treasure Julie Walters, leaving me at a loss to explain why it seems to have gone so far under the radar. Hopefully, McGuigan's swoonsome movie will eventually find the large and passionate audience it so fully deserves. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Falling Star: Annette Bening is superb as Gloria Grahame</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If creating bad art was a crime, the makers of <b>Game Over, Man!</b> (Netflix) <b><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">½</span></b> would be looking at a very long stretch in one of those US prisons you see on hard-hitting documentaries, where everyone is doing weights in the "yard" hoping they can get through another day without being stabbed in the face. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A gross-out comedy take on <i>Die Hard</i>, Kyle Newacheck's film sees Adam DeVine, and two other people whose names I can't even be arsed to look up on IMDB, working at a posh hotel when it is taken over by armed terrorists. A tsunami of splattery violence and scatological humour follows, including a man having his, ahem, "salad tossed", an exploding Chihuahua, and an appearance from – dear god, scour my eyes with bleach – DeVine's meat and two veg. </span><div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The Room</i> was rubbish but forgivably so because it was inadvertently funny and made by a naïve lunatic with delusions of grandeur. This is equally terrible, only cynical, horrible, ugly, utterly mirthless and created by people who hate you as well as themselves. If it isn't the worst movie I've ever seen, it's certainly in the top five.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Dire Hard: DeVine and Co in Game Over, Man!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally, there's <b>Justice League</b> (DVD, Blu-ray, and VOD) <span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>W<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.66px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="color: red;">½</span></span></b></span></span>, the Zack Snyder/Joss Whedon superhero chimera that became more famous for the CG required to hide Superman Henry Cavill's moustache than it did for boring old stuff like its story or characters. That's probably just as well because it isn't terribly good, Snyder's sprawling Sturm und Drang and Whedon's quippy, glib character work making incompatible bedfellows. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There's a thrilling sequence early on when Wonder Woman's Amazons try to keep a cosmic Macguffin, called a Mother Box, from crap visual-effect villain Steppenwolf, but that's where the excitement begins and ends. Ezra Miller – scarily intense a few years back in <i>We Need To Talk About Kevin</i> – is wasted here as Poundland Peter Parker, The Flash. Instead of bringing in Whedon to make massive alterations to Snyder's original movie, they should have left well enough alone. Yes, it would have been a rambling, madly eccentric dumpster fire like <i>Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice</i>, but it might at least have contained a modicum of personality. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Minor League: Henry Cavill returns as Superman</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>Film of the week:</b> <i>Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool, </i>but you should seek out<i> Roxanne, Roxanne </i>too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>What I will be watching this week: </b>The Easter holidays are upon us, which means I'll be taking my children to see the likes of <i>A Wrinkle In Time</i>, <i>Tomb Raider</i>, <i>Ready Player One</i>, and <i>Pacific Rim: Uprising</i>. I will enjoy these films more than my kids do.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I've been reviewing more movies for Film Inquiry. Click the links to check out my thoughts on <a href="https://www.filminquiry.com/cardboard-gangsters-2017-review/"><i>Cardboard Gangsters</i></a>, <a href="https://www.filminquiry.com/vanishing-of-sidney-hall-2018-review/"><i>The Vanishing Of Sidney Hall</i></a>, and <a href="https://www.filminquiry.com/finding-your-feet-2017-review/"><i>Finding Your Feet</i></a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>UK Top 10 DVDs/Blu-rays (movies only)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">1. Paddington 2</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">2. Daddy's Home 2</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">3. Thor: Ragnarok</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">4. Murder On The Orient Express</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">5. Paddington 1 & 2</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">6. Moana</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">7. Rex</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">8. Paddington</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">9. Beauty And The Beast</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">10. Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794490764987409014.post-62385553051207802892018-03-05T03:25:00.001-08:002018-03-05T03:25:45.873-08:00Oscars post-mortem, plus Veronica: Your Week In Film (March 5-11)<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizO9To0mWWUuMKea7wvX72n5vBEL_GjUSwEE67AtcS6waX2j64Uj31dUVwsOeo-jLQkCXo-jocNeY1nGmrOcY3fzvks2MaOikUrQpuhnTsgXPtF1eKAZFTbdMWs_m0EUC7C4F9vKYy3wGb/s1600/shape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="960" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizO9To0mWWUuMKea7wvX72n5vBEL_GjUSwEE67AtcS6waX2j64Uj31dUVwsOeo-jLQkCXo-jocNeY1nGmrOcY3fzvks2MaOikUrQpuhnTsgXPtF1eKAZFTbdMWs_m0EUC7C4F9vKYy3wGb/s400/shape.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Actually, Sally, The Shape Of Water won four Oscars...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Due to post-Oscars fatigue and the fact I have deadlines looming elsewhere, it's a shorter column this time. Things should return to normal next week with a bit of luck...</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>The 90th Academy Awards </b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span><b> your esteemed winners...</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Best Picture:</b> <i>The Shape Of Water</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Best Director:</b> Guillermo Del Toro (<i>The Shape Of Water</i>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Best Actress:</b> Frances McDormand (<i>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</i>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Best Actor:</b> Gary Oldman (<i>Darkest Hour</i>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Best Supporting Actress: </b>Allison Janney (<i>I, Tonya</i>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Best Supporting Actor:</b> Sam Rockwell (<i>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</i>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Best Original Screenplay:</b> Jordan Peele (<i>Get Out</i>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Best Adapted Screenplay:</b> James Ivory (<i>Call Me By Your Name</i>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Best Score:</b> Alexandre Desplat (<i>The Shape Of Water</i>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Best Song:</b> "Remember Me" (<i>Coco</i>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Best Cinematography:</b> Roger Deakins (<i>Blade Runner 2049</i>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Best Visual Effects:</b> <i>Blade Runner 2049</i><br /><b>Best Editing:</b> <i>Dunkirk</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Best Animated Film:</b> <i>Coco</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Best Documentary: </b><i>Icarus</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Best Foreign-Language Film:</b> <i>A Fantastic Woman</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Best Production Design: </b><i>The Shape Of Water</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Best Sound Mixing: </b><i>Dunkirk</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Best Sound Editing:</b> <i>Dunkirk</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Best Costume Design:</b> <i>Phantom Thread</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Best Make-up And Hair:</b> <i>Darkest Hour</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Best Documentary Short:</b> <i>Heaven Is A Traffic Jam On The 405</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Best Live Action Short: </b><i>The Silent Child</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Best Animated Short:</b> <i>Dear Basketball</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">And 11 takeaways...</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1.</b> In the end, it was all rather predictable. No shocks, no surprises. For once, it looks like the tipsters and pundits called it right.<br /><b>2. </b>Despite my antipathy for <i>Three Billboards</i>, ultimately I was rather glad Frances McDormand won Best Actress. Her acceptance speech was extraordinary – "I'm hyperventilating a little bit, so if I fall over, pick me up, because I've got some things to say."<br /><b>3.</b> <i>The Shape Of Water</i> isn't Guillermo Del Toro's best film and it really isn't in the same league as fellow Best Picture nominee <i>Get Out</i>. But its simple, hopeful message of inclusion clearly chimed with the Academy in these troubled times. It's also the first sci-fi film to take home the top prize. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4.</b> On the subject of Del Toro, he becomes the fourth Mexican to win the Best Director award in five years, following Alfonso Cuarón (<i>Gravity</i>) and Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu (<i>Birdman</i> and <i>The Revenant</i>).<br /><b>5.</b> British cinematographer Roger Deakins finally won his first Oscar after 13 previous nominations (for <i>Blade Runner 2049</i>). Some of the movies he didn't win for? <i>The Shawshank Redemption</i>, <i>No Country For Old Men</i>, and <i>Skyfall</i>.<br /><b>6.</b> Quote of the night? <i>Get Out</i>'s Jordan Peele, after triumphing in the Original Screenplay category (the first black person ever to do so), tweeted: "I just won an Oscar. WTF?!?"<br /><b>7.</b> It seemed rather appropriate that Netflix's <i>Icarus</i> <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> a film about doping in sport <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> should win in the Best Documentary category on the very same night Team Sky and Sir Bradley Wiggins were hauled over the coals for "unethical behaviour" in a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/mar/05/bradley-wiggins-and-team-sky-accused-drugs-in-damning-report">new report</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>8.</b> Two former members of the <i>Hollyoaks</i> cast are now Oscar winners. Yes, really. <i>The Silent Child</i> – which won for Best Live-Action Short – was written by and starred Rachel Shenton (Mitzeee Minniver in the Channel 4 soap) and was directed by Chris Overton (<i>Hollyoaks</i>' cage-fighter Liam McAllister). </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>9.</b> That's three nominations in the Visual Effects category for the <i>Planet Of The Apes </i>prequel movies now, complete with Andy Serkis's stop-motion acting magic... and not a single win.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>10.</b> Despite all the talk of "inclusion" and "diversity", CNN's <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2018/03/05/opinions/oscars-winners-still-so-white-seymour/index.html">Gene Seymour</a> attempted to inject a little reality into the back-slapping. In an article entitled, "Oscar's More Woke – But Winners Still So White", he wrote: "To be clear: things haven't changed THAT dramatically yet. We're still waiting for the first African-American best director – and, for that matter, the second woman best director. The fact is, most of the award winners remained white."<br /><b>11.</b> I wonder if Harvey Weinstein watched the ceremony?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span>Just the one review this week...</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The first thing to say about <b>Veronica</b> (Netflix) <b><span style="color: red;">WWW</span></b> is that, contrary to <a href="http://www.nme.com/blogs/veronica-scariest-horror-film-ever-2252230">certain reports</a> last week, it really isn't the scariest film ever made. However, this Spanish horror – written and directed by Paco Plaza, who gave us the <i>[Rec]</i> trilogy – is definitely a creepy cut above most modern chillers.<br /><br />The story is simple enough. Set in Madrid during the early 1990s, it sees the 15-year-old titular character (Sandra Escacena) holding a </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">séance</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> with a couple of school friends, hoping to contact her late father. Unfortunately, as per usual, meddling with supernatural forces turns out to be a very bad idea, and it isn't long before a sinister creature from the "other side" is menacing Veronica and her cute brood of young siblings.<br /><br />A good deal of the film's success is down to its setting – a cramped, narrow apartment with plenty of nooks, crannies and small rooms that are ideal for all manner of jump-scares and fake-outs. These are just decoration, though, and what Plaza is more interested in is building tension and unease, something he does quite masterfully. There's a palpable claustrophobia to many of the spookiest scenes here, like everything is happening right next to you and all around you. He's got a good eye for a visual flourish too and his film is peppered with them, one scene involving something as seemingly innocuous as some mattresses actually gave me goose-bumps. <br /><br />Mirrors and other reflective surfaces are a long-standing horror-movie staple but Plaza makes excellent use of them too, dropping hints as to his creature's true nature and, in one superbly delivered moment during a manic climax, dropkicking your heart right into your mouth with a single, spine-tingling image. He even finds room for a bit of fun – the blind nun nicknamed "Sister Death" is so gloriously over the top she could have stepped right out of <i>The Omen</i>, and I loved the fact Veronica gets all her information about the arcane not from some cursed, ancient Necronomicon, but from a few tatty issues of an occult part-works collection. Only the over-familiarity of its premise – teen summons monster, monster comes after her – prevents <i>Veronica</i> getting top marks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span>Running scared: Veronica has summoned something very nasty indeed</span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Also out this week</b></span><br />
<ul style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image: none; border: 0px rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; outline: transparent 0px; overflow: visible; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: 433px; word-spacing: 0px;">
<li style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image: none; border: 0px rgb(34, 34, 34); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: normal; outline: transparent 0px; overflow: visible; width: 433px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Luca Guadagnino's Best Picture nominee <b>Call Me By Your Name</b> (DVD, Blu-ray and VOD) <span style="color: red;"><b>WW </b><span style="color: black;">is a gorgeous-looking</span><b> </b></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">love story, starring Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet. I appreciated the sumptuous visuals, and James Ivory's Oscar-winning screenplay certainly has its moments, but I struggled to care for either of the main characters.</span></li>
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<ul style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image: none; border: 0px rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; outline: transparent 0px; overflow: visible; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: 433px; word-spacing: 0px;">
<li style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image: none; border: 0px rgb(34, 34, 34); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: normal; outline: transparent 0px; overflow: visible; width: 433px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Killing Of A Sacred Deer</b> (DVD, Blu-ray and VOD) <span style="color: red;"><b>WW </b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">convinced me co-writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos peaked with <i>Dogtooth</i> and the first half of <i>The Lobster</i>. Discomfiting and original at times, profoundly silly and irritating at others.</span></span></span></li>
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<ul style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image: none; border: 0px rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; outline: transparent 0px; overflow: visible; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: 433px; word-spacing: 0px;">
<li style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image: none; border: 0px rgb(34, 34, 34); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: normal; outline: transparent 0px; overflow: visible; width: 433px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For reasons I will never understand <b>The Florida Project</b> (VOD) <b><span style="color: red;">WWWW</span></b> failed to pick up a Best Picture nod, despite being a substantially better film than almost everything else nominated. Sean Baker's hilarious, heart-breaking tale of a struggling young mother and her precocious daughter is a must-see.</span></li>
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<li style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-image: none; border: 0px rgb(34, 34, 34); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: normal; outline: transparent 0px; overflow: visible; width: 433px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>On Body And Soul</b> <b><span style="color: red;">WWWW</span></b> may not have won the Foreign-Language Oscar for which it was nominated, but is well </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">worth checking out nonetheless. To celebrate its nomination, <a href="https://mubi.com/">Mubi UK</a> have added Ildikó Enyedi's offbeat romance to their catalogue for the next month. You can </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">read my longer take on the film <a href="http://ashumanastherestofus.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/jim-andy-great-beyond-on-body-and-soul.html">here</a><span style="color: black;">.</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>What I will be watching this week: </b>Due to last week's snow madness, I still haven't got round to <i>Red Sparrow</i>.<br /><b><br />This week's Top 10 UK DVDs and Blu-rays (movies only)</b><br />1. Thor: Ragnarok<b>*</b><br />2. Jigsaw<br />3. The Death Of Stalin<b>*</b><br />4. Goodbye Christopher Robin<br />5. Geostorm<br />6. Blade Runner 2049<b>*</b><br />7. Kingsman: The Golden Circle<br />8. Victoria And Abdul<br />9. Thor/Thor: The Dark World/Thor: Ragnarok<br />10. Breathe</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><br />* = Recommended</b></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794490764987409014.post-28203500902189398542018-03-03T07:42:00.000-08:002018-03-05T03:33:46.811-08:00Everyone is talking about the Oscars, why should this blog be any different?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Wrong arm of the law: Rockwell and McDormand face off in Three Billboards</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This year's Academy Awards ceremony takes place tomorrow (Sunday, March 4), so I thought it might be fun to take a look at which movies, actors and directors are being tipped to pick up the Oscars. Rather than rely only on my own prejudices and predictions, I've also taken a look at what people who know what they are talking about reckon, and have presented the results below. There's nothing scientific about it, the 10 websites/publications I chose to feature here were randomly selected, but paint an interesting picture of where the smart money in each category is going. Featuring every one of the Oscars' 24 different categories would take all day, so I've chosen just 13 to talk about (not all of our tipsters made predictions in every category). Before diving in, you can check out <u>all</u> this year's nominees <a href="https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2018">here</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Picture</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Variety:</b> <i>Get Out</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>EW.com: </b><i>The Shape Of Water</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>USA Today: </b><i>Three Billboards</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Vanity Fair:</b> <i>Get Out</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Hollywood Reporter:</b> <i>The Shape Of Water</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Den Of Geek: </b><i>The Shape Of Water</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Deadline:</b> <i>The Shape Of Water</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>New York Times:</b> <i>The Shape Of Water</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>Daily Telegraph: </b><i>Get Out</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>The Playlist:</b><i> The Shape Of Water</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Of the "big six" categories, this is the only one that our tipsters can't seem to agree upon. It looks like a three-way tussle between <i>Get Out</i>, <i>The Shape Of Water</i> and <i>Three Billboards</i>, with Guillermo Del Toro's Cold War fairytale having the edge. The fact Martin McDonagh didn't pick up a Best Director nomination is not a good sign for <i>Three Billboards</i>' chances – only four films in Oscars history have won Best Picture without an accompanying Best Director nod. The last time it happened was in 2013, when the mediocre <i>Argo</i> somehow took the top prize, while helmer Ben Affleck was left out in the cold. On the other hand, the Academy are not exactly the biggest fans of sci-fi/fantasy or horror, which seems to count against <i>Get Out</i> and <i>Shape</i>. I reckon Del Toro's film might just take it, although it wouldn't surprise me if <i>Three Billboards</i> repeated its success from the Baftas and Golden Globes. A win for <i>Shape</i>, <i>Lady Bird</i>, <i>Phantom Thread</i> or </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">would make me most happy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Gone fishing: Sally Hawkins stars in Guillermo Del Toro's The Shape Of Water</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Director</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Variety:</b> Guillermo Del Toro (<i>The Shape Of Water</i>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>EW.com:</b> Guillermo Del Toro (<i>The Shape Of Water</i>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>USA Today:</b> Guillermo Del Toro (<i>The Shape Of Water</i>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Vanity Fair:</b> Guillermo Del Toro (<i>The Shape Of Water</i>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Hollywood Reporter:</b> Guillermo Del Toro (<i>The Shape Of Water</i>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Den Of Geek:</b> Greta Gerwig (<i>Lady Bird</i>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Deadline:</b> Guillermo Del Toro (<i>The Shape Of Water</i>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>New York Times:</b> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Guillermo Del Toro (<i>The Shape Of Water</i>)<br /><b>Daily Telegraph:</b> Guillermo Del Toro (<i>The Shape Of Water</i>)<br /><b>The Playlist:</b> Guillermo Del Toro (<i>The Shape Of Water</i>)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bless Den Of Geek for trying to make this category's potential outcome a little more interesting, but our other tipsters all seem to think there's only one horse in the race. <i>The Shape Of Water </i>isn't perfect, nor is it even Del Toro's best film, but he looks a shoo-in. As the New York Times pointed out, a Del Toro victory would mark the fourth time in five years a Mexican has won the Best Director Oscar. This is a very strong category and I'd be delighted whoever won.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Drive angry: Ronan and Metcalf feud in Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Actress</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Variety: </b>Frances McDormand (<i>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</i>)<br /><b>EW.com: </b>Frances McDormand (<i>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</i>)<br /><b>USA Today:</b> Frances McDormand (<i>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</i>)<br /><b>Vanity Fair:</b> Frances McDormand (<i>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</i>)<br /><b>Hollywood Reporter:</b> Frances McDormand (<i>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</i>)<br /><b>Den Of Geek:</b> Frances McDormand (<i>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</i>)<br /><b>Deadline:</b> Frances McDormand (<i>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</i>)<br /><b>New York Times:</b> Frances McDormand (<i>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</i>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Daily Telegraph:</b> Frances McDormand (<i>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</i>)</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The Playlist:</b><i> </i>Frances McDormand (<i>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</i>)<i></i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One thing I think we can all agree upon is that <i>The Shape Of Water</i>'s Sally Hawkins hasn't got a prayer here. In the year of #MeToo and #Time'sUp, there's no way the Academy is going to give its Best Actress gong to someone playing a mute woman. Thing is, I'm not sure McDormand should be carrying off the award either. <i>Three Billboards</i>' grieving mother Mildred Hayes might seem fearless and righteous but, once you recover from the initial shock of her behaviour, you realise she's incredibly one-note. Angry and mean, angry and mean, rinse and repeat. McDormand couldn't turn in a mediocre performance if her life depended on it and she rises impressively to the challenge of her thinly-written role, but, if we're discounting Hawkins, there's one place and one place only this award should be going. Saoirse Ronan's performance in <i>Lady Bird</i> turns what would be a very good coming-of-age movie into a great one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Life during wartime: Kristin Scott Thomas and Gary Oldman star in Darkest Hour</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Best Actor</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Variety:</b> Gary Oldman (<i>Darkest Hour</i>)<br /><b>EW.com:</b> Gary Oldman (<i>Darkest Hour</i>)<br /><b>USA Today:</b> Gary Oldman (<i>Darkest Hour</i>)<br /><b>Vanity Fair:</b> Gary Oldman (<i>Darkest Hour</i>)<br /><b>Hollywood Reporter:</b> Gary Oldman (<i>Darkest Hour</i>)<br /><b>Den Of Geek:</b> Gary Oldman (<i>Darkest Hour</i>)<br /><b>Deadline:</b> Gary Oldman (<i>Darkest Hour</i>)<br /><b>New York Times:</b> Gary Oldman (<i>Darkest Hour</i>)<br /><b>Daily Telegraph: </b>Gary Oldman (<i>Darkest Hour</i>)<br /><b>The Playlist:</b> Gary Oldman (<i>Darkest Hour</i>)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Gary Oldman it is then. Helped by some fine prosthetic work, he<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> is terrific as Winston Churchill, but I have a preference for actors who create their characters from scratch, rather than turning in impersonations, however impressive and eye-catching they might be. I shall be rooting for Daniel Day-Lewis, and not just because his turn as dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock in Paul Thomas Anderson's sublime <i>Phantom Thread</i> supposedly marks his acting swansong. His character is a difficult and complicated man, and Day-Lewis captures every infuriating nuance of him. It is the best performance in this category by a considerable margin, and Day-Lewis fully deserves another Oscar to go with the three he has won already.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Bird is the word: Allison Janney as Lavona Golden in I, Tonya</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Supporting Actress</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Variety: </b>Allison Janney (<i>I, Tonya</i>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>EW.com:</b> Allison Janney (<i>I, Tonya</i>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>USA Today:</b> Allison Janney (<i>I, Tonya</i>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Vanity Fair:</b> Allison Janney (<i>I, Tonya</i>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Hollywood Reporter:</b> Allison Janney (<i>I, Tonya</i>)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Den Of Geek:</b> Laurie Metcalf (<i>Lady Bird</i>)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Deadline:</b> Allison Janney (<i>I, Tonya</i>)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>New York Times:</b> Allison Janney (<i>I, Tonya</i>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Daily Telegraph:</b> Allison Janney (<i>I, Tonya</i>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The Playlist:</b> Allison Janney (<i>I, Tonya</i>)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Another category in which the victor seems nailed on, with Den Of Geek's alternative suggestion one surely born of hope rather than expectation.</span> Allison Janney is a terrific actress with a glittering CV but, like Frances McDormand in <i>Three Billboards</i>, her character in <i>I, Tonya</i> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> disgraced ice-skater Tonya Harding's mother, Lavona <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> is extraordinarily one note. She's a pantomime villain in a cartoonish film and Lesley Manville (<i>Phantom Thread</i>) and Laurie Metcalf (<i>Lady Bird</i>), for their far subtler work, would both be far more deserving victors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Maniac cop: Harrelson tries to keep Rockwell out of trouble in Three Billboards</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Supporting Actor</b><br /><b>Variety:</b> Sam Rockwell (<i>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</i>)<br /><b>EW.com:</b> Sam Rockwell (<i>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</i>)<br /><b>USA Today:</b> Sam Rockwell (<i>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</i>)<br /><b>Vanity Fair:</b> Sam Rockwell (<i>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</i>)<br /><b>Hollywood Reporter:</b> Sam Rockwell (<i>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</i>)<br /><b>Den Of Geek:</b> Sam Rockwell (<i>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</i>)<br /><b>Deadline:</b> Sam Rockwell (<i>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</i>)<br /><b>New York Times:</b> Sam Rockwell (<i>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</i>)<br /><b>Daily Telegraph:</b> Sam Rockwell (<i>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</i>)<br /><b>The Playlist:</b> Sam Rockwell (<i>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</i>)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After winning a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Bafta, it would be a shock of seismic proportions if Sam Rockwell didn't clean up here too. As you may have gathered, I'm not a big fan of <i>Three Billboards</i>, so find it impossible to share the enthusiasm for either the film or his performance in it. I didn't believe in Rockwell's character <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> racist cop Jason Dixon <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> for a single second, least of all his "redemption" of sorts towards the end. Woody Harrelson is better in the same film, while Christopher Plummer surely deserves some sort of medal for stepping into Kevin Spacey's shoes at very short notice to portray John Paul Getty so vividly in <i>All The Money In The World</i>. Personally, though, I'd like to see Willem Dafoe win for his warm-but-increasingly-exasperated turn as motel manager Bobby, in <i>The Florida Project</i>, a wonderful film that has been all but ignored by the Academy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Dear white people: Get Out is in the running for the Best Picture Oscar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Original Screenplay</b><br /><b>Variety:</b> Jordan Peele (<i>Get Out</i>)<br /><b>EW.com: </b>Martin McDonagh (<i>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</i>)<br /><b>Vanity Fair:</b> Jordan Peele (<i>Get Out</i>)<br /><b>Hollywood Reporter:</b> Jordan Peele (<i>Get Out</i>)<br /><b>Den Of Geek:</b> Guillermo Del Toro and Vanessa Taylor (<i>The Shape Of Water</i>)<br /><b>Deadline:</b> Jordan Peele (<i>Get Out</i>)<br /><b>New York Times:</b> Jordan Peele (<i>Get Out</i>)<br /><b>The Playlist:</b> Jordan Peele (<i>Get Out</i>)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As much as I adore <i>Lady Bird</i>, if <i>Get Out</i> doesn't win here there should be some sort of lengthy and far-reaching public inquiry. Jordan Peele's script manages to mix comedy, drama, horror and biting social satire to extraordinary effect. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial";">Some reports have suggested older members of the Academy have <a href="http://www.indiewire.com/2018/03/oscar-voters-havent-seen-get-out-not-oscar-worthy-1201934088/">refused</a> to even watch <i>Get Out</i> because they don't consider it an "Oscar film". These are probably the same people who voted for <i>Argo</i>...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Apes of wrath: Andy Serkis and Co are back for the prequel trilogy's climax </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Visual Effects</b><br /><b>Variety: </b><i>War For The Planet Of The Apes</i><br /><b>Vanity Fair:</b> <i>War For The Planet Of The Apes</i><br /><b>Hollywood Reporter:</b> <i>Blade Runner 2049</i> <br /><b>Den Of Geek:</b> <i>War For The Planet Of The Apes</i> <br /><b>Deadline:</b> <i>War For The Planet Of The Apes</i><br /><b>The Playlist:</b> <i>War For The Planet Of The Apes</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The final part of the <i>Planet Of The Apes</i> prequel trilogy would be a worthy winner here, with Andy Serkis and his motion-capture acting troupe once again knocking it out of the park. <i>Blade Runner 2049</i> boasted some superb visuals, but was surely torpedoed by that one scene towards the end featuring a returning character from the original film. It looked every bit as convincing as the Grand Moff Tarkin CG creation did in <i>Rogue One</i>. So, not very then.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Orange crush: Will it be 14th time lucky for Blade Runner 2049's Deakins?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Cinematography</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Variety:</b> Roger Deakins (<i>Blade Runner 2049</i>)<br /><b>Vanity Fair:</b> Roger Deakins (<i>Blade Runner 2049</i>)<br /><b>Hollywood Reporter:</b> Roger Deakins (<i>Blade Runner 2049</i>) <br /><b>Den Of Geek:</b> Dan Laustsen (<i>The Shape Of Water</i>)<br /><b>Deadline:</b> Roger Deakins (<i>Blade Runner 2049</i>)<br /><b>The Playlist:</b> Roger Deakins (<i>Blade Runner 2049</i>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After 13 previous nominations, his first for <i>The Shawshank Redemption</i> back in 1994, this is surely the year when Roger Deakins finally breaks his Oscars duck. <i>Blade Runner 2049</i> is a deeply flawed film, its merits almost entirely down to Deakins' DP work. The astonishing sequence set in what used to be Las Vegas, with the former casino capital swathed in bright orange fog, is the stuff of pure cinema. Could anything stop him? Indeed. As Variety points out, it’s rare for the cinematography prize to go to a film that isn't nominated for Best Picture. Plus, his rivals – which include <i>Mudbound</i>'s Rachel Morrison, the first woman ever to be nominated in this category – would hardly be undeserving winners either. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed though.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Wonder Woman: Daniela Vega shines in Sebastián Lelio's film</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Best Foreign-Language Film</span></b></div>
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<b>Variety:</b> <i>A Fantastic Woman</i><br />
<b>Vanity Fair:</b> <i>A Fantastic Woman</i><br />
<b>Hollywood Reporter:</b> <i>The Insult</i> <br />
<b>Deadline: </b><i>The Insult</i><br />
<b>New York Times:</b> <i>A Fantastic Woman</i><br />
<b>The Playlist:</b> <i>A Fantastic Woman</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There's a split here between Chile's <i>A Fantastic Woman</i> (directed by Sebastián Lelio) and Lebanon's <i>The Insult</i> (helmed by Ziad Doueiri). This is a strange one for me as I'm yet to see the latter film (it doesn't seem to have a UK release date yet). And while I enjoyed <i>A Fantastic Woman</i> and it would be a worthy winner, I'll be cheering for off-beat romance <i>On Body And Soul </i>(from Hungary) and excoriating missing-child drama<i> Loveless</i> (from Russia). <i>The Square</i>, last year's winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes, is also nominated, but didn't </span>deserve that award and doesn't deserve to triumph here either. (Oh, and <i>BPM</i>'s omission from the final shortlist looks even sillier now, after Robin Campillo's film bagged six awards at the <a href="http://deadline.com/2018/03/cesar-awards-2018-winners-france-full-list-1202308441/">Césars</a>).</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Summer nights: Call Me By Your Name was one of 2017's most passionate love stories </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Adapted Screenplay</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Variety:</b> James Ivory (<i>Call Me By Your Name</i>)<br /><b>EW.com: </b>James Ivory (<i>Call Me By Your Name</i>)<br /><b>Vanity Fair:</b> James Ivory (<i>Call Me By Your Name</i>)<br /><b>Hollywood Reporter:</b> James Ivory (<i>Call Me By Your Name</i>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Den Of Geek:</b> James Ivory (<i>Call Me By Your Name)</i><br /><b>Deadline:</b> James Ivory (<i>Call Me By Your Name</i>)<br /><b>New York Times:</b> James Ivory (<i>Call Me By Your Name</i>)<br /><b>The Playlist:</b> James Ivory (<i>Call Me By Your Name</i>)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I'm surprised <i>Call Me By Your Name</i> is seen as such a dead cert here because it's the film's languid pace, winning performances and sumptuous camerawork that are its selling points, rather than any sparkling dialogue or innovative storytelling. Still, no one would begrudge James Ivory – who adapted André Aciman's novel for the big screen – a first Academy Award at the age of 89, after being nominated on three previous occasions as Best Director. However, for my money, this award should be going to Dee Rees' <i>Mudbound</i>, which makes good use of multiple narrators to tell an ambitious tale of two families – one white, one black – in the American South, post-World War II. </span><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1745894244" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: rgb(204 , 204 , 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #222222; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; position: relative; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; top: -2px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">In two hours</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> and change, Rees' adaptation of the Virgil Williams novel covers an awful lot of ground and does so powerfully, economically and poetically.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">What not to wear: Another Woodcock "classic" is unveiled in Phantom Thread</span></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Best Costume Design </span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Variety:</b> Mark Bridges (<i>Phantom Thread</i>) <br /><b>Vanity Fair:</b> Mark Bridges (<i>Phantom Thread</i>)<br /><b>Hollywood Reporter:</b> Mark Bridges (<i>Phantom Thread</i>)<br /><b>Den Of Geek:</b> Jacqueline Durran (<i>Darkest Hour</i>)<br /><b>Deadline: </b>Mark Bridges (<i>Phantom Thread</i>)<br /><b>The Playlist:</b> Mark Bridges (<i>Phantom Thread</i>)</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><br /><br />One of <i>Phantom Thread</i>'s best jokes is that Reynolds Woodcock's dresses are all fairly horrible and the rich, indolent fools who troop through his palatial London fashion house have terrible taste. The idea Paul Thomas Anderson's film should therefore find itself nominated in this category is something I suspect the director finds genuinely amusing (not to mention ironic). The way things are shaping up, it's likely to be the only Oscar the film takes home, so I'm nevertheless hoping for a win.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The great escape: Nolan's Dunkirk expertly recreated Operation Dynamo</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Original Score</b><br /><b>Variety: </b>Alexandre Desplat (<i>The Shape Of Water</i>)<br /><b>Vanity Fair:</b> Alexandre Desplat (<i>The Shape Of Water</i>)<br /><b>Hollywood Reporter:</b> Alexandre Desplat (<i>The Shape Of Water</i>) <br /><b>Den Of Geek: </b>Alexandre Desplat (<i>The Shape Of Water</i>)<br /><b>Deadline:</b> Alexandre Desplat (<i>The Shape Of Water</i>)<br /><b>The Playlist:</b> Alexandre Desplat (<i>The Shape Of Water</i>)</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "quot"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span><b></b><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><br /><i>The Shape Of Water</i> is again the frontrunner here, but I hope this is one category where it doesn't emerge victorious. Alexandre Desplat's score is perfectly lovely, fitting both the film's romantic and fairytale themes, but it simply isn't in the same league as at least two of the other nominees. Hans Zimmer's score for <i>Dunkirk</i> is an exercise in tension. Start listening to it and I guarantee that, within five minutes, you'll be biting your nails, tapping your foot and feeling decidedly on edge. Of all five scores nominated in this category, it is the one that fits the film's visual and storytelling elements most perfectly. Jonny Greenwood's score for <i>Phantom Thread</i> is far more decorative, a sumptuous, lavish creation recorded with a 60-piece orchestra. Simply put, it's beautiful. Zimmer or Greenwood would be very worthy winners here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i><br />The 90th Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will be shown live in the UK on Sky Cinema Oscars tomorrow night (Sunday, March 4). Red carpet coverage commences at midnight (so, strictly speaking, that's Monday morning), with the ceremony itself kicking off an hour later at 1am.</i></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794490764987409014.post-11198144767805782492018-03-01T01:28:00.000-08:002018-03-01T01:28:55.404-08:00Mute, Marshall, and Thor: Ragnarok: Your week in film (February 26-March 4)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_uMmtKPaCWH_qNvVKUtpWOFGS6g5ouIwceo67rTghMRsBZWqw51KU4k_DWLv-Dh1oov7puBXBJ_U5XwklSsee9L1uliUrnp67kAKcvrWPLStqdlrTE_iDOwnk9C6ScQaUxbiuI8KFS6iA/s1600/mute-duncan-jones%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_uMmtKPaCWH_qNvVKUtpWOFGS6g5ouIwceo67rTghMRsBZWqw51KU4k_DWLv-Dh1oov7puBXBJ_U5XwklSsee9L1uliUrnp67kAKcvrWPLStqdlrTE_iDOwnk9C6ScQaUxbiuI8KFS6iA/s400/mute-duncan-jones%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Muted reception: Duncan Jones' latest has been met with critical hostility</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>The best and worst of this week's UK home entertainment releases on DVD, Blu-ray and digital. All the films mentioned are available to buy, rent and/or stream now, unless otherwise stated.</b></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: none; border-image: none; border: 0px rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; outline: transparent 0px; overflow: visible; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: none; border-image: none; border: 0px rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; outline: transparent 0px; overflow: visible; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-size: x-small; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>Ratings guide: <span style="color: red;">WWWW</span></b> - Wonderful <b><span style="color: red;">WWW</span></b> - Worthwhile <b><span style="color: red;">WW</span></b> - Watchable <b><span style="color: red;">W</span></b> - Woeful</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Mute</b> (Netflix) <b><span style="color: red;">WW</span></b> has been eviscerated by critics (it's currently at <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mute">10% on Rotten Tomatoes</a>), but Duncan Jones' fourth feature (after <i>Moon</i>, <i>Source Code</i> and <i>Warcraft: The Beginning</i>) is a far stranger and more interesting piece of work than it's being given credit for. Granted, its subject matter and setting are a little too familiar, but, somehow, the film's faults and off-kilter vibe ultimately work in its favour. It's a bit of a head scratcher and I'm not sure there's anything wrong with that.<br /><br />Leo (Alexander Skarsgård), a mute barman brought up Amish back home in the States, searches for his missing girlfriend Naadirah (Seyneb Saleh) in a cyber-punky future Berlin. During his quest, he butts heads with a variety of ne'er do wells, including a pair of Brit goons (Noel Clarke and Robert Kazinsky), local gangster Maksim (Gilbert Owuor), a hostile sex worker (an unrecognisable Robert Sheehan), and two rogue surgeons, Cactus Bill (Paul Rudd) and Duck (Justin Theroux). Cactus <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> channelling <i>MASH</i>'s Hawkeye Pierce at one point, complete with scrubs and a martini glass <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> is desperate to get himself and young daughter, Josie, out of Berlin, but can only do so once Maksim comes through with phony IDs. As it turns out, Cactus <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> a nasty piece of work effectively essayed by Rudd <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> is every bit as crucial to the narrative as Leo, their stories dovetailing nicely.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apparently inspired by his late father David Bowie's seminal '70s 'Berlin period' (<i>Low</i>, <i>"Heroes"</i>, and <i>Lodger</i>), <i>Mute</i> borrows from lots of other sources too, especially <i>Blade Runner</i>, Kubrick's <i>A Clockwork Orange</i>, and Luc Besson's <i>The Fifth Element</i>. But this is one neon-noir detective story that, despite taking visual cues from elsewhere, manages to just about hang on to its own identity. Jones gives us plenty of world building, some of which is successful (communism seems to have made a comeback, or perhaps never been vanquished, in this version of Berlin), some of it less so (the weird sex robots are astoundingly unerotic, like someone has just stuck some dildos onto a couple of old <i>Doctor Who</i> monsters). It also takes place in the same universe as Jones' debut feature <i>Moon</i>, which means Sam Rockwell's character(s) pops up on TV screens now and again, although, it has to be said, to no great purpose.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's a lot going on – perhaps too much – but all the characters are interesting in some way, even Clarke and Kazinsky's laddish yobs. You feel for Leo – an innocent who progressively becomes rather less so, and are initially drawn to Cactus's anti-heroic ways, before realising his roguishness actually hides an infinitely darker side. Jones handles the mystery element well, keeping his cards close to his chest, and introducing one or two red herrings as Leo's search for the missing Naadirah deepens. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Originally mooted to be Jones' first film, and 16 years in the making, the director has talked about how <i>Mute</i> explores "aspects of parenthood", and it does that impressively. It's dedicated to Bowie and Jones' former nanny, Marion Skene, but neither of the characters we see here as kids are treated well. Young Leo's religious parents refuse to allow him an operation, which would restore his ability to speak, while Josie is dragged from pillar to post by Cactus. Maybe what it's really about is finding the strength to forgive your parents and guardians their imperfections. And, God knows, there are a few on display here. </span></div>
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The quiet man: Alexander Skarsgård stars as Leo in Mute</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After the interminable and patchy <i>Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.2</i> (congratulations on killing off your best character, dummies), I was just about ready to give up on Marvel superhero movies. I wouldn't say <b>Thor: Ragnarok</b> (DVD, Blu-ray and VOD) <b><span style="color: red;">WWW</span></b> entirely restored my enthusiasm (it took <i>Black Panther</i> to do that), but Taika Waititi's film certainly put a big smile on my face.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This third <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> and easily best<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> –</span> instalment of the Thunder God's adventures sees death goddess Hela (Cate Blanchett) launch a decidedly hostile takeover of Asgard, with Thor (Chris Hemsworth) ending up cast out into the void, eventually coming to rest on a planet ruled by bad guy du jour, the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum), who puts him to work fighting in a gladiatorial arena. As luck would have it, Thor's evil(ish) step-brother Loki (Tom Hiddlestone) is also on hand, as is old Avengers buddy the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). They team up with boozy warrior woman Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), with a view to escaping the Grandmaster's clutches and heading back to Asgard to deal with Hela and her minions. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Ragnarok</i> sets off at a cracking pace, contains an endless supply of sharp one-liners, and boasts eye-popping visuals that look like they've leapt straight out of the pages of the <i>Thor</i> comic-books (the good ones by Jack Kirby and Walt Simonson). The comedic tone fits the material perfectly and the cast is terrific, but the whole thing is probably stolen by an hilarious rock monster, called Korg, voiced by Waititi himself. The director serves up a final half-hour that is thrilling, heartbreaking and entirely satisfying. Less positively, the decision to split the story into two separate strands (Hela in one, Grandmaster in the other) means there isn't quite as much Blanchett as I'd have liked, and just occasionally the need to cram as many gags in as possible wears a bit thin, particularly in the scenes featuring just Thor and Hulk. That said, this is one of Marvel's better movies, and I shall certainly look forward to seeing Valkyrie and Korg again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Rok and a hard place: Thunder God Thor fights evil on two fronts</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the subject of Marvel superheroes, fans of the company's latest blockbuster, <i>Black Panther</i>, will surely be interested in seeing that film's star, Chadwick Boseman, in a very different <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">but</span> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">equally heroic role. In <b>Marshall</b> (DVD, Blu-ray and VOD) </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>WW½</b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #545454; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.66px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"></span>, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Boseman plays the titular – and very real – Thurgood Marshall, a celebrated <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAACP">NAACP</a> lawyer, who went on to become the first African-American Supreme Court Justice. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Reginald Hudlin's film – set in the early 1940s – focuses on one of the cases that made Marshall's reputation, in which a black chauffeur (Sterling K Brown) is accused of raping the wife (Kate Hudson) of his employer. The Judge <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">(James Cromwell) </span>in the case refuses to allow Marshall to defend his client (because he's from "out of state"), so a reluctant local attorney, Sam Friedman (Josh Gad), is drafted in instead. The only problem is that Friedman – an insurance lawyer by trade – has no experience of defending such cases and has to be heavily coached by his NAACP counterpart.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's good to see the talented Gad finally getting meatier roles, after slumming it in the likes of <i>Pixels</i> and <i>The Wedding Ringer</i>, earlier in his film career. He's great here as a decent Jewish family man, torn between doing the right thing and really not wanting the aggravation he knows the rape case will bring to his door. The way Hudlin develops the friendship between Friedman and Marshall is especially satisfying, and the film <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">makes a point of drawing specific parallels between the prejudice shown to those of the Jewish faith and people of colour in the US at the time. </span>Dan Stevens (who also appeared with Gad in <i>Beauty And The Beast</i>) is perfectly loathsome as a prosecution lawyer, who will stop at nothing to achieve victory, while Boseman continues his march to superstardom with a winning turn as a complicated </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">man. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Marshall <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">– who travelled the country defending African-Americans who could not afford legal representation – is, in many ways, just as ruthless as Stevens' character, the film even suggesting he sometimes put the NAACP's agenda ahead of what was necessarily best for his clients. As Friedman tells him,"You just sweep through town, stirring up all kinds of ugliness, then move right on. No one will ever even remember you were here."</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hudlin evinces its '40s setting subtly and convincingly but, if the film has a shortcoming, it's that it all feels a little too familiar and predictable. Even if you've never heard of Thurgood Marshall, after the first five minutes you have a pretty good idea how this is going to end up, and what kind of scenes are going to play out. And although having Friedman defend Marshall's client is an unusual twist on the usual courtroom drama proceedings, it robs us of seeing the titular character in action, which, because the film is supposedly about him, seems an odd decision. Over the course of a glittering career, Marshall took up many cases – including several in the Supreme Court, segregation in public schools famously being one of them – and I don't understand why one of these couldn't have been the focus of the movie instead. Maybe they're saving it for a sequel...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Marshall law: Boseman is in fine form as the famous US lawyer</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally, a film I first mentioned here back in October, after seeing it at the London Film Festival. Norwegian director Joachim Trier's <b>Thelma</b> (DVD, Blu-ray, and Mubi) <b><span style="color: red;">WWWW</span></b>, is a supernatural coming-of-age story with shades of Brian De Palma's <i>Carrie</i>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It sees the titular character, played by Eili Harboe, leaving her devoutly religious parents for university in Oslo, where she meets and falls in love with Anja (Kaya Wilkins). But the onset of a series of debilitating seizures threatens to end Thelma's new life of freedom, especially when they lead her to manifest strange and terrifying psychic powers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is no mere super-powered CG fest, as Trier (<i>Louder Than Bombs</i>) focuses as much on Thelma's angst and awkwardness at growing up and coming out as he does on her burgeoning <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> and possibly malign <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> abilities. Like <i>Mute</i>, it's a film that directly addresses parent/child relationships, in this case how a repressed upbringing can spectacularly and permanently screw someone up. It's a haunting, occasionally horrific, piece of work and I really can't recommend it enough.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Carrie-d away: Thelma owes a debt to De Palma's horror classic</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Film of the week:</b> <i>Thelma</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>What I will be watching this week:</b> Snowmageddon permitting, it'll be <i>Red Sparrow</i> and <i>Lady Bird</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>I've written a few words about Bedknobs and Broomsticks for Film Inquiry's feature on sentimental childhood favourites. Check it out <a href="https://www.filminquiry.com/staff-inquiry-childhood-favorites/">here</a>.</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /> Due to deadlines elsewhere, there won't be a new column next week, but I will probably pop by to post something Oscars-related after Sunday's ceremony.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>This week's Top 10 DVDs/Blu-rays (movies only)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. Geostorm</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. The Snowman</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. Blade Runner 2049<b>*</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4. The Ninjago Lego Movie</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5. Kingsman: The Golden Circle</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">6. My Little Pony: The Movie</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">7. Happy Death Day<b>*</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">8. Victoria And Abdul</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">9. Brimstone</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">10. Dunkirk<b>*</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>* = Recommended</b></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794490764987409014.post-12395657812164870782018-02-21T01:42:00.000-08:002018-02-21T01:42:42.162-08:00Happy Death Day, The Party, and Irreplaceable You: Your Week In Film (February 19-25)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiENSQJIF-SD2TagPfAGScS_vnRiuljqTUrVFZu4PPqe6SltwG_D0HQRBxEFk3HoBBmvBK1tYHuSuuKWoRpwskYFgu7yY3Ou9YQD2gS3UkYwq0OcX_3q9_3bP1R6VNfcL7PQaSXu_wJHRk9/s1600/happy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiENSQJIF-SD2TagPfAGScS_vnRiuljqTUrVFZu4PPqe6SltwG_D0HQRBxEFk3HoBBmvBK1tYHuSuuKWoRpwskYFgu7yY3Ou9YQD2gS3UkYwq0OcX_3q9_3bP1R6VNfcL7PQaSXu_wJHRk9/s400/happy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The best and worst of this week's UK home entertainment releases on DVD, Blu-ray and digital. All the films mentioned are available to buy, rent and/or stream now, unless otherwise stated.</b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jessica Rothe <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">– the star of superior slasher flick <b>Happy Death Day</b> (DVD, Blu-ray, and VOD) <span style="color: red;"><b>WWW</b></span> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> </span>reminds me of <i>Buffy The Vampire Slayer</i>-era Sarah Michelle Gellar. At 30, Rothe's quite a bit older than Gellar was in her TV pomp, but nevertheless exudes that same, unmistakeable "don't mess with me" vibe. It's one that somehow convinces you a short-arsed blonde girl (Rothe is 5" 4) could smash your face in without raising a sweat. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Rothe's character, Tree (short for Theresa), is murdered by a killer in a cartoon baby mask but, instead of staying dead, wakes up in the college dorm room of Carter (Israel Broussard), the boy she'd gone home with in a drunken stupor the night before her "death". It turns out she has to relive the day leading up to her murder <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> which just happens to be her birthday <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> over and over again, until she solves the mystery of who killed her and why. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />I've railed against the increasing number of <i>Groundhog Day</i> copyists in this column <a href="http://ashumanastherestofus.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/the-ritual-rockn-roll-and-when-we-first.html">before</a>, but Christopher Landon's film is one that proves you don't necessarily have to be original as long as you get everything else right. And he does. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Despite its stabby premise, <i>Happy Death Day</i> is actually a lot more like Harold Ramis's 1993 classic than the likes of <i>Naked</i> or <i>When We First Met</i>. For a start, it remembers that Bill Murray's character <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> Phil Connors <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> did not begin the film as a nice guy and passes on that trait to Tree. It doesn't matter that she's drunken and promiscuous, but her penchant for stealing other people's crushes/partners, and generally being rude and obnoxious, are decidedly off-putting. If her get-out-of-death free card offers Tree a way to solve the riddle of her murder, it also gives her the chance to smarten up her act and start treating people a little better, too (yes, Tree is handed a chance to grow <span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman;">–</span> boom, tish!). At least she has an excuse for her crabby behaviour <span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman;">–</span> she's still grieving for her mum, who'd died three years previously.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Landon (whose riotous <i>Scouts Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse</i> I enjoyed back in 2015) gives us a film that contains zero gore and almost no blood, but still manages to be an effective slice of horror. He understands how to build tension, he understands not to press the jump-scare button too many times, he understands the need for tight direction, a strong script and a decent cast to deliver it all. He's also a dab hand with a twist or two and the ones served up here are all satisfying and deliciously unexpected. In the final scene, he even takes a moment to fully acknowledge his movie's debt to <i>Groundhog Dog</i> and it's a comparison from which <i>Happy Death Day</i> emerges surprisingly well. Sequel, please.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Groundhog slay: Death stalks Jessica Rothe over and over again</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Several recent films have sought to give the dark hypocrisies of liberal society a good kicking <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> <i>The Killing Of A Sacred Deer</i>, <i>Happy End</i>, and last year's Palme d'Or winner <i>The Square</i> being the most high-profile examples. Sally Potter's <b>The Party</b> (DVD, Blu-ray, and VOD) <b><span style="color: red;">WW</span></b> comes with similar intentions but lacks those other movies' inventiveness and off-kilter humour. Its staginess and length (barely 70 minutes) make the director's follow-up to 2012's <i>Ginger & Rosa</i> an unusual film, but its subject matter also feels a little old hat, especially in light of last year's UK general election, in which the kind of wishy-washy political centrism Potter seeks to skewer here, was roundly rejected at the ballot box. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Janet (Kristin Scott Thomas) is an MP for an unnamed but clearly left-leaning political party, who has just been made shadow minister for health. To celebrate, she and husband Bill (Timothy Spall) have invited a few friends round for a soiree, including lesbian couple Martha and Jinny (Cherry Jones and Emily Mortimer), professional cynic April (Patricia Clarkson) and her new-age husband Gottfried (Bruno Ganz), plus Cillian Murphy's Tom, who has turned up without his wife but has brought both a gun and a bountiful supply of coke. Amidst the air-kisses and clink of champagne flutes, there's a certain tension in the air, and a series of announcements, starting with a doozy from Bill, soon turn the atmosphere toxic. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Potter doesn't really give us fully-formed characters but a series of paper-thin vessels containing hypocrisies, resentments and betrayals. Tom is in finance so, naturally, he snorts coke and loves money, Gottfried is only a half-decent catchphrase away from being a character in a sitcom or sketch show, while April's presence confirms that "American" is still shorthand for a certain abrasiveness. </span><span style="font-family: "arial";">You believe in the <i>idea</i> of these people but that's about as far as it goes. Worse still, if I hadn't already known <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/feb/13/sally-potter-the-party-berlin-interview">Potter's intentions</a>, I'd have assumed this was an attack on progressive politics from the right, as some of these characters could have stepped straight out of a <i>Daily Mail</i> editorial.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The Party</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">'s main strength lies in </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">its performances, especially Spall, whose character is the only one with a modicum of nuance or complexity. In fact, everyone attacks their roles with real gusto, even if the two-dimensional people they're playing don't really deserve such commitment. Set entirely in one house and its garden, the smallness of its world works to the drama's advantage, accentuating the tension and panic as they build and build. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm unsure why it's in black and white (a comment on the moral drabness of these characters' lives perhaps), but I did appreciate Potter's well-worked final twist and the clear double meaning of her title.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Secrets and lies: No one's having fun in The Party</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's only February but I've already seen 2018's worst movie. <b>Irreplaceable You</b> (Netflix) <b><span style="color: red;">W</span></b> stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Abbie, and Michiel Huisman as Sam, childhood sweethearts planning their wedding and keeping their fingers crossed she has fallen pregnant. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unfortunately, it turns out Abbie isn't with child but with tumour, has stage-four cancer, and only a short time to live. Worried that Sam, a clutzy science teacher, will struggle to find another woman after she croaks, Abbie commences a campaign to find him a new girlfriend. She goes onto Tinder, conducts interviews, and even</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">surreptitiously</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> organises a "mixer" at an art gallery, in an attempt to snag her beloved a new gal. When Ab</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">bie isn't planning out the rest of Sam's life for him, she attends a support group populated by Kate McKinnon, Steve Coogan, and Christopher Walken, all of whom might be politely described as "slumming it".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's supposed to be a dramedy but the comedy is weak and self-conscious, the dramatic elements springing from situations that frequently feel absurd and forced, with characters who are either insufferable, unrealistic, or both (death would be a blessing after five minutes in the company of Abbie's chemo nurse, Dominic). The only scenes that come close to working are Mbatha-Raw's with Walken, who imbues his character, Myron, another cancer sufferer, with </span><span style="font-family: "arial";">humour, wisdom and dignity. She certainly has little to no chemistry with drippy Sam, whose sole character trait is that he wears odd socks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Under normal circumstances, I could forgive a film with such a strong cast a great many sins, but <i>Irreplaceable You</i> <span style="color: #222222; font-size: x-small;">–</span> which is directed by Stephanie Laing, who has worked on TV show <i>Veep</i> <span style="color: #222222; font-size: x-small;">–</span> also contains plot holes you could spot from the International Space Station. If Abbie set up Sam with someone on Tinder, how would their relationship have worked exactly? Would his potential new beau have had to hang about on the sidelines for weeks or months, until Abbie kicked the bucket, or would she have started dating Sam while the supposed love of his life was slowly but surely dying? Screenwriter Bess Wohl never tells us because the intrusion of logic into her silly plot would have torpedoed the whole thing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Worse still, Abbie is supposed to have terminal cancer, goes through extensive surgery and chemo, yet somehow looks every bit as bright and beautiful at the end as she does at the beginning. I'm guessing no one involved in the making of the film went anywhere near a cancer hospice to witness the stark reality of what dying of the disease actually involved. One thing's for sure, you don't much look like a glamorous Hollywood actress at the end.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Dead On Arrival: Mawkish dramedy could be 2018's worst</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally, there's <b>The Snowman</b> (DVD, Blu-ray, and VOD) <b><span style="color: red;">WW</span></b>, a by-the-numbers Norway-set thriller based on a Jo <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Nesbø novel and directed by Tomas Alfredson (<i>Let The Right One In</i>). It's beautifully shot and Michael Fassbender is dependably grizzled as Harry Hole, an alcoholic detective on the trail of the titular serial killer. The film is only really remarkable, however, for the fact Alfredson admitted, post-release, it was incomplete and time constraints had meant he was unable to shoot "10-15 per cent of the screenplay". This means there are plot elements just left hanging and scenes which make no sense whatsoever. I notice the cheeky buggers are still charging full price for it though...</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Missing in action: The Snowman is incomplete... and it shows</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>Film of the week: </b><i>Happy Death Day</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>What I will be watching this week: The Greatest Showman</b> seems to have turned into a full-blown cultural phenomenon, so it's time to see what I've been missing out on.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; direction: ltr; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>This week's top 10 UK DVDs/Blu-rays (movies only)</b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; direction: ltr; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">1. The Lego Ninjago Movie</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; direction: ltr; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">2. Blade Runner 2049</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; direction: ltr; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">3. Kingsman: The Golden Circle</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; direction: ltr; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">4. My Little Pony: The Movie</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; direction: ltr; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">5. The Mountain Between Us</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; direction: ltr; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">6. Victoria And Abdul</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; direction: ltr; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">7. Dunkirk</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; direction: ltr; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">8. It (2017)</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; direction: ltr; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">9. Loving Vincent</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">10. Fifty Shades Darker</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794490764987409014.post-6628320303171627862018-02-15T03:09:00.000-08:002018-02-15T03:09:32.807-08:00The Ritual, Rock'n Roll, and When We First Met: Your Week In Film (February 12-18)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk3t0SgsViwqNXmgXljmJemdYF5AUNhzZDzuQXJQkJHOxlEfiDJPMZwSfMhny_qT1Aa0RRDKZroEv8ciBtBHZAB9oZO_I9-QBQO2WSaheIr9_kMV5muV2esKJ5kS5jof0bIgRRQDLtTtdd/s1600/ac07-FEB-The-Ritual%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="673" data-original-width="1200" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk3t0SgsViwqNXmgXljmJemdYF5AUNhzZDzuQXJQkJHOxlEfiDJPMZwSfMhny_qT1Aa0RRDKZroEv8ciBtBHZAB9oZO_I9-QBQO2WSaheIr9_kMV5muV2esKJ5kS5jof0bIgRRQDLtTtdd/s400/ac07-FEB-The-Ritual%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Into the woods: Death stalks Rafe Spall and friends in The Ritual </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The best and worst of this week's UK home entertainment releases on DVD, Blu-ray and digital. All the films mentioned are available to buy, rent and/or stream now, unless otherwise stated. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Ratings guide: <span style="color: red;">WWWW</span></b> - Wonderful <b><span style="color: red;">WWW</span></b> - Worthwhile <b><span style="color: red;">WW</span></b> - Watchable <b><span style="color: red;">W</span></b> - Woeful</span></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></span>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I could quite happily live the rest of my days without ever again seeing another film in which a group of friends gets lost in a spooky forest and is picked off one-by-one by an unseen monster. <b>The Ritual</b> (DVD and VOD) <b><span style="color: red;">WW</span></b> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> based on Adam Nevill's novel of the same name <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> is yet another entry in that particular horror sub-genre, but is saved by some solid ideas and an impressive creature design.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Four blokey British friends, including Rafe Spall (<i>The Big Short</i>), go hiking in a remote area of Sweden to honour the memory of Rob (Paul Reid), a friend murdered during an attempted robbery at an off-licence. Spall's character Luke carries terrible guilt with him over the incident because he hid when Rob was being attacked. During their trek, one of the party injures his foot and the group is forced to take a shortcut through a forest to reach help. But it soon becomes clear they are not alone...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">David Bruckner's film wears its influences on its sleeve a little too much (<i>The Wicker Man</i>, <i>The Blair Witch Project</i>, <i>King Kong</i>), but Luke's guilt <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> played out in a series of hallucinations <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> is effectively explored. However, the film only really sparks into life towards the end, when we finally see what has been stalking the group and learn something of its <span style="font-size: small;"></span>nature. This is a low-budget project, but the creature is well realised and genuinely nightmarish. The problem is, once it turned up, I lost interest in pretty much everything else. Never mind Spall and his cannon-fodder friends, I wanted to know more about the beast. In fact, as long as it didn't involve four more doofuses wandering around in the woods, I'd watch a prequel exploring <i>The Ritual</i> monster's origins in a heartbeat.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Take a hike: David Bruckner's film sees four pals suffer a holiday from hell</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We should also call a moratorium on movies that rip off the premise to <i>Groundhog Day</i>. In the last year alone, we've had Netflix "comedy" <i>Naked</i> (awful), and teen horror <i>Happy Death Day</i> (rather better). <b>When We First Met</b> (Netflix) <b><span style="color: red;">WW</span></b> is a romantic comedy that, at first, sticks pretty closely to elements of Harold Ramis's 1993 classic but, thankfully, eventually finds its own voice.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Adam Devine is Noah, a business school dropout who now plays piano at a jazz bar (shades of <i>La La Land</i>). He meets Avery (Alexandra Daddario) at a Halloween party and falls for her immediately, only to see his object of desire meet and connect with dullard Ethan (Robbie Amell), before he can tell her how he feels. As luck would have it, a magical photo booth enables Noah to go back in time over and over again, as he attempts to inveigle his way into Avery's affections.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>When We First Met</i> only really engages when it starts taking serious liberties with the idea that the past can <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> or even should <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> be changed. In some ways, Ari Sandels' movie ends up as a riposte to the conclusions of <i>Groundhog Day</i> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> fixating on one would-be love interest is unhealthy, weird, and could even be preventing you from meeting the person you're meant to be with. It's a nice twist and takes the film off in a direction I wasn't expecting, following a </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">first half notable only for Devine's insufferable Jack Black-esque vocal inflections and facial contortions. The young actor was charming and funny in the first <i>Pitch Perfect</i>, but that seems like an awfully long time ago.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Picture imperfect: When We First Met has an originality problem</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This year's My French Film Festival draws to a close on Monday (February 19), so you only have a few days left to check out the 13 features and 16 shorts on offer at the event's <a href="https://www.myfrenchfilmfestival.com/en/">website</a> (some of the films can also be found on Mubi and Curzon Home Cinema). My favourite of the movies I've seen so far is <b>Rock'n Roll </b>(VOD) <b><span style="color: red;">WWW</span></b>, an inventive and amusing satire on fame and ageing from veteran actor Guillaume Canet, who directs, writes and stars as a version of himself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although not particularly well known in the UK, Canet is a big star in France and, in his early 40s, has seemingly developed a reputation for playing safe roles in safe films. Worse still, his partner is Hollywood superstar Marion Cotillard (both here on screen and in real life), whose success in the likes of <i>La Vie En Rose</i> (for which she won a Best Actress Oscar) effortlessly eclipses his own. When Camilla Rowe, Canet's co-star in a new film in which he plays her father, tells him he's past it, the actor takes it very badly and sets out on an entirely ill-advised journey to prove he can still "rock".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Rock'n Roll </i>could have been a self-indulgent disaster, a vanity project in which Canet (who you might recognise from films such as <i>The Program</i> and <i>The Beach</i>) can laugh at himself while secretly aggrandising his life and accomplishments. The thing is, though, it's all done with such gusto <span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: x-small;">–</span> and an unmistakeable sliver of honesty <span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: x-small;">–</span> that you get quickly caught up in every bizarre plot turn as Canet's behaviour quickly sends his career down the dumper. And just when proceedings start to slow, the film suddenly heads off in an even more audacious direction to deliver an ending every bit as absurd as it is satisfying.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Cotillard sends herself up a treat too (she's only interested in taking on roles that feature "a disability or an accent"), while the supporting cast (all playing themselves) reads like a who's who of current French cinema. Johnny Hallyday <span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: x-small;">–</span> dubbed the French Elvis <span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: x-small;">–</span> delivers a cameo, rendered bittersweet following the veteran rocker's death in early December.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">She's Cott it all: Marion sends herself up in Rock'n Roll</span></div>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Finally, there's <b>Seeing Allred</b> (Netflix) <b><span style="color: red;">WW</span></b>, a documentary portrait of Los Angeles-based civil rights lawyer, Gloria Allred. The no-nonsense 76-year-old is famous in the States for her tireless campaigning for women and the LGBTQ community, as well as trying to bring alleged celebrity sex offenders, such as Bill Cosby, to book. Roberta Grossman and Sophie Sartain's film offers a solid enough portrait for those of us unfamiliar with Allred's troubled life and glittering career, but I'm not sure her fans <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> of which there are many <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> will learn anything new (she keeps frustratingly schtum about her second marriage to convicted fraudster William Allred, which ended in ugly divorce proceedings). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've no doubt Allred is a thoroughly decent human being, who has helped a lot of vulnerable people and championed some fantastic causes, but this is little more than hagiography. It needed a couple of more critical voices to balance the constant cheerleading from the likes of Gloria Steinem. I realise many of her sternest detractors are misogynists and homophobes, but surely the filmmakers could have tracked down <i>someone</i> with an IQ above 20 to offer a slightly less gushing appraisal of her tactics and politics.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Red alert: Documentary only scratches the surface of its subject</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Film of the week:</b> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>Rock'n Roll</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>What I shall be watching this week: </b>Richard Linklater's <b>Last Flag Flying</b> (a spiritual sequel to Hal Ashby's 1973 movie <i>The Last Detail</i>) was only in UK cinemas a couple of weeks ago, but has already landed on Amazon Prime Video.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>This week's Top 10 Blu-rays and DVDs (movies only)</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. Blade Runner 2049</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. Kingsman: The Golden Circle</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. Victoria And Abdul</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4. It (2017)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5. Dunkirk</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">6. Fifty Shades Darker</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">7. Despicable Me 3</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">8. Kingsman: The Secret Service/The Golden Circle</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">9. Flatliners</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">10. Batman: Gotham By Gaslight</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794490764987409014.post-8678043748835066072018-02-06T04:19:00.000-08:002018-02-06T04:19:06.509-08:00Blade Runner 2049, The Cloverfield Paradox, and In Bed With Victoria: Your Week In Film (February 5-11)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7y70TPA2PWzzDQxkcOuF_xW8gNNXfg33PJ38LOp7XS2xHNjE_R5jWKkYgbCVouq_BTxPP5_bPpSmvMZ2EW2XruoI8nqOMv2whScJmoNQqL2w5FFqO6lCXwSD3gLPTTRIkGn9glfxaAHll/s1600/the-cloverfield-paradox%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7y70TPA2PWzzDQxkcOuF_xW8gNNXfg33PJ38LOp7XS2xHNjE_R5jWKkYgbCVouq_BTxPP5_bPpSmvMZ2EW2XruoI8nqOMv2whScJmoNQqL2w5FFqO6lCXwSD3gLPTTRIkGn9glfxaAHll/s400/the-cloverfield-paradox%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Dead space: Daniel Bruhl and co face terrible danger in The Cloverfield Paradox</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The best and worst of this week's UK home entertainment releases on DVD, Blu-ray and digital. All the films mentioned are available to buy, rent and/or stream now, unless otherwise stated. </b></span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Ratings guide:<span style="color: red;"> WWWW</span></b> - Wonderful <b><span style="color: red;">WWW</span></b> - Worthwhile <span style="color: red;"><b>WW</b></span> - Watchable <span style="color: red;"><b>W</b></span> - Woeful</span></div>
<b><br /></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will draw my final breath arguing that we really didn't need a sequel to Ridley's Scott's 1982 sci-fi classic, but <b>Blade Runner 2049</b> (DVD, Blu-ray, and VOD) </span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>WW½</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #545454; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.66px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"></span> certainly has its moments, nearly all of them down to the movie's sublime cinematography and stunning visuals. The plot, on the other hand, is clumsy (soapy, almost), its pace sluggish, and I remain unconvinced yet another discourse on "what it means to be human", expressed through the experiences of an AI, robot or android, is entirely necessary. Cinema and other media have given us quite enough of them, thanks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Set 30 years after the original movie, the assets of the bankrupt Tyrell corporation have been bought up by sinister uber-capitalist Niander Wallace (Jared Leto). He has begun the manufacture of a new batch of replicants to use as slave labour so humanity can continue its expansion off-world. He can't manufacture enough of them though, and needs to find a way for the artificial humans to procreate. Ryan Gosling is K, a replicant Blade Runner charged by the LAPD with "retiring" his own kind, specifically the older, rebellious models from the original film. As luck would have it, K discovers that a replicant child has been born and suspects it might even be him. This knowledge brings K into conflict with Wallace and his ruthless replicant henchwoman Luv (Sylvia Hoeks), leading him from LA out into the nuke-blighted wilderness of Las Vegas to track down the long-missing Deckard (Harrison Ford).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Denis Villeneuve's film takes an age to get going and only really puts its pedal to the metal in the final third, with the arrival of Ford, who is then inauspiciously sidelined as the story races to a violent climax. <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">There's nothing here as iconic or thrilling as Deckard's fight with Roy Batty <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Rutger Hauer)</span></span>, although Ford and Gosling's punch-up in Vegas, while glitchy holograms of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe play in the background, comes close. There's a scene in which Deckard confronts a ghost from his past that should have been a classic but is undermined by unconvincing CG (it's like <i>Rogue One</i>'s Peter Cushing faux pas all over again). Worse still, </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Wallace is a dull villain. He does very bad things but is difficult to hate because he's so lacking in character and complexity. The film has been accused of misogyny and, while you can partially excuse that because its set in a dystopia where women are treated poorly, it doesn't excuse one particularly grubby and exploitative scene in which Wallace kills a naked replicant female with a scalpel. Just plain nasty.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What considerably elevates <i>Blade Runner 2049</i>, and makes it worth nearly three hours of your time, is Roger Deakins' cinematography, which is, quite simply, a wonder to behold. There are some visual moments here that fair take the breath away, even on the small screen. Dingy, grungy and gloomy, <i>2049</i>'s LA matches anything you'll see in the original movie, while the orange-hued sequences set in Deckard's Las Vegas bolthole should be enough to win Deakins a first Oscar (after 14 nominations) all on their own.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Cutting edge: Blade Runner 2049 boasts jaw-dropping visuals</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You have to admire Netflix's marketing chutzpah. The third <i>Cloverfield</i> movie <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> supposedly titled <i>The God Particle</i> and acquired by the streaming service from Paramount last year <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> has been speculated about for months and then up they pop to announce, during Sunday's Super Bowl, that the film <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> now called <b>The Cloverfield Paradox <span style="color: red;">WW</span></b> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> will be available right after the game. It's a bold and clever strategy that makes the film's release rather more of an event than it would have been under normal circumstances. If the following morning's <i>Cloverfield</i>-related chatter on Twitter and elsewhere was any indication, it certainly did the trick.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The movie itself is an enjoyably hokey slice of sci-fi that channels the likes of <i>Alien</i>, <i>Event Horizon</i>, <i>Another Earth</i>, and <i>Gravity</i>, but is, in reality, probably no more remarkable than a half-decent episode of <i>The Twilight Zon</i>e or <i>Outer Limits</i>. There's a bit of body horror, scientific gobbledegook by the pound, the odd splash of dark humour, plus lots of charging about down corridors, nick-of-time equipment repairs, and explosions. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gugu Mbatha-Raw is Ava Hamilton, the British member of a space mission to test and supposedly perfect a particle accelerator to solve the planet's energy crisis, a process so dangerous it can't take place on Earth. Suffice to say, the attempt goes awry and the crew (which also includes Chris O'Dowd, Daniel Bruhl, and David Oyelowo), as well as their space station, are hurled into another dimension, with disastrous, reality-bending consequences. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Julius Onah's film contains some interesting ideas and genuinely memorable moments ("What are you talking about, Arm?"), and I especially liked the way its events connect to 2008's first and comfortably best <i>Cloverfield</i> movie. Mbatha-Raw (<i>Belle</i>, <i>Miss Sloane</i>) is a terrific young actress and, in truth, deserves meatier roles than this. But the fact a black British woman is playing the lead in a JJ Abrams franchise (a fourth film in the series is promised later in the year) should not just be acknowledged, but celebrated.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Raw deal: British star Gugu gets lost in space in The Cloverfield Paradox</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.myfrenchfilmfestival.com/en/">My French Film Festival</a> is still going strong and I'm slowly working my way through the 30 films and shorts on offer. <b>In Bed With Victoria</b> (VOD) <b><span style="color: red;">WW</span></b> is a rom-com of sorts about a thirty-something lawyer (<i>Elle</i>'s Virginie Efira is the titular character) struggling under the weight of her chaotic life. She has a demanding career, two energetic young daughters to look after, and unfortunate penchants for popping pills and disastrous romantic entanglements. Matters only become more strained when she is asked to defend an old friend on an attempted murder charge, and she takes legal action against her former husband to prevent him from revealing scandalous secrets in a blog. The humour is silly rather than funny, the plot ridiculous and clunky (important courtroom reveals centre on a monkey and a dog). However, Justine Triet's film is saved by Efira, a charismatic and beguiling screen presence, as well as Victoria's slow-building romance with drug-dealer-turned-intern, Samuel (Vincent Lacoste). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Queen Vic: Virginie Efira is beguiling and charismatic</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Film of the week:</b> <i>Blade Runner 2049</i>, but you should also see <i>Beach Rats</i>, which is out on DVD this week. I wrote about it <a href="http://ashumanastherestofus.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/beach-rats-wet-woman-in-wind-and-work.html">here</a> a few months ago.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>What I'll be watching this week:</b> It's time to revisit the late Jonathan Demme's <i>Something Wild</i>, which has just been released in the UK by Criterion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are so inclined, check out my review of <i>Jupiter's Moon</i> at <a href="https://www.filminquiry.com/jupiters-moon-2017-review/">Film Inquiry</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Top 10 UK DVDs/Blu-rays (movies only)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. Kingsman: The Golden Circle</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. Victoria And Abdul</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. It (2017)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4. Kingsman: The Secret Service/The Golden Circle</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5. Dunkirk</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">6. Fifty Shades Darker</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">7. La La Land</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">8. Paddington</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">9. God's Own Country</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">10. Sing</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794490764987409014.post-70044608658933071012018-02-01T00:24:00.000-08:002018-02-01T04:59:39.462-08:00Hounds Of Love, God's Own Country, and Willy The 1st: Your Week In Film (January 29-February 4)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">God only knows: Francis Lee's debut was one of last year's best LGBTQ films</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The best and worst of the week's UK home entertainment releases on DVD, Blu-ray and digital. All the films mentioned are available to buy, rent and/or stream now, unless otherwise stated. In a bid to catch up a bit after taking an extended New Year break, this is my second column of the week...</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Ratings guide: <span style="color: red;">WWWW</span></b> - Wonderful <b><span style="color: red;">WWW</span></b> - Worthwhile <b><span style="color: red;">WW</span></b> - Watchable <b><span style="color: red;">W</span></b> - Woeful</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Hounds Of Love</b> (DVD, Blu-ray, and VOD) <b><span style="color: red;">WWW</span></b> is a brutal but deceptively clever horror film from Australia, seemingly based on the harrowing true-crime tale of David and Catherine Birnie, the Perth couple who abducted and murdered four young girls over a five-week period in 1986. <br /><br />Writer/director Ben Young introduces us to Vicki (Ashleigh Cummings), a headstrong teenage girl feeling low after her parents' divorce. Following a row with her mum, she heads off into the night in search of a party, but is tricked into accompanying a couple – Evelyn (Emma Booth) and John (Stephen Curry) – back to their home, where they attack and imprison her. Vicki notices friction between the pair and realises her only chance of getting out alive is to try and drive a wedge between them.<br /><br />The unusual thing about <i>Hounds Of Love</i> is its lack of explicitness. We see little to nothing of what goes on behind the door of the room in which poor Vicki is kept chained to a bed. One especially clueless review described the film as "torture porn", but that description could not be further from the truth. Somehow, the not-seeing makes it worse because the abuse and violence Vicki clearly suffers is left to your imagination, and that rarely goes well. <br /><br />Young's next strongest suit is Vicki herself, effectively essayed by Cummings as a brave and resilient survivor. She's no meek and mild victim, waiting around to be rescued or killed. Even amidst her suffering, she's thinking and plotting, and quickly identifies a chink in Evelyn and John's armour. The couple's relationship is a trainwreck. Evelyn's needy, easily-manipulated and jealous, but not totally lost to the darkness, while bully John is shown to be a weak and inadequate man, picked on by bigger, stronger males in his neighbourhood. The fragility of their bond is the pair's Achilles heel and Vicki prods and pokes at it.<br /><br />This is the director's first feature, after a good few years making shorts and episodes of TV shows, and he brings all that experience to bear. Young's adept at creating tension, to the point where you feel unsettled and decidedly queasy (I won't listen to <i>Nights In White Satin</i> in quite the same way again, that's for sure). He and cinematographer Michael McDermot even manage to make Evelyn and John's nondescript suburban home into something sinister, emphasising every cramped, claustrophobic nook and cranny, while contrasting its dark secrets with the wide, bright and open street on which they live. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Barking mad: Hounds Of Love is a brutal Aussie horror</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now in its 8th year, My French Film Festival is back with another big batch of brand new cinematic treats from across the Channel, which you can stream either on its <a href="https://www.myfrenchfilmfestival.com/en/">website</a>, or via <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/offers?ie=UTF8&benefitId=mubi&ref=DVM_PDS_PDS_UK_SB_C_kwd-80264366882462:loc-188">Mubi</a> and <a href="https://www.curzonhomecinema.com/">Curzon Home Cinema</a>. I'll be talking about several more of the films in the coming weeks (the festival runs until February 19), but let's start off with <b>Willy The 1st <span style="color: red;">WWW</span></b>, which is remarkable for several reasons, chief among them the fact it has four directors – Ludovic and Zoran Boukherma, Marielle Gautier, and Hugo P. Thomas.<br /><br />This quartet of young filmmakers – who also share a writing credit – serve up something rather unusual and intriguing with this, their debut feature. The excellent Daniel Vannet – another newcomer – plays twin brothers: Willy and Michel Pruvost. Middle-aged, and mentally and emotionally fragile, the pair live out a dull existence with their mum and dad in rural Normandy, whilst dreaming of a move to the nearest town, Caudebec, which, to them, seems impossibly glamorous. We quickly realise Michel is desperately unhappy and it is no surprise when he commits suicide, leaving Willy bereft and lonely. He relocates anyway but finds the transition extremely difficult, his only friend a flamboyant gay man – also called Willy (Romain Léger) – who is mocked by small-minded locals and dreams of moving to Germany.<br /><br /><i>Willy The 1st</i> is a fascinating film that isn't easy to categorise. On the one hand, it's a plaintive slice of social realism, on the other it contains some brilliantly bleak humour and even contains supernatural moments (Willy is visited by Michel's ghost throughout the film). Such a chimeric creation shouldn't work but it really does, helped by a strong script, fine performances and the quartet's refusal to make Willy some kind of "loveable simpleton". He's a stubborn, difficult man and there are a couple of scenes here in which he isn't remotely sympathetic. Such is the strength of Vannet's characterisation, though, you cheer on his quest for independence and happiness regardless.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Twin peak: Willy wants a fresh start and a better life</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Last year was a monumental one for LGBTQ cinema with a Best Picture Oscar for <i>Moonlight</i>, <i>Call Me By Your Name</i> being garlanded in critical acclaim, and the likes of <i>Beach Rats</i>, <i>Princess Cyd</i>, <i>Thelma</i>, and <i>BPM (Beats Per Minute)</i> also receiving plenty of love. British cinema kept its end up with <b>God's Own Country</b> (DVD, Blu-ray, and VOD) <b><span style="color: red;">WWW½</span></b>, writer/director Francis Lee's gritty, passionate love story set in the wilds of rural Yorkshire.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Josh O'Connor plays Johnny, a bitter and frustrated young man lumbered with running the family farm, when his father (Ian Hart) falls ill. To help Johnny cope with the demands of spring lambing season Gheorghe (Alec Secareanu), a Romanian migrant, is hired on a short-term contract. After initial friction, mistrust, and a fair bit of racism on Johnny's part, the pair grow closer and begin a relationship. <br /><br />There's more mud, sex and beautifully-photographed scenery here than you can shake a stick at, but it's the growing tenderness between the two men that is the real star, as well as the unexpected directions in which Lee takes the plot. Not that films with gay themes should have to compete against each other, but comparisons with <i>Call Me By Your Name</i> are inevitable. For me, <i>God's Own Country</i> is the better of the two, mainly because its two leads are far more sympathetic and interesting, and their relationship has a crackle of electricity lacking in Luca Guadagnino's languorous Oscar contender. It's a very fine piece of work, with a perfect ending guaranteed to bring a tear to your eye and a wobble to your lip.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Country strife: Johnny and Gheorghe's relationship hits a few bumps</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Film of the week:</b> <i>In Between</i> (see previous column), but you should definitely see <i>God's Own Country</i> too.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794490764987409014.post-35299590064259294872018-01-29T06:29:00.002-08:002018-01-31T00:24:11.609-08:00A Futile And Stupid Gesture, In Between, and Kingsman: The Golden Circle: Your Week In Film (January 29-February 4)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The best and worst of the week's UK home entertainment releases on DVD, Blu-ray and digital. All the films mentioned are available to buy, rent and/or stream now, unless otherwise stated. This is the first of two columns this week; look out for the second on Thursday...</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: none; border-image: none; border: 0px rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; outline: transparent 0px; overflow: visible; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: none; border-image: none; border: 0px rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; outline: transparent 0px; overflow: visible; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>Ratings guide: <span style="color: red;">WWWW</span></b> - Wonderful <b><span style="color: red;">WWW</span></b> - Worthwhile <span style="color: red;"><b>WW</b></span> - Watchable <b><span style="color: red;">W</span></b> - Woeful </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I hate to dig out that hoary old LP Hartley quote <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> "the past is a foreign country: they do things differently there" <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> but it nevertheless pretty neatly sums up <b>A Futile And Stupid Gesture</b> (Netflix) <b><span style="color: red;">WW</span></b>. David Wain's film tells the story of the hugely influential US satirical publication <i>National Lampoon</i>, from its humble beginnings as university mag the <i>Harvard Lampoon</i> to its enormous mass-market success throughout the 1970s, spawning a host of spin-offs, including a radio show, a live show (<i>Lemmings</i>), and even movies such as <i>Animal House</i> and <i>Caddyshack</i>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Based on Josh Karp's book of the same name, the film focuses mostly on co-founder Doug Kenney (Will Forte), which is problematic to say the least. Forte plays him as a smug and arrogant man-child who rarely entertains a serious thought in his silly head. Kenney's almost impossible to like and you struggle to care what happens to him, even when he succumbs to depression and addiction. The way he treats the women in his life is appalling and unfortunately that misogynistic attitude seeped into the pages of the <i>Lampoon</i> all too frequently. You could argue it's a "warts and all" portrayal but, ultimately, this is a film about a charmless – albeit tragic – dick, however you seek to dress it up.<br /><br />It wouldn't be so bad if the film contained some kind of <i>mea culpa</i> but it doesn't, breezing over why the magazine had no black writers and only one woman (didn't think of looking for any), while admitting in one of its many meta moments that the characters you see portrayed were "way more racist and sexist" than how they appear on screen. Worse still, there's an image of a naked black woman featured in the film – as it was in the magazine – that is simply despicable. Just because you acknowledge your racism and sexism, doesn't make it any more palatable, especially when that acknowledgement seems so unapologetic. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All that said, <i>A Futile and Stupid Gesture</i> is frequently very funny, contains some winning performances (especially Domhnall Gleeson as pipe-smoking gadabout Henry Beard), and a fast-paced, free-wheeling structure that mostly disguises what is, deep down, a fairly run-of-the-mill tale about rich white guys getting even richer. The past is a foreign country, all right, and some things are perhaps better off left there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: x-small;">I'm with Stupid: National Lampoon's 1970s success story</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Considerably better is writer/director Maysaloun Hamoud's feature debut, <b>In Between</b> (DVD, VOD) <b><span style="color: red;">WWWW</span></b>, the powerful and thoroughly absorbing tale of three Palestinian women sharing a flat in Tel Aviv. The trio <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> Leila (Mouna Hawa), Salma (Sana Jammelieh), and Nour (Shaden Kanboura) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> are all very different but have similar battles to fight as they struggle to balance the demands of their traditional cultures and religions (secular Muslim, Christian, and Muslim respectively) with the more modern lives they seek to lead. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When the film starts, criminal defence lawyer Leila and lesbian rave DJ Salma have been apartment-sharing for some time and are already good friends, so Nour is immediately cast as the outsider. Religious and assiduous, she is far more conventional than the other women, who drink, smoke, take drugs and have a large circle of male friends, all of which causes friction. However, as they and we discover more about Nour, attitudes change. She is studying to be a computer scientist and is engaged to be married to a man who wants her to forget her career and stay at home once they are wed. But, as she grows closer to her flat-mates, Nour rebels and calls off the marriage, something which has brutal and far-reaching consequences.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hawa as hard-drinking, chain-smoking force-of-nature Leila is a revelation, but all three central performances are eye-catchingly superb, each character properly fleshed out and explored in dramatic but realistic and fulfilling ways. The manner in which the women's friendships evolve over the course of the film is particularly affecting and effective, while Hamoud is careful not to use her film to launch a broadside against religion per se, only the ways it can be utilised by imperfect, messed-up people (usually men) to exert control over others. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Wonder women: Salma, Noor and Leila battle for independence</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally, there's <b>Kingsman: The Golden Circle</b> (DVD, Blu-Ray, VOD) </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>W½</b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #545454; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.66px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"></span>, the disappointing sequel to 2014's solid spy spoof <i>Kingsman: The Secret Service</i>, which introduced us to working-class geezer turned secret agent Gary "Eggsy" Unwin (Taron Egerton). <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Director Matthew Vaughn and screenwriter Jane Goldman both return <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> along with most of the original cast <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> but this is a lumpen, silly follow-up that junks much of the first film's knockabout charm for crass(er) humour, lots more explosions and a plot you'd call nonsensical if it were even that coherent.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This time, the titular British spy outfit are under assault from Julianne Moore's drug cartel leader Poppy Adams, who blows up Kingsmen HQ, forcing what's left of the agency (Eggsy and Mark Strong's Merlin) to find and team up with their American counterparts, the Statesmen (Jeff Bridges, Channing Tatum, Pedro Pascal, and Halle Berry). By poisoning her cartel's product and endangering the lives of its users, Poppy has a fiendish (i.e. stupid) plan to force America to call off its war on drugs. Or something. The huge spoiler in the trailer is a genuine own goal (as Vaughn has acknowledged), Moore phones it in, Halle Berry is wasted, and Elton John's perplexing extended cameo is just plain cringe-making. Paul Feig's similarly-themed <i>Spy</i>, from a couple of years ago, was so much better and funnier than this. Find that on Netflix and watch it instead.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This trailer contains an enormous spoiler - don't click it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>What I'll be watching this week:</b> Steven Spielberg's <b>The Post</b>, which will leave only <i>Lady Bird</i> and <i>Phantom Thread</i> for me to see of this year's Best Picture Oscar nominees.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Top 10 UK DVDs and Blu-rays (movies only)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. Victoria And Abdul</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. It (2017)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. Dunkirk</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4. Wind River</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5. American Assassin</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">6. Mother</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">7. Paddington</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">8. Sing</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">9. La La Land</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">10. The Hitman's Bodyguard</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794490764987409014.post-19659234244054241662018-01-24T06:09:00.000-08:002018-01-24T06:09:16.269-08:00On Second Thoughts #4... The Dark Knight (2008)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfpPuCACs_b4kxK6kxafCD6Mrdn8jfLyEM0enCrEoGEVRuWsLIIgaAXYKaB3jHoUDJG0p8Qy0omcx4t2edspgn2u0xH1j0FXomyOMsuNBTRmRG3gExHZYhoibs-lYByp7USEGjBBB2Hoqq/s1600/heath-ledger-joker%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1200" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfpPuCACs_b4kxK6kxafCD6Mrdn8jfLyEM0enCrEoGEVRuWsLIIgaAXYKaB3jHoUDJG0p8Qy0omcx4t2edspgn2u0xH1j0FXomyOMsuNBTRmRG3gExHZYhoibs-lYByp7USEGjBBB2Hoqq/s400/heath-ledger-joker%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Joker's wild: Heath Ledger remains easily the best thing about The Dark Knight</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Welcome to On Second Thoughts, an occasional column in which I look back at a movie I didn't much care for on first viewing and give it another chance. Most of the films I cover in these columns will be ones I haven't seen in years, so there's a good chance my opinions and feelings about them may have changed over time. Well, that's the idea, anyway...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Ratings guide: <span style="color: red;">WWWW</span></b> - Wonderful <b><span style="color: red;">WWW</span></b> - Worthwhile <span style="color: red;"><b>WW</b></span> - Watchable <span style="color: red;"><b>W</b></span> - Woeful</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Please note: This article contains spoilers for <i>The Dark Knight</i>.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>What is it?</b> The second in Christopher Nolan's famous trilogy, sandwiched between 2005's <i>Batman Begins</i> and <i>The Dark Knight Rises</i> from 2012. <i>The Dark Knight</i> is easily the most admired of the three films, voted in at #33 by critics in the BBC's best film of the 21st Century poll in 2016, and at #3 by readers of <i>Empire</i> last year in the magazine's greatest movies of all-time list. In 2009, the late Heath Ledger won a host of Best Supporting Actor awards <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> including a posthumous Oscar <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> for his blistering turn as The Joker. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>What's it about?</b> <i>The Dark Knight</i> is set around a year after the end of <i>Batman Begins</i>. Billionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) is now well established in Gotham City as the vigilante Batman (complete with silly gruff voice) and has organised crime on the run. However, the emergence of a new threat in the guise of The Joker, a heinous, clown-faced, "agent of chaos", threatens not just the Dark Knight, but everyone dear to him, including former girlfriend Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal taking over from Katie Holmes), and Gotham's crusading district attorney, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), who is ultimately transformed into the monstrous Two-Face.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Why didn't I like it first time round?</b> Batman has been pretty much ruined by the "grim and gritty" makeover he received in the 1980s, courtesy of comic-book creators Frank Miller (<i>The Dark Knight Returns</i>) and Alan Moore (<i>The Killing Joke</i>). I doubt either creator intended it, but the character has been taken far too seriously ever since, particularly in films including, but not limited to, Nolan's. I grew up with the knowingly silly <i>Batman</i> TV show, while Tim Burton's pair of movies (<i>Batman</i> and <i>Batman Returns</i>) were a nice mix of new-school and old-school treatments of the character. In other words, I've never been a fan of anything <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> comic-book, TV show or movie <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> that takes seriously a man dressing up in a bat-suit to fight crime. As a result, I found Nolan's films rather po-faced and, in <i>The Dark Knight</i>'s case, overlong, uneven and cluttered too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Its saving grace is Ledger's performance as The Joker, which channels bits of Cesar Romero and Jack Nicholson's takes on the Clown Prince of Crime, but adds great big dollops of genuine madness, anarchy and unpredictability to the mix. The Joker is meant to make you uneasy and Ledger does <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> every time he appears. Most modern screen villains are a bit rubbish, aren't they? Cliché-spouting dullards with all the charisma of a breeze block. Ledger's Joker is the antidote to all that and the real star of <i>The Dark Knight</i>, which only really comes to life whenever he's on screen. In fact, when he isn't, you're wondering what he's doing and when he'll be back. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Fright Knight: Christian Bale reprises his role as vigilante superhero Batman</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Why am I rewatching it now?</b> 2018 brings us a couple of <i>Dark Knight</i>-related anniversaries: July marks the 10th anniversary of the film's theatrical release and, sadly, this month marks 10 years since Heath Ledger's untimely death. The movie returns to the screens of one <a href="https://movieweb.com/dark-knight-movie-10th-anniversary-theatrical-rerelease/">US cinema chain</a> next month, with others set to follow.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Have I changed my mind?</b> A little, but not much. The film remains uneven and <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> at 2hrs 32mins <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> far too long. I always thought it should have been split in two, with the ending setting up Eckhart's Two-Face storyline, which could then have played out in the third film instead of all that Bane nonsense. That said, the first hour of <i>TDK</i> is terrific, as Nolan makes a good fist of reintroducing his cast (which also includes Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman), whilst giving Ledger all the space he needs to strut his stuff. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alas, the whole thing loses coherence long before the end, as too many plot strands compete for space, leaving the film feeling a bit overstuffed. Two-Face is introduced and despatched far too quickly and even the climax of The Joker's plot feels a bit rushed. And whilst the villainous clown might be the best thing about the movie, there are times when the character's ability to pull off the most extraordinarily detailed schemes not only stretches credulity <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">– </span>like loading 200 barrels of petrol on to two separate ferries without anyone noticing <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> but flies directly in the face of his agent-of-chaos, make-it-all-up-as-I-go-along persona.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the plus side, Michael Caine is splendid as Wayne's butler, Alfred ("Some men just want to watch the world burn"), and Nolan's take-no-prisoners approach to killing off his cast of characters means you are genuinely on edge about who is going to make it to the end. There's also some good thematic work in which the director explores notions of duality and how, just under the surface, we're all uncivilised and capable of evil. It remains Ledger's film, though, his performance seeming, if anything, even better 10 years on. The scene I always remember is that of The Joker, his head sticking, Labrador-like, out the window of a speeding car, laughing like a loon, revelling in the sheer madness of it all. A genuinely iconic moment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br />Did you know?</b> Writing in the <i>Wall Street Journal</i>, in an article called "What Bush and Batman Have in Common", journalist Andrew Klavan drew parallels between the then-US president's War On Terror and the Dark Knight's battle with The Joker. He called the film "a paean of praise to the fortitude and moral courage that has been shown by George W. Bush in this time of terror and war. Like W, Batman sometimes has to push the boundaries of civil rights to deal with an emergency, certain that he will re-establish those boundaries when the emergency is past." I assume a follow-up article, entitled "What Trump and The Joker Have in Common", is on its way any day now...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Scene you should check out on YouTube right now:</b> Batman <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnOLhXmhkyA">interrogates</a> The Joker <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">–</span> "When the chips are down, these civilised people... they'll eat each other."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rating then:</b> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>WW</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rating now:</b> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b>WW<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; direction: ltr; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">½</span></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Coming soon:</b> <i>Call Me By Your Name</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the meantime, check out my review of <i>Most Beautiful Island</i> for <a href="https://www.filminquiry.com/most-beautiful-island-2017-review/">Film Inquiry</a>. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794490764987409014.post-79970462411161193742018-01-04T04:29:00.000-08:002018-01-04T04:29:46.998-08:00My favourite films of 2017 #10-1<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Body snatchers: Daniel Kaluuya's Chris is in big trouble in Get Out</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We've reached the final leg of our journey through my favourite films of 2017 and some of you are probably going to want to biff me on the nose for omitting certain movies from my top 40 list. <i>Call Me By Your Name</i>? Admired it more than I liked it – couldn't warm to either of the main characters. <i>Good Time</i>? Robert Pattinson's superb, but it isn't a patch on the Safdie brothers' previous movie, <i>Heaven Knows What</i>. <i>Blade Runner 2049</i>? Beautiful visuals but an unnecessary sequel that bored me to tears. <i>Star Wars: The Last Jedi</i>? Probably my favourite <i>SW</i> film since <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i>, but it only really clicked in the final hour. And that's the beauty of film – there are no right or wrong answers. Like what you like, watch what you want. As long as you enjoy it, it's really none of mine nor anyone else's business. That said, feel free to remonstrate with my choices in the comments. I have a thick skin, I can take it...<br /><br /><b>10. Personal Shopper</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Olivier Assayas <b>UK release date:</b> 17 March<br />Kristin Stewart reunites with <i>Clouds Of Sils Maria</i> director Assayas for this strange and horror-inflected meditation on grief, loneliness and, quite possibly, madness. Stewart is Maureen, an American living in Paris and working as a general dog's body for Kyra, a ghastly celebrity model. She is also a medium, desperate to make contact with the spirit of her dead twin brother, who has passed away following a heart attack (she shares his condition). Maureen's life is sad and absurd; discussing ectoplasm-spewing spirits one minute, writing huge cheques for her employer's obscenely expensive outfits and accessories the next. A lengthy scene in which Stewart goes to London and back again on Eurostar, all the while exchanging texts with a mysterious person or entity, is Assayas at his most audacious. </span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>9. mother!</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Darren Aronofsky <b>UK release date:</b> 15 September<br />The year's most divisive film fully deserves its reputation as <i>Noah</i> director Aronofsky serves up a feast of religious allegory, radical green politics and Grand Guignol. Javier Bardem is Him, a poet who lives with his young bride, the titular Mother (Jennifer Lawrence), in a big, beautiful, isolated house she has renovated from scratch. Their seemingly idyllic existence comes under threat with the arrival of Ed Harris and his wife Michelle Pfeiffer, spinning out of control altogether when Lawrence becomes pregnant and Bardem attracts a cult following, who not only turn up at the house but move in and start smashing it up. And just when you think matters have got just about as unhinged as they can, we career into an hysterical final act that'll make you question your sanity (or Aronofsky's). Love it or hate it, <i>mother! </i>takes more risks than any film I've seen this year and nearly all of them pay off spectacularly.</span></div>
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<b><br /></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>8. I Am Not A Witch</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Rungano Nyoni <b>UK release date:</b> 20 October<br />In <i>I Am Not A Witch</i>, Zambian-Welsh filmmaker Nyoni gave us one of the year's most startling feature debuts, which she wrote as well as directed. It's a surreal social satire set in the country of Nyoni's birth and focuses on Shula (Maggie Mulubwa), a nine-year-old girl accused of witchcraft, who is shipped off to a "witch camp" in the Zambian desert. The camp is populated with women of all ages and, like Shula, they have all been interned on spurious charges. Attached to a long white ribbon and bulky spindle, like the other prisoners, Shula is told if she ever tries to escape she will be cursed and transformed into a goat. She is soon noticed by a government official who exploits her supposed abilities to his own ends. Nyoni's target is the misogyny that exists in Zambian society, with an added wrinkle... witch camps are in fact real and she visited several in Ghana and Zambia during research for the film. Mulubwa gives a restrained performance well beyond her tender years, while Nyoni's writing is full of acerbic wit.</span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>7. Moonlight</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Barry Jenkins <b>UK release date:</b> 17 February<br />Jenkins' Best Picture Oscar winner is probably too subtle for its own good at times and it took me a couple of watches before his movie's considerable charms inveigled their way into my heart. But, once you get past those early doubts, <i>Moonlight</i> is a beautifully judged and entirely powerful piece of work boasting great performances (especially Naomie Harris, Mahershala Ali, and Alex R Hibbert), superb storytelling and seductive visuals. It follows the same African-American character, Chiron, at three different but crucial stages of his life – child, teenager and man – as he strives to come to terms with both a difficult upbringing (Harris plays his crack-addict mother, he has no father) and his sexuality. We've all seen moving love stories before but <i>Moonlight</i> is a rarity – an on-screen exploration of masculinity and homosexuality that is warm, intimate, and sensitive. </span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>6. The Handmaiden</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Park Chan-wook <b>UK release date:</b> 14 April<br />Sumptuous adaptation of Sarah Waters' novel, <i>The Fingersmith</i>, which relocates the action from Victorian England to 1930s Korea. As part of a criminal scheme, a young pickpocket (Kim Tae-ri), is sent to work for a Japanese heiress (Kim Min-hee) betrothed to her repulsive uncle (Cho Jin-woong). Instead of fleecing her employer, however, she falls in love with her and the two commence an affair. <i>The Handmaiden</i> is all about deception – during the film's three separate chapters, it time and again picks the pocket of your expectations. Park deliberately withholds information and skews perspectives, making for a discombobulating ride that keeps you on your toes every step of the way. </span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>5. The Florida Project</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Sean Baker <b>UK release date:</b> 10 November<br />Baker's follow-up<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> to 2015's <i>Tangerine</i> (aka the movie filmed on an iPhone) is set in the Magic Castle, a Floridian motel just a hop, skip and a jump from the nearby Walt Disney World resort. Intended for tourists, it is also home to a great many low-income, short-stay families including, in this case, single mum Halley (Bria Vinaite) and her six-year-old daughter Moonee (Brooklynn Prince). Precocious Moonee spends her summer days getting into scrapes with her friends, Scooty and Jancey, while her mum desperately tries to make ends meet. The irony here, of course, is that the motel and its surrounding area is a wonderland of fun and frolics for the kids but a penniless nightmare for Halley. Likewise, the garishly-painted façade of the motels may make them look like part of the Disney empire but the grim reality is light years away. Baker's visually sumptuous film – which doesn't overly concern itself with matters of plot – makes you laugh, makes you think, and isn't afraid to break your heart too. Willem Defoe, as the motel manager, hasn't been this good in years.</span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4. Raw</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Julia Ducournau <b>UK release date:</b> 7 April<br />"Visceral" is a word thrown around by film critics to describe any bit of old tat with some violence in it these days. It's a word that has lost its power through repetition but one that nevertheless fits this extraordinary French cannibal film like a bloodied glove. A teenage vegetarian (Garance Marillier) is made to eat a rabbit heart as part of her initiation at a veterinary college and soon develops a taste for meat, including the human variety. Ducournau's unsparing film can be viewed as a straight-no-chaser horror flick or a coming of age yarn about a young woman transitioning into dog-eat-dog adulthood, but it adroitly juggles many other themes too, including sexual awakening, teenage rebellion, and sibling rivalry. Those reports of walk-outs and fainting at its festival showings only tell half the story because, underneath its blood and guts, Ducournau's film has smarts to spare.</span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3. Get Out</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Jordan Peele <b>UK release date:</b> 17 March<br />Anyone who only knows US comedian Peele from his part in 2016's limp cat comedy, <i>Keanu</i>, is likely to be knocked out of their seat by this whip-smart combination of horror and satire that tackles the notion that America, even under Obama, was ever a post-racial society. British actor Daniel Kaluuya is in a mixed race relationship with his white girlfriend (Allison Williams) and one weekend she takes him to meet her moneyed, progressive parents at their remote country estate. They're initially friendly but clearly uncomfortable in his presence and that soon gives way to something far more sinister. Peele (previously best known in the US for the <i>Key & Peele</i> sketch show) combines <i>Guess Who's Coming To Dinner</i> and <i>Invasion Of The Body Snatchers</i> to give us a startling piece of work that puts liberal white America under the microscope and really doesn't like what he sees there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2. Manchester By The Sea</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Director:</b> Kenneth Lonergan <b>UK release date:</b> 13 January<br />Excoriating, heart-rending drama starring Best Actor Oscar winner Casey Affleck as a grief-stricken janitor returning home to the titular Massachusetts seaside town following the death of his older brother. There he has to confront a terrible secret from his past whilst struggling to forge a path into a more hopeful future. Director Lonergan's sharp script balances the bleakness with occasional stabs of wry humour, Michelle Williams is dependably superb as Affleck's estranged wife, while the actor himself turns in one of 21st Century Hollywood's great performances. The scene in which the pair bump into each other in the street, and the full weight of their shared history and suffering bears down upon them, is not only extraordinarily moving but also genuinely upsetting. </span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1. Elle</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Paul Verhoeven <b>UK release date:</b> 10 March<br />A provocative revenge fantasy of sorts which sees Isabelle Huppert's icy CEO, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Michèle Leblanc</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, raped in her Paris apartment before commencing a strange and erotically-charged game of cat and mouse with her attacker. It's a divisive film that no one seems to entirely agree upon. Is it suggesting that women secretly enjoy the experience of sexual violence? Or is it an anti-rape statement skewering the male need to subjugate difficult, powerful women? For me, <i>Elle</i> entertains both notions, but seeks to discuss them as part of something else – the way in which his characters exploit, degrade and hurt each other on a regular basis, and how such behaviour ultimately coarsens and cheapens their relationships and society in general.<br /><br />On the surface, <i>Elle</i> is only a short walk from the likes of <i>Basic Instinct</i> (director Verhoeven's 1992 potboiler, starring Sharon Stone), but it's a far more complex and rewarding work than that, helped enormously by Huppert's total immersion in one of modern cinema's most unreadable characters. Based on the novel <i>Oh...</i> by Philippe Djian, Verhoeven's film toys with viewers' expectations – at what point does Huppert's character Michelle <i>really</i> know the identity of her rapist? Is she telling the truth about a terrible incident from her childhood? Is she a sociopath and as much a villain as the man who attacked her? Ultimately, though, this is a film about violation, sexual assault being the most extreme form of that. </span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With one notable exception (Michele's son, Vincent, played by Jonas Bloquet), the characters here are all pretty ghastly – from the cheating husband of Michele's best friend to the gold-digging gigolo who moves in with her mum, from the sleazy meme guy in her office to Michele herself, a rape victim who, in her day job, is happy to develop, produce and sell a video game containing repulsive images of sexual assault. <br /><br /> The veteran Dutch director's point seems to be that his characters (and, by extension, we, the viewing public) step all over each other's needs and feelings so much, all the time, that it has become normalised – almost a default setting. Moreover, eventually, we come to not just accept it and expect it, but perhaps even to like it. A chilling thought upon which to end...</span></div>
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<b><br /></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b> PREVIOUS WINNERS</b><br />2016 - <b>The Witch</b> (director: Robert Eggers)<br />2015 - <b>The New Girlfriend</b> (François Ozon)<br />2014 - <b>Under The Skin</b> (Jonathan Glazer)</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794490764987409014.post-59059290267233343032018-01-02T03:32:00.000-08:002018-01-02T03:32:11.519-08:00My favourite films of 2017 #20-11<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Take the leather with you: The Villainess is full of twists and crazy action</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>20. Certain Women</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Kelly Reichardt <b>UK release date:</b> 3 March<br />The <i>Meek's Cutoff</i> director presents three loosely-linked stories about the lives of four very different women, the best of which sees a naïve young Native American (Lily Gladstone) desperately trying to forge a romantic connection with Kristin Stewart's oblivious teacher. Gorgeous-looking, low-key, and poignant, just as you'd expect from director Reichardt.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>19. God's Own Country</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Francis Lee <b>UK release date:</b> 1 September<br />Yorkshire-set love story in which Josh O'Connor's disillusioned young farmer falls for Alec Secareanu's Romanian migrant worker. There's more mud, sex and beautifully-photographed scenery than you can shake a stick at, but it's the growing tenderness of the two men's relationship that is the real star here. Beautifully written, beautifully acted. </span></div>
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<b><br /></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>18. Lady Macbeth</b><br /><b>Director:</b> William Oldroyd <b>UK release date:</b> 28 April<br />The title's a warning about what to expect in this merciless Victorian-set drama about a young woman (Florence Pugh) sold to a wealthy landowner as his wife. While he's away, she commences an affair with a stable-hand and, soon emboldened, her thoughts turn to darker matters. A blisteringly bleak meditation on class, race and sex, based on Nikolai Leskov's 1865 novella.</span></div>
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<b><br /></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>17. City Of Ghosts</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Matthew Heineman <b>UK release date:</b> 21 July<br /><i>Cartel Land</i> director Heineman returns with another visceral, eye-opening documentary, this time focusing on citizen journalists in the Syrian city of Raqqa, which was seized by ISIS in 2013. It's horrifying and inspiring by turn, our band of journos risking life and limb (quite literally) to bring the world news from inside the city, as ISIS strengthen their grip on its populace and infrastructure. </span></div>
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<b><br /></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>16. The Villainess</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Byung-gil Jung <b>UK release date:</b> 15 September<br />Cracking revenge thriller from South Korea that doubles as the year's maddest action film. A twisty plot sees assassin Sook-hee (Ok-bin Kim) on the trail of the man who murdered her father, but it's the film's numerous action scenes that remain in the memory, particularly the climactic chase and confrontation on a fast-moving bus. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>15. I Am Not Your Negro</b><br /><b>Director: </b>Raoul Peck <b>UK release date:</b> 7 April<br />Narrated by Samuel L Jackson, Peck's documentary about black novelist, playwright, poet and activist James Baldwin focusses mainly on an unfinished book featuring his memories of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King. "The story of the negro in America is the story of America. It is not a pretty story," writes Baldwin. Peck shows us how and why that story hasn't got any prettier.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>14. The Levelling</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Director:</b> Hope Dickson Leach <b>UK release date:</b> 12 May<br />Compellingly dark British drama about a young woman (Ellie Kendrick) returning to her family's farm following the suicide of her younger brother. Director Leach conjures an atmosphere of dread and claustrophobia in which grief is a palpable ingredient. These are helpless people caught in life's vicious crosshairs. David Troughton – as shattered patriarch Aubrey – is immense.</span></div>
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<b><br /></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>13. A Ghost Story</b><br /><b>Director: </b>David Lowery <b>UK release:</b> 11 August<br />There's rather more to <i>Pete's Dragon</i> director Lowery's film than Rooney Mara's famous pie-eating scene and Casey Affleck dressed in a white sheet. It's actually a powerful, poetic exploration of love, grief and the impermanence of life. We die but the world keeps turning, our loved ones move on, our legacy is small and soon fades. Rarely has so harsh a notion been so elegantly expressed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>12. Mudbound</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Dee Rees <b>UK release date:</b> 17 November<br />A boldly ambitious and all-too-resonant tale of two American families – one white, one black – in the years before, during and after WWII. Despite its large cast and multiple narrators, Rees' film is perfectly paced, with the climactic melodrama and its fallout providing scenes both memorable and horrifying. <i>Breaking Bad</i>'s Jonathan Banks, as racist patriarch Pappy, is the personification of toxic hatred. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>11. On Body And Soul</b><br /><b>Director:</b> IIdiko Enyedi <b>UK release date:</b> 22 September<br />Unconventional love story in which two abattoir workers – Géza Morcsányi and Alexandra Borbély – share dreams of being together in an Eden-like forest as deer, and slowly grow closer in the real world too. You quickly come to care about Enyedi's characters, especially lonely, vulnerable Maria (Borbély), whilst marvelling at the sheer chutzpah of the film's setting and storytelling. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>**Next up: The countdown concludes with #10-1**</u></b></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794490764987409014.post-54952433136890831942018-01-01T03:37:00.000-08:002018-01-01T03:37:51.891-08:00My favourite films of 2017: #30-21<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br />30. Neruda</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Pablo Larrain <b>UK release date:</b> 7 April<br />Off-kilter but visually sumptuous biopic of the famous Chilean poet, Nobel Prize winner and communist. Luis Gnecco's titular lead becomes a fugitive in his own country during the 1940s as he is pursued by Gael García Bernal's disturbed policeman. Larrain (<i>Jackie</i>) takes all sorts of liberties with real events, while his portrayal of Neruda is enjoyably unflattering. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>29. Dunkirk</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Christopher Nolan <b>UK release date:</b> 21 July<br />Nolan expertly utilises three different timelines (a week, a day and an hour) to tell the story of the famous WWII evacuation in an artistically bold and emotionally potent way. Aided and abetted by Hans Zimmer's frantic score, this is immersive, inventive filmmaking to take the breath away. Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh and Mark Rylance supply the actorly gravitas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>28. It Comes At Night</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Trey Edward Shults <b>UK release date:</b> 7 July<br /><i>Krisha</i> director Shults turns up the paranoia to 11 in this post-apocalyptic thriller-cum-horror, grabbing you hard by the lapels in its first few minutes and refusing to let go until its haunting closing shot around an hour and an half later. A great cast - including Joel Edgerton, Carmen Ejogo, and Riley Keough - are the icing on the cake. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>27. Free Fire</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Ben Wheatley <b> UK release date:</b> 31 March<br />It turns out a 90-minute shoot-out in a filthy warehouse between two gangs of inept criminals is a hell of a lot better on the big screen than it sounds on paper. Michael Smiley, Sharlto Copley, Brie Larson, and Armie Hammer are all on top form in a violent and riotously funny piece of work that doesn't owe quite as much to <i>Reservoir Dogs</i> as you'd imagine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>26. Land Of Mine</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Martin Zandvliet <b>UK release date:</b> 4 August<br />Fact-based drama about young German POWS forced to clear thousands of land mines from Danish beaches after WWII. Roland Møller is the sadistic sergeant charged with completing the task - whatever the cost to his prisoners. An under-appreciated gem that powerfully explores notions of human decency and forgiveness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>25. The Age Of Shadows</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Kim Jee-woon <b> UK release date:</b> 24 March<br /><i>I Saw The Devil</i> director Kim's blistering period piece set in Japanese-occupied Korea centres on members of the resistance and a cop (played by Song Kang-ho) with divided loyalties. It's breathless, it's brutal, it's sumptuous to look at - it also happens to be one of the year's richest and most rewarding action films.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>24. Thelma</b><br /><b>Director: </b>Joachim Trier<b> UK release date:</b> 3 November<br />A supernatural "coming out" story with shades of <i>Carrie</i> about a young university student, played by Eili Harboe, with terrifying psychic powers. This is far from a super-powered CG fest, though, as Trier (<i>Louder Than Bombs</i>) focuses as much on Thelma's burgeoning sexuality, and repudiation of her strict religious upbringing, as he does on her abilities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>23. In Between</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Maysaloun Hamoud <b>UK release date:</b> 22 September<br />Hungarian-born Hamoud's directorial debut is a compelling story of three Palestinian women living together in Tel Aviv, and torn between embracing modernity and the more conservative diktats of their families' culture. Mouna Hawa as Leila is a revelation, while the friendships are beautifully explored and believable. The final shot is perfect.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>22. Silence</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Martin Scorsese <b>UK release date:</b> 1 January<br />Based on Shûsaku Endô's novel, <i>Silence</i> sees two Catholic missionaries (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) searching for their lost mentor (Liam Neeson) in 17th Century Japan, at a time of great religious persecution. Bloated, self-important and old-fashioned? Maybe, but nobody does heavyweight epic with quite as much pizzazz as the <i>Goodfellas</i> director.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>21. La La Land</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Damien Chazelle <b>UK release date:</b> 13 January<br />Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone can't sing or dance like Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds, but this musical love letter to old Hollywood, romance and jazz is utterly charming. The song and dance numbers are mostly terrific (especially the opener, <i>Another Day Of Sun</i>), and Chazelle serves up a bravura ending a million miles from the schmaltz-fest I was expecting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>**Up next: #20-11**</u></b></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794490764987409014.post-17168971820047872652017-12-31T02:10:00.000-08:002017-12-31T02:10:22.774-08:00My favourite films of 2017: #40-31<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Will Poulter played a racist cop in Kathryn Bigelow's Detroit</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Living in the UK and coming up with a favourite movies of the year list is always tricky because our theatrical release schedule is slightly out of sync with that of a great many other countries, especially the USA. This means the likes of <i>Moonlight</i>, <i>La La Land</i>, and <i>Manchester By The Sea</i> were all last year's films in other territories, but were not released in the UK until 2017. I realise including them here may seem odd to some, not to mention a little behind the curve, but sometimes you have to play the hand you're dealt. The vagaries of UK release schedules also mean I won't be including the likes of <i>The Shape Of Water</i>, <i>Downsizing</i>, or <i>BPM (Beats Per Minute)</i> here because, even though I've seen them, they aren't opening in this country until 2018. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Although none of them made the final 40, in a slight change to previous years, new films released on Netflix and Amazon Prime, as well as those that went straight to Blu-ray or DVD, were also eligible for inclusion here. <br /><br />I've seen a bum-numbing 238 new films over the last 12 months - everything from <i>Blade Runner 2049</i> on a massive IMAX screen on Leicester Square to a little-known French oddity like <i>Ava</i>, hidden away on streaming service MUBI. Of all those films, these are the ones that emerged as my favourites, movies I suspect will stay with me for many years to come. The top 10 is ridiculously strong this year with any one of the top five or six titles good enough to have been my #1...</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br />40. Colossal </b><br /><b>Director:</b> Nacho Vigalondo <b>UK release date:</b> 19 May<br />Alcoholic Gloria (Anne Hathaway) realises she is psychically linked to a monster rampaging through South Korea in this odd and highly original indie flick. Cut through the Kaiju hijinks, though, and Vigalondo's film is really about the affect self-destructive behaviour can have on those around you. Jason Sudeikis provides the toxic masculinity to give things an extra kick.</span></div>
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<b><br /></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>39. My Life As A Courgette</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Claude Barras <b>UK release date:</b> 2 June<br />Beautifully-realised animation from France about a young boy - the titular Courgette - sent to a children's home after the death of his alcoholic mother. Barras's film (with a screenplay by <i>Girlhood</i>'s Céline Schiamma) handles some incredibly heavy issues with sensitivity, warmth and winning humour. Lovely.</span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>38. Frantz</b><br /><b>Director:</b> <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">François</span></span> Ozon <b>UK release date:</b> 12 May<br />Haunting post-WWI drama from prolific French director Ozon (<i>The New Girlfriend</i>). A young German woman (Paula Beer), still in mourning for her dead fiancé, meets a mysterious Frenchman (Adrien Rivoire) at his grave. He has a devastating secret and the way Ozon handles that revelation and its consequences is never less than utterly compelling. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>Directors:</b> Jon Nguyen, Rick Barfnes, & Olivia Neergaard-Holm <b>UK release date:</b> 14 July</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The extraordinary return of <i>Twin Peaks</i> may have grabbed most of the Lynch-related headlines in 2017, but this intimate documentary goes right back to the start, providing as it does a unique window into the director's family history and the evolution of his relationship with the visual arts (painting and installation as well as film). Fascinating and illuminating.</span></span><b></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>36. The Death Of Stalin</b><br /><b>Director: </b>Armando Iannucci <b>UK release date:</b> 20 October<br />Foul-mouthed humour and the horror of Stalinist Russia make oddly agreeable bedfellows in Iannucci's follow-up to <i>In The Loop</i>. When the Russian dictator pops his clogs, his fractious band of lieutenants, including Steve Buscemi's Nikita Khrushchev and Jeffrey Tambor's Georgy Malenkov, scheme to replace him as supreme leader. Bleak but bloody funny.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>35. Beach Rats</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Director:</b> Eliza Hittman <b>UK release date:</b> 24 November<br />In what will surely be a star-making role, Brit Harris Dickinson plays Frankie, a troubled Brooklyn teen experimenting with drugs and hooking up with older men on the Net, as he struggles to come to terms with his sexuality. Hittman's film has similarities with <i>Moonlight</i> in its frank exploration of masculinity, but is absorbing enough to succeed on its own terms.</span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>34. Suntan</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Argyris Papadimitropoulos <b>UK release date:</b> 28 April<br />Unsettling drama about an emotionally disturbed doctor (the excellent Makis Papadimitriou) on a small Greek island falling in love with a beautiful young tourist initially happy to play along with his obsession. An odd but satisfying mix of pitch-black humour with deluded middle-aged men in its sights, and sheer, unadulterated creepiness. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>33. Happy End</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Michael Haneke <b> UK release date:</b> 1 December<br />If the humour here were any blacker, they'd send miners underground to dig it up to burn as fuel. This time the German filmmaker focuses on the innumerable travails of the Calais-based Laurent family, a fractious, bourgeois bunch whose self-inflicted woes he picks apart with forensic glee. Veteran Jean-Louis Trintignant is superb as the suicidal patriarch. </span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>32. Detroit</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Director:</b> Kathryn Bigelow <b>UK release date:</b> 25 August<br />Set amidst the chaos of 1967's Detroit riots, Bigelow's <a href="http://www.4columns.org/clark-ashley/detroit">problematic</a> but pulsating drama concentrates on a notorious incident in which racist police officers terrorised guests at a motel, after reports of gunfire on the premises. John Boyega and Will Poulter are both superb but the film belongs to Algee Smith's affecting turn as R&B singer Larry Reed.</span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>31. Prevenge</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Alice Lowe <b>UK release date:</b> 10 February<br />Director/writer/star Lowe makes the tricky art of comedy-horror look easy in her filmmaking debut, famously shot when she was seven months' pregnant. She plays Ruth, newly widowed and bearing a child that exhorts her to take bloody revenge on those responsible for her partner's death. As funny as it is joyously grisly. </span></div>
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<br /><b><u>**Up next: #30-21**</u></b></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794490764987409014.post-5795109994269935132017-12-29T03:37:00.001-08:002017-12-30T04:49:25.578-08:00Review of 2017: The third annual 'Resties'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Death Of Stalin is my favourite comedy of the year</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The <i>As Human As The Rest Of Us</i> film blog is three years old this week, and it's therefore time to dish out some awards in 2017's annual 'Resties', which reflect my favourite and least favourite movie moments from the past 12 months. Please note: Only films released in the UK - on any format - between January 1 and December 31 were eligible for inclusion. In other words, there's no point looking for <i>The Shape Of Water</i>, <i>Three Billboards</i> or <i>The Post </i>because they haven't opened here yet...</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><b><u><br /></u></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>THE OSCARY BIT</u></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u></u></b></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>BEST ACTING PERFORMANCE (FEMALE):</b> Isabelle Huppert (<i>Elle</i>) <b>Honourable mentions: </b>Kristin Stewart (<i>Personal Shopper</i> and <i>Certain Women</i>), Alexandra Borbély (<i>On Body And Soul</i>), Jessica Chastain (<i>Miss Sloane</i>), Lily Gladstone (<i>Certain Women</i>), Sandra Hüller (<i>Toni Erdmann</i>), Jennifer Lawrence (<i>mother!</i>), Bria Vinaite (<i>The Florida Project</i>)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>BEST ACTING PERFORMANCE (MALE):</b> Casey Affleck (<i>Manchester By The Sea</i>) <b>Honourable mentions:</b> Willem Dafoe (<i>The Florida Project</i>), Jason Mitchell (<i>Mudbound</i>), Jonathan Banks (<i>Mudbound</i>), Harris Dickinson (<i>Beach Rats</i>), Adam Sandler (<i>The Meyerowitz Stories (New And Selected)</i>), Robert Pattinson (<i>Good Time</i>)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><b>ACTOR WHO WON'T GET AN OSCAR NOMINATION BUT SHOULD (FEMALE):</b> Kristin Stewart (<i>Personal Shopper</i>)<br /><br /><b> ACTOR WHO WON'T GET AN OSCAR NOMINATION BUT SHOULD (MALE):</b> Robert Pattinson (<i>Good Time</i>)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>BEST CHILD ACTOR:</b> Brooklynn Prince (<i>The Florida Project</i>) <b>Honourable mentions: </b>Maggie Mulubwa (<i>I Am Not A Witch</i>), McKenna Grace (<i>Gifted</i>), Alex Hibbert (<i>Moonlight</i>)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>BEST DIRECTOR:</b> Park Chan-wook (<i>The Handmaiden</i>) <b>Honourable mentions:</b> Martin Scorsese (<i>Silence</i>), Paul Verhoeven (<i>Elle</i>), Barry Jenkins (<i>Moonlight</i>), Kelly Reichardt (<i>Certain Women</i>), Olivier Assayas (<i>Personal Shopper</i>), Dee Rees (<i>Mudbound</i>), Jordan Peele (<i>Get Out</i>)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Park Chan-wook's The Handmaiden is a sensual delight, packed full of twists</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:</b> <i>Blade Runner 2049</i> might have been a total snorefest but Roger Deakins' camerawork is, as ever, second to none <b>Honourable mentions:</b> <i>Dunkirk</i> (Hoyte Van Hoytema), <i>The Florida Project</i> (Alexis Zabe), <i>Call Me By Your Name</i> (Sayombhu Mukdeeprom), <i>The Handmaiden</i> (Chung Chung-hoon), </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>mother!</i> (Matthew Libatique)</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>BEST SCREENPLAY:</b> <i>Get Out</i> <b>Honourable mentions:</b> <i>The Death Of Stalin</i>, <i>Manchester By The Sea</i>, <i>Elle</i>, <i>mother!</i>, <i>The Big Sick</i><br /><br /><b>BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:</b> <i>Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets</i> <b>Honourable mentions:</b> <i>Blade Runner 2049</i>,<i> War For The Planet Of The Apes</i>, <i>Kong: Skull Island</i>, <i>Star Wars: The Last Jedi</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>BEST SCORE:</b> <i>Félicité</i> <b>Honourable mentions:</b> <i>Blade Runner 2049</i>, <i>Prevenge</i>, <i>Dunkirk</i>, <i>Baby Driver</i>, <i>Good Time</i>,<i> The Bad Batch</i>,<i> War For The Planet Of The Apes</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><br /><b>BEST TRAILER:</b> <i>Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets</i> <b>Honourable mentions: </b><i>Dunkirk</i>, <i>Logan</i>, <i>Thor: Ragnarok</i>,<i> The Death Of Stalin</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>BEST SCREEN VILLAIN:</b> Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) in <i>Star Wars: The Last Jedi</i> <b>Honourable mentions:</b> Jennifer (Jennifer Fraser) in <i>Capture Kill Release</i>, The Armitage Family (Bradley Whitford et al) in <i>Get Out</i>, Count Fujiwara (Jung-woo Ha) in <i>The Handmaiden</i>, Lavrentiy Beria (Simon Russell Beale) in <i>The Death Of Stalin</i> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>WORST SCREEN VILLAIN: </b>It's a tie between Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds) in <i>Justice League</i> and Niander Wallace (Jared Leto) in <i>Blade Runner 2049</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>BEST BRITISH FILM:</b> <i>I Am Not A Witch</i> <b>Honourable mentions:</b> <i>God's Own Country</i>, <i>The Levelling</i>, <i>Lady Macbeth</i>, <i>Prevenge</i><br /><b><br /> BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:</b> <i>Elle</i> <b>Honourable mentions:</b> <i>Raw</i>, <i>The Villainess</i>, <i>On Body And Soul</i>, <i>In Between</i><br /><br /><b>BEST BLOCKBUSTER:</b> <i>War For The Planet Of The Apes</i> <b>Honourable mentions:</b> <i>Kong: Skull Island</i>, <i>Star Wars: The Last Jedi</i>, <i>Thor: Ragnarok</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>BEST ANIMATION:</b> <i>My Life As A Courgette</i> <b>Honourable mentions:</b> <i>The Red Turtle</i>, <i>The Lego Batman Movie,</i> <i>Your Name</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">My Life As A Courgette shone brightest in a strong year for animation</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>BEST DOCUMENTARY:</b> <i>I Am Not Your Negro</i> <b>Honourable mentions:</b> <i>City Of Ghosts</i>, <i>Strong Island</i>, <i>I Called Him Morgan</i>, <i>The Work</i>,<i> David Lynch: The Art Life</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>BEST HORROR:</b> <i>Get Out</i> <b>Honourable mentions:</b> <i>You Better Watch Out</i>, <i>The Autopsy Of Jane Doe</i>, <i>It Comes At Night</i>, <i>Hounds Of Love</i>, <i>Capture Kill Release</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>BEST COMEDY:</b> <i>The Death Of Stalin</i> <b>Honourable mentions:</b> <i>Prevenge</i>, <i>The Meyerowitz Stories (New And Selected)</i>, <i>The Disaster Artist</i>, <i>Mindhorn</i>,<i> Paddington 2</i>,<i> </i><i>The Big Sick</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>BEST DVD/BLU-RAY:</b> Cult Films' swanky new 40th anniversary, 4k restoration of Dario Argento's horror classic <i>Suspiria</i> <b>Honourable mentions:</b> <i>The Lure</i> (Criterion), <i>The Thing</i> (Arrow), <i>The Louis Malle Collection</i> (Curzon Artificial Eye)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>HIDDEN GEM OF THE YEAR:</b> Maysaloun Hamoud's <i>In Between</i> <b>Honourable mentions: </b><i>Land Of Mine</i>, <i>Tramps</i>, <i>The Age Of Shadows</i>, <i>On Body And Soul</i><br /><br /><b> TIP FOR THE TOP (FEMALE):</b> Julia Ducournau (writer/director, <i>Raw</i>) <b>Honourable mentions: </b>Samara Weaving (actress, <i>The Babysitter</i>), Florence Pugh (actress, <i>Lady Macbeth</i>), Rungano Nyoni (writer/director, <i>I Am Not A Witch</i>), Grace Van Patten (actor, <i>Tramps</i>,<i> The Meyerowitz Stories (New And Selected)</i>), Anna Asensio (actor/writer/director, <i>Most Beautiful Island</i>)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>TIP FOR THE TOP (MALE):</b> Harris Dickinson (actor, <i>Beach Rats</i>) <b>Honourable mentions:</b> Josh O'Connor (actor, <i>God's Own Country</i>),<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="color: black;"> Francis Lee (writer/director, <i>God's Own Country</i>)</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, Algee Smith (actor, <i>Detroit</i>), Trevante Rhodes (actor, <i>Moonlight</i>), </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Barry Keoghan (<i>Dunkirk</i>, <i>The Killing Of A Sacred Deer</i>)</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="color: black;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Dario Argento's Suspiria: Still crazy after all these years</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><b>BEST FILM CRITIC:</b> <span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Whether writing in <i>The Daily Telegraph</i> or sitting in for Mark Kermode on the radio, <b>Robbie Collin</b> has been an essential read/listen this year </span><b>Honourable mentions:</b> <span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Wendy Ide, Nick Pinkerton, Ashley Clark</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><b>WORST FILM CRITIC:</b> <b>Camilla Long</b>'s liberal-baiting review of <i>Moonlight</i> in the <i>Sunday Times</i> was lazy and ill-informed. Dissenting voices are essential in film criticism but cynical controversialists should be given short shrift</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><b>BEST FILM PODCAST: </b>A lot of movie podcasts are little more than low-grade radio shows or feature obnoxious nerds yelling at each other about Zack Snyder. <b></b>The<b> </b><i>Film Comment </i>pod, on the other hand, always comes across like a group of friends continuing a lively conversation from the pub or restaurant. Its contributors are not only knowledgeable - my personal dream team consists of host Violet Lucca, Ashley Clarke, Nick Pinkerton, and Eliza Ma - but frequently witty and laugh-out-loud funny too.<i> </i>Their discussion of Terrence Mallick back in April was the best pod episode I heard all year<i>. </i><b>Honourable mention:</b> <i>Truth & Movies: A Little White Lies Podcast</i></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>BEST STREAMING SERVICE:</b> I've discovered so many films, actors and directors new to me through <b>MUBI</b> this year I've lost count</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><b>BEST ONLINE CONTENT:</b> <i>Kermode Uncut</i> <span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><b>Honourable mention: </b><i>Honest Trailers</i></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><b>BEST TV:</b> <i>Twin Peaks: The Return</i> was, simply put, the most extraordinary television event of my lifetime <b>Honourable mentions: </b><i>The Handmaid's Tale</i>, <i>Big Little Lies</i>, <i>Mindhunter</i></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><b>MOST AMUSING COCK-UP:</b> It's impossible to look any further than that extraordinary <i>La La Land-</i><i>Moonlight</i> Oscars faux pas. </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And the winner is... total chaos and embarrassment for the Academy</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><b>MOST VERY ANNOYING THING #1:</b> Trailers giving away plot twists are the bane of the modern film industry. <i>Kingsman: The Golden Circle</i> was rubbish but I might have enjoyed it more had its trailer not contained a massive spoiler.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><b>MOST VERY ANNOYING THING #2: </b>Trailers that bear little resemblance to the film. George Clooney's <i>Suburbicon</i> sold itself as a crazy black comedy very much in the vein of the Coen Brothers script it started life as. Funny how its trailer neglected to mention that half the film was taken up with a bleak drama focused on racism.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>MOST VERY ANNOYING THING #3:</b> </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Fan "theories". Andy from <i>Toy Story</i> grows up to be The Joker... Travis Bickle's cat is Scrappy Doo in disguise... I live in my mum's basement and my life is an empty, sucking void...</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><b>MOST HORRIFYING FANDOM #1:</b> <i>Thor: Ragnarok</i> was enormous fun. Rather less jolly, though, were the Marvel fanboys abusing journalists who'd given Taika Waititi's film negative reviews, thus dragging its Rotten Tomatoes score down to - gasp! - a humbling 92 per cent. It seems it's no longer enough for some people that nerd-centric films clean up at the box office and are garlanded in mostly positive reviews. You <i>have</i> to like them now... or else.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="color: black;"><b>MOST HORRIFYING FANDOM #2: </b>Those<b> </b><i>Star Wars</i> fans who created a petition to have Rian Johnson's thoroughly enjoyable <i>The Last Jedi</i> expunged from the long-running space opera's canon. Twits.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Thor: Ragnarok: Nice film... shame about some of its fans</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><b>FILM I LIKED BUT EVERYONE ELSE HATED #1:</b> Ben Affleck's overlong but absorbing crime epic <i>Live By Night</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>FILM I LIKED BUT EVERYONE ELSE HATED #2:</b> <i>Ghost In The Shell</i> was flawed on so many levels I lost count... BUT when it was good it was, well, not bad actually</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>FILM I LIKED BUT EVERYONE ELSE HATED #3:</b> Denise Di Novi brought back the much-maligned <span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">'</span>80s "bunny-boiler" sub-genre with a vengeance in <i>Unforgettable</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>MOST OVERRATED FILM:</b> I liked Luca Guadagnino's long, slow and luscious <i>Call Me By Your Name</i>, but remain baffled why so many have hailed it a masterpiece. It was even #1 in The Guardian's Best of 2017 top 50 list</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE:</b> <i>Gifted</i> <b>Honourable mentions:</b> <i>The Great Wall</i>, <i>Star Wars: The Last Jedi</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>MOST FRUSTRATING FILM:</b> Maren Ade's German black comedy <i>Toni Erdmann</i> boasts great performances and some terrific scenes, but could comfortably lose half-an-hour from its flabby middle section</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><b>I'M NOT CRYING, YOU'RE CRYING... OF THE YEAR:</b> In <i>Manchester By The Sea</i>, Randi (Michelle Williams) and Lee (Casey Affleck) bump into each other in the street and engage in what is perhaps the most genuinely upsetting on-screen conversation I've ever seen. Makes me sob like a baby every single time. I only have to see a bit of it in the trailer and I tear up. <b>Honourable mention:</b> The finale of <i>Lion</i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The crying game: Manchester By The Sea's most heartbreaking moment</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><b>QUOTE OF THE YEAR #1:</b> "If I could, I would have voted for Obama for a third term." - <i>Get Out</i>'s Dean Armitage (Bradley Whitford)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><b>QUOTE OF THE YEAR #2:</b> "I’m the peacemaker and I’ll fuck over anyone who gets in my way." - <span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>The Death Of Stalin</i>'s Nikita Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi)</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><b>QUOTE OF THE YEAR #3: </b>"<span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arimo" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida" , sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I went to fight for my country to come back and find it hadn’t changed a bit." - <i>Mudbound</i>'s <span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial";">Ronsel Jackson (Jason Mitchell)</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="color: black;"><b>QUOTE OF THE YEAR #4:</b> "I'm not a feminist or I wouldn't tolerate guys like you." - <i>Toni Erdmann</i>'s Ines (<span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Sandra Hüller</span>)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>QUOTE OF THE YEAR #5:</b> "I don't hang with the Avengers any more. It all got too corporate." - <i>Thor: Ragnarok</i>'s Thor (Chris Hemsworth) </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>QUOTE OF THE YEAR #6:</b> "I should fuckin' burn in hell for what I said to you." - <i>Manchester By The Sea</i>'s Randi (Michelle Williams)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>BEST SCENE OF THE YEAR:</b> The 'finger eating' bit in <i>Raw</i> <b>Honourable mentions:</b> Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) visits The Sunken Place in <i>Get Out</i>; The extended action/fight sequence in <i>Atomic Blonde</i>; The brutal car/bus battle in <i>The Villainess</i>; <i>That</i> baby scene from Darren Aronofsky's <i>mother!</i>; Michèle (Isabelle Huppert) makes a startling revelation over dinner in <i>Elle</i>; Ines (Sandra Hüller) belts out <i>The Greatest Love Of All</i> in <i>Toni Erdmann</i>; Randi (Michelle Williams) and Lee's (Casey Affleck) heart-shattering conversation in <i>Manchester By The Sea</i> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Finger-lickin' good: Garance Marillier develops a taste for human flesh in Raw</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><b> WORST SCENE OF THE YEAR:</b> Niander Wallace (Jared Wallace) murders a naked female replicant in <i>Blade Runner 2049</i> <b>Dishonourable mention:</b> Volmer (Jason Isaacs) sexually assaults Hannah (Mia Goth) in <i>A Cure For Wellness</i>... then sniffs his fingers. Horrible.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>MOST INSUFFERABLY OVER-THE-TOP PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR #1:</b> Matthew McConaughey has more ham than a pig farm in <i>Gold</i><br /><br /><b>MOST INSUFFERABLY OVER-THE-TOP PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR #2:</b> Juliette Binoche gurns her way through the wretchedly unfunny <i>Slack Bay</i><br /><br /><b>MOST ENJOYABLY OVER-THE-TOP PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR #1:</b> Hugh Grant steals the show in <i>Paddington 2</i> as a villainous thesp</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>MOST ENJOYABLY OVER-THE-TOP PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR #2:</b> Katherine Heigl turns it up to 11 in the ridiculously entertaining <i>Unforgettable</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="color: black;"><b>BEST PLOT TWIST: </b><i>The Villainess</i><b> Honourable mentions: </b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Atomic Blonde,</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="color: black;"><i> The Limehouse Golem</i>,<i> The Handmaiden</i>,<i> Get Out</i>,<i> The Babysitter</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="color: black;"><b>BEST ON-SCREEN COUPLE:</b> Johnny (Josh O'Connor) and Gheorghe (Alec Secareanu) in <i>God's Own Country</i> <b>Honourable mentions:</b> Danny (Callum Turner) and Ellie (Grace Van Patten) in <i>Tramps</i>, Cyd (Jessie Pinnick) and Katie (Malic White) in <i>Princess Cyd</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><b>MOST PUNCHABLE CHARACTER:</b> Alex Sharp's insufferable Luke in <i>To The Bone</i> <b>Dishonourable mention</b>: Jake Gyllenhaal's celebrity wildlife wrangler in <i>Okja</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>BEST PUNCH-UP:</b> Sook-hee's (Ok-bin Kim) final showdown in <i>The Villainess</i> (I won't mention with who as it involves a huge spoiler) <b>Honourable mentions:</b> Sandra Oh and Anne Heche pound the snot out of each other in <i>Catfight</i>; Bradley (Vince Vaughn) finally gets his hands on the men threatening his wife and unborn child in <i>Brawl In Cell Block 99</i>; Thor and Hulk get gladiatorial in <i>Thor: Ragnarok</i> ("He's a friend from work!")</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><b>BEST SEQUEL OR PREQUEL: </b><i>T2 Trainspotting</i> <b>Honourable mentions:</b> <i>War For The Planet Of The Apes</i>, <i>Star Wars: The Last Jedi</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><b>WORST SEQUEL OR PREQUEL:</b> <i>Kingsman: The Golden Circle</i> <b>Dishonourable mentions: </b><i>Alien: Covenant</i>, <i>Blade Runner 2049</i></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: x-small;">Kingsman: The Golden Circle proved to be a disappointing sequel</span></i></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><b>ACTORS MOST IN NEED OF BETTER ROLES:</b><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span class="itemprop" itemprop="name" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Adam Scott (<i>Little Evil</i>), Mark Strong (<i>Kingsman: The Golden Circle</i>)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>CATCHPHRASE OF THE YEAR: </b>"<span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Here we are again!" (<i>The Limehouse Golem</i>)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>INSULT OF THE YEAR:</b> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Jesus Christ, did Coco Chanel take a shit on your head?" - </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"> Georgy Zhukov (Jason Isaacs) isn't impressed with Georgy Malenkov's (Jeffrey Tambor) new haircut in <i>The Death Of Stalin</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><b>GAFFE OF THE YEAR:</b><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> Bringing in Joss Whedon to finish Zack Snyder's <i>Justice League</i>, resulting in an uneven shambles that somehow failed to play to the strengths of either filmmaker</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><b style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">ON SECOND THOUGHTS... OF THE YEAR: </b><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Casting Kevin Spacey in your movie. Too late for Edgar Wright's <i>Baby Driver</i>, but Ridley Scott digitally replaced the disgraced actor with Christopher Plummer in scenes for <i>All The Money In The World</i> (out in the UK next week)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="color: black;"><b>LAST AND DEFINITELY LEAST... MOST APPALLING INDUSTRY VILLAIN IN THIS OR ANY YEAR:</b> Harvey Weinstein</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>*Up next: My favourite films of 2017 #30-21*</u></b></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794490764987409014.post-45878104029139028222017-12-25T03:52:00.000-08:002017-12-25T03:52:42.003-08:00The bad batch: My least favourite films of 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Thumb's up? Nope, it's a definite thumb's down for Assassin's Creed</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I wasn't going to bother with a "worst of the year" list this time, as I'd somehow avoided seeing most of those films already widely acknowledged to be 2017's most rotten. I'd avoided <i>The Book Of Henry</i>, gave <i>The Emoji Movie</i> a swerve, and paid no attention whatsoever to the likes of <i>Baywatch</i> and <i>Transformers: The Last Knight</i>. Having given it a bit of thought, though, it turned out there were still a great many absolute stinkers worth naming and shaming. A surprising number of them were 'Netflix Originals' and, oddly, some starred actors of whom I am very fond (including Juliette Binoche, Marion Cotillard, and Javier Bardem). Only films released in the UK on any format between January 1 and December 31 2017 qualified for inclusion...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>10. Assassin's Creed</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Director: </b>Justin Kurzel<b> UK release date: </b>January 1</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Despite starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, and boasting a budget of some $125million, the <i>Macbeth</i> director's video game adaptation is a howling mess. The storyline is confused and confusing, and there is so much exposition you could stick a flag in it and declare it an independent nation. It's all topped off with iffy CG and a grungy colour palette that goes all the way from turd-brown to corpse-grey. See my full review <a href="http://ashumanastherestofus.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/review-i-tried-to-find-good-in.html">here</a>.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>9. To The Bone</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Director: </b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Marti Noxon</span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> UK release date: </b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">July 14</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Soppy and unconvincing drama about anorexia, written and directed by <i>Buffy The Vampire Slayer</i> alum Noxon. Lily Collins is Ellen, a young woman battling the disease, who seeks treatment under Keanu Reeves' unconventional doctor at a live-in rehab clinic. Alex Sharp's Luke – a weird and wacky Brit – is so annoying you wish the reassuringly wooden Reeves would turn into John Wick and put a bullet between his eyes. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>8.</b> <b>Naked</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Director: </b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Michael Tiddes</span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> UK release date: </b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">August 11</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Shameless rip-off of <i>Groundhog Day</i> that steals everything from Harold Ramis's 1993 comedy classic, apart from its great jokes and infinite charm. This 'Netflix Original', directed by <i>Fifty Shades Of Black</i>'s Tiddes, sees Marlon Wayans cursed to relive the hour before his wedding over and over again, until he shapes up and gives his wife-to-be (Regina Hall) the ceremony and husband she deserves. Insufferably predictable and laughter free.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Bare-faced cheek: Naked rips off Groundhog Day... it doesn't go well</span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>7. Death Note</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Adam Wingard <b>UK release date:</b> August 25</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Po-faced live-action Netflix adaptation of the Japanese manga that fails to make good use of its USP – namely, Ryuk, an eight-foot tall demonic death god, voiced here by Willem Dafoe. The CG creature turns up quite a bit at the start, then only appears intermittently for the rest of the film, actually doing very little. If you have a massive demon as your film's visual centrepiece, might it not have been an idea to keep him gainfully employed? <br /><br /><b>6. From The Land Of The Moon</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Nicole Garcia <b>UK release date:</b> June 9<br />The year's worst plot twist goes to this dreary romantic melodrama. In 1950s France, Marion Cotillard's Gabrielle is stuck in a loveless marriage but falls in love with another man when, ill, she is sent away to a clinic in the Alps for treatment. It isn't predictable but only because the twist is so ludicrous (not to mention unoriginal) you spend the film's final moments trying to decide whether to laugh or throw things at the screen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>5. Slack Bay</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Director:</b> Bruno Dumont <b>UK release date:</b> June 16<br />Obnoxious French black comedy from director Dumont. Set in 1910, it sees an affluent family arrive at their lavish holiday home for the summer, only to find themselves embroiled in a police investigation into a series of mysterious disappearances. People fall over a lot, the two lead cops look like Laurel and Hardy for some reason, and there's even a family of cannibals. A masterclass in overacting, especially from Juliette Binoche in a career low. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Kiss of death: Slack Bay does little for Anglo-French relations</span></div>
<br /><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>4.</b> <b>The Circle</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Director: </b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">James Ponsoldt</span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> UK release date: </b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">June 30</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Leaden Emma Watson lands her dream job at the titular Facebook-style company in Silicon Valley, but quickly finds her life subsumed into its corporate strictures and demands. Shockingly, it turns out these tech companies are robbing us all of our privacy and identity, something I'd certainly never considered before (sarcasm). In fact, Ponsoldt's film is so bad not even Tom Hanks, as a creepy Steve Jobs-esque CEO, can save it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>3. Little Evil</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Director: </b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Eli Craig</span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> UK release date: </b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">September 1</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Adam Scott marries Evangeline Lilly's single mum and becomes convinced her six-year-old son is the Antichrist in this supposed comedy/horror from Netflix. The idea to use the set-up of <i>The Omen</i> as a way into exploring the difficulties of being a step-parent is a solid one, but writer/director Craig fails to take it anywhere remotely interesting. </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The jokes aren't funny, the horror isn't scary, and the "power of love" ending made me want to sacrifice a virgin.</span></span></span><b></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>2.</b> <b>The Last Face</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Director: </b>Sean Penn<b> UK release date: </b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">May 12</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This well-intentioned clunker sees Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem's crusading doctors conducting a fraught romance amidst the mayhem of Liberia's second civil war in 2003. It's horribly clumsy and cloyingly earnest, with none of its black African characters granted any agency whatsoever. They are little more than extras in what should, after all, be their story. Worst of all, though, is its dialogue – "she's leaking urine, but she's dancing" being perhaps the most ill-advised line in any film I've seen all year. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1. Tomboy</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Director: </b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Walter Hill</span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> UK release date: </b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">March 13</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In his heyday, veteran Hill directed the likes of <i>The Driver</i>, <i>48 Hours</i> and <i>The Warriors</i>. This monstrosity, however, is such a fall from grace it seems likely he made it for a bet (i.e. "I bet you can't make one of the worst movies of all time"). Michelle Rodriguez is Frank Kitchen, a macho hitman transitioned into a woman against his will in an act of revenge by Sigourney Weaver's mad scientist. The premise is beyond stupid and the film lives down to it at every available opportunity. A turgid, misogynistic, transphobic shambles. Read my full review <a href="http://ashumanastherestofus.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/michelle-rodriguez-gives-it-her-best.html">here</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Just shoot me! Tomboy is the worst film I've seen all year</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Coming next: The third annual 'Resties'. Watch this space...</b></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794490764987409014.post-8853350065390263992017-11-30T02:55:00.000-08:002017-11-30T02:55:58.604-08:00Justice League might have been a lot better without the reshoots and revisions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Major League: DC's superheroes unite to take on a new cosmic threat</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Justice League (2017)</b><br /><b>Director:</b> Zack Snyder<br /><b>Starring:</b> Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Henry Cavill<br /><b>Running time:</b> 2hrs</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's a scene early on in <i>Justice League</i> which came close to convincing me the omens of doom and gloom that had surrounded the picture might, after all, turn out to be about as accurate as a newspaper horoscope. <br /><br />Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds), the movie's bad guy, had just crashed in on the Amazons of Themyscira (Wonder Women's place of birth) and tried to steal a super-powerful device called a "Mother Box". The Amazons swiftly absconded with the McGuffin as the cosmic villain gave furious chase, the fast-moving sequence soon turning into something approximating a super-powered game of rugby, as the women, some on horseback, switched the box from one to the other, Steppenwolf gaining all the time. It's actually quite thrilling, but over too soon and, ultimately, a false dawn, as nothing else in this latest superhero slugfest comes anywhere near matching it.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />In fact, the plot is so thin for the fifth movie in DC's embattled Extended Universe, it could have a successful career on the catwalk. After Superman (Henry Cavill) died at the end of <i>Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice</i>, Earth is suddenly vulnerable to attack from all manner of cosmic ne'er-do-well. One of these, the aforementioned Steppenwolf, wants to unite three Mother Boxes which will give him immense power to conquer planets, subjugate peoples and presumably jump the queue at Legoland. Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) put together a team to combat the threat, which includes king of the oceans Aquaman (Jason Momoa), super-speedster The Flash (Ezra Miller), and half-man/half-robot Cyborg (Ray Fisher), but it seems they might have to find a way of bringing back a certain fallen comrade to stand a chance of victory in the coming conflagration.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As we know, director Zack Snyder had to leave the project unfinished after suffering a personal tragedy, with <i>The Avengers</i>' Joss Whedon drafted in to handle the post-production and a number of reshoots deemed necessary to lighten the mood of the film. Despite taking $873million at the worldwide box-office and making a perfectly reputable profit of over $100m, apparently Snyder's dark vision for <i>Dawn Of Justice</i> scared the horses (snooty critics, internet big mouths) too much, and what Warner Bros now wanted instead was something a little more quippy, a bit more "Avengersy". So they've got Whedon to add a few scenes of light-hearted bantz here and there, like one where Aquaman pours out his heart to the rest of the group, only to discover he's been sitting on Wonder Woman's "lasso of truth" all along. Oh, my sides!</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The film's problems run deeper than an uneven tone and some weak gags though. The villain Steppenwolf is, for want of a better word, rubbish. An entirely CG creation, he's just another dull, all-powerful rotter who spews </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">clichéd</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> dialogue about conquering and destroying. On the best day of his life, he's a villain of the week on <i>Supergirl</i>, a Poundland version of Wonder Woman bad-guy Ares. Jesse Eisenberg's annoying but at least intriguing Lex Luthor was deemed beyond the pale for this <i>Dawn Of Justice</i> sequel, but what he's been replaced with is a lot worse – Steppenwolf is bland, even with an army of weird insect people (Parademons) to command. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Joss-tice League: Whedon plus Snyder is not a good fit</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And say what you like about <i>BVS</i> but at least it felt big, bold and epic. Yes, it was all over the place and absurd at times. But its free-wheeling messiness, and throw-enough-mud-at-the-wall philosophy, just added to its appeal. Here, everything is very linear, straightforward, and settled inside two hours, with a certain clarity but little to no vision. Instead of a $200m blockbuster, it felt for all the world like an episode of <i>Green Arrow</i> or <i>Legends Of Tomorrow</i> – its startlingly so-so CG effects were certainly of a similar quality.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't understand Warner Bros' insistence on a 120-minute running time either (although Snyder's intended 2hr 50 magnum opus would have been taking the piss). Has there been some internet clamour I'm not aware of to make blockbusters shorter? If so, no one has been listening – <i>Wonder Woman</i> comes in at 2hr 21, <i>Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.2</i> at 2hr 16, <i>Thor: Ragnarok</i> at 2hr 10, and <i>Logan</i> at 2hr 17. If you have more story to tell – and <i>Justice League</i> clearly did – what's the problem with a few extra minutes, especially when this film's intended audience is well used to binge-watching entire series on Netflix in one or two sittings?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More positively, Affleck continues to grow into his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman (his gruff Bat-voice isn't half as silly as Christian Bale's for a start) and Gadot remains perfectly cast as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman. There are some nice bits with Superman Cavill, too, as we finally see him channelling Christopher Reeve's note-perfect take on the character. Meanwhile, Ezra Miller's Barry Allen/The Flash, a super-fast Sheldon Cooper, is easily the pick of the newcomers. Apart from looking butch, Momoa's Arthur Curry/Aquaman doesn't have much to do, although he's more interesting than brooding bore Victor Stone/Cyborg (Ray Fisher). It's right and proper there's an African-American character on the team, but DC comics are full of so many more interesting people of colour they could have chosen instead, including the Green Lantern John Stewart, Vixen, and Black Lightning.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Justice League</i> isn't a total write off (I certainly enjoyed it more than I did <i>Suicide Squad</i> or <i>Man Of Steel</i>), but I wish Warner Bros would have had the courage of Snyder's convictions. For all his faults, they should have stuck by the director's vision for the film because what they've got now the dust has settled is a clumsy compromise (a <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/justice-league-zack-snyder-batman-v-superman-wonder-woman/">"Frankenstein", according to one insider</a>) that feels small, truncated and unnecessarily mucked about with (the saga of Cavill's moustache is a whole other blog entry on its own). The critics have still been brutal and the box office hasn't been great – can anyone say with any certainty the reaction would have been any worse had Whedon not been involved?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>Rating: <span style="color: red;">WW</span></b><br /><i><br />Justice League is in UK cinemas now</i></span></div>
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<i></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Ratings guide</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>WWWW</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> - Wonderful</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>WWW</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> - Worthwhile</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>W</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> - Woeful</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794490764987409014.post-56762948553638419752017-11-27T05:51:00.000-08:002017-11-29T06:01:11.628-08:00Beach Rats, Wet Woman In The Wind, and The Work: Your Week In Film (November 27-December 4)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Rat pack: Frankie is keeping a secret from the members of his gang</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The best and worst of the week's UK home entertainment releases on DVD, Blu-ray and VOD. All the films mentioned are available to buy, rent and/or stream now, unless otherwise stated. </b><br />
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<br /><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Ratings guide: <span style="color: red;">WWWW</span></b> - Wonderful <b><span style="color: red;">WWW</span></b> - Worthwhile <b><span style="color: red;">WW</span></b> - Watchable <b><span style="color: red;">W</span></b> - Woeful</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's been a year for films in which young men wrestle with their sexuality, most notably in Barry Jenkins' masterful <i>Moonlight</i>. <b>Beach Rats</b> (VOD and cinemas) <b><span style="color: red;">WWW</span></b> has certain similarities with the Best Picture Oscar winner, particularly in the way it seeks to tackle notions of masculinity and the idea you can't be a "real" man and gay at the same time. It's about self-denial, guilt, and, ultimately, trying to come to terms with who you are. <i>Moonlight</i>'s Chiron is a little more successful at that than our protagonist here though.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Set in Brooklyn, Eliza Hittman's film focuses on Frankie (Harris Dickinson), a troubled, working class teenager experimenting with drugs and sex, as his dad slowly but surely succumbs to cancer. Frankie spends most of his time hanging around at the beach with a small group of friends, all tough-talking, aggressively heterosexual males but, on his own, has started talking to men in chat rooms and meeting them for sex. He also starts seeing Simone (Madeline Weinstein), an attractive young woman who hits on him at a fairground, but it quickly becomes clear his heart simply isn't in their relationship. He prefers men but cannot come out to either his supposed friends or mum, who he figures has quite enough trouble on her hands, caring for his dying father.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's a sad film in many ways. Frankie is trapped and has to live a lie. He can't be who he wants to be, and isn't entirely sure what that is anyway. He's trying to figure stuff out, but the pace of life and the trials it keeps throwing his way, won't give him time and space to do that. Hittman – and the excellent Dickinson – impressively capture Frankie's confusion and flailing around for meaning. They are also confident enough to not always make him particularly sympathetic either. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If <i>Beach Rats</i> is a coming-of-age story, it's one that refuses to offer up easy answers and "everything will work out just fine" platitudes. It accepts that life is tough and, for Frankie, might only get tougher.</span> <b><br /></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Rat race: Life seems to have it in for teenager Frankie</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Wet Woman In The Wind</b> (Mubi) <b><span style="color: red;">W</span></b> is the first of two new releases from <a href="http://www.indiewire.com/2017/11/antiporno-wet-woman-in-the-wind-roman-porno-nikkatsu-metrograph-1201895222/">Nikkatsu</a>, the company whose films dominated the Japanese soft porn market during the 1970s and '80s. These new features, which also include <i>Antiporno</i> (in UK cinemas now), were made with the same creative rules as the original movies – they have to be under 80 minutes long, shot in a week or less, and include at least one nude or sex scene every 10 minutes.<br /><br />Here, a free-spirited and sexually voracious young woman, named Shiori (Yuki Mamiya), pesters Kosuke (Tasuku Nagaoka), a successful Tokyo playwright turned hermit, to have sex with her. Disillusion with past relationships is the reason he lives a remote and solitary life, so Kosuke sends her on her way. He soon comes to regret the decision, however, when he sees Shiori having sex with other men, one a surfer she takes back to Kosuke's shack in the forest and screws in his bed. Will the two ever get it together to do the "horizontal tango"? It's a real head-scratcher...<br /><br />Unfortunately, <i>Wet Woman</i>'s crazily evocative title is the best thing about Akihiko Shiota's film, a seemingly good-natured but actually rather grubby affair, which seems to think sexual assault is perfectly acceptable fodder for shits and giggles. There's an actual rape (albeit implied but never commented on again), an attempted rape, and a verbal threat of rape during its mercifully brief 77 minutes. This stuff isn't ever acceptable but seems even more egregious in the current climate. Admittedly, there are a couple of funny slapstick moments and the cast all give it 100 per cent (especially in the numerous "beast with two backs" scenes), but this is crummy, old-fashioned fare from which we've surely all moved on. What's next, a reboot of Robin Askwith's <i>Confessions</i> films? Phwoar!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: x-small;">Rising damp: Wet Woman In The Wind is an old-fashioned dud</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous's documentary <b>The Work</b> (DVD) <b><span style="color: red;">WWWW</span></b> takes place in Folsom State Prison, California (yes, the one made famous by Johnny Cash), and follows three members of the public – all men – who have volunteered to participate in a radical and intense four-day group-therapy session, side-by-side with long-term felons locked up for all manner of violent crimes, including murder, kidnap and armed robbery.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Facilitators are on hand to kickstart the sessions, with the idea being for the men – felons and non-felons – to open up emotionally about their frustrations, regrets and the "betrayals" they feel they have faced throughout their lives. Despite their tough façade and awful crimes, it quickly becomes clear the prisoners are in fact rather fragile human beings, who have been hurt terribly but are incapable of processing their pain or letting it out. They've found a way to prevent themselves hurting and are emotionally stunted as a result. One inmate has never properly grieved the death of his sister, another is contemplating suicide because he can't see his son, a third is increasingly repulsed by his own propensity for violence. Whatever these men have done, this stuff is heartbreaking, and their commitment to guiding each other through it admirable (especially when you consider some are members of rival gangs within the prison).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The group encourages its members to go to the darkest places they can imagine ("the wound"), and unearth the most distressing memories they find there. Suffice to say, proceedings get very raw as they cry, howl, kick out and breakdown. Facing what has been done to them and what they have done is too much for some, but ultimately leads to catharsis and maybe even a step on the way to rehabilitation. In such emotionally charged circumstances, the prisoners are often more sympathetic than the three "outsiders", whose own tales of woe are small potatoes in comparison to what the incarcerated men have been through. Their presence is important, though, as they help us see the inmates as human beings, albeit ones who have lost their way and are responsible for horrible acts. Set almost entirely in one room within Folsom's walls and never averting its gaze from the often quite upsetting scenes it witnesses there, documentary filmmaking is rarely this visceral or challenging. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally, I was planning to talk about the 4K restoration of Dario Argento's '70s horror classic, <i>Suspiria</i>, which is about to get a swanky new collectors' edition. Unfortunately, its release has been pushed back to next week, so instead I'll quickly mention another Argento film, <b>Four Flies On Grey Velvet <span style="color: red;">WW</span></b>, which is showing on Mubi until midnight on Wednesday. The Italian master's 1971 <i>giallo</i> forms the middle part of his "animal trilogy" (with <i>The Bird With The Crystal Plumage</i> and <i>Cat O'Nine Tails</i>) and tells the story of Roberto (Michael Brandon), a rock star being stalked and blackmailed after accidentally killing a man who had also been following him. It isn't a patch on <i>Suspiria</i> but has enough directorial style, preposterous twists and odd humour to compensate for its inadequacies elsewhere. <span style="color: #111111;">Ennio Morricone, rather than Goblin, provides a suitably haunting score.
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">First cut is the deepest: There's a killer on the loose in Four Flies On Grey Velvet</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Film of the week:</b> <i>The Work</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>What I shall be seeing this week:</b> George Clooney unearths one of the Coen Brothers old scripts for <i>Suburbicon</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Heads up:</b> I have a new review up on the excellent <i>Film Inquiry </i>website. This time I cast my gaze over powerful Victorian ghost Story, <a href="https://www.filminquiry.com/angelica-2014-review/"><i>Angelica</i></a>. Mitchell Lichtenstein's film (his third, following <i>Teeth</i> and <i>Happy Tears</i>) hasn't surfaced in the UK yet, but is currently on limited release in the US.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>This week's top 10 UK DVDs/Blu-rays (films only)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. Spider-Man: Homecoming</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. Trolls - Holiday</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. Despicable Me 3</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4. Paddington</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5. Cars 3</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">6. Beauty And The Beast</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">7. Moana</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">8. Baby Driver</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">9. Kenny</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">10. Fast & Furious 8</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794490764987409014.post-38291014648673372422017-11-24T05:23:00.002-08:002017-11-24T05:23:50.351-08:00Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond, On Body And Soul, and The Killer: Your Week In Film (November 20-26)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial";">The best and worst of the week's UK new home entertainment releases on DVD, Blu-ray and VOD. All the films mentioned are available to buy, rent and/or stream now, unless otherwise stated. This is the second of two columns this week...</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Ratings guide: <span style="color: red;">WWWW</span></b> - Wonderful <b><span style="color: red;">WWW</span></b> - Worthwhile <b><span style="color: red;">WW</span></b> - Watchable <b><span style="color: red;">W</span></b> - Woeful</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Watching <b>Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton</b> (Netflix) <b><span style="color: red;">WWW</span></b>, I was reminded of that (possibly apocryphal) story from the set of <i>Marathon Man</i>. Dustin Hoffman had been going full method, staying up 24 hours straight in a bid to realistically capture his character's dishevelment and exhaustion. Co-star Laurence Olivier asked why he was putting himself through such an ordeal, and Hoffman explained he wanted to be convincing. Sir Larry drily replied: "Try acting, dear boy."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's a piece of advice Jim Carrey wouldn't have had any truck with on the set of Milos Forman's 1999 Andy Kaufman biopic, <i>Man On The Moon</i>, the making of which forms the basis of this fascinating documentary. Carrey went method to a degree that even Hoffman would have found head-spinning, staying "in character" as the late US comedian the entire time (even off-set) and generally being a colossal pain to other cast and crew as a result (there's a moment when Danny DeVito looks utterly exasperated by his behaviour). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Chris Smith's film consists of never-before-seen footage, shot at the time, intercut with a lengthy new interview with Carrey, in which he tries to explain what on earth was going on. It seems the star of <i>The Mask</i> and <i>Ace Ventura: Pet Detective</i> became convinced he was "channelling Andy" in some weird way and, possessed by his anarchic spirit, would do pretty much whatever came into his head, including picking fights with professional wrestler Jerry Lawler (Carrey ended up in hospital as a result) and spending long periods with a brown paper bag on his head as Tony Clifton, Kaufman's debauched alter-ego.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm not quite sure what is more disturbing – Carrey as he was then, convinced his body had been somehow hijacked by the puckish spirit of a dead man, or the actor as he is now, massive of beard, spouting all sorts of New Age mumbo-jumbo, and in semi-retirement from Hollywood. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Whatever, I suspect Kaufman – who, despite his great talent, never seemed to take himself at all seriously – would have cracked a rib laughing at the whole absurd, but riotously entertaining, pantomime.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hungarian writer/director Ildikó Enyedi hadn't made a film since 1999's <i>Simon, The Magician</i> but more than makes up for her time away with <b>On Body And Soul</b> (MUBI) <b><span style="color: red;">WWWW</span></b>, quite the strangest love story you'll experience in this or any year.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Set for the most part in an abattoir (complete with images of animal slaughter), it tells the story of Endre (Géza Morcsányi), the company's financial director, and Maria (Alexandra Borbély), its newly-appointed quality controller. He has a disability, she has Asperger's. It transpires they share dreams of being together in an Eden-like forest as deer, and slowly, over the next two hours, this seemingly mismatched pair grow closer in the real world too. It's a film that doesn't sound that promising on paper but spend 20 minutes or so in its company and there's magic aplenty waiting to hook you in. You quickly come to care about Enyedi's characters, especially lonely, vulnerable Maria, whilst marvelling at the sheer chutzpah of the setting and a good deal of the storytelling too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The slaughterhouse scenes and deer dreams perhaps take a bit of getting used to but act as metaphors for romantic love. The perfect stillness and beauty of the forest is love's ideal, the abattoir its stark and brutal reality. There's humour of the pitch-black variety here too, Enyedi taking some bold narrative risks that provoke a series of different emotions all at once. It's been a while since a film has prompted me to actually shout at the screen ("Noooooo!"), but that's precisely what I did here. <i>On Body And Soul </i>might be a slow burn, but it's also something of an emotional roller-coaster.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Enyedi is not well known in this country (checking amazon, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/20th-Century-Blu-ray-Ildik%C3%B3-Enyedi/dp/B06WP4QR53/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1511434372&sr=1-1&keywords=my+20th+century+blu-ray">My 20th Century</a></i>, from 1989, is the only one of her previous films even available to buy), but I fervently hope that might change very soon. <i>On Body And Soul</i> was awarded the prestigious Golden Bear at this year's Berlin International Film Festival, and is Hungary's submission for the 2018 Oscars. I suspect we won't have to wait 18 years for what she does next.</span><b><br /></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The Killer</b> (Netflix) <b><span style="color: red;">WWW</span></b> is a down and dirty Brazilian revenge western that reminded me of Sergio Leone's <i>Dollars </i>trilogy – it has dirt beneath its finger nails, a mouth full of rotting brown teeth, and would happily shoot you in the head for a bottle of half-decent sipping whiskey. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Something of a shaggy dog story (there's a framing sequence in which a mysterious cowpoke spins a yarn to two would-be assailants), this latest Netflix Original sees feared bandit-cum-assassin Seven Ears (Deto Montenegro) discover an abandoned child, Cabeleira (Diogo Morgado), who he raises as his own son. Many years later, fully grown but practically feral, Cabeleira leaves his remote desert home when Seven Ears goes missing. Eventually locating the nearest town, he starts looking into what might have happened to his guardian and is employed as a hired killer by the town's mayor, Monsieur Blanchard (Etienne Chicot). Of course, it doesn't take a genius to surmise that the corrupt Blanchard has something to do with Seven Ears' disappearance, and that as soon as the none-too-bright Cabeleira works that out too, sparks are going to fly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Writer/director Marcelo Galvão has a background in advertising and that makes sense because everything about <i>The Killer</i> is big, broad, loud and dramatic. If ever a movie could be accused of turning it up to 11, it is this one. Characters are boiled down to only a couple of simple traits, in many cases they are little more than caricatures. Blanchard is outrageously French and outrageously villainous, his son and wife sadistic monsters. There's an ugliness about these people, even the ones we're rooting for, including Seven Ears, who is named for what hangs on the necklace he wears. After a while, though, you learn to wallow in this world's toxicity – there's a weird purity about its sheer unpleasantness that is almost invigorating. <i>The Killer</i> is dubbed into English but, for the full gritty effect, you'd be wise to turn on the subtitles and instead watch it in Brazilian Portuguese – Galvão's film really isn't the same otherwise.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Natural born Killer: The down and dirty western is back</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Film of the week</b>: <i>On Body And Soul</i></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07040171836006141706noreply@blogger.com0