Movie of the Month: September 2018

An interesting month with some excellent films, and a movie of the month that may surprise you, it surprises me and I just chose it! 

Searching – Thriller about a frantic farther looking for his missing daughter.  The gimmick of showing a movie as if on a computer screen seems to have taken over from found footage, it’s going to get tied very soon.  The film is so gripping and John Cho so compelling in the lead that the gimmick is soon forgotten.  Some of the twists are obvious, others less so.  All in all, a solid thriller.

Hearts Beat Loud – Inspired by a throw away comment and a burgeoning  romance, a young woman writes a song that leads to forming an unlikely band (of sorts) with her farther. What could have been a disposable and forgettable little indie film turns out to be a clever, funny and heart-warming.   Kiersey Clemons and Nick Offerman are great in the lead and are well supported by Toni Collette, Sasha Lane and Ted Danson.  Unlike many films of the type, the songs are good too.

Yardie – Idris Elba’s feature début as a director.  A young low level Jamaican criminal with unresolved issues from his past is sent to London in the early 80’s The look, vibe, and spirit of the scene are brilliantly realised.  The characters are believable and well played, the standout being Stephen Graham.  Elba directs with the same confidence and swagger that he acts making it a hugely enjoyable film even if it isn’t always best served by the story/plot that is a little thin.  Elba made the right decision to stay behind the camera so as not to distract from the leads, I look forward to seeing what he directs next.

American Animals – In 2012, Bart Layton gave us The Imposter, a documentary with a few dramatic reconstructions.  Now he has flipped the idea it on its head giving us a dramatic film cleverly interspersed with real life talking head testimonies.  En engrossing film about a group of students who embark on an attempt at a heist  so inept you won’t believe its a true story until you look it up. 

The Miseducation of Cameron Post – In the early 90’s a teenage girl is sent to a gay conversion therapy centre by her religious  guardian.  The frightening thing about the narrative is the people running the camp feel that they are doing the right thing.  The most notable element of the film is the subtle and measured performance of Chloë Grace Moretz. 

Cold War – The passionate affair of a mismatched couple over about a decade and a half from post war from communist Poland to the 50’s Jazz scene in Parris and back again.  By now we know what to expect from Pawel Pawlikowski, this movie more than delivers, it is beautiful to look, and is uplifting, heartbreaking, and devastating at different times.  All this is elevated by fantastic performances from Joanna Kulig and Tomasz Kot. 

King of Thieves – One of many dramatisations of the Hatton Garden heist from three years ago.  The all star cast (Michael Caine, Tom Courtenay, Charlie Cox, Michael Gambon, Ray Winstone, Jim Broadbent and Paul Whitehouse) are all fantastic, but the film is a little plodding and by the numbers with a lack of flair or excitement.  Nothing wrong with it, but nothing outstanding or original to set it apart.  Worth watching for the great cast, but not worth rushing to see at the cinema.

The Rider – Only a couple of degrees away from being a documentary; a rodeo rider who can no longer ride following an serious accident plays, a rodeo rider who can no longer ride following an serious accident.  Full of contradictions, none actor Brady Jandreau is excellent in the lead, other none actors are a little wooden.  The film doesn’t go anywhere, and little is resolved, but there is so much bubbling under the surface.  Often beautiful and compelling, at others it makes the viewer feel like a voyeur.  Not a film that people will be rushing to see, but one that those who see it will not forget in a hurry. 

The Predator – Following the events of Predator (1987) and Predator 2 (1990), a secret government organisation is on the lookout for visiting predators (although they are unaware of the off world antics of Predators (2010)). A special forces soldier who witnesses one such arrival gets dragged into the affair, as do his family, and anyone he meets during the movie. The first too movies asked as many questions about the Predators as it answered with little explanation of exposition. The biggest flaw of this film is the way it crowbars information in that we would be better off not knowing. While Boyd Holbrook isn’t a terrible leading man, he lacks the presence of Arnold Schwarzenegger and the charisma of Danny Glover. Full of good ideas, but there is probably a better movie to be told with these characters using as the lead Olivia Munn and keeping Holbrook as a supporting player and link to the character of his son played by Jacob Tremblay (less annoying then you would expect of a film like this). The action is good, but the comedy doesn’t always land, and the story is all over the place. The sequel baiting ending is terrible.

A Simple Favour – Two very different woman played by Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively become unlikely best friends.  When one goes missing the other is determined to find out what has happened.  I am not a fan of Paul Feig’s previous films, but loved this one.  It looks amazing and is directed with a cheeky swagger reminiscent of lighter Hitchcock movies.  You won’t be surprissed by any of the twists, but this isn’t always a bad thing.  The two leads are both fantastic and appear to be relishing the parts.  A marvellously trashy tale, it has its flaws, but they are easy to forgive as it is so much fun.   

Climax –  In a remote disused school building a French dance troop conclude their final rehearse for a tour of Europe and The USA.  As soon as they finish, they start to celebrate and party, things quickly go downhill when the sangria is spiked with LSD.  There is a school of thought that the opening few shots of a film should layout everything that is to come.  Climax starts with exactly this, not that you realise it at first.  What follows is quite bizarre in both structure and content, but no more than you would expect from provocateur Gaspar Noé. Strangely the sex is totally unsexy, and violence is clinical matter of fact, but put together the film is oppressive and disturbing.  I am not sure if I like it but I am very impressed by it. 

Mile 22 – Director and star pairing Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg have made three other films together, the two I have seen aren’t bad, this fourth collaboration is just lazy.  The action scenes aren’t bad, but the rest of the film is terrible, topped off by Wahlberg’s character being a totally unlikable. The rest of the cast are wholly underserved; Ronda Rousey isn’t a great actor but can do action, but her character departs the story before the real action gets going.  Lauren Cohan has what could have been an interesting side story, that is totally mishandled.  John Malkovich telephones his performance in (at least they had the sense of humour to literally having him at the other end of a phone-line from the rest of the cast).  Star or The Raid Iko Uwais is totally underused.  A pointless mess of a film. 

The Little Stranger – Sometime after the second world war a doctor from working class origins returns to practice in the backwater where he grew up.  Over time he becomes more and more involved with the local big house, long past its Victorian grandeur.  Will Poulter and Charlotte Rampling provide excellent support, Domhnall Gleeson is perfectly cold and reserved for the part, but as is often the case, it is Ruth Wilson that shines through with a fantastic performance.  A study of class and its evolution wrapped up in a beautifully ambiguous ghost story.  Don’t confuse director Lenny Abrahamson’s deliberately languid pace as being slow, there is too much of interest going on. 

A tough choice; at the start of the month, I thought it would be a choice between two of the first films I have seen: Hearts Beat Loud and The Miseducation of Cameron Post.  As I sat down to write this, it was a clear choice between Cold War ans The Rider.  But if anyone asked me to recommend a film from this month, I would have to say A Simple Favour.  The most accessible, and the most fun, and the one I am most keen to see again.Bizarrely, the only movie that I can hand on heart claim to be the movie of the month is one that has haunted my thoughts in the week since I saw it, but will probably never watch again, The Movie of the Month is: Climax

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Burt Reynolds 1936–2018

We lost Burt Reynolds last week at the age of 82.  In a conversation at work in the following days it appears that he is an actor not on the radar of a lot of younger film fans.  Growing up in the 80’s he was a mainstay of my movie watching with Smokey and the Bandit being one of my favourite films, I probably watched it once a week for a couple of years!  For a time he was a massive box-office draw.  In 1977 Smokey and the Bandit came second only to Star Wars beating Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Saturday Night Fever at the American box-office.  For those who don’t know his films, a good way of giving an idea of the type of actor he was, is to look not at his films, but the ones he turned down (and regretted turning down): James Bond (after Sean Connery quite the first time), Michael Corleone in The Godfather, Han Solo in Star Wars, the Richard Gere role in Pretty Woman, and posibly his biggest regret, Jack Nicholson’s roles in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Terms of Endearment.  He is also reported to have turned down Die Hard but has said in a couple of interviews that he doesn’t remember being offered it.  Now you know the films he could have made, sit back and watch some of the ones he did make.  Most of his best films were in the 1970’s and are very much of their time, here a few highlights and my favourites as they spring to mind, in chronological order:

Sam Whiskey (1969)  – A comedy western and heist movie with a twist, he is trying to get gold back into a mint. 

Deliverance (1972) – His first iconic role, in a film that works as an allegory in a couple different ways, as well as being a great action adventure drama on the surface, also one of John Boorman’s best movies. 

White Lightning (1973) – An early example for Reynolds of the good ol’ boy movies that he would become associated, as kim morgan of Sunset Gun calls them “wily, rough and tumble men (and some women) usually of the Southern persuasion”.  Also take a look at the sequel Gator (1976), this was his directorial debut. 

The Mean Machine (1974) – For those scratching their heads, this was the UK title, you may know it as The Longest Yard.  Having attended university on an American Football scholarship this was the perfect vehicle for the rising star. 

Smokey and the Bandit (1977) – The ultimate good ol’ boy movie, Reyolds most iconic, and the most fun car chase movie you will ever see. 

Hooper (1978) – Honouring his time as a stuntman, the unsung heroes on movie making, and directed by stuntman turned director Hal Needham.  Not as fun or as funny as Smokey and the Bandit, but a film I have revisited it a couple of times, it has aged really well.   

The Cannonball Run (1981) – Probably the last great film of the type for Reynolds, and the best of many coast to coast race movies that came out around that time.  The ensemble cast is amazing, and also the first time I (like many western audiences)  had seen Jackie Chan. 

Sharky’s Machine (1981) – An attempt at a more serious cop thriller, Reynolds made a few, this is the one I remember as the best. 

Boogie Nights (1997) – After two decades of TV, and average movies Reynolds was back with his last great role.  Although he reportedly didn’t like the movie, it earned him his only Oscar nomination, It is also probably my favourite Paul Thomas Anderson movie. 

Al the films mentioned above are worth a look, but if you only watch one of them, It has to be Smokey and the Bandit, enjoy!

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Movie of the Month: August 2018

I have been a little selective with my movie going this month, I could have seen a lot more.  On the whole I chose well with three fantastic films that will be in contention for my year end top ten.  A couple of really solid and enjoyable films.  One disappointing but still not bad sequel.  The weakest film was the one I expected least from, the latest YA dystopian yarn, that provides further proof that the genre ran out of ideas a long time ago.  Here are the contenders:

Ant-Man and the Wasp – Lighter and more comedic than the rest of the MCU, Ant man is never going to be the best of the franchise but it is always fun.  Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly are both excellent in their own right, but have little to no chemistry together.  Walton Goggins is as great as ever, but seems to be in a different movie to everyone else.  Michelle Pfeiffer is underused.  Michael Peña offers his usual comic relief.  Rising star, Hannah John-Kamen provides an interesting and compelling antagonist. 

Pandora’s Box – Seminal Louise Brooks movie, the masterpiece of director G W Pabst.  Screened thanks to the BFI in what they call a “New 2K DCP of the 2009 restoration of Munich Film Museum’s definitive cut, with score by Peer Raben”.  Telling of the rise and fall of desirable and seductive but naive young dancer Lulu (Brooks).  It still stands up as a mesmerising film nearly 90 years on with simple modern storytelling, you soon forget you are watching a silent film and just appreciate it as a film. 

The Equalizer 2 – Denzel Washington’s first ever sequel see’s him returning as Robert McCall, the character inspired by the 1980’s Edward Woodward TV show.  The set pieces are all excellent, but the story that links them is disjointed and inconsistent.  Not as good as the first film, but not without enjoyable moments. 

In The Fade – If you exclude Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, this is Diane Kruger’s first German-language film.  I went into it having read a synopsis and heard a brief review; this is too much information, as it gave me an impression of what to expect, a false impression. A stunning film largely thanks to Diane Kruger amazing performance.

A Prayer Before Dawn – The true story of Billy Moore based on his book A Prayer Before Dawn: A Nightmare in Thailand; a British boxer who finds himself in a brutal prison in Thailand. Much of the dialogue is in Thai without subtitles leaving the audience only understanding as much as Billy, a disconcerting but effective choice.  Often hard to watch, it is an unforgettable film that will haunt your mind for days after seeing it, Joe Cole, best known for Peaky Blinders is exceptional.  

Unfriended: Dark Web – A sequel to Unfriended (2014) dips its toe into the burky world of the dark web.  As before, all the action takes place on a computer screen.  Effective but unoriginal horror. An interesting idea, I understand there are two different endings. 

The Darkest Minds – The latest in endless stream of YA dystopian future set movies.  Totally derivative of everything that has gone before particularly Divergent and the Maze Runner.  Amandla Stenberg (who was in the first Hunger Games movie when she was 13) makes a likeable lead. 

BlacKkKlansman – Spike Lee is back on form with the true story of a African-American policeman who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970’s.  John David Washington has all the charisma of his famous farther and is well supported by the always excellent Adam Driver.  Lee’s attempt to juxtapose the narrative with recent events isn’t subtle, but it is extremely effective. 

The Children Act – This is the second film the year with a screenplay from Ian McEwan based on on his own book.  Despite excellent performances the inner monologue of On Chesil Beach failed to translate to the screen.  The Children Act centres around Emma Thompson as a family court judge forced to make life changing decisions for other people while seemingly oblivious to the crumbing state of her own marriage.  Thompson is outstanding in the lead elevating the film way above what it could have been, she works best when playing against Stanley Tucci as her husband, who is also brilliant in a smaller supporting role.

I don’t include re-releases in contention for movie of the month, that rules out Pandora’s Box leaving a straight fight between: In The Fade, A Prayer Before Dawn, and BlacKkKlansman.  As well as being the best films of the month, they are also the hardest hitting and most memorable, films that you will still be thinking about days or weeks later.  The movie of the month is:

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