Another interested and varied month month, the contenders for movie of the month are:
Juliet, Naked – Chris O’Dowd plays a music bore, obsessed with reclusive singer songwriter Tucker Crowe (Ethan Hawke). The release of a “Naked” version (acoustic demo) of his supposed masterpiece Juliet results in an unexpected chain of events featuring O’Dowd’s long suffering girlfriend (Rose Byrne). After the disappointment of A Long Way Down (excellent book, poorly served on film) I went into Juliet, Naked with a little trepidation, but also a certain optimism, largely because of Rose Byrne and Ethan Hawke. Fortunately the film is excellent as are the aforementioned stars. The comedy is sharp and telling, but often subtle, never overpowering the drama. Chris O’Dowd’s character is truly annoying, but even he has his moment in one excellent scene. Not the commercial hit that Fever Pitch or About a Boy were, but just as worthwhile seeing. 
Some Like it Hot – Screened in a stunning 4K restoration as part of the BFI comedy genius season – Two down on their luck musicians (Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon) witness the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre. They escape town disguised as women with an all female band bound for the Florida sun, where they intend to skip out on the band. There is however a complication, Sugar Kane (Marilyn Monroe). If there is any such thing as a perfect movie, this is it. Sixty years later the comedy is still relevant and hilarious. The performances (including Marilyn Monroe’s) are outstanding, but its Billy Wilder’s sharp script and direction that shine through. What has long been my favourite film plays even better on the big screen with an audience. 
Overlord – A small group of American soldiers are on a mission to parachute behind enemy lines in the hours leading up to D-Day to destroy a MacGuffin. As you would expect things don’t go entirely to play, there wouldn’t be much of a movie if they did! Unfortunately, I saw the trailer for this film before seeing it so knew what was coming. It would probably have been even better without prior knowledge of where the story goes. The cast of relatively unknown and vaguely recognisable actors (Wyatt (son of Kurt) Russell, Pilou Asbæk (Game of Thrones), Jovan Adepo (Fences), and Mathilde Ollivier) are all really good. Wearing its 18 certificate as a badge of honour the action scenes are well shot on a relatively modest budget and there are some real scenes of gore. The story gets very silly, but it’s always entertaining and never boring, I really enjoyed it. 
Widows – After a heist goes wrong the surviving partners, the widows of the title, are forced to take on their own criminal enterprise. I have a strange relationship with Steve McQueen movies (12 Years a Slave, Shame, and Hunger), I admire them, but I didn’t necessarily like or enjoy them. I have never had the urge to re-watch a McQueen movie. When it was announced the Oscar winner was making a movie based on the 1980’s Lynda La Plante TV mini-series, it was suggested he was slumming it, making a genre picture. More a drama than a thriller, the film is outstanding, and for my money his best film. The script (by McQueen and Gillian Flynn) is taught and the story rolls along at a perfect pace. The twists in the plot, never surprise, I’m not sure they are intended to, but they always please. The cast are all outstanding: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, and Cynthia Erivo (only a matter of time before she gets an Oscar to complete her EGOT), as the main characters and Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, and Daniel Kaluuya in major supporting roles. The true sign of how good the film is, there are plot strands (Davis’ grief, Farrell and Duvall’s bickering, how the fallout affects Rodriguez and Debicki’s, Erivo’s strugle to make ends meet, and Kaluuya, doing what he does) that are all essential for the overriding story, but could have made a film in their own right. All this is topped off by a less then subtle subtext about the state of politics and society. A hugely impressive film. 
Wildlife – Montana, 1960, Joe Brinson (Ed Oxenbould) is trying to fit in at a new school when his father, Jerry (Jake Gyllenhaal) loses his job. Seemingly not for the first time. Jerry decides rather than finding a new job, he will go to fight wildfires much to the annoyance of wife Jeanette (Carey Mulligan). Paul Dano debut as director is a sublimely confident one. The script adapted from Richard Ford’s novel of the same name by Dano and partner Zoe Kazan is excellent. Gyllenhaal is on top form but pales in comparison to Carey Mulligan who is sensational. Despite the teenage viewpoint, this is Jeanette’s story, pinpointing a small window in history, where a woman had more choices than a generation before, but not the same as a generation later. The film ends with a stunning image, the meaning of which is open to interpretation, its meaning probably says more about the viewer than the filmmaker. 
Assassination Nation – What begins as brash, and crude teen high-school movie descends into chaos following a computer hack that exposes the secrets the people of Salem. A witch-hunt for those suspect of being responsible ensues. Sold as a modern take on the Salem witch trials, it is both more, and less than that depending on your point of view. The film is a mess, with a long slow build-up. It is always intended to be satirical, but it does quickly decent into parody and farce; however, it is during this decent the film finds its place, and its voice. An interesting note on the casting, one of the main characters is a trans woman played by a trans woman (Hari Nef), this is notable it that its unlikely to have happened in a movie of the type a few years ago; on the other hand, it probably won’t be a thing worth mentioning in a few years as the industry becomes more inclusive. On the whole I enjoyed it but not without reservations although I expect a lot of people to hate it.
Suspiria – Taking the place of a girl who has recently gone missing, an American dancer joins a German company led by a legendry choreographer. I came at this film with mixed feelings. While I remember loving Dario Argento’s 1977 Suspiria on each of the three occasions I have seen it, the most recent of those was around ten years ago. It is also a film that lacks enough plot to hang any memories on, it is a film that exists as a feeling, or a splash of colour (often red) in the back of your mind. By extending the runtime by an hour would Luca Guadagnino bring more plot to the party? The main reason for seeing the film is the reteaming of Tilda Swinton and Dakota Johnson, whom I loved in Guadagnino’s earlier A Bigger Splash. Strangely, very little happens, again there is little plot, beyond a little investigating from two of the characters. Despite this the 152 minute runtime never feels long. The film is far from subtle; it may not have messages deep within subtext, but the director is certainly making a lot of statements. Is it far better than people are giving it credit, or am I giving it a pass as it ends well leaving a good impression? 
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald – There seems little point in reviewing a film like The Crimes of Grindelwald, those invested in the world of Harry Potter will see it, those who aren’t are unlikely to see it, unless like me you just watch a lot of movies. As someone who has seen the harry potter movies but isn’t necessarily invested in them, I can look at this with a certain prospective. The story is wafer thin, the special effects set pieces are of varying quality. The big issue is the characters; Grindelwald is neither a moustache twirling hissable villain, nor a complex sometimes sympathetic one (even Star Wars gets this right with Hux and Kylo Ren). Newt Scamander and Tina Goldstein are terribly dull, and most of the supporting cast are window dressing with little to do. Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol) was one of the more interesting characters in the first film, while the plot didn’t serve her well this time around, it does look like she may have more substantial part in future. Leta Lestrange (Zoë Kravitz) looked like she was going to be interesting, but was then wasted. Not a disaster, but needs to get back on track, or the next film may me. I would start with hiring a writer, J.K. Rowling may be a good novelist, but screenwriting is a different discipline, and she needs some help. And possibly a director with a bit of flair, I seem to remember the third Harry Potter got that one right!
The Girl in the Spider’s Web – Lisbeth Salander is hired by a computer programmer to steel his own program from the American government as he fears the power it gives. This sets in motion a chain of events that are uncomfortably close to home for Salander. Claire Foy is nothing short of fantastic. Not exactly the character of the original trilogy, even a little more human and dare I say it warm than the previous incarnations, she is still recognisable as Salander in both look and temperament. The plot is total nonsense, but does its job in that it gives an environment for the characters to shine. A little like The Fast and Furious franchise has morphed into Mission: Impossible, Lisbeth Salander has become equal parts Robert McCall, Simon Templar, James Bond and Jack Reacher, except, she’s a girl! Once you accept this, you can enjoy it for what it is, or should I say what it has become, a dumb, but fun thriller. The story diverges a lot from the plot of the book on which it is based, this isn’t a bad thing as the book was flawed and served Blomkvist better than Salander. Not a classic, but it’s never boring,I hope it does well enough to get a sequel for two reasons; the second book, The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye is a better story, and more importantly, I want to see more of Claire Foy as Lisbeth Salander!
Escape From New York -Another remastered John Carpenter classic. Made in 1981 and set in the future, 1997 where Manhattan has been turned into a giant maximum-security prison. Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) is sent into the prison to rescue the president after Air Force One is hijacked. What could have been a forgettable Sci-Fi B-movie is elevated to stone cold classic by the inclusion of the iconic Snake Plissken, and more importantly Kurt Russell’s portrayal of him. Made in a cynical post-Vietnam war/Watergate American it is strangely and frighteningly relevant today. 
Robin Hood – Hitting all the beats and containing all the characters you would expect from a Robin Hood movie, but looking like a cross between Call of Duty, Peaky Blinders and last year’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. parts of the movie are fun, the cast isn’t bad, and it isn’t as bad as bad some of the reviews suggest, but it is totally pointless and derivative.
By far the best film of the month was Some Like it Hot, but I don’t include re-releases for movie of the month, this leaves a clear winner: Widows. 
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