Blog Archives

Set It Up

29/6/2018

SET IT UP ★★½☆☆
D: Claire Scanlon.
S: Zoey Deutch, Glen Powell, Tituss Burgess, Meredith Hagner, Joan Smalls, Lucy Liu, Taye Diggs.

The main romantic element of this rom-com is so tired. However, the secondary relationship is more interestingly handled, and the movie’s look at the exploitative grind of modern office life is slightly refreshing for such a mainstream flick.

Seamus McGarvey - birthday

29/6/2018

It is cinematographer Seamus McGarvey’s birthday. His top 5 films:

- ATONEMENT
- LIFE [2017]
- THE ACCOUNTANT
- THE AVENGERS
- WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

(I am torn between LIFE and THE HOURS, but I feel the former is massively underrated.)

Sicario 2: Soldado

28/6/2018

SICARIO 2: SOLDADO ★★★★☆
D: Stefano Sollima (Suburra).
S: Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Isabela Moner, Jeffrey Donovan, Shea Whigham, Matthew Modine, Catherine Keener.

Not as stunningly directed as its predecessor (what is?), but still packs a punch. Thrilling, violent, political. More action movies should strive to have this franchise's brains.

John Cusack - birthday

28/6/2018

It is actor John Cusack’s birthday. His top 5 films:

- CHI-RAQ
- CON AIR
- GROSSE POINTE BLANK
- LOVE & MERCY
- MAPS TO THE STARS

Nearly made the list:

- BEING JOHN MALKOVICH
- GRACE IS GONE
- THE THIN RED LINE

Anchor and Hope - film review

27/6/2018

ANCHOR AND HOPE ★★½☆☆
D: Carlos Marques-Marcet.
S: Oona Chaplin, Natalia Tena, David Verdaguer, Geraldine Chaplin.

It asks a very important question: What happens when two people are in love, and one desperately wants a baby and the other most definitely doesn’t? The ending is so trite as to ruin the potential of the film.
My review: http://www.filmaluation.com/anchor-and-hope.html

Anchor and Hope - trailer

27/6/2018

Can You Ever Forgive Me? - trailer

26/6/2018

Often comedy actors can prove adroit at drama. I’m interested in what Melissa McCarthy can do.

Jason Schwartzman - birthday

26/6/2018

It is actor Jason Schwartzman’s birthday. His top 5 films:

- FUNNY PEOPLE
- MARIE ANTOINETTE
- RUSHMORE
- SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD
- THE DARJEELING LIMITED

Out to Own Today: Dark River, The Shape of Water and I, Tonya

25/6/2018

Out to Own Today:

Dark River

“Did he suffer?” Alice (Ruth Wilson)

Writer-director Clio Barnard knocked it out of the park, straight out of the gate, to combine two metaphors.THE ARBOR (2010) is that rare beast, an original piece of cinema. Sophomore feature THE SELFISH GIANT (2013) is a Ken Loachian social discourse ending on an emotional gut-punch. It was thus with great anticipation one walked into DARK RIVER. Unfortunately, it disappoints. I think of TYRANNOSAUR (2011) in comparison, Paddy Considine's excellent feature debut, and DARK RIVER pales. Both are about abuse and the aftermath. Both have a cathartic prison scene. Both climax with death. If TYRANNOSAUR is a shriek of pain, DARK RIVER is a whimper. Too much of this film is unsurprising.
[To read more, click here.]

I, Tonya

“Why can’t it just be about the skating?” Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie)

If only more biopics showed this level of vitality. The camerawork, editing and dialogue work in harmony to create frenetically gripping snapshots of a life story. I, TONYA is that rare creature: A headline dissector. The film opens implying it will get you to question the testimony offered by the participants, but does for everyone bar Tonya. It definitely comes down on her side. Everyone else comes across as villains. As a kid I was vaguely aware of the scandal surrounding Tonya Harding. The movie causes reassessment. That is a real accomplishment: To question the received view. How the media unfairly vilifies is the concomitant.
[To read more, click here.]

The Shape of Water

“When is a man done proving himself?” Richard Strickland (Michael Shannon)

This may be controversial, but director Guillermo del Toro has not made a five star movie. (PAN’S LABYRINTH is a bit overrated.) Del Toro has plenty of striking design ideas, from costumes and make-up to production sets, but they are not tied to satisfying storytelling. Bar PAN’S LABYRINTH, there are either major flaws or at best a shrug of the shoulders. His non-English language movies showcase the peaks of his prowess. THE SHAPE OF WATER does not join them.
[To read more, click here.]

The Bookshop - film review

22/6/2018

THE BOOKSHOP ★½☆☆☆
D: Isabel Coixet (Endless Night, Learning to Drive, Elegy, My Life Without Me).
S: Emily Mortimer, Bill Nighy, James Lance, Frances Barber, Patricia Clarkson, Julie Christie.

Stilted and jarring, the conversations and performances are as if from a radio play. THE BOOKSHOP is sub-CHOCOLAT small-town small-mindedness.
My review: http://www.filmaluation.com/the-bookshop.html

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