It’s about time Jon Bernthal got a lead role.
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Even when director Alexander Payne is not on form (e.g. THE DESCENDANTS), his films are still watchable. THE SUMMIT (La Cordillera) ★★★★☆ D: Santiago Mitre. S: Ricardo Darín, Dolores Fonzi, Erica Rivas, Elena Anaya, Paulina García, Alfredo Castro, Christian Slater. The personal and the geopolitical. Cynical and enigmatic. Stars of Argentine and Chilean cinema are on fire. 
1% ★★★☆☆ D: Stephen McCallum. S: Ryan Corr, Abbey Lee, Matt Nable, Simone Kessell, Josh McConville, Aaron Pedersen. Too many SONS OF ANARCHY echoes. Solid ending. A crunching little thriller as metaphor for corporate culture. LEAN ON PETE ★★★½☆ D: Andrew Haigh (45 Years, Weekend, Greek Pete). S: Charlie Plummer, Steve Buscemi, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Zahn, Amy Seimetz, Travis Fimmel. Emotionally harrowing. Well played. Episodic structure doesn't completely satisfy. FOXTROT ★★★★☆ D: Samuel Maoz (Lebanon). S: Lior Ashkenazi, Sarah Adler, Yonaton Shiray, Shira Haas. Directed with flair. Scathing of militarism. Tonally dextrous. An examination of harm.  FOXTROT
STRONGER ★★½☆☆ D: David Gordon Green (Our Brand is Crisis, Manglehorn, Joe, Prince Avalanche, The Sitter, Your Highness, Pineapple Express, Snow Angels, Undertow, All the Real Girls, George Washington). S: Jake Gyllenhaal, Tatiana Maslany, Miranda Richardson, Clancy Brown. A melodramatic weepie. Annoying product placement. Grating put on Boston accents. BOBBI JENE [documentary] ★★½☆☆ D: Elvira Lind. Superficial contemporary dance documentary. A wasted opportunity to drill down into the art form. KING OF PEKING ★★★☆☆ D: Sam Voutas. S: Jun Zhao, Wang Naixun, Qing Han. Incongruous, affectionate ode to cinema from perspective of father-son DVD pirates.  KING OF PEKING
BRIGSBY BEAR ★★★½☆
D: Dave McCary. S: Kyle Mooney, Mark Hamill, Jane Adams, Greg Kinnear, Clare Danes, Kate Lyn Sheil, Andy Samberg. The Lonely Island do ROOM and somehow avoid tastelessness. Sweet and funny. CARGO ★★★½☆ D: Gilles Coulier. S: Sam Louwyck, Sebastian Dewaele, Wim Willaert, Roda Fawaz. Hemingway's 'To Have and Have Not' meets Hákonarson's RAMS. Abrupt ending, both works and doesn't. BORG VS MCENROE ★★☆☆☆ D: Janus Metz (Armadillo). S: Shia LaBeouf, Sverrir Gudnason, Tuva Novotny, David Bamber, Stellan Skarsgård. Flat sports biopic. Blandly directed. Uninsightful. Interesting only because neither rival is likeable.  
BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL ★★☆☆☆
D: Takashi Miike (Yakuza Apocalypse, Over Your Dead Body, Hara Kiri: Death of a Samurai, 13 Assassins, Yatterman; Big Bang Love, Juvenile A; The Happiness of the Katakuris, Ichi the Killer.) S: Takuya Kimura, Hana Sugisaki, Sôta Fukushi. Tedious. Repetitive. Uncharismatic. The opposite of Miike’s 13 ASSASSINS. Feels phoned in. INGRID GOES WEST ★★★½☆ D: Matt Spicer. S: Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Wyatt Russell, Pom Klementieff. Amusingly awkward social commentary. Aubrey Plaza owns it. Not completely convinced by the ending.
GEMINI ★★★½☆ D: Aaron Katz (Cold Weather). S: Lola Kirke, Zoë Kravitz, John Cho, Greta Lee, Michelle Forbes, Ricki Lake, James Ransome. A nifty indie murder mystery. ENTOURAGE meets MULHOLLAND DRIVE. MUTAFUKAZ ★★★½☆ Ds: Shoujirou Nishimi, Guillaume Renard. An animated THEY LIVE. Action sequences are well staged and kinetic. Humour hilarious. Ending uneven. LOVELESS (Nelyubov) ★★★★½ D: Andrey Zvyagintsev (Leviathan, Elena, The Banishment, The Return). S: Maryana Spivak, Yanina Hope, Aleksey Rozin, Daria Pisareva. Atmospheric. Gripping. Charged. Deeply despondent. Five for five from Zvyagintsev.  LOVELESS KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE ★★☆☆☆ D: Matthew Vaughn (Kingsman: The Secret Service, X-Men: First Classs, Kick-Ass, Stardust, Layer Cake). S: Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Halle Berry, Julianne Moore, Pedro Pascal, Channing Tatum, Jeff Bridges. An unnecessary and uninspired sequel. A pale experience in comparison to the exhilarating original.   |
This website is written by Hemanth Kissoon.
Filmaluation is dedicated to arts culture, with a particular focus on film. I care about intelligence, quality and entertainment. Need some movie and TV show recommendations? See the drop down to the right of the Home tab. Enjoy. The vital ambitions of art and entertainment: - Perceptiveness - Illumination - The unexpected - Innovation Brains and soul are key; but adrenaline junkies do not fret, there is also much love for an experience that delivers a sucker-punch to the guts via stunningly delivered thrills. Noun, “filmaluation”: The evaluation of a film Verb, "to filmaluate”: To evaluate a film I am well aware how difficult it is to make a film, put on a stage play, create a television show, write a novel, let alone make something of note. (That appreciation doesn’t stop me from having high standards though.) This online magazine is edited by Hemanth Kissoon. Filmaluation is owned by Filmaluation Limited (Company number 8549302. Registered in England and Wales) Archives
September 2024
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