Trap
2024
**½
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Cast: Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Night Shyamalan, Hayley Mills, Alison Pill, Jonathan Langdon, Mark Bacolcol, Marnie McPhail-Diamond, Scott Mescudi, Russell "Russ" Vitale
Cooper takes his 12-year-old daughter Riley to pop star Lady Raven's concert. When the venue is suddenly swarming with police, Cooper, secretly a serial killer, tries to evade capture and hide it all from Riley. Apparently M. Night Shyamalan created his latest twisty thriller to showcase his daughter's music. Saleka Night Shyamalan plays Lady Raven, and she is a much better singer than actor. Although the central conceit, 20,000 innocent people put in jeopardy to catch one murdering madman, is stupid, Cooper's first half attempts to escape his predicament are entertaining and darkly funny. However, the second half becomes incredibly silly and preposterous. Josh Hartnett gives a suitably unhinged lead performance.
It's What's Inside
2024
*
Director: Greg Jardin
Cast: Brittany O'Grady, James Morosini, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Devon Terrell, Gavin Leatherwood, Reina Hardesty, Nina Bloomgarden, David W. Thompson, Madison Davenport
A group of friends reunite for a pre-wedding party at a remote country mansion, where one of them has brought along a different kind of role playing game. This abysmal horror comedy introduces its eight characters so haphazardly that once the game begins, I struggled to remember their names or the single character trait they were each given in the beginning. More importantly, I couldn't care less about these insufferable individuals, who all harbour deep-seated secrets, desires, or grudges towards each other. This is Greg Jardin's first feature, and he has made it like it will also be his last. There's simply too much directing going on in every scene. As if the artfully and artificially lit set wasn't distracting enough, Jardin overuses wacky camera angles, 360 degree pans, split screen, show-offy editing, and overpowering needle drops. However, all of these tricks cannot hide tne fact that there's nothing inside his script. The ending is just ridiculous.
Je'vida
2023
****
Director: Katja Gauriloff
Cast: Agafia Niemenmaa, Heidi Gauriloff, Sanna-Kaisa Palo, Seidi Haarla, Erkki Gauriloff, Matleena Fofonoff, Heini Wesslin, Sophia Kiprianoff, Jarkko Lahti
Je'vida, now Iida, joins her niece to the decrepit family farm in Northern Finland. The return to her childhood home brings back a flood of painful memories. Katja Gauriloff's moving drama sheds light on a shameful episode in Finnish history and it is the first film shot mostly in Skolt Sámi language. Most of the flashbacks take place in the 1950s, when Je'vida and other Sámi children were forcibly assimilated to the Finnish society and stripped of their language and culture. This is an important topic and clearly very personal project for Gauriloff, and it shows. The black and white cinematography looks great.
Mickey 17
2025
****
Director: Bong Joon-ho
Cast: Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo, Holliday Grainger, Patsy Ferran, Cameron Britton, Daniel Henshall, Steve Park, Anamaria Vartolomei
In a futuristic world, Mickey Barnes signs up as an Expendable, a disposable guinea pig for dangerous work who can be reprinted after his death.
Things come to a head on ice planet Niflheim, when version 18 is generated before version 17 is confirmed dead. Bong Joon-ho's third English-language film is based on Edward Ashton's 2022 novel. This darkly comical science fiction epic is goofy, funny, violent, gripping, and thought-provoking, but a bit too long. Robert Pattinson is strong in his dual role and Mark Ruffalo gives an enjoyably over-the-top performance as the colony's self-obsessed leader.
Hostiles
2017
***
Director: Scott Cooper
Cast: Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike, Wes Studi, Ben Foster, Jesse Plemons, Rory Cochrane, Adam Beach, Q'orianka Kilcher, Jonathan Majors, Timothée Chalamet
In 1892, a seasoned U.S. Army Captain is ordered to escort a dying Cheyenne war chief and his family back to their tribal lands in Montana. The journey forces the Captain to confront his deep-seated prejudices and personal trauma. Scott Cooper's revisionist Western is like Green Book on horseback, albeit with a much higher death toll. It portrays the West as a brutal and unforgiving landscape, but offers a disappointingly 21st century view to racism, colonialism, and morality. The male cast members compete for the gruffest mumbling voice.
The Electric State
2025
**
Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Cast: Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, Stanley Tucci, Jason Alexander, Woody Norman, Giancarlo Esposito, Ke Huy Quan, Brian Cox, Jenny Slate, Anthony Mackie, Ala Tudyk, Hank Azaria, Colman Domingo
In a retro-futuristic 1990, humans defeated robots using Neurocaster technology, which allows them to upload their minds into drone robots. Four years later, a young troubled woman encounters a mysterious robot that appears to be connected to her believed-to-be dead brother. The Russo brothers, always so reliable in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, have made another turkey when they're working outside their comfort zone. This dystopian science fiction adventure mishmash may be loosely based on Simon Stålenhag's 2018 graphic novel, but it just seems to steal every element of its story from other movies, such as Ready Player One, The Creator, I, Robot, Don't Worry Darling, A.I. – Artificial Intelligence, and Chappie. This concoction is derivative and utterly forgettable, but not a complete disaster. The tone is light and jokey, but I don't remember laughing once.
Detroit
2017
****
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Cast: John Boyega, Will Poulter, Algee Smith, Jacob Latimore, Jason Mitchell, Hannah Murray, Kaitlyn Dever, Jack Reynor, Ben O'Toole, Anthony Mackie
In 1967, a police raid on an unlicensed club ignites citywide race riots in Detroit, which culminates in a violent and tragic confrontation between police officers and predominantly black guests at the Algiers Motel. Kathryn Bigelow's dramatisation of these harrowing real-life events is tense and gripping, but also very tough to watch. Don't expect a happy ending. Like Bigelow's two previous films, The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, it was scripted by Mark Boal. The performances are strong throughout.
My Old Ass
2024
**½
Director: Megan Park
Cast: Maisy Stella, Percy Hynes White, Maddie Ziegler, Kerrice Brooks, Aubrey Plaza, Maria Dizzia, Alexandria Rivera, Al Goulem, Seth Isaac Johnson, Carter Trozzolo
18-year-old Elliott is about to leave her rural home and move to Toronto. After taking psychedelic mushrooms, she encounters her 39-year-old self, who warns her about a boy named Chad. Megan Park's second feature, which she also scripted, is a short and sympathetic but messy coming-of-age drama comedy. Although the Old Ass turns out to be more than a hallucination, Aubrey Plaza makes a disappointingly brief appearance. In all honesty, this entire fantasy gimmick could have been left out entirely. The film focuses on Elliott's reluctant but inevitable romance with Chad, which feels ill-judged and conservative, as Elliott starts off as a lesbian.
The Dead Don't Die
2019
**
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Cast: Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover, Caleb Landry Jones, Selena Gomez, Austin Butler, Luka Sabbat, Carol Kane, Rosie Perez, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits
The Earth's rotation is disrupted and the small town of Centerville faces a zombie uprising. The local police force attempt to fight back against the growing menace. Jim Jarmusch's dark and self-aware zombie comedy features an incredible cast and a terrible script. The events proceed with passive inevitability and the end result is deadpan, dead slow, and dead boring.
Private Life
2018
****
Director: Tamara Jenkins
Cast: Kathryn Hahn, Paul Giamatti, Kayli Carter, Molly Shannon, John Carroll Lynch, Denis O’Hare, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Emily Robinson, Desmin Borges, Charlie Murphy
A middle-aged couple from New York City have pursued various means to get a child, but all of them have failed. There is newfound hope when their young niece offers to donate her eggs. This funny and moving personal drama shows how the most fulfilling period in a couple's lives can become a constant source of agony and frustration. Kathryn Hahn and Paul Giamatti give charming and heartbreaking performances.
The Brutalist
2024
****½
Director: Brady Corbet
Cast: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, Stacy Martin, Alessandro Nivola, Raffey Cassidy, Jonathan Hyde, Isaach De Bankolé, Anton Lesser
When László Toth, a visionary Hungarian architect and Holocaust survivor, flees post-war Europe to America, his struggles are not over. Things start to look brighter when his wife Erzsébet finally joins him and a wealthy industrialist hires him to design a community center. Brady Corbet's epic and spectacular 3½-hour immigrant story chronicles the peaks and valleys of the American Dream. First it giveth, then it taketh away. America gives László and Erzsébet a lifeline, but they never feel truly welcome in their new home. This story feels authetically recreated yet timely, amidst the resurgence of racism and anti-semitism in the US. Adrien Brody's heartfelt lead performance, Lol Crawley's majestic cinematography, which uses the forgotten VistaVision format, and Daniel Blumberg's terrifically powerful score all won Academy Awards.
Nickel Boys
2024
***½
Director: RaMell Ross
Cast: Aunjanue Ellis, Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Fred Hechinger, Hamish Linklater, Josh Hamilton, Jeffrey Wright, André Holland, Caleb McLaughlin, Regina King
After getting in the wrong car, college-bound 17-year-old Elwood is sent to a reform school called Nickel Academy. He befriends Turner, a rebellious youth, who helps him to navigate the cruel, racist, and abusive institution. RaMell Ross' heartbreaking drama was adapted from Colson Whitehead's 2019 novel and Nickel Academy is based on Dozier School for Boys, a real-life reform school in Florida where dozens of boys were found buried in unmarked graves. Ross has shot his feature debut entirely from the first-person perspective of its two protagonists. This is a bold and unusual but somewhat distracting and distancing artistic choice, and perhaps that is why the grim finale didn't move me as much as I expected. Considering how simple the story is, the film is a bit too long at 140 minutes.
The Substance
2024
****
Director: Coralie Fargeat
Cast: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Ray Liotta, Isabella Rossellini, Jean-Baptiste Puech, Florent Arnoult, Clara Deshayes, Pauline Lorillard, Eddy Suiveng, Salomé Dewaels
On her 50th birthday, aging Hollywood star Elisabeth Sparkle is fired from her TV job. In desperation, she resorts to a mysterious drug know as the Substance, which creates a younger and better version of herself. Coralie Fargeat's second feature is an entertaining, darkly comic, and extremely graphic body horror movie that asks how far women are willing to go to stay young and marketable in a world shaped by the male gaze. From the very first scene, Fargeat's direction is wonderfully assured and her visual style is eye–catching. The story, visuals, and special effects draw inspiration from or pay homage to classics such as The Fly, The Thing, The Elephant Man, The Shining,.and Videodrome. An Academy Award winner for best makeup and hairstyling.
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
2024
*****
Director: Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham
Cast: Ben Whitehead, Peter Kay, Reece Shearsmith, Lauren Patel, Diane Morgan, Muzz Khan, Adjoa Andoh, Lenny Henry, Roman Kemp, John Sparkes
Well-meaning Wallace invents a practical gardening robot named Norbot, but he inadvertently deprives Gromit of his only outlet for relaxation. Things get out of hand when their old nemesis, Feathers McGraw, hacks into Norbot. The first Wallace & Gromit animation in more than 15 years and the second one in feature length since The Curse of the Wear Rabbit (2005) is another resounding success. The memorable villain from The Wrong Trousers (1993) returns, and the resulting film is full of terrific puns, hilarious sight gags, and thrilling set pieces.
Tove
2020
****
Director: Zaida Bergroth
Cast: Alma Pöysti, Krista Kosonen, Shanti Roney, Joanna Haartti, Kajsa Ernst, Robert Enckell, Jakob Öhrman, Eeva Putro, Seidi Haarla, Lauri Tilkanen
In post-war Helsinki, Swedish-speaking painter Tove Jansson struggles to make ends meet and also falls in love with a woman who doesn't return her feelings. This compelling biographical drama wisely doesn't attempt to chronicle all the key moments in Tove Jansson's life, but instead focuses on showing how she used her personal and professional disappointments as fuel to write and illustrate the beloved Moomin books. The performances, particularly Alma Pöysti and Krista Kosonen, are great.
The Last Stop in Yuma County
2023
***½
Director: Francis Galluppi
Cast: Jim Cummings, Jocelin Donahue, Richard Brake, Nicholas Logan, Faizon Love, Michael Abbott Jr., Gene Jones, Robin Bartlett, Sierra McCormick, Connor Paolo
Sometime in the 1970s, a number of travellers become stranded at a remote rest stop in Arizona due to a fuel shortage. Among them are two bank robbers on the run who take the others hostage. Francis Galluppi's feature debut is a streamlined and cleverly constructed, Western-influenced crime film. It delivers plenty of entertainment but not an iota of originality. It is as if Quentin Tarantino and the Coen brothers got together in the 1990s to hammer out this script.
The Wild Robot
2024
***½
Director: Chris Sanders
Cast: Lupita Nyong'o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Catherine O'Hara, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Mark Hamill, Matt Berry, Ving Rhames, Piotr Michael
After a shipwreck, robot ROZZUM Unit 7134 finds herself stranded on a remote island inhabited solely by wild animals. She learns to communicate with the wildlife and unexpectedly becomes the adoptive mother to an orphaned gosling. This wonderfully visualised animation starts off like WALL-E stranded in the wilderness, but the unusual beginning gradually gives way to a more formulaic story. By the end, everything in it has been anthropomorphised. The robot develops a heart and all the animals speak the same language and eat plant-based food. Based on Peter Brown's 2016 novel.
Wonka
2023
***
Director: Paul King
Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Keegan-Michael Key, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Olivia Colman, Jim Carter, Mathew Baynton, Tom Davis, Simon Farnaby, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
This prequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory explores the early years of Willy Wonka. The evil and corrupt Chocolate Cartel thwarts Wonka's plans to open a chocolate shop, and he ends up working in Mrs. Scrubbitt's launderette to pay his debts. Paul King, who directed the wonderful Paddington and Paddington 2, cannot repeat the feat with this fantasy musical based on Roald Dahl's characters. The CGI-heavy film is magical and whimsical but not particularly memorable. The songs were written by Neil Hannon of the Divine Comedy.
Comeback
2023
**
Director: Petri Kotwica
Cast: Mikko Leppilampi, Ville Myllyrinne, Paula Vesala, Anni Iikkanen, Pamela Tola, Marja Packalén, Mari Perankoski, Kirsi Ylijoki, Armi Toivanen, Vuokko Hovatta
More than 15 years ago, No Love Lost crashed and burned at the height of their fame. When the band's guitarist Tony Love, now a down-and-out alcoholic, learns of a collection of new songs, he is desperate to put the band back together. Petri Kotwica's comedy is formulaic and sentimental, but not as predictable as I feared. However, tonally it is all over the place. Mikko Leppilampi gives a likeably kinetic lead performance.
The Count of Monte Cristo
2024
****½
Director: Matthieu Delaporte, Alexandre de La Patellière
Cast: Pierre Niney, Bastien Bouillon, Anaïs Demoustier, Anamaria Vartolomei, Laurent Lafitte, Pierfrancesco Favino, Patrick Mille, Vassili Schneider, Julien de Saint Jean, Marie Narbonne
In 1815, newly promoted Captain Edmond Dantès is betrayed on his wedding day and falsely accused of treason. After years of wrongful imprisonment, he escapes and returns as the wealthy Count of Monte Cristo. Alexandre Dumas' 1844 epic novel has been adapted multiple times, more recently in 1975 and 2002. It tells a magnificently sprawling story and this French version focuses on the fine line between justice and revenge. This visually stunning film is long but thoroughly captivating.
Destroyer
2018
**½
Director: Karyn Kusama
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Sebastian Stan, Toby Kebbell, Tatiana Maslany, Scoot McNairy, Bradley Whitford, Jade Pettyjohn, Beau Knapp, Zach Villa, James Jordan
LAPD detective Erin Bell, who infiltrated a criminal gang 16 years before, must revisit her traumatic past when the gang's leader resurfaces again. Nicole Kidman, with her huddled gait, tainted teeth, and dark circles around the eyes, gives a courageous performance as this tormented individual. Unfortunately the script by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi is not equally strong. Karyn Kusama's film delivers plenty of brooding and foreboding, but despite the narrative twist, it all leads to an underwhelming finale.
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
2023
***½
Director: Kelly Fremon Craig
Cast: Abby Ryder Fortson, Rachel McAdams, Elle Graham, Benny Safdie, Kathy Bates, Aidan Wojtak-Hissong, Amari Alexis Price, Katherine Mallen Kupferer, Kate MacCluggage, Zachary Brooks
In 1970, 11-year-old Margaret and her parents move from New York City to the New Jersey suburbs, where she must make new friends and face the challenges of puberty and faith. Kelly Fremon Craig's coming-of-age drama comedy is based on Judy Blume's popular 1970 novel. The film is endearing and well-acted, but coming more than 50 years after the book, I feel like I've already seen this story dozens of times. Is this really what 11-year-old girls are like, thinking about boys and dreaming of their periods starting?
Monster
2023
****½
Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Cast: Sakura Andō, Eita Nagayama, Sōya Kurokawa, Hinata Hiiragi, Mitsuki Takahata, Akihiro Kakuta, Shidō Nakamura, Yūko Tanaka, Yūki Kura, Konomi Watanabe
When her son exhibits strange behavior, a single mother suspects his teacher of abuse, but is that what's actually happening? Like Rashomon, Hirokazu Kore-eda's brilliant follow-up to Broker tells the same story from multiple perspectives, which reveals misunderstandings and unspoken traumas and emotions. This moving film features lovely performances.
Captain America: Brave New World
2025
***
Director: Julius Onah
Cast: Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Carl Lumbly, Xosha Roquemore, Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson, Harrison Ford, Sebastian Stan
While Thaddeus Ross, now President, attempts to agree a deal for the rights to adamantium, a new metal discovered on Celestial Island, the new Captain America Sam Wilson uncovers a mind-control plot. The 35th Marvel Cinematic Universe release has callbacks to The Incredible Hulk, Eternals, and the Disney+ show The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Not the most promising source material, but with recent turds like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels the expectations have sunk so low that even a modest success like this feels like a massive triumph. This is an adequately entertaining and well-paced action film, and not much else.
The Order
2024
***
Director: Justin Kurzel
Cast: Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Jurnee Smollett, Alison Oliver, Marc Maron, Odessa Young, Phillip Forest Lewitski, Matias Lucas, Gary Basaraba
In 1983, FBI agent Terry Husk investigates a series of violent bank and armoured car robberies which point to a neo-Nazi group known as the Order, who have bigger plans in store. Like BlacKkKlansman, this passable crime drama chronicles a real-life case about a white supremacist group who were up to no good. The story is adapted from the 1989 book The Silent Brotherhood: The Chilling Inside Story of America's Violent, Anti-Government Militia Movement by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt, but once we're introduced to the formulaically troubled agent and the young and courageous police officer (and his lovely family) who assists him, it's not only obvious where it's all heading but also clear that Zach Baylin has used creative license in his screenplay.
To Catch a Killer
2023
***
Director: Damián Szifron
Cast: Shailene Woodley, Ben Mendelsohn, Jovan Adepo, Ralph Ineson, Michael Cram, Mark Camacho, Darcy Laurie, Rosemary Dunsmore, Jesse Camacho, Nick Walker
After a highly skilled sniper kills 29 random people in Baltimore and then disappears, a talented but troubled police officer is brought onto the case led by the FBI. Damián Szifron's crime thriller doesn't beat around the bush. After the brutal and adrenaline-filled opening scene, the story settles down to a more conventional crime procedural. With a female investigator chasing a serial killer, The Silence of the Lambs vibes are inevitable. However, the script by Szifron and Jonathan Wakeham doesn't achieve the same level of originality, and the ending, in particular, is frustratingly clichéd.
Twisters
2024
***
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Cast: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos, Brandon Perea, Maura Tierney, Sasha Lane, Harry Hadden-Paton, David Corenswet, Daryl McCormack, Tunde Adebimpe
A traumatised meteorologist leaves her cushy desk job to chase tornadoes in Oklahoma, where she crosses paths with a reckless storm-chasing YouTuber. This unconnected sequel to Twister (1996) doesn't bring back any of the old characters, but it does briefly feature Dorothy, the clunky device designed for studying tornadoes. But more importantly, Lee Isaac Chung's dumb but fun disaster movie tells the same formulaic story about competing storms-chaser teams, each using their own distinct methods and technology, while two people are drawn together as their lives hang in the balance. The visual effects have obviously improved in the last 28 years.
Asteroid City
2023
*½
Director: Wes Anderson
Cast: Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis
In 1955, families gather in the desert town of Asteroid City for the Junior Stargazer convention. Or actually, the whole thing is a stage play framed by a black and white documentary about staging the play. Wes Anderson's formalistic style has always been an acquired taste, but latest by The French Dispatch, he seemed to disappear entirely up his own ass. These days, Anderson doesn't even attempt to feature a compelling narrative or characters who resemble human beings. Thankfully this time we get only one story instead of three. The cast is amazing once again, on paper at least, but the film and the dialogue flowed over me like water off a duck's back.
Monkey Man
2024
**
Director: Dev Patel
Cast: Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Sobhita Dhulipala, Sikandar Kher, Pitobash, Ashwini Kalsekar, Makarand Deshpande, Vipin Sharma, Adithi Kalkunte, Vijay Kumar
While a nationalist movement gathers pace in India, a mysterious man, who wears a monkey mask in underground fights, plots a revenge on a corrupt police chief who killed his mother years ago. Dev Patel's directorial debut is a brutal action movie that cannot escape the shadow of John Wick. Patel shows some skill and visual flair in directing, but the tropy script he co-wrote with Paul Angunawela and John Collee is awful. The end result is another dull and tension-free revenge story, because the bad guy is an irredeemably evil monster without any personality.
Conclave
2024
****
Director: Edward Berger
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, Isabella Rossellini, Lucian Msamati, Javier Cámara, Silvio Orlando, Adriano Giannini, Gianfranco Gallo
Following the death of the Pope, Cardinal Thomas Lawrence presides over a conclave to elect the successor. Lawrence, who is struggling with a crisis of faith, uncovers hidden secrets and political machinations among the cardinals. This adaptation of Robert Harris' 2016 novel sheds light on this structured process and manages to turn a private ballot into a commanding and entertaining political thriller. The conclave cleverly reflects the world in which we live: the leading candidates include a liberal, a moderate, a social conservative, and a traditionalist. Ralph Fiennes gives an understated but intense lead performance, and the rest of the cast are great, as well. Peter Straughan's script won an Academy Award.
House of Gucci
2021
**
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons, Al Pacino, Salma Hayek, Jack Huston, Reeve Carney, Camille Cottin, Youssef Kerkour
Ridley Scott's fact-based soap opera dramatises the turbulent marriage and divorce of Patrizia Reggiani and Maurizio Gucci, and chronicles some of the eventful history of the Gucci fashion house. Patrizia is portrayed as a manipulative and jealous go-getter, whose actions lead to betrayal, revenge, and murder. The script by Becky Johnston and Roberto Bentivegna is based on the 2001 book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed by Sara Gay Forden. Although the story includes some crazy twists, all we get is a dull and trashy 158-minute epic with some ridiculously hammy performances and dodgy accents. Lady Gaga, Al Pacino, and Jared Leto are the worst of the pack
Fruitvale Station
2013
****
Director: Ryan Coogler
Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Diaz, Octavia Spencer, Kevin Durand, Chad Michael Murray, Ahna O'Reilly, Ariana Neal, Keenan Coogler, Trestin George, Joey Oglesby
Ryan Coogler's feature debut chronicles the last 24 hours in the life of Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old black man who was shot by a police officer in Oakland, California on the New Year's Day, 2009. This is a short but powerful film, even if Oscar's final day seem a bit too perfectly constructed to be authentic. Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Diaz, and Octavia Spencer give very strong performances.
Hit Man
2023
**½
Director: Richard Linklater
Cast: Glen Powell, Adria Arjona, Austin Amelio, Retta, Sanjay Rao, Molly Bernard, Evan Holtzman, Mike Markoff, Lee Eddy, Michael J. Lyons
Gary Johnson, an unassuming college professor, assists the New Orleans PD in sting operations by posing as a hitman. Things get messy when he becomes romantically involved with Madison, a woman who wants her husband killed. Like Bernie, Richard Linklater's dark and very loosely fact-based caper comedy is based on a Texas Monthly article by Skip Hollandsworth. The story is thematically interesting: Gary lectures about identity and self-perception in his day job, and creates different personas in his side job. However, the film itself is surprisingly underwhelming, often dull, and definitely too long. The unexpected ending feels wrong, as we still know nothing about Madison. The final scene really put me off.
Den of Thieves
2018
***
Director: Christian Gudegast
Cast: Gerard Butler, Pablo Schreiber, O'Shea Jackson Jr., 50 Cent, Meadow Williams, Jordan Bridges, Max Holloway, Mo McRae, Evan Jones, Cooper Andrews
While a gang of elite bank robbers are planning an audacious heist on the Federal Reserve Bank, they engage in a game of cat and mouse with the LASD Major Crimes Unit. Christian Gudegast's directorial debut is an entertaining but derivative and testosterone-fuelled action drama, a second rate Heat, if you will. Gerard Butler and Pablo Schreiber take over from Al Pacino and Robert De Niro as two skilled and strong-willed men on the opposite sides of the law, but Gudegast clearly doesn't have the talent or ambition of MIchael Mann.
Red Rocket
2021
****
Director: Sean Baker
Cast: Simon Rex, Bree Elrod, Suzanna Son, Brenda Deiss, Ethan Darbone, Brittney Rodriguez, Judy Hill, Shih-Ching Tsou, Parker Bigham, Victoria Perez
A washed-up and self-deluded adult film star Mikey Sabre returns to his hometown in Texas with his tail between his legs, but it doesn't take long for him to exploit everyone around him. Sean Baker's follow-up to The Florida Project is another non-judgemental portrayal of people on the edge of society. This darkly comic drama features one of the least likeable protagonists of all time. Mikey is a charming and sociable but duplicitous and depraved scumbag, but his inevitable downfall is oddly entertaining. Simox Rex gives an energetic lead performance.
