Lacking in mercy

 

The Mercy (2017)

Directed by James Marsh this film based on real events stars Colin Firth, Rachel Weisz and David Thewlis. In 1968 an amateur sailor joins a round the world sailing race gambling everything on his success.

I enjoyed this film because it is very rare we get to see failure on the big screen as the basis of a story. The film is enjoyable and seems mostly faithful to true events but I would have liked a bit more emphasis on the protagonist painting himself into a corner and his descent into insanity. Whatever the film lacks there is more than enough to enjoy here.

3/5

Using your beliefs against you

 

Reboot Camp (2020)

Written & directed by Ivo Raza this film stars Keli Price, Maya Stojan and David Lipper. Two brothers document setting up a fake self up group but lose control of their own fake cult.

This mockumentary is a great look at how cults work and how they get out of control. Not exactly hard hitting or looking into the dark parts of the subject matter this is a good watch nonetheless. The celebrity cameos can not help but make you think of scientology as you watch this.

4/5

Heart of disappointment

 

Edge of the World (2021)

Directed by Michael Haussman this film inspired by historical events stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Dominic Monaghan and Atiqah Hasiholan. A British adventurer arrives in Borneo and becomes ruler of Sarawak.

At times this film really wants to be Apocalypse Now, so much so it appears to be cribbing from that story excessively. I am really not sure what we are supposed to take from this film, especially with how we view imperialism through a modern lens. All in all I think this film on scratches the surface of the true historical story.

2/5

Of Tilly and Henry

 

23 Walks (2020)

Written & directed by Paul Morrison this film stars Alison Steadman and Dave Johns. While walking their dogs two lonely older people meet.

At times touching unfortunately this film is let down by dialogue which lacks in any sort of subtlety. Not a bad watch but this could have been a really good film with a bit more care taken. We do not get enough films about people in this stage of life and there is a really good performance from Alison Steadman.

3/5

How badly this has aged?

 

Primary Colors (1998)

Directed by Mike Nichols this film based on the novel of the same name stars Adrian Lester, John Travolta and Emma Thompson. A young idealist joins the campaign of a Southern Governor in the race for the Democractic Party nomination for president.

Designed as a thinly veiled look at the Clinton campaign at first look this was a decent look at the question of using “dirt” in political campaigns. Watching this back years later and after the MeToo movement the film has really not aged well, at no point does anyone suggest that maybe Governor Stanton is doing anything really wrong with all the scandals he is creating. I am left wondering how a modern take on this story would look.

3/5

Neither super or intelligent

 

Superintelligence (2020)

Directed by Ben Falcone this film stars Melissa McCarthy, Bobby Cannavale, Brian Tyree Henry and the voice of James Corden. An emergent AI decides to study humanity through an average woman.

There is a really decent premise here but the execution of this film is pretty flat. Towards the end things really start to fall apart and the less you think about the plot the better. All in all a bit of a dud.

2/5

Abject failure

 

Triumph (2021)

Directed by Brett Leonard this film inspired by real events stars RJ Mitte, Terrence Howard, Johnathon Schaech and Grace Victoria Cox. In the 1980s a young man with cerebral palsy wants to take up high school wrestling.

Unfortunately the script for this film is beyond heavy handed, losing anything of value the film might have. There is also some over acting from Terrence Howard which does not help matters. Means well but terribly flawed film.

1/5

Odds or evens

 

Topology: Jodan's Curve Theory (1961)

Directed by Charles and Ray Eames this is a short animated film. We get an explanation of what the field of topology is in mathematics.

What this film does really well is give a simple explanation of one of the more advanced fields of modern mathematics. My criticism is that the short never gives us any idea of the applications of this field. Over all a decent educational short.

3/5

A beautiful land

 

High Ground (2020)

Directed by Stephen Maxwell Johnson this film stars Jacob Junior Nayinggul, Simon Baker, Callum Mulvey and Caren Pistorius. In the interwar period white settlers and Aboriginal Australians clash.

While this film does highlight the racism in the colonisation of Australia I am not sure it has much of interest or originality to say on the subject. Where the film is at it's strongest is in showing off the stunning natural landscapes. An enjoyable meat pie western which is more than decently made.

4/5

Interesting twist

 

Symmetry (1961)

Directed by Charles and Ray Eames this is a short animated film. We learn all about the concept of symmerty.

I thought this film did a really good job of explaining the concept, it even did so in a way I had never thought of before. Not the deepest film out there but it does it's job. The animation style is fairly simple.

3/5

After that one last job

 

Deliver Us from Evil (2020)

Written & directed by Hong Won-Chan this film stars Hwang Jung-min, Lee Jung-jae and Park Jeong-min. A hitman about to retire finds out he has a young daughter who has been kidnapped.

This is a pretty familiar action crime film with plenty of killing and a moody protagonist. While there is little original here it is still a well made genre piece. Enjoyable if predictable.

3/5

Familiar feelings

 

End of Sentence (2019)

Directed by Elfar Adalsteins this film stars John Hawkes, Logan Lerman and Sarah Bolger. A widower and his son just out of prison travel to Ireland to spread his wife's ashes.

Predictable through out this is still a fairly decent watch. I do not think there will be any prizes for originality here but this is a decent enough watch. With a little but more work this could have been a really good film.

3/5

All flash no bang

 

Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)

Directed by Navot Papushado this film stars Karen Gillan, Lena Headey, Carla Gugino, Michelle Yeoh, Angela Bassett and Paul Giamatti. A young woman working as an assassin accidentally kills the wrong person and gets herself in a heap of trouble.

Essentially this is a female lead film in the style of John Wick with a nod to Luc Besson. There are plenty of bad ass women in this film but no depth at all to the script or character relationships, there are some token nods to feminism however it is nothing more than lip service really. My problem with the action sequences, which are what should carry the film, is there is never a decent wide shot when you want one.

3/5

The worst

 

Hero Mode (2021)

Directed by A. J. Tesler this film stars Chris Carpenter, Mira Sorvino, Sean Astin and Indiana Massara. A woman lets her teenage son take over development of her company's newest video game.

Oh boy, this film is cringe inducing through out. The makers obviously know nothing about making games or coding and the plot is mind numbing. I really can not find anything good to say about this film.

1/5

easy double ups

 

2n: A Story of the Power of Numbers (1961)

Directed by Charles and Ray Eames this is a short animated film. We hear a story of a king of India and the power of exponentials.

Very simple in concept this is a decent explanation of exponential growth. The animation is a little on the cheap side but serviceable. In the end a good educational film.

3/5

No Man's Entertainment

 

No Man's Land (2021)

Directed by Conor Allyn this film stars Frank Grillo, Jake Allyn, George Lopez and Andie MacDowell. The son of a Texas rancher shoots a teenager trying to cross the border from Mexico.

Unfortunately this film does not have much of interest to say on the subject matter of immigration and is pretty boring. I struggled through the two hour run time of this film. The biggest disappointment is how small of a part Andie MacDowell has in the film.

2/5

Beastly disappointment

 

Beast Beast (2020)

Written & directed by Danny Madden this film stars Shirley Chen, Will Madden and Jose Angeles. We follow the interconnected story of three young people all seeking fame in their own way.

I enjoyed the first two thirds of this film but the final third seems forced and heavy handed. The twist just does not make sense to me, I am not sure what we are supposed to get from it. In the end this film was a disappointment despite the early promise it showed.

2/5

A time of growth

 

Minari (2020)

Written & directedby Lee Isaac Chung this film stars Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho, Youn Yuh-jung and Will Patton. In 1980s America a Korean immigrant moves his family to a rural area with the desire to start a farm.

This is a classic tale of immigration and aspiration centred around childhood, it may be the father's vision that drives the action but we see the story from the point of view of the youngest son. I really enjoyed this film, it is well crafted despite being a bit simple and familiar. Good performances even from the child actors.

4/5

Power of scale

 

Powers of Ten (1977)

Directed by Charles and Ray Eames this is an educational short film. From a picture of a man lying down at a picnic we zoom out to the edge of the universe then back to the centre of an atom.

If you ever wanted a reminder of your cosmic insignificance this is the film for you. Visually impressive this is a powerful educational film. We could probably achieve something better now with modern special effects but for the time this is well made.

4/5

And on that bombshell

 

Bombshell (2019)

Directed by Ray Roach this film based on real events stars Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie and John Lithgow. A look into the exposure of Roger Ailes for harassing various women at Fox News.

I think this is one of the better looks at work place harassment even if it asks some uncomfortable questions. The performances of the cast are all really excellent as you would expect from so many big names. There is only so much you can cover in a 2 hour film so I can forgive the film for not going deeper in some places.

4/5

Yet another shane

 

Let Him Go (2020)

Directed by Thomas Bezucha this film based on the novel of the same name stars Kevin Costner, Diane Lane and Lesley Manville. In the 1960s a retired sheriff and his wife set off to track down the wife of their dead son and her new husband.

Well made but not very original there is not a huge amount that stands out about this Western themed film. The plot is as you would expect with the male lead having to die to prove his worth. Diane Lane and Kevin Coster are the highlights of an otherwise pedestrian genre piece.

3/5

Wrestling with the future

 

The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)

Directed by Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz this film stars Shia LaBeouf, Zack Gottsagen and Dakota Johnson. A 22 year old man with Down syndrome escapes a retirement home with dreams of becoming a professional wrestler.

Essentially this is a modern rework of Huckleberry Finn and works fairly well for what it is. The ending is a little over egging the pudding in my opinion, I would have preferred something more depressingly realistic but otherwise there is not much to complain about here. I would definitely say the cast is the highlight of the film.

3/5

Oh mother

 

Materna (2020)

Directed by David Gutnik this film stars Kate Lyn Sheil, Jade Eshete, Lindsay Burdge and Assol Abdullina. We see four women and their relationship with their mothers/motherhood.

I found this to be an enjoyable anthology of female centric stories. The least interesting part is the incident that connects all four of the main characters together but otherwise there is a lot of enjoy here. Well worth seeking out.

4/5

I prefer inside

 

The Outside Story (2020)

Written & directed by Casimir Nozkowski this film stars Brian Tyree Henry, Sunita Mani and Sonequa Martin-Green. A man locks himself out of his apartment by accident and is forced to get to know his neighbours.

Simplistic both in story and message this is a decent enough film. There is not a huge amount of depth to this positive out look script. I have a slight quibble with the ending but otherwise the film is fine.

3/5

Nordic fusion

 

I Remember You (2017)

Directed by Oskar Thor Axelsson this film based on the novel of the same name stars Johannes Haukur Johannesson, Agusta Eva Erlendsdottir and Elma Stefania Augustdottir. A doctor in Iceland helps the police work a case that brings back memories of his own son's disappearance three years prior.

This film does a really good job of mixing the familiar nordic noir elements with supernatural horror. The film kept me suitably creeped out through out without over playing things. Well worth seeking out for an unusual fusion of genres and the excellent Icelandic scenery.

4/5

Meow

 

Cat People (1942)

Directed by Jacques Tourneur this film stars Simone Simon, Kent Smith and Jane Randolph. An American man marries a Serbian immigrant who believes she is cursed.

Made as a B-movie this film is possibly the origin of the jump scare in cinema. There is certainly something going on beneath the surface of this film and it works well as a thematic horror film. Definitely a milestone in cinema but maybe not of the highest quality when viewed with modern eyes.

4/5

Marriage hog day

 

Long Story Short (2021)

Written & directed by Josh Lawson this film stars Rafe Spall, Zahra Newman, Ronny Chieng and Dena Kaplan. A man who always puts things off is shown how the next ten years of his life will unfold if he does not change his ways.

Simplistic but touching this is a fairly well done romantic comedy with a good heart. There is real potential for the film to get overly sentimental, thankfully it shows good restraint. Rafe Spall really carries the film managing to bring humour just when needed.

3/5

Russian around a factory

 

Russian Raid (2020)

Directed by Denis Kryuchkov this film stars Ivan Kotik, Alexandr Krasovsky and Ilya Antonenko. A mercenary takes part in a hostile take over a criminal factory.

There is not a huge amount of plot to this film, the action is clearly the focus here even if it is a bit repetitive. No doubt the film was made with a nod to The Raid: Redemption but is a weaker effort than Gareth Evan's film. Not bad if you want mindless action film just do not expect too much.

3/5

Circling the plughole

 

From the Drain (1967)

Written & directed by David Cronenberg this short film stars Mort Ritts and Stefan Nosko. Two veterans of an unspecified conflict sit an empty bathtub.

Certainly this is a bizarre film which foreshadows Cronenberg's full length films. The problem with this short is not a lot happens in it really, it is a little lacking in drama for most of the film. Probably not worth seeking out even for big Cronenberg fans.

2/5

Not that excellent

 

The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee (2020)

Directed by Dean Murphy this film stars Paul Hogan, Rachael Carpani and Jacob Elordi. With a knighthood in the offing all Paul Hogan has to do is stay out of trouble, which is seems unable to do.

Unfortunately much like its star this film comes across as old and tired. Everything feels just a little too forced. It might have been best if Hogan had stayed in retirement like his character wanted.

2/5