Operation Mincemeat (2021)
Directed by John Madden this film based on real events stars Colin Firth, Kelly Macdonald and Matthew Macfadyen. The British attempt to make the Germans believe they will invade Greece not Sicily.
We already have one film on this subject matter and I am not sure we needed a second given the changes made here. We get a love triangle added in and Bond bait in the form of bigging up Ian Flemming. Just stick with the original film on the subject in my opinion.
2/5
Boxing Day (2021)
Written & directed by star Aml Ameen this film also features Aja Naomi King, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Marianne Jean-Baptiste. A Caribbean-British author returns home for Christmas to introduce his American finance to his family.
A very reductive description of this film would be to call it a Black version of Love Actually. I could enjoy this film more if it did not signal every single plot element from miles off. There is the potential for decent drama here that is unfortunately completely squandered in favour of easy genre tropes.
2/5
The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1896)
Directed by Auguste & Louis Lumiere this is an early short film. A train pulls into the station at La Ciotat.
Very simple and somewhat of interest to film historians as it was not part of the official Lumiere catalogue. A decent bit of action as the train pulls in and people go about there business. Good for the period.
3/5
Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022)
Directed by Simon Curtis this film based on the television show of the same name stars Hugh Bonneville and Michelle Dockery. A film is made at Downton Abbey while most of the family travel to the south of France.
I found this film to be too gentle, it lacks conflict and any critical eye of the class system. The whole thing is pleasant fantasy for those who do not wish to engage their brains. One for fans of the show, not the general viewer.
2/5
Hounded (2022)
Directed by Tommy Boulding this film stars Samantha Bond, Malachi Pullar-Latchman and James Lance. Landed gentry hunt urban burglars in a faux fox hunt.
Wanting to be social commentary in the style of The Purge or Get Out this film does nothing interesting with a set I have seen done better in the comic The Invisibles. We plod through the predictable plot hitting inevitable story beats. Just needs more character and more thought put into it.
2/5
Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In (2021)
Directed by Jason Ferguson this documentary has contributions from a number of members of the Ferguson family. We follow the career of Sir Alex Ferguson as framed by a recent health scare.
I am a United fan and even I expected this to be a some what self indulgent documentary as it is directed by the subject's own son but it does do a fairly decent job of not over indulging in sentimentality. Now I am probably the target audience for this film so my views should be taken with a grain of salt. I really enjoyed seeing how Sir Alex's upbringing and early years shaped the man he became as well as all the vintage footage.
4/5
She Said (2022)
Directed by Maria Schrader this film based on real events stars Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan. Two New York Times reporters investigate and expose Harvey Weinstein's history of abuse.
Taking on a serious subject like this and setting yourself up against the pantheon of investigative journalism films is a bit ask. The film does a good job of tackling the subject matter, using some harrowing real life testimony without ever being gratuitous with it. Unfortunately I do not think this film is as good as the giants of the genre or as good of a film on the subject matter as The Assistant (2019) is despite this film not doing much wrong.
4/5
