Madrid, arrivee des toreadors (1896)
Directed by Alexandre Promio this is an early short film. Matadors arrive in carriages and get out.
There is not much more to this one than it says on the tin. It takes a little while into the 1 minute run time for the subjects to actually appear, a little bit of editing would not have gone amiss here. Not the most enthralling of the Lumiere catalogue.
2/5
Polite Society (2023)
Written & directed by Nida Manzoor this film stars Priya Kansara and Ritu Arya. A teenage British-Pakistani girl who dreams of becoming a stunt woman is concerned about her older sister giving up her dream to get married.
I love the fusion mash up of action film, coming of age and the British-Pakistani lens it is viewed through here. There might not be a huge audience for this film but those that enjoy it will really enjoy it. Sure the plot may not be that deep however there is still enough laughs and action to carry the film. I look forward to seeing more from Nida Manzoor.
3/5
Silent Night (2023)
Directed by John Woo this flm stars Joel Kinnaman. A man who has permanently lost his voice plans a revenge killing spree against the criminals who killed his son with a stray bullet.
I found this film to be disappointingly mundane, it lacks John Woo's flair and the plot is rank average. Clearly we are taking inspiration from The Great Silence here without being as good of a film. Just a bland revenge film due to the lack of dialogue and style.
3/5
News of the World (2020)
Directed by Paul Greengrass this film based on the novel the same name stars Tom Hanks and Helena Zengel. A former Confederate army officer who makes his living reading the news transports a young girl raised by Native Americans back to her European family.
Mixing up elements of The Searchers and True Grit there is not much new to this western. Decently made with little to recommend it on its own merits this is a pretty average film. Even Tom Hanks and Paul Greengrass can not elevate this beyond the pedestrian.
3/5
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
Directed by Aaron Horvath & Michael Jelenic this film has voices from Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day and Jack Black. Two brothers find themselves transported to a strange world.
Visually this film is really nice, the colours and textures of the animation are fantastic. The plot is pretty basic, thin would be the best way to describe the script. As a kids film it works fine, just do not expect anything more to it.
3/5
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
Directed by James Mangold this film stars Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Mads Mikkelsen. Roused out of retirement our hero is entangled with his god daughter and the Antiythera mechanism.
I suppose this is a passable entry into the franchise even if it does not hit the hits of the best films in the series. There are times when the film relies too much on action sequences without really pushing the plot forward. Apart from Indy no one else really gets any decent character work which is a real shame.
2/5
Allelujah (2022)
Directed by Richard Eyre this film based on the play of the same name stars Jennifer Saunders, Bally Gill, Russell Tovey, Derek Jacobi, Judi Dench and David Bradley. A small geriatric hospital is on the verge of being closed.
Not overly nuanced this is a defence of the NHS in the face of cuts by modern government. I suppose the plot is mostly fine apart from the Harold Shipman twist at the end which is not handled very well in my opinion. I suppose I expected a bit more from something based on the work of Alan Bennett.
2/5
