It is catchy

The Yawner (1907)

Directed by Segundo de Chomon this is an early short film. A man wakes up in the morning unable to stop yawning.

This is a simple film based on the premise that yawns are infectious. Not the deepest of early films that you will see but the solid premise works well in the short form. There are a few chuckles along the way but this is not what you would call riotously funny.

3/5

No rain, all sunshine

A Boy Called Sailboat (2018)

Written & directed by Cameron Nugent this film stars Julian Atocani Sanchez, Noel Gugliemi and J. K. Simmons. A boy obsessed with sailboats finds a small guitar and wants to play a song for his dying grandmother.

One of the most offbeat films you are likely to ever see this is still packed with cuteness. I really enjoyed the slow place and simple nature of this story of a small boy. I really can't wait to see what Cameron Nugent does next.

4/5

A shadow is cast

Under the Tree (2017)

Directed by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurosson this film stars Steinpor Hroar Steinporsson, Edda Bjorgvinsdottir and Lara Johanna Jonsdottir. The feud between two families over the shadow cast by a tree spirals out of control.

Reminding me of the poetry of William Blake this is a fun little black comedy from Iceland. The plot is simple but makes a clear point. If you like dark comedy there is plenty to laugh at here, if your sense of humour is not of a dark persuasion then this might be one to skip for you.

4/5

The definition of exploitative

Breakthrough (2019)

Directed by Roxann Dawson this film based on real events stars Chrissy Metz, Josh Lucas, Topher Grace and Marcel Ruiz. When out playing with his friends a fourteen year old boy falls through the ice.

Pushing an agenda the size of the Titanic this film is full speed ahead selling Christianity to you. There are a whole bunch of things I really hated about this movie from the way it trivializes the contributions of highly skilled professionals to the implication people just need to pray harder. Some of the characters behaviour comes across as really cult like and creepy to those of us who aren't believers.

1/5

A bad idea all round

Papillon (2017)

Directed by Michael Noer this remake stars Charlie Hunnam and Rami Malek. In the 1920s a French man is sent to a penal colony in South America.

Remaking the classic Steve McQueen/Dustin Hoffman version of this film was never going to turn out well for the film makers. This is not a bad film but it always pales in comparison to its predecessor. If you are going to watch a version of this film watch the other one even though there is nothing really wrong with this film.

3/5

Too much sole

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

Written & directed by Quentin Tarantino this film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie. In 1960s Hollywood a tv actor realising his career is on the way down discovers he is living next to Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate.

As with any Tarantino film this one elicited a huge amount of praise and success but at the end I was left unsure about how I felt about it. On the one hand I loved the exploration of 1960s Hollywood from the point of view of the less glamorous side but on the other I am not sure how I feel about the ending contrasting with history. There are definitely some enjoyable parts to this film and the long run time did not seem like a stretch.

3/5

Bear with me

Mickey and the Bear (2019)

Written & directed by Annabelle Attanasio this film stars Camila Morrone, James Badge Dale, Calvin Demba and Ben Rosenfield. An 18 year old girl tries to look after her veteran father while contemplating leaving her small home down in Montana.

Covering a lot of familiar content in this coming of age tale this is still a really good watch. Rural Montana makes for a beautiful back drop, giving some really nice visuals to the film. I really enjoyed this film even if it is a fairly standard genre piece.

3/5