Category Archives: New Releases

Cinema, New Releases, Reviews

CINEMA REVIEW: ANATOMY OF A FALL (2023)

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CINEMA REVIEW: ANATOMY OF A FALL (2023)

Directed by Justine Triet

Written by Justine Triet and Arthur Harari

Produced by Marie-Ange Luciani and David Thion

Main cast: Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado Graner, Antoine Reinartz, Samuel Theis, Jehnny Beth, Saadia Bentaieb, Camille Rutherford, Anne Rotger, Messi (the Dog), etc.

Cinematography by Simon Beaufils

Acclaimed director Justine Triet defies the old advice of not to work with children and animals to deliver a compelling courtroom, domestic and psychological suspense drama in Anatomy of the Fall (2023). Indeed, the performances of teenage actor, Milo Machado Graner and Messi the dog are of terrific quality. The dog’s acting is only surpassed by a formidable tour-de-force portrayal by Sandra Hüller. She excels as a wife accused of murdering her husband in the French Alps town of Grenoble. Did she? Well, there are no easy answers as the script dissects the crime and the couple’s marriage with forensic intensity.

Triet and her screenwriting partner, Arthur Harari, do not waste any time setting up the mystery element of the drama. The film opens as we follow visually impaired, Daniel Maleski (11 years old) taking his dog for a walk in the snow. At the same time his mother, an author, Sandra, is being interviewed by a research student in the chalet. But we never see the husband, Samuel, who plays thumping music from upstairs. When Daniel returns, the student has left and his father is found dead on the hard white, but blooded, ground. Sandra is upstairs unaware of her husband’s demise. Or is she? Herein begins the did-she-or-didn’t she kill him question? It’s a brilliant opening sequence where Triet and her production team demonstrate impressive filmmaking skill, an adroitness which continues throughout.

Anatomy of the Fall (2023) is an extremely complex film, both intelligent and thematically powerful. The courtroom exchanges between Sandra, her son Daniel, Samuel’s psychotherapist, the prosecution and defense lawyers are brilliantly written and acted. The flashback arguments between Samuel and Sandra are gut-wrenching and all too familiar to anyone who has been in or witnessed the crumbling of a marital or parental relationship. As well as the central mystery, Triet and Harari also skilfully weave in thematic subplots relating to literary plagiarism and mental health. While slightly overlong with mild pacing issues toward the end, Anatomy of the Fall (2023) is overall an absorbing thriller about what happens when the love between two people runs its tragic course and the shock and grief that can follow.

Mark: 8.5 out of 11

MUBI, Netflix, New Releases, Reviews

SKY CINEMA REVIEW: MAY DECEMBER (2023)

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SKY CINEMA REVIEW: MAY DECEMBER (2023)

Directed by Todd Haynes

Screenplay by Samy Burch (Story by Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik)

Produced by Natalie Portman, Sophie Mas, Christine Vachon, Pamela Koffler, Grant S. Johnson, Tyler W. Konney, Jessica Elbaum and Will Ferrell.

Main Cast: Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, Charles Melton, Cory Michael Smith, Elizabeth Yu, etc.

Cinematography by Christopher Blauvelt

*** MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS ***

The story of May December (2023) is set in 2015 against the sunny backdrop of Savannah, Georgia. Loosely inspired by the real-life Mary Kay Letourneau scandal, Natalie Portman is Elizabeth Berry, an actress who desires to study the lives of Julianne Moore’s Gracie Atherton-Yoo and her partner Joe Yoo (Charles Melton). Elizabeth is set to play Gracie in an indie film, with latter being infamous for her twenty-three-year-long relationship with Joe, which started when he was thirteen. With a hook like that I was intrigued as to where the story would go with such a controversial subject matter dealing with a convicted sex offender and illicit romance. Here lies a major thematic thumbprint of the filmmakers.

What unfolds is a superbly acted and understated drama which really gets under the skin and into the mind. While watching the ever-shifting points-of-view and identification with the characters May December (2023) became so compelling to me. Gracie is a convicted sex-offender, but she married Joe for love and they had children together after she left jail. But should she have acted on her desires and rejected Joe as a thirteen year old? The simple answer is yes, but it is more complex than that as presented here. Because the couple felt so much emotion for each other that Gracie was prepared to go to jail. This is what attracts Berry and she homes in on Gracie and Joe like the proverbial moth to a flickering bulb.

Structured around Berry’s methodical probing into the past events and Gracie and Joe, she quizzes them, their children, family, friends, work colleagues and legal team. As Berry researches further it becomes apparent she is getting obsessive and almost predatory herself. There are several very awkward scenes involving Berry, notably when she visits the pet store where Gracie and Joe used to work together. As Berry revisits the past she begins to loosen the stitches of old wounds, as both Gracie, and Joe especially, reflect and question the moral validity of their relationship.

I am sure when Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore read the script for May December (2023) they must have been doing back flips with creative excitement. Because it is clearly is a layered screenplay of the highest intelligence, ambiguity, dark humour and intensity by Samy Burch. Along with Melton they deliver on the script with three tremendous performances too. Moreover, acclaimed director Todd Haynes directs this tonally awkward story with a deft touch drawing on the constant grey areas of drama so expertly. May December (2023) may not be for everyone because the film is a slow burn without much in the way of dramatic closure. Conversely, so much of the drama occurs in the acting and script’s subtext, yet it remains a fine example of ambiguous cinema. Finally, the re-orchestration and use of Michel Legrand’s music for The Go-Between (1971) is a masterstroke.

Mark: 9 out 11

Amazon Prime, Cinema, New Releases, Reviews

CINEMA REVIEW: SALTBURN (2023)

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CINEMA REVIEW: SALTBURN (2023)

Directed by Emerald Fennell

Written by Emerald Fennell

Produced by Emerald Fennell, Josey McNamara and Margot Robbie

Cast: Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver, Archie Madekwe, Carey Mulligan, Paul Rhys, etc.

Cinematography by Linus Sandgren

*** MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS ***

As the awards garnered upon Emerald Fennell’s brilliant Promising Young Woman (2020) will testify, she is clearly a major talent. Fennell has also acted in TV shows such as Call the Midwife and The Crown, as well as writing and producing the second series of Killing Eve. Not only is Fennell an excellent actress, writer, director and producer, but is also now an Oscar and BAFTA winner. Thus, Fennell’s “difficult second film” arrives in the guise of the pitch black comedy, Saltburn (2023). Although to describe this hilarious, bleak, sexy, and often twisted exploration of the British class system as such evidently tests the very definition of comedy.

Saltburn (2023) is set in 2006. Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) attends Oxford University as a naive fresher with an inferiority complex and desire for company. While he is incredibly intelligent, coming from a lower class background places bookish Oliver as a very small fish in big water. Especially when compared to the so-called Oxford elite including handsome and wealthy, Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) and his cousin, the handsome and not-as-wealthy, Farleigh Start (Archie Madekwe). While Farleigh is suspicious of Oliver, Jacob soon befriends him and takes the Northerner under his wing. The two connect and form an “odd couple” bromance, with Felix even going so far as to invite Oliver to his stately home, Saltburn, for the summer. There we meet the rest of Felix’s family including his flaky sister, Venetia (Alison Oliver), eccentric father, Sir James (Richard E. Grant) and effervescent mother, Lady Elspeth (Rosamund Pike).

After building Oliver and Felix’s characters carefully during their time at Oxford, Fennell’s savage and satirical screenplay gathers pace in the second act at Saltburn. Here Oliver tries to fit in and ingratiate himself into the Catton family, but it soon becomes clear that however friendly they may be, he will only ever be an outsider to them. Simultaneously, Farleigh sees Oliver as a rival for the Cattons’ emotional and financial affections and the two begin a retaliatory personal war amidst the balmy summer days, breakfasts, dinner parties and social gatherings. Oliver’s main journey is to connect as much with Felix as possible, so much so his passion veers toward obsession. But Felix is a roaming spirit and a hedonist and does not quite requite Oliver’s feelings. Yet, Felix does show compassion for Oliver, as illustrated when he drives him on a mercy mission to visit Oliver’s family. This is where the story takes an intriguing and ever deadly turn.

I cannot recommend Saltburn (2023) enough for its fantastically witty script, devastatingly brilliant cast and some quite disgustingly explicit, but contextually justifiable, character moments and scenes. Fennell takes the setting and structure of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited and turns it upside down, spinning a devious tale of infatuation, love, privilege and social climbing. Through the character Oliver Quick, and I really don’t want to give anything away, there is a powerful and jaw-dropping character arc of upward mobility. Rosamund Pike’s and Keoghan’s performances are both amazing and award-worthy. While the final act twists certainly do shock and surprise they arguably are rushed when compared with the more effective pacing of the opening and middle acts. Moreover, I am also unsure why the exquisite cinematography and stunning locations were presented in the 4:3 (1:33:1) aspect ratio. Why squeeze in Linus Sandgren’s light and framing and not expand them to the widescreen format?

Ultimately, Emerald Fennell proves herself an important voice in British cinema. Unafraid to test the boundaries of taste, genre, and audience expectations, she has crafted one of the most consistently challenging films of the year with Saltburn (2023). One could easily describe the themes presented here as a critique of the upper classes and how the uber-rich are bad people to be brought down to their knees. However, Fennell’s script is not that simplistic. It cleverly careers between love/hate for the characters and irony-bombing the class system, before becoming a damning indictment on the darkest flaws of humanity. Lest one forget the indelible one-liners throughout and THAT final dance sequence, which are both to die for!

Mark: 9.5 out of 11

Cinema, New Releases, Reviews

CINEMA REVIEW: NAPOLEON (2023)

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CINEMA REVIEW: NAPOLEON (2023)

Directed by Ridley Scott

Written by David Scarpa

Produced by: Ridley Scott, Kevin J. Walsh, Mark Huffam, and Joaquin Phoenix.

Main Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby, Tahar Rahim, Rupert Everett, Ben Miles, Ludivine Sagnier, and more.

Cinematography by Dariusz Wolski

If you didn’t know, Napoleon I, was also called Napoleon Bonaparte. He was a French military general and statesman and played a key role in the French Revolution (1789–99), before serving as first consul of France (1799–1804). Napoleon was also the first emperor of France (1804–14/15) and given his many years of military campaigns in France and overseas, striving to build an empire for France, he is now widely considered one of the greatest generals in history. I don’t purport to be a history buff, but I was intrigued by the release of Ridley Scott’s latest directorial epic cinematic behemoth, Napoleon (2023). This almost-three-hour release comes to the screen courtesy of Sony and Apple TV with Joaquin Phoenix in the titular role.

Opening in 1793, a young, but up-and-coming army officer Napoleon witnesses Marie Antoinette get her head cut off at the guillotine, followed quickly by one of the many thrilling battle sequences in the film at the ‘Siege of Toulon.’ It was during this siege that young Napoleon first won fame when his strategy, forced the Anglo-Spanish fleet to withdraw. After which David Scarpa’s adaptation and Scott’s editing team rattle through the battles, romances, trials and decades of Napoleon’s life so breathlessly, as an audience member, I felt like this film was more of a “Now That’s What I Call Napoleon!” greatest hits package rather than a compellingly intense drama and study that really delves into the complex psychology of Napoleon’s character.

Ridley Scott, at 85 years old, brings his masterly cinematic experience to many explosive battle sequences in Egypt, Austria, France and throughout Europe. The stunning cinematography by Dariusz Wolski supports Scott’s vision and it is safe to say the production design and costumes are par excellence for this massively budgeted production. However expertly shot, edited and rendered on screen the battles are, they often feel rushed through at times, providing jarring punctuation to the central human focus of the film, the love story between Napoleon and Josephine (Vanessa Kirby). I feel like I would have preferred a deeper analysis of Napoleon’s military strategics and perhaps a more serious approach to his importance to France through his victories on the battlefield.

Vanessa Kirby, as Josephine, brought a class, elegance and intelligence to the role and gives a standout performance. Joaquin Phoenix, who is one of the finest actors around, however, gives us a misfiring characterization as Bonaparte. I just felt it was too knowing and flippant throughout. I am not averse to humour in serious dramas, but I just did not warm at all to his portrayal. Scott’s director of Phoenix plus Scarpa’s screenplay only touch the surface of Napoleon’s character. I mean here is a historical figure who has an incredible series of chapters in his life, but there is no major journey or arc in his story. At times I even felt there was ridicule for Napoleon, but if you wish to critique him, then why not make him more dangerous, a monster even. Especially given his predilection and desire for war and sending thousands of lives to their tragic end.

Like I say, Scott and his amazing creative team deliver a greatest “hits” of Napoleon’s life and some spectacular cinematic moments. But quite often I was bored and questioning why I should care about any of the characters on screen. Scott and his screenwriter have been stung by criticisms of historical inaccuracies. That doesn’t bother Scott at all and would not bother me if such changes enhanced the drama. Yet, the compression of certain scenarios seem to be more for pacing reasons. Lastly, there is apparently a four-hour directorial cut of the film so perhaps that contains more depth, emotion and psychological analysis of Napoleon, rather than the paper-thin filmic treatise delivered here.

Mark: 7 out of 11

Netflix, New Releases, Reviews

NETFLIX FILM REVIEW: THE KILLER (2023)

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NETFLIX FILM REVIEW: THE KILLER (2023)

Directed by David Fincher

Screenplay by Andrew Kevin Walker

Based on: The Killer by Alexis “Matz” Nolent and Luc Jacamon

Produced by: William Doyle, Peter Mavromates, Ceán Chaffin

Cast: Michael Fassbender, Arliss Howard, Charles Parnell, Kerry O’Malley, Sala Baker, Tilda Swinton and Sophie Charlotte.

*** MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS ***

David Fincher is one of those filmmakers whose form and style is often unsettling and remarkable. He has built up a formidable body of directorial work over the years and his qualities were displayed perfectly in the Netflix FBI drama Mindhunter. Greens, dark yellows and browns stained the screen as Fincher and other series directors created a haunting stylistic palette. Furthermore, with the gripping narratives, great direction and memorable performances I just did not want the latest season of Mindhunter to end. Choosing to stay with the theme of death, Fincher now presents The Killer (2023), again released by Netflix.

Michael Fassbender is the unnamed assassin who has a specific set of rules. The film opens with him currently preparing for his latest job. He chimes and opines via a voiceover like a monk praying allowing us into his way of working. Methodical and meticulous, the ‘Killer’ waits patiently for the moment his planning comes to a head and he shoots. All the while he listens to songs by Mancunian indie band, The Smiths. The opening sequence is the strongest of the film and is a masterclass of visual storytelling, character work by Fassbender and suspense building. Inevitably, for a consummate professional and organiser, the hit goes awry and the ‘Killer’ find himself a target for death himself.

After such a memorable opening, reminiscent of one of Paul Schrader’s compelling existential-lone-man-in-a-room dramas, the remainder of the film is a more generic series of chases and fights enlivened by one stand-out acting duologue scene between Fassbender and Tilda Swinton. Moreover, for a character to have renounced emotional connections with anyone or anything, the ‘Killer’s’ motivations to wreak revenge on those who harmed his girlfriend seemed at odds with his governing principles. Also, for someone who is meant to “stick to the plan” he does improvise a fair amount. Putting my personal pedantry aside, this is a fine B-movie in the assassin crime subgenre with terrific work by Fassbender as the quirky killer and also Fincher, who even in second gear, is capable of delivering darkly compelling filmic entertainment.

Mark: 8 out of 11

Articles, Cinema, New Releases, Reviews

CINEMA REVIEW: KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON (2023)

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CINEMA REVIEW: KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON (2023)

Directed by: Martin Scorsese

Screenplay by: Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese

Based on: Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

Produced by: Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas, Martin Scorsese and Daniel Lupi

Main cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, John Lithgow, Tantoo Cardinal, Scott Shephard, etc.

Cinematography: Rodrigo Prieto

Edited by: Thelma Schoonmaker

*** MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS ***

Who can tell how the world and society as we know it would’ve evolved if Christopher Columbus, the explorer credited with finding the Americas in 1492, had not landed and begun the first steps toward colonising this uncharted part of Earth. Of course, there were existing natives in the Americas and over time they would experience first contact with Spanish, Portuguese, British and other European, predominantly white, settlers. It may be that the natives would have had equally difficult experiences, and colonists brought with them many positive things. But one has to surmise they would not have had their land and lives gradually taken from them over the centuries without the European invasion.

The violent theft of land and wealth from Native Americans forms the bedrock of the narrative of Martin Scorsese’s latest epic drama, Killers of the Flower Moon (2023). Adapted from David Grann’s critically acclaimed nonfiction book, the film centres on the series of murders of wealthy Osage people that occurred in Oklahoma in the early 1920s. The motive for the heinous culling was the greed of white men. Such individuals lusted after the richness present after big oil deposits were discovered beneath the Osage people’s land. Whereas Grann’s book is a monumental study of the murders, perpetrators, the Osage culture, politics of the era, and how the newly formed FBI delved into the crimes, Scorsese’s incredibly slow and long adaptation does all that, while also exploring the romance and murderous treachery between Osage native, Mollie (Lily Gladstone) and war veteran, Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio).

Opening by establishing how the oil erupted and blackened the green land, the film then firmly sets up how the American businessmen used the legality of the headright system to manipulate the flow of sudden wealth that came to the Osage people. One such man is William King Hale (Robert DeNiro) who presents himself as a benefactor to the Osage, but truly speaks with a forked tongue. Having left the infantry unit after World War One, Hale’s nephew Ernest joins him to work and ultimately do his bidding. Hale cajoles Ernest to romance wealthy Mollie and get further feet under the table and closer to that beloved black gold money. Yet, enough is never enough for the likes of Hale and driven by another formidable Scorsese directed performance, De Niro delivers a deviously evil characterisation.

DiCaprio here takes the less charismatic role as the doltish Ernest. As Hale urges him to do further misdeeds the banality of everyday evil is palpable in Ernest’s actions. Along with a litany of professional and thuggish cowboy types Ernest and Hale’s other minions wreak havoc on the Osage people, committing arson, murder, poisonings, robbery, and shootings. All just for more money. The tragedy is that Ernest clearly has feelings for Mollie, serenely portrayed by a revelatory Lily Gladstone, but he just cannot stand up for himself against his wicked uncle. So much so that I just wondered why the hefty runtime was concentrating on Ernest’s character. I mean, Scorsese and DiCaprio give us little in the way of anti-heroism to bounce off, or even some cathartic sense of redemption. Ernest starts out as a loser and finished the story the same. Over three hours spent with a gurning idiot left me frustrated.

Directed, as one would expect with a masterful hand, mind and eye by Scorsese, who once again surrounds himself with an incredibly talented cast and production crew. Not to forget the unbelievable $200 million budget. But Scorsese’s movement of late to ultra-long and methodical cinema is an artistic choice that requires much patience. While Killers of the Flower Moon (2023 is thematically very powerful, beautifully filmed, and contains a number of exceptionally impressive sequences, there was genuinely not enough story to justify such a long running time. Whereas The Irishman (2019) was slow, it was methodically thrilling and absorbing throughout. Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) on the other hand becomes repetitive in its reveals of greedy Cowboys breaking bad and raising hell to the cost of the Osage. The introduction of the FBI and their subsequent investigation comes way too late to save the over-bloated length and pace. However, there is no doubt, the film remains vital in highlighting the historial horror perpetrated upon the Osage land and people. Perhaps Apple TV should have just given the money to the Osage descendants as reparation?

Mark: 8 out of 11

Apple TV, Articles, music, New Releases

APPLE TV FILM REVIEW : FLORA AND SON (2023)

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APPLE TV FILM REVIEW: FLORA AND SON (2023)

Directed by John Carney

Written by John Carney

Produced by: Anthony Bregman, John Carney, Peter Cron, Rebecca O’Flanagan and Robert Walpole.

Main Cast: Eve Hewson, Jack Reynor, Orén Kinlan and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Cinematography: John Conroy

Edited by: Stephen O’Connell

John Carney is a brilliant and honest filmmaker who is attracted to outsiders and people with real emotional turmoil. They tend to be at crossroads in their lives and are struggling with their dreams and relationships. He also loves musicians, flaws and all. In Begin Again (2013), a washed-up musical executive, portrayed by Mark Ruffalo, meets unhappy singer-songwriter, Keira Knightley and their first-world romance is played out to bittersweet consequences. Similarly, in Sing Street (2016), a troubled teenager comes of age through his 1980’s pop band and bittersweet romance with a rebellious and equally-troubled schoolgirl. Notice a pattern? Well, this style of music, gritty city backdrops and salty romances were established in Carney’s breakout hit, Once (2007) and are continued in his current underdog musical comedy, Flora and Son (2023).

Flora and Son (2023), believe it or not, is set in Dublin and centres around a single mum, Flora and her delinquent teenage son, Max (Oren Kinlan). Eve Hewson is the foul-mouthed-council-estate-joker, who uses anger and black humour to hide her feelings of insecurity and loss. A mourning for the loss of youth having brought up a child virtually single-handed. Her relationship with Max’s father, Ian (Jack Reynor) is fractured to say the least and they spit sarcastic barbs at each other as shared custodians of disaffected Max. While leaving her cleaning job at a middle-class household, Flora finds a battered guitar in a skip. Attempting to bond with Max, by giving him the guitar, Flora finds herself shunned. She then opens another bottle of wine, picks up the guitar and gives it a crack herself.

Taking online guitar lessons from charming and chilled American musician, Jeff (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Flora initially flirts but then knuckles down to learn the plucking instrument. The stakes aren’t particularly high here, but the feelgood acoustic numbers from Carney and co-composer, Gary Clark, certainly breeze along nicely and breath gold onto the screen. Max’s white-rap-Irish-hip-hop tracks are pretty good too and the video he and Flora make is really funny. Thus, you get the theme again from Carney that music helps to connect and heal and provide salvation to the most troubled of human situations. Overall, Flora and Son (2023), is a slight but enjoyable film with enough earthy humour, strumming harmony and kicking beats to please most.

Mark: 7.5 out of 11

New Releases, Reviews

CINEMA REVIEW: THE CREATOR (2023)

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CINEMA REVIEW: THE CREATOR (2023)

Directed by: Gareth Edwards

Screenplay by: Gareth Edwards and Chris Weitz

Story by Gareth Edwards

Produced by: Gareth Edwards, Kiri Hart, Jim Spencer, Arnon Milchan

Main Cast: John David Washington, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Gemma Chan, Ken Watanabe, Sturgill Simpson, Allison Janney, Ralph Ineson and Marc Menchaca.

Cinematography: Greig Fraser and Oren Soffer

*** MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS ***

The Creator (2023) is Gareth Edwards first directorial release since the tremendous Star Wars prequel Rogue One (2016). Of all the Disney-funded Star Wars products that remains my favourite. Overall, Rogue One (2016) is not just a great Star Wars film but a brilliant movie too, as it transcended the franchise while delivering a pulsating, heroic, nostalgic and emotional film experience. It also had an influence on the stunning visual look, action, and effects of The Creator (2023) too. So much so, The Creator (2023), in terms of style, often felt like a Star Wars film in all but name.

With The Creator (2023), Gareth Edwards and his talented production and effects team have invented a continually innovative futuristic look based around Artificially Intelligent robots and technologically modified humans. Indeed, based on all his directorial works, jaw-dropping visuals and themes of humans overcoming machines and monsters are always very much to the fore. But in The Creator (2023) one of the major themes poses the question – who are the real monsters? The humans or their computerised creations? As the narrative begins, in 2055, with the machines detonating a nuclear attack on Los Angeles the Americans declare war on the robots. More specifically, Southeast Asia, who still utilise A: I technology. Fast forward several years and John David Washington’s Joshua, remains part of the U.S. military plans, as they attempt to finish off the A: I threat for once and for all.

As Joshua is manipulated by the US Government, through a past romantic connection with Gemma Chan’s Maya, he is dropped behind “enemy” lines in Asia to destroy the A: I’s secret weapon called, “Alpha-O.” Along, with a paper-thin characterised group of U.S soldiers, Joshua finds the mission going south and ultimately goes on the run with “Alpha-O.” Edwards and his writers humanize the dangerous processor by giving it the body of a young girl portrayed by Madeleine Yuna Voyles. Despite the powerful visuals of the film, I found The Creator (2023) buckling under the wright of over-used ideas from other films. The cute “genius” kid being just one of those.

It’s The Terminator (1984) meets Artificial: Intelligence (2001) meets Avatar (2009) meets any number of action-hero-saves-young-child narratives. I mean can at least one film TRY and make the American warmongers more nuanced? Yes, the action, cinematography and sound design are especially impressive and thrilling and there is certain emotion on screen. However, I personally did not feel much emotion in my heart, unfortunately. Watch it on the biggest screen you can, because what The Creator (2023) lacks in original narrative and character elements, it more than makes up in nifty robotic concepts and visual cinematic grandeur.

Mark: 7 out of 11

Cinema, New Releases, Reviews

CINEMA FIX SEPTEMBER FILM REVIEWS including: A HAUNTING IN VENICE (2023), DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS (2023), NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU (2023) and more. . . .

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CINEMA FIX SEPTEMBER FILM REVIEWS

Life and work have been extremely positive and busy of late, but I have still found time to watch a number of films during September. Here are some quick reviews of just a few of the ones I have seen.

** MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS **

65 (2023)

How could a sci-fi-creature film with Adam Driver battling dinosaurs sixty-five million years ago be so uninspired? This probably would have been amazing with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead and John McTiernan directing in the nineties, but the limp father-daughter narrative propellent and severe lack of dinosaur carnage left me feeling disappointed.

Mark: 5 out of 11

CINEMA REVIEW: A HAUNTING IN VENICE (2023)

I love Agatha Christie and I love Poirot. The recent renditions from Kenneth Branagh have been mixed. Murder on the Orient Express (2017) was fantastic, especially for a very familiar murder mystery, while Death on the Nile (2022) was overcooked with a number of miscasts. A Haunting in Venice (2023) is a return to form and a real Halloween treat. The murder mystery isn’t the most interesting part as the plot points, apart from one decent twist, are mostly obvious. But the spooky lighting, eerie sound, imaginative use of lenses and camera angles, plus the claustrophobic and spooky atmosphere created within the Venetian palazzo are extremely impressive. I actually wanted more supernatural scares. The cast are great, although Tina Fey was glamorously miscast as the author, Ariadne Oliver. The ITV/David Suchet version was more faithful and had a better story, but I really enjoyed this excellent piece of comfort cinema.

Mark: 8 out of 11

APPLE TV REVIEW: CAUSEWAY (2022)

Jennifer Lawrence produces and stars as a U.S. soldier/engineer blown up in Afghanistan who, while suffering from PTSD, struggles to get her life back together in New Orleans. A lower-budget and lower key drama that clearly gave Lawrence a change of pace from the blockbusters she has been starring in for years. Causeway (2022) reminded me how great an actress Lawrence is and also, how brilliant Bryan Tyree Henry is. But the character study meanders with a lack of narrative drive, clarity and dynamism Lawrence showed in Silver Linings Playbook (2012). Indeed, while a worthy advocate for a soldier’s suffering, there wasn’t much Joy (2015) to be found here.

Mark: 6.5 out of 11

SKY CINEMA REVIEW: DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: HONOR AMONGST THIEVES (2023)

I missed this at the cinema as I was probably washing my hair at the time; what there is of it. However, this latest uber-budgeted attempt to breathe life into the table-top-dice-throwing Dungeons and Dragons game is actually really entertaining. Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez and Hugh Grant lead the energetic cast in a series of fantastically funny and frenetic action set-pieces involving magic, monsters, wizards, castles, stolen booty and of course, dragons. Pine and Grant are always very watchable, but Michelle Rodriguez steals the film with smashing physicality and deadpan humour as the barbarian, Holga Kilgore. The script has many fine gags throughout, as the likeable characters and pacey heist plot rip along wonderfully. You cannot go wrong with a ragtag group of outsiders finding community while fighting against a pernicious foe. Well, actually you can. But, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) does not!

Mark: 8 out of 11

DISNEY+ REVIEW: NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU (2023)

Kaitlyn Dever’s Brynn exists in a town where no one seems to speak to her or each other. But suddenly the place is overrun with aliens and Brynn must fight for her life while still not uttering a word. Hmmmm. . . in between the no dialogue cinematic contrivance becoming a bit of a bore, Brian Duffield’s excellent B-movie has some terrific action and a committed lead performance from the sensational Kaitlyn Dever. Since her breakthrough appearance in Short Term 12 (2013), she has gone from strength-to-strength as a performer. As a work of pure suspense cinema the film works mostly because of a weaponised Dever, the dynamic camerawork and the cracking sound and editing. However, the story has a number of holes, especially toward the end, which is frankly ridiculous. But Brian Duffield is a very talented writer and director and it is great that he strived for some formal originality in a familiar genre. Even though there was (yes I know it raises the tension) no organic narrative reason for the lack of speech throughout.

Mark: 7.5 out of 11

Cinema, New Releases, Reviews

CINEMA REVIEW: PAST LIVES (2023)

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CINEMA REVIEW: PAST LIVES (2023)

Directed by Celine Song

Written by Celine Song

Produced by: David Hinojosa, Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler, etc.

Main cast: Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro, Ji Hye Yoon, Choi Won-young, etc.

Cinematography: Shabier Kirchner

Edited by: Keith Fraas

*** MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS ***

“It’s an in-yeon if two strangers even walk past each other in the street and their clothes accidentally brush, because it means there must have been something between them in their past lives. If two people get married, they say it’s because there have been 8,000 layers of in-yeon over 8,000 lifetimes.” – Nora from Past Lives (2023)

Are we fated to connect with the ones we love through each life we lead? Is love a connecting force for good which enriches and links us to our forever soulmate? Or is it a complex chemical reaction driven by three chemicals in the brain such as noradrenaline that stimulates adrenaline production, dopamine, and phenylethylamine. Be it spiritual or chemical, love drives many of the highs of our lives, but it is also responsible for disappointing lows. Safe to say that love and romance are also a staple for many emotionally charged and beautiful works of cinema, of which Celine Song’s Past Lives (2023) is certainly one of them.

Past Lives (2023) is a love story which transports the audience across time and continents through the spiritual and spatial connection of characters, Na Young (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo). The opening act establishes the relationship of the two as schoolfriends in Seoul. Alas, any potential fledgling romance for the teenagers is blocked as Na Young’s family moves to Canada, leaving Hae Sung’s alone with his future unknown. The film then moves twelve years forward where Na Young, now known as Nora, lives in New York. Through a chance quirk of social media fate, she reconnects with Hae Sung. Is that adolescent spark still there?

In the second act, Song’s elegantly devised screenplay explores and Nora Hae Sung’s long distance relationship over several heartfelt online calls. But complex emotional circumstances dictate the two cannot reconcile the friendship further. The two drift apart and they take other partners as another twelve years pass. With Nora in a strong relationship with the sensitive and kindly, Arthur (John Magaro), it would appear Nora and Hae Sung’s friendship is at an end. Or is it? Because Song delivers one of the most powerfully moving third acts I have seen at the cinema in some years.

Without explosions, or car chases, or superheroes or fast-paced cutting or extraordinary heroes defeating powerful foes, Past Lives (2023), is one of the most impactful and stirring films of this year. Celine Song achieves this with a delicate hand in the writing and direction, plus a purposeful naturalistic cinematographic palette delivered by Shabier Kirchner. Above all else Song creates two honest characters who you root for from the start, as the one feels the romantic electricity build on the screen. Indeed, Greta Lee and Teo Yoo’s on-screen chemistry is an acting masterclass, with John Magaro further providing touching support within the triangle.

Now, I am not without sensitivity, but it’s virtually impossible to make me cry at the cinema. But Past Lives (2023) almost did. It made my heart swell and ache. It made me laugh as well, because Song’s script has lovely humour throughout. Above all else, whether it is karma or chemicals, it made me grateful to have known love.

Mark: 10 out of 11