pkertes-59666 Reviews

Unfrosted (2024)

A terrible failure on all fronts

[3/10 · 22 May 2024]

This parody set in the 60s about the invention of the pop tart is chock full of comedians in key or cameo roles. Trouble is it's just not funny - at all. Even the boomers remember many of the 60s iconography will struggle to raise a smirk, let alone a laugh. So many of the jokes (which flow thick and fast) fall flat or elicit a groan rather than a chuckle.

This disaster also serves to confirm what most viewers of the Seinfeld series already know, even though they won't admit it - Jerry is a poor actor. Also a pedestrian director, and in this case a crap writer. How much better it might have been with Larry David dictating the script.

It gets 3 stars because I have seen worse movies, and I did enjoy Hugh Grant hamming it up as the Kellogg mascot.

The Fall Guy (2024)

A homage to movie stuntmen

[7/10 · 5 May 2024]

This movie about a Hollywood stuntman, made by a director who is an ex-stuntman, is like a bowl of soup. The ingredients include the requisite love story between the two leads, a fairly obvious murder mystery, a few dollops of comedy here and there, a dash of Hollywood self-appreciation, and huge chunks of full-on action sequences showcasing the talents of stunt persons.

All this swirls around in a broth of mostly kitsch C-grade dialogue and equally kitsch directing. At times you think it's deliberate parody, and maybe it is.

Ryan Gosling is the lead actor as the irrepressible stuntman, and he plays it in such a laconic fashion that suggests it really isn't meant to be taken seriously. Emily Blunt as always gives her best in fleshing out her character's emotions, yet she does have chemistry with Gosling. Hannah Waddingham hams it up beautifully as the film producer in a role that is diametrically opposite to the good-hearted Rebecca from Ted Lasso.

Nevertheless it's an entertaining film which can be forgiven for its failings, mainly because the innumerable action sequences showcasing the role and importance of the stunt performers are visually staggering. Enjoy the stars strutting their stuff, don't expect too much and prepare to be entertained.

Anatomy of a Fall (2023)

A very good psychological drama.

[8/10 · 20 April 2024]

A German woman marries a French writer and they set up a house to renovate in the French Alps. They have a son who is partially blinded in an accident, which badly affects their marriage. Some years later the husband falls to his death from the attic window (near the start of the film) while the son is out walking the dog and only the wife is home. Was it murder or suicide?

The rest of the movie focuses on the court case where the rather quirky French judicial system argues both possibilities. The title is most apposite as the truth is slowly dissected out.

The tour de force here is that all the evidence is speculative and subjective, so both the court and the viewers have to dissect out the circumstantial issues which are presented as evidence. In this aspect the film shines, with brilliant acting from all the characters, even the family dog who has one important scene. The script is well written as it explores all the possibilities, and the narrative is presented with a mix of English and subtitled French.

The main weakness is the film's length. At 2.5hrs it's just too long, with several scenes dragged out too long and a bit of padding with several totally unnecessary scenes. The final twist which settles the case is also not entirely convincing.

Nevertheless it is a good film, very well done and well worth seeing, despite some minor limitations.

Perfect Days (2023)

A quiet gem that will leave you thinking about well beyond the credits

[8/10 · 13 April 2024]

If you prefer your films to have lots of action, lots of plot twists (even just a plot) and things happening in every scene, this movie is not for you. But if you're into mindfulness, zen, stoicism or just appreciate the simple beauty of life, then you should go and see this film.

Hirayama is a loner, a late middle-aged man of simple means who cleans the toilets of Tokyo for a living. His days are quotidian, but perfect to him. A well established routine that involves minimal interaction with others, even his young coworker. There is hardly any dialogue in the first hour as Hirayama relives his perfect days with few needs or wants, and an appreciation of the simple beauty of life around him. It's the epitome of living in the Now.

Then things start to change a little. He helps out his coworker trying to land a girlfriend, his estranged niece turns up unexpectedly, there's an unexpected change in his work schedule, an encounter with the ex of his favourite bar owner. All these things pull him out of his perfect world, while offering glimpses of the virtues in the world he has chosen to eschew.

The Japanese theme of komorebi percolates through the 2hr long film - light filtering through the trees he admires and photographs at his usual lunch spot, shadow tagging with a man he meets, the shadowy bnw dream sequences which act as dividers between each day.

The ending is amazing, a prolonged take of Hirayama's face and the emotions going displayed on it. You will spend a while thinking about that, and what they mean. It could even make you a better person for it.

Highly recommended.

Reacher (2022– )

Season 1 not bad, then descent into the abyss

[6/10 · 17 January 2024]

I am an unabashed fan of Lee Child's Jack Reacher books, of which there have been many over several decades. Even though the Reacher character is rather one-dimensional with little deviation from the general theme, transplanted from one story to another. Reacher is an ex-military MP loner who drifts from town to town and in each book he winds up embroiled in some local malfeasance, and ends up saving the day using his investigative skills and his considerable size and strength. Brains and Brawn. And he rarely if ever needs a gun.

It took a surprisingly long time to get this character to the screen and in the first two movies they cast - Tom Cruise! - to play Reacher. A massive piece of miscasting, not just physically but in style also, although the movies stuck reasonably closely to the books and were well written.

Now we have Reacher as a TV series, with Alan Ritchson in the titular role, and boy does he look the part. In series 1 they pad out one of the books with a passable script and entertaining characters and largely stick to the Reacher concept. My only beef is that Ritchson is a rather wooden actor who I don't think quite "gets" the Reacher character, and he is more brawn than brain. Entertaining enough so I give season one a score of 7/10.

Season 2 however is a major letdown. Again it is based on one of the books but the plot is jumbled and the script is totally vapid. What's worse, many of the lines given to Ritchson are just not what Reacher would ever say, and frequently in the season there are prolonged scenes of non-credible gun violence, which again do not fit the character at all. A huge disappointment so just 4/10 for season 2.

Its a shame they didn't let Lee Child write the scripts.

Anyone But You (2023)

F-grade rom-com with little rom and even less com

[4/10 · 5 January 2024]

I went to see this movie because I am a sucker for a romantic comedy, even the average ones (and let's face it, most of them are). Having seen the trailer, I had low expectations, yet this film still managed to come it at an even lower level.

Boy meets girl, they hit it off briefly, there is a misunderstanding and when they reconnect through a friend/family wedding, they hate each other. Except as anyone could predict, ultimately they don't really, but it takes an eternity of inauthentic, puerile dross to get there. No tissues needed here.

The acting is generally average to poor, and local actors like Rachel Griffiths and Bryan Brown (much of it filmed in Australia) do the minimum required, and are completely wasted here. The script is juvenile, facile and has little in common with reality. The direction is pedestrian and much of the movie is a travel ad for Sydney. Throw in plastic, unlikeable characters and a healthy dose of gratuitous nudity. The attempts at comedy are almost laughable as that, and what little romance eventuates at the end fails to convince after nearly two hours of tripe beforehand.

Not recommended, even if you are a fan of the genre.

The Morning Show (I) (2019– )

A tale of two seasons

[7/10 · 4 January 2024]

Season 1 of TMS is an entertaining glimpse into the ego-driven world of commercial live TV. Jennifer Anniston and Steve Carell are anchors of a morning show but from the start Carell's character is sacked for sexual abuse. Reese Witherspoon plays a feisty reporter who finds herself co-opted as Carell's replacement, and several storylines unfold over the 10 episodes, arranged around these three key characters.

The acting is generally good although JA just always seems to be playing herself and some lines in the script must have been hard for her to say. RW is strangely not at her best and often seems slightly distracted. SC tries hard but is miscast as a misogynist. Billy Crudup as the director of News is the best and steals most scenes he is in, but he does get the best lines too. Nice to see Jack Davenport in a small supporting role, although he isn't given much to work with.

Overall however it's an engaging if flawed show, and hence the 7/10 rating. The final episode of season 1 ends with a slightly unexpected bombshell twist, but does invite you to look forward to the next season.

From the first episode in season 2 however, you wonder if they sacked all the writers and replaced them with D-graders. It's like watching a completely different show, and it stinks. I stayed with it till the end but only a few episodes have any redeeming features, so my rating for season 2 is 4/10. All the key characters seem to have become someone different yet with the same name - it just doesn't gel. There's a lot of anger and shouting suddenly, especially from the RW character, and even Billy Crudup's character has been stripped of some of the humanity that made him stand out in season 1 (although Crudup tries hard to hang in there). The storyline's are also less convincing or even appropriate. It's a good demonstration of how critically important the writing is for a successful show.

I will not be watching season 3.

Special Correspondents (2016)

Ricky should stick to stand-up

[5/10 · 4 January 2024]

Ricky Gervais is one of the smartest people around. Don't let that cockney accent fool you, his stage shows comprise incredibly keenly observed wit about everyday life and what's going on in the world, even if the coarse delivery may not be to everyone's taste. But when it comes to the occasional movie he has written and directed, his style and witticisms just don't translate well, which is a great shame.

In this effort, Ricky plays a radio technician who partners up with a journalist, played by Eric Bana, who are meant to fly to Ecuador to cover an uprising but accidentally lose their tickets and passports so make it all up as they go from a makeshift studio across the road.

I don't really know why his brilliant stand-up just doesn't translate to the screen. Perhaps because you can't create a movie out of the same jokes repeated over and over. Perhaps because script needs flesh and not just sarcasm. Perhaps because you need relatable characters and not just caricatures.

Ricky is a great comedian but just an average actor and pedestrian director at best. The other, real, actors on this movie don't get much direction and just seem like they are going through the motions, especially Vera Farmiga. Eric Bana tries hard in the lead role but how can you act a character when the script is just a stretched out stand-up routine.

I will continue to watch Ricky's comedy routines because they are brilliant. His occasional mini-series sometimes work but his excursions into the world of real movies have sadly all been flops. Not recommended.

The Royal Hotel (2023)

Not a thriller

[5/10 · 14 December 2023]

Australian movies are typically slow burners and can seem boring to those raised on fast-paced action movies, but when done well they are like a glass of fine wine, having great finesse and appreciated slowly all the way through. The Oyster Farmer from decades ago is a case in point.

This movie is slow-paced but more like a glass of a cheap cask blend.

I went to see it because the concept sounded promising and I loved Julia Garner in Ozark. The story is about two young Canadian backpackers who run out of cash and are sent to work at an isolated outback pub where the clientele are mainly testosterone-ridden miners. Alcohol, misogyny and toxic masculinity are the main themes as expected, hardly original and sadly not presented as anything vaguely resembling a thriller.

There is virtually no exploration of the two main characters, and it's difficult to understand why they are travelling together as they have little in common. The locals are all presented in cliched fashion, there is no real suspense, and a lot of dull scenes involving handing out beer and washing floors. Set in the outback, the cinematography was disappointingly almost nonexistent as a showcase of the area. One scene where a car follows a bounding kangaroo is truly cringe-worthy and presumably there for the American audience.

The acting is mostly pedestrian, Daniel Henshall as the menacing Dolly is perhaps the best. Even Hugo Weaving was not up to his usual high standards. Julia Garner was disappointing - it was like she didn't want to be there (the movie, not just the pub) and there was one scene in particular where she visibly just wasn't trying. Yes a poor script can make the actors look bad, but the better ones will at least put in an effort to lift the tone.

Toward the end the plot got rather out of hand and confused and the ending itself was just ridiculous.

Maestro (2023)

All style with little substance

[6/10 · 14 December 2023]

Think of a biopic of a famous person as like a complex cake - you can carefully dissect one slice of it to examine the contents, or you can bravely try to examine the whole lot to see what it's made of.

This biopic of American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein is like looking at only the surface of the cake through a slice of Swiss cheese - a lot of loosely connected vignettes with no depth. If you don't know much about the man, you would leave the theatre with no great insights about him.

The film jumps around in time and gives you snippets of the man's life and work. There are scenes about his bisexuality and penchant for men, his role as a conductor and composer, his drug addictions and his relationship with his daughter, but none of these are examined in any depth at all. His bipolar relationship with his wife and her later death from cancer are given the most screen time, but still feels unfulfilled and lacking in substance.

Bradley Cooper directs in a rather disjointed style. The first half is shot in black and white, then we change to colour for no good reason except maybe historical chronology - it doesn't work. Neither does the curiously tight aspect ratio, which again inexplicably opens up to full screen near the end. Some scenes are beautifully shot but too often Cooper relies on the slow zoom in and the very long takes, which don't always seem to match the scene. The film also could have ended perfectly with the penultimate scene, but inexplicably ruins the moment with one extra shot that completely fails to land.

Carey Mulligan is excellent as Bernstein's wife but Cooper as Bernstein doesn't quite work for me. He tends to overact, gives you little insight into the man himself, and the nasal voice starts to grate after a while - maybe it was inevitable with the prosthetic nose he was required to wear.

Even the grand concert scene in the cathedral, conducting his beloved Mahler, didn't quite generate the depth of feeling it could have - contrast this with the Tchaikovsky concert scene in the French-Russian film Le Concert, which takes emotion (actors and viewers) to a much higher level.

All in all this is not a bad movie, and to be fair it does engage the viewer a little more in the second half. But it tackles too many themes with a disturbing superficiality, giving very little substance to almost any. It could have been a lot better. No doubt however it will get lots of Oscar nominations, but then the Academy lost the plot years ago and succumbs to hype more than merit.

The Killer (2023)

An emotionless film about suppressed emotions.

[5/10 · 9 December 2023]

This film follows an unnamed assassin for hire who makes a mistake on a hit, is then targeted by his employer and spends the rest of the movie seeking revenge. Hardly an original plot but otherwise stylishly presented by a director who values style over everything else.

And herein lies the problem with this film. In presenting the main character as someone who deliberately has to suppress all feeling and emotion in order to be successful at what he does, the whole movie becomes devoid of emotion. Even the regular narration by the killer himself is monotonous and repetitive. You can't relate to, or feel by anything for, any of the characters, so after a while the viewer just gets bored and stops caring.

Manayek (2020– )

Gritty Israeli version of Line of Duty

[7/10 · 9 December 2023]

This is the first Israeli TV series I have watched, although I have familiarity with Israeli culture. If you liked the British TV series Line of Duty, then this is worth a look.

There are 2 seasons to date, with a credible storyline that carries through both. It's essentially about police Internal Affairs officers investigating high level corruption at various levels in the Israeli police force.

The acting is generally good, the script is mostly well written and the direction is generally competent, although not exemplary. There is plenty of attention on the main characters' personal stories as well as the complex web of police investigations.

It's rather rough around the edges with no pretentiousness and little refinement, compared with the more nuanced approach in Line of Duty. The stories are very loosely based on real events in the history of Israeli police, and it's quite revelatory how the main IAD characters cope with the myriad of hurdles and obstructions thrown their way with sad resignation and frustration, almost an acceptance of how things just are. For those who don't live there, it's also quite an interesting reflection of Israeli cultural approach to life in general.

Saltburn (2023)

If you want shock and disgust, this film is for you.

[4/10 · 24 November 2023]

I liked Emerald Fennell's first feature, A Promising Young Woman, although it was a little left field and a touch disturbing. In this movie, she ramps up the disturbing with many scenes of repulsive behaviour which feel way too gratuitous - if the British aristocracy is really like this, the country is screwed.

The plot is essentially that of A Talented Mr Ripley but the script is nowhere near as good and the narrative is often disjointed and at times boring. The directorial style is dark and gothic, but a bit inconsistent - some scenes are too long, some are pointless and the whole movie could have been 20-30 minutes shorter.

There's occasional humour but it's offset by the depravity, which is really overdone. The acting is excellent however - Barry Keoghan plays the main character to perfection as an allegedly poor and lonely soul at Oxford who is desperate for the friendship of the handsome, popular and rich son of an eccentric aristocrat family. Rosamund Pike is also superb as the matriarch. A cameo by Carey Mulligan however is a complete waste of her talents.

The plot twist towards the end was somewhat predictable so hardly a shock for a movie trying to sporadically shock you with depraved behaviour mixed in with efforts to parody the British upper class - but with not much class.

If you like pretentious Arthouse films designed to shock the senses and you don't mind the disjointed script, then this movie might well be for you. But if you prefer to be allowed to concentrate on the unfolding tale of immorality without the shock and awe, then TTMR is a far better movie.

I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson (2019– )

A comedy show that is just not funny -at all

[1/10 · 3 September 2023]

This is a comedy sketch show with a very vague theme running through the sketches.

Many reviewers have rated it very highly and claim to laugh uncontrollably throughout. Some of these same reviewers have described it as silly, nonsensical and immature - and they are spot on.

Where I disagree is that it is also just not funny. I sat through the first episode and did not laugh once. Not even a smile. Yes it is silly but Python was silly and also very funny. Yes it is immature and puerile. I wouldn't say it is nonsense - it is trying deliberately to be crazy and succeeds in that respect.

I get that people have very different senses of humour and so you should give this show at least a 10 minute look. I doubt there is any middle ground here - you will either love it like so many have, or like me you will find it stupid and totally unfunny.

Past Lives (2023)

Promised much, but didn't quite deliver for me

[6/10 · 26 August 2023]

This movie is basically about "what might have been", a question we all ask ourselves at some point(s) in our lives, quite often about romantic connections.

Nora ( her adopted western name) and Hae Sung are childhood friends (aged 12) who are separated when her parents emigrate to Canada. She has grand ambitions to be a famous writer while he is content to be an ordinary person living an ordinary Korean life (his words).

12 years later they reconnect on Facebook (he still misses her) and spend a while talking regularly and reconnecting, but not enough for either to change their life plans.

Another 12 years pass with no contact, and now we find Nora happily married to another writer and living in New York City and Hae Sung is visiting. There is still some connection there, a longing perhaps, and a lot of confusion, especially on her part. Her husband Arthur is is not thrilled but tries to be understanding.

This film has received mostly rave reviews and there is early Oscar talk. I can see why many might love it but I didn't. The acting was good, particularly Teo Yoo and John Magaro in the two male parts. But I really didn't like the direction at all. Many scenes were laborious and slow - I get that emotions can be displayed with nuanced looks but it was overdone to the point of annoyance. The cinematography did little to showcase either Soeul or NYC, nor did it add value to the emotional whirlpool the two main characters were caught in. And the bluish colour palette didn't work for me.

The script had some great moments, particularly the scenes with Nora and her husband, but was patchy in many other places. In particular it made it difficult to really care that much for the Nora character.

It's usual for me to reach for the tissues at the end of good rom-coms or any movie which successfully portrays an emotional conundrum. I left this movie dry-eyed and a little disappointed, not at what might have been for the characters, but for the movie this story could have been. So 6/10 from me, but it's the sort of movie that many will absolutely love, so you should see it because that might be you.

Oppenheimer (I) (2023)

Chaotic and powerful

[7/10 · 23 July 2023]

You really need your wits about you to follow this film. There are frequent and often quite rapid cuts to different time periods, perhaps a little overdone at times. Nolan helps by filming all of the Lewis Strauss (played beautifully by Robert Downey Jnr) scenes in black and white.

The pace is relentless yet I still felt the film was just a little bit too long - the first hour in particular was at times even a little boring. Once we get to the Trinity test, the film absolutely soars - although everyone knows what happened, the film becomes breath-taking and powerful. The subsequent scenes involving the witch-hunt against Oppenheimer and the senate hearings to confirm Strauss's cabinet position are impressive.

The acting is uniformly good, especially RDJ. I thought Cillian Murphy's portrayal of Oppenheimer was good but just a little too quixotic - you're never quite sure exactly what he believes, especially in the first half. It was great to see Tom Conti again, although maybe a little miscast as Einstein. Florence Pugh was given a few rather gratuitously explicit sex scenes, which I thought were just a little too bizarre. And as usual there were very good performances from Emily Blunt and Matt Damon.

Another major gripe is the soundtrack - appropriate in style but way too loud, detracting from the visual experience at times.

All in all a powerful but imperfect movie, certainly worth seeing, but it will require your intense concentration to keep up with the chaos at times. Not quite a masterpiece in my book.

The Whale (2022)

Brendan Fraser superb but the film itself, not so.

[7/10 · 21 July 2023]

This film is based on a play by Samuel Hunter, who also wrote the screenplay, which may be part of the problem. Stage plays have an intrinsic disconnect from the realities of life because of the limitations of the stage. Movies however have far greater artistic freedom. The Whale seems shackled by the pretentiousness of the theatre, and could have been far better if someone else had adapted the script.

Because that's where it just doesn't quite work. The motivations, behaviour and indeed many of the words uttered by most of the characters are just so inconsistent, too divorced from any reality - as one other reviewer put it, it just doesn't add up.

Nevertheless you can vaguely see where it was trying to go, if it just wasn't so mixed up. The movie is rescued by a brilliant Oscar-worthy performance by Brendan Fraser, who manages to imbue his character with a degree of naïveté, purity and goodheartedness - despite the director constantly trying to emphasise his self-loathing and disgust.

The supporting cast do their best but are hamstrung by the inconsistencies of the script.

I give it 7 stars because of Brendan Fraser and because flawed films (and most are to some extent) can still be worth seeing. But it could have been so much better with a decent script.

Barry (2018–2023)

Engrossing black comedy-drama which goes off the rails in the final season.

[7/10 · 8 June 2023]

A low-level hitman is tired of working for his mentor and accidentally stumbles into an acting class in LA run by a has-been actor. He strives to turn a new leaf but can never escape his past. You root for him despite his occupation in the early going, but as the seasons progress, his true nature slowly comes to the fore and affects everyone around him, often fatally.

A great idea executed a little erratically by SNL comedian Bill Hader. Like most American shows it is totally devoid of subtlety. The comedy is truly funny sometimes but at other times feels lame and contrived. The drama is occasionally poignant and insightful, yet at other times it's plainly stupid. The acting is serviceable but no award-worthy performances really, even from Henry Winkler as the old acting coach. Some of the characters are basically caricatures.

Nevertheless it is often entertaining and sometimes engrossing, as long as you don't take any of it seriously or try to over-analyse it. Except for season 4, where halfway through it takes a major plot turn which renders the last few episodes totally ridiculous. However the ending is superb and very apposite.

CODA (2021)

Heartwarming, uplifting film - almost as good as the French original.

[8/10 · 8 June 2023]

CODA tells the story of a young girl who had to spend her childhood as hearing interpreter for her deaf parents and brother. She loves singing and joins the choir at high school, mainly to get close to a boy she likes. The singing teacher recognises her raw talent and convinces her to try for audition at a music school in the big city. She is conflicted by the need to be her own self and break away, and the very strong pull of family.

CODA is beautifully directed and acted. The script is good and follows the original story from La Famille Belier very closely. You can forgive the occasional American schmaltz. The penultimate scene at the audition is good, but just falls short of the absolutely heart-wrenching delivery in the original French film.

Well worth watching.

The Night Agent (2023– )

Formulaic and predictable, but still worth a watch if you can accept that.

[6/10 · 4 April 2023]

FBI agent who uncovers a devious plot within the White House and has to race against time to save the world. Of course there's a girl helping him, whom he rescued from assassins. Subplots include a mystery about our hero's father, problems with the VP's daughter and some secret service agents who are on the side of right.

It is all incredibly formulaic and predictable, but the script isn't too bad and there's plenty of action for those who like that. The main problem is that the lead actor, Gabriel Basso, puts in a subpar performance, quite wooden and unconvincing. Most of the rest do a serviceable job.

Ultimately it's 10 episodes of reasonable entertainment which doesn't require a single morsel of cerebral effort from the viewer, and you know exactly how things will turn out. This genre has been done much better in other series, but then again also much worse. 6/10.

Mr Inbetween (2018–2021)

Absorbing, but not flawless

[7/10 · 31 March 2023]

Ray Shoesmith is basically a hitman and criminal whose day job is in stark contrast to his other life as an estranged husband and father to a preteen daughter.

The show purports to show the complete disconnect between his two existences and it succeeds at times, although it's hard to accept since Ray really is a heartless killer. There are some episodes which try to show that he has a bit of compassion and is in fact a sentient soul but these are just brief flickerings of conscience from a bloke who really cares little for almost everyone. There are attempts at humour in observations of everyday life which sometimes work and at other times seem forced.

The script is patchy, at times slow and banal yet at other times keenly observed for just a short moment. There are substantial plot holes, the most obvious thought is that despite Ray's endless trail of death and destruction, there is almost no police involvement at all.

The direction, by Nash Edgerton, is excellent and elevated the look and feel of the show to a higher level.

I understand that Scott Ryan has no acting training and has only appeared in one previous movie, about the same character. And it shows. Despite his best efforts, his repertoire is limited to a blank stare, twitching lips and the odd smile.

Nevertheless the anti-hero theme of this 3 season series is absorbing enough to hold your interest throughout, and to wonder what situation Ray will need to deal with or wriggle out of next. And the ending of season 3 typifies the whole show - rough around the edges and quite basic in the writing, but well-crafted and a wonderful final scene which is just ambiguous enough to be a satisfying finale.

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Innovative and sometimes funny but not Oscar-worthy

[6/10 · 17 March 2023]

This is a polarising movie and it's easy to see why. The story of a stressed and unhappy Chinese laundry owner who gets sucked into parallel universes in order to save the world.

It's a mix of sci-fi, martial arts, slapstick and absurd, sometimes puerile comedy. The acting is very good but probably not worthy of Oscars for everyone ; Jamie-Lee Curtis is a standout. The direction is good but not as good as the other Best Director nominees. The script is amusing but shallow. It's certainly innovative and many will find it entertaining, which it is (mixed in with silliness).

My problem is that for a film to be truly great, it needs to generate strong emotions, invite contemplation and have substance. Simply telling a funny story is not enough. EEaaO is really just lightweight fairy floss. They shouldn't be giving Oscars for that, but then the Academy has lost it's way a bit lately. Films are getting the gong based on misplaced sentiment or hype, not on merit.

Aftersun (II) (2022)

Slow, subtle and enigmatic.

[6/10 · 12 March 2023]

Sophie is an 11yr old Scottish girl on holiday with her dad Calum, who is separated from her mum, at a budget Turkish seaside hotel. She has a great time with him, not understanding or noticing Calum's inner torments - depression and self-loathing - born from a loveless childhood. She doesn't realise this will be the last time she will spend with her father.

20 years on an older Sophie, now a mum herself, reflects on this holiday by reviewing the videotapes she took at the time. These scenes are interspersed anachronistically throughout the movie, together with allegorical scenes shown stroboscopically on a dance-floor, as she now sees all the signs of her father's misery that she missed on that holiday.

For the first hour or so, the main narrative of the holiday is presented in an utterly banal fashion. Finer nuances to the story are presented very subtly as clues to what is really going on, which are easy to miss and may leave the viewer confused and bewildered. It's a movie which certainly invites reflection after the credits roll. Once you understand the subtleties, the ending is nicely crafted and very poignant.

The acting from the leads is very good, although I'm not sure Paul Mescal warranted an Oscar nomination here. Many critics and reviewers have lauded the Arthouse style and message of this film, but even though I "get" what it's all about, I didn't enjoy it. This is largely due to the director. Many scenes are poorly lit, the sound quality is poor (thick Scottish accents also don't help) and the video scenes are frequent and jerky. What I really didn't like was the excessively long takes for many scenes, especially in the first hour, where we watch basically nothing much at all. Many of these scenes are of little relevance to the story, and at times border on pretentious. It's fine to ask your audience to seek out hidden clues to the narrative, but you must keep that audience engaged in the meantime. Boredom and confusion are not a good way to hook and reel in your audience's attention.

Film is a form of art and therefore inherently subjective. You may agree with me or you may absolutely love the style of this movie. I encourage you to see it and make up your own mind.

Emily the Criminal (2022)

Watchable, but nothing special

[6/10 · 10 March 2023]

There is nothing new or creative in this formulaic story about a single woman with past criminal record, in deep debt, who falls in with the wrong crowd and turns to credit card fraud, with increasingly disastrous consequences.

Nevertheless is a mildly engaging story, made better by a good performance by Aubrey Plaza in the lead role. The rather puerile movie title is explained in scene in the first half of the story.

We can't expect every movie to be something new and creative. Well-worn genres can still make entertaining films if well made. Where Emily the Criminal loses points is in the rather pedestrian script. In the first half hour of scene-setting, the dialogue is basic and banal. It improves only marginally for the rest of the film. The best of actors will struggle to elevate a mediocre script.

It's worth a watch but it won't warrant any repeat viewings and will fade quickly from memory. Overall I give it 6.5 stars.

Starman (1984)

Sci-fi road movie with lots of heart

[8/10 · 1 March 2023]

I've watched this film many times and am still captivated by it. An alien responds to our offer to visit on Voyager but is shot down by an America that knows no other way (and still doesn't nearly 40 years later). He takes the human form of a Wisconsin widow's deceased husband. Learning as he goes, he must make his way across the country to the Great Crater in Arizona for a pickup to return "home".

The narrative has some keenly observed moments on the human condition and is quite touching at times, but it's a little patchy with some cheap jokes at times and could have been a little more incisive. The film Arrival tackles some of the issues raised here with much more finesse and nuance.

But the film's great strength is in the two lead characters and the chemistry between them. Karen Allen is superb in her display of grief, awe, love and understanding. Jeff Bridges should have won the Oscar for his amazing interpretation of an alien being in human form. There is one scene in particular where he displays such tenderness it is jaw-droppingly good.

The underlying score and main theme are perfect and you are left wanting more at the end. Still a great watch 40 years later.