movie-reviews-uk Reviews

Sideways (2004)

A bargain bottle of plonk rather than the finest of vintages

[6/10 · 1 February 2024]

I've seen "Sideways" twice now - once when it was released and just recently after a twenty year gap. It's still a decent buddy comedy with some excellent dialog but it just doesn't have the robust body and long finish that I'm looking for.

The setup is pretty simple. Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church are a pair of long-time friends who wouldn't even be acquaintances except for the accident of sharing a room at university. They are, in most conceivable ways, polar opposites. Church is a so-so actor, a womaniser and a boor. Meanwhile Giamatti is an uptight oenophile reeling from his divorce and a bit of a sad-sack.

However they're thrown together on a pre-marital week of wine tasting (or glugging) in the California vineyards. Cue low-end motel rooms, bachelor shenanigans and a moderate level of soul-searching. This all passes the time quite easily although I can't say that the characters really attain some sort of change. They end as they begin.

This doesn't make "Sideways" a bad film as it's really quite enjoyable and the script contains some great one-liners. But it's not in the medal-winning category either so it's best not to expect too much. Best enjoyed on a wet weeknight rather than put on as your favourite film ever to the date that you're aiming to impress.

American Fiction (2023)

Excellent satire makes you laugh at yourself

[9/10 · 1 February 2024]

Having read some reviews I was pretty excited by "American Fiction" but it surpassed even my febrile expectations. It's the story of a black, American writer of quality who decides to go low-brow as a joke only to discover that this is his best selling effort yet. To say that he is perturbed is to put it mildly.

As the tale progresses Jeffrey Wright, as Thelonious "Monk" Ellison, keep raising the stakes to demonstrate how absurd it is that his stereotypical novel is being acclaimed. The funny thing is that he may or may not be right. Certainly another black author of books that he thinks that he despises (but hasn't read) ably defends her work and the amount of research required.

So while the film is very much poking fun at white, middle-class readers it isn't too particular on who it skewers. And yes I'm aware of the absurdity of an audience laughing at themselves being made to look foolish. Anyway the most appealing characters are those such as Monk's brother or his mother's housekeeper in that they are true to themselves and not looking to judge or be judged.

All in all "American Fiction" is both very funny and really quite moving. Even the smaller characters have depth and honestly none of the performances strike a bum note. This is a great debut from director Cord Jefferson and I can't wait to see what he does next.

The Color Purple (2023)

Not quite a film, not quite a stage show

[6/10 · 27 January 2024]

I'm definitely not the target audience for this film but my wife was keen to see "The Color Purple" and so I duly obliged. This is not a decision that I regret. The film moved along quite snappily, it looked fantastic and some of the musical numbers were excellent.

However (you knew that was coming) it was all a bit underwhelming. I knew the bare bones of the story and so mentally prepared myself for something really quite dark and brutal. After all you can't make incest/rape upbeat can you? Well actually yes you can with a song, a dance and a lot of smiling. Odd.

This weirdness persisted throughout the movie when scenes that felt destined to shock were made to pull their punches. As a result the fine, uplifting finale lacked contrast with what had preceded it. Possibly this was down to the characters being underdeveloped and flimsy.

So "The Color Purple" isn't a terrible movie by any measure. But it is neither fish nor flesh. It feels as though the producers really wanted to simply film the stage show but being as this is a film they had to expand the range of action. But without being fully committed to the story as a movie it doesn't quite convince on either front. Still an effort was made.

Godzilla Minus One (2023)

Not bad but much better if you love Godzilla movies

[7/10 · 26 January 2024]

A confession first: I've never seen any Godzilla movies prior to this one. Not even the original one that started off the whole series. So I came to "Godzilla Minus One" on the back of some frankly rave reviews.

Now, to be honest, it didn't live up to expectations despite being well made and quite entertaining. The problem, on reflection, is that the film feels like it was made in the 1950s and so has none of the monster/action tropes that have developed since then. This is no bad thing but it takes an effort to adjust.

With that in mind the movie was good fun. Godzilla was appropriately huge and menacing, the sense that it's a metaphor for the horror of nuclear war is intact and the supporting story of wartime refugees coming together worked well. In fact at times it was quite emotional.

But "Godzilla Minus One" didn't grab me like, say, "Jurassic Park" or even "King Kong". Maybe that's down to the Japanese sensibility, although I love films like "The Seven Samurai" and "Tokyo Story", or maybe it's just that I'm not cut out for a giant lizard with heat-ray bad breath? Still it was a fun night out and I don't regret my skirmish with the long-running franchise.

The Holdovers (2023)

Plenty to enjoy in this melancholy comedy

[7/10 · 23 January 2024]

As others have observed "The Holdovers" knowingly tips its hat at the '70s and films of that era. In look and feel it embodies the muted tones and leisurely pace of classic character dramas of that time and it works very well indeed.

In essence this is a three-hander with Paul Giamatti as the world-weary teacher with his eye on the door, Dominic Sessa as the troubled student with potential and Da'Vine Joy Randolph as the school cook stuck in the middle.

There's nothing here that you haven't seen before with the characters starting as distant antagonists and then becoming closer, almost intimate, through sharing secrets and experiences. Yet all three approach their roles lightly and with a certain freshness.

A particular highlight here is the dialog which is often acerbic, occasionally moving and just plain funny. It really moves the story along and distracts you from the obvious plot holes and sketchily conceived characters. That and the acting quality is enough to ensure that "The Holdovers" delivers solid entertainment.

One Life (2023)

Extremely moving and very well acted

[10/10 · 8 January 2024]

Some stories don't need embellishment, CGI or dramatisation to make them compelling. That's "One Life" in a nutshell. The tale of how Nicholas Winton and his compatriots saved 669 children from Prague, and almost certain death, is absolutely enough by itself.

What the film does do is split the story into two with half taking place in 1938-9 and rest in 1988 when we see the build up to Winton's appearance on "That's Life", a BBC TV show of the period. Remarkably in the intervening fifty years he had barely mentioned his part in the Kindertransport and sought no glory.

For obvious reasons the wartime Winton is played by a different actor, Johnny Flynn, and he does just fine. However what really hits home is just how precarious, random and shattering life is for the refugees who've washed up in Prague. It's very underplayed but the hope and hopelessness written across the faces of the many child actors packs a punch.

What Hopkins then manages to do, with infinite subtlety, is transmit how he still carries the ghosts of the children that he couldn't save rather than those that he could. It's a terrible curse given all that the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia managed to achieve.

The wonderful thing is that he, at least, found some peace from reconnecting with some of the saved children through "That's Life". It's astonishing to me that these kids effectively vanished (since, most likely, any family left behind perished) and that no one kept track of them. When you take a step back and reflect on this trauma you wonder how anyone survived let alone prospered.

Yet in its quiet, understated way "One Life" shows the good that can come from action in the face of desperate odds. The children who made it really did get a second chance at life and it's truly an emotional moment to see Winton meet some of them again. Even recreated this actual human experience hits much harder than even the most finely crafted fiction.

A wonderful film.

Next Goal Wins (2023)

Stuck on a desert island with nothing to do?

[7/10 · 4 January 2024]

Feelgood comedies are pretty common these days. Throw some misfits together, play up their differences and sprinkle jokes liberally. In this respect "Next Goal Wins" doesn't break any fresh ground. But it does deliver on expectations and offers a fun evening out.

The setup is that the American Samoa football team are literally the worst in the universe. Falling to an epic 31-0 loss in World Cup qualifying they're at the bottom and still the only way is down. Into that mix stumbles Michael Fassbender as a wayward ex-professional with an erratic history. Let that gags commence.

From the moment that the new coach appears we get the usual tropes of him despairing at their disarray, conflict emerging as he tries to apply discipline and then a defining moment where they all come together. Director Taika Waititi handles all of this deftly although with no particular novelty.

Still "Next Goal Wins" puts one in the back of the net when you're looking for a touch of escapism and effortless enjoyment. The whole story plays well enough and it doesn't peer to hard into any dark places (which could have been an option). I'll probably never watch this film again but I'm glad to have watched it once.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

Unnecessary, long and a waste of talent

[5/10 · 1 January 2024]

I certainly didn't start "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" with any particular sense of anticipation. But I did think that it would be reasonably entertaining and a decent end to the poorly named trilogy. But not so much. It's far too long and it sent me to sleep.

The problems are manifold I think. For one it's trying to be an action movie when the Indy films were always just comic books projected onto the big screen. Sure they have action but it's in the service of something else rather than being the main attraction.

Then there's the fact that, keeping with the comic book style, previous scripts have been generally light-hearted and funny. An attempt is made here at humour but that's as far as it goes. In fact much of the dialogue between Indy and Helena (the other main character but not a love interest thank God!) is snarky and lacking in affection.

Finally you've got a bizarre plot involving time travel, Nazis (what, again?) and the Greek empire. It's just all over the place with long sequences given over to CGI effects that look out of place.

I hesitate to say that this could ever have been a good movie but you never know with Harrison Ford. There's a reason why he was (and is) a movie star and it comes down to his easy charisma and ability to light up a film. But even his talent is put to the test here.

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016)

A decent pop satire that plays like a 45

[7/10 · 30 December 2023]

This mockumentary of the glossy pop world has popped up on many "best of streaming" lists over the years. So it's always been on my radar despite the fact that I'm a long way from being a teenager listening to the latest rap masterpiece.

Luckily my age, tastes and gender proved irrelevant to my enjoyment of "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping" as its takedown of mediocrity, hype and personality supersedes the context. Frankly there's a lot of low hanging fruit here with the central character being a walking, talking stereotype of someone who's found success too fast and too young. But that fruit is sweet.

What I particularly like about the movie is that it is fundamentally about money and how that changes everything. When a golden goose is born everyone around the goose tries to keep it as happy as possible, pandering to every stupid wish, just to make sure that the goose keeps laying. But maybe that's not much good for the goose?

That said this is no "Spinal Tap". It's more light-hearted and perhaps the excesses it's portraying aren't as destructively hedonistic as those in the rock world. Here it's more about being spoilt and unreflective and less about drug overdoses and groupies. Which is no bad thing - sometimes you need the light rather than the dark.

Knight and Day (2010)

Mission Impossible - the sugar free version

[6/10 · 27 December 2023]

Sometimes you just fancy the easy option; the comfy chair, a takeaway delivered to your door or a film that doesn't require any thinking. "Knight and Day" is just such a movie with its throwaway plot and non-stop action.

What we have here is Tom Cruise as some sort of secret agent or government employee. He's mixed up in a plot to steal a device, or maybe stop someone stealing it, which leads to a lot of running and shooting. Then there's Cameron Diaz who's an innocent bystander caught up in the intrigue. Or maybe she isn't.

Those are the good points. On the downside a spy thriller like this needs a proper villain to face off against the hero, someone solid and unrelenting. You also need some good supporting characters around the hero to add depth and shade to the ongoing action. These qualities are absent.

Instead you've got some wisecracks and screwball banter between the two leads. You've also got lots of action but it becomes increasingly preposterous and unmoored from reality as the story progresses.

Still I didn't have to think and "Knight and Day" was largely entertaining. Hardly a full meal but a decent cinematic snack.

Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020)

Not the best and not the worst sequel ever made

[6/10 · 26 December 2023]

Given that "Bill & Ted Face the Music" is wrapping up a trilogy that was well served by just the first film you've got to wonder if this third film is a pure grab for money? In many ways yes it is as no teenager in 2020 will have been around for the originals so it's looking to the middle-aged as its audience.

And yet in some ways the film is better than that. The key axis of Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves remains more or less intact. They are still the best of friends (perhaps too much so if you ask their wives) and their chemistry feels unforced.

There are also plenty of time-travel shenanigans with nothing really making sense. Which is just fine if you remember that this is a fun, stupid movie and little more. It's also not too long which is a blessing given the contorted plot.

Actually the storyline is all over the place with Bill & Ted flying around in a phone-box while their wives do the same (for no reason) as their daughters recreate the first movie in a futuristic egg. There's also a robot that's as far removed from The Terminator as you can imagine.

Altogether "Bill & Ted Face the Music" does enough to ensure that it's not an embarrassment akin to "Jaws 3" but it sure isn't "Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade" either. If you start up the VCR with this firmly in mind then you shouldn't be too disappointed.

Wonka (2023)

Roald Dahl in the corporate era

[6/10 · 25 December 2023]

I'd been hearing many excellent things about "Wonka" in the run up to this Christmas and figured that it would make excellent Christmas Eve entertainment. I wasn't wrong. The film is entertaining, enjoyable and easy to watch. There's very little here to offend anyone.

Which is rather the point of Roald Dahl. His stories always carried a quite malevolent edge, a real tangible darkness where bad things happened. This is what made his stories so great - they never shielded you from reality despite being based in fantasy.

Sadly "Wonka" has none of that magic. Instead Willy Wonka is simply someone who wishes to bring joy to the world and that's basically what happens despite the dastardly dealings of the baddies arrayed against him. It's all very simplistic and not particularly memorable.

On the plus side the film looks great, it's very well made and the bad guys really are the most awful caricatures. There are quite a few familiar faces from the British TV and film universe and they all put in a good effort. It's just a shame that the script isn't worth the sweat.

Still the younger kids will certainly enjoy "Wonka" with its wild array of chocolates and sweets. They should enjoy the musical numbers too as they're very slick and professional. But this isn't a Christmas classic in the making I'm afraid.

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

Excellent '80s comedy

[8/10 · 24 December 2023]

Next year will see the 25th anniversary of "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" and if we're lucky we'll get a reissue. The reason for this is that Bill & Ted has aged remarkably well which is quite something for what is essentially a stupid, fun throwaway comedy.

The reason for its longevity is that its titular characters, played by Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, are exactly as they appear. Which is as a pair of slacker nerds bumbling around and playing air guitar in their garage.

They aren't complex, there's no love interest and none of the characters have any depth. In fact the plot itself is fairly non-existent and exists only as a vehicle (literally a phone box) by which Bil & Ted can travel across time scooping up historical figures.

Yet it all works just fine even now. Sure the '80s fashions look pretty embarrassing (certainly to my kids) and the music leaves much to be desired but none of that matters. This is a flat out fun movie that you can just sit back and enjoy without having to work hard. Just like Bill & Ted.

Summer Rental (1985)

Easy going comedy but not one of the best

[6/10 · 27 November 2023]

Like a lot of other people I have a soft spot for John Candy. He wasn't the funniest guy ever, the scripts that he signed up to were often patchy and his opportunity to mature was cruelly cut short. But in the time that he had he always bought one wonderful quality to his films - heart. So many actors can't make you feel for them as it's oh so clear that they're just acting but not John Candy.

Anyway "Summer Rental" is one of his early films but it tracks to a familiar template. He's a downtrodden kind of guy who can never catch a break. In this story he's forced to take a rare vacation with his family, down in Florida, and you just know that if something good happens then it won't last.

What's odd is that the film runs with this for the first half before taking a sharp turn into feelgood world where the underdog takes on the bully and wins. The two halves feel like they belong in different movies and while Candy remains funny it doesn't really gel.

The upshot is that while "Summer Rental" is an easy and generally enjoyable film to watch it feels oddly unfinished. The ending is sudden and just about every setup in the script doesn't go anywhere. They just peter out. None of this makes it a bad movie but it could have been so much better.

Risky Business (1983)

By the book teen comedy

[6/10 · 19 November 2023]

The chief pleasure in watching "Risky Business" is seeing a young Tom Cruise strut his stuff. Is it possible to divine his talents? Or see that he would become a bona-fide movie star? Not really. He's very charming and certainly handsome in this role but more than that? Not so much.

The story is basically that of most teen comedies from the '80s. You've got a bunch of guys who want to get drunk and get laid. One is more likely than the other but a boy can dream. They get in trouble with authority, there's a big party and some love interest and then everyone goes to college.

"Risky Business" doesn't deviate from this line but it's entertaining enough and an easy watch. The dialogue is pretty sharp and there are plenty of amusing scenes as Cruise skirts with trouble. None of it makes logical sense of cause but it all flies by and there's a happy ending. Which is exactly the reward they were all looking for.

The Amazing Mr. Blunden (1972)

Sweet but not overly memorable children's ghost story

[7/10 · 16 November 2023]

It's no word of a lie to say that I'd never heard of "The Amazing Mr. Blunden" before now but then again it did hit the silver screen when I was in nappies. As it happens I probably would have enjoyed its simple sentimentality just a few years later but that was long before VCRs became a consumer must-have.

Still the film is available to stream and delivers on its many positive attributes if you're in the right mood. For a start the story may be naive but it is also straightforward and the central child actors carry the dialogue well enough. They don't have to do a great deal mind.

In contrast the adult actors generally take to their characters with some gusto. Diana Dors is remarkably effective as the evil, bullying mother-in-law and quite unrecognisable under her makeup. Her demented husband David Lodge is also genuinely scary and together they add a real darkness to the tale.

That said the story doesn't have much heft and apart from the central twist (which is inventive) it mostly trundles along in a quite predictable arc. Still there's nothing wrong with seeing the baddies get their comeuppance while goodness is rewarded. A solid watch if you have young, but not too young, children.

Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)

Weak sequel that shows its age

[6/10 · 15 November 2023]

It's always a risk watching any old movie. There are, of course, many fine classics that only improve with age. However that's the exception in my experience and so, so many don't pass muster no matter how well they were received at the time.

That's pretty much the case for "Beverly Hills Cop II" as it followed close on the heels of the original. Eddie Murphy remains a motor-mouthed comedian and has enough charisma to keep the movie afloat. His shtick isn't all that funny from a distance but it's good enough.

The rest of the movie is rather trite and the script a nonsense that lacks even action film logic. You've got an arms dealer, some violent robberies and Hugh Hefner. I suppose that made sense when strip clubs were a Hollywood staple but now it's just embarrassing.

Still the film isn't awful and it's an easy, relatively short watch. You've got plenty of action, a reasonable quota of recycled jokes and some decent actors. Not great but not terrible.

Beyond Utopia (2023)

Sad, uplifting and hard to ignore

[10/10 · 12 November 2023]

Ever since seeing "Beyond Utopia" I've been thinking about what makes a top-class documentary. It doesn't need to be entertaining, since that's the job of fiction, but it must be compelling and almost more than real. Maybe that's the trick? To show you an aspect of the world that you'd dismiss as unbelievable if you didn't know it to be true.

That's exactly what you get here. I knew, vaguely, that North Korea was this bizarre puppet state founded by Kim Il Sung and propped up by Russia. I also knew that his dynasty inculcated an almost religious aura around themselves as the father, mother and spirit of the country.

What I didn't know, or consider, was just how these so-called leaders managed to persist in the face of economic collapse, famine and prosperity elsewhere. What they've managed to combine is nationwide brain-washing and a totalitarian state of control that would make Stalin proud.

And yet that still doesn't get to the heart of the darkness. To control the population everyone is spying on everyone else. If you step out of line then you're sent to a reeducation camp. If you really step out of line (by trying to flee the country perhaps) then you wind up in the gulag and no one comes back from the gulag. But before then you'll be beaten, tortured and crushed with your family being forcibly relocated to another part of the country.

Despite this the poor North Korean people in "Beyond Utopia" still love their nation and why shouldn't they. It's where they belong and where their culture resides. The problem is that the communist state forces them to leave and to leave everything behind. It's just horrific on all counts.

The film pulls absolutely no punches in following the perilous journey undertaken by the refugees being tracked. There really isn't much of a happy ending for anyone when you dig into the meat of the story and there aren't any winners. Just victims of a murderous regime. That said it's a must watch if you want to be educated.

65 (2023)

What a waste of time and money

[3/10 · 12 November 2023]

More fool me for watching this straight to video production. I knew that the reviews were poor but I figured that "65" would at least deliver some entertainment on an evening where I didn't want to work too hard. Wrong. So wrong.

For a start I don't quite understand how this movie was pitched. I mean we've got an alien who looks and acts like a human but seriously he's an alien. Then he winds up on Earth but not Earth now. No he's on the Earth of 65 million years ago. So there are dinosaurs. Also there's a girl but he can't communicate with her. So there's that.

I mean were the studio personnel high or what? Just what made them think that this would be worth making? It sure wasn't the script because it's drivel and it wasn't the character arc because there isn't one. Add on the total lack of chemistry between the few actors and you've got a yawn-fest.

To Leslie (2022)

Remarkably well acted drama that deserves a wider audience

[9/10 · 6 November 2023]

In retrospect the odds of me ever watching "To Leslie" were infinitesimal. It's a low budget, no promotion film with a forgettable title. And yet I found it through the miracle of a "what's best to watch on streaming" right now clickbait type of article. Sometimes the stars align.

Now the film is a socially critical story very much in the style of Ken Loach. The setting is a redneck town somewhere in the middle of nowhere and anyone born there either has to get out or give up. So when Leslie wins the lottery, right at the start, it seems that she and her son have a dream ticket to the future.

Sadly not. We catch up with Leslie six years later when she's broke, alcoholic and out of luck. She's burnt through all of her relations and all of her friends with lies, cheating and stealing. The tools of an addict. Her son is the only person who, just, sees something good in her but that won't last.

From hereon Andrea Riseborough gives us a masterclass in acting as Leslie. She absolutely nails the push-pull dynamic of someone caught in the grip of addiction. The charm gets turned on when it suits (although even then there's an angular sharpness to her demeanour) while rejection turns her into a spiteful, bitter harridan who blames everyone but herself.

Around Andrea the rest of the cast really deliver as people who've been put through the mill by Leslie. She's ground away at whatever compassion they ever had until she gets the reaction she's seeking. Even in the minor roles the acting is spot on as strangers react to the boiling, needy chaos within her soul.

So yes "To Leslie" should be seen by a much wider audience than ever seems likely. This type of drama done well is a true reflection of society and of how we fail each other and support each other. It's not an easy watch at times but it sure is a compelling one.

Anatomy of a Fall (2023)

Claustrophobic courtroom drama that's very Gallic

[7/10 · 1 November 2023]

"Anatomy of a Fall" is just such a French film. It's a thriller but you only see the results and never the actions. It's a courtroom drama but without any Hollywood grandstanding. It's a tale of family life but you never see the family members together.

This is, on the whole, a good thing. What the film delivers instead is an intense and personal study of how people are flawed, selfish and selfless, basically human. The characters here are complex, uncertain and conflicted. The courtroom setting thrusts all of these qualities into the spotlight and it doesn't make for pleasant viewing.

So from this angle it's a great film that keeps you wondering all of the way through. On the other hand the script really takes its time and there isn't, after all of the anticipation, a money shot. I can't blame the film for that because it is, after all, French but still it's a touch deflating.

In some ways "Anatomy of a Fall" reminds me of "Marriage Story" and other movies of that ilk. Done well you know that you're in the presence of great acting but it also feels like you've paid to be part of someone else's abusive relationship. Maybe this is just the medicine you need to take in order to feel less disgusted about yourself when you walk into the next mindless action flick?

Dead of Night (1945)

A bit dated but still a classic

[7/10 · 29 October 2023]

Apparently this was the only time that Ealing Studios ventured into the horror/suspense genre which is curious as they did a good job with "Dead of Night". Unusually it's constructed as an anthology of short stories with all of them being tied together via an overarching tale of mystery.

In a sense this film is the parent of modern classics such as "Inception" that use the dream within a dream formula to structure their story-telling. This approach can go horribly wrong but here it feels fresh and quite frankly alarming. There's an indefinable sense of dread to all of the stories as they tap into our psychological fears.

That's very much a strength of the film actually. There's no actual horror, violence and jump scares here. Instead the stories are concerned with what's going on in our heads and whether we can believe our senses. It's a thin line between sanity and madness and sometimes that veil is pierced. All of the actors do a great job of portraying that moment when certainty dissolves into uncertainty and you're left with more answers than questions.

Now "Dead of Night" does show its age a touch, especially the way in which everyone is constantly smoking, but the script is strong enough to overcome this impediment. That makes it a pretty decent entry into the genre even if it isn't an all-time classic.

They Cloned Tyrone (2023)

Way better than it has any right to be

[9/10 · 29 October 2023]

I'd heard good things about "They Cloned Tyrone", a Netflix production, but this movie surpassed my expectations. It's a remarkably effective mix of films like "Shaft", "Get Out" and "Boyz N the Hood". Like these stories it has a social agenda that's artfully woven into the script without becoming preachy.

At the centre of the film you have John Boyega as the eponymous Tyrone. He's "just" a drug dealer but in several twists he's revealed to be so much more. It's a great performance that he delivers with real heart and it anchors the film.

By his side he has Jamie Foxx and Teyonah Parris who, in many respects, act as comedy foils in the pimp and hoe parts. Except that they also provide heft to what could have been a couple of disposable roles. As a trio they play very nicely off each other as their world implodes.

Underlying their acting the script itself is excellent. It's tight, witty and realistic in a blaxploitation kind of way. The only difficulty is that it's hard to catch the wisecracking dialog as it flies by. I recommend watching "They Cloned Tyrone" with subtitles to get the most out of the film as it really improves the experience.

In short this is an excellent debut by Juel Taylor that neatly cuts across genres and springs a few genuine surprises. You definitely want to avoid spoilers with this one as the twists are best appreciated fresh. This is quite possibly the birth of a cult classic.

The Ladykillers (1955)

Subtle and entertaining comedy that stands the test of time

[8/10 · 23 October 2023]

Ealing Studios developed a well-earned reputation for creating classic British comedies in the post-WWII period but this came to a close in 1955 when the studio was acquired by the BBC. One of the very last (and one of the best) was "The Ladykillers".

This feature showcased classic British actors such as Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers and then allowed them to be shown up by the barely known actress Katie Johnson. In the autumn of her career she plays the indomitable Mrs. Wilberforce who, without quite knowing it, bests a gang of villains.

The setup is that Alec Guinness is the leader of a rough mob planning an audacious heist. All goes to plan, despite the innocent interruptions of Mrs. Wilberforce, until everything unravels. What's charming is that their landlady remains innocent of her impact on the gang.

It's in this interplay between her and between the gang members where the humour resides. Slowly but inexorably the level of exasperation rises with this captured beautifully in the expressions of the actors. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Guinness channeling the low cunning of Alastair Sim but everyone plays their part.

So "The Ladykillers" really is a classic comedy that deserves that title. Sure it's a bit of a slow build, and you really can't be anywhere but in 1950s London, but these are minor points. It's just good, clean fun and Frankie Howerd is always entertaining whatever his role.

Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (2023)

Honest and moving

[8/10 · 22 October 2023]

The very best documentaries open your eyes to a world that you never knew existed. They take you into the heart of that place where you're more than an observer but less than a participant.

"Smoke Sauna Sisterhood" achieves that feat on a number of levels. For a start I know nothing about Estonia and even less about its tradition of enjoying rustic sauna huts in the wild birch forest. The process of using these shacks has a very meditational quality about it in the lighting of the fire and the gathering of the water. These simple but foundational acts feel so very appreciated here.

At the same time this particular sauna is women only and you see them naked and sweating, safe in this environment and comfortable in their own skins. As a man it's quite something to witness these women being so physically and emotionally vulnerable with each other. They're free to share their deepest fears and concerns in this nurturing space and it's wonderful.

The film also looks incredible with shooting clearly taking place in a range of seasons. The little light that makes it into the sauna refracts through shifting veils of smoke and reflects from limbs glowing in the firelight. You can almost smell the wood-smoke.

Is it for everyone? Perhaps not but if you have an open mind and a desire to glimpse the lives of others then bag yourself a ticket.