by
Julien Faddoul
Da 5 Bloods ***
Four African American vets return to Vietnam seeking the remains of their fallen squad leader and the gold fortune he helped them hide.
Powerful, kinetic, frenzied and at times even exhausting examination of assorted social issues including American imperialism, parental astringency and international racial disinformation, with Lee calling on themes from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), Apocalypse Now (1979) and Southern Comfort (1981). His method is almost Godardian in its sweep, with a haphazard yet decisive use of cutting, and an overpowering utilization of various kinds of cinematic techniques. It also gains immeasurably from a blazing, towering performance from Lindo as part wounded veteran, part madman.
d – Spike Lee
w – Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee
ph – Newton Thomas Sigel
pd – Wynn Thomas
m – Terence Blanchard
ed – Adam Gough
cos – Donna Berwick
p – Jon Kilik, Spike Lee, Beatriz Levin, Lloyd Levin
Cast: Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis, Isiah Whitlock Jr, Chadwick Boseman, Mélanie Thierry, Paul Walter Hauser, Jasper Pääkkönen, Jean Reno, Johnny Trí Nguyễn, Lê Y Lan, Nguyen Ngoc Lâm, Sandy Huong Pham
Palm Springs **
At a wedding in Palm Springs, the maid of honour discovers that one of the guests is stuck in a surreal time loop.
Funny, clever (if not particularly inventive) romantic comedy that scrutinizes themes of companionship and existential suffering without ever exploring anything too deeply but providing a great deal of fun along the way, especially from its appealing cast. It convinces for as long as it lasts.
d – Max Barbakow
w – Andy Siara
ph – Quyen Tran
pd – Jason Kisvarday
m – Matthew Compton
ed – Andrew Dickler Matt Friedman
cos – Colin Wilkes
p – Andy Samberg, Chris Parker, Akiva Schaffer, Dylan Sellers, Becky Sloviter, Jorma Taccone
Cast: Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, JK Simmons, Peter Gallagher, Meredith Hagner, Camila Mendes, Tyler Hoechlin, Chris Pang, Jacqueline Obradors, June Squibb, Tongayi Chirisa, Dale Dickey
A mercenary who offers his services on the black market embarks on a dangerous mission when he is hired to rescue the kidnapped son of a Mumbai crime lord.
Such a slavish parade of action-movie cliches that no amount of directorial slickness can doctor. Also, it looks like garbage.
d – Sam Hargrave
w – Joe Russo, Ande Parks, Anthony Russo (Based on the Graphic Novel by Ande Parks)
ph – Newton Thomas Sigel
pd – Philip Ivey
m – Alex Belcher, Henry Jackman
ed – Ruthie Aslan, Peter B. Ellis
cos – Bojana Nikitovic
p – Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Chris Hemsworth, Eric Gitter, Mike Larocca, Peter Schwerin
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Rudhraksh Jaiswal, Randeep Hooda, Golshifteh Farahani, Pankaj Tripathi, David Harbour
Scoob!
When Shaggy met Scooby...
Shrill, manic animated feature that takes the Hanna-Barbera franchise and assumes the form of a superhero origin story.
d – Tony Cervone
w – Adam Sztykiel, Jack C. Donaldson, Derek Elliott, Matt Lieberman, Eyal Podell, Jonathon E. Stewart (Based on the Characters Created by William Hanna, Joseph Barbera)
pd – Michael Kurinsky
m – Tom Holkenborg
ed – Ryan Folsey, Vanara Taing
p – Allison Abbate, Pam Coats
Cast: Will Forte, Mark Wahlberg, Jason Isaacs, Gina Rodriguez, Zac Efron, Amanda Seyfried, Kiersey Clemons, Ken Jeong, Tracy Morgan, Frank Welker
The Vast of Night ***
One night in New Mexico, in the late 1950s, a switchboard operator and radio DJ discover a strange audio frequency.
Remarkably assured attempt to concoct a piece of cinema out of very little – too little, ultimately, as both the film’s plot and rhythms become frustratingly calculable in the last act – unfolding like a radio play with rapid, Preston-Sturges-like dialogue. But the direction is consistently brilliant, with expert photography, mise-en-scène and performances. A delightful surprise, and I will unquestionably be first in line for whatever Mr Patterson does next.
d – Andrew Patterson
w – James Montague (Andrew Patterson), Craig W. Sanger
ph – Miguel Ioann Littin Menz
pd – Adam Dietrich
m – Erick Alexander, Jared Bulmer
ed – Junius Tully (Andrew Patterson)
cos – Jamie Reed
p – Adam Dietrich, Melissa Kirkendall, James Montague (Andrew Patterson)
Cast: Sierra McCormick, Jake Horowitz, Bruce Davis, Gail Cronauer
Shirley *
A famous horror writer finds inspiration for her next book after she and her husband take in a young couple.
Expectedly self-conscious Decker piece that turns a dissection on the life and writings of Shirley Jackson into something like Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966). Certainly of interest, but none of it really worked for me.
d – Josephine Decker
w – Sarah Gubbins (Based on the Novel by Susan Scarf Merrell)
ph – Sturla Brandth Grøvlen
pd – Sue Chan
m – Tamar-kali
ed – David Barker
cos – Amela Baksic
p – Christine Vachon, Elisabeth Moss, Simon Horsman, David Hinojosa, Jeffrey Soros, Sarah Gubbins, Sue Naegle
Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Odessa Young, Michael Stuhlbarg, Logan Lerman, Victoria Pedretti, Robert Wuhl
The Lovebirds *
A couple experiences a defining moment in their relationship when they are unintentionally embroiled in a murder mystery.
Short, amusing but utterly predictable romantic farce which rests on the laurels of its two engaging lead performers.
d – Michael Showalter
w – Aaron Abrams, Brendan Gall, Martin Gero
ph – Brian Burgoyne
pd – Clayton Hartley
m – Michael Andrews
ed – Vince Filippone, Robert Nassau
cos – Megan Coates
p – Martin Gero, Tom Lassally, Jordana Mollick, Todd Schulman
Cast: Aaron Abrams, Brendan Gall, Martin Gero
Body Cam
Cops involved with covering up a murder by getting rid of their body cam video footage find themselves haunted by an evil spirit.
A supernatural thriller centred around police brutality that stumbles at every opportunity, both as horror and politic, with a very weak central performance.
d – Malik Vitthal
w – Nicholas McCarthy, Richmond Riedel
ph – Pedro Luque
pd – Elena Albanese
m – Joseph Bishara
ed – Ken Blackwell
cos – Carol Cutshall
p – Matthew Kaplan
Cast: Mary J. Blige, Nat Wolff, David Zayas, Anika Noni Rose, David Warshofsky
Liberté *
Madame de Dumeval, the Duke de Tesis and the Duke de Wand, libertines expelled from the court of Louis XVI, seek the support of the Duc de Walchen, German seducer and freethinker, lonely in a country where hypocrisy and false virtue reign.
Serra is predominately interesting as an aesthetic stylist, but his dissection here is fairly meaningless and this amounts to not much more than 2 hours of sadomasochistic sexual kinks – including watersports, bondage and various painful interpretations on sodomy – enacted by a very game cast. Tedious.
wd – Albert Serra
ph – Artur Tort
ed – Ariadna Ribas, Albert Serra, Artur Tort
cos – Rosa Tharrats
p – Pierre-Olivier Bardet, Albert Serra, Joaquim Sapinho, Montse Triola
Cast: Helmut Berger, Marc Susini, Laura Poulvet, Alexander García Düttmann, Lluís Serrat, Francesc Daranas, Montse Triola, Theodora Marcade
Artemis Fowl
A 12-year-old genius and descendant of a long line of criminal masterminds finds himself in a battle against a race of powerful underground fairies who may be behind his father’s disappearance.
A 90-minute string of noises and images that are supposed to resemble what we once exclusively referred to as a “movie”. Pointedly, this is a pathetic, unqualified disaster with everyone concerned coming off either embarrassed or embarrassing. Shockingly cheap visuals, gross thematic melodrama and performances that are almost homicidal in their sheer awfulness. Please, stay the hell away.
d – Kenneth Branagh
w – Hamish McColl, Conor McPherson (Based on the Novel by Eoin Colfer)
ph – Haris Zambarloukos
pd – Jim Clay
m – Patrick Doyle
ed – Matthew Tucker
cos – Sammy Sheldon Differ
p – Kenneth Branagh, Jody Hofflund
Cast: Ferdia Shaw, Colin Farrell, Lara McDonnell, Josh Gad, Tamara Smart, Nonso Anozie, Joshua McGuire, Judi Dench, Nikesh Patel, Adrian Scarborough, Michael Rouse
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