Nothing is as it seems when a woman experiencing misgivings about her new boyfriend joins him on a road trip to meet his parents at their remote farm.
Bizarre, sad, uncomfortable and as singular a work as any in Kaufman’s oeuvre. Unfortunately, the central piece of tawdry psychology from Reid’s novel is retained and as a result one wishes the film were funnier than it ever is – especially since Kaufman satirized such plot machinations so acutely in Adaptation (2002). But he deviates in both content and cadence, accentuating an onslaught of cinematic portraiture in which anything goes: A 7-minute dream ballet, a rom-com film within the film itself, surreal interludes of hand-drawn animation, and long, verbatim quotations/recreations of Pauline Kael, David Foster Wallace, Oklahoma! and A Beautiful Mind (2001). Taxing, but so formerly evocative; make of it what you will.
wd – Charlie Kaufman (Based on the Novel by Iain Reid)
ph – Lukasz Zal
pd – Molly Hughes
m – Jay Wadley
ed – Robert Frazen
cos – Melissa Toth
p – Stefanie Azpiazu, Anthony Bregman, Charlie Kaufman, Robert Salerno
Cast: Jessie Buckley, Jesse Plemons, Toni Collette, David Thewlis, Guy Boyd, Colby Minifie
The story of 8 people on trial stemming from various charges surrounding the uprising at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.
Fun, like all of Sorkin’s courtroom procedures, but also frustratingly inattentive to both historical facts and the structure/augmentation of the trial itself. Normally, this wouldn’t bother me (dramatic license being a fairly typical position for a playwright to take), but the theatrics buckle under the weight of the biographical retelling. The treatise here is that very little has changed politically between then and now, and that, coupled with the incontestable re-ordering of facts, is why this probably would’ve worked better on stage.
wd – Aaron Sorkin
ph – Phedon Papamichael
pd – Shane Valentino
m – Daniel Pemberton
ed – Alan Baumgarten
cos – Susan Lyall
p – Stuart M. Besser, Matt Jackson, Marc Platt, Tyler Thompson
Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jeremy Strong, Mark Rylance, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Keaton, Frank Langella, John Carroll Lynch, Alex Sharp, John Doman, Ben Shenkman, JC MacKenzie, Danny Flaherty, Noah Robbins, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Caitlin Fitzgerald
Disney remake, but longer and more serious.
Another Disney live-action remake, this time eschewing with the musical elements and much of the plot of the 1998 animated film, yet being ever so careful to retain all of the emotions and sensibilities that a former group of hard working people brought to life out of nothing.
d – Niki Caro
w – Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Lauren Hynek, Elizabeth Martin
ph – Mandy Walker
pd – Grant Major
m – Harry Gregson-Williams
ed – David Coulson
cos – Bina Daigeler
p – Chris Bender, Jake Weiner, Jason Reed, Tendo Nagenda
Cast: Liu Yifei, Jet Li, Tzi Ma, Donnie Yen, Gong Li, Jason Scott Lee, Yoson An, Rosalind Chao, Cheng Pei-Pei, Ron Yuan
A covert team of immortal mercenaries is suddenly exposed and must now fight to keep their identity a secret just as an unexpected new member is discovered.
Vexatiously uncinematic superhero nonsense with boring characters, ugly cinematography and inept fighting sequences. It plays more like a TV pilot for a very boorish series.
d – Gina Prince-Bythewood
w – Greg Rucka (Based on the Graphic Novel by Greg Rucka, Leandro Fernandez)
ph – Barry Ackroyd, Tami Reiker
pd – Paul Kirby
m – Volker Bertelmann, Dustin O'Halloran
ed – Terilyn A. Shropshire
cos – Mayr Vogt
p – Charlize Theron, AJ Dix, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, David Ellison, Marc D. Evans, Beth Kono
Cast: Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Harry Melling, Van Veronica Ngo, Natacha Karam
A man is brought back from the dead to work in the hell of sugar cane plantations. 55 years later, a Haitian teenager tells her friends her family secret - not suspecting that it will push one of them to commit the irreparable.
Odd, but primarily in the sense of how direct and rather lifeless it is, with Bonello focusing almost entirely on his theses. His sharp, undulating temperament with the camera seems to be missing here.
wd – Bertrand Bonello
ph – Yves Cape
pd – Katia Wyszkop
m – Bertrand Bonello
ed – Anita Roth
cos – Pauline Jacquard
p – Bertrand Bonello, Judith Lou Lévy
Cast: Louise Labèque, Wislanda Louimat, Katiana Milfort, Mackenson Bijou, Adilé David, Ninon François, Mathilde Riu, Ginite Popote, Néhémy Pierre-Dahomey, Sayyid El Alami
A woman during the Second World War opens her heart to an evacuee after initially resolving to be rid of him.
Hopelessly corny bit of British nostalgia, filmed in rose-coloured wholesomeness and ethereal costumes with a twist ending that is both outrageous and immediately foreseeable.
wd – Jessica Swale
ph – Laurie Rose
pd – Christina Moore
m – Volker Bertelmann
ed – Tania Reddin
cos – Claire Finlay
p – Adrian Sturges, Guy Heeley
Cast: Gemma Arterton, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Lucas Bond, Penelope Wilton, Tom Courtenay, Dixie Egerickx, Siân Phillips, Amanda Root, Jessica Gunning
A successful African-American author finds herself trapped in a horrifying reality.
Inane psychological horror film, unquestionably trying to capitalize on the success of the films of Jordan Peele. The insistence of contemporary cinema to continue to dig into slavery as a narrative device, simply to apply a level of seriousness to inherently overwrought proceedings, only serves to belie and mock the genuine horror of the contemptible sin itself.
wd – Gerard Bush, Christopher Renz
ph – Pedro Luque Briozzo
pd – Jeremy Woodward
m – Roman GianArthur, Nate Wonder
ed – John Axelrad
cos – Mary Zophres
p – Sean McKittrick, Zev Foreman, Raymond Mansfield, Gerard Bush, Christopher Renz, Lezlie Wills
Cast: Janelle Monáe, Eric Lange, Jena Malone, Jack Huston, Kiersey Clemons, Gabourey Sidibe, Marque Richardson, Robert Aramayo, Lily Cowles
A gorilla named Ivan tries to piece together his past with the help of an elephant named Ruby as they hatch a plan to escape from captivity.
Yet another family film in which CG animals illustrate awkward morality lessons to live-action humans so that the audience of juveniles watching will be forever branded into thinking that liberalism and conditioned corporate storytelling are reputedly synonymous. This one also happens to be based on a true story, as if that makes any equitable difference. At least it’s short.
d – Thea Sharrock
w – Mike White (Based on the Book by Katherine Applegate)
ph – Florian Ballhaus
pd – Molly Hughes
m – Craig Armstrong
ed – Barney Pilling
cos – Jill Taylor
p – Angelina Jolie, Allison Shearmur, Brigham Taylor
Cast: Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Angelina Jolie, Danny DeVito, Helen Mirren, Ramón Rodríguez, Ariana Greenblatt
Two aspiring Icelandic musicians are given the opportunity to represent their country at the world's biggest song competition.
A satirical farce about Eurovision for people who know nothing about Eurovision. The comedy here is completely miscalculated, with the filmmakers constantly asserting their ignorance by making fun of what are veritably tongue-in-cheek stunts from the real-life participants of the Eurovision contest. An infuriating experience; McAdams makes it bearable.
d – David Dobkin
w – Will Ferrell, Andrew Steele
ph – Danny Cohen
pd – Paul Inglis
m – Atli Örvarsson
ed – Greg Hayden
cos – Anna B. Sheppard
p – Will Ferrell, Chris Henchy, Jessica Elbaum
Cast: Rachel McAdams, Will Ferrell, Pierce Brosnan, Dan Stevens, Jamie Demetriou, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Melissanthi Mahut, Joi Johannsson, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, Graham Norton, Demi Lovato, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson
Enola Homes *
When Enola Holmes-Sherlock's teen sister-discovers her mother missing, she sets off to find her, becoming a super-sleuth in her own right.
Lively and slick modernized variation of a literary property that the contemporary media has elicited far too much from already. Bradbeer indulgences in conspicuous bits of kinetic technique, none of which feel germane. It’s also much too long.
d – Harry Bradbeer
w – Jack Thorne (Based on the book by Nancy Springer)
ph – Giles Nuttgens
pd – Michael Carlin
m – Daniel Pemberton
ed – Adam Bosman
cos – Consolata Boyle
p – Millie Bobby Brown, Paige Brown, Alex Garcia, Ali Mendes, Mary Parent
Cast: Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, Sam Claflin, Helena Bonham Carter, Louis Partridge, Adeel Akhtar, Fiona Shaw, Frances de la Tour, Burn Gorman, Susan Wokoma, Claire Rushbrook, David Bamber
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