Crisp Criticism - "Blade Runner 2049", "Battle of the Sexes", "Flatliners", "Our Souls at Night"

by

Julien Faddoul

Blade Runner 2049 **

A young blade runner's discovery of a long-buried secret leads him to track down the first film’s former blade runner, who's been missing for thirty years.

Completely improves on its predecessor conceptually, delving far deeper in philosophy than one would expect of such a film, with questions of existence, religion and the myth of true human intuition. In addition to overlength, the compulsory self-seriousness of modern blockbusters and the typical unmodulated dour tone of its director, this is eventually a rather fat and logy sci-fi outing. The beauty is in the details, from scenic design to performance ticks to the incredible images of Mr Deakins.

d – Denis Villeneuve

w – Hampton Fancher, Michael Green   (Based on the Characters by Philip K. Dick)

ph – Roger Deakins

pd – Dennis Gassner

m – Hans Zimmer, Benjamin Wallfisch

ed – Joe Walker

cos – Renee April

p – Broderick Johnson, Andrew A. Kosove, Bud Yorkin, Cynthia Sikes Yorkin

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Jared Leto, Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Robin Wright, Mackenzie Davis, Dave Bautista, Carla Juri, Barkhad Abdi, Lennie James, Hiam Abbass

Battle of the Sexes **

The true story of the 1973 tennis match between World number one Billie Jean King and ex-champ and serial hustler Bobby Riggs.

Tame and lively sports movie which, for the most part, smartly uses its light touch to its advantage.

d – Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris

w – Simon Beaufoy

ph – Linus Sandgren

pd – Judy Becker

m – Nicholas Britell

ed – Pamela Martin

cos – Mary Zophres

p – Danny Boyle, Christian Colson, Robert Graf

Cast: Emma Stone, Steve Carell, Andrea Riseborough, Sarah Silverman, Bill Pullman, Alan Cumming, Elisabeth Shue, Austin Stowell, Jessica McNamee

Flatliners

Five medical students, obsessed by what lies beyond the confines of life, embark on a daring experiment: by stopping their hearts for short periods, each triggers a near-death experience - giving them a firsthand account of the afterlife.

A moronic 1990’s film – with a nonsense premise – is remade into an excruciating 2017 film, with virtually the same beats. Please, just don’t.  

d – Niels Arden Oplev

w – Ben Ripley, Peter Filardi

ph – Eric Kress

pd – Niels Sejer

m – Nathan Barr

ed – Tom Elkins

cos – Jenny Gering

p – Michael Douglas, Laurence Mark, Peter Safran

Cast: Ellen Page, Diego Luna, Nina Dobrev, James Norton, Kiersey Clemons, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlotte McKinney

Our Souls at Night *

A widow and widower who've lived next to each other for years, but never interacted, form an intimate friendship.

More or less a leisure activity for its veteran leads, with everything surrounding them barely rising above the elementary. The result is calm, gentle and altogether harmless.

d – Ritesh Batra

w – Kent Haruf, Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber

ph – Stephen Goldblatt

pd – Jane Ann Stewart

m – Elliot Goldenthal

ed – John F. Lyons

cos – Wendy Chuck

p – Robert Redford, Erin Simms, Finola Dwyer

Cast: Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Matthias Schoenaerts, Judy Greer, Bruce Dern, Phyllis Somerville, Iain Armitage