by
Julien Faddoul
Little Women ***
Four sisters come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War.
Marvellous, feminist, baroque adaptation that is presented and edited thematically, rather than narratively, jumping back and forth through time, with an ingenious, Nabokovian-style ending. In doing this, Gerwig strengthens the severity of the situations and relationships from the Alcott novel, while still retaining the comfort and sweetness that made it so popular with readers. The one glitch hails from its Millennial cast, many of whom occasionally dip into clashing modern acting-styles, which proves jarring. Despite this, it is decidedly the best cinematic adaptation of this material to date.
wd – Greta Gerwig (Based on the Novel by Louisa May Alcott)
ph – Yorick Le Saux
pd – Jess Gonchor
m – Alexandre Desplat
ed – Nick Houy
cos – Jacqueline Durran
p – Amy Pascal, Denise Di Novi, Robin Swicord
Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Timothée Chalamet, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep, James Norton, Louis Garrel, Bob Odenkirk, Chris Cooper, Jayne Houdyshell, Tracy Letts
Uncut Gems ***
A New York City jeweller, always on the lookout for the next big score, makes a series of high-stakes bets that could lead to a gigantic windfall.
Pulsing, incredibly vivid thriller of a man coming apart at the seams due to his own self-absorption, with unrelenting paroxysm and no modulation. The Safdie’s lucid depiction of New York’s Diamond District recalls the neo-noir thrillers of the 1970s (particularly Lumet), especially the denouement, which is both foreseeable and utterly cathartic.
d – Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie
w – Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie, Ronald Bronstein
ph – Darius Khondji
pd – Sam Lisenco
m – Daniel Lopatin
ed – Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie
cos – Miyako Bellizzi
p – Scott Rudin, Sebastian Bear-McClard, Oscar Boyson, Eli Bush
Cast: Adam Sandler, Julia Fox, Lakeith Stanfield, Idina Menzel, Kevin Garnett, Eric Bogosian, Judd Hirsch, Keith Williams Richards, Thomas Kominik, The Weeknd, Tilda Swinton, John Amos
Bombshell *
A group of women take on Fox News head Roger Ailes and the toxic atmosphere he presided over at the network.
Another in the line of aggrandized, overblown reportage-cum-castigation – utilizing performance tics and haphazard cutting/photography – that has become very fashionable in the last few years. This one is sleazier than most, with an unfocused discourse on both modern-day misogyny and right-wing propaganda.
d – Jay Roach
w – Charles Randolph
ph – Barry Ackroyd
pd – Mark Ricker
m – Theodore Shapiro
ed – Jon Poll
cos – Colleen Atwood
p – AJ Dix, Aaron L. Gilbert, Robert Graf, Michelle Graham, Beth Kono, Charles Randolph, Margaret Riley, Jay Roach, Charlize Theron
Cast: Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, John Lithgow, Allison Janney, Kate McKinnon, Malcolm McDowell, Mark Duplass, Alice Eve, Alanna Ubach, Nazanin Boniadi, Elisabeth Röhm, Madeline Zima
Cats
A British stage musical based on TS Eliot poetry that became a worldwide sensation because tastelessness is omnipresent, is turned into a CGI-suffused excuse to muck about.
Unquestionably an embarrassing farrago from every angle, with an abundance of incompetence and bad ideas, spearheaded by the least talented filmmaker working in Hollywood today. Its reception as a shocking and baffling folly seems peculiar though, as I’m not sure what people would’ve expected from a 21st century cinematic adaptation of Webber’s featherbrained stage piece other than...well this.
d – Tom Hooper
w – Lee Hall, Tom Hooper (Based on the Musical by TS Eliot, Andrew Lloyd Webber)
ph – Christopher Ross
pd – Eve Stewart
m – Andrew Lloyd Webber
ed – Melanie Oliver
cos – Paco Delgado
p – Tim Beaven, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Tom Hooper
Cast: Francesca Hayward, James Corden, Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift, Rebel Wilson, Laurie Davidson, Mette Towley, Robert Fairchild, Steven McRae, Ray Winstone
The Two Popes **
Behind Vatican walls, the conservative Pope Benedict and the liberal Pope Francis must find common ground to forge a new path for the Catholic Church.
Amiable dramatic conjecture on the vocational grooming of one Supreme Pontiff from another, which provides ample space for two of the world’s finest players to avow such distinction. But McCarten’s screenplay is about nothing, and the only attempt at any philosophical dissection comes in the form of Francis’ perceived collaboration during the 1976 Argentine coup d'état.
d – Fernando Meirelles
w – Anthony McCarten
ph – César Charlone
pd – Mark Tildesley
m – Bryce Dessner
ed – Fernando Stutz
cos – Luca Canfora, Beatriz Di Benedetto
p – Tracey Seaward, Dan Lin, Jonathan Eirich
Cast: Jonathan Pryce, Anthony Hopkins, Sidney Cole, Juan Minujín, Federico Torre, Matthew T. Reynolds, María Ucedo
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