"Materialists" - Review

In the affluent, oppulent world of high society dating in New York City, Lucy (Dakota Johnson) floats among the high-flying clientele as a successful matchmaker. At the wedding of two of her clients (her 9th such wedding), Lucy meets the groom's handsome, sexy, successful, charming and ludicrously wealthy brother Harry (Pedro Pascal), who can be more than just a good client for her. Lucy also bumps into ex boyfriend John (Chris Evans) working as a waiter as he struggles to become a successful actor, and remembers their shared past.

Following up "Past Lives", Celine Song had a monumental task ahead of her: making another movie after the kind of once-in-a-generational maststroke which we'll never get again. Obviously this was never going to be as good as "Past Lives", so for the different kind of movie that it is, it largely works without casting aside what makes Celine Song good: namely emotionally knotted, complex scenes with impeccable double-meaning in its dialogue, and scenes where the actors are allowed to breathe, stretch and say a lot with a little. Here it's more akin to a Jane Austen comedy with its wry humour, subtle wit and delightful interplay between characters as they dance around points and navigate social minefields in code: Pascal and Johnson are excellent here. Evans is allowed to stretch his acting muscles for the first time in years, and makes for a good foil in this love triangle. The classic love triangle and "defrosting materialist" are done well here, with some quite witty dialogue and a sense of longing, need, an intagiable desire, two people talking and interacting through some frosted glass, much akin to "Past Lives". When it brings in a twist in the second act, it is oddly dark for the material on display. Song is fairly deft and classy with how she handles it, and it doesn't feel gratuitous and in fact is a thing to ponder, but it still really throws off the whole affair tonally, it's something of an odd duck to have, especially when they circle back to it in the final act as a 3rd act romcom character beat.
The film's fairly well made and a good romance, with genuinely funny gags, but the 2nd act twist stops me short of fully endorsing it as much as "Past Lives".

"Heart Eyes" - Review

for the last 4 years, the mysterious "Heart Eyes Killer" has been on something of a tear across 4 different cities in America: killing couples on Valentine's Day at a swift pace. This year they have targetted Seattle: beginning their new reign of terror with an attack on a proposal at a winery. In the midst of all of this, marketer Ally (Olivia Holt) is in hot water because her latest advertising campaign themed around doomed lovers is seen as exceedingly bad taste. Her firm flies in hotshot freelancer and wunderkind Jay (a bloody excellent Mason Gooding) to help right this ship. As the grumpy and cynical Ally and the romantic carefree Jay try to come up with ideas over dinner, they are mistaken for a couple by the killer, and are in for the night of their lives...

This movie fucking ruled.
More than living up to its mish mash of genres (a slasher movie and a rom com), it happily adores and plays up both of them. We get a deliciously bloody, fun opening murder lit and played like every corny rom-com from the 2000s, followed by a legitimately witty and charming odd-couple mish mash with the leads (who have electrifying chemistry) going about their evening, learning about each other and genuinely feeling like endearing characters. Mason Gooding has been wasted in movies up until this point, and relishes the chance to spread his wings, and continues the iron clad rule that cast members from "Booksmart" improve every movie (see also: Skylar Gisondo, Molly Gordon, Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein, Eduardo Franco and Noah Galvin). God I love Mason Gooding in this - he gets a fucking hilarious scene in a police car... And this is the first project I have seen Olivia Holt in, and I can absolutely see her having a wonderful future in romantic comedies if she wanted to: she bounces wonderfully off of Mason Gooding and carries the movie well. The rom-com is romantic and LEGITIMATELY funny, the writers (of the ever excellent "Freaky" and all time classic "Happy Death Day" and "Happy Death Day 2 U") use every opportunity to add subversive jokes rather than simple quips, and tying them into the two genres: be it a compliment given to Jay merely to justify why he was abandoned to the killer, a romantic smashing of a window turning bloody and painful (side note: watch "The Nice Guys") or both Jay and Ally telling the killer "we're not a couple! Fuck off and kill someone else!"; even the reveal of the killer's identity feels like a pisstake of movies with seemingly arbitrary identities of their murderers (remember "The Raven" starring John Cussack? Of course you don't). It's a good rom-com, then the slasher movie kicks in, and it becomes a great rom-com (my fiancee described the blending of genres as "sterling silver out of regular silver" and I cannot agree more), with a constant tug-and-fro between its leads and a perpetual sense of fun, never feeling like it is dismissive or derisive of the genres it is loving and playing with. Sure, the killer suffers a bit because the economy of conservation of characters mean you have few suspects to choose from, but even that is played for not one but two aforementioned jokes. It's great stuff, a worthy addition to the canon of both genres, and a fine effort from the writers involved. I will happily add this to my Valentine's Day rotation, as well as watch it alongside the ever-fun "Freaky" and "Happy Death Day" (and its arguably better sequel). Highly recommend it for its comedy and energy, great date night movie, and one of the few genuinely great films I've seen this year so far.
There's also a "Hobbs and Shaw" joke tailor made for me.

"Love Hurts" - Review

Marvin Gable (the wonderful Ke Huy Quan) is a jumper-sporting estate agent who loves his life, bakes heart-shaped cookies for his staff, and absolutely adores his job. But he has a secret past which comes a-knocking, when the mysterious "Rose" (Ariana DeBose) returns to his life, on the run from Marvin's evil gangster brother Alvin (Daniel Wu), whom Marvin used to work for. Now, this Valentine's Day, he has to succumb to his old skills in order to fend off assassins and get his life, and his love, back...

I'm delighted to see Ke Huy Quan headlining an action movie, that's wonderful. He relishes the part, they play with his role in "Everything, Everywhere, All At Once" (his glasses and certain scenes are shot like a Wong Kar Wai movie, flashbacks of him with slicked back hair look like a Tony Leung gangster movie, there's a fight with a bubble tea straw) and he is loving life.
The movie is still frustrating and he deserves better.
The first 20 minutes are fun, great even: a mash up of 2000s romcoms and old-school Hong Kong action movies, the shifts in tone are fun, the occasional spouts of blood are not too jarring, and it's pretty funny. Mustafa Shakir turns up as a poetry-spouting, quill tossing assassin named Raven and is good fun; whilst Lio Tipton (whom I love) has carved a niche for themselves between this, "Crazy Stupid Love", "Warm Bodies" and "Mississippi Grind" as "quirky supporting character who is the best bit of the movie", this part would have been Aubrey Plaza 10 years ago, and by sheer dumb luck Tipton happens to feature in every scene which is good. They also get a lovely, fun goofy subplot with Raven, and alongside Shakir sells it. Marshawn Lynch (watch "Bottoms") and European Henry Rollins lookalike Andre Eriksen play a pair of rather amusing henchmen and have a very good fight sequence in a house, one of the highlights and showcases of Ke Huy Quan.
Then the middle of the movie happens.
It nosedives quickly, with some of the absolute worst dialogue and clunkiest exposition of recent memory grinding it to a halt, all in service of a plot simultaneously boiler plate boring, needlessly intricate and complex, and told/done almost entirely off screen. It grinds things to a halt, subtracts from the energy Ke Huy Quan had been bringing, takes valuable time away from the comedy (and Tipton, God Damn it Hollywood!) and fight scenes; it's exceedingly frustrating. A few sessions of rewrites could have streamlined this and made it a lot more coherant and cohesive, but as it stands it's a clunky steam train to tedium. Which is even more of a shame because those glimpses of greatness leap forth in the final act: Tipton and Shakir's act climaxes, there's a bombastic shootout and knife fight in a house, there's colour on screen and wonderful jokes, and it knows what it wants to be in the finale. Unfortunately the wasted potential of Act 2 means that the great stuff is buried and the poorer stuff which would be forgivable or charming (the age gap and lack of chemistry between Quan and DeBose, the non-threatening villain given to Wu who tries his best, the superfluous Cam Gigandet character) comes further to the surface and drag it down.
It's a shame really, it's a frustrating movie I wanted to work a lot more than it does, particularly with its genre mashups.

"Love Lies Bleeding" - Review

Louise (Kristen Stewart) runs a gym in 1989 and tries to give up smoking. When drifting, bodybuilding stranger Jackie (Katy O'Brien) comes to town, sparks fly and worlds collide.

After the absolute barn burner of a debut (heh) "Saint Maude", I was fascinated to see where Rose Glass (amazing name) would go: her eye for detail, ugliness, hopeful redemption and classy sinful sleaze has taken her to honestly the one place befitting her talents: film noir.
A grimy, but not salacious, look at 2 spiralling strangers finding each other, and the myriad of decisions and outside events complicating things and causing them to spiral. It's gripping stuff, with a believable, swet central pairing, both flawed and damaged individuals trying to open up and help each other without letting those vulnerabilities be used. There are fantastic shots of the starry skies and the gym reading "Crater Gym", like Jackie is sent from the Heavens, but destined to leave wreckage when she does, and the imagery and beauty of the film continues in those shots; but is also counter-acted and frequently contrasted with "Saint Maude"-esque grit and grime: everything is off colour, everything is run down, an accurate look at the time period rather than a simple shallow neon-tined facsimile of it through nostalgia blind lenses. In this murkiness and ugliness, the beauty is allowed to thrive, but they also succumb to the worst instincts too. There's fantastic consumption and devouring imagery throughout, all maws and insects and yawning chasms, and the sound design is top notch: squelching and bone crunching and creaking of bones, topped by an all-too-fitting Clint Mansell score. Ed Harris shows up and is ALWAYS welcome in things. I love Ed Harris.
It's classic film noir, dripping with imagery and closeups and told with a queer eye and a twist. Already I'm seeing takes which see the dream-like and metaphorical elements at face value, come on guys: it's Rose Glass. Have some media literacy.
I like it. I want to continue to see where Rose Glass goes from here.
Side note: there are more scenes of "downtown devouring" than there are murders here.
But I DO NOT want to see anybody get their toes sucked, what the fuck movie?

"Anyone But You (Valentine's Day Encore Edition)" - Review

Struggling self-conscious law student Bea (Sydney Sweeney, with Kat Dennings energy) is trying to use the toilet at a cafe. She meets himbo Ben (Glenn Powell) in the line, and they hit it off. She spends the night at his house with a grilled cheese sandwich, and they fall asleep after opening their souls to each other. But a misunderstanding next morning leaves both furious with each other, though happy to never meet again. However, fate intervenes when Bea's sister Halle (Hadley Robinson, who looks like Kirsten Dunst) and Ben's best friend Claudia (Alexandra Shipp)) meet, fall in love and invite them to the wedding. Despising each other, the pair will have to put on a show of pretending to be a couple, in order to not ruin the weekend, and simultaneously hook up Ben with his ex girlfriend Margaret (Charlee Fraser) and keep Bea's parents (Rachel Bloody Griffiths and Dermot Bloody Mulroney!) off her back about how she left her perfect ex Jonathan (Darren Barnet, with Dave Franco energy). Sparks fly and worlds collide, into maybe something more...

Director Will Gluck (behind the great "Easy A" and nice enough "Friends With Benefits") is, in the nicest possible way, stuck firmly in the 2010s. The film is highly polished fluff, with no real frills or surprises, and it is sleekly done. It's not as witty as "Easy A", it's not as romantic as "Broken Hearts Gallery", it's not got the electrifying chemistry of "Past Lives": but it doesn't need to. It's a standard romcom retelling of "Much Ado About Nothing" with cute little title cards and quotes throughout, in a rather Will Gluck touch. It works for what it sets out to be: its leads are likable enough (Powell is the stronger of the two, but for the first thing I've seen Sweeney in, she's not bad. Oddly cast maybe, they wanted a Molly Gordon or Emma Stone I think, but she works) and the supporting characters are sweet and kept me chuckling enough to be entertained from scene to scene. There are a couple of gem lines and reactions, and whilst the stakes are exceedingly middle class and lower than the box office returns of "The Flash"; it ticks along sweetly enough. Again, it is not setting out to ignite the world.
I am happy that this is getting word of mouth praise: the concept is sweet enough, and of all things deserving of making money, a script not trying to be "expanded universe" swill, it's cute and honestly endearing and refreshing to see this. I think that nobody is more surprised than the cast: my edition (which has been extended and placed in theatres for longer, because also what else are you going to watch?) came with a wholesome little thank you message at the front from Powell and Sweeney, and a post credits selection of bloopers and rendition of "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield. I was smiling and cheerful throughout the film, and the ending credits are a wonderful celebration of people who just seem happy to be there and making movies, and honestly that is refreshing. I recommend it for what it is! Kudos Mr Gluck and company!
Also, Bryan Brown from "F/X" is in this! Sweet! And it's always nice to see Alexandra Shipp and Dermot Mulroney get more work.

"Love Again" - Review

Mira (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) is the artist of children's picture books, falls into a pit of despair when her boyfriend John dies. Two years on, and she still hasn't been able to move on, so her sister Suzy (Sofia Barclay) helps her move to New York... In the Big Apple lies Rob Burns (Sam Heughan), a journalist moping after his fiancee left him, which he hasn't recovered from. With Mira's book deadline approaching, and Rob being asked to pull himself together in order to work on a story about Celine Dion, both seem to be trudging through life, until their paths cross when Rob gets a new work phone...

The script is weaker than tissue paper, the entire plot hinging around Celine Dion (who produces and co-stars) aims for whacky celebrity cameo energy ala "Long Shot" or "This Is 40" but instead feels utterly surreal and a future answer on "Pointless"; and its leads have the chemistry of a man collecting his porn-riddled hard drive from a computer retrieval specialist. Nick Jonas has a funny cameo. But as bad as it is (and it is bad) it's not worth hating. It's just a film, utterly harmless, with the always excellent Russell Tovey and Omid Djallili in supporting parts (both putting on American accents, which is WEIRD), which flutters by. It's not the next "so bad it's good", it's not worth vitriol or hatred. It could do with "Hallmark Movie" energy to prop it up, but you know, who is gunning for this movie?
The ending credits are adorable, however, featuring the cast singing "It's All Coming Back To Me Now" in lockdown. Sam Heughan sings in a kilt on the Highlands, kudos my guy.

Three Thousand Years of Longing - Review

A narratologist (Tilda Swinton) is going to tell you a story.
She is going to tell you a tall tale of tormented truth, for if she spoke it as it happened, you would not believe her. It is a story of love, loss, loneliness and the power of tales themselves, about the hold that stories have on us, and how blinded we are to our own legends. It is a tale of how she met a Djinn (Idris Elba) in a hotel room, and was granted 3 wishes, and a tale of tales as he asked to be regaled by his mythos leading to this perfect, fortuitous moment.
From the director of "Mad Max: Fury Road".

Please watch this.
George Miller has woven (with co-writer Augusta Gore, and based upon a short story by A.S Byatt) a modern day fairy tale. No cynicism, no jokes, no sneering disregard for such a thing - just something akin to "100 Years of Solitude" or "Arabian Nights", with what is essentially just 2 characters telling stories in a hotel room. He uses effects and editing to splendid degree (check out the simple storytelling flourishes of a book being placed in a box, to quite heartbreaking effect, alongside oil-paintings of world building and mood pieces), capturing an intoxicating and beguiling wonder of a natural storyteller. It's romantic, dark, twisted, fluid, and magical in equal measure, and the dialogue is like poetry out of these actors' mouths. You will be rooting for these crazy kids by the end of it (all the way to a sweet and well-earned conclusion) and it's something of a refreshing drink from an oasis in these dark and soulless times.
And it has Idris Elba naked for 90% of its runtime.
And Tilda Swinton sounds like her character in "Snowpiercer", if that's your thing.

I joke that you can't believe this is from the director of "Mad Max: Fury Road", but honestly: if you've seen "Babe: Pig in the City", you'll get it.

"Supernova" Review - From the Vaults

 "Supernova"

Touching, affecting kitchen sink drama, with the best performances of Firth and Tucci's careers as a man trying to retain his dignity and some semblance of control whilst he unravels at the seams, and a dying man desperate to retain one element of sanity as he loses even that which he knew to be true.

Not even a cameo from turbo-TERF James Dreyfus can ruin it.