"Nosferatu" - Review

The year is 1838, and in the quaint German town of Wisborg, a young banker by the name of Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult), recently married and needing to provide well for his odd wife Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp), accepts a job to deliver papers to a reclusive count by the name of "Orlok" (Bill Skarsgard), who seeks a home in Wisborg. But all is not as it seems: the people in the shadow of Orlok's castle seem scared and strange, others enthralled by him, Ellen has got nightmares up and down her walls, and under the care of both her physician Wilhelm Sievers (Ralph Ineson, naturally) and family friends the Hardings (Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Emma Corrin) all seems awry...

From the description of "Robert Eggers remakes Nosferatu" you get exactly what that implies: a big, grand, Gothic enterprise with a focus on the folksy-occult horror, some gore, some disgusting sound design and a use of the period details to enhance the experience and make you go "oooh, man I wish we got more period horror". There are good moments and homages to the original, clearly a love letter of sorts (for the record: I adore the 1922 F.W Murnau "Nosferatu" and still find it a chilling, striking visual affair with some nightmarish imagery and a haunting atmosphere, it holds up remarkably well) to the film (two characters are named after Murnau, the famous long shadow shot is replicated as a grip over the city itself), without feeling like either part is backing down. Willem Dafoe appears in the final act, and absolutely steals the show and relishes the material, and I did not know I wanted buddy cop adventures with him and Ralph Ineson until I got them. It's well constructed and features strong performances across the board, and a strong throughline about hunger and lust, and the perversion of it, all about the looming and creeping encroachment of his evil, like a shroud upon the city, with a couple of neat little notes on the buttoned up roles for women in society at the time. The stuff with Dafoe is excellent, cannot stress it enough, and one of my little goblin-boys Nicholas Hoult gets put through the fucking wringer.
But that's just it.
It's "Nosferatu" done by Robert Eggers.
I could be watching Murnau's original (still weird to say...). It's all nicely made, but I wasn't particularly gripped or spooked.
I don't know, I felt cold on it.

"Sonic the Hedgehog 3" - Review

Living happily in Green Hills, Sonic the Hedgehog (Ben Schwarz) has found a family in local human doofus Tom (James Marsden), his wife Maddie (Tika Sumpter), fellow Earth exile and flying-fox inventor Tails (Colleen O'Shaughnessey) and warrior echidna Knuckles (Idris Elba). He rushes into action however, when the government of Earth call him out to an incident in Tokyo involving the escape of dangerous alien "Shadow" (Keanu Reeves), and matters are further complicated with the news that mad genius Ivo Robotnik (Jim Carrey) may be involved as well...

I've not watched the first 2 films and I'm not a fan of "Sonic the Herzog" games (I played the first one and simply didn't enjoy it as a platformer. Though I have had much fun watching "Game Grumps" play "Sonic Adventure"), so this film was essentially a test to see if it stands on its own merits. It had mixed results.
It's engaging enough and I never really found myself bored: it has this pinball, rapid fire energy to it which I imagine is fitting for a Sonic the Hedgehog movie, and just about manages to avoid the sugar-rush annoyance of these kind of movies. There are a lot of plates being spun, a lot of characters requiring arcs and lines, and the juggling of both previous characters and new villains to introduce. What lands lands well - Shadow the Hedgehog in particular has a weirdly dark backstory here which I appreciated, and they didn't really chicken out on it either. Shadow the Hedgehog also gets the funniest joke of the movie (about a Mexican telenovella of all things) and weirdly is played rather earnestly by Keanu Reeves. It's not the intensity of something like Robert Patrick in "Peacemaker", but it's played straight and helps balance the tone. In between the wacky antics of Sonic the Hedgehog (an equally earnest, having-the-time-of-his-life Ben Schwarz, who just seems delighted to be able to play Sonic) we don't get too many pop cultural jokes, and we have fairly well sketched arc about not letting trauma define us, not allowing grief to control us (on that note: WATCH "DOCTOR SLEEP!"). The scramble for screen time means certain things get pushed aside (Tails the Fox has maybe 8 lines? I forgot James Marsden and Tika Sumpter were in this until they came back for the final act. And an old guy turns up for one scene, gives some exposition, then dies and we are supposed to find it sad: I assume he is a character from the previous movie) but what is here feels like it is made with love and affection for the source material without wallowing in it. Also the makers appear to be massive nerds: I've been re-reading "Akira" recently and there are multiple shots ripped straight from that manga, not just the bike slide (I appreciated the glass tank and the shots of the tower); oh and there are multiple straight up "Dragon Ball Z" references and riffs. Brandon Trost (cinematographer of "The FP", "American Pickle", "Ghost Rider 2", "Crank 2" and multiple Seth Rogen comedies) plays with colours quite nicely, putting more effort than one normally sees with the brightly, flatly lit fare we get from kids' movies (which seem to be by-word for "low effort"); and the soundtrack is full of things like a cover of "99 Red Balloons" and "Firestarter".
I like it. It's nicely done.
Oddly there is a touching arc about Robotnik (who is among the best and consistently funny parts of the film) and his assistant, tying nicely into the found-family aspect, much like Shadow's angle. It just about works.
I imagine Sonic the Hedgehog fans will enjoy this, and it will appeal to children too without being too insufferable for adults. I'm not sure how much more it can cram in and juggle henceforth, but I didn't hate it. Kudos.

"Queer" - Review

Adrift in Mexico in the 1950s, rakish hard drinking disaster Lee (Daniel Craig) lives as a homosexual man of his own means, cruising bars and induling in base vices to combat his self loathing. The arrival of an enigmatic serviceman by the name of Allerton (Drew Starkey) beguiles him, and leaves him reaching out through the fogginess of his own intercinine struggles to seek a connection.

Basing a film upon the works of William Burroughs is not exactly easy: his books are almost incomprehensible gibberish outsider art concocted by a walking amalgamation of bitterness and neurotic self hatred, glued together with drugs. This certainly feels like a passion project from Guadagnino who has managed to capture that meandering, sleazy, debauched sorrow and beat poetry from chaos: cutting apart words and passages, forming new order from that chaos, and finding a disordered beauty in that renewed chaos. Craig (on a tear ever since he managed to get his Bond money and bolt for the hills of good characters) is fantastic here: an outwardly self-confident rake who is just a massive dork beneath, awkward and trying to reach out and grasp at any form of connection. In between his drinking, smoking and rants about telepathy there is a genuine, lonely pathos which permeates throughout the film. There are moody, evocative, banquet-style shots to just lavish yourself in, immerse yourself in the sleazy bars and the scorching hot underbelly of a city unseen. It's good stuff, I really appreciate this strolling across gorgeously lit streets, getting trapped in a cycle of addiction and loneliness (his conversations with a fellow loser homosexual played by Jason Schwartzmann are evocative of late nights in bars with friends) and the anachronistic soundtrack by Trent Reznor (it opens on a beautiful Sinead O'Connor song, and "Come as You Are" plays early on) lends it almost a horror movie vibe to foreshadow the events to come, and how intrinsically drug-fuelled Burroughs is. The chemistry between Craig and Starkey is excellent: I appreciated the phantom dream-like squences dreaming of touching him, the enigmatic behaviour of Allerton which makes you ponder if he's leading Lee on, or if Lee is simply too horny to see anything else, it's solid stuff. I like the feeling of it all, the atmosphere and moods are exquisite. The film however, true to form with Burroughs, is meandering and rather thin on the ground in terms of plotting and ideas. There are longer but paletable stretches early ony, but the 3rd act when characters go to the jungle with the express purpose of taking a lot of drugs and hallucinating. The flesh-melding, expressionist, non literal expression of moods comes back, but it's started to feel a little meandering at this point. Still beautifully shot.
The madness of the affair never reaches Hunter S. Thompson territory, despite glimpses and flashes of crazy adventures, and it remains a heartfelt love story about a flawed man longing for connection.

"Conclave" - Review

Upon the death of the Pope, unassuming Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) assembles the College of Cardinals, in his capacity as Dean, to elect a new one. Secluded from the rest of the world, the Cardinals vote upon their preferred candidates: Liberal reformer Aldo Bellini (Stanley Tucci) hoping to capture the progressive vote; middle of the road Joseph Tremblay (John Lithgow) doing his own thing in the corner; popular Nigerian candidate Joseph Adeyimi (Lucian Msamati); and bespectacled Italian traditionalist Goffredo Tedesco (Sergio Castellito) capturing a time long passed. Lawrence oversees this dramatic tug of war, and must also contend with a recently inducted Cardinal of Kabul, a young man known as Vincent Benitez (Carlos Diehz), and a simmering undercurrent of resentment and drama...

Well constructed with immaculate cinematography and impeccable sound design, very much a pedigree picture with the talent involved, it has an excellent speech from Fiennes at the start of the film about doubt. It weaves its themes of a man succumbing to the base instinct of ambition amongst this nest of vipers well, and the cast are strong across the board: particularly Fiennes, the ever wonderful Tucci, and the always excellent Lithgow and Rossellini; but Castellito also threatens to steal the show with a discussion of linguistics and boundary lines.
The weakness of the film comes in its writing and plotting, and I can only imagine that this is the result of being adapted from the often-silly novels of Jonathan Harris.
The examination of the Conclave and its procedure, a unique setting for its politics, is undercut by soap opera revelations and gossipy bickering, populated by characters we know are evil because...
John Lithgow plays Cardinal Tremblay, so we know he's up to no good, which is enhanced by every line reading requiring a twirl of his moustache. Cardinal Tedesco is vaping, so we know he's bad (though to be fair, there is a fun little contrast throughout of the cardinals in their finery using smartphones and smoking cigarettes, it's cute), and we know that the Nigerian cardinal is homophobic because a character tells us so. I like the characters when they are doing their politicking, but it is by the grace of the actors that they are saved from being cardboard cutouts. It jam packs a lot of things in, and just about juggles them, but it is at the expense of some of the plotting, and with one twist too many to keep it "fresh" and "daring".
Honestly I'd have been delighted with discussions of theology and terse arguments about doctrine and theory.
It's a solid film, and worth a rental.

"The Wild Robot" - Review

Introducing the ROZZUM Unit 7134: for all of your needs! Do you have a task which needs accomplishing? Then contact your Rozzum 7134 (Lupita Nyong'o), currently operating on an island free of humans - where the unit ends up interacting with all kinds of animals, and adding all new elements of her programming along the way...

Dreamworks are back, baby!
I went into this knowing nothing about the source material (a children's book which apparently director Chris Sanders loved) or the film proper, wanting something a little more relaxed after the emotionally knotted roller coaster of "Anora".
I cried 3 times.
From director Chris Sanders (of "Lilo and Stitch", "The Croods" and "How to Train Your Dragon" fame, as well as co writer of "Mulan"), this thing thus has some pedigree and experience: all of it put to magnificent use. The film looks like a watercolour, building upon that previous strong of 3D CGI Dreamworks stuff, making it look a lot more pleasant than films of late, and there are some absoultely breathtaking images throughout, almost ripped straight from a picture book or an art gallery (as cliched as that may be) and used to spectacular effect. It's a seriously pretty film: not "Kubo" pretty, but lovely nonetheless. The score by Kris Bowers (his first for an animated film) is the highlight: soaring and beautiful music, got me choked up frequently. Nyong'o is a treasure, as always, and absolutely carries this film with her performance, but the supporting cast are no slouches: Kit Connor does a good job, Pedro Pascal is always wonderful, Matt Berry plays a beaver who makes a "bullshit" joke, and Stephanie Hsu almost steals the show as a fellow robot. It's a tad rushed in parts, but its central story about teaching a goose to fly, and how kindness and coming together should be seen as survival instincts rather than weaknesses, makes up for it. It's a lovely film.

"Anora" - Review

New York stripper Anora (Mikey Madison) is hired by Russian oligarch's son Ivan "Vanya" Zakharov (Mark Eydelshteyn) as an escort, due to her ability to speak Russian. A whirlwind romance follows, told as a fairy tale fable through the lense of Sean Baker...

Spellbinding.
Bold, audacious, beautiful, emotionally complex, and far funnier than I was expecting: it is an absolutely wild ride which leaves you breathless. When the wool falls from Anora's eyes and the spell is broken, it is not in some vast overly-verbose monologue, but a silent awkward car journey through the cold and bustling night. A love story ripples beneath the surface, but not the one you expect. We strive for human connection, we all deserve to be loved.
Is Anora a grifter, an idealist, a professional, or a fairy tale dreamer? Maybe she's all 4... By the end of it, on a pragmatic sense, she is better off: but was any of this worth her pride, her dignity, the raw emotional scars which will develop from this? It's messy, clean, bright, dark, loud, quiet, funny, sad and exactly what I wanted and needed it to be. It's about the human experience, and a pitch perfect examination of life on the lower rungs of society.
And of all the things I expected to see, Take That was maybe rock bottom, but much appreciated.
I get chills thinking about this movie

"Heretic" - Review

A pair of Mormon missionaries, the droll, sensible veteran Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and the bubbly wide-eyed idealistic optimist Sister Paxton (Chloe East), find themselves at the precipice of the home of "Mr Reed" (Hugh Grant), who has expressed interest in their church. Attempting to convert him, they step over the threshhold, and are in for a long night of the soul.

Marketing and selling a horror movie around the continued comeback of beloved English actor Hugh Grant is a bold movie, but something which pays off. There has always been a sense of malice and menace behind that stuttering, sputtering quaint English stammer; and here Grant uses it to excellent, enthralling effect. He's hypnotic and relishing the part, relishing the chance to be part of his "freak show" era as an actor. He's well worth the admission, and is genuinely putting in one of his best turns: he has a fantastic conversation about Monopoly which had me grinning ear to ear and gripping my seat.
This isn't to say that the film suffers as a result of him not being there: the script stands on its own as a tightly focused bottle movie, where I can happily watch our leads discuss religion and dogma and faith, before they even get to the spooky stuff. The 2 leads are solid and believable without being charicatures, and the movie has a lot of fun with deciding and subverting and flip-flopping on who its final girl is. I appreciate the baroque square and box imagery too (a visitor framed by the gate, the walls of Grant's home, the jumper our big man wears...)
The movie wobbles after 40 minutes (kudos though, that is some juicy build up!) when the 2 girls enter the doors, but quickly regains its feet after a while, about the same time that Grant takes centre stage again. It is fun and has a whale of a time discussing faith, and manages to stick the landing with a well-planted arc about a butterfly...
Come for Hugh Grant, stay for Hugh Grant, and have a tight 3-act play. Oh, and Topher Grace has a surprise cameo in this, and I like seeing him in things.