FILM OF THE WEEK
NOUVELLE VAGUE
It’s been a great year for Richard Linklater – his recent release of BLUE MOON and Ethan Hawke’s performances rate amongst the best in the current awards season. He now changes gear for this brilliant film and celebrates the French New Wave with a particular emphasis on Jean-Luc Goddard and the making of his BREATHLESS (A BOUT DE SOUFFLE). It is Linklater’s first feature shot entirely in French and in black and white and boasts superb production values that convey the late fifties and early sixties most effectively. All the prominent figures of NOUVELLE VAGUE are introduced here including Agnes Varda, Claude Chabrol and Francois Truffaut, fresh from his pioneering work in 400 BLOWS.
Goddard (Guillaume Marbeck) like his other contemporaries is also hungry for success but in the most revolutionary way. His shooting style for BREATHLESS is on the precipice of changing cinema forever while his ingenious pairing of Jean-Paul Belmondo (Aubry Dullin) with the fragile American star Jean Seberg (Zoey Deutch) is the stuff that legends are made of.
It is perfectly cast by a strong ensemble of actors particularly by Marbeck as the uncompromising movie director as well as by Dullin and Deutch, who not only bear an uncanny resemblance to Belmondo and Seberg but they also inhabit their inner world and mannerisms most eloquently. An elegantly intelligent film that breathes authenticity and style. A love letter to cinema not to be missed!
IS THIS THING ON?
Bradley Cooper’s latest film is loosely inspired by the life of British stand-up comedian John Bishop. The action moves from Liverpool to New York and follows the story of Alex (Will Arnett) and Tess (Laura Dern), a married couple on the brink of divorce. Alex is desperate to make a fresh start and finds himself in a comedy club talking about the break-up of his marriage in front of an audience…
It is well written by Cooper, Arnett and Mark Chappell, who wisely explore both protagonists’ points of view. The comedic moments are well balanced with touches of sadness as the marriage is falling apart and both actors deliver strong, sensitive performances.
Cooper directs with gusto and is almost unrecognisable in a supporting role as the couple’s eccentric friend.
STRONGROOM
Vernon Sewell’s exciting 1962 black and white thriller is re-released in a brand new 35mm print remastered by the BFI. The action of this rarely seen movie takes place in a bank where a group of robbers are in the middle of the perfect heist until a pair of cleaners interrupt their plan. They have no option but to lock the manager and his secretary in the vault but soon after they run away with the money they realise that their captors will suffocate unless they find a way to let them out…
Sewell builds up the tension most brilliantly with excellent performances particularly from Derren Nesbit as one of the robbers. Even though this was made as a “B” movie it is probably Britain’s answer to Jules Dassin’s 1955 classic heist thriller RIFIFI. A real collector’s item and a must for any movie lover.
K-POP DEMON HUNTERS
This slick and sharply edited film is worthy for its Academy Award Nomination for Best Animation. It follows the story of Rumi, Mira and Zoey, a trio of pop superstars, who also act as demon hunters. They are committed to delivering captivating live performances to ecstatic audiences as well as protecting their large fan base from supernatural forces particularly from devious demons disguised as a rival boy band…
It is truly imaginative and its tuneful pop songs will give a lot of pleasure to the fans of the genre.
OH. WHAT. FUN.
A boring title for a dull movie from Michael Showalter, the director of THE BIG SICK and THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE. He has assembled an eclectic cast including Michelle Pfeiffer as the matriarch of the family, Felicity Jones and Chloe Grace Moretz as her grown up daughters and Denis Leary as the husband, which makes the final result even more disappointing.
Christmas is coming and Claire Clauster has been preparing for a year – she has bought tickets for a dance show for her children and everything appears to have been organised to perfection until she begins to feel she is taken for granted and unappreciated…
Showalter’s previous movies made a strong impression but this is a totally misfired affair and it never rings true. You don’t want to spend Christmas or any other time with this unlikable family!
RESIDENT ALIEN
This science fiction comedy television series is based on the comic book by Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse and follows the story of an extra-terrestrial (played with much delight by Alan Dudyk) who lands on Earth in a small Colorado town with a mission to exterminate the human race. But first he must change his identity and following the killing of a physician he takes his place and becomes the town’s doctor. His identity is a secret to the locals apart from the mayor’s young son, who can see the true appearance of the resident alien…
It is a fun premise but by the end of season two it feels tired and overextended despite Tudyk’s remarkable portrayal. He excels particularly in the comedy sequences and in the scenes with the mayor’s son. (Netflix)
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