Month: October 2022

Starring: Dwayne Johnson (San Andreas), Aldis Hodge (Straight Outta Compton), Noah Centineo (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before), Sarah Shahi (Person of Interest), Marwan Kenzari (The Old Guard), Quintessa Swindell (Trinkets), Bohdi Sabongui (A Million Little Things), Pierce Brosnan (Goldeneye)

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra (Jungle Cruise)

Writers: Adam Sztykiel (Rampage) and Rory Haines & Sohrab Noshirvani (The Mauritanian)

Runtime: 2 hours 4 minutes

Release Date: 21st October (US, UK)

Synopsis: Awakening after five thousand years, the slave-turned-demigod Teth-Adam must come to terms with his deification by the people of Kahndaq, all whilst combatting both the invading paramilitary forces of Intergang and the superhero team The Justice Society.

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Dwayne Johnson was born to play a superhero, and despite multiple offers and fan castings, the wrestler-turned-Hollywood superstar has kept his eyes focused on one dream role for nearly two decades: Black Adam. Best known as the archenemy of the hero formerly known as Captain Marvel, he’s not the character you’d usually expect to debut in his own movie; in fact, he was originally supposed to be the main villain of Shazam!. However, due to Johnson’s star power and after a multitude of production delays, the protector of Kahndaq has finally arrived on the big screen as the first major DC release of the Warner Bros. Discovery era. With the future of the DCEU very much up in the air after 2023, Black Adam finds itself in a less extreme but still comparable situation to 2017’s Justice League: caught creatively between where the franchise has been, and where the studio is trying to make it go. Its split priorities have ended up producing a film that has every piece it needs to be great, but remains confused as how exactly to stick them all together.

Whilst technically a spin-off of Shazam!, Black Adam connects just as much to the wider DC world as it does to its immediate cousin, but not in a way that majorly indicates where the cinematic universe is headed as a whole; it very much is a smaller story set within a larger world. The film’s biggest issue shows itseld almost immediately with its impatient pace and poor structuring. The entire first act is muddled as we are quickly thrown into the thick of the story, leading to a disorienting barrage of scenes that feel like they are being played on fast-forward. It screams of a production that has been heavily fiddled with throughout, with all the focus placed on spectacle whilst plot and character are left on autopilot. The dialogue is plagued with clunky exposition and motivations are explained over and over again, as if the filmmakers are worried the audience won’t be able to follow, when the issue is less how complicated the story is (because, on paper, it’s not at all) and more how poorly they are telling it.

Thankfully, things do improve once all the pieces are firmly on the board. The film takes some breaths in the second act, allowing the actors to be more personable instead of just yammering about the plot, forming some decent characterisation along the way. It does just enough to get you to care about these characters before it hits the finale, which is where the movie finally comes alive and manages to end things on a high. What surprisingly is the picture’s biggest saving grace, of all things, is its thematic richness. It really focuses in on Kahndaq as an exploited nation, plundered for its resources and ignored by first-world nations. It creates an interesting dynamic once Adam is revealed to the world and the Justice Society step in, with the supposed heroes being treated as hostile by the locals and yet another example of a big foreign power intruding on their issues. It’s not explored in as much depth as it could have, but it confronts the issue in a far more blunt and honest way than Captain America: Civil War, which focused far more on collateral damage than the actual morality of America sticking its nose in other nations. It’s the perfect backdrop to an antihero story, one where the morality of all its characters is put into question, especially those who believe they are righteous. I just wish it was handled with more grace.

After so many years hyping up this role, Johnson does indeed prove he’s a good fit for Black Adam. He has clearly cobbled together elements from other comic book characters; namely, Thor’s bemused relationship with the modern world, Drax’s stoic literalism, and Peacemaker’s brutal and steadfast approach to “justice”. That said, the combination makes for an entertaining mix and a refreshing departure from Johnson’s usual interchangable protagonists, literally storming through most of the movie like a Kryptonian Jason Vorhees. He’s a bit of a blank slate at first, but as the film goes on and we learn more about his back story, he becomes more compelling as we come to understand the difference between the legend of Teth-Adam and the real man behind it. Despite this, the story still gives us a more grounded viewpoint with Sarah Shahi and Bohdi Sabongui as professor and resistance leader Adrianna Tomaz and her son Amon respectively. Whilst Sabongui’s performance is sadly typical for a child actor, the character captures a similar charm to Ms. Marvel as a superhero fan who tries to mold Adam into a more traditional hero. Meanwhile, Shahi mostly seems to exist to spout exposition, yell after Amon, or just be someone for Adam to speak at. Given the Tomaz’s role in the comics, they serve a sadly perfunctory role with little indication of the direction they may go in.

As if our titular character played by the biggest movie star in the world wasn’t enough, Black Adam also serves as the cinematic debut of a bunch of other DC superheroes big and small, and from a casting point-of-view they’re all great. Aldis Hodge serves as the leader of the Justice Society as Hawkman, and he plays him as a sort of curmudgeonly, by-the-books boy scout whose will is tested by Adam’s disinterest in playing fair. It’s fun to see his self-seriousness broken and brought to anger by Adam being so nonchalant in his violence, and Hodge absolutely nails that. Pierce Brosnan makes for a great Doctor Fate, whose own disconnectedness from reality makes for a good mirror to Adam, and his wise temperment and relationship with Hodge gives the film a heart at its otherwise spectacle-driven centre.

Noah Centineo is the big surprise here as Atom-Smasher, and whilst he’s obviously cribbing from Tom Holland’s notes by being a reticent and clumsy youngster in awe of his teammates, his himbo edge gives him enough of a unique flavour and is responsible for most of the gags that land. Quintessa Swindell sadly draws the short straw amongst the Society as Cyclone, who plays the role with gusto and has a few fun interactions with Centineo as a fellow new recruit, but otherwise adds very little to proceedings; you could easily cut her and not miss much. But easily the biggest weakness, and a pretty common one for the genre, is the villain played by Marwan Kenzari. The marketing hasn’t said much about his role, so I won’t spoil it here, but it’s a very undercooked part that’s made even more frustrating by the potential it occasionally shows. Kenzari is a talented actor who could make for a great comic book villain, and it’s sad to see his shot wasted on such a ho-hum baddie.

From an aesthetic perspective, Black Adam is easily the closest a DCEU movie has come to being indistinguisable from an MCU production, mainly in how it lacks the distinct directorial style that has helped DC’s pictures stand out from Marvel’s more uniform policy. Jaume Collet-Serra is the most journeyman of a director the superhero genre has had since Alan Taylor, and though Jungle Cruise proved he could handle blockbuster action after a background in mostly horror and thrillers, this really does feel like a more work-for-hire gig because of his prior relationship with Johnson rather than being the only filmmaker who could do justice to this character. The action sequences are fine enough, emulating Zack Snyder mostly with extensive slo-mo, but there’s nothing really too definitive or memorable about any of it. What really ruins the film’s techincal presentation is the editing and soundtrack choices. This is easily the worst edit job since the original Suicide Squad, with sequences that were clearly much longer pared down to the bare minimum, especially during the needle drop moments where the songs barely have a chance to play before the scene is over. Plus, the music choices are just bad. Including “Paint It Black” by The Rolling Stones, for instance, is just too obvious, whilst chucking on “Power” by Kanye West makes more sense but…is highly questionable given recent events.

Black Adam is a movie that is so close to being good, and with a few small tweaks it could have even been great, but it’s just too much of a mess in so many departments. After being on something of a consistent positive streak post-Justice League (from my POV, anyway), it’s heartbreaking to see DC fall into many of the same traps that tripped them before. You can hear the ideal version of this film screaming for help at certain points, mainly from the cast who do such a phenomenal job at keeping it entertaining, all whilst the flimsy script and choppy editing does them no favours. Whether Johnson’s charisma alone can carry it across the finish line at the box office remains to be seen, but I can certainly say Black Adam isn’t unsalvagable. I mean, if James Gunn can rummage through the scraps of a junker like Suicide Squad, and use them to make not only one of the best DC movies but also one of the best superhero TV shows ever period, some filmmaker can easily do the same for Teth-Adam and the Justice Society.

Then again, who really wants to risk working under David Zaslav right now?

FINAL VERDICT: 5.5/10

After attending London Film Festival last year for the very first time on a professional basis, this year I wanted to expand my coverage slightly. This entailed seeing even more films, writing more full written reviews, and reaching out to write for outlets outside of Alternative Lens. Whilst I perhaps didn’t succeed in these goals to the level I might have hoped, various other circumstances prevented that. Still, I saw a lot of movies in a very short amount of time, and here I am to recap them all. There’s a few of these I may do full reviews of further down the line when they hit general release, but for now enjoy this lovely tasting platter of films; from the big awards season spectaculars to the smaller pictures in need of a little love:

Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical

Release Date: 25^th November (UK), 9^th December (US [limited]), 25^th December (Netflix)

Danny DeVito’s 1996 adaptation of Matilda is still considered a childhood classic to many, so even as an adaptation of the stage musical rather than the book, this had some massive shoes to fill but does so effortlessly. Buoyed by stellar performances from Lashana Lynch, Emma Thompson and newcomer Alisha Weir, Matilda the Musical is a boisterous and hilarious romp from start to finish that recontextualises Dahl’s story for a modern age. The way it highlights Matilda’s abuse and how that relates to her powers is an especially welcome embellishment, making this also a way to introduce young audiences to such a vital topic. What a fun way to kick off a rollercoaster of a festival! 8/10

Read my full review on Next Best Picture here

The Eternal Daughter

Release Date: TBC (US, UK)

Joanna Hogg’s semi-autobiographic ghost story features a dual performance from Tilda Swinton as a mother and daughter spending a weekend at a country hotel for the former’s birthday. A suitably spooky and melancholy affair broken up with touches of dry humour, The Eternal Daughter has an interesting perspective on the often-frayed mother-daughter relationship, but it leaves a little too much to the imagination and its twist is given away by the blatant filmmaking choices. Shout-out to Carly-Sophia Davies as the stoic hotel receptionist, whose intensely laidback attitude never stops being funny. 6/10

Corsage

Release Date: 23^rd December (US), 30^th December (UK)

Phantom Thread’s Vicky Krieps leads this period drama about the infamous Empress Elizabeth of Austria. This was what ended up winning Best Film at the fest, but to be honest I didn’t see what the fuss was about. Krieps herself delivers a compelling performance as the promiscuous and self-destructive royal, but there’s a severe lack of debauchery and decadence needed in a film with this subject matter; it’s all too reserved and safe. At least the costumes are to die for. 5/10

White Noise

Release Date: 25^th November (US [limited]), 30^th December (Netflix)

Noah Baumbach’s adaptation of Don DeLillo’s novel is a complete departure from the director’s usual grounded dramedies, stepping into full-on absurdist satire in one of the most idiosyncratic films of the year. Adam Driver and Don Cheadle deliver some of their most memorable characters yet, the way Baumbach so abruptly yet effortlessly switches genre throughout and perfectly imitates so many other filmmakers is phenomenal, and Danny Elfman’s score may be one of the best of his lengthy career. It’s the closest I’ve ever seen a movie capture the unimitable magic of The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8^th Dimension, and from me that’s incredibly high praise. 9/10

Read my full review on Alternative Lens here

The Origin

Release Date: TBC (US, UK)

A low-budget horror set in prehistoric Scotland, The Origin certainly has lofty ambitions with its sweeping misty vistas and the whole film being performed in a fictional dialect, but it ends up just feeling like a cheap amalgamation of a bunch of other films. It tries to capture a similar rural atmosphere to The Revenant but its direction and cinematography is nowhere near as gorgeous or inventive, and once the mysterious antagonist starts picking off our heroes it just becomes Prey but without the stunning fight choreography or visual effects. In its final moments it attempts to pull a big reveal that recontextualises the morals of our heroes, but it’s far too little far too late. Despite being barely over eighty minutes long, this is an excruciatingly drawn-out experience. 2.5/10

Casa Susanna

Release Date: TBC (US, UK)

Shedding light on an infamous Catskills retreat for gender-questioning folk in the mid-twentieth century, Casa Susanna has an interesting story at its heart about self-actualisation and finding community in an unaccepting world. Unfortunately, it ends up mostly focusing on the superficial aspects of transness that cis filmmakers have always been obsessed with, and the constant throwing around of outdated and offensive terms without context makes this far less effective as an educational tool. There are only four sources interviewed for the whole film, and only half were actually part of the community; c’mon, you couldn’t have brought in some queer historians, or maybe some younger trans folks just to add a little extra perspective? It all ends up just feeling like a forgettable TV doc from twenty years go. 3.5/10

Medusa Deluxe

Release Date: TBC (US, UK)

Essentially Birdman for the world of fashion, this one-take dark comedy set around a murder at a hairstylist competition is a fun but not particularly remarkable little jaunt. There are some interesting characters, fun gags, and impressive cinematography at points, but this is just begging to be a little more over-the-top. 6/10

Bones and All

Release Date: 23^rd November (US, UK)

Luca Guadagnino and Timothée Chalamet reunite for this unconventional coming-of-age story about a pair of young cannibals trying to figure out their place in an omnivore world. Taylor Russell gives a captivating lead performance as the reticent Maren, Mark Rylance has never been creepier as a veteran cannibal named Sully (who always refers to himself in the third person), and there’s some haunting one-scene-and-done turns by Michael Stuhlbarg and Chloe Sevigny. Unfortunately, the whole film is a bit meandering with choppy pacing and an unfocused narrative. There are some wonderful and unforgettable moments in here, but as a whole it just doesn’t add up to a truly substantial movie. 6.5/10

Blue Jean

Release Date: TBC (US, UK)

Georgia Oakley makes her theatrical feature debut with this exploration of queer identity in Thatcher-era England. Rosy McEwen absolutely shines in what should be a star-making turn as a lesbian PE teacher struggling to keep her queerness secret as Section 28 starts to ramp up. A vital film in the current British climate as similar legislation is being threatened against the trans community, Blue Jean investigates what it truly means to be authentically queer in a world that could destroy you if outed, and how we can overcome those internal struggles in a time of crisis. A perfect companion piece to It’s a Sin. 8/10

My Father’s Dragon

Release Date: 4^th November (UK [limited]), 11^th November (Netflix)

Cartoon Saloon puts out some of the most original and beautiful animated movies today and, whilst My Father’s Dragon continues their excellent track record, it is easily the most conventional family film they’ve ever made. The voices of Jacob Tremblay and Gaten Matarazzo lead this charming story about a young boy and a novice dragon trying to save a sinking island, and though it touches on some deeper themes it mostly gets bogged down by the more expected tropes of the genre. With Disney veteran Meg LeFauve behind the screenplay, it’s easy to see why this one ended up being a bit more orthodox, but it remains an entertaining and aesthetically gorgeous movie for all ages. 8/10

Aftersun

Release Date: 21^st October (US), 18^th November (UK)

Normal People’s Paul Mescal and newcomer Frankie Corio star in this drama about a divorced Scottish dad and his daughter on holiday in Turkey in the early 2000s, and it’s a heart-breaking mix of nostalgia and sadness. Evoking the early works of Lynne Ramsay and Andrea Arnold, writer-director Charlotte Wells leaves much of the subtext up to your imagination and just allows the actors’ performances to tell the real story, creating much more of a mood piece than a narrative but an incredible evocative one at that. If you grew up in the 00s, this is going to be an incredibly wistful but shattering experience for you. 8/10

BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths

Release Date: 27^th October (Mexico), 4^th November (US [limited]), 16^th December (Netflix)

Alejandro Iñárritu returns after a long hiatus with his most personal magnum opus yet, and despite being trimmed down from its divisive three-hour Venice premiere, it remains an overlong and irritatingly pretentious slog. The whole thing is supposed to run on a dream logic reminiscent of Jean Cocteau or Ingmar Bergman, but rather than immersive or contemplative it’s just confusing and weird. There are some interesting musings on US-Mexican relations, a few moments of surreal imagery that stick, and the movie looks absolutely gorgeous thanks to the cinematography of Darius Khondji, but as a whole this was a more painful than pleasurable experience. 4/10

Women Talking

Release Date: 2^nd December 2022 (US), 10^th February 2023 (UK)

Sarah Polley’s first feature in a decade may well be the film that defines her directorial career. Based on the acclaimed 2018 novel of the same name, Women Talking is basically 12 Angry Men for the #MeToo era, tackling sexual abuse and the patriarchy from the perspective of devout Mennonites that pits faith against freedom in a gut-wrenching way. Rooney Mara, Jessie Buckley, Claire Foy and Ben Whishaw all give some of the best acting of their careers, but the real star here is Polley and how she is able to effectively dramatize what is little more than an extended conversation into compelling cinema, as well as getting stunning performances from both its big-name stars and its less-known talent. One of the most harrowing films I’ve ever seen, and yet I can’t wait to see it again! 9.5/10

Pretty Red Dress

Release Date: TBC (US, UK)

Dionne Edwards’ directorial debut tackles the weighty subjects of gender nonconformity and toxic masculinity within the Black British community, but what is otherwise a fairly formulaic and frothy comedy doesn’t have the teeth to bite too deep into these subjects. I applaud the film from avoiding using protagonist Travis’ affinity for feminine clothing for comedic purposes, but it does sexualise it in a way that’s never really explored, and Alexandra Burke’s subplot about auditioning for a Tina Turner musical is a mostly irrelevant excursion that only seems to exist to give Burke an excuse to sing throughout. This might have been a classic if released in the late 90s or early 2000s, but in 2022 it feels sadly well behind the times. 4.5/10

The Good Nurse

Release Date: 26^th October (Netflix)

Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne lead this true story about a string of mysterious patient deaths in a hospital that suggest foul play. The screenplay by Krysty Wilson-Cairns has some compelling twists and turns but it’s all presented a bit blandly, and though limited by the true events it never escalates to something shocking; you can pretty much figure out what’s going on within the opening shot. Chastain does a decent enough job, and for most the runtime Redmayne surprisingly restrains himself but unfortunately ends up reverting to his old tricks by the end. One of the few Netflix films at the fest this year that I’m actually not bothered isn’t getting a full theatrical run. 6.5/10

Decision to Leave

Release Date: 14^th October (US), 21^st October (UK)

Park Chan-Wook returns with two murder mysteries for the price of one in this romantic thriller that plays out like Double Indemnity mixed with Insomnia by way of Twin Peaks. It gets off to a slow and somewhat muddled start, but once the pieces start falling into place it becomes captivating, and the final scene? *chef’s kiss* Cinema! Definitely not as shocking or innovative as Park’s seminal classic Oldboy, but any fan of Korean cinema or just a good whodunnit should have a blast with this one. Also, some of the weirdest and most creative editing I’ve seen in a long while. 8.5/10

New Normal

Release Date: TBC (US, UK)

What a shock to system to follow a great film out of South Korea with a spectacularly disappointing one. I’m always up for a good horror anthology, and the stories of New Normal have promising handful of set-ups: a murderer using a dating app to stalk victims, a hopeless romantic following a treasure hunt of love letters, and a convenience store clerk just fed up with all the assholes she has to deal with (relatable vibes, hon), just to name a few. Unfortunately, as interesting as those premises may seem, the pay-off is always abrupt and painfully unimaginative; seriously, the first story and the third story pull the exact same twist! I certainly admire the way the stories are weaved together at points with characters and events affecting each other like its own miniature cinematic universe, but when the actual tales are this limp, it quickly becomes hard to care. 3/10

The Whale

Release Date: 9^th December (US), TBC (UK)

Brendan Fraser has been owed a comeback for a long time and, after initially returning to us through TV on Doom Patrol, this is his triumphant homecoming to cinema in this play adaptation from Black Swan’s Darren Aronofsky. The story’s premise of a morbidly obese man essentially eating himself to death out of depression and guilt has proved controversial for valid reasons, but the film in practice handles the situation as delicately as it can and never exploits it for comedy (except in some truly dark moments). Fraser is clearly channelling his own real-life experiences with mental health here and it really is the performance of the year, but he is ably supported by a superb supporting cast including Hong Chau and Sadie Sink. It’s a heart-breaking and harrowing film, and one you should be cautious to watch if you’ve struggled with eating disorders, but it has such a noble heart despite its vile undertones that it somehow ends up being one of Aronofsky’s most uplifting films (though I think that says more about the man than the movie). Still, worth watching for Fraser alone. He’s that good. 8/10

Bros

Release Date: 30^th September (US), 28^th October (UK)

Billy Eichner finally gets to be the leading man in this queer-themed rom com, functioning as both a satire of and love letter to the genre, and the LGBTQ+ community as a whole. This is one of those rare laugh-a-minute comedies that has way more hits than misses, with the gags ranging from bizarre euphemisms to ridiculous fake movie trailers to just straight-up raunchy sex scenes, all with Eichner’s unique brand of gay humour. In amongst the chaotic comedy though is a touching love story between a mismatched couple that touches on male inadequacy, internalised homophobia, and what it really means to be queer in the modern age. It’s a significant film for representation, yes, but more importantly it’s just, plain and simple, so f*cking funny! Grab all your shes, gays and theys, get a little tipsy, and just have a blast. 9/10

My Policeman

Release Date: 21^st October (US [limited]), 4^th November (Amazon Prime)

Yet another bizarre switch-up to go from watching Bros, which takes the piss out of this kind of sad gay period drama, to watching the textbook example of one; it’s like trying to watch Walk the Line right after watching Walk Hard. Harry Styles comes off better here than he did in Don’t Worry Darling, but only because he’s not surrounded by such mammoth actors, though he’s still clearly underprepared to be a leading man. Emma Corrin sadly doesn’t come off too well here either, though the tepid and cliché-ridden script doesn’t do them any favours, whilst Rupert Everett makes a bizarre go of playing a stroke victim. Far more laughable than moving, My Policeman probably would have fared better if played as a parody. 3.5/10

Empire of Light

Release Date: 9^th December 2022 (US), 13^th January 2023 (UK)

Empire of Light is a British period piece starring Olivia Colman and Colin Firth, directed by Sam Mendes, shot by Roger Deakins, and deals with mental illness, racism, and the magic of cinema. Observed like that, it seems like a cynical checklist of everything you need to win an Oscar, but the movie luckily works at least on an emotional level. The story is a little unfocused as it juggles all these various plot points, rarely crossing over into each other and functioning more as a slice of life than a cohesive narrative. Colman is as good as you’d expect her to be and, just one year after doing the same The Eternal Daughter, gets another go at shouting down some asshole in a cinema; truly, iconic queen behaviour. Props also to Michael Ward as new cinema hire Stephen, who ably holds his own against a pro like Colman. It’s going for a very similar nostalgia appeal to last year’s Belfast, though far less effectively. Still, a perfectly good trip down memory lane for older cinema fans. 7.5/10

She Is Love

Release Date: 3^rd February 2023 (UK), TBC (US)

Jamie Adams’ latest low-budget, semi-improvised drama inexplicably stars Haley Bennett and Sam Riley as a pair of exes who are reunited ten years later at a Cornish country hotel, and the results are pretty disastrous. The plot is meandering and clichéd, the dialogue repetitive and unfunny, and the pacing makes its 82-minute runtime seem like an eternity. Only the surprisingly natural chemistry between our leads makes this anything close to watchable, but that’s being super generous. Give this one a miss. 1.5/10

Read my full review on Next Best Picture here

Triangle of Sadness

Release Date: 7^th October (US), 28^th October (UK)

Ruben Östlund, director of Force Majeure and The Square, delivers an absolute bombshell experience with this pitch-perfect satire of the wealthy and beautiful. With hilarious performances from Harrison Dickinson and Woody Harrelson, and a star-making turn by Dolly de Leon, Triangle of Sadness is one of those movies that keeps getting funnier as it sinks lower and lower. Featuring a sequence of excessive debauchery and filth that puts the Mr. Creosote sketch from Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life to shame, there is no limit to how far this film is willing to go to depict its privileged players in the worst light possible. See it with the biggest crowd you can, and maybe bring a sick bag too. 9.5/10

The Banshees of Inisherin

Release Date: 21^st October (US, UK)

Martin McDonough reunites with his In Bruges co-stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, as well as returning to his home shores of Ireland, for a bizarre dark comedy set on a rural island during the Irish Civil War. Farrell and Gleeson play the roles of friends-turned-enemies that keep escalating their inexplicable feud to brilliant effect, both comedically and dramatically, along with solid supporting turns by Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon. The film gets a bit stretched thin and monotonous as it keeps on, but the conclusion is satisfying and McDonough’s witty writing keeps it entertaining enough. 7.5/10

She Said

Release Date: 18^th November (US), 25^th November (UK)

It was inevitable that the New York Times investigation into Harvey Weinstein would get the Spotlight treatment, and She Said mostly just plays out like a faded photocopy of it. Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan make for compelling leads but lack the character depth that made the reporters from its Oscar-winning inspiration so captivating, and the events play out too much like bullet points of events rather than a compelling unravelling of conspiracy. Overall, it’s an effective enough journalistic drama, but if you’ve read the articles already there’s nothing new this film is going to offer you. It’s something that feels like it was made more out of obligation that a genuine need to dramatize this admittedly important story. 6/10

Unicorn Wars

Release Date: TBC (US, UK)

A Spanish-language animation that depicts cute teddy bears engaging in a brutal blood-soaked war with unicorns sounds like cathartic fun, and it is at first. Unfortunately, the joke of clashing cuddly characters with graphic violence quickly loses its charm and it ends up being a bit too monotonous. It’s little more than a feature-length episode of Happy Tree Friends but with a more melancholic philosophy. Maybe that appeals to you, but for me it was a bitterly disappointing watch. 5.5/10

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Release Date: TBC November (US [limited]), 9^th December (Netflix)

After so many passion projects that ended up shelved, Guillermo del Toro finally gets a win with this beautiful reimagining of the classic story of a puppet who wishes to be a real boy. A real throwback to the age of 80s kids’ movies like The Dark Crystal and Return to Oz, this Pinocchio uses its backdrop of 1930s Italy to reframe the tale into an exploration of free will, parenthood, and what it means to be truly human. The animation is gorgeous, the voice cast is top-notch across the board, and its opening ten minutes are the saddest since Up. You definitely won’t want to miss this one. 9/10

Read my full review on Next Best Picture here

Till

Release Date: 14^th October 2022 (US), 13^th January 2023 (UK)

The tragic story of Emmett Till and his mother’s fight for justice finally gets the cinematic treatment, featuring an incredibly powerful first act and a heart-breaking closing ten minutes. Sadly, the film in the middle of those moments of excellence is only so-so, falling back into a lot of biopic tropes and lacks the visceral impact of its bookends. Still, the film is carried by an absolutely devastating leading performance from Danielle Deadwyler, one that will surely skyrocket her name to every casting director’s wish list, and those predicting the Best Actress race. Also, props to Haley Bennett’s truly diabolical turn as Carolyn Bryant, AKA The Original “Karen”.  7/10

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Release Date: 23^rd November (US [limited], UK [limited]), 23^rd December (Netflix)

Benoit Blanc returns for another murder mystery caper in the rare sequel that matches the near-perfect quality of its predecessor in every way. Its twisty intrigue-stuffed plot is yet another satire-rich polemic on the wealthy, but with a wider target and a more righteous edge. Daniel Craig is as Southernly-charming as ever as Blanc, but the entire troupe of new characters are absolutely perfectly cast and working at the top of their game, with Edward Norton as a love-to-hate-him tech bro and a career-defining performance from Janelle Monáe as the highlights. If you loved Knives Out, you are almost certainly going to love Glass Onion just as much. A perfect capper to such a phenomenal festival! 10/10!

Read my full review on Alternative Lens here

Starring: Daniel Craig (No Time to Die), Edward Norton (Fight Club), Janelle Monáe (Hidden Figures), Kathryn Hahn (WandaVision), Leslie Odom Jr. (One Night in Miami…), Jessica Henwick (The Matrix Resurrections), Madelyn Cline (Outer Banks), Kate Hudson (Deepwater Horizon), Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy)

Writer/Director: Rian Johnson (Star Wars: The Last Jedi)

Runtime: 2 hours 19 minutes

Release Date: 23rd November (US [limited], UK [limited]), 23rd December (Netflix)

Synopsis: Famed detective Benoit Blanc finds himself mysteriously invited to the island getaway of eccentric tech mogul Miles Bron and his inner circle of friends, only for their murder mystery party to evolve into an active crime scene.

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Rian Johnson struck gold with Knives Out, a postmodern love letter to the classic whodunnit that twisted the conventions to serve as both a great example of the genre and a witty commentary on upper class culture. It was the kind of movie that stood perfectly on its own, and yet also left audiences begging for more. For Johnson’s first sequel (to one of his own movies, at least), he has taken another page out of Agatha Christie’s book and retained only the Kentuckian sleuth Benoit Blanc, following him on a brand new case with a fresh batch of colourful suspects. The result is a film very close in spirit to its predecessor, retaining its sense of humour and thematic backbone, whilst also being an entirely unique thrill ride that will have you on the edge of your seat until its final reveals…and laughing the entire way too!

ATTENTION: Much like its predecessor, discussing the plot of Glass Onion is incredibly difficult without revealing a lot of information that the trailers have thankfully avoided, but there’s just some things I have to talk about. I won’t be covering any of the major twists or victims or basically anything beyond the first half of the movie, but if you want to go in knowing nothing (and I’d honestly advise you do), just skip to my final verdict and watch for yourself. For those who wish to continue, MILD SPOILER WARNING!

Within its opening few seconds, Glass Onion reaffirms how on the pulse of the modern conversation it is, being the first major film to really address the impact of COVID-19 without making it the primary focus; you could have told this story without addressing it, but it adds so many layers to the plot and characters. Like how Knives Out could have only been made in 2019, this film could have only been made in 2022, and it’s an incredibly cathartic experience to see so many of the developments of the past few years ripped to shreds in such whipsmart fashion. It continues its predecessor’s focus on the wealthy, but broadens its scope from just one rich family to a cavalcade that represents every variant of privileged a-hole: the tech mogul, the politician, the internet celebrity, so on and so forth. It sets the stage for a story about how all these different industry giants are interconnected and reliant on each other, whether the parties involved like it or not, and really focuses in one of the most ignored yet obvious points about billionaire culture: just because someone is rich, it doesn’t mean they’re smart.

As the only returning cast member (well, the only one playing the same role at least…), Daniel Craig slips back into the drawling charm of Benoit Blanc and it’s a pure joy to hear him spout a new string of memeable Blanc-isms. The film spends a lot more time with him than Knives Out did, switching things up and making him our window into this story for the first half. We get to know a little more about the detective’s personal life, and his motives for getting involved in the mystery are a little more personal whilst still maintaining an objective view of the situation. It’s also fascinating to see him struggle with the limits of his jurisdiction; he may be a brilliant detective, but he’s not law enforcement, and even he knows when the system has beaten him.

When it comes to the new cast, Johnson has assembled another great mixture of established and rising stars who all have a unique chemistry that truly makes you believe this odd group have been friends their entire adult lives. Edward Norton takes the central focus as host Miles Bron, a pretentious tech giant who could best be described as “what if Norton’s character from 2003’s The Italian Job did a load of drugs and decided to become Elon Musk”. He’s one of those people who is incredibly hard to read due to the front of insecurity and showmanship he throws up over himself, making you question who he really is underneath the bravado. Kate Hudson gives the best performance of her career since Almost Famous as featherheaded fashionista Birdie Jay, whose vapid observations and tendency to blurt out problematic thoughts really captures a certain selfish and superficial vibe of celebrity culture. Dave Bautista is another standout as gun-toting Twitch streamer Duke Cody, playing the ridiculously macho role like the gay love child of Joe Rogan and Andrew Tate.

Kathyrn Hahn and Leslie Odom Jr. are left with a little less to do as senate candidate Claire and scientist Lionel, but they have a unique chemistry as the smartest and most self-aware members of Bron’s posse. Jessica Henwick sadly draws the shortest straw as Birdie’s put-upon personal assistant Peg, fading into the background for long stretches, but she has her moments serving as the most “normal” character in a sea of idiosyncratic weirdos; her frustration with Birdie in particular will be relatable to anyone who’s had a difficult boss. Madelyn Cline is something of a secret weapon as Duke’s girlfriend Whiskey, a seemingly perfunctory character whose deeper layers slowly unravel, and Cline does a brilliant job of hiding and revealing that complexity. However, the real show-stopping winner here is Janelle Monáe as Bron’s former business partner Cassandra “Andi” Brand. I can’t really say much more about her without giving the game away, but it’s easily her finest performance to date. You’ll understand what I mean once you’ve seen her.

The most striking difference between Knives Out and Glass Onion are the visuals, swapping out a foreboding mansion in the frigid woodlands of Massachusetts for a futuristic mansion on a sunny Greek island worthy of a Bond villain. It’s a change in environment that matches the higher stakes and more outlandish characters, and that feel of gaudy decadence spreads into every aesthetic choice. The colour pallette is warm and highly saturated, the costumes are stylish and expensive-looking, and the sets have an almost sci-fi feel. Unlike the first film which covered itself in classical mystery trappings, Glass Onion is a film that now feels as visually modern as it does thematically, and that change alone does a lot to reassure you this isn’t a simple rehash. Top it all off with yet another solid score by Nathan Johnson and some solid needle drops, and you have yet another impeccable technical package from Rian Johnson.

A cynical viewer could easily break Glass Onion down to its most basic elements and dismiss it as being fundamentally the same film as Knives Out. On that extremely shallow observation, they are technically correct but they would ultimately be missing the real point of the movie. This is yet another stellar example of the murder mystery genre that expands on the views of its predecessor, whilst also delving deeper into Blanc’s mentality and creating a compelling cast of new characters to boot. It’s easily on par with the first film, and whether you end up liking it slightly more or less will really come down to individual palate. In conclusion, if you liked Knives Out, I’d be highly surprised if you left Glass Onion being anything less than satisfied.

FINAL VERDICT: 10/10!

Starring: Adam Driver (House of Gucci), Greta Gerwig (Frances Ha), Don Cheadle (Iron Man 3), Raffey Cassidy (The Killing of a Sacred Deer), André Benjamin (High Life), Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim)

Writer/Director: Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story)

Runtime: 2 hours 16 minutes

Release Date: 25th November (US [limited]), 30th December (Netflix)

Synopsis: Eccentric college professor Jack Gladney and his absent-minded wife Babette both have an irrational fear of death, which is put to the test by an airborne toxic event afflicting their town, and a mysterious drug Babette is taking unbenownst to her husband.

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When you say the name “Noah Baumbach” to a film lover, your mind is probably going to conjure up a quirky dramedy filled with awkward situations, extremely flawed and relatable characters, and the presence of Ben Stiller and/or Adam Driver and/or Greta Gerwig. White Noise, however, is a different beast in a lot of ways. It’s the first adapatation he’s ever written and directed after a career of original stories (not counting co-writing credits on the likes of Fantastic Mr. Fox and Madagascar 3), and it stretches far outside his usual comfort zone of grounded New York angst and into the heightened satirical mind of Cosmopolis author Don DeLillo. The result is an idiosyncratic hodgepodge of genres and ideas that shouldn’t work together or even make sense but somehow, whether due to its uniqueness or just sheer dumb luck, it absolutely slaps!

Set in a fictional college town in Ronald Reagan’s America, White Noise engages in a stream-of-conscience narrative that throws out all traditional notions of pacing, structure and tone; by all accounts, that actually makes it a pretty accurate translation of a novel many considered unfilmable. The story is still neatly split into three chapters, but rather than gradually escalating over the story and reaching its crescendo at the climax, it suddenly ramps up at the start of the second act into a completely different narrative. This thread is then almost entirely forgotten about in the third, picking up where it left off in the beginning before reaching a comparably lower-stakes finale.

Despite this seemingly backwards approach, what ultimately holds together the whole enterprise is a consistent thematic throughline; namely, humanity’s fasincation with, and collective fear of, the inevitability of death. This thread runs through every facet of the film, from Murray Siskind’s (Cheadle) opening lecture about the pleasure and beauty of movie car crashes, to its final moments where the cost of trying to overcome that fear is laid bare. This is on top of the story’s satire of pretentious academia and Reagan-era Americana, all of which feel all too familiar in a post-Trump world. It’s a complicated collage of concepts that a more general audience is probably going to have a hard time unpacking, but for those willing to dig and see beyond its idiosyncracies will find a singular piece of cinema that walks like an Amblin production and yet quacks like the works of Paul Verhoeven and Yorgos Lanthimos.

In spite of his distinct presence, Adam Driver has proved himself a malleable chameleon of an actor who can effortlessly slip into many different skins. His performance as Jack Gladney here is certainly yet another feather in his cap, portraying this neurotic yet boisterously self-important college professor with a smug confidence entirely his own. A scene where he and Cheadle have a lecture-off where they juxtapose the lives of Adolf Hitler and Elvis Presley is a hilarious and surreal bit of acting you won’t soon forget, whilst his need to debate and initial hesitancy to recognise the seriousness of the toxic event’s threat feels all too familiar in a world filled with “rational sceptics”. Greta Gerwig plays a more familiar role for her as Driver’s ditzy yet internally struggling wife Babette, and whilst she gets far less focus than her co-star she still gets enough moments to shine and avoid being overshadowed.

Closely following the brilliance of Driver’s work is Don Cheadle as Siskind, who shares Gladney’s eccentric tendencies but with a more optimistic and slightly unsettling energy; he just always seems so excited about some pretty morbid subjects. There’s also some really strong child performances from Driver and Gerwig’s children, including Raffey Cassidy and siblings Sam & May Nivola (the children of Alessandro Nivola and Emily Mortimer), and some small but memorable roles for the likes of André Benjamin (watch out for his GIF-able cookie dance), Jodie Turner-Smith and Saturday Night Live‘s Chloe Fineman.

The aesthetic presentation of White Noise feels just as schizophrenic as its tonal make-up, but they’re all handled with impeccable skill. Each act has a unifying overall feel, but every scene within them has a style and energy all its own. It begins with this seemingly idyllic depiction of the town of Blacksmith that could be best described as “if Norman Rockwell designed Stranger Things“, which seems even more apt in the second chapter and it takes on an scope more akin to the spectacle and freneticism of classic Spielbarg and Jordan Peele’s Nope, and then the final third is more a riff on the Davids Fincher and Cronenberg. Its depiction of the 1980s feels like a satire in and of itself of the decade’s superficial depcitions in modern media, and the slight unrealness of it only adds to the humour of the film. Tying the whole thing together, and quite possibly the strongest element of the entire production, is Danny Elfman’s wonderful score. Considering his own back catalogue is as eclectic as the film itself, he’s a perfect fit for the project and his music segues perfectly between its various mood swings. From grand and operatic during the moments of awe, to frenetic and tense in its bursts of action, and foreboding and eerie during its solemn conclusion, it might just rank up there with Elfman’s best work to date.

White Noise at first seems like the cinematic equivalent of its own title: a wavering mess of visuals and noise with seemingly no pattern or meaning. However, if you can simply look past the static and see the many moving parts underneath, you’ll realise it’s actually a gorgeous tapestry. It’s one made of random scraps of cloth that look like they’ve been stitched together with no plan, but it all comes together in the end. It reminded me of a lot of different films throughout its many phases, but by the end I realised where I had once experience this kind of eclectic and somewhat baffling cinema that felt no need to explain itself: The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. By the time the film reached its unforgettable end credits sequence, I was convinced Baumbach must have been inspired by this cult classic (especially considering The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, which he co-wrote with Wes Anderson, ends with a blatant tribute to Banzai). In the end, it’s a film I cannot blame anyone from coming out of and feeling tricked or cheated, but if you go in with the right mindset or are simply willing to give anything a chance, it’s absolutely an experience you have to at least taste.

FINAL VERDICT: 9/10