Category: Movie

Movie

Nimona (2023)

Where to find it: Netflix
Length: 100 minutes
Synopsis: A chaotic teen assists an exiled knight
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: writing, themes, characters, animation
What I don’t like about it: some design choices, surprisingly heavy

Review:
Set in a medieval futuristic fantasy world that underscores the timelessness of its message, the film frontloads its exposition to explain that the kingdom follows rules laid down by its founder and is very attached to its queen and her royal guard, a heriditary cadre of knights who are treated as celebrities. Scandal engulfs the kingdom when the order accepts a new member, Ballister Boldheart, who is not of the exhalted bloodline. Despite the reassuring presence of his boyfriend and team captain, the even more improbably-named Ambrosius Goldenloin, Ballister proceeds to have the worst possible first day on the job but is soon assisted by Nimona, a mysterious and chaotic-neutral teen obsessed with being his sidekick.

What follows is an almost perfect metaphor for the queer point-of-view; societal and cultural punishment of divergence is the villain of this movie. Characters use it to reinforce their power, other characters have their self-image destroyed by it to the point of attempting suicide, all in a manner easily understood by older children and oblivious normies. It hit me pretty hard but the quickfire gags and montages made it a fun ride along the way.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): violence, suicide and ideation

Cinderella (2021)

Where to find it: Amazon Prime Video
Length: 1hr 50m
Synopsis: Fairy tale musical
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: dynamic, beautiful, funny, the talent, costumes, choreography, it’s very gay
What I don’t like about it: some weak jukebox numbers, overplays its strengths

Review:
Camila Cabello showcases her enviable talents in the lead role of this non-Disney fairy tale adaptation; colourful, hyperactive fluff with a charming level of effort. The voiceover narration (Billy Porter as the Fabulous Godmother) introduces us to Ella – for ‘Cinderella’ is an unwanted nickname = who lives in the cellar of her wicked stepmother (Idina Menzel) and spoiled stepsisters. Ella makes dresses and wants to sell them but is informed that women are not allowed to conduct business in this particular fantasy kingdom.

The setting is also introduced during the first number, a reworking of Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation, as a land where everyone follows tradition without question and also sing and dance a lot, providing a plausible and very silly reason for all the choreographed pop hits. There are lots of them; also appearing are the songs Somebody to Love, Material Girl and a mash-up of Whatta Man with Seven Nation Army. I was in a go-with-it mood but this film is probably torture if you don’t like musicals. Far and away the best number is the villain song, Dream Girl, a bitter and wistful reflection on the traditional place of women in society written and performed by Menzel.

Currently holding a 4.3/10 on IMDb, I will die on the hill that this is a good movie and everyone involved deserves to be proud of their efforts. Kay Cannon’s writing and directing is funny and dynamic, even if the reliance on gags, numbers and hyperactive editing gets a little tiring. The costumes and choreography are delightful and visually stimulating. There are also great turns from Pierce Brosnan (whose infamous singing ability is lampooned) and Minnie Driver as the King and Queen, and a particular comic highlight in their daughter, the ambitious liberal Princess Gwen who is ignored in favour of primogeniture. If – and only if – you like spectacle, camp and fluff, you’ll find this an enjoyable diversion.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): James Corden

Triangle of Sadness (2022)

Where to find it: Rent or buy on Amazon
Length: two and a half hours
Synopsis: A luxury megayacht is the setting for an angry metaphor
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: clever, funny, great images
What I don’t like about it: slow in parts, very gross in parts, long (though not overlong)

Review:
Ruben Östlund’s (The Square) English-language debut is inconsistent and disjointed but full of brilliant satire and further showcases his gift for visual symbolism and metaphor, while pacier than his previous European work. It opens with a modelling audition and smoothly dunks on many fashion targets before focusing on Carl, whose career has hit the skids, and girlfriend Yaya, who is doing just fine as a model/influencer and “finds it unsexy to talk about money”. They argue over dinner (providing Östlund’s signature intellectual cringe comedy) but soon reconcile and ship off for a luxury cruise on a megayacht.

Onboard, the crew is split between obsequious customer-facing staff hoping for a big tip and blue-collar boatmen hoping they don’t get noticed. Everything is luxurious and artificial and it seems to please the passengers, including Carl and Yaya – whose follower count has got them here as a freebie -, a post-Soviet oligarch, elderly English weapons manufacturers and a Swedish game developer who bears a striking resemblance to Minecraft’s notorious founder. On top of furnishing the absurd requests of their passengers, the crew are also dealing with an absentee captain, Woody Harrelson, whose alcoholism and devout Marxism bring about an encounter with the oligarch which was the funniest scene in the movie for me.

The highlight is the act two finale, when the boat is wracked by stormy seas and everyone tries to keep things ‘business as usual’ in a potent metaphor for climate change under capitalism. Unfortunately, this coincides with a highly graphic bout with seasickness and food poisoning – both brought about by poor priorities on the part of those who run the ship, further enhancing the metaphor. The final hour of the movie drags as the ship is destroyed and the survivors cope with a new social order but it ends well (an early line points out that the start and the end are the most important parts of a cruise as well as a movie, I found that cute).

Content notes (may contain spoilers): nudity, sex (coercion), vomit, defecation, corpse

Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023)

Where to find it: Netflix
Length: 130 minutes
Synopsis: DCI Luther returns for a sub-Bond adventure
Recommendation rating: 2/5

What I like about it: Elba, Serkis hamming it up
What I don’t like about it: disgusting, chewy dialogue, flimsy plot, risible fight scenes, obvious product placement

Review:
Idris Elba returns as gritty London cop John Loofah in a pointless big screen(ish) outing and seemingly a favour to hack writer Neil Cross. In the first half-hour, Luther is sent to prison by this week’s villain (Andy Serkis), then quickly broken out and sent on Serkis’ trail.

This show has always been an odd mix of grim and cheesy and both elements are turned up to 11 in this. It revels in human misery and violence, with the edgiest and most unrealistic villains imaginable. If you want to feel sick and like you can’t stop laughing at the same time, you might like it.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): violence including sexual, cop worship

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

Where to find it: Netflix
Length: 2 hours 20 minutes
Synopsis: The worst character from the first movie returns!
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: fun, funny, good targets, acting
What I don’t like about it: doesn’t deliver on murder mystery or live up to its predecessor

Review:
I didn’t relish the thought of a Knives Out sequel, the first being a near-perfect genre movie with artistic ambitions and themes, any sequel was sure to fall short. Going into this with those low expectations, I found it to be an enjoyable outing with the same kind of big characters and visual flair. However it definitely fell short in both the genre thrills and the themes – the plot being so different as to not really be a murder mystery and the main theme, aside from a retread of the first film’s clinging-to-privilege beats, is “tech billionaires are not geniuses, they’re egotistical, greedy and stupid” which probably was a less obvious statement when this film started development a few years ago.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): violence, suicide, fire

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)

Where to find it: Netflix
Length: Two hours
Synopsis: He made another antifascist fairy tale
Recommendation rating: 3/5

What I like about it: visually stunning, some clever scenes
What I don’t like about it: generally miserable, target-audience confusion, tonal whiplash, songs

Review:
This career-defining passion project for del Toro is definitely a well-crafted stop-motion animation but is alienatingly hard to connect with. Certain scenes seem very unsuitable for children, while others – especially a “poop and fart” song – seem entirely unsuitable for adults. Like all his works, it’s a beautiful masterpiece that I had no fun with and am in no rush to watch again.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): violence, war, grief, peril

Get Duked! (2020)

Where to find it: Amazon Prime Video
Length: 87 minutes
Synopsis: Four teens find a horror comedy when they take the Duke of Edinburgh Award
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: funny, politics, acting, editing
What I don’t like about it: the title (renamed from Boyz in the Wood) and the music

Review:
A group of teens undertake the orienteering challenge the Duke of Edinburgh Award in the Scottish Highlands. One of them, Ian, is here because the award looks good on a university application. The other three – Dean, Duncan and DJ Beatroot – have been ‘volunteered’ due to their part in a prank gone wrong. While Ian tries to bring the team together and the other three goof off, they are being stalked by a hunter who takes them for prey.

Has good jokes – especially towards the end when callbacks kick in – and a fun classist framework, a healthy disrespect for the police and tolerable lad-banter. Impressive editing and lots of beautiful highland footage makes up for its occasional weaknesses, making it less forgettable than most entries in the genre.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): drugs, dissociative VFX, scat, fur, violence (often sudden)

See How They Run (2022)

Where to find it: Disney+
Length: 100 minutes
Synopsis: Bungled British Knives Out knock-off
Recommendation rating: 2/5

What I like about it: occasionally a good line or funny acting, effortful (but too busy) backgrounds
What I don’t like about it: formulaic, obligatory, poor humour, poor mystery, no character, no heart, references to better movies

Review:
There’s a line repeated at the start of the movie which is indicative of the effort put into the writing: “It’s a whodunnit, when you’ve seen one, you’ve seen ’em all.” You can take them at their word and walk out there.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): murder

The Square (2017)

Where to find it: MUBI or BFI Player (both available through Amazon)
Length: Two and a half hours
Synopsis: Sluggish Swedish satire about pretentious contemporary high art
Recommendation rating: 3/5

What I like about it: smart, can be very funny, beautifully framed shots
What I don’t like about it: too long, Nordic pacing

Review:
Christian is the curator of a top Stockholm modern art museum, housed in a former royal palace. He and his colleagues talk about their lofty artistic ideals and are regularly confronted by reality and how they and the world fall short of their ideals. It’s quite compelling and funny in a ghastly, cringe-comedy sort of way, explores ‘the Other’ and strongly rebukes the middle-class.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): sex

Wendell and Wild (2022)

Where to find it: Netflix
Length: 105 minutes
Synopsis: Orphan girl seeks to raise her dead parents, gets conned by slacker demons
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: great characters, very left-wing, lovingly crafted, imaginative and cool
What I don’t like about it: story isn’t great, ending kinda fizzles

Review:
Henry Selick is a beloved stop-motion animator whose previous classics include The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach and Coraline. Since the latter in 2009, Selick has had several projects disappear on him and relationships with many of the larger Hollywood studios sour but with the help and patience of Netflix and Key & Peele, we get to see another great film from a master of visual imagination.

Kat is a punky orphan who runs afoul of authorities and is sent from care home to juvenile detention centre to discipline-heavy Catholic private school. There, she meets the school’s perky Greek chorus and a quiet, capable and artistic trans boy named Raúl. Alongside this, we’re introduced to a pair of demons, the eponymous Wendell & Wild (Key & Peele) who live on a bigger demon and are responsible for replacing his thinning hairline. Together they resurrect the dead and fight against property developers trying to turn their post-industrial town into a private prison.

It’s very strange and honestly, confusing and hard to connect with at times but the imagination and fun pervading the whole movie – along with the dedication and craft involved in its creation = makes it easy to overlook the weaknesses and just be awed as it moves at a consistent fast pace and shows off some great visuals and ideas. Suitable for gothy older kids and teens.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): violence, drugs and alcohol, grief and trauma