David Robert Mitchell directs Andrew Garfield, Riley Keough and Grace Van Patten in this L.A. set slacker mystery set around missing girls, secret symbols, wealthy conspiracies and THE DOG KILLER.

This opened to awful reviews and got buried in a very limited release. As Mitchell’s follow-up to It Follows it is raggedly loose where his horror breakthrough was iron tight, with a less easily likeable protagonist where as that film gave us Maika Monroe in a pleasing final girl mode. Both however share a beautiful creepiness, an unashamed male gaze and unfathomable curses. What might have stopped this unclassifiable film from gaining popularity is its length and lack of resolution.

Garfield’s horny loser opens up many cans of worms… there’s at least five different Fortean intrigues that pull at his attention… some crawl into each others’ cans neatly, others wiggle off unexplained and a few just takeover the story leaving more questions than answers. If there is any point to it all by the end credits, it is maybe that Garfield’s meandering detective should be getting his life in order and maturing rather than wasting his time on secret codes and retroactive stalking. We all need to grow up and give less of a shit about old pop culture and passing fancies.

Yet the joy of the film is exploring him – and us – making connections. Some are easy movie buff references. Rebel Without a Cause, Zodiac, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Great Gatsby and many other classics are winkinly stolen from. Other are self contained. A Playboy cover, a ‘signed’ Nirvana poster, a hobo symbol, an antique cereal packet, a balloon girl… all are introduced then echo visually throughout the haphazard journey. Whether it be pairing up obtuse images or joining narrative dots between quirky characters who vy for his and our attention. Some are quirky hipster wannabes, others Lovecraftian threats.

I’ve only watched this once but I got lost in a deep, rich, often surreal piece of cinema that felt like it demanded repeat viewings. As a man, and we all know our faults as a gender, I found it very arousing, as a cinema buff I found it self aware and playful. Sure, it would have been easier for Mitchell to tie off his wavering obsessions in a neat bow, or to shift completely into a familiar genre like psychological horror or neo-noir by the third act. But instead it sits like an awesome puzzle, showcasing a lesser seen side of sleazy Hollywood, a brave and subtle performance by Garfield (his best so far) and lots of beautiful starlets in strangely erotic situations. Some sequences will do nothing for you, others (like our meeting with THE SONGWRITER) stay with you creepily like Lynch’s or The Coens’ best enigmas. Either way, this is distinctive, idiosyncratic auteur filmmaking, the kind cults are born from.

9

My Top 10 L.A. Movies

1. True Romance (1993)
2. The Terminator (1984)

3. Pulp Fiction (1994)
4. Die Hard (1988)
5. Blade Runner (1982)
6. Speed (1994)
7. Singin’ In The Rain (1952)
8. Lethal Weapon (1987)
9. Falling Down (1993)
10. LaLa Land (2016)

Don Siegel directs Clint Eastwood, Shirley MacLaine and Manolo Fábregas in this comedy western where a mercenary escorts a nun south of the border.

The simple pleasure of a genre mash-up getting it all right. The romance convinces as Eastwood and MacLaine have a lovely back and forth with each other. An unlikely screen pairing that pays off finely. The comedy is well timed and smart. The cowboy action can hold its head up proudly among Clint’s more straight affairs. If you come for any strand you’ll be satisfied, if you are a fan of all three then you’ll have a whale of a time.

8

Robert Siodmak directs Ella Raines, Franchot Tone and Alan Curtis in this film noir where a man accused of murder’s only hope is for his loyal secretary to turn undercover detective to help find the mystery woman who could provide an alibi for him.

Essentially three different films that flow into each other. The first act is a moody mystery where a depressed man and a secretive woman meet-cute and go on a chaste one night stand. Then we get plucky Secretary Ella Raines try on various personas as she tries to figure out why the various witnesses in the first act are lying. This is the highlight of the film. The final acts sees Raines trapped with her boss’ ‘old friend’, we know he is the psychopath behind the conspiracy but she doesn’t. All three sections are ominous and unpredictable. They vibe with a seedy sexuality and pessimism. Siodmark captures impressive city scapes and oppressive blurs of light and shadows. Ella Raines is wonderful as the good egg mystery solver, throwing herself into peril essentially for a sexist pat on the head by her doomed employer. This is a great noir.

8

David F. Sandberg directs Asher Angel, Zachary Levi and Mark Strong in this DC superhero flick where a teenage boy can switch into a magical adult superhero’s body just by saying his name.

“Hands!… Lightning from my hands!… Lightning from my hands!” In an age of overblown Endgames and ridiculous Aquamans, it is nice to see a comic book adaptation happy to exist on its own smaller yet entertaining terms. For a lot of the running time Shazam! is an utter blast. Fuelled by an all-in comic performance by Zachary Levi, it is a film that has cribbed from Big and The Goonies as much as it has from Deadpool or Black Panther. It sets out to make a thrilling family comedy. Sure, the monster effects and design might be a little too scary for tots… but I’m not a toddler or a parent so check out those awesome scary monsters. A gloopy, visceral threat for our hero in training to overcome. I laughed out loud at the witty body swap awkwardness many times, I was transfixed when the kids were in danger from fantasy peril. I left the cinema giddy by the neat solution to the narrative and the rich mythology left to be explored again. It is not a perfect blockbuster, Asher Angel doesn’t match Zachary Levi’s personality so you never really feel like Shazam and Billy Batson are the same character. There are also some soapy middle act doings that slow down the hilarious montages of irresponsible power use and zippy action. But all in all this proves simple, effective big budget daftness hitting the same sweet spot as the first Ant-Man. Not life changing, nor universe shattering but all the sweeter for it.

7

Tono Errando, Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal direct Limara Meneses, Eman Xor Oña and Mario Guerra in this animated period romance following the on-off affair between a Cuban singer and pianist.

Cartoons having sex. It is always weird. The romance is stock, yet warm. The music keeps things flowing even when the quality of the animation drops. The recreation of Cuba is superb. A country largely unchanged, architecture -wise, since the revolution, this looks the part and took me down memory lane back to one of my favourite holidays.

7

Ti West directs Sara Paxton, Pat Healy and Kelly McGillis in this ghost story where a pair of amateur ghost hunters work the lobby of a closing down haunted hotel.

Ti West can do atmosphere on a low budget in his sleep. This is all cheeky tease though, very little spookhouse. In fact there is more farcical comedy than ghastliness as the hipster odd couple kill time. Clerks with an occasional jump scare. Sara Paxton manages to add some sparkle to a thin lead role.

4

Jon Amiel directs Sigourney Weaver, Holly Hunter and Dermot Mulroney in this thriller about an agoraphobic serial killer expert who starts to notice a pattern in a new batch of murders.

I don’t think it is controversial to say the actors involved are far superior to the plodding workmanlike thriller they are in. Considering this was released in the same season as Se7en, it almost feels like a product from an alternative universe. Forgettable.

4

Bob Rafelson directs Debra Winger, Theresa Russell and Sami Frey in this cat and mouse thriller where a Justice Department bookworm uncovers a mysterious woman marrying and killing off millionaires with alarming frequency.

A proto Basic Instinct. Black Widow was exactly the type of glossy thriller my parents would rent from the video shop in the 1980s. Sexy, glamorous, formulaic. A gorgeous serial killer (Theresa Russell is electric here) who enters a game of seduction and betrayal with the ‘cop’ investigating her. The lesbian undertones are obvious… yet muted wherever possible. I doubt a modern day remake would be quite so coy. In fact every element of Black Widow works except the diluted storytelling choices. Debra Winger is the box office draw so she gets more screen-time. We get 40 minutes of her chafing against the men in her department who underestimate her in the first act. This means we rush through the first few seductions and murders by Russell’s femme fatale. Dennis Hopper’s presence as an early victim is literally blink and you’ll miss it. And not in a playful Drew Barrymore in Scream kinda way. In a studio mandated, editing room fumble kinda way. Likewise the ending where everything is tied off slightly too neatly comes from an era where the bad girl must be punished. These days, if such films were still made with any frequency, Russell’s deadly enchantress would be given the Hannibal Lecter coda… eyeing up her next prey, victorious despite obstacles only a true evil mastermind could navigate. The sheeny end product we are left with lacks potential bite but is an easy, accessible blast from the past. One well worth exploring for its still rare takes on gender and fluid sexuality in a mainstream US release.

6

Carol Morley directs Patricia Clarkson, Mamie Gummer and Toby Jones in this detective drama where a tough cop finds herself investigating a crime involving metaphysics and family secrets.

Numbingly off key, one note, over reaching. This had rave reviews in The Guardian and Sight & Sound. Those who didn’t walk out of my matinee screening left looking glumly shellshocked at the wrap up. Not by any narrative revelation contained within, just by the waste of time and talent. The seemingly endless waste.

1

John Quested directs Albert Finney, Martin Sheen and Susannah York in this heist drama where an honest architect is drawn into a major crime by a career thief.

Very difficult to recommend Loophole. The plotting is standard stuff. The production values workmanlike. Just when the big job reaches its cliffhanger finale, it ends abruptly, leaping forward in time to show us how where the leads ended up, frustratingly not how they got there. Yet it is strangely entrancing. The location shoot has a similar lost, yet ghostly familiar, London vibe as The Long Good Friday. And the two stars, while unstretched by their stock, one note roles, have a lovely chemistry. Both Finney and Sheen never really felt like Hollywood actors, so watching the movie outsiders play off each other has a sweet harmony, making something out of nothing.

5