Tim Sullivan directs Richard E. Grant, Samantha Mathis and Ian McKellen in this London romantic comedy about a grieving father who employs a hot young American nanny to look after his newborn cutie.
I feel it in my fingers I feel it in my toes except with a baby. Standard operating procedure yet both the wonderful Grant and sexy Mathis deserved more starring vehicles whether apart or together. Solid, sweet.
Franco Zeffirelli directs Martin Hewitt, Brooke Shields and Shirley Knight in this teen melodrama where an intense first sexual relationship spirals out of control when a parent tries to break things up.
Absolutely bonker, camp one-of-a-kind soap. Thank goodness John Hughes was preparing to give the sub genre a good, hard, modernising shake-up. Troughs of incoherent depression give way to bursts of manic plot twist. Mad that pre-dental work Tom Cruise rocks up for a cackling one minute monologue that acts as a complete catalyst for the rest of the narrative.
Andrew Haigh directs Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal and Jamie Bell in this supernatural drama where a lonely gay man starts a new relationship but also starts revisiting his dead parents in his childhood home.
Surprised I liked this quite so much. By it’s very nature All Of Us Strangers is a bit of a middle class coffee table book of a movie. I was put off by Claire Foy‘s sequences as she often feels like she is going through an acting exercise. And I was a little bit ahead of later twists. Having said that, Haigh represents the modern British experience better than any director currently working. Mescal and Scott have heat in their scenes together. And I’m not entirely sure why Jamie Bell isn’t part of the awards conversation at the moment. His characterisation has the most nuance and compassion.
W. S. Van Dyke directs William Powell, Myrna Loy and Maureen O’Sullivan in this comedy mystery where a married couple of sleuths take on the case of a missing scientist accused of murder.
Listen now kids, the creaky mystery farce around them is pretty mid. Old Hollywood doing what it does whether you like it or not. Nick and Nora Charles though are so money, baby. Drunk, in love, cute dog, still drinking, living out of hotels. Why let a little private detecting get in the way of the second most perfect couple I’ve ever encountered? Powell and Loy are a dynamo of chemistry and timing. I really should track down those sequels. Glamorous gal-wise there are at least two hard smashes burning up the screen here and pre-code jokes-wise there are three risqué corkers that stand the test of time.
Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson directs Ewan McGregor, David Bradley and Gregory Mann in this stop motion animation adaptation of Carlo Collodi’s classic tale transposed to fascist Italy.
Looks beautiful – full of rivulets of detail and Del Toro’s distinctive trademark creature design. But that’s about it. Most annoying Pinocchio ever. Chop that prick up. Very naive and grating. I’m not sure the fable about fascism adds much more than a worthy backdrop. Reminded me often of the very middle class, very dull children’s book adaptation that clog up Channel 4 on Boxing Day. More stop motion please, pretty please, but this sadly ain’t the one.
5
Perfect Double Bill: The Secret Adventures Of Tom Thumb (1993)
Oliver Stone directs Kevin Costner, Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones in this blockbuster speculative essay on the theories, conspiracies and inconsistencies around the infamous assassination of President Kennedy.
Long, dense with two fantastic monologues. How often did Costner play white boy obsessives? His clean cut All American image frequently got channelled into stable men who could not give up… to the point of ruination. Stone cleverly just overloads you with evidence. Some of it contradictory, some of it so speculative it invites ridicule. Yet the ultimate point is we do not know the truth about one of the defining events of the 20th century. Whether you believe Cuban freedom fighters supported by CIA funded homosexuals killed JFK or one lone Russian sleeper agent, the fact is we don’t know. All we ultimately know is that the average marksman Lee Harvey Oswald could never have made three rifle shots in that timeframe with that accuracy by himself. And bullets aren’t THAT magic. “Back and to the left. Back and to the left.” So what happened? With a mixture of film stocks, breathless storytelling and a dozen uncredited A-List cameos, Stone sets out an epic case for the curious in this mega hit. There’s a clear influence on Oppenheimer here, and while Nolan’s unlikely smash is nowhere near the stamp of JFK, it is at least heartening that the mass public can still have their imaginations stirred up by these gargantuan cinematic reshapings of recent history.
Sean Durkin directs Zac Efron, Holt McCallany and Jeremy Allen White in this sports drama based on the tragic true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s.
There’s a shot, a loaded shot, a sustained shot of the Von Erich’s dancing at a wedding. And even if you know nothing about this true story and you’ve only ever seen half a movie before you’ll know they are absolutely doomed from that point onwards. Just too happy. Efron and McCallany give brooding awesomeness. I love Durkin as an auteur but this might be too sad to pop on for regular revisits. A male weepie.
Luis Buñuel directs Zachary Scott, Bernie Hamilton and Key Meersman in this drama where an underage orphan girl finds herself pulled between a lecherous caretaker and a black musician on the run.
Race and lust in a garden of Eden (of sorts). Simple for Buñuel yet pretty exciting. Morally complex for its time.
Karyn Kusama directs Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried and Adam Brody in this Diablo Cody written teen succubus horror.
On paper, 100% my type. Yet both attempt to love JB and it hasn’t really wowed me. I recognise its growing cult status (and who say cult movies have to be perfect). Yet it just never builds to the right head of steam. I feel part of the problem is the horror aspect is so weak. The kills have no build up or unpredictability. Even Heathers has a little suspense to it. Once Jennifer decides to seduce, well… that boy is toast. No stalk, no chase, no prolonging the attack. Still has pleasing moments, the potential just promises so much more.
Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee directs Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel and Jonathan Groff in this Walt Disney animation following two princess sisters… one of whom has icy magical powers.
The big one, the barnstormer which made Disney cartoons tentpole release events again. Bell and Menzel’s voice work does the business and every other aspect (romance, adventure, songbook, comedy, wonder) feels fresh and spruced up. Just impeccable mainstream entertainment. Hard not to get goosebumps when Let It Go begins.
