Film Reviews by AER

This film was completely unrelatable with unlikeable characters with unconvincing character arcs and lines. Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart play complete idiots who are doing a terribly as they try to make sense of their lives after the death of their five year old son. Nothing rings true. Every single character is unlikeable and its probably the worst film with Nicole Kidman in that I've seen for years. Even the supporting cast are ill-served. Avoid as it's offensive.

Whilst this is something of an improvement compared to Exorcist 2 - The Heretic, Exorcist III still falls some way short of the original. Bringing back a handful characters (if not the same actors) this works as a police procedural but is kind of jumbled at times. Also it's quite eccentric with long sequences that make little sense (especially near the beginning). Good acting just about rescues this from the bin, namely the giant GEORGE C SCOTT and the ably wired BRAD DOURIF. JASON MILLER returns briefly as Father Karras and nearly steals the movie. The eagle-eyed viewer might spot Samuel L Jackson, Kevin Corrigan, and Patrick Ewing in walk-on/extra roles.

Eccentric - check out the carp scene. Also has some striking imagery and some effective scares.

Deathwatch can best be summed up as Event Horizon in a WW1 trench. A committed cast try to breathe life into a very rote set of circumstances. The soldiers are played by what was a who's who of British cinema at the time (2002). A few are still around but about half have been reclaimed by obscurity and in one case notoriety (Laurence Fox). The SFX and corpse make up is top notch for 2002 but the pace is boggy and the ending incoherent. I've seen it three times over the years so it can't be that bad. Something of a frustrating experience as I remember bits and pieces but go back for details to see if it improves. It doesn't. LOL. Maybe I'm caught in the same loop as the actors.

Perhaps this is the most unforgivably boring action movie I've ever seen. Given that it's about Samurai warriors and features Keanu Reeves square and centre, the whole thing feels like a screen saver. Terrible SFX, even for 2014, too. Avoid.

The Spirit of the Beehive casts a long shadow, its influence can be felt in Pan's Labyrinth, Cinema Paradiso, The Year My Voice Broke, and The Quiet Girl (these spring immediately to mind). It's a gorgeous film about childhood beliefs and the end of innocence. It's also a tribute to cinema and the thrall early cinema visits hold over our lives. Superb, short in running time, atmospheric and very moving. Ana Torrent and Isabel Terraira as the children are fantastic. Unmissable.

I can't think of another American auteur that I have given five for five stars for every single film I've seen. Seems I've got an affinity for these thoughtful indies about relatable people working on the fringes of American society. So far, I've seen The Florida Project, Tangerines, Red Rocket and this, and I hope to catch Anora locally at the cinema soon. Starlet is a beguiling and touching movie about an unlikely friendship between a beautiful, yet lonely girl (who owns a cool chihuahua called Starlet) and an old recluse. The cast were largely unknown yet delivered note-perfect performances in a funny, surprising and moving story. Great ending too. This was Sean Baker's third film. I am yet to see his really early ones yet. Long may his reign continue. I have high expectations for Anora.

The lead actress in Hidden City (Cassie Stuart) is one of the worst I've ever seen. Her performance and her lines unbalance her double act with Charles Dance, who at least understands what his bad lines mean. The film has a muddled plot about a young woman who enlists a statistician/writer to help her track down a lost film that shows a woman being abducted. The film fails to convince why they would ever team up to solve a mystery. Shadowy government henchmen wreck their homes seemingly searching for something. however, the two twists are lame and poorly resolved - one with a rush job dollop of guess work.

On the other hand, we do get to see some interesting London locations that are not open to the public (and how they were in the 80s) such as the Kingsway Tram Tunnel, some tunnels below Oxford St & Tottenham Ct Rd (which I think are below Holborn), and St Pancras (when it was being renovated/unused) - the Spice Girls stairs.... So limited appeal for everyone except those that want to glimpse a lost London.

At times the film is so 80s it hurts, but this is also a plus. Look out for Richard E Grant, Michelle Fairley, Gerard Horan and others in tiny roles....

Similar to Burning (which starred Steven Yeun), Only The River Flows is a broken jigsaw puzzle that presents a conventional story for viewers but then ends up delivering something entirely unexpected. The film is high on visual clues and atmosphere, and it's not important to solve the murder as there is something bigger at play. The opening quote by Albert Camus carries the clues. Superb. One of the best of 2024 for me.

I don't think I've ever liked Face/Off. Back in the 90s (iirc) Nicolas Cage was riding high off the back of The Rock, then Con Air, and John Travolta was riding on the back of Pulp Fiction - so I was looking forward to this. I didn't like the overracting and the really bad script. The action sequences still hold up like the speed boat chase and the run way battle, but the acting dates it badly yet I wasn't engrossed at the time either. The film is predictable and lacked flovour. i think this is my least favourite of John Woo's Hoolywood films (in the 90s) - I even prefer Broken Arrow and Windtalkers to this. Hard Target is king. :)

PS look out for an early appearance by Thomas Jane in the prison sequences.

Long winded but thoughtful story about the fallout of when Vietnam War survivors attempt to gel back into everyday life. It's a slow and at time sensitive film that attempts to cover a lot of ground in 90s minutes and fails to engross by short changing the characters. Good performances by the three principles can't pull this film out of the swamp. Turgid.

Boom for Real seems to gloss over the more problematic areas of Basquiat's life like his drug addiction and the circumstances of his death. This documentary fails to skewer anything about the painter, neither talking about his rise to prominence in depth or his painting styles and influences. A parade of ald friends and contemporaries struggle to give any insight into his life or work and as a result Basquiat is painted as an enigma - yet books exist that really delved into his work and life. One interviewee, Lee Quinones, thinks the documentary is about him, he says about one sentence about Basquiat. It would probably work as a gateway film to the Basquiat but other than that, you'd get more insight from Julian Schnabel's Basquiat (1998) or Downtown 81... or pick up a book about this fascinating car crash of a man. Lightweight and little more than a MTV-style hagiography.

Sadly this remake of The Crow is a waste of time. Whilst some of it looks good, it doesn't get the blood flowing like the 1994 original. It's also as flat, if not flatter than the 90s sequel The Crow - City of Angels too. There's not much you can do with the plot of The Crow. It's a simple revenge tale, yet this remake tries to front load the tale by delving into the relationshop between Eric and Shelley, so Eric doesn't even become the undead avenging angel until about an hour in. The acting is OK, but the script is corny, there is even a 'Basil Exposition' character who tell us/him the crow's purpose and how he can suffer pain but can't be killed as long as his love is pure. The baddies are potentially interesting, Danny Huston brings something to his immortal villain, but unlike the 1994 original, the henchmen are not memorable. We needed a T-Bird and gang, and the pawn shop manager plyed by Jon Polito. For all it's flaws the original was an unstoppable action horror classic - this new one is pale, forgettable and at times, super lame.

Another lightweight adaptation of a Stephen King short story that deserved a more considered approach. The script begins with a cod-sixth form-style poetry bid, and strives for deepness with some villainous monologues about the 'arc of descent' etc. But this is just a slow moving revenge fillm. Christian Slater is the draw here, as a Las Vegas peole traffiker, and he chews the scenery well but can't escape the terrible script or the corniness of the plot. Wes Bentley barely registers as the nominal lead, and appears to be going through the motions in order to work on the next film. I remember reading the story years back and I don't recall it being all that special, however, I'm sure with a bit more thought and expertise, this could've been something of substance. As it is, it's flat and unappetising.

Today's Queer cinema stands on the shoulders of films like The Boys In The Band. It was a ground breaking film at the time but it's sad to see how dated it's become. Friends gather for a birthday party and old scores are settled. It's a film adaptation of a stage play so it's very set-bound and talkie. Some characters are paper-thin like Reuben Greene's character as the sole gay black in the cast. This pre-dates the arrival of AIDS, so the attitudes and opinions are different, and there is some nasty racism in amongst the catty homophobic quips and insults. An important film, but one that serves as a marker in time to show how far queer cinema has come. William Friedkin directs.

OK this year we've already had The Watched which was directed by M Night Shymalan's daughter. That was intriguing at best but couldn't glue its many ideas into a coherent whole. And while M Night Shyamalan's new one Trap certainly has a tighter plot, its problems are more endemic. The main problem I had with Trap was Josh Hartnett's performance - he seems to be striving for a heightened Nicolas Cage-style performance in this, and that's not what the film needed. it's too broad and it shows up the short comings of the script. The plot is gripping but only because you want to see how this car-crash of a movie can astound you. It's a shame really as the girl who plays Josh H's daaghter (Ariel Donohue) is actually brilliant and convincing. It's also worth a look to see Hayley Mills in her first Hollywood role since the late 70s (I think). The spiralling plot is interesting but quite crazy and unconvincing. Is it fun though? It had its moments, but if you compare it Split or Unbreakable that traded in brilliant lead acting performances, Trap, is terrible. Sorry.