Film Reviews by AER

In The Earth has atmosphere and impressive settings for days but it falls down because the plot lacks clarity. Up until the half-way mark, In The Earth is intriguing, but then the narrative loses its grip until it turns into a series of interesting but bewildering ideas that have as much rhyme or reason as a pop-promo. It looks, sounds and feels very cool but it lacks heart or true human interest. I was never invested in the peril shared by the two main characters once they encountered those hiding in the woods. Hayley Squires' delivers a weird and not particularly convincing performance as a rogue doctor on a nebulous mission, everyone else is a bit better. The mission's raison d'etre is original but garbled in the telling. It's probably best for most viewers to enjoy the awesome visuals and sound design. Ben Wheatley used to be my fave UK director but since Free Fire, he's been a bit flat for me. Maybe he's running out of creative steam. After Happy New Year Colin Burstead, Rebecca, and now this, he should maybe take longer between films to come up with something really worth our while once more.

Those without a sense of humour will right this off as a corny Aliens rip-off but this supremely corny action-horror nails the tone perfectly. Mercenaries hijack a luxury cruise liner just after it gets attacked by a giant squid! What!???? A game cast who look like they got involved just to have fun sell this alongside excellent (for the time) SFX by ILM / Rob Bottin elevate this to crazy cult favourite. Treat Williams, Famke Jansen, Jason Flemyng, Wes Studi and cameos from Djimon Hounsou, and Cliff Curtis make this a very entertaining and OTT banger. At the time it got written off as derivative and poorly made, but this is an arched, expertly pitched tribute to the bad b-movies of the 1950s. It's a winner and contender of one of the best 'so bad it's awesome' films of all-time. Full Scream Ahead indeed!!!

This road movie looks like it got scuppered because of the Covid Lockdowns. It's a road movie that is supposed to take place between John o'Groats in Scotland, and Land's End in Cornwall but looks as if it was all filmed in Scotland. Timothy Spall is note-perfect as the pensioner on a personal mission to get himself to Cornwall in a race against the clock. Spall's performance is the sole reason for giving this film your attention, elsewhere the film flounders with badly scripted, and acted scenes by a largely Scottish cast. The scenes are clunky and poorly executed, making huge sections of this potentially thoughtful film trite, and unconvincing. Where Spall is left to his own devices, this film soars, particularly in a scene or two at the end. All the rubbish about him becoming a social media sensation is corny and schmaltzy to the max. This is a great shame as the director Gillies Mackinnon has made some great films in the past like Small Faces, and Regeneration. I wonder how this could have been with a similar story yet with convincing supporting characters and a much better script.

3 out of 10

The Conjuring 3 - The Devil Made Me Do it promises an interesting court debate of how law courts recognise the presence of God but deny the existence of the devil. Now, I'm not sure I would have wanted a horror film stuck in a courtroom but this interesting debate is sidelined for the usual hokey, corny run around. This time, the dopey psychic Warrens are left to beat around the bushes to shake loose clues as to why and who is targetting unwitting folks in Massachussetts, USA and making them the subject of a demonic curse. It's poorly plotted, riddled with plotholes, lazy character development and clapped-out horror tropes.

There is not a single shred of originality in this film, and the main reason to watch these films (the chills and thrills) are repetitive, unscary and boring.

Sorry - this gets 1 out of 10.

STRAY is a fantastic nature documentary that follows the lives of several stray dogs that live on the streets of Turkey's Istanbul. Told in a free style, without a narrative to constrain it, it's a captivating portrait of man's best friend, and how well they'd probably all cope without us if we all just let them get on with their lives. Also watch the two deleted scenes which show you more of the same in different locations around Turkey. We probably project our own feeling about dogs onto this film but if like me you love them, you will be entranced by their ministry, their personalities, and their fleeting interactions with the people in the city. Recommended.

Candyman 4 has some great ideas and its course shifting of the Candyman myth is interesting, but thin characters and on-the-nose politics hobble this one. It lacks tension and scares, and by putting Candyman off-centre robs this film of a delicious villain. Also, like the first film, this one dives off a cliff into a bay of nonsense two-thirds in only to return in the final scene with the best scene in the movie.

Nobody goes to see a horror film for subtlety so I'm not mad at the overt political messages of the film, its a way of getting important issues into the mainstream - but in Candyman (unlike other horrors) the social commentary isn't in the form of an allegory, it's part of the plot. This is also good. However, I was sad that all the messaging. and intriguing Candyman myth-making failed to bridge the gap between the slasher/gory elements. It felt like two different films were vying for attention - a potentially interesting film about gentrification and black trauma meets a gory kill-repeat film; it's an unhappy marriage. It also missed the pursuit element of the first film, where Tony Todd's Candyman loomed large despite few appearances; in this new Candyman, the bogeyman, (a few briefs moments aside) doesn't chill, scare, or thrill...

A missed opportunity, but still a very interesting one. 5 out of 10.

Isaac Julien documentary Derek is a beautiful collage of his old films, an interview (by Colin McCabe directed by Bernard Rose), and rare home movies. It's also a touching letter narrated by Tilda Swinton (who was a long-term collaborator of Jarman's) and serves as proof that the British film industry needs mavericks and talent like Derek Jarman to give us challenging art / films. There's been nobody else like him, and as tastes shift, his work may become forgotten and impenetrable. I've read several of his published diaries so it was great to have the extra context through this documentary.

Derek also works as a gateway to his life and those who still celebrate his work. This was directed and edited by his contemporary Isaac Julien, another great Gay filmmkaer who never seems to make films anymore.

Recommended.

Grim tale of how a teenager gets caught up in a county lines operation. It's a sobering watch and is convincingly plotted, scripted, filmed, and acted. The young cast excel and you really care for the characters. It's bracing, and chilling to think that this is reality for so many young people on the poverty line in the UK. This may well get screened in schools as a cautionary tale. Excellent in every way.

9 out of 10.

With a stronger script this could have been quite convincing and one to remember, as it stands Reminiscence is a bit thin, nonetheless if you are just looking for an original actioner to pass the time this is the tonic. Hugh Jackman is as good as always and him and Thandiwe Newton elevate the material somewhat. Also, the interesting (yet scientifically batty) backdrop of a waterlogged Miami makes this more intriguing and great to look at. The plot is in turn twisty then thuddingly predictable - there are still some surprises to be had. Although, every twist is telegraphed and accompanied by a visual callback for those that were too busy scrolling on their phones, it's still highly watchable, if not a bit sappy, and slightly dopey. Don't worry though the good cast will help you through.

5 out of 10

This mid-budget Australian action thriller delivers on thrills and some great, memorable scenes. Ewan McGregor, so often miscast, is perfect as a fearless career criminal. There's a great prison break scene, an awesome gold heist, and supreme car chase. Whilst the romantic relationship between our protagonist played by Brenton Thwaites and a gangster's moll played by Alicia Vikander lacks substance, it still works within the fast sweep of the narrative. The story itself isn't very original and the grifts are not hard to spot, however, this is a gripping action film notable for a brilliant performance by Ewan McGregor.

7.5 out of 10

This film is the anti-Love Actually, in fact, to soppy old Richard Curtis, this film is the devil. I compare this to Love Actually because they are both about love in London amongst people in their 20s and 30s. They couldn't be more different, yet the same.

Mike Nichols' CLOSER came out in 2004 and I've probably seen it about 10 times now. Each time I watch it I am left utterly shaken by much of it. Watching it tonight, I spotted a few stylistic choices that have dated it already, but on the whole (and ignoring modern technology advances) this is a pertinent, relevant and wicked film about the birth and death of love.

For me, it contains career best performances from Clive Owen and Julia Roberts. It also stars Jude Law and Natalie Portman, who are both excellent. I think Clive Owen's thwarted alpha-male is the plum role and he is electric to watch in all of his scenes. Based on a West End play from the early 90s by Patrick Marber about two entwining couples, this is a foul-mouthed, brutal, sharply written dance to the death that skewers male and female sexual ambition, and reveals some very cold and arch thoughts on love dynamics. It's stark, and I've got to say, I love it, and I wish I could write a play like this one day. It's like a gift to actors.

At times, the film is stagey, and some of the dialogue would never get said in real life, but it's that slight disconnect with reality that makes this so watchable. It's a brave career choice for Julia Roberts, but it was very nice to see her play a 'real person' this once - somebody utterly relatable. I love the confrontation between Jude Law and Clive Owen, where the latter makes the former burst into tears. It's combat without a single blow (ok one blow) being landed... I couldn't take my eyes off it.

Two of my favourite lines...

"Have you ever seen a human heart? It's like a fist, wrapped in blood..."

And

"you women don't understand the territory. You are the territory."

"...It's not a war"

Its easy to see why this won the Palme D'Or in 2015, it's the kind of director's character piece that the Cannes Jury loves. I'm not belittling the film at all, it's a moving and engrossing film about a family of barley related misfits who bring up and abused six-year-old as their own only to have the world come crashing down when they are accused out evil kidnapping. It's a wonderful film, gently paced with an excellent cast, and no easy endings. Recommended, and one of Kore-eda Hirokaku's best.

You don't need me to tell you the plot. Black Widow is MOR MCU - and it comes too late to be of serious interest. I do enjoy these smaller MCU films, the scaling back of scope is important to focus on the characters, however this one doesn't feel different enough and ultimately it has the same ending with the main characters flying around trying to take down a (delete where applicable) a giant world eating/destroying machine/HQ/monster - it's a game of spin rinse repeat and I'm getting so bored of it all now. I think MCU should have finished at Phase 3, also Black Widow should have been made and released during Phase 3 for maximum effect. Black Widow feels like a thin footnote.

The acting was great and the pace was electric. PS: Ray Winstone shouldn't do accents - he sucks at ihem.

5 out of 10

This unwanted sequel is marginally better than the boring headache Birds of Prey. The Suicide Squad 2 is unimaginative, long, badly acted, nonsensical, unfunny and hell to sit through. The odd-one liner aside, this had zero going for it. It shows how much James Gunn's style gets smoothed out by Marvel, as this DC film is a director off the reins to the detriment of his honed-talents. This is the first James Gunn filmed that I have really, really disliked - Idris Elba looks lost, John Cena is never good in anything, and the rest of the cast get few opportunities to stand out from the ensuing hell of CGI mayhem. Pluses for me: The Rat was cool, and Sylvester Stallone's Sharks had limited appeal.

This is the last DC film I'm watching. All these superhero movies are the same - how many more films are going to end with the good guys flying around trying to take down a massive world eating/destroying machine/monster - I feel like I'm sitting through the same movie over and over again - didn't Black Widow do the same thing the other week? hahaha.

Low grade rubbish - 1 out of 10

This very cliched and corny Australian film holds no surprises, yet it has a lot of heart and at times it's very funny. Charlie & Boots is a very mild comedy made for people of a certain age and taste. It's a very simplistic road movie gushing with sentimentality about the importance of family and being there for your loved ones. Paul Hogan has only ever played one character and he's on good form here as the wily old widower with the twinkle in his eye, and Shane Jacobson matches him in the pretty basic cookie-cutter role of hopeless son. The plot sees the two men go on a fishing trip to the top of Australia and their adventures on the way. If this was made in England it would have probably featured actors like David Jason and Peter Kay. Production-wise it looks like it's been made for TV (it could have been), the incidental music never ceases, also at times, the film feels like one long feel-good montage. But the high points see off the low points, and I think that's down to the chemistry between the two leads. Funny, corny, predictable, heartwarming, and infuriating. It's middle-of-the-road stuff - one to watch with your parents. Undemanding stuff but you won't feel bad for watching it.

5 out of 10