Film Reviews by AER

Tapping into our modern day fears - this is the cinema of unease rather than the dumb jumpscare-a-minute horrors that take up space in the cinemas. Creepy rather than scary, this dials up the terror slowly and before you know where you are you are ensnared as the characters. Midsommar is the horror of 2019 (so far). I think it's better than Ari Aster's debut Hereditary too which is surprising. The director has definitely aced the 'difficult' second film test here by developing his style into something more consistent and utterly convincing.

Clues are all around as you wonder what will become of a girl (who's overcoming a tragedy) and here 4 male friends who travel to Sweden to be the guests at a mysterious pagan worship ceremony. That's all I'll say - and I will say, go in to the film with as little information as possible - it's so much better enjoying this film cold and ignorant.

Horror perfection.

A neat idea and a cool twist in the tale is undermined by a poor script and Logan Marshall Green doing a 'Nicolas Cage'. Finding himself at the centre of a conspiracy after his techy wife is murdered and he has been left paralysed - he is enhanced with a top-secret gadget that calls itself Stem. Stem has the power to operate his body and mind at any time (with his permission). The AI helps our hero solve his wifes murder and his own hospitalisation. The fights with a series of enhanced goons are gory and eyecatching. The film looks the part as its set in the near future and all the sets look excellent. The mood is bolstered by a very atmospheric soundtrack that works - it's a shame the performances are too broad and the plot has some unbelievable plot holes and logic gaps. So all in all - it seemed like it needed a better script and smarter actors. It's a good idea squandered and the rush towards it's great conclusion is like watching someone dying to tell you a secret but buggering up the facts as the lay the foundations of the story down.

Interesting but really flawed.

Fun and bittersweet tale of friendship found in strange places. An ageing female impersonator Jack (DERREN NESBITT) and stand up comedian makes friends with a gender-fluid singer, Faith (JORDAN STEPHENS) at the Brighton revue bar where they both work. When Jack is told that he has 6 weeks left to live, they embark on a mssion to live life to the full and make amends for past mistakes. Sounds a bit soppy but this satin puppy has sharp teeth. Rage against the dying of the light.

The only downside was the misjudged, abrupt ending, and a penchant by the maker for montage sequences to really bad music (that probably took up 10 minutes of the slim running time). It needed to be longer and do these great characters even more better justice. Derren Nesbitt and Jordan Stephens are superb - so good. And there's a lovely cameo by Lucy-Jane Quinlan as an exotic dancer.

Recommended if you like character pieces. Very moving but you may well feel robbed by the lopped off ending.

5.5 out of 10

This is really Cain and Abel retold in the East End - on this outing we see mad dog Scott Adkins square-off against his toe-rag criminal brother,(Lincoln (geddit?)), played by the solid and reliable Craig Fairbrass. Cain (Adkins) went to jail for nearly 10 years and has run the gauntlet of daily deadly fights. When he finds out that his brother has sponsored a hit on him he sets about planning a jailbreak. This culminates in him taking Lincoln's gang hostage in a grotty pub HQ. The dialogue in Avengement is poor and the plot predictable, but such is the energy of the fantastic leads and the cool fight scenes (very gory) that this stand head and shoulders above many other low-budget British gangster/action flicks (that usually star Adkins anyway).

This is directed with flair by frequent Adkins collaborator Jesse V Johnson (GREEN STREET 2 / TRIPLE THREAT / ACCIDENT MAN) and it's a fun quickie for fans of basic action. Scott Adkins pushes himself here by trying a bit of character acting on for size (for once) and it's a success. One of the best new DTV actioners to come out of England in recent years.

Co-starring Nick Moran, Thomas Turgoose, Kierston Wareing and Leo Gregory.

Swinging Safari is an unfunny madcap comedy with some great actors in. Stephan Elliott (A FEW BEST MEN / QUEEN PRISCILLA / FRAUDS) is a wildly inconsistent director who has made a string of nutty, commercial movies for nearly 30 years and this is pretty much the worst yet. Guy Pearce heads an ensemble of wooden child actors who have to carry much of the weight. With better performances, a less frantic pace and a funnier script this could have been pretty good but it has nothing to recommend it. Everybody in the adult cast is capable of way better things.

Set in the 1970s three families who live on the same street have an orgy (the adults) whilst the kids attempt to make a homemade sequel to Jaws when a dead whale washes up at the local beach. I got about 30 minutes in and gave up. I love Australian cinema but sometimes you will find a film that's a 'bit much'. It's bold, loud, shouty and unfunny - I won't say the obvious.

There are heaps of great Australian films that remain unreleased in the UK, how the *(&$ did Swinging Safari make it out?!?

Vital viewing for gospel and soul lovers - also time travellers that would love to revisit the early 1970s - just to see the fashions and what regular folk were wearing and saying back then. The body of Amazing Grace is an belated assembly of material from a live recording of a gospel concert from January 1972 in Watts. It's dynamic... > An utterly immersive experience which is as close as you can get to hitching a ride in the time machine. The camera affords you a front row seat to an awe-inspiring performance - there's more than one moment that gave me goosebumps. Another brought a tear to my eye. A thing of beauty and at a slender 80 minutes you can make time for one of the best films of 2019. Albeit one that turned up 47 years late. Better late than never at all.

Unforgettable.

A nice small-scale sci-fi from Australia starring newcomer Carla Ruugard alongside American actress Hilary Swank (THE HOMESMAN / LOGAN LUCKY / MILLION DOLLAR BABY). This is a great little conspiracy thriller which can be work as an allegory for the price of national security. A girl (DAUGHTER) is raised by an AI, called Mother (ROSE BYRNE) that nurtures her through to adulthood after the extinction of the human race. Living in relative isolation the girl is given ethical exams by mother. With the arrival of a distressed stranger Hilary Swank's 'Woman' the Daughter's whol existence is brought under scrutiny. What lies beyond the doors to the complex where they live and is Mother protecting her from the truth or is she up to something altogether more sinister? Some neat riddles lie in plain sight for the solving, but don't get too caught up in the mystery - just go along for the ride. A satisfying mid-range sci-fi in the style of Moon and Anihiliation - this one works a treat.

This British thriller is a cut-above your average - this is thanks to a plot that side-steps genre cliches and offers up realistic, real world characters thrust into outlandish circumstances. We've been here before in films like Straw Dogs and Deliverance where city folk clash with rural folk - but in this case the locals are given colour and an intelligent script digs deeper than presenting us with cartoon killer farmers. In fact, our heroes are nothing of the sort as they try anything to save their own skin and cover their tracks after covering up an accidental death by killing someone else. The behaviour of our heroes is abominable and it's a miracle that Jack Lowden's young city dweller gains any audience sympathy. But he does because his friend played by Martin McCann is utterly barbaric and self-centred. It's a slow burner to be sure but Calibre serves up a different tale from other similar films in the same genre. You'll be torn who to root for and the story's resolution is far from clear-cut. Recommended if you are looking for a drama with a bit more substance than you'd expect.

I'm sure that it's down to the simple reason that I think Joaquin Phoenix is one of the greatest American actors at work today that I sought this curio out. It's like that old adage, 'Never meet your heroes' because this is an embarrassing, self-indulgent shambles which it tortuous to watch. This mockumentary began life as a documentary made by Phoenix's friend Casy Affleck to chronicle the former's retirement from acting and his attempts to be taken seriously as a rapper. But all we're treated to is a string of shambolic, unfunny and ultimately boring scenes where we get an insight into how Phoenix supposedly leads his life with his merry band of acolytes. I doubt Joaquin Phoenix and Casy Affleck hold this 'personal project' in high regard - it must have seemed like a good idea at the time but it's a skid mark on their respectable careers. Avoid.

Sadly this low-budget's ambitions way exceed the filmmakers' grasp in this exceedingly bad action film. New action-hunk Adam Collins (ESSEX HEIST) who also co-directed and co-wrote this clunky actioner fails to distinguish his film in anyway beyond the unusual setting of Nottingham. Turning City Hall into a palace to destroy legions of mercenaries in is vaguely inspired but it's a hell of journey getting through almost 90minutes of nonsensical, badly acted and cliched scenes that just seem to be stitched back-to-back with no rhyme or reason. A whole battle in a scrapyard seems to lead nowhere but it's vague fun to watch. The bad guy (IAN HICHENS) is one of the worst bad guys to have graced a film set in sometime and he only serves to make the rest of the cast look slightly better. Sparks of promise fail to ignite the great film but it will be interesting to see if these guys push themselves with a better script, better actors and some judicious editing before unleashing their next film on an unsuspecting public. One for the most undemanding of viewers who like action curios.

Try Hard.

For fans of the two Ivan Sen movies that revolve around Det. Jay Swan's life - this six episode series is essentially a third film. Yet it seems diluted and less 'cool' than the movies. The plot and characters are a bit slow on the uptake and the central mystery is a bit weak. That said, the lead actor Aaron Pedersen has some stirling support again from guest stars: Judy Davis (BARTON FINK / NAKED LUNCH), Colin Friels (MALCOLM / DARK MAN) and ERNIE DINGO (UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD / THE FRINGE DWELLERS / BLACK FELLAS). It's a frustrating brew that seems drawn out and is let down by a verbose script that, at times, spells out the obvious. All this would be acceptable as it's aimed at a mainstream evening TV audience, but following on the heals of the films Mystery Road and Goldstone, this lacks punch, style, intelligence and energy.

This charming Australian film, released back in 1986, is a great way to spend 90 minutes or so. Coming at you like a sweary Wallace & Gromit - this tells the story of an autistic tram-nut who lives in Melbourne who has an aptitude for building machines from old parts. When he rents his spare room out to two bank robbers who helps them pull off a series of mad-cap heists using his gadgets. The belligerent humour and action sequences in this are threadbare to say the least but who cares when this is a laugh a minute underdog tale that will stick in the memory. With a career best performance from Colin Friels (MYSTERY ROAD (TV) / DARK MAN / DARK CITY), this is a grand comedy with bags of charm and is hugely enjoyable (also starring John Hargreaves (THE LONG WEEKEND / EMERALD CITY), Lindy Davies (PRISONER OF CELL BLOCK H) and Chris Haywood (JINDABYNE / THE CARS THAT ATE PARIS).

It headlined at the Sydney Film Festival in 2019 in a restored format.