Film Reviews by AER

Sorry this was a bit flat. I don't think I like Adam Driver as an actor. Most of the time he delivers really boring perfomances and this is another one, slightly compacted by a faintly ridiculous accent. Lines are mumbled too here - however I could hear most of the other performers just fine. Penelope Cruz was excellent but most of the time she was locked away in a parallel part of the film - interacting all too rarely with Enzo Ferrari (Driver). The rest of the supporting cast never really gets a look in: characterisation is as follows: Jack O'Connell as Peter Collins wears funny hats and has a realm of 'jolly hockey-sticks'-type expressions, and Patrick Dempsey's Piero Teruffi likes to smoke cigarettes. The life story itself is quite compelling but this one suffers from a miscast leading man and unclear plotting. I had the same problems with Michael Mann's Miami Vice film - muddy and mumbled. I loved Mann's films like Collateral, Ali, The Insider, Heat, and The Last of the Mohicans... Where is that guy I wonder>?

Flat tyres - 3.5 out of 10

Cuba Gooding jr should have his Oscar confiscated. For his part in this and The Devil's Tomb, he owes me a lot of good will. Hahaha. Backed up by the usually excellent Cliton Collins (who's been left stranded with an appalling script) there is nothing here but warmed up scenes that could've been deleted from Training Day or End of Watch. It's pretty unwatchable as this badly made dirty LA cops movie squanders good actors, a decent score and OK plot. Fans of director David Ayer (Fury / Dark Blue / Sabotage / End of Watch / Training Day (Script)) would do best to avoid this DTV rip-off which centres around an awful central role (how many times can CBjr say Mo Fo in one minute? I counted 41 at one point).

This sh*t is wack. Avoid.

An interesting Australian film about male behaviour and macho lunacy. Donald Pleasance is in a supporting lead and has an interesting line that addresses the main character's initial resistance to the lack of culture. 'What do expect from them, opera?" It's a thrilling, lively, and sometimes shocking film (the kangaroos). One of Ted Kotcheff's very best films and I'm glad it's been restored and made available for us all to watch. Tough going at times, but from my time in Australia, still realistic and relevant as far as behaviour and male toxicity is concerned. Great movie for fans of 70s Australian cinema.

Eye-popping illustration and colours set this apart from the other TMNT reboots. The voice cast are lively and funny - it was the best we could;ve hoped for from the land of the reboot. Holreboot! Cowabunga dood.

Thin and rushed seems to be the bestg two words to describe BOB MARLEY - ONE LOVE. Unlike other recent musical biographies such as Bohemian Rhapsody or Straight Outta Compton this fails to bring the legend of Bob Marley to life regardless of the fine performance by Kingsley Ben-Adir at its heart. It seemed to be a series of thinly written scenes from his life where very little is revealed. Long montage sequences to Bob Marley's greatest hits take up much of the running time. I felt it was a long and boring journey when it should have been inspiring like the man and his music. Dead behind the eyes. Sorry. I and I doesn't even get one love, dread.

It grieves me to say that the late Terence Davies' A Quiet Passion was impenetrable and dull. I loved his early Liverpool films and Of Time and The City but everything else since has left me cold. I'm afraid I couldn't finish this 2 hour trudge of movie about Emily Dickinson. I can usually make it to the end of most films and I hate giving up, but this one defeated me. There was nothing interesting for me. Emily Dickinson (her life and works) is an interesting subject for a film,. but this wasn't the one. RIP Terence Davies' and thank you for The Long Day Closes one of the most beautiful films I'll ever see.

Imaginary builds a strong horror premise and works hard to develop a sense of unease. However, after an effective halfway reveal the storytellers throw the whole story under a bus and it swaps atmospheric slow burn for Freddy Kreuger Dream Warriors territory. There's lots of exposition to get through, and Betty Buckley's character is seemingly only around to spell everything out for us. What began as a show don't tell chiller ends up being a tell at the top of my voice and show too much affair. It's a shame as I was hoping Blumhouse's latest would break a losing streak which includes The Nun II and Afterswim....

3.5 out of 10

Excellent western with horror elements, this gifts fine roles to Kurt Russell (always dependable), Richard Jenkins in particular, evil Matthew Fox, and always boring Patrick Wilson. Some good folk get abducted by feral Native Americans / cannibals who live in a deep dark cave. Loved the character building and the slow burn pace. The violence is creative and effing horrible (gore hounds won't have minded the wait). S Craig Zahler is a fine director, with this, Brawl in Cell Block X, and DRAGGED ACROSS CONCRETE that's a 3 for 3 winning streak for me. Plus David Arquette steals the show in a supporting role. Also keep a beedy eye out for Sean Young, Michael Pare, and Sid Haig in tiny roles.

In answer to the so-called plothole about Patrick Wilson's rescue - he's says 'the back way'... and even turns off the trail rather than meets the cave/cliff head on. Remember Richard Jenkins saying about reaching somewhere via a perimeter!>?? as a foreshadow? Not a plothole, unless you can question PW's endurance.

One of my fave westerns in years.

This is just about the worst modern superhero film I've ever seen. This is on par with the 90s lame-ohs like The Shadow or The Phantom. Stiff acting, ludicrous plot, log gaps agogo, and one of the worst heroines and villain combos seen in a blockbuster for years. Dakota Johnson plays the part of Madam Web with zero enthusiasm but even she is out-witted by French actor Tahar Rahim as the big bad. He is reduced to a baddie who spouts either exposition or short directives like 'get them' , ' they went that way'. ' They're getting away', 'I have perfected the magic serum'.... It's criminally naff and boring. The worst cinema film of 2024 and it's only March!

Anyone who has spent time in rural Australia has probably had a brush with the contents of this film. Hard, lonely, aggressive men in remote places acting up. And into this world walk too young women to man the local pub. Sparks fliy, men oppress, and behave appallingly. How's it going to end? Excellent performances from Julia Garner (The Assistant), Jessica Henwick (Underwater), Toby Wallace (Babyteeth), Daniel Henshall (The Babadook), and of course Hugo Weaving (The Matrix). At times tense, and always convincing. It has an abrupt ending, I wanted more.

Unusual low-budget with big stars, Werner Herzog's story of a San Diego murder centres around a convincing and demented turn from Michael Shannon. Having murdered his mother, th emad man holes up in his house taking two mysterious hostages. Sadly, this suffers in the telling, with a fragmented approach that offers events in flashback and from different POVs. At times it's very abstract too. It's a stuttering film that would have benefitted from a straighter approach. I can't fault the acting and the script though. Great to see Udo Kier in a large supporting role.

I really wanted to like Proxima given its interesting concept of an astronaut's relationship with her child as they prepare for a year's separation. A miscast Eva Green plays the astronaut and Matt Dillon is the mission commander. It's filled with plot inconsistencies and a lack of depth. It's a shame that much of this lies on the surface. Matt Dillon is also saddled with a badly-fitted role. His astronaut is sexist and fairly unlikeable. It's a shame as the training exercises are interesting to watch and the hardware is very cool. It's well-made but somehow slight and unconvincing. Shame as the subject matter betrays something a little more interesting.

Intriguing American indie about the rare cultural phenomenon of the broadcast disturbance. A video archivist gets obsessed with finding out the origins of a series of broadcasts breakins that took place in the late 80s and mid 90s. Some brilliant twists along the way, and an air of creepiness. There's something not quite right about the actors though, I couldn't get immersed. And the score was OTT. Interesting but not a groundbreaker.

This very funny story is about a poison pen letter case in 1920s Sussex. It's only when the film occasionally veers away from the humour does it falter. The cast is very funny and it's all very Brit-com. Enjoyable and worth a look if you can handle all the very blue language.

Well I didn't know John Travolta and Stephen Dorff had another good film in them, but this standard crime thriller is very watchable. It's mostly predictable and is largely on the surface this still stands head and shoulders above most DTV films of its type. The director clearly has aspirations to be taken seriously and he has been gifted great performances by the entire cast from Shiloh Fernandez and Kevin Dillon to bit part players. It's way better than I hoped for. Unlike other low-budget films that put all the action in the trailer and really sex it up and misrepresent the goods, this has lots of cool car chases and shoot outs. A diamond in the ruff. Just don't go in expecting originality.