First week of November;
Boxtrolls (ITV2) 3/5
Ben Kingsley sounds like Mark Kermode doing Danny Dyer doing Johnny Depp doing Jack Sparrow doing Keith Richards… A rich and textured world once again created by the magicians at Laika, but not feeling much emotionally beyond that. The story is a nice allegory about accepting people that are seemingly ‘different’ to you and hopefully that message gets though.
Beetlejuice (Channel 5) 1.5/5
Not sure what you’re all smoking. Tried to come into this with an open a mind as I really don’t rate any of Burtons previous work, but this didn’t do anything for me on any level. Such a shame as it (similarly to Corspe Bride) has such a good reputation, but found it a jumbled mess of nonsense. No emotional connection, no wonder, no humour (dark or otherwise) and felt like the much heralded Keaton performance was only in it for 5 mins.
Surrogates (Rakuten TV) 2/5
Not a bad idea, but execution was severely lacking. Nearly every aspect has been bettered in all forms of other media.
The Harder They Fall (Netflix) 4/5
What a cast. Everyone is absolutely oozing with cool and fits perfectly in this fast and loose throwback. A truly killer soundtrack with it and the score working in perfect harmony aiding every scene. It also has some great sound design adding heft, with the bullets bellowing in my headphones. The production design and costumes also rival Dune, with beautifully lush colours and textures used throughout. The script has bite and you can tell Samuel gave it everything directionally. The only downfall being the length with the middle chunk rather stodgy and stretched, but the final riotous act just about makes up for it.
The Day After Tomorrow (Channel 4) 3/5
Well you have give Roland some props for actually laying out the causes/arguments that are still being fought against 16 years later at COP26 to the widest audience he could. You get some dodgy “biting off more they can chew” effects with some ropey ADR and some of the more obvious soundstage set you’ll see, but you also get a few nuggets of nifty and prescient filmmaking. Yeah it’s cliched, cheesy and Quaid is so bland, but it’s heart is in the right place.
Titane 4.5/5
What a follow up to Raw that cements Julia Ducournau as a person who i’ll be following throughout their whole career. So much going on that will reverberate and ruminate around my brain for a long long time. A film whereby you just sit back and let it run riot all over your senses. Up there in 2021 for me and will see this in a cinema when it eventually gets a release.
Happy Death Day (Channel 4) 3/5
Thankfully this became self aware as starting with a character that’s verging on the worst person in the world (admitting to spitting on a Uber driver ffs!) was a rough platform. They just about redeemed her when the cycle hit the 15th go around and rolled on fine to the conclusion. Like Palm Springs it adds just enough of a wrinkle to the Groundhog Day blueprint to make it watchable, but doesn’t hit the heights or ingenuity of either.
The Guilty (Netflix) 3.5/5
Going a bit higher than the consensus. A solid tense and taut thriller that needed the more than capable shoulders of Jake to carry it. Will catch the Danish version when it pops up on TV.
Walk Like A Panther (Channel 4) 3/5
Not sure why this got the kicking it got! A load of laughs, visual gags and rightfully turns up the panto-vibe considering the content. The storyline has been done a dozen times before and I guess they hoped this broke though like Brassed Off / The Full Monty, but got nowhere close sadly. Thought it had a great eye for a specific British humour and a bit of harmless fun that would go down well on any lazy Sunday afternoon across the country.