Review Category: Movie

By Martin Unsworth

When a Baroness (Inge Maux) is found dead, her nurse Sigrum (Isabella Händler) is brought in to be interrogated. Told in flashback from her interrogation, we see Sigrum take her position at the side of the Baroness, who’s suffering from Parkinson’s disease, but with an ulterior motive: to find out where she came from. Adopted as a child, she is convinced the Baroness knew the truth about her parents.

A striking tale of female empowerment and repression, Mother Superior feels like a Gothic folk horror tale set against a backdrop of Nazi politics and mystic dealings. Writer/director Marie Alice Wolfszahn and cinematographer Gabriel Krajanek give the film the feel of the early German expressionist classics, most notably in the intricately designed, evocative opening credits. She blends genres throughout and fits a lot into the brief running time. The three main characters (which includes a gardener/helper played by Jochen Nickel) hold particular roles in the household and within the Baroness’ life, but Sigrum’s loyalty and covert mission are almost derailed by a journalist friend who wants a scoop on the old lady’s past.

The building tension and descent into the occult make Mother Superior a mesmerising watch. It’s packed with stunning visuals and climaxes with a chilling fourth-wall-breaking stare. Wolfszahn’s feature debut is, even including the völkisch elements, fiercely feminist and is so beautifully filmed that it’s impossible not to be drawn into the dark tale.

By Beth McMillan

The Whale is an emotionally turbulent and gut-wrenching tale of grief, mental health, and the complex relationships we have with those we love. The film stars Brendan Fraser as Charlie, a morbidly obese man who is trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter.

The film navigates these difficult topics with sensitivity and grace, never resorting to emotional manipulation or sentimentality, however, it falls short of capturing the full breadth of the story that might have been told. Commentary on religion, eating disorders, and the power of human connection vie for the viewer’s attention, yet none of these themes is fully explored to their conclusion.

Director Darren Aronofsky offers an honest and authentic portrait of a man struggling to come to terms with his past and move forward, but he does so seemingly without knowing what message Charlie’s story is supposed to impart to the viewer and what the film is trying to say.

Fraser delivers a standout performance as Charlie, conveying a wide range of emotions with subtlety and nuance. His physical performance, capturing the limitations of Charlie’s bulk, brings a sense of vulnerability and humanity to a character that could easily have become a caricature. However, the supporting cast (including Samantha Morton as Charlie’s former partner and Sadie Sink as his teenage daughter), while delivering strong performances, is held back by the writing in some scenes, which viewers might find to be melodramatic and far-fetched as real-life interactions.

The film is visually clever; cinematographer Matthew Libatique uses colour and lighting to convey atmosphere, with the muted tones and subtle lighting creating a sense of intimacy and introspection. The setting invokes a feeling of claustrophobia and entrapment for the viewer since the entire film takes place in Charlie’s small apartment.

Overall, The Whale is an intricately crafted film that captures the essence of the human spirit. The poignant portrayal of Charlie’s struggle is a testament to the talents of the cast and crew.

The Whale is available to rent on digital. 

By Joel Harley

Ghostface takes Manhattan in the latest entry of the revitalised Scream franchise. Reborn with 2022’s Scream ‘requel,’ the series heads outside of its usual stomping ground, taking the survivors of that film to the Big Apple. Ghostface too.

Together with twins Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Chad (Mason Gooding), sisters Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara (Jenna Ortega) have relocated to New York, where the three youngsters are studying at college and trying to recover from their trauma. Less so Sam, who finds herself troubled by her Woodsboro experience – and the wave of conspiracy theorists (thanks, Reddit) insisting that she was responsible for the massacre. Naturally, it isn’t long before the cycle starts all over again.

Directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin are keen to establish an ‘anything goes’ vibe to the film, from its subverted opening sequence (hi, Samara Weaving) to the inner city setting. In her big Randy Meeks monologue, Mindy continues to insist that the rulebook has been torn up – now we’re in the thick of franchise-dom, no-one is safe.

But, for all of the film’s loud protestations, it sticks quite strictly to the Scream sequel playbook – returning legacy characters (Courteney Cox’s Gale Weathers; Hayden Panettiere reprising her Scream 4 role), red herrings layered upon red herrings, a convoluted motive, and plenty of menacing phone calls. Mindy goes out of her way to insist that this is nothing like Scream 2… but it’s a lot like Scream 2.

As if to distract from how formulaic this all is, the directors throw their all into the film’s Ghostface sequences, making the most of the setting. Whether it’s terrorising a crowded bodega or stalking the core four on a packed subway, Ghostface is at his (or her!) most relentless here. Whether anything really goes is debatable, but Ghostface is certainly capable of popping up anywhere, at any time.

The level of violence, too, has been upped, making Scream VI the bloodiest, most brutal film in the franchise so far. Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) should be relieved that she sat this one out – absent due to a pay dispute, and hand-waved away in a lame excuse from a hit-and-miss script. In its newcomers (Jack Champion, Liana Liberato, Devyn Nekoda) the series finds its most disposable Ghostface fodder to date – worrying too much about them as potential Ghostfaces to make anyone care about them as characters.

In relocating the action to the big city, Scream VI finds a renewed sense of ferocity and inspiration – but struggles to stay one step ahead of the viewer. It’s a brutal, often shocking attempt at subverting the franchise, but is only about half as clever and unpredictable as it thinks it is. Anything goes, but only to an extent.

Scream VI is in cinemas from March 10th.

 

By Joel Harley

In Jonathan Majors, the Creed era of a mighty franchise finds its first great antagonist. Not since 1985’s Rocky IV has either hero faced a contender worthy of their talents. Sure, there was Tommy Gunn in 1990, but that one was hateable for the wrong reasons altogether. Not even the prospect of a Drago (Creed II‘s Viktor, played by Florian Munteanu) could liven up the franchise’s recent run of forgettable wannabes.

And then Damian ‘Dame’ Anderson (Majors) appears, a blast from Adonis Creed’s (Michael B. Jordan) past, with scores to settle and high hopes for a shot at the title.

Creed III finds Donnie happily retired, settled with his wife Bianca (Tessa Thompson) and daughter Amara (Mila Davis-Kent). With the return of Dame, Donnie is forced to reckon with sins past, and his own guilt at leaving a once beloved friend in the lurch. Driven by his own torment – and some fairly obvious on Dame’s part – Donnie is manipulated into giving Damian a shot at the title.

To address the lack of elephant in the room, Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky sits this one out entirely, allowing star – and director – Michael B. Jordan to step out from beneath the Italian Stallion’s shadow. On the strength of Creed III, he isn’t missed (no disrespect – his story was wrapped up satisfactorily in Creed II).

After two films focusing on Adonis the fighter, this entry explores the man as a father, son, husband and brother. It’s the Rocky V of Creed films, with Damian serving as Donnie’s meaner, more ruthless mirror. Where all of this is headed is clear (and Damian’s abrupt heel-turn is well telegraphed), but never anything less than compelling – a story of masculinity, buried trauma, and the lengths men will go to in order to not talk about their problems.

Jordan continues to make the series his own with the most stylistic fight sequences to date. The action is propulsive, bone-crunching, and always enthralling – every punch-packing true emotional heft. Here, Adonis Creed strides into the spotlight, delivering the spin-off trilogy its most powerful entry to date.    

Creed III is out in UK cinemas now

By Joel Harley

Loosely based on the true story of a bear that ate a bag of cocaine, it’s director Elizabeth Banks’ Cocaine Bear! But, with the real-life bear having died almost immediately from its drugs supper, the word ‘loosely’ is doing a lot of the heavy lifting here.

After foraging its way into a bag of cocaine, an amped-up black bear rampages its way across an idyllic Georgia forest. Caught in its path, a rag-tag collection of criminals, tourists, cops and truant kids attempt to survive. What more do you need to know?

Following a riotous opening sequence, Banks and writer Jimmy Warden slowly reveal the absurdist sense of humour that drives this comedy-horror hybrid. As missing kids Dee Dee and Henry (Brooklynn Prince and Christian Convery) tuck into a knife-full of cocaine each (drugs are bad, mmkay?) Banks and Warden don’t attempt to disguise how ill-fitting that ‘loosely based’ really is.

While the purposefully peculiar dialogue and stop-again-start-again action may frustrate, there’s much fun to be had in this bloody bear rampage – and that’s just the humans.

Any lull in the action is filled with snappy interplay between its talented cast – including character actress Margo Martindale, Keri Russell, Isaiah Whitlock Jr., and the late, great Ray Liotta. Somehow, Solo star Alden Ehrenreich manages to hold his own against these legends, getting all the best lines – and laughs – as depressed thug Eddie.

At its best, Cocaine Bear showcases a surprisingly savage wit – an ambulance chase being the film’s highlight, ripped straight out of the Final Destination 2 playbook, and given a Wet Hot American Summer overhaul.

Although the film never gets to be that fun or funny again (and it’s disappointing that it should plunge into a gloomy old cave after that), its charm carries through, more than enough for this Cocaine Bear to go out on a high.

Cocaine Bear is out now in UK cinemas.

By Joel Harley

Since his arrival in the MCU with 2015’s Ant-Man, the solo adventures of Scott Lang have tended to serve as something of a palette cleanser between big Avengers outings. A break from the action after Age of Ultron, a much-needed breath between Infinity War and Endgame. Sure, Ant-Man is an integral part of the MCU at large, but more importantly, he’s the humanity; the affable everyman; just a guy trying to do the right thing by his daughter.

This time? Not so much.

With Peyton Reed’s third Ant-Man adventure, Scott (Paul Rudd), Hope (Evangeline Lilly) and the ant-gang find themselves in the thick of it, facing off against the MCU’s next Big Bad. Re-enter Kang The Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), following up on threats issued in Loki Season One.

Sucked into the Quantum Realm within the first fifteen minutes of the film, the family are scattered asunder and left to fend for themselves in this strange new world. While Scott and an all-grown-up Cassie (Kathryn Newton) try to navigate the tribes of the Quantum Realm, Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Hank (Michael Douglas) catch up with old friends, enemies… and Bill Murray. Also, Evangeline Lilly is there, although she may as well not be.

The least accessible of Reed’s three Ant-Man films, Quantumania does attempt to make some concessions to newbies, serving as a fine introduction to Kang the Conqueror. Here, Majors almost single-handedly steals the film from its titular stars, stopped only by Pfeiffer – who proves to be Kang’s most worthy foil thus far.

And it’s only the strength of its performers which ground this green screen adventure. Not even Rudd’s effortless charisma can save the characters from feeling lost against a background of grey-brown sludge and unremarkable landscaping. There are some interesting visual flourishes – hey, that guy’s head is made of broccoli! – but this is the ugliest MCU release yet. The cheap airport action of Civil War may have been mocked for its lack of scale and ambition, but at least we could make out what was going on.

Hideous visuals notwithstanding, there is some fun to be had in the arrival of MODOK (ugly, but in the wrong way), the brutal final fight, and some of the more out-there sci-fi concepts. Amidst the Kang mythmaking, Reed remembers to make time for Scott and Cassie, giving the film its sweetest moments and the closest it comes to the old Ant-Man heart.

Quantumania emerges as one of the weakest MCU adventures so far; an ugly, overpacked mess. Worse than that, in its rush to set up the next big thing, it manages to lose sight of what matters. Look out for the little guy, indeed.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is in cinemas now.