The first month in a while where Netflix Originals haven’t outnumbered cinema releases. Six films in total.
First up, Logan Lucky sees Steven Soderbergh take on a quirky heist, with an over-the-top cast of characters. It sounds like it shouldn’t work as well as it does, but it’s a lot of fun. The cast is excellent, and the direction pulls it all together slickly. The final act is way too long, but it’s otherwise good. (See my Logan Lucky Twitter review)
Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson in a buddy comedy about hitmen should work a little better than this film, The Hitman’s Bodyguard. The storytelling is heavy-handed (lots of exposition) and the pacing is uneven. The humour and action moments help smooth things out a little. Fine. (See my The Hitman’s Bodyguard Twitter review)
Darren Aronofsky is a director with few mis-steps, Noah being the most obvious. mother! sees him back at the top of his game. I can’t adequately describe the film, it has to be experienced. That experience is suffocating, tense, visceral, surreal, and beautiful. The plot is fairly indirect, but there are obvious motifs and parallels to think consider long after you’ve left the screen. It takes time to settle after you’ve seen it. Great. (See my mother! Twitter review)
American Assassin is spy thriller cliche after cliche. There are no original beats, even if it ticks over well enough. I saw this just 3 months ago and I can barely remember a single scene. Forgettable. (See my American Assassin Twitter review)
Angelina Jolie directs the beautiful yet brutal look into the rise of the Khmer Rouge, First They Killed My Father. Seen almost entirely from the perspective of the children of a displaced family, we see the atrocities that the organisation inflicted upon the ordinary people. Worth seeing, but could do with being edited down slightly. (See my First They Killed My Father Twitter review)
Finally, Kingsman: The Golden Circle sees us return to the over the top world from the original Kingsman film. The comic-book spy action and sense of humour are intact, but the film is flabbier; trying to service far too many characters leaves us wanting a little less. Okay. (See my Kingsman: The Golden Circle Twitter review)
The winner for September is mother!, for being another stunning cinematic experience.