Film Fight 2018: April

#FF18 Proud Mary is fine. Yes, the plot is cliched and the dialogue gets a bit cheesy towards the end. There’s not much here you haven’t seen before, and the budget is showing.

But, it’s still fine. Some of the action works well. The acting is decent. It’s okay.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 3, 2018

#FF18 A Quiet Place is an exceptional horror film, that builds its world with little exposition. As the scenario unfolds and tension builds, we are always painfully aware of the stakes, all done in near silence.

The sound design is subtle. The camera work is clear. Very good.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 5, 2018

#FF18 Do You Trust This Computer? poses some big questions but is too shallow to really tackle them.

Documentaries of this style (fast-cut talking heads that never dig deep into an issue) are not my thing. I’d prefer my focus and depth. Fine starter, but not much more.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 8, 2018

#FF18 Ghost Stories does an excellent job of building up some tense horror, full of good jump scares. Of the three main stories, Paul Whitehouse’s section is a stand-out.

That said, the framing device fails to deliver more than a cliched ending. Good, but slips in the last act.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 12, 2018

#FF18 6 Balloons is a good movie about dealing with someone you love who has an addiction.

Difficult to watch at times, but compelling. Great acting and dialogue. The final moments are a little much, but that’s a relatively small nit to pick. Good.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 12, 2018

#FF18 Roxanne Roxanne is a dramatised biopic about the life of Roxanne Shante. It’s a difficult watch due to some of the content, but the performances and direction are excellent.

I don’t want to say much more about it. Just see it. Very good.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 15, 2018

#FF18 Isle of Dogs is everything you’d expect from a Wes Anderson animated film: quirky but deadpan characters, in a weird situation, with his sense of humour shining through the myriad of geometrically arranged shots.

I enjoyed this (less than Fantastic Mr. Fox). Good.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 15, 2018

#FF18 Thoroughbreds has something going on. It’s hard to describe why it’s so fascinating. The performances and writing are solid. Some of the longer shots are really well done. Weirdly, though, there are a few bits where the focus is off.

A little slow at the end, but good.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 17, 2018

#FF18 Sun Dogs doesn’t land it. The characters, setting, and tone don’t cohere into something worthwhile. It looks and feels cheap, with barely fleshed out characters acting to the script, rather than any kind of inner agency.

It’s not awful, but it’s not very good.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 17, 2018

#FF18 Come Sunday has strong performances, as the leads have various crises of faith. Chiwetel Ejiofor is particularly great as the conflicted pastor at the heart of the story.

It looks interesting enough, and works reasonably as a story. Okay.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 28, 2018