Film Fight 2021: October

#FF21 The Guilty is a surprisingly tense, single-location film.

Jake Gyllenhaal is a police dispatcher who gets involved in helping an abductee, while trying to fight some of his own demons.

Very tense, well-paced, with neat lighting choices. Genuinely gripping.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) October 2, 2021

#FF21 No Time To Die is an okay Bond film.

It's expositional, flabby, and ridiculous (less so than Spectre), and there aren't that many great action sequences. Malik seems to be having a good time.

Go in expecting that and you'll have an okay time, but it's entirely skippable.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) October 2, 2021

#FF21 Sweet Girl managed to miss my very low expectations.

The script is barely there, with a cheesy, cliched plot and dialog that misses the mark.

Despite some okay moments, the action is muddled, and the twist is absolutely awful.

Avoid.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) October 23, 2021

#FF21 The Last Duel is an interesting piece of storytelling.

While the titular duel isn't that great, seeing the motivations from three perspectives (written by three writers) works well, if it makes things a little long.

Solid performance from Jodie Comer.

Decent.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) October 23, 2021

#FF21 Cop Shop is a surprisingly fun action film.

As stylised as any of Carnahan's work, but it hits a lot better. His use of space is clear and deliberate, the characters work well as big caricatures, and the pacing works well.

Very enjoyable.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) October 23, 2021

#FF21 The French Dispatch is Wes Anderson at his best/worst.

Each of the three stories is a solid tale, indulging his stylistic choices to the full, but together it starts to feel a bit too long.

I laughed and smiled throughout, but there's flab to be cut.

Good.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) October 23, 2021

#FF21 Old is silly, and not in a good way.

The acting and tone is melodramatic, the script expositional and nonsensical, the characters thinly written, and the whole thing badly paced.

It earns some _very_ creepy moments, but it's not worth watching to get there.

Skip.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) October 23, 2021

#FF21 Dune is a slow-paced epic that owes as much to fantasy as sci-fi.

The epic scale is impressive and alien but uninteresting. Sandy exteriors and teal-orange interiors.

It crams a lot in but forgets to show why the main character is worth caring about. So I didn’t.

Dull.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) October 31, 2021

#FF21 No Sudden Move has a decent noir thriller plot and excellent cast, that keeps twisting.

While there are some excellent moments, shooting everything on anamorphic lenses was a distracting and ugly choice. Some movements were sickening.

Fine.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) October 31, 2021

#FF21 Last Night In Soho is equally unsettling and beautiful.

The editing, pacing, and performances pull you through the glamour and underbelly of Sixties London; with McKenzie and Taylor-Joy’s performances being standouts.

Hypnotic, and must-see.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) October 31, 2021

#FF21 Army Of Thieves takes an interesting premise and gets it wrong in almost every way.

The film is both far too long given the quality, and way too short given the idea. The action is muddy, the comedy silly, and the character development doesn't really turn up.

Skip.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) November 7, 2021