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Happenings

Film Fight 2018: December

A great month for films, but not terribly good for the cinema. I only saw two of the six films at a cinema, and there was really not much to see on the big screen.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

#FF18 The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a vignette of Coen Brothers treats: sometimes odd, sometimes dark, sometimes cheerful, always funny.

The ensemble cast does a great job of bringing a larger than life Western to the screen.

An excellent film.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) December 5, 2018

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse

#FF18 Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is delightful.

The visuals are unique and effective: pop-art with big flourishes. The humour hits a good tone, a little knowing, but light. The characters and deliver work well.

An impressive and fun animated film. Very worth seeing.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) December 9, 2018

Sorry To Bother You

#FF18 Sorry To Bother You is a sharp satire about selling out… except not quite.

The world it’s set in isn’t quite ours, but built exceptionally well. The comedy works, the cast, the direction, pacing. All great.

Go into this unspoiled. A must-see, film of the year contender.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) December 9, 2018

Roma

#FF18 Roma is a masterpiece. At times, the story is understated and personal, and at others it speaks loudly, and devastatingly.

Technically excellent: long shots and a slow, sweeping camera make you an observer… until you can’t help but get drawn in.

Excellent. Must see.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) December 16, 2018

Bird Box

#FF18 Bird Box is a surprisingly solid horror film with interesting takes on motherhood (as intended by the director), and several interpretations as to its allegory.

That aside, the premise works, the acting is good, it’s reasonably tense, and well made. A very watchable horror
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) December 29, 2018

#FF18 Time Share is a slow but decent look at the pressures of capitalism and family in modern society.

Told through two almost disparate stories of couples struggling, it might seem comical at first but that quickly goes away.

Okay. Nothing really special.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) December 31, 2018

The December Winner

A genuinely tough month with two film of the year contenders, but I think it has to be Roma. Beautifully shot, fantastically constructed, artful and technically brilliant, with moments of tension and profound sadness; I cried more than once.

Film Fight 2018: November

November was a decent month for films. Six films in the fight.

The Night Comes For Us

#FF18 The Night Comes For Us is a stunning Indonesian action film. Think The Raid, but bloodier.

The plot doesn’t entirely make sense and character motivation is secondary, but it is a stunning film.

Brutal and relentless, endlessly entertaining and inventive. Well worth seeing
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) November 3, 2018

The Other Side of The Wind

#FF18 The Other Side Of The Wind is an interesting film.

The film-within-a-film is meant as satire, but with stunning shots.

The film itself is a mockumentary, covering the great auteur and Hollywood media.

Constantly moving, difficult to watch, but kinda great. Worth seeing.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) November 4, 2018

Outlaw King

#FF18 Outlaw King is a decent take on the story of Robert The Bruce. Throughout, it looks fantastic; with the one-shot at the start being particularly fun.

There are some clunky, rushed moments here and there, but it mostly works. Worth seeing.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) November 14, 2018

Wildlife

#FF18 Wildlife is a look into a marriage breaking down for a number of reasons, viewed through the eyes of their teenage son. Jake Gyllenhaal and Carey Mulligan are fantastic, with Paul Dano doing an excellent job for his first feature.

Beautiful, surprising, fantastic. Go see.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) November 14, 2018

Widows

#FF18 Widows is a great heist thriller from Steve McQueen.

Fantastic performances pretty much across the board, but Viola Davis and Daniel Kaluuya are stand-outs.

The world is built-out effectively, giving a real sense of location.

Very good.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) November 18, 2018

Cam

#FF18 Cam is another pretty good Blumhouse horror.

The art design here works well: all neon colours at night, and washed out colours in the day.

The ending is a little underbaked and silly, but still works okay.

Lightweight, but decent.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) November 18, 2018

The November Winner

The November winner is Wildlife. While some of the others had great moments, Wildlife worked for me from start to finish.

Film Fight 2018: October

October’s Film Fight has six films to choose from…

Operation Finale

#FF18 Operation Finale tells an interesting dramatic story, but just a little too flatly.

Oscar Isaac and Ben Kingsley are, as always, great, but much of the dialogue is heavy-handed and production-line.

It’s worth seeing, but not a classic.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) October 6, 2018

The Land of Steady Habits

#FF18 The Land of Steady Habits is an interesting indie film, following several self-involved characters as they start to come to terms with their behaviour.

Performances are good across the board, with Edie Falco a particular stand-out.

Solid, interesting, worth seeing.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) October 7, 2018

Bad Times at the El Royale

#FF18 Bad Times At The El Royale has a modern pulpy feel. While the last act drags a little, the story telling up until then works well through fragmented vignettes.

Entertaining if a little longer than it needs to be. Good.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) October 14, 2018

Apostle

#FF18 Apostle is a modern Wickerman, with kidnapped sisters, religious cults, blood letting, and other weirdness.

Dan Stevens and Michael Sheen are particularly good, but this is a solid cast.

Something of a departure for Gareth Evans (The Raid), but he does well.

Worthwhile.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) October 14, 2018

Private Life

#FF18 Private Life is an interesting small film, about an older couple desperately trying to conceive.

Kathryn Hahn and Paul Giamatti are both excellent, getting across frustrations and arguments as well as laughs at the right moments.

Tough to watch in places, but very good.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) October 21, 2018

First Man

#FF18 First Man follows Neil Armstrong from the devastating loss of his daughter through to the moon landing.

Gosling plays it restrained as he begins to crack, while Foy brings a tonne of energy.

Over zoomed close-ups and static cams put you right in the moment.

Very good.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) October 21, 2018

The October Winner

Some very strong choices this month, but October’s winner is First Man. Damien Chazelle and Ryan Gosling bring a beautifully understated and very personal take on the moon landings to life.

Film Fight 2018: September

Seems like I almost forgot to post September’s Film Fight. Well, it’s here now with five films.

Blackkklansman

#FF18 Blackkklansman is an interesting look into a black cop who investigated the KKK. Its tone shifts from slightly comic to absolutely serious, with no jarring moments.

It has some pacing issues, and far too many ending scenes, but the cast make most of it work. Good.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) September 1, 2018

American Animals

#FF18 American Animals is a clever mix of drama and documentary. The performances heighten the bad ideas at the centre of the heist, whilst the interviews humanise them.

The pacing is a bit off, and the payoff isn’t worth it, but it’s a decent film. Watchable.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) September 16, 2018

The Predator

#FF18 The Predator is worse than my lowest expectation. A tonal mess, with crappy dialogue, tiresome comic relief, and nonsensical plotting.

There are a lot of solid actors in this who are absolutely wasted.

It’s not B-movie bad, but it’s a waste of a franchise. Avoid.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) September 16, 2018

A Simple Favour

#FF18 A Simple Favour doesn’t work. I wanted to like it but it’s a tonal mess, with an increasingly contrived, convoluted, and kinda meh plot.

Otherwise good actors fail to remotely act like human beings in some places.

It’s now awful but it’s got very little going for it.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) September 24, 2018

Hold The Dark

#FF18 Hold The Dark is as slow and creepy in the first act, as it is tense and brutal in the second, and tragic in the third.

Terse, beautiful, with excellent performances from a top-end cast.

Jeremy Saulnier (Blue Ruin, Green Room) has another classic.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) September 30, 2018

The September Winner

The winner for September is Hold The Dark. Jeremy Saulnier continues to be one of the most interesting directors currently work.

Film Fight 2018: August

August was a relatively quiet month, with nothing particularly outstanding. Onwards anyway…

Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind

#FF18 Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind is an interesting look at a complicated person, dealing with their struggles publicly.

The documentary covers a good amount of his career, and doesn’t get too schmaltzy. A good watch.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) August 11, 2018

Ant-Man Man And The Wasp

#FF18 Ant-Man and the Wasp isn’t as funny as the original, and is a bit expositional, but the visual inventiveness and decent action saves the day. Add a reasonably good villain, and you get an okay Marvel action film.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) August 11, 2018

Like Father

#FF18 Like Father, when it isn’t acting as an infomercial for Royal Caribbean, is a good, light comedy about a father and daughter reconnecting.

It’s predictable in places, and the end is too long, but it’s solid.

The two leads make it work, despite the rest of the cast.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) August 11, 2018

The Package

#FF18 The Package is a lightweight, gross-out comedy, following the tradition of teens getting into trouble.

The first act is decent enough, but it starts to drag and doesn’t really follow through on enough of its jokes. So-so.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) August 19, 2018

The Equalizer 2

#FF18 The Equalizer 2 tries to cram together some decent (but brutal) action, a spy thriller, an underdog redemption story, a weird subplot about missing paintings, and a whole heap of other terrible B-plots.

This would’ve been better by getting rid of about 5 of the subplots.
— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) August 19, 2018

The August Winner

There are plenty of okay films this month, but nothing excellent. For the winner, I’ll go for Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind; as a decent look at the problems that seemingly happy people might hide.

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