#FF24 Monkey Man is an interesting entry in the Wick-inspired action genre.

Dev Patel absolutely looks the part and has the presence to pull this off. There are a bunch of very good action scenes, and some where Patel's direction is too wobbly and edited.

Worth seeing.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 14, 2024

#FF24 Civil War is gripping for its entire runtime.

The story is a little more compressed than I'd like, but the performances are excellent; Spaeny is going places. There are some shot choices I want to pour over on a second viewing, but the first was more than enough

Excellent

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 14, 2024

#FF24 Ricky Stanicky is a farcical comedy about an imaginary friend who kind becomes real.

Cena and Efron are as dependable as always. The film is kinda sweet in places, if a little obvious. Not a masterpiece but perfectly watchable.

Good.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 14, 2024

#FF24 Drive-Away Dolls is a comedy that is less than the sum of its parts.

A good cast, a great director, a fine premise - just not many laughs. It's got moments, but there's not enough for the runtime. Not bad just not particularly interesting.

Okay.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 14, 2024

#FF24 Dune part 2 is the epic spectacle that it need to be.

The worm rider looks terrible, but everything else is incredible - the soundtrack is massive, the story feels grand and just alien enough, the performances work. An experience like little else.

Excellent.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 14, 2024

#FF24 Argylle feels like it missteps on almost every level.

Rockwell and Cavill come out largely unscathed, but the rest of the cast seem confused or bored. The twists are forgettable. The action sequences are visually awful. And the plot? There isn't really a plot.

Avoid.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 14, 2024

#FF24 Road House is a cheap remake.

Gyllenhall is the only thing they’ve put money into, and he's solid. Macgregor is atrocious but looks great in the fights.

There are some genuinely excellent line deliveries but the whole thing is underwritten, and looks cheap.

Skip.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 14, 2024

#FF24 Shirley tells the story of the first black woman to attempt a presidential bid.

It does a good job of showing the difficulties the titular character faces, but not as much showing why we should care about her specifically. A little dry at times but decent.

Watchable.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 14, 2024

#FF24 Self Reliance is an interesting, and slightly odd, dark comedy about a man who volunteers to be hunted for money.

The film keeps you guessing about a number of aspects of the game that is being played. Johnson and Kendrick keep you engaged throughout.

Good comedy.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) February 25, 2024

#FF24 American Fiction is an excellent look at society's expectations of race and the prejudice therein.

Wright is excellent, playing comedy and drama equally well, through very light and dark moments. As well as the more overt statements, it has a rich subtext too.

Very good.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) February 25, 2024

#FF24 Suncoast is a family drama about a girl whose brother is terminally ill.

It doesn't always find the right tone, and much is about her trying to live her life, rather than a tightly plotted drama - it moves at an okay pace. Linney is excellent as the mother.

Okay.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) February 25, 2024

#FF24 The Iron Claw looks at the real wrestling family who faced tragedy after tragedy.

The entire cast sell the film incredibly well: physically and in delivery, both in and out of the ring; this could be Efron's best work. One ill-judged dream sequence aside, it's very good.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) February 25, 2024

#FF24 The Zone Of Interest is a powerful look at the Nazis living next door to Auschwitz.

Much of the film is relatively (and intentionally) mundane; dealing with petty family moments, party politics, and life. But the dark underbelly is there and disturbing. Not easy

Excellent

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) February 25, 2024

#FF24 Wicked Little Letters is amusing, as it looks at how class and prejudice affected a real case of poison letters.

Colman/Buckley are strong and keep the film moving. The plot, though, is pretty predictable. The letters are mostly too chaste to be consistently comedic.

Fine

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) February 25, 2024

#FF24 Freelance is an entirely forgettable and slightly ridiculous action film.

Alison Brie is great as always, and John Cena does fine. Clearly on a tight budget for the level of action they wanted, some scenes show that - and a couple look pretty good.

Not bad.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) January 20, 2024

#FF24 Priscilla is as shocking as it is beautiful.

Cailee Spaeny is perfectly cast as the young lead, through a world far too old for her; marrying a start who is cruel and controlling. The slightly dreamy look lends an otherworldliness to awful moments. Well-paced.

Very good.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) January 20, 2024

#FF24 Next Goal Wins is fun but formulaic.

You've seen the beats before: a bad team gains a grumpy coach, and they help each other become better. It's underwritten and obvious, but a perfectly fine film that's reasonably put together. You won't hate it.

Decent.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) January 20, 2024

#FF24 The Holdovers finds a specific tone, and executes it well.

Giamatti's grumpy, better than thou professor plays perfectly against the troubled but brilliant boy he's asked to look after. Witty dialogue and fun moments, backed by some heartwarming scenes.

Very good.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) January 20, 2024

#FF24 Society Of The Snow tells the horrific story of Uruguayan rugby players lost in the Andes.

From the bone-crunching plane crash to the inevitable avalanche, the film doesn't revel in suffering but doesn't back away from it either. Difficult, but powerul.

Very worth seeing

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) January 20, 2024

#FF24 Poor Things sees Lanthimos embrace the weird in a search for humanity.

The main cast are strong, with Stone putting in a brilliant physical performance. The production deisgn is beautiful, but the wide lenses are intrusive to the point of distraction.

Funny, dark, great.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) January 20, 2024

#FF24 Role Play is a passable action comedy, with some great actors (Cuoco, Oyelowo).

However, the fun, early ideas (like Nighy's extended sequence) get squandered by a generic, action-focussed last act. Easy going, at least, and doesn't overstay its welcome.

Okay.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) January 20, 2024

#FF24 Lift is the most generic of modern heist movies.

It has some incredible and utterly wasted talent (Mbatha-Raw, D'Onofrio) trod through a plot that could be AI generated, with a charmless lead. The action is messy, with far too many cuts.

Boring.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) January 20, 2024

#FF24 The End We Start from is a look at motherhood through the lens of an ecological disaster.

The core performances (Comer in particular) are strong, especially as the situation grows more dire. The cameos feel more distracting than useful, but the story is solid enough.

Good

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) February 25, 2024

#FF24 The Kitchen is about capitalism displacing those most in need.

The themes are well-worn, but it's reasonably well done, especially within a constrained budget. Kano is good as a reluctant father figure, with the relationship never getting cheesey.

Decent.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) February 25, 2024