November has six films in the fight…

First up, 1922 is another Stephen King adaptation which, as always, could be great or terrible. Set on a farm in Nebraska, Thomas Jane plays a farmer who connives to kill his wife (played by Molly Parker) for her money. Jane puts in an excellent performance, the character’s quietness meaning he has a lot of work to put in with just his face and posturing. Visually, it’s beautiful, with some fantastic shots. Very watchable. (See my 1922 Twitter review)

Wheelman is a surprisingly good action film, despite its modest budget. A heist gone wrong sees the driver extorted to complete certain tasks, while trying to figure out what happened. Frank Grillo does well in the lead, creating a believable but sympathetic criminal. The action itself is tense and claustrophobic, and cleanly shot. This is as solid as anything you’d get in a larger cinematic release. Worth seeing. (See my Wheelman Twitter review)

It’s hard to watch the films of Yorgos Lanthamos. The Killing of a Sacred Deer is no exception. His style strips the delivery of dialogue of all emotion and presupposition. We’re forced to deal with the reality of the story and the movements of the characters without being allowed to take sides based on their inner state. That’s very weird and uncomfortable. The story itself is familiar but the telling drives us into an unreality. Slow and difficult, but decent. (See my The Killing of a Sacred Deer Twitter review)

The Florida Project is a sad story that is far too close to reality for far too many people. It follows a young girl and her (young) mother as they scrape by in a motel in Florida. The bright palette used throughout is in stark contrast to the dark story. Willem Dafoe is great as a motel manager, who tries to do his best to help. Equally heartbreaking and beautiful. The story ends just at the right moment, on an idea rather than an answer. Must see. (See my The Florida Project Twitter review)

After Wonder Woman managed to do well for the DCEU earlier in the year, how will Justice League fare? Eh… not well. There are some decent action moments and funny bits (mostly revolving around The Flash), but what we get is vapid and awful. It’s expositional, incoherent, and cliched. While it’s not as egregiously bad as, say, Suicide Squad, it’s probably best to just avoid it. (See my Justice League Twitter review)

Finally, Jim & Andy is about what Jim Carrey put himself (and the rest of the production) through to become Andy Kaufmann for the biopic, Man On The Moon. Given it was Carrey who captured the footage, it’s a little one-sided and uneven, but he doesn’t paint himself in a glorious light. It’s interesting enough as his perspective, though. Decent. (See my Jim & Andy Twitter review)

The winner for November is The Florida Project, for its fantastic portrayal of some very real problems.

A huge month, with eight films appearing!

First up, Bladerunner 2049 is the sequel I’ve been most worried about in the last few years. I was at least hopeful when Denis Villeneuve, director of last year’s excellent Arrival, was announced as director. I wasn’t disappointed. Let’s get the bad out of the way first: it’s probably a bit too long. That said, the slow and deliberate pacing that lets you soak in the world is a big part of what makes the mood work. We get shown some absolutely immaculate visuals, particularly in the Wallace Corp. building, and a soundtrack that lives up to the original. The story itself and the questions it raises are worthy of this being made. Very worthwhile. (See my Bladerunner 2049 Twitter review)

You never know what you’re going to get with a Stephen King adaptation but Gerald’s Game is on the better end of the spectrum. It’s a small horror, set largely in one room, that manages to build a lot of tension through a simple premise. The coda is completely unnecessary (and detracts from the film), but it’s decent enough overall. (See my Gerald’s Game Twitter review)

Time loop films are some of my favourites so I was happy to see that Happy Death Day was mixing Groundhog Day style loops with a slasher film. A girl is murdered on campus repeatedly, and has to figure out what’s happening. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, despite the subject, making it very watchable. The end is somewhat predictable, it’s not a classic, but I’d still watch it again at some point. (See my Happy Death Day Twitter review)

The Babysitter is a comic book horror that wants to wink to the camera. It tries to ape the visual style of Edgar Wright, without quite pulling it off; I’m more than happy for the attempt, though. It’s a bit cheesey and cheap, but dumb fun. Have with a drink and enjoy. (See my The Babysitter Twitter review)

Armando Iannucci has a tonne of great satire behind him, so it’s initially a little strange that The Death of Stalin isn’t quite that. It’s less farcical than expected, with a much darker vein running through it. That’s not a bad thing. There some great lines and moments, making for a brilliant look at the period. Must see. (See my The Death of Stalin Twitter review)

Bomb Scared is a dark, comedic farce about an ETA unit failing to do anything of note. It’s reminiscent of Four Lions, with the subject matter and style, and that is in its favour. Worth seeing for the sometimes excellent dialogue. (See my Bomb Scared Twitter review)

After the dour Thor: The Dark World, it’s great to see Thor: Ragnarok lighten up. It has a weird comedic tone, that works surprisingly well. It’s probably the funniest MCU film since to date, with some fantastic new characters. It does suffer from some plotting issues, and the villain is ill-defined, but it is still worth seeing. (See my Thor: Ragnarok Twitter review)

Finally, The Meyerowitz Stories is surprising for a few reasons. It manages to get some excellent dramatic performances from comedic actors. Both Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller turn in pretty damn good performances. That’s the only real positive here. It’s a tedious slog of a film. I wanted to like it but found myself bored through almost every scene. Dull. (See my The Meyerowitz Stories Twitter review)

The winner for October is Bladerunner 2049 as, despite the length, it delivers everything you’d want in a sequel.

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.

Another big month with 7 films…

First up, The Incredible Jessica James is a decent indie film about a woman teaching kids how to act and write, while trying to sort out her own career as a playwright. It’s a little uneven, but it’s a film with a good heart. The final scene is far too cheesy, but that’s a small moment. Watch. (See my The Incredible Jessica James Twitter review)

Chadwick Boseman turns in an excellent performance in Message From The King, a pretty decent indie crime thriller. As most of these things go, there are no big surprises or huge stand-out moments but everything works reasonably well, a few bad lines aside. Reasonably good. (See my Message From The King Twitter review)

I was excited to see another time-loop comedy but Naked doesn’t deliver. It’s obviously low-budget, but it’s also weakly-written and doesn’t seem to care much about its concept. The lead is caught in a time loop mere hours before his wedding, starting off naked. It errs between being precise about the timing, and then being extremely loose. Some laughs, but mostly meh. (See my Naked Twitter review)

On paper What Happened To Monday should be something I would enjoy: a sci-fi action film about cloning in a world where you can only have one child, starring Noomi Rapace and Willem Dafoe. It doesn’t live up to that hope. There are plot holes everywhere, some terrible dialogue, and mediocre acting throughout. There are some interesting ideas, but they can’t overcome the poor execution. (See my What Happened To Monday Twitter review)

Charlize Theron continues to be an action badass in Atomic Blonde. The movie is stylish but slowly paced, building up the world around Theron’s secret agent. The action set-pieces are exceptional, with one lengthy fight in a stairwell likely being the best action sequence of the year. So many good fights. Watch. (See my Atomic Blonde Twitter review)

You know how Tom Cruise has two modes of late? He either does sincere action-guy, or somewhat charismatic but down to earth rogue. American Made sees him do the latter. It’s a true-ish story about a drug smuggler. Well-made, with a decent pace, and fun enough. It’s easy to watch, but not particularly standout. (See my American Made Twitter review)

Finally, Death Note is an adaptation of an anime series, in which a young boy gets a book that allows him to kill anyone he likes. As you might expect, there are consequences. The film rushes through a lot you would like to see explored more, but the depth of the premise is apparent by the end. I’d have preferred a mini-series to allow the story to breath, but it’s still watchable. Willem Dafoe is particularly good as the demon, Ryuk, who controls the book. Decent. (See my Death Note Twitter review)

The winner for August is Atomic Blonde. An easier win than most months recently, but not undeserved.

Another big month as the summer blockbusters hit and Netflix release a film a week. Seven in total for July…

First up, The House is a comedy that has its situation sorted, it just desperately needs a plot. The few story points that do exist are just there to set-up bits for the comedy. Some work, some don’t. It definitely has funny moments but probably not enough. Meh. (See my The House Twitter review)

Okja is the latest film by Joon-ho Bong, the South Korean director behind Snowpiercer. This is a very different film, looking at the abuses and lack of humanity in the modern livestock system. The story is reasonable enough and it is as well shot as you’d expect, but the goofier moments detract a lot from a fairly serious film. Jake Gyllenhaal’s character, for example, appears to be in a completely different movie. Okay. (See my Okja Twitter review)

There is a lot to be said about the privacy implications of social media that a film could really take a deep dive into but The Circle is not that film. While the cast is great (Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, John Boyega), the film itself is far too lightweight and superficial. It’s not terrible, but it’s not great either. Maybe a little disappointing but still watchable. (See my The Circle Twitter review)

Was another Spiderman reboot really needed? No, but Spiderman: Homecoming makes it worth your while. Tom Holland is excellent as a breezy and fun take on the character, playing against Michael Keaton as one of the most menacing villains the MCU has seen. It’s well-paced, fun, with decent set-pieces. Most importantly, it stands head and shoulders above recent Marvel films by doing something different rather than just fitting the mould. Very good. (See my Spiderman: Homecoming Twitter review)

To The Bone is a difficult watch but worthwhile, tackling the issues around eating disorders. It’s thoughtful, and doesn’t demonise the sufferers. There are moments of levity, and some solid performances. Worth seeing. (See my To The Bone Twitter review)

Christopher Nolan tackling a war film? Dunkirk doesn’t disappoint. From the start, the audio design is fantastic and absolutely gripping. The action is relentless. The pacing is tense. The minimal dialogue works brilliantly. This is a film that isn’t afraid to be an audio-visual experience, without the crutch of exposition. Great. (See my Dunkirk Twitter review)

Finally, War for the Planet of the Apes is the blockbuster action film you expect if you saw the last film in the series. Some of the story doesn’t quite add up, and the last act in particular loses a lot of ground to stupid plotting, but we’re here mostly for the performances. Andy Serkis deserves at least a nomination for his work as Caesar, bringing a great deal of humanity to a CG ape. Well acted and shot. (See my War for the Planet of the Apes Twitter review)

The winner for July is Dunkirk, as an incredible cinematic experience.