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.

After a busy few months, June is thankfully pretty quiet, with just three films.

First up, Wonder Woman is the first good DC film in the new extended universe. Patty Jenkins packs in some excellent set pieces and decent character moments, against the backdrop of a huge superhero movie. Gal Gadot is fantastic too, wiping away some of the memories of the more campy Wonder Woman of days gone by. Sadly, it’s marred a little by a fairly poor turn in the last act, but that’s not too bad overall. Good on the whole. (See my Wonder Woman Twitter review)

Another Netflix indie crime film? Okay, then, Shimmer Lake is for you. Told in reverse (you see one day, then the previous), the structure helps make what might have been a fairly ordinary robbery a little more interesting, as the reasons for tensions at the start are revealed towards the end. It’s let down by a little too much exposition. Decent enough. (See my Shimmer Lake Twitter review)

Finally, Baby Driver lets Edgar Wright showcase his visual flair in a different way. Following the story of a getaway driver in over his head, what we get is some beautiful visual choreography. The titular character, Baby, and the camera are engaged in movements similar to old Hollywood musicals, whether in a car or not. This gives the film a more understated and playful feel than Wright’s previous work. Fun, and beautifully crafted, if a little weak story-wise in the last act. (See my Baby Driver Twitter review)

The winner for June is Baby Driver for the beautiful visuals.

It’s months like this, with 9 films, that have made me reticent to tackle Film Fight of late. That said, let’s get going!

First up, In The Shadow Of Iris has a few moments that fall a bit flat, but for the most part is a solid thriller with some decent twists. At the heart of it is the mystery of a kidnapped woman, and her husband who seems to be up to something. I don’t want to say too much about it, but it’s a well-made mystery. Worth seeing. (See my In The Shadow Of Iris Twitter review)

Another few months, another Marvel film. Guardians Of The Galaxy, Vol. 2 has the humour of the original but goes back to some beats a little too often. It’s fun enough, but a little long. Sadly, the middle of this film is absolutely laden with dull exposition setting up some backstory. It’s fine, but not one of the best Marvel films, nor one of the worst. (See my Guardians Of The Galaxy, Vol. 2 Twitter review)

From it’s opening, with a man stating to camera that he will be the killer, Handsome sets itself up as a very different murder mystery. Jeff Garlin does a great job both behind the camera and in front of it, as a detective called in to solve a bizarre murder. It’s funny, and has enough good moments to make it worth seeing. (See my Handsome Twitter review)

The premise of Mindhorn is that a washed-up action star is called in to help catch an obsessed murderer on the Isle of Man. It’s at its best when it leans into absurdity, and its worst when it tries to find earnest moments. Constrained by run time and, presumably, budget but not the worst way to spend 90 minutes. Okay. (See my Mindhorn Twitter review)

Alien: Covenant could’ve been a much better film. Tying elements of Prometheus to the themes of the original Alien film works conceptually for me, but is far too heavy-handed in execution. It works best as light horror, and serves as an okay sequel. The CG on the alien is atrocious and gets notably worse every time it appears. Some good moments, particularly nearer the start, but devolves into generic action. (See my Alien: Covenant Twitter review)

Alcoholism is a serious subject, on which Colossal is a very different take. Mixing Godzilla-style monster action with a story about a woman whose life is falling apart, this is an uncannily smart and unusual film. Both leads (Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis) turn in excellent performances as the plot shifts around them. I’m avoiding most of the details here, because it’s worth seeing this fresh. An absolute must-see. (See my Colossal Twitter review)

Small Crimes is an indie, well, crime film. It’s decent enough but stays in fairly well-trodden territory. The anti-hero, corrupt cops etc. There’s not much you haven’t seen before but at least it’s cohesive. Okay. (See my Small Crimes Twitter review)

Get Me Roger Stone is a look into the titular trickster for various Republican campaigns. He’s a man who is not afraid to fight dirty, so what we see is a bizarre circus show. The documentary itself seems relatively fair and even-handed. Good. (See my Get Me Roger Stone Twitter review)

When War Machine starts with some awful and fairly lengthy narration, I was expecting it to be bad. Thankfully, it settles down quite quickly into a slightly uneven film about Afghanistan. It tries to be deadly serious AND satirical, and that doesn’t quite gel. Brad Pitt is decent enough as the lead, but not much else stands out. (See my War Machine Twitter review)

The winner for May is Colossal; a fantastic and fantastical look at some fairly heavy subjects.

Still quite late, but there are six films for this month.

First up, Free Fire is the latest from one of my favourite British directors, Ben Wheatley. An arms deal gone wrong turns into a chaotic (for good and ill) and long-running gun fight. As we’d expect from Wheatley, the casting and dialogue is fun, and the film itself is well-structured and tense. It can be hard to follow some of the action spatially, but not on the same scale as some of the messier big action films. Worth seeing. (See my Free Fire Twitter review)

Joe Swanberg stays very much in his wheel house for Win It All, which is no bad thing. We get a grounded, naturalistic indie film with some light comedy. Jake Johnson is great as the loveably fuck-up of a lead. Good fun. (See my Win It All Twitter review)

The Handmaiden is a gorgeous piece of cinema by Chan-Wook Park (best known for revenge thriller, Oldboy). The plotting and structure here is exceptional, but I think I’d like to see the non-extended edition. This lengthier cut was overlong, and felt like it could’ve been much better with a little trimming. Worth seeing for the visuals alone. (See my The Handmaiden Twitter review)

Another Netflix indie film, Tramps is decent enough but entirely predictable. A drop-off goes wrong, leaving a young man chasing after what he has lost. It all works well enough, and moves forward at a decent pace. There’s nothing really bad to say about it, but nothing amazing either. Fairly pleasant. (See my Tramps Twitter review)

Another look at modern warfare comes in the form of Sand Castle. Nicholas Hoult leads the cast as a soldier trying to get away from the war, but gets drawn into the plight of the innocent villagers he meets. There’s nothing new here plot-wise, but everything is well done. We see the crushing tensions put on Hoult, in the background of a beautifully shot film. Very solid. (See my Sand Castle Twitter review)

Finally, The Belko Experiment isn’t here to do anything original. It’s essentially Battle Royale set in a remote office building. There is no deep message here. All of that said, what it does to well is enjoyable, messy, funny, over-the-top action. Silly and gory. Stupid but entertaining. Enjoyable. (See my The Belko Experiment Twitter review)

The winner for April is Free Fire, because Ben Wheatley quickly crafts a tense situation, with characters we want to see die or survive, and brings just enough levity to make it enjoyable.