Briefly, Please

Director – Lyn Shelton; Credited Screenwriter(s) – Lyn Shelton & Mike O’Brien

An unusual situation – I can’t find any one element of Sword of Trust to wholeheartedly recommend it by. The script is often funny but rarely laugh out loud, the plot is engaging in the moment but quite inessential. The actors are generally rather good the majority hailing from a comedy background. Marc Maron in particular gives a very natural and honest performance – his brief scenes with Shelton’s Deidre are a particular highlight. Sword of Trust’s strength, more than anything else, is in its tone, its vibe – held together by Shelton’s confident direction, which calls to mind the best of Richard Linklater’s work. The viewer may not be left with much but the 88 minutes spent in the company of this cast of characters ends up feeling remarkably worthwhile.

Even Briefer, Please: It’s a high end of Sure, or a low end of Yes, depending entirely on your mood, nothing mind blowing but a pleasant romp with the occasional emotional kick.

Director – Shawn Levy; Credited Screenwriter – Matt Lieberman & Zak Penn

An intriguing twist on the awakening AI genre, so well codified by Her in 2013, with the AI in question being a non-playable character in a mass multiplayer online video game. Despite charming and earnest performances from Reynolds and Comer, the film rings hollow. For the gaming audience, the cries of “that’s not how games work!” will be abundant, but it’s so crammed with gaming references and jargon that it must, to an extent, shut out anyone else. There’s also a third act romantic twist that ultimately just feels creepy. Free Guy is certainly funny and engaging enough but one can’t help wondering if anyone in the production knew who this film was for.

Even Briefer, Please: On the lower end of a Sure, watchable and enjoyable enough, but never as interesting as the premise promises.

Director – Guillmero Del Toro; Credited Screenwriter(s) – Guillmero Del Toro & Kim Morgan

In two and a half hours, with the assistance of William Lindsay Gresham’s novel, a whip smart script, some astonishingly adept & confident camera work and an absolute powerhouse of acting talent, Del Toro spins a yarn of pitch black noir. His control over every inch of the screen is practically Kubrickian, every frame is dripping with intent and atmosphere – it’s absolutely gorgeous. Cooper anchors the film with a restrained and nuanced performance that builds and unravels in equal measure. But the film is a true ensemble, with not one of the cast putting a foot wrong, each moment crammed with raw emotional truth. That being said, it’s just too long. As fantastic as it is, the film could have benefited from a tighter second act, though I have no idea what one could bear to cut from the narrative. Despite its length, Nightmare Alley remains an absolute ride, packed with horror, beauty, humour, human honesty, and gut wrenching inevitability.

Even Briefer, Please: An absolute Yes, a beautiful and wretched journey, but one that can test your patience. If there’s a better example of film noir in the modern era, I can’t name it.

Director – Ridley Scott; Credited Screenwriter(s) – Nicole Holofcener, Ben Affleck & Matt Damon

An ingeniously layered film, one that plays with any expectations you might have of a Ridley Scott-helmed medieval epic. The four leads are excellent, with Damon and Affleck in particular giving egoless performances, while Driver plays on his charismatic bad boy image to devastating effect. The show is stolen by Jodie Comer in a nuanced and, at first, deceptively simple role. By the finale, both actor and character come into their own and are left as the only thing left to care for on screen. If anything is lacking, it may be in the pacing of the film, which, even at 2 hours and 33 minutes, can feel slightly rushed. Of the four medical epics Scott has crafted, this may not be the best, but may well be the most interesting and certainly rewards multiple viewings.

Even Briefer, Please: Oh it’s obviously a Yes. But the apparently forthcoming extended cut may be even more worthy of your time.

Director – David Lowery; Credited Screenwriter – David Lowery

A beautiful, captivating & tragicomic journey through the annals of Arthurian legend, one that escews the epic for the personal touch. It feels in many ways like a sucessor to A Field In England, ultimately ending up a richer and more satisfying experience. Patel makes for a charismatic and relatable lead, further solidifying his status as the auter’s movie star. The combination of his performance and Lowery’s direction gives a window right into the soul of a character that reads merely as a cipher on the 700 or so year old page. The film will lead you fufilled, often dazzled, and with the voice of Ralph Ineson ringing in your ears.

Even Briefer, Please: An absolute Yes, very few films like it in the world.

Yes – A recommendation.

Sure – A conditional recommendation.

No – Probably wouldn’t bother if I were you.

Director – Evan Morgan; Credited Screenwriter – Evan Morgan

The elevator pitch is a deconstruction classic, well-worn and much abused by second rate Edinburgh Fringe productions; the precocious 12 year old private detective, of the Hardy Boys or Famous Five sort, all grown up, still at it, and finding the world to be a much darker and more complicated place than it once appeared. The film, however, is saved by an intriguing mystery at its centre, confident tonal shifts and wraps up with one fantastic needle drop. This is all held together by assured direction and one fantastic central performance by Adam Brody.

Even Briefer, Please: A firm Yes, much better than it has a right to be.

Director – Greta Gerwig; Credited Screenwrier – Greta Gerwig

Incredibly entertaining and joyous experience. Cast excellent across the board – except for a painful show from Emma Watson, indeed, casting her as a wannabe actress is perhaps the best gag of the film, and Meryl Streep who insists on chewing on the scenery as if it was made from the same chocolate as those foil-wrapped Oscars she keeps winning. Despite this, the characters are beautifully drawn and have one crying and laughing and whooping for joy right along with them. Cutting back and forth through time felt ultimately pointless, but no more so than the device often is.

Even Briefer, Please: Definitely a Yes, a film that defies a sour mood.

Director – Zack Snyder; Credited Screenwriter – Chris Terrio

Not a film in the conventional sense, it would never have been released in this state originally, even if Snyder were given the final-cut. But as a relatively unprecedented experiment, it’s ultimately an engaging watch. Better overall than Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, probably not quite as good as Man of Steel. It’s surprisingly decently written, albiet in an arch, ever so slightly camp, comic book sense. ZSJL is presented in an almost square (4:3) aspect ratio, which would seem distracting but actually ended up making the whole thing look like a comic book panel, which overall worked in its favour. It’s a very silly film and far too long, held together primarily through the strength and charm of the movie star acting talent on display. The main problems are the very wobbly stakes which are never quite explained well enough and next to no personal engagement for the main characters other than the vague sense of duty and, I suppose, the end of the world.

Even Briefer, Please: A resounding Sure, an experiment worth undertaking, though perhaps not worth clearing the schedule for if you’re not already a fan of the genre.

Director – Paul Thomas Anderson; Credited Screenwriter – Paul Thomas Anderson

On a beautifully scarred 35mm print, on a well cared-for screen in central London, with one large glass of red wine down and nursing a second, this film has the captivating and mystifying sense of trying to decipher an old anomalous memory of childhood. On an iPhone during a loo break at work? Probably a bit pondering. But when seen, at least once, the way the filmmaker intended, Licorice Pizza is a stunning & provocative achievement.

Even Briefer, Please: A Yes, but not without reservations; for those who liked Once Upon a Time in Hollywood but wished it was made by the guy who made Inherent Vice.