Director: James Mangold Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, Boyd Holbrook, Scoot McNairy Certificate: 15 Run Time: 140 mins
A Complete Unknown is the latest by James Mangold after the disappointingIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The director returns to the music biopic, a genre he’s proven influential in with the Oscar-winning Walk the Line. Here, Mangold tells the story of Bob Dylan, adapting a 2015 book by Elijah Wald called Dylan Goes Electric! which covers his earliest folk music success to his controversial use of electric instruments at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. Mangold co-writes the script with Jay Cocks, his first since Martin Scorsese’s Silence.
I must confess my knowledge of Dylan’s discography is very elementary. But perhaps that’s a positive because I really enjoyed A Complete Unknown, even if it succumbs to convention, the very antithesis of Dylan’s persona. But straight from the opening scene, Mangold directs the film with a real warmth and energy and I loved the film’s tone. I especially liked its commentary on how genres evolve and how fellow artists support each other, even if that example isn’t followed by the public. It also has plenty to say on what it’s like to meet your idols. The film’s lusciously shot by Phedon Papamichael, and the production design of the 1960s is brilliantly captured.
Timothée Chalamet is magnetic as Dylan, proving himself ever the versatile actor, with leading roles in Call Me By Your Name, Dune and Wonka. Chalamet completely sells himself as Dylan, balancing his sheer talent while being somewhat impenetrable and unlikeable at times. The actor’s fully deserving of Awards attention. I’d have like to have seen even more development about his earlier life to make him less of a mystery.
Chalamet’s bolstered by some terrific supporting performances. The standout’s Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, who brings a real warmth to the singer and like Chalamet, also does all her own singing. This is a star-making turn and I hope she gets Oscar recognition. Edward Norton’s great too as the caring and gentle Pete Seeger and Mangold-regular Boyd Holbrook’s unrecognisable as Johnny Cash.
It may follow a conventional biopic structure, but I still found A Complete Unknown gripping from start to finish, with Mangold at the top of his game paired with many impressive performances. Sometimes, convention is what’s required, if the subject matter and talent behind the screen can make an engaging experience of it, and Mangold certainly does that.
This is the second of two posts detailing my top 20 films of 2024. I previously ran you through my best films of 2024 (20-11) and here, I’ll unveil my top ten. I find it rather interesting that all bar one of these films came out in the first half of the year (according to the UK release calendar).
10) The Zone of Interest
The Zone of Interest is a fiercely original work from Jonathan Glazer, his first film in eleven years. It tells the story of Rudolf Höss, the longest-serving commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he lived with his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) in what they perceived as their idyllic home. Small catch – the garden wall with barbed wire atop it is shared with Auschwitz.
The result is an uncomfortable viewing and a film that really gets under your skin. The Zone of Interest represents the most important use of sound I can think of in quite some time – the sound of the droning concentration camp with its whirring machinery is ever-present during mundane conversation and day-to-day life. Glazer never shows us the atrocities inside the camp and what we hear beyond the frame is another film in itself. I loved the surreal elements too, particularly a storyline shot with thermal cameras. The Zone of Interest is a fascinating work in Glazer’s career, despite its cold and intentionally bad taste that will leave you thinking long after the credits have rolled.
Longlegs is a horror thriller written and directed by Osgood Perkins, his fourth film but by far his highest profile effort. The film follows Lee Harker (Maika Monroe), an FBI agent assigned to investigate a decades-spanning case of a series of brutal murder-suicides. Although Longlegs isn’t as outright scary as some have made it out to be and is more of a crime thriller, this is still a barnstorming original effort from Perkins. He maintains a real sense of dread and tension throughout and the film is relentlessly bleak with some a terrific central performance by Maika Monroe. The film’s beautifully shot by Andrés Arochi, favouring close-ups of characters but keeping the background in shot – an early scene where Harker reads a letter following a home invasion is brilliantly shot as we’re constantly peering at the edge of the kitchen door frame. I also loved the muted, grey colour palette and the dreary, dilapidated homes many of the characters live in that portray the Oregonian setting is not particularly affluent. It’s also complemented by an excellent, rather minimalist score by Zilgi (who is actually the director’s’ brother, Elvis Perkins) but there are equally many scenes of silence which really contributes to the dread. While perhaps a little too neatly crafted in its narrative, Longlegs is a fiersomely original horror directed with real skill and flair.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is an uncommonly intelligent sequel and is another strong entry in the series. With Andy Serkis’ Caesar kicking the bucket at the end of War for the Planet of the Apes, this film picks up ‘many generations’ after War’s conclusion with a new set of characters. The underlying social subtext is what really allows thePlanet of the Apes films to excel, and the lack of it is what lets down its two weakest instalments – Tim Burton’s misguided Planet of the Apes remake and Beneath the Planet of the Apes. The idea of exploring how a key figure’s teachings have been twisted after a period of time is a genius move, reflecting the intrigue and conflict brought by religion in our world. I loved how director Wes Ball advances the aesthetic and tone of the series – gone are the predominantly forested surroundings of Dawn and War and its road movie influence feels closer to earlier entries of the original pentology. The abandoned human world is fascinating to pick apart, from rusted escalators to buildings covered in overgrown fauna. There’s some great set-pieces too, with fast-paced and memorable action sequences, the highlight being one on a bridge. The film is lusciously shot by Gyula Pados and John Paesano does a great job with the score, no mean feat coming off of Michael Giacchino’s work. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes does an excellent job of advancing the reboot series, while brimming with potent social subtext and respecting what made the original pentology work.
Those wanting a rehash of Mad Max: Fury Road should rethink their expectations because Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga plays out very differently – a mature and slow-burn revenge thriller split into five chapters. Except for perhaps ten minutes when the characters reach The Green Place in Fury Road, that film was effectively a non-stop car chase whereas there’s plenty of room to breathe this time around. Considering he’s almost eighty years old, Miller’s film is brimming with the same passionate energy with some truly breathtaking action sequences, the highlight an extended chase aboard the War Rig. There’s plenty of meat to the bone to all the characters too, with an excellent script Miller co-wrote with Nico Lathouris, and it’s expectedly beautifully shot by Simon Duggan. Although she doesn’t show up until the third chapter, Anya Taylor-Joy stuns as the titular character. Not only is her performance magnetic, but she also embodies Charlize Theron’s (who played the character in Fury Road) sounds and mannerisms.
Civil War is a brilliant film and director Alex Garland’s best work to date – it’s well-paced and sustains its unnerving tension throughout. I really connected with the characters and the film looks more expensive than its $50 million budget suggests. I loved its depiction of journalism in how there is the dedication, thrill, rush and joy of creating content. The idea of one photo in every 100 being perfect is also true, but the lengths in which Garland depicts journalists in capturing even a single photo (for example, by jumping into enemy gunfire) is chilling. I also loved how photojournalism was edited into the film and Civil War is about how a story becomes an image. Sound is also used to brilliant effect, with the lack of sound in key sequences very effective in increasing tension and portraying how used to violence these characters have become. While the performance are uniformly excellent, it’s Jesse Plemons that stands out as a racist militant.
Io Capitano is a terrific and thought-provoking piece from Italian director Matteo Garrone about two teenage cousins who decide to leave their native Senegal for a more prosperous future in Italy. While its first twenty minutes are quite atypical of Garrone’s usual directorial style, once the boys leave home, this is an immersive experience through and through. A scene with a desperate woman falling behind as a group walk through a desert is particularly affecting, especially with how Garrone plays with time and hallucinations. The ending is also bleak and hard-hitting yet simultaneously joyous. An extended sequence set in a prison is also typical of Garrone and I really brought the relationship between Seydou (Seydou Sarr) and Martin (Issaka Sawagodo), a man he’s imprisoned with. Garrone masterfully often shows but doesn’t tell and I always respect it when a filmmaker treats their audience as intelligent.
American Fiction is a highly entertaining literary comedy with a blisteringly sharp script that in some ways, feels like a film a more muted Spike Lee would make. This is a tough genre to crack and there have been far more failures than hits but I genuinely laughed quite a few times at this. There’s also more than a few kernels of truth about the publishing industry and what it means to be a writer, exploring the highs and lows of both the creative process and critical reception. But Cord Jefferson (in his directorial debut) deftly balances his commentary on the media with a heartfelt treatment of the themes of loneliness and family. The family drama element of the film is equally riveting, with the treatment of Alzheimers touching and the mundane but necessary tasks of trying to get someone into a home. There’s some terrific performances here too, especially Jeffrey Wright who’s always been a reliable screen presence but doesn’t often take the lead role. Wright nails the prickly, depressing nature of his character as he struggles to fit in and open up to people but with an almost lovable quality. To think this is only the directorial debut of Cord Jefferson makes me excited to see where he goes next.
One of two Yorgos Lanthimos films to release this year, Kinds of Kindness sees the director reteam with Efthimis Filippou in their first writing collaboration since The Killing of a Sacred Deer (in my opinion, Lanthimos’ best film). An thrillingly cold-hearted abrudist triptych with a razor dry sense of humour, Kinds of Kindness represents the director at his most daring. It’s a fascinating film, where not everything in the three stories is meant to tie together, but it doesn’t stop one trying to piece the puzzle together. Jesse Plemons is sensational as the lead in the first two stories and Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe are also reliably excellent. Kinds of Kindness is a fascinating film in Lanthimos’ catalogue and while I expect he’ll be tempted to make more mainstream fare given The Favourite and Poor Things‘ reception, I love the eerie strangeness and uncomfortable feeling when he has a hand in the script.
The Holdovers is the new Alexander Payne film and his first since 2017’s Downsizing. Payne reunites with his Sideways lead Paul Giamatti who stars as Paul Hunham, a strict classics teacher at Barton Academy, a New England boarding school that he attended back in his youth. The Holdovers is Payne at his best and is a tender delight from start to finish, but it deftly balances its warmth with a bittersweet tone. The performances are terrific all around, especially Giamatti, and the film perfectly evokes classic 1970’s cinema with its intentionally rustic aesthetic – it looks and feels like a work made at the time. It’s beautifully shot by In Bruges cinematographer Eigil Bryld, especially the wintry landscapes during the opening credits and some disorienting frames that feature late into the film. Paul Giamatti turns in what I’d probably consider a career-best performance as Hunham. Hunham is both lovable and loathsome and an easy character to relate to with the hardships he’s faced in life. In fact, there are many similarities between Hunham and Miles Raymond, the character Giamatti plays in Sideways – both characters that have been hard done-by in life.
I absolutely loved The Holdovers and was completely swept up by the film throughout, with its intelligent script and committed performances. It’s Payne’s best film since Sideways and after only the best part of a year since its release, I predict it will become a Christmas classic. They certainly don’t make films like this anymore.
The first Yorgos Lanthimos film to release this year takes top honours. Poor Things is Lanthimos back on track (I thought The Favourite was flawed) with a brilliantly twisted, uncomfortable yet multi-layered triumph. A film that gets better on each viewing, Poor Things is narratively stuffed with thought-provoking themes, striking visuals and evocative production design. Robbie Ryan’s cinematography is a career-best, with every frame a painting worth pausing to analyse, which is interesting considering some of his work can be quite vanilla. The film boldly experiments with colour and perspectives are often shot through a fish-eye lens and it’s supported by the lavish production design. I also loved the retrofuturistic vision, with the Victorian London setting contrasting with succeeding elements.
Emma Stone turns in a career-best performance as the Frankenstein-like Bella Baxter, who opens the film as an inquisitive and brash child and ends as a self-made woman. I’ve sometimes struggled with her performances in the past and couldn’t believe she won the Best Actress Oscar for La La Land but not so here. Willem Dafoe is also reliably brilliant as the eccentric surgeon, who belches bubbles at the dinner table due to a health condition. Mark Ruffalo provides much of the comic relief as Wedderburn, who becomes increasingly child-like as the film progresses, although his British accent is rather wandery. Poor Things came out right at the very start of the year and nothing’s been able to dethrone it from the number one spot.
Director: RaMell Ross Starring: Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Hamish Linklater, Fred Hechinger, Daveed Diggs, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor Certificate: 12A Run Time: 140 mins
Nickel Boys is RaMell Ross’ narrative feature directorial debut, previously known for his 2018 Oscar-nominated documentary Hale County This Morning, This Evening. An adaptation of the 2019 novel of the same name by Colson Whitehead, Nickel Boys tells the story story of Elwood Curtis (Ethan Herisse), a young African-American living in a segregated Tallahassee, Florida. He excels at school and is accepted into a tuition-free accelerated study program at a historically black school. Unfortunately, he accepts a lift from a man driving a stolen car while hitchhiking to campus and the police send him to Nickel Academy, a reform school notorious for its abusive treatment of students. There, he meets Turner (Brandon Wilson) and despite their initially opposite ideals, become friends.
The film is shot in a first-person point-of-view so we see the plot unfold through the eyes of Elwood (the perspective is then shared with Turner in the film’s second half). That’s certainly an unconventional way to tell a story and stands Nickel Boys apart from more conventional historical drama biopics.
Unfortunately, despite its novel filmmaking technique, I found Nickel Boys to be very dull and I think that first-person point-of-view decision is to blame. It detracts from the important story being told, which tackles some incredibly heavy themes, but the film never conveys its emotions. The stilted script doesn’t flow in a natural way and and I found it very difficult to connect with any of the characters. None of the performances worked for me, even Hamish Linklater who made such a powerful impression in Midnight Mass. The film is also drastically overlong at 140 minutes and a generic title card revealing some images of the true events feels emotionally manipulative – especially for a film that’s trying to defy convention. The only real plus side is Jomo Fray’s sporadically stirring cinematography, especially a scene of Elwood and Turner conversing underneath a window that’s featured in the theatrical release poster.
I really wanted to like Nickel Boys, especially considering the rapturous response it has received. But I found it to be an patience-testing exercise in style over substance and the novel filming style robbed the film of any emotional impact.
With 2024 now at a close, it’s time to reflect back on the year just gone and unveil my top film picks. 2024 was an interesting year in film – on the one hand, it had one of the strongest Awards seasons in many a year (many of which will be featuring in this list) and the films that delivered really hit the spot. But there were also a number of crushing disappointments, from sequels such as Alien: Romulus and Deadpool and Wolverine to career lows for directors like M. Night Shyamalan with Trap and J. C. Chandor with Kraven the Hunter.
In this first of two articles, I’ll rank numbers 20 to 11. Stay tuned for part two, where I’ll unveil my top ten films of the year. But first a few honourable mentions that didn’t quite make the top 20 – Red Rooms, Conclave, The Beekeeper and Salem’s Lot (yes, seriously for those final two).
20) The Iron Claw
Beginning proceedings is The Iron Claw and although it’s Sean Durkin’s weakest effort to date in that it’s far more conventional than Martha Marcy May Marlene and The Nest, this is still a largely gripping and grim recount of the Von Erich family, who were beset by premature tragedies. The film’s bolstered by some terrific performances, with Zac Efron reliably brilliant as Kevin, who has noble and instinctual family values but struggles to carve a life with his own ambitions. Efron has had a fascinating career after his High School Musical breakthrough, and like with his chilling portrayal of Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, proves he is a versatile actor with buckets of range. Holt McCallany, who is often lumped with supporting roles in action films such as Wrath of Man, gives a career-best performance as the patriarch, and Maura Tierney is also quietly brilliant as the quiet and sullen mother, who’s clearly faced her own despair.
The first half of the film is pretty standard wrestling fare, chock-full with the sub-genre’s generic constructs, until the darker elements are introduced at the half-way mark. There’s an excellent near-surreal ending sequence that won me over and the film’s handsomely shot with a smoky, grey quality by Hungarian cinematographer Mátyás Erdély.
Although this religious psychological horror starring Sydney Sweeney as a troubled young nun takes a while to get going, once it shifts into gear, Immaculate is a gonzo, gleefully blood-soaked riptide. The last forty-five minutes are particularly memorable, with a series of wild twists and turns, with more than a few influences from Dario Argento and Roman Polanski. Director Michael Mohan knows how to build suspense and pile on the dread and the wince-inducing gore in its final act more than earns it its 18-certificate. The film looks a lot more expensive than it is and it’s beautifully shot by DP Elisha Christian. You’ll be left gasping for breath in its closing moments.
Although it’s not as strong, The First Omen came out a few weeks later and follows eerily similar themes – it’s worth a watch too.
One of my most memorable cinema-going experiences of the year, Anora is the new Palme D’Or winning film by Sean Baker. Other than Mikey Madison’s hypnotic lead performance as the titular Brooklyn stripper, I hated the first 45 minutes of this film. But when two men knock on a mansion door after Anora’s drink and drug-fuelled journey with Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), the 21-year-old-son of a Russian oligarch, the narrative takes a different direction and the rest of the 139 minute film had me grinning with its breathless fireball energy and wit. In retrospect, the first 45 minutes are needed to get you to despise the characters for the rest of it to work, so stay with it if you’re feeling the same way. It’s a film where characters are consistently pulled from pillar to post but there’s also a stark tenderness to its humanity and Baker portrays a vivid contrast between the rich and poor. It’s beautifully shot by Drew Daniels, who lends the film its disorientingly frenetic edge. Apart from Madison, Yura Borisov and Karen Karagulian are the other standouts of the cast, especially Borisov who makes such a strong impression despite not having many lines. Anora is ultimately an excellent film from Sean Baker and quite possibly his best work.
It’s a real shame that what is probably Clint Eastwood’s last film got bizarrely and unjustifiably buried by Warner Bros. It’s their loss because this legal thriller is an excellent effort from the nonagenarian filmmaker, which follows recovering alcoholic Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) who is summoned for jury service where he realises he may have been responsible for the death he’s adjudicating on. What initially seems like a fairly routine, low-profile case gradually turns into a crime with plenty of holes. A morally ambiguous film that asks its audience what they would do in the main character’s shoes, Jonathan Abrams’ script does a good job of messing with its audience’s minds in creating doubt of what’s being portrayed on-screen. The film also questions the imperfect nature of the justice system, even if it’s rather unsubtle. But Eastwood does a better job of analysing the biases that certain characters bring into the courtroom, from the lawyers defending and prosecuting the accused to the backstories of the jury members. Nicholas Hoult makes for an excellent lead and we’re never sure whether we can fully side with him or not, despite making a compelling case for the decisions he makes.
I never expected a John Green adaptation to rank among my best films of the year – Paper Towns and The Fault In Our Stars were both ghastly – but I loved this. Sensitively directed by Hannah Marks, the ever-reliable (well, apart from Alien: Romulus…) Isabela Merced is fantastic as Aza, a 16-year-old struggling with OCD who tries to reconnect with her childhood crush. The chemistry she shares with her best friend Daisy (Cree) is terrific and the script is sharp, deftly balancing humour, wit and heart. Marks deftly portrays what it’s like to experience this disorder and the sense of achievement when characters overcome their obstacles in this film is commendable. I was gripped from start to finish and although it’s a film you’ll need to seek out, I highly recommend it.
15) Gladiator II
I had low expectations for this long-awaited sequel, having thought the 2000 Best Picture winning original was merely good, and returning director Ridley Scott has a chequered record with historical epics. Fortunately, Gladiator II is an excellent sequel and although it shares some similar story beats to the original, it shakes things up more than enough to avoid it being a simple rehash. At its height, it almost has a soap opera quality (much in the same vein as House of Gucci and Napoleon) but in a good way. There’s an immense pleasure in anticipating how the different characters are going to eventually clash with their various motivations, and David Scarpa’s script sets them up well. Some of the characters are gleefully horrible and the cast are more than game for it. Scott’s also concocted some thrilling (if wildly historically inaccurate set-pieces with sharks and killer monkeys) that lean into the gore – this is very much a film about revenge and retribution. It’s also vividly shot by returning cinematographer John Mathieson, who lends the film a rich colour palette. That Ridley Scott can still be directing a sword-and-sandals sequel like this with so much energy in his late eighties is nothing short of miraculous.
Rebel Ridge is a crime thriller by Jeremy Saulnier, his first film in six years after Hold The Dark. Having proved quite the accomplished director, Rebel Ridge may be his best yet – a gripping thriller that examines police injustice with a deliciously mean streak about it, even if it’s slightly overlong and peaks in its first act. But I still had a grin plastered on my face throughout. Aaron Pierre is brilliant as Terry, an ex-Marine who’s intercepted by two corrupt policemen while cycling to Shelby Springs to post bail for his imprisoned cousin. Don Johnson is deliciously snarky as the crooked Chief of Police and there are some terrific chase sequences, cementing why Saulnier is one of the best in the revenge thriller genre.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a very pleasant surprise – an excellent legacy sequel that’s not far off the quality of the original, showcasing Tim Burton at his best. The script by Alfred Gough and Mark Millar is razor-sharp and full of charm, with lots of laughs to be had. Although some have criticised this sequel for being overstuffed, I thought the various elements really worked and there’s excitement in knowing that all of the different storylines are inevitably going to collide. The film’s visually arresting too, with lots of physical effects and I particularly admired an early body horror sequence where a character staples body parts together. Danny Elfman turns in a typically romping and swooning score that keeps the film fast-paced. Michael Keaton’s reliably excellent as the grotesque bio-exorcist, in the role that arguably launched his career. It’s also refreshing to see Winona Ryder, who hasn’t taken a leading role in a mainstream film in quite a while. Burton proves he’s still flowing with the creative juices that left such an impression on his early work and I hope the strong reception to this film inspires him to continue developing wholly original pieces.
MaXXXine is the third instalment in Ti West’s X series and a direct sequel to X. It’s surreal to think what was originally a relatively low-key release is now a full-blown film series, with West having originally shot X (which I loved) and Pearl (fine, but overrated) back-to-back. MaXXXine is a thoroughly enjoyable, if uneven third instalment. Like its predecessors, West experiments with exploring a different horror sub-genre – in this case, Giallo horror. It unexpectedly shares many of the story beats of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood but in a thrilling way that isn’t derivative. The energetic score by Tyler Bates is brilliant and is probably a career-best. The film’s also beautifully shot by Eliot Rocket, who really captures the neon, seedy 80’s Hollywood aesthetic. There’s some very entertaining performances across the board. Mia Goth is reliably strong but Kevin Bacon steals the show as a seedy private investigator, resplendent with gold teeth. Giancarlo Esposito is also a highlight as Maxine’s agent with an outrageous haircut. I really enjoyed MaXXXine and although it’s a little shambolically crafted, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I had a big grin on my face throughout.
My expectations were very high after the 19 year wait since the masterpiece that was The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and Vengeance Most Fowl is a more than worthy follow-up. This is an excellent sequel with plenty of laughs and a typically sharp and witty script. The rapport between Wallace and Gromit is as strong as ever and the film has a lot to say on the reliance of AI and automation, the resurgence of old technology and police incompetence. There’s some fabulous action sequences (especially a climactic boat chase) and the film’s typically brimming with small details to pick up on future rewatches. Returning villain Feathers McGraw steals the show with some delicious gags and Ben Whitehead (replacing the late Peter Sallis) fits in seamlessly as Wallace.
I don’t think it’s quite as strong as The Curse of the Were-Rabbit though – Vengeance Most Fowl is decidedly smaller-scale and there’s a surprising lack of cheese jokes (although the film makes up for it with plenty of other gags). Otherwise, this is yet another Wallace and Gromit adventure that’s impossible to resist and it does nothing to tarnish their revered reputation.
Director: Robert Eggers Starring: Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Willem Dafoe Certificate: 15 Run Time: 132 mins
Nosferatu is the new Robert Eggers film, one of the most exciting auteurs working today whose made a name for himself with thoroughly well-researched, period-correct films, with authentic scripts and stunning visuals. I loved The Witch, his fearsomely original and unsettling folk horror debut. I admired but didn’t love his next films – The Lighthouse and The Northman. A remake of F. W. Murnau’s 1922 German Expressionist silent film, Eggers has long-publicised his adoration for the blood-thirsty vampire tale and was originally going to make it after The Witch before deciding to delay its production to get it right.
If you’re familiar with the original, or Bram Stoker’s Dracula, then there’s no surprises story-wise. Nicholas Hoult and Lily-Rose Depp play the married Hutter couple, Thomas and Ellen, who live in Wisborg, Germany. Thomas is an aspiring estate agent, who is sent by Herr Knock (Simon McBurney) to travel to Transylvania’s Carpathian Mountains to sell a decrepit stately home to the reclusive Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård). But Orlok has a more sinister motive.
It pains me to say that Nosferatu is unfortunately a crushing disappointment and a case of style over substance. The style is undoubtedly the biggest positive, with the film beautifully shot Eggers’ favoured cinematographer Jarin Blaschke. Many of the visually arresting images are akin to paintings, with my two standouts a shot of a horse and rider traipsing their way through a forest in the twinkling night and a crepuscular figure’s decaying body over a sea of blood in a bed. The creature design of Count Orlok is also striking and a construction that only Eggers could dream of. After dazzling as Pennywise in It, the unrecognisable Bill Skarsgård stuns as the parasitic Orlok, with an unsettling voice he worked to lower by an octave for the role. Robin Carolan’s swooning score is also brilliant, with recognisable and haunting themes developing as the film progresses.
Sadly, that’s where the positives end. Nosfetaru’s most significant problem is the utterly erratic pacing. Eggers races through the first hour and fails to establish the ensemble cast or convey how epic the journey is to Transylvania. This was something Werner Herzog excelled at in his Klaus Kinski-fronted 1979 remake, Nosferatu the Vampyre, with beautiful images of the dangerous, mountainous terrain the estate agent exhaustedly travels through to reach the isolated castle. The local Romani community who plead with Thomas not to continue with his quest are glossed over and there’s a real lack of tension between Thomas and Orlok, with Eggers impatient to bring the vampire back to Germany. The voyage back on the ghost ship is also rushed and once the film’s back on German soil, Orlok’s invasive hold over the town is protracted. What’s most peculiar is that Herzog’s 1979 remake also suffers from a languorous pace but Eggers’ film has the advantage of being half an hour longer but fails to develop a sense of dread or tension.
There’s also some seriously wonky performances amongst the star-studded cast. Nicholas Hoult and Lily-Rose Depp have clearly put in a lot of effort, but they lack chemistry together and Hoult’s Thomas is particularly underdeveloped – I never felt pity for him once he’s under Orlok’s hold. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Emma Corrin are both terrible as the Harding’s, also lacking chemistry and being subject to some pretty perfunctory dialogue. Even Willem Dafoe fails to impress, content to simply repeat his Poor Things shtick as Albin Eberhart Von Franz (an Abraham Van Helsing equivalent), a controversial Swiss philosopher whom Eggers’ script resorts to him being an exposition device. Fortunately, Simon McBurney as the repulsive Herr Knock and Ralph Ineson as a well-meaning doctor fare well.
You’d think for all Eggers’ passion that he’d try and do something innovative and justify his vision. But instead, this is a film that simply retreads its forebears (there’s even heavy lifting from various Dracula adaptations, too). By the time we reach the signature sequence with Orlok’s shadow reaching out for his victim reflected on a wall, all I could stifle was a groan. I was never gripped by the film, nor did I find it frightening and Eggers’ script, while period-correct, is strangely wordy and leaves nothing to the imagination. Murnau’s 1922 original didn’t just impress as a standalone film but functions as one of the horror genre’s most important staples, its influence felt throughout the medium’s history. While Eggers has made a film that repeats its visuals and narrative beats, that’s all he’s managed to achieve – aside from a handful of impressive elements, there’s strangely little to justify or show for the filmmaker’s passion.
Director: Nick Park & Merlin Crossingham Starring: (voices of) Ben Whitehead, Peter Kay, Lauren Patel, Reece Shearsmith Certificate: U Run Time: 79 mins
Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is the new Aardman film featuring the good-natured cheese-loving inventor and his intelligent anthropomorphic beagle, in what’s been a lengthy wait. The last time we saw the lovable clay-based duo was in A Matter of Loaf and Death (2008) and this is the first feature-length film since The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005), which I consider to be a masterpiece. With Peter Sallis (the voice of Wallace) sadly passing away in 2017, he’s now been replaced by Ben Whitehead. This new film also sees the return of the villainous Feathers McGraw from The Wrong Trousers (1995), a scheming penguin who enacts his revenge on the duo by reprogramming Wallace’s new invention – Norbot, a robotic garden gnome – to an ‘evil’ setting.
And it’s another triumph – Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is an excellent sequel with plenty of laughs and a typically sharp and witty script. The rapport between Wallace and Gromit is as strong as ever and the film has a lot to say on the reliance of AI and automation, the resurgence of old technology and police incompetence. There’s some fabulous action sequences (especially a climactic boat chase) and the film’s typically brimming with small details to pick up on future rewatches. Feathers McGraw steals the show yet again with some delicious gags and Ben Whitehead fits in seamlessly as Wallace – you’d be hard-pressed to tell it’s not Peter Sallis.
That said, after two viewings, I don’t think it’s quite as strong as The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Vengeance Most Fowl is decidedly smaller-scale and there’s a surprising lack of cheese jokes (although the film makes up for it with plenty of other gags). This is yet another Wallace and Gromit adventure that’s impossible to resist and it does nothing to tarnish their revered reputation.
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra Starring: Taron Egerton, Sofia Carson, Danielle Deadwyler, Theo Rossi, Logan Marshall-Green, Jason Bateman Certificate: 15 Run Time: 119 mins
Carry-On is an action thriller directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, returning to the genre he’s most comfortable in. After directing a spate of Liam Neeson-fronted actioners on various modes of transport, Collet-Serra progressed to bigger budget fare and made Jungle Cruise and Black Adam. Set on Christmas Eve, Carry-On follows Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton) who lives with his girlfriend Nora (Sofia Carson). They both work at Los Angeles International Airport, and Ethan feels pretty unfulfilled at his TSA job, after he failed to get into the police force after concealing his father’s criminal history. He manages to talk his supervisor into manning the baggage scanning machine. Well, he couldn’t have picked a more testing day to demonstrate his merits because he comes into contact with a group of terrorists who threaten him, as they try to get a bag filled with Novichok nerve agent through and onto a plane.
Unfortunately, Carry-On is content to just go through the motions with its workmanlike direction and an ear-scraping script. It also requires one to seriously suspend disbelief with plot holes you could drive a truck through. The usually charismatic Egerton fails to make much of an impression and the rest of the cast also struggle to register. The biggest disappointment is undoubtedly Jason Bateman, who I had high expectations for, given he’s impressed in the past whenever he’s diverted from comedic fare with excellent performances in The Gift and Air. Unfortunately, his villain is overly talky and lacks nuance, resulting in a real lack of tension.
The far-fetched action sequences are shot with an annoyingly glossy sheen, and Los Angeles airport is portrayed as being almost clinically clean. A thankless and implausible sub-plot featuring Danielle Deadwyler as a detective further presses on the brakes of this inert affair and Lorne Balfe’s score isn’t memorable in the slightest.
Christmas Eve turmoil at an airport has been done to great success in the past, with films such as Die Hard 2. But Carry-On never manages to reach the heights of the films it’s inspired by and while it’s just about watchable if you suspend disbelief, that’s not good enough amongst the competition.
Director: J. C. Chandor Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, Alessandro Nivola, Christopher Abbott, Russell Crowe Certificate: 15 Run Time: 127 mins
Kraven The Hunter is the latest in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe and the first live-action appearance of the supervillain. Unfortunately, none of the five previous instalments of Sony’s shared universe series have hit the mark so far – all three Venom films were awful, as was Morbius. And then, while Madame Web is undoubtedly the most enjoyable of the lot, it’s only because it’s so-bad-it’s-good. Despite over two years of delays though, I’ve always held out hope for Kraven The Hunter. Why? Because it’s directed by J. C. Chandor, who is one of the most exciting original directors working today, responsible for Margin Call, All Is Lost and Triple Frontier, as well as A Most Violent Year, which I would consider one of my top five films of the 2010s.
Of course, not all directors succeed when they transition to mainstream fare. On the one hand, Jordan Vogt-Roberts and Taika Waititi’s fingerprints are all overKong: Skull Island and Thor: Ragnarok but there is precious little of James Mangold or Nia DaCosta in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and The Marvels, for example.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays the titular villain, and the film opts for an origins story opening where we see how a young Sergei is mortally wounded protecting his younger brother, Dmitri, from a lion. Sergei is found by a girl named Calypso, who having been forewarned she would intervene in an accident, heals him with a serum that gives him animalistic attributes. When Sergei becomes an adult sixteen years later, he tracks down criminals and crosses them off his list.
While there are some interesting ideas here and there and it’s probably the best film in Sony’s shared universe, Kraven The Hunter is an unfortunate disappointment that is clearly the product of major studio interference. While many superhero films have taken the origins story route, the meat and bones of Kraven the Hunter’s structure is good but it’s plagued by an utterly atrocious script – the trio of Richard Wenk, Art Marcum and Matt Holloway are to blame. The visual effects are also embarrassingly bad, with obvious CGI animals and backdrops, as well as awful ADR. You wouldn’t think this should be a problem when you have a $130 million budget. The film’s blandly shot by Ben Davis and Benjamin Wallfisch’s score doesn’t make much of an impression.
The performances are a mixed bag. There’s typically two types of Aaron Taylor-Johnson performances. When he’s in the right role, such as Kick-Ass or Nocturnal Animals, he’s excellent. But he’s often miscast and when that happens in films such as Godzilla, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Tenet, he’s very wooden. This is the rare performance where he walks the middle line. He clearly puts his all into the character but is saddled by poor and cliched dialogue. Both A Most Violent Year veterans Alessandro Nivola and Christopher Abbott are clearly making an effort as the villains, The Rhino and The Foreigner. While I admired Nivola’s more realistic interpretation of the villain that’s a complete 180 from Paul Giamatti’s mechanised portrayal in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the performance is once again a victim of the script and some dreadful visual effects.
Members of the dreadful performances club include Oscar-winners Ariana DeBose and Russell Crowe. DeBose is completely miscast as Calypso and has no chemistry whatsoever with Taylor-Johnson and Crowe is laughably awful as Sergei’s drug-trafficking crime boss father, replete with an unconvincing Russian accent. Fred Hechinger, who can currently be seen in Gladiator II, comes away with his reputation unscathed as Sergei’s brother, Dmitri, who isn’t very well developed.
On the plus side, I liked the standalone approach the film takes, refusing to tie itself into other Marvel or Sony properties, save for a brief mention on The Daily Bugle newspaper. I also admire that Chandor went for a 15 / R-rating, which is what the violent villain deserves. While there’s blood-spray and gore to the kills, unfortunately they’re repetitive and the violence is never lingered on – I wish the film leaned in harder on its rating. There’s also a couple of effective quieter moments of character building sprinkled in and I liked Chandor’s attempt to ground the film in realism.
It’s a real shame that Kraven The Hunter isn’t the blood-drenched slamdunk it should have been. I genuinely don’t understand why Sony fail to trust their filmmakers and water down the final product. But it’s not as awful as other entries in this series (albeit the bar is set low) and not that it will happen because of the negative reception but I’m confident Chandor could have made an interesting sequel if he was free of the studio shackles. Unfortunately, Kraven The Hunter is a poor film with clear signs of studio interference that could have been so much more, and an unfortunate stain on Chandor’s until-now electric career.
Director: Edward Berger Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, Isabella Rossellini Certificate: 12A Run Time: 120 mins
Conclave is a mystery thriller by Edward Berger, who directed All Quiet On The Western Front, which won four Oscars but I found it to be rather overrated. Based on a 2016 novel by Robert Harris, the film opens with the Pope dying of a heart attack and Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with organising a papal conclave to elect a successor. However, Lawrence quickly finds himself investigating secrets and scandals about each of the candidates. They include Aldo Bellini (Stanley Tucci), an ambitious American liberal, Joseph Tremblay (John Lithgow), a Canadian moderate with a secret, Goffredo Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto), an Italian reactionary right-winger and Joseph Adeyemi (Lycian Msamati), a Nigerian candidate with homophobic views.
Not dissimilar from many popular recent elections, Conclave is about deciding who is the least worst option and that’s what makes it rather entertaining. You’ll need to suspend disbelief (especially with its many twists) but if you’re after an overripe thriller filled with catty remarks, this delivers. Ralph Fiennes is reliably excellent as the overseer, who is also standing in the election and throughout the film, you’re constantly working out whether he has secret ambitions and if he’s as impartial as he should be. Sergio Castellitto, who was fantastic as the villainous King Miraz in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, turns his performance up to eleven as Tedesco and Isabella Rossellini also stands out as the head caterer and housekeeper who doesn’t have time for aimless chitchat.
The jittery score by Volker Bertelmann (Hauschka) is fantastic and he crafts many memorable themes that add to the urgency of the election. Stéphane Fontaine lusciously shoots the film too, with excellent use of light and shadow to underscore the theme of corruption.
But as entertaining as Conclave is, I’m not sure it’s quite the awards material it looks like it may become. None of the performances are career-best work from anyone (as committed as they are) and it isn’t particularly profound. Treat Conclave as the rousing thriller it is where old men in mitres run around making snide remarks and backstab each other, but nothing more.
Director: Ridley Scott Starring: Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, Connie Nielsen, Denzel Washington Certificate: 15 Run Time: 148 mins
Gladiator II is the long-awaited sequel to the Best Picture winning 2000 original. Directed once again by Ridley Scott, this sequel picks up sixteen years after Marcus Aurelius’ (the late Richard Harris) death in the first film. His grandson, Lucius (Paul Mescal) lives under the alias ‘Hanno’, with his wife Arishat (Yuval Gonen) in Numidia. Their peace is short-lived after the Romans invade, led by General Acacius (Pedro Pascal). Hanno swears revenge against Acacius, becoming a gladiator for Macrinus (Denzel Washington), a former slave who has his own sights on the throne.
Ridley Scott’s hit-and-miss when it comes to historical epics. On the one hand, he’s made hits such as Gladiator and The Last Duel but on the other hand are the disasters that are Kingdom of Heaven, Robin Hood and Napoleon. While Gladiator was an entertaining film, I wouldn’t have called it Oscar material and there are many other Ridley Scott films I’d have preferred he received awards recognition for. This sequel’s gone through a lengthy production period, with musician Nick Cave initially writing a script that saw Russell Crowe’s Maximus battle the gods in purgatory that was rejected. The story that Scott’s ultimately settled on is far more conventional – was the 24 year wait worth it?
Gladiator II is an excellent sequel and although it shares some similar story beats to the original, it shakes things up more than enough to avoid it being a simple rehash. At its height, it almost has a soap opera quality (much in the same vein as House of Gucci and Napoleon) but in a good way. There’s an immense pleasure in anticipating how the different characters are going to eventually clash with their various motivations, and David Scarpa’s script sets them up well. Some of the characters are gleefully horrible and the cast are more than game for it. Scott’s also concocted some thrilling (if wildly historically inaccurate set-pieces with sharks and killer monkeys) that lean into the gore – this is very much a film about revenge and retribution. It’s also vividly shot by returning cinematographer John Mathieson, who lends the film a rich colour palette.
Paul Mescal makes for a brilliant lead, almost channeling Oliver Reed in his Shakespearean delivery. Although he’s not going to receive the same level of acclaim as Russell Crowe, I predict Mescal will be fondly remembered for this role as time passes. Denzel Washington’s brilliant as Macrinus and steals his scenes as the influential and complexly written slave trader. Pedro Pascal is another highlight, who’s also written in a multi-layered fashion, who we initially regard from a villainous perspective but are then later asked to view him in a different light. Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger are also excellent as the mentally unstable Emperors and they make for refreshingly different villains from Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus in the original. And then when Matt Lucas turns up as a ceremonial host for the gladiatorial battles, you know this isn’t a film that’s taking itself very seriously.
That Ridley Scott can still be directing a sword-and-sandals sequel like this with so much energy in his late eighties is nothing short of miraculous. Gladiator II is a film to watch on the biggest possible screen and it’s a compelling sequel that I think matches the original. There’s a real energy to it with a more complex set-up to it than the original and the thrill in watching how all the characters play each other result in a hugely enjoyable sequel.
The Film Meister 
