Director: Matteo Garrone 
Starring: Seydou Sarr, Moustpha Fall, Issaka Sawagodo, Hichem Yacoubi
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 121 mins

Io Capitano is the new film from Matteo Garrone about two teenager cousins who decide to leave Senegal to seek a more prosperous future in Italy. It’s a story we hear of many times in the news, and the film has been inspired by actual stories of migrants’ African routes to Europe. While it’s easy to dismiss the swathes of desperate individuals trying to claim asylum in a safer country, Garrone delicately portrays their plight. Garrone is a talented director, initially most famous for his gangster film Gomorrah, which I didn’t love. However, he’s since proved a knack for the fantastical with Tale of Tales, Dogman and his ambitious Pinocchio. 

Io Capitano is a terrific and thought-provoking piece from Garrone. While its first twenty minutes are quite atypical of his usual directorial style, once the boys leave home, this is a Garrone 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 the 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. The blues-inspired score by Andrea Farri is sensational and really elevates the material on-screen and the film is beautifully shot by Paolo Carnera. 

I absolutely loved Io Capitano and was completely absorbed in the teenager’s journey. This is another brilliant film by Matteo Garrone and one well worth seeking out – it’s one of the best of the year. 

Director: Dev Patel
Starring: Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash, Vipin Sharma, Sikandar Kher, Adithi Kalkunte, Sobhita Dhulipala, Ashwini Kalsekar, Makarand Deshpande, Jatin Malik, Zakir Hussain
Certificate: 18
Run Time: 121 mins

Monkey Man is actor Dev Patel’s directorial debut, a neo-noir action thriller descibred by some as “John Wick in Mumbai”. In the film, Patel plays Kid, who after losing his mother when he was very young earns a living as a monkey-masked fighter at an underground boxing club, where he is incentivised to lose. When he notices the perpetrators of his childhood, he gets recruited into a luxury brothel that they frequent to enact his revenge. 

Patel certainly had a memorable experience in getting the film to the big screen – the film was almost cancelled when the coronavirus pandemic hit, Patel broke his hand when filming an action sequence and Thunder Road Films, the original production company sold the rights to Netflix. It was only when Jordan Peele saw the film that he persuaded Universal Pictures to acquire the film from Netflix because he wanted it to be seen on the big screen.  

 Monkey Man is a mixed bag – some of the film is quite promising and there’s some visceral action sequences that suggest Patel has a future behind the screen. But it’s also equally sluggish, especially the second act where Kid goes through the typical revenge film motions of bulking up before he has a second crack at his enemies. Patel also tries to interweave too many elements into what is a rather simplistic plot, such as themes of discrimination, the caste system and poverty but nothing really sticks. 

 Patel puts in a typically committed performance as Kid and I really brought that his character had gone through a tough upbringing after the loss of his childhood. Of the rest of the cast, Pitobash is a highlight as Alphonso, a gangster working for the enemy who Kid befriends to work his way up the ranks. Sharlto Copley is underused as Tiger, who organises the fights and feels like he’s come in from a different film. On a side note, Patel apparently asked Neill Blomkamp to originally direct the film (the three had collaborated on Chappie) andCopley’s performance feels like it’s lifted from a Blomkamp film. 

 Although DP Sharone Meir resorts to quick cuts in the action sequences, some of them are well-shot and show promise for Patel as a director, the best being a supercharged tuk-tuk on the city streets. You can certainly tell the crew are working on a limited budget as the film will often cut away or obscure any effects that you’d expect to see as a consequence to an action. The usually reliable Jed Kurzel turns in a strange score too – some of it’s great, especially an atypically acoustic track to a gritty fight sequence but there isn’t a memorable theme that holds the film together. 

Although Monkey Man shows promise and is sporadically entertaining, the odd pacing and overly simplistic story derail the film from reaching the heights of better revenge action thrillers such as John Wick. Even The Beekeeper, an over-the-top revenge film starring Jason Statham that released at the start of the year is better-paced than Monkey Man. I’d be interested in seeing what else Patel has up his sleeve as a director because there is certainly potential but I think he’s taken on too ambitious a project for his debut.  

Director: Arkasha Stevenson 
Starring: Nell Tiger Free, Tawfeek Barhom, Sônia Braga, Ralph Ineson, Bill Nighy
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 119 mins

The First Omen is the prequel that no-one really asked for to Richard Donner 1976 original horror. Directed by Arkasha Stevenson in what is her debut, the film is set in Rome, 1971, amid left-wing protests. American novitiate Margaret Daino (Nell Tiger Free) arrives at the Vizzardeli Orphanage to work there, where she discovers they are trying to birth the antichrist. 

The First Omen is a surprisingly effective addition to the series with clear production values. It’s superbly directed by Stevenson, who really makes her mark on the material and it’s beautifully shot by Aaron Morton. There’s a real sense of atmosphere here, with the rioting backdrop a strong choice and some of the horror sequences are skilfully crafted. Although the film isn’t particularly scary, hats off to Stevenson for not simply relying on mechanical jump scares. Mark Korven, who composed The Witch and The Black Phone, is on top form here again and his score is full of dread but with subtle nods to Jerry Goldsmith’s Oscar-winning original. 

On the downside, the film’s a little on the long side and there are some elements of the plot that don’t quite make sense, especially having watched the film twice. 

There’s some good performances too, with Nell Tiger Free an effective lead whose character goes to hell and back. Sônia Braga is also excellent as Sister Silva, who we’re not sure whether she is slimy or sinister, or both to begin with and Maria Caballero is also a standout as Luz, Margaret’s roomate, whom together have a nun’s night off. 

That said, Bill Nighy’s performance as Cardinal Lawrence just doesn’t work. The character could have played by anyone and Nighy’s Latin is unconvincing. He’s typically a top-tier actor and I struggle to think of any other film where his performance hasn’t worked. 

Although the original is still the high bar, The First Omen is a surprisingly good  sequel. Although it has its flaws, it primarily acts as a showcase for Arkasha Stevenson as a director and I predict she’ll go onto bigger projects following her work here. 

It’s also interesting that The First Omen arrives at almost an identical time to Immaculate, with both films follow effecively the same plot. In my opinion, Immaculate is the better film and feels more fresh because it isn’t tied to a certain ending that has tie in with an existing property which diminishes the creativity somewhat. But still, The First Omen is a sound prequel that’s better than expected. 

 

Director: Adam Wingard
Starring: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, Fala Chen
Certificate: 12A
Run Time: 115 mins

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is the latest in the Monsterverse series and the sequel to 2020’s surprisingly entertaining Godzilla vs Kong. You’re Next and The Guest’s Adam Wingard is in the director’s chair again and this sequel picks up with Kong adjusting to life in the Hollow Earth as he searches for more of his kind. Godzilla, on the other hand, is dormantly sleeping in the Colosseum. However, this peace is short-lived and the two have to duke it out once again to stop a tyrannical leader destroying Earth. 

 Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is a come-down from its predecessor, with an episodic quality not too dissimilar from what Marvel are currently churning out. That said, there are some striking images throughout and some of the action sequences really deliver. 

Wingard falls into the age-old trap yet again of the monsters being more exciting than the humans, with Rebecca Hall reprising her role as Dr Ilene Andrews from Godzilla vs Kong. Hall’s a fine actress but she’s saddled with some truly poor dialogue here that even she struggles to elevate. On the plus side, the wooden Alexander Skarsgard is nowhere to be found this time around. Wingard instead reunites with his The Guest frontman Dan Stevens, who plays the Hawaiian shirt-wearing veterinarian Trapper. Stevens has tons of charisma and although it’s a cheesy role, he manages to pull it off. 

 The script is pretty expository and certain plot elements aren’t fully coherent. While Junkie XL’s score for Godzilla vs Kong was largely successful, here he collaborates with Antonio Di Iorio and outside of the pre-existing themes, there’s not much here to latch onto. 

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire isn’t as outright entertaining as its predecessor was but there’s just about enough here to make it work. If you’re after action sequences with the two titans, this film will certainly reward your appetite. But there’s not much substance here and it’s saddled with poor human characters and a weak script. Also not helping matters is the fact this film is releasing shortly after Godzilla Minus One, which proved you can have a monsters wreaking havoc and an emotional human core in the same film. In terms of the Monsterverse series, it sits somewhere in the middle of the pack but certainly well above Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

Director: Michael Mohan
Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Álvaro Morte, Benedetta Porcaroli, Dora Romano, Giorgio Colangeli, Simona Tabasco
Certificate: 18
Run Time: 89 mins

Immaculate is a religious psychological horror from director Michael Mohan centering on a young woman, Sister Cecilia, who is invited to reside at a picturesque Italian convent. Mohan reteams with his The Voyeurs lead Sydney Sweeney, who plays the troubled young nun, who has turned to religion after being convinced God saved her for a reason after she nearly drowned in a frozen lake and was declared dead for seven minutes. While the convent looks initially picture-perfect, Cecilia soon discovers more sinister forces are at play when she suddenly discovers she is pregnant, despite being a virgin.

Religious horror is a sub-genre that has struggled recently – The Nun was terrible, The Nun 2 a mild improvement and The Pope’s Exorcist was silly but very entertaining with Russell Crowe’s hammy lead performance.

Although Immaculate takes a little while to get going, once it shifts into gear, it’s a gonzo and gleefully blood-soaked ripride. 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. 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.

It’s a little ramshackle in construction – the script is a little creaky and aside from Cecilia’ backstory, we don’t really learn much about her. There are also some plot elements that don’t fully make sense by the film’s close.

Sydney Sweeney’s performance is interesting in that she appears unsettled and not fully convincing initially but once she’s tasked with the film’s more electrifying elements, her performance delivers. Álvaro Morte is the standout as Father Sal Tedeschi, who appears to be one of the only members of the convent who understands and empathises with Cecilia.

The film looks a lot more expensive than it is and it’s beautifully shot by DP Elisha Christian. I particularly appreciated a shot of a nun walking, while someone is visibly committing suicide in the background and the nun rushes over to examine the body once it splatters on the floor in the same shot. Will Bates’ score is effective too, with some memorable recurring themes, especially a scene in which Cecilia runs in a field.

Immaculate is ultimately much better than it has any right to be for a horror sub-genre that’s had its fair share of struggles. It’s not perfect but the mystery that Mohan weaves and the heightening tension and gore are more than enough to keep you invested and it’s a film that’s sure to leave you gasping in its closing moments.

Director: Wim Wenders
Starring: Kōji Yahusho, Tokio Emoto, Arisa Nakano, Aoi Yamada, Yumi Asō, Sayuri Ishikawa, Tomokazu Miura, Min Tanaka
Certificate: PG
Run Time: 124 mins

Perfect Days is the new film by Wim Wenders, a German-Japanese co-production that’s up for the Best International Feature Film Oscar this year. Set in Tokyo, the film follows Hirayama (Kōji Yakusho) who cleans public toilets for a living. We see him following a structured routine each and every day. He listens to 1960/70’s rock and pop on cassettes in his car to work, including the Lou Reed song of the film’s title. He takes a bath at a local swimming pool and he takes a photo of the trees where he sits and eats the same sandwich for his lunch everyday. Even in an extended sequence where his niece, Niko (Arisa Nakano) comes to stay, he still sticks to the same routine.

Perfect Days is a pleasant slice of life film about seeing the beauty in the everyday. Kōji Yakusho is tremendous in the lead role, with his understated wisdom and presence and thoroughly deserving of his Best Actor win at the Cannes Film Festival, where this film premiered last year. 

Hirayama is clearly a very intelligent and cultured individual, who has seemingly chosen a monkish existence. We get hints throughout the film, for example his sister’s disgust at the job he’s doing, clearly thinking he is deserving of a more fruitful life. But Hirayama takes great pride in his work, almost obsessively cleaning the toilets until they are glistening, in contrast to his young co-worker Takashi (Tokio Emoto) who isn’t bothered, wanting to finish the job quickly and go off with his girlfriend. 

Wenders isn’t concerned with revealing too much and leaving the audience to piece everything together and the film only really comes alive in its second half, once we start to see his routine getting disrupted, allowing us to learn more about Hirayama’s character. 

The score is great too, a motif of the outdated cassettes Hirayama listens to and I appreciated Wenders’ comparison to the cherishing of physical media, in a touching scene where Takashi wants Hirayama to pawn his cassettes for cash. 

I didn’t love Perfect Days but it’s a very pleasant and engaging piece about seeing the beauty in the everyday with a terrific central performance. 

Director: Denis Villeneuve
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, Souheila Yacoub, Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem 
Certificate: 12A
Run Time: 165 mins

Dune: Part Two is the headily awaited second part of Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s first novel in his sci-fi series. Unlike Alejandro Jodorowsky or David Lynch, Villeneuve proved he could do the impossible – adapt what was regarded as an ‘unfilmable’ novel. Dune won six Oscar’s for his efforts. Dune: Part Two picks up where the previous one left off, with Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) and his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) settling into life with the Fremen, after House Harkonnen launched a devastating attack on House Atreides. With even stronger reviews than the first, can Dune: Part Two live up to the hype? 

While there’s no doubting the visual flair on display, Dune: Part Two is a mixed bag and not as strong as its predecessor. What really impressed me with Dune was how Villeneuve was able to maintain a clarity to the narrative, the key downfall of Lynch’s film who overstuffed the entire book in a 137 minute film. And while that’s still largely the case here, Dune: Part Two runs into all manner of pacing issues. On the one hand, there’s some good world building for the first hour where ultimately not a lot happens. But then, but the film completely rushes through its climax during its last hour. 

Much has been made of the final battle sequence in this film, with some comparing it to the Battle of Helm’s Deep in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. I must have seen a different film because Villeneuve rushes through it, and that costs the film much of its spectacle. 

The rushed pacing also comes at the expense of character development. I simply didn’t buy Paul and Chani’s (Zendaya) blossoming relationship at the very centre of the film – it simply feels like we’re expected to invest in their relationship with no natural development. I wonder if it’s to do with the fact Eric Roth doesn’t write the script this time around, with Villeneuve himself stepping in to co-write with Jon Spaihts. 

With a film this overstuffed, it’s inevitable some of the performances are going to suffer. Although Timothée Chalamet impressed me in the first film, I didn’t think the actor sold the increasing weight his character has to have in this film as he ascends to be a messianic-like figure. While the standout of Dune was Stellan Skarsgård’s Baron Harkonnen, Austin Butler is the highlight, who is tremendous as Feyd-Rautha. The nephew of Skarsgård villain, he isa particularly nasty piece of work and Butler really makes the most of the role, with a sinister personality and a convincing Scandinavian accent to try and match Skarsgård. Speaking of Skarsgard, he’s solid but some of the mystery that surrounded him in the first is now gone and he’s not as effective. 

Two of the performances really didn’t work for me. First is surprisingly Javier Bardem, who almost always elevates a film but he’s unfortunately saddled with some truly trite dialogue. Christopher Walken also doesn’t make the most inspiring choice for the Emperor because he just plays himself. 

The score by Hans Zimmer is pretty atypical of him and whilst it has its moments, it’s not his best work. While Greig Fraser deservedly won an Oscar for his Dune cinematography, because the locations are more limited this time around, it doesn’t feel quite as fresh. However, I loved one action sequence that’s almost made to look like it’s been shot in one take. I also loved the black-and-white imaging of the Harkonnen planet, one of the highlights of the film, as is a gladiatorial fight to the death. 

It’s a shame Dune: Part Two doesn’t live up to the first film with its odd pacing and lack of character development. But it’s still a fun ride, with some above average elements, such as the black-and-white sequence on the Harkonnen planet, Austin Butler’s performance and some exciting action sequences here and there. For a Denis Villeneuve film though, I think it’s his weakest effort and that’s a shame. While Villeneuve’s keen to adapt Dune: Messiah, I really hope he gets off the sci-fi train and does something completely different. Prisoners and Sicario still remain his best works for me, and while his foray into sci-fi has undoubtedly been successful, I want to see him breathe new life into a different genre. 

Director: Johan Renck 
Starring: Adam Sandler, Carey Mulligan, Paul Dano, Kunal Nayyar, Isabella Rossellini, Lena Olin  
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 107 mins

Spaceman is the new film by Johan Renck, most famous for the Emmy award-winning 2019 television series Chernobyl. This is a sci-fi drama based on a 2017 novel, Spaceman of Bohemia, by Jaroslav Kalfař. Adam Sandler plays Jakub Procházka, a Czech astronaut who is 189 days into a solo space mission on the outskirts of Jupiter. He’s sent to investigate the ‘Chopra cloud’, a vibrant cloud with a purple hue visible from Earth and he’s left behind his heavily pregnant wife Lenka (Carey Mulligan), who is no longer answering his video calls. The cloud may well hold the answer to the origins of everything and Jakub is one of a select few astronauts who’s willing to spend such a long time apart from a loved one. 

Things then get rather strange. A seemingly super intelligent arachnid (voiced by Paul Dano) suddenly materialises on the spacecraft, who tells Jakub of the destruction of his homeland. Over the course of the film, the two bond as the spider begins to better understand humans and more specifically Jakub’s memories. 

Spaceman is an interesting and occasionally visually arresting sci-fi that probably would have worked better as a short story than a feature length film. It becomes rather schmaltzy and doesn’t leave much to audience interpretation. The central core themes of love and feelings of remorse also aren’t particularly original. It feels like a less assured mash-up of Ad Astra, coupled with the stoicism of Damien Chazelle’s First Man. 

Still, the performances are worthy of praise. Adam Sandler turns in an atypically restrained performance and is pretty good as the astronaut slowly beginning to lose his mind. Renck does a good job of portraying the claustrophobic and lonely conditions Jakub lives in, with the malfunctioning toilet and cameras understandably driving Jakub round the bend. 

Carey Mulligan is promising as Lenka, but unfortunately underwritten but it’s still a redeeming choice of film after Maestro. Isabella Rossellini is excellent as Commissioner Tuma, the stern commanding officer of the mission who does her utmost to prevent Jakub from learning of Lenka’s diminishing feelings for him. 

While Spaceman is a little under-baked and missing a sense of awe, Renck’s second full-length film has some worthy elements. Sandler turns in a committed performance and there are some initial promising ideas but the film ultimately leans too heavily on obvious exposition and a rather underwhelming central overarching theme that doesn’t justify the full run time. 

Director: Felipe Gálvez Haberle
Starring: Camilo Arancibia, Mark Stanley, Benjamin Westfall, Alfredo Castro, Marcelo Alonso, Sam Spruell, Mishell Guaña, Adriana Stuven
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 97 mins

The Settlers (or Los Colonos in its native Chilean) caused quite the storm when it debuted at Cannes last year and is Felipe Gálvez Haberle’s directorial debut. It’s a revisionist Western that takes place at the turn of the 20th Century as settlers from multiple European nations arrive in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, grabbing as much land as they can. 

Scotsman soldier Alexander MacLennan (Mark Stanley) leads an army under a reign of terror with his unpredictable nature and general drunkeness. He’s under the employment of Jose Menéndez (Alfredo Castro), who tasks him with leading an expedition to the coast to pave a way for his herd of grazing sheep. MacLennan cherrypicks the quiet Segundo (Camilo Arancibia), a mixed-race Chilean to join him and Menéndez also gives him a Texan mercenary called Bill (Benjamin Westfall). The three get on poorly together, with Bill’s disloyal and racist personality a clash with MacLennan’s unpredictability. They effectively set off into the Patagonian landscape where they rape, pillage and blunder the native tribes. 

Contrary to the near-unanimous praise, I didn’t find The Settlers to be particularly engaging, nor does it have much to say which hasn’t already been covered by stronger Westerns. It lacks a character to root for and I just didn’t care for any of the trio. The dialogue is on-the-nose and it never really explores the marginalised tribes. Haberle tries to go for a retro feel with grainy cinematography from Simone D’Arcangelo but it simply appeared grainy to me, rather than the arresting quality they had no doubt intended. Harry Allouche’s playful Spaghetti western inspired score is completely at odds with the grim events being portrayed on-screen.

While it still tells an obvious message, the last act of the film where it shifts to seven years after MacLennan’s expedition is where the film is at its most engaging. The newly formed Chilean government sends a government agent called Vicuña (Marcelo Alonso) to investigate the genocide and the film asks some interesting, if not fully developed questions on MacLennan’s barbarity. While The Settlers is effectively fierce and primitive, it lacks the thrills or playfulness of its Western contemporaries to be truly effective. 

⭐⭐ (Poor)

Director: Cord Jefferson
Starring: Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, John Ortiz, Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams, Adam Brody, Issa Rae, Sterling K. Brown
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 117 mins

American Fiction is the directorial debut of Cord Jefferson, a satirical comedy-drama adapted from Percival Everett’s 2001 novel Erasure. It’s up for five Academy Awards in the Best Picture, Actor, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay and Original Score categories.

Theolonious ‘Monk’ Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) is an intelligent, middle-aged humanities professor in Los Angeles, whose novels receive academic praise but commercially perform poorly. He’s fed up of being pigeonholed as a black writer and his fury is only bolstered when he sees another African-American author, Sintara Golden (Issa Rae), being praised for her new bestselling novel We’s Lives In Da Ghetto, which panders to black stereotypes. Thrown into the mix are some family issues, primarily Monk’s mother Agnes (Leslie Uggam) showing early signs of Alzheimer’s, forcing him to spend more time with her and his wider family. In response to his pent-up anger, Monk ghost-writes a book called My Pafology, a satirical novel mocking literary cliches expected from black writers, only for him to be offered a $750,000 advance after he submits the piece to publishers out of contempt. 

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 Jefferson 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. Leslie Uggams is terrific as the dementia-ridden mother and Sterling K. Brown turns in an atypical Oscar-nominated performance as Monk’s plastic surgeon brother who has recently come out the closet. 

To say the ending of the film puts a foot wrong would be unfair as it’s fitting for the themes that Jefferson explores, but I thought it was a little rough around the edges and I’d like to rewatch the film to see how it reframes what comes before it. Finally, while Laura Karpman’s score is often rousing, I didn’t think it was Oscar material.

I went into American Fiction with low expectations based on the genre but found it to be a thought-provoking film with plenty of heart and fat to chew on. Cord Jefferson walks a fine line between not being preachy but being effective and he manages it. This is a really strong piece of work and I can’t wait to see where he goes next.