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Reviews
The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
A film to make your heart swell
Wow. There are not enough adjectives to do this film justice! With its setting on an Irish island in 1923, it is visually stunning, evocative and atmospheric. The pacing is perfect, with a lean script and gradual build that makes you both fall in love with and fear for all the main characters. The acting is just amazing all round - Colin Farrell is yet again a revelation (his eyebrows alone deserve an Oscar for the inner turmoil they convey) and Barry Keoghan blew me away with his nuanced portrayal of the troubled young Dominic whose sweet nature and hopefulness are at odds with the bleak island life he was born into. The undercurrent of darkness and foreboding grows throughout the film, despite the light relief from some sharply funny moments and some bittersweet scenes that are almost too poignant to bear, and the ending leaves you wanting much more more. Utterly brilliant.
Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel (2021)
Conspiracy nonsense
I hoped to find this as gripping as Night Stalker and similar true crime docs. Unfortunately 3/4 of this is interviews with annoying YouTubers and conspiracy theorists surmising all sorts of nonsense. None of these people had any connection to the family or reason to get involved - the type of people who set up online 'support' groups for like minded time wasters and can cause all sorts of trouble by spouting their brain farts. A very sad story, told badly and spun out to fill 4 episodes - a disappointing waste of time.
Jojo Rabbit (2019)
Lovely stuff
Funny, engaging, tear-jerking, sweet and silly. The adults clearly relish their roles; Taika revels in his ridiculousness as imaginary Hitler and Sam Rockwell is as joyous to watch as ever. The youngsters are natural and appealing, despite (or maybe because of) some inconsistent accents. Thomasin McKenzie and Roman Griffin Davis bring real emotional weight to the whole thing. The absurdity of the adult characters serves to intensify the sucker punches of the tragic elements for the children. Important, as all Nazi stories are, but quirky, refreshing and very enjoyable.
Cargo (2017)
First Zombie film that's moved me to tears
I'm not normally a fan of zombies - they're just too zombie like for my liking. So I tend to avoid zombie movies. But this film flipped my perception of them by telling the story of the gradual deterioration of a decent family man struggling to protect his family, into a murderous flesh eating single dad. Despite this ridiculous concept, it was done very convincingly, Martin Freeman giving a moving and realistic performance helped enormously by his obvious connection with the babies playing his daughter. The setting was stunning and the social relevance of the relationships between whites and indigenous folk was thought provoking and uplifting.
I jolly well enjoyed this film!