FILM: Holmes & Watson (dir: Etan Cohen, 2018)

"It reeks of exposed loins!"

Could it really be as bad as the critical consensus made out?  Oh, yes.  Holmes & Watson is a remarkable and staggeringly poor film, and it is incredible that at no point in its creation did anyone have the guts point out its weaknesses.  Two basic rules of comedy are abandoned: shouting does not automatically make lines funny, nor does saying random words in a peculiar manner.  The script is simply bereft of humour, the style is completely and randomly inconsistent, but above all Ferrell and Reilly seem to think they are funny, but the very loose charm of their Step Brothers pairing is woefully absent here.  Apart from one very early bout of slapstick that raises a smile, this really is an unforgivable movie.

FILM: Vice (dir: Adam McKay, 2019)

"What do we...believe?"

Whilst mostly the story of Dick Cheney, whose machinations made him a shadowy but supremely powerful Vice President to George W Bush, this film is also a very sharp social and political survey of the last few decades of the USA from Watergate to 9/11 and beyond.  As Cheney and his wife Lynne, these are the type of character roles that Christian Bale and Amy Adams devour with relish, and indeed they are a pleasure to watch here, with a high-powered supporting cast led by Steve Carell and Sam Rockwell.  McKay uses his same tricksy cinematic and storytelling stylings that he used in The Big Short which always keep the viewer interested (including a glorious fake ending at one point), but overall Vice is a little less compelling and shocking.  Where it does score highly, however, is in conveying how much power can lie in the hands of so few people, and the shifting dominance in the Cheneys' relationship is intriguing, although sadly it is given less attention in the latter part of the film.  Ultimately, Vice presents a heavily-selective, highly-orchestrated and singular viewpoint of events, which nevertheless makes for both entertaining and thoughtful viewing.

FILM: Beautiful Boy (dir: Felix van Groeningen, 2019)

"Know your enemies, right?"

A cameo by Timothy Hutton (as an info-dump doctor) proves an interesting touchstone here, as Beautiful Boy treads a similar path to Hutton's career-turning role as the troubled teen in a fantasy-upper middle-class family in the Oscar-winning Ordinary People nearly four decades ago, then the focus bring mental health, here drug addiction.  Based on a true family case, the film is undoubtedly worthy and earnest, but it also offers little new and leaves no drug-addiction-movie cliché unturned.  Timothee Chalamet clearly invests in portraying the drug-broken young man effectively, Amy Ryan and the wonderful Maura Tierney provide some real authenticity in the rare moments they are allowed to shine as mother and step-mother respectively, and Steve Carell gives another sincere and sympathetic dramatic turn as the committed but despairing father.  As the father becomes increasingly wearied and worn down by the repetitive failings of his son, so too does the viewer with the film, which, in spite of its glossy look, sincere performances and worthy material, does become somewhat flat and tedious to watch.

FILM: Glass IMAX (dir: M. Night Shyamalan, 2019)

"If superheroes exist, why are there only three of them?"

After the surprise revelation at the end of Split, Shyamalan's dual-sequel unites Split and Unbreakable in this interesting mash-up.  Low-budget and low-key, the film makes a generally good job of meshing together the characters and ideas behind the two previous instalments, and whilst many of the plot points are too heavily signposted and talked to death, it does maintain interest.  James McAvoy is once again completely watchable as he delivers multiple personalities impeccably and with impressive turn of speed, Samuel L Jackson certainly knows how to deliver a line, and Bruce Willis shows he still has screen presence and thankfully is not required to show too wide a range here.  The narrative lurches along at times, but Shyamalan directs efficiently if a little unevenly and leads to a reasonable conclusion for the characters.

VOD: Bird Box (dir: Susanne Bier, 2018)

"It's going to be rough...It's going to feel like it's going on for a long time...."

The Netflix sensation that gained huge social media traction, Bird Box is simply a well-mounted but generic post-apocalyptic survival movie, and whilst it has been a convenient short-cut for critics to refer to it as a sight-deprived version of A Quiet Place, it often lacks the depth and real tension of that film.  The descent into social breakdown is never fully explained but is swift and immensely effective in the early part of the film, similar to the opening of Cell or The Happening.  The film switches between telling the early sequence of the 'end of days' and five years later, the flashbacks being significantly more compelling than the present day scenes.  The film looks good, and the Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross soundtrack is one of their more mainstream but extremely good nonetheless.  It all feels very Stephen King-like and lacks surprise, but the material is elevated significantly by an inevitably excellent performance by Sandra Bullock as well as an on-form John Malkovich and Bullock making an great double act with Sarah Paulson as sisters.  

FILM: Stan & Ollie (dir: Jon S. Baird, 2019)

"You are the epitome of Hollywood."
"Don't you pity me!"

This film chooses an interesting part of the comic duo's career - their ultimate tour of the UK in 1953 as they chase an unsuccessful film project - which throws a thoughtful spotlight on their work, lives and friendship.  Setting the scene with an opening moment at their most successful time and showing the incident that created a schism in their personal and professional relationships, the time-jump forward to the twilight of their career shows the two men in very different places but with their undying friendship.  Like the duo's films, Stan & Ollie is whimsical, genuine and shot through with great stabs of melancholy, all delivered through Jeff Pope's wonderful script and Jon S. Baird's clear direction.  As Oliver Hardy, John C. Reilly gives one of his best performances, but Steve Coogan is awards-worthy as the open, hard-working and committed Stan Laurel.  Also of note are Nina Arianda and Shirley Henderson as the hilarious but loving chalk-and-cheese wives ("Two double-acts for the price of one!") and an archly ripe turn by Rufus Jones as their UK agent Bernard Delfont.  With peerless recreations of their craft both on-stage and reflected in real-life scenes (The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine is recreated gloriously, for example), Stan & Ollie is charming and beautifully-observed, making it a real treat of a film to watch.

FILM: Welcome To Marwen (dir: Robert Zemeckis, 2019)

"Does she have a cow?"
"It got caught in the crossfire...cow-llateral damage!"

Welcome To Marwen uses wonderful effects work to bring to life the subject's art installation photos into live-action vignettes but retaining the plastic nature of the dolls used to create them and to effortlessly transition between reality and the imagined.  If this film were not based on a true story, it could have been constructed as a whimsical fable.  However, real life is not compromised here, which offers up ideas that destabilise our sympathy for the main character (nevertheless extremely well played by Steve Carell), not helped by the confusing gender politics on offer.  This may have been the film's intention, but it does make the film an odd and curious viewing experience that is hard to enjoy completely.

FILM: The Favourite (dir: Yorgos Lanthimos, 2019)

"Must the duck be here?"

Whilst The Favourite is a superbly-mounted costume drama, one of the many delights on offer is the sly subversion of the genre, which balances precision and abandon seemingly effortlessly.  Filtered through Lanthimos's dark and imaginative vision, the triangular love affair is constantly interesting with delicious dialogue being delivered gleefully by three powerhouse actresses: Rachel Weisz, Emma stone and the astonishing Olivia Colman.  The shifting of power between the three leads is played beautifully, the political machinations hilarious (with excellent performances from Nicholas Hoult and James Smith as the opposing party leads) and a real evocation of the times (lighting and costume are exquisite throughout).  The film is not an out-and-out comedy nor a parody, however - Colman in particular manages to create real sympathy for her quite monstrous character.  The Favourite is very high quality throughout, and may even appeal to viewers who are not big fans of the genre,

VOD: Await Further Instructions (dir: Johnny Kevorkian, 2018)

"It's too insane to be really real."

This ambitious low-budget British movie really is not your typical Christmas-set film.  Starting off with some worryingly simple stereotyped characters and too-obvious social comment as an estranged (white) son and his Asian girlfriend visit his parents' house for Christmas, the film then becomes less predictable and more engaging.  Overnight, the house becomes mysteriously encased in an impenetrable covering and instructions start to appear through the TV, leading this powderkeg of a family through Saw-type challenges and decision-making, then some survival horror to eventually end up in an unexpectedly over-the-top finale that draws upon Independence Day, The Thing and Tetsuo.  Writing and performances are not always as sharp as they could be, but the effort on display is to be applauded.