FILM: The Marvels (dir: Nia DaCosta, 2023)

"Ah, good - it's Carol!"

The internet naysayers who tried to scuttle this movie should have waited until they watched it - The Marvels is actually rather entertaining and perhaps one of the strongest solo(-ish) MCU outings.  Not only acting a a sequel to Captain Marvel, this movie also draws heavily on recent Disney+ series (especially WandaVision, Secret Invasion, Hawkeye and of course Miss Marvel), and although it tries to flash through various backstory points a lot of it will be lost on newcomers.  There is an awful lot going on in its relatively short run-time, with main storylines being an avenging Kree gunning for Captain Marvel and trying to bring together two powerful armbands to kickstart the dying homeplanet, the re-settlement of Skrulls and leaking jumppoints dissolving boundaries between space and dimensions, with the central conceit of Danvers, Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau finding themselves swapping places whenever they use their (interlinked) powers as a result of the portals issue.  The film has a very welcome lightness of touch and is a lot of fun, with a couple of sequences that are daft enough to be in a Guardians movie but just about come off on the right side of silly, but the heavier dramatic moments and effective fight scenes balance the movie well.  Brie Larson is again excellent as Captain Marvel, Iman Vellani brings the same infectious energy she showed in the Miss Marvel TV show, Teyonah Parris is rock-solid as the grown-up Rambeau, and as a trio they play together really well.  With Zawe Ashton making a reasonable villain, a couple of nice cameo appearances, the mostly space-set VFX delivering well and a pace that doesn't let up, The Marvels is enjoyable lightweight fun overall - and how can you resist a film that puts Kamala's wonderful family (from the TV show) in space?  The mid-credits sequence is quite a mindblowing reveal that certainly creates anticipation for where the current MCU Phase could head. 
 

VOD: Talk To Me (dirs: Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou, 2023)

"Did the hand-thing scare you?"

This much-lauded Australian horror/thriller opens with a shockingly attention-grabbing scene before switching to newly-bereaved Mia and a freaky party game that involves a cursed embalmed hand that allows spirits to enter the participant, but which can have very unpleasant consequences, particularly for Mia.  Focusing on a very entertaining, grounded and contemporary-feeling set of teens, as the possession game becomes an obsession, like a Jordan Peele version of Flatliners, the film offers more serious and provocative situations with some very alarming moments and images.  Talk To Me is simple, efficient and well-made all round, justifying its word-of-mouth cult status, and it is a superior indie chiller that over-delivers.

VOD: The Other Zoey (dir: Sara Zandieh, 2023)

"Can't we just cancel Valentine's day already?"

Amazon brings this sunny teen rom-com, in which a computer-whiz and romantic cynic student Zoey explores love and relationships with soccer hero Zach, after he gets amnesia following a car accident and believes she is his girlfriend (also called Zoey, of course).  The film is calculated formula to the nth degree, right from their early bookshop encounter mirroring the library scene in Love Story, and this is the type of film in which the heroine drinks rose-infused matcha lattes and works in a bookshop and the hero is the dumb jock stereotype who flashes his abs - even Andie MacDowell shows up for good measure - and the whole scenario could have been avoided with a simple conversation early on.  Nevertheless, the two leads (Josephne Langford and Drew Starkey) play the nonsense quite sweetly, and Mallori Johnson brings a fresh lively energy as Zoey's best friend.  
 

VOD: Nuovo Olimpo (dir: Ferzan Ozpetek, 2023)

"The heart never forgets."

In this Italian Netflix drama/romance, a shy inexperienced med student and a confident film student fall in love briefly in 1970s Rome, and the film then picks up their stories ten, fifteen and finally years later when fate brings them back in each other's lives.  The film is a throwback to classic European arthouse fare, sumptuously shot with impossibly beautiful cast and locations, a luxurious romantic soundtrack and hefty referencing of great movies.  It is a simple, unpretentious but gorgeously romantic tale that does little more than wallow in the power of true love for a couple of hours with a bittersweet edge.