FILM: Alien Romulus (dir: Fede Alvarez, 2024)

"You guys are insane!"

Having taken on one major cult franchise with 2013's Evil Dead, Fede Alvarez goes a similar route here with this so-called 'interquel' (i.e. set between the original Alien and Aliens): fan-pleasing to a fault, faithful callbacks and smart modern upgrades.  Here, a group of young people escape from a Weyland-Yutani mining colony for a distant planet, but they need cryotubes from a decommissioned space research station, and their presence triggers a chain of events they could not have imagined...even if the fans know what to expect.  It is faithful to the original, but it is also clearly aware of the prequels/sequels.  There is plenty going on, with lots of jeopardy along the way, and any worries about the possible YA-Alien direction are dispelled quickly in this gritty, sweary and violent world.  In fact, the youngish cast does a good job with selling the material, notably Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson (Rye Lane), Archie Renaux and Isabela Merced.  Alvarez's pereference for physical effects pays off handsomely, and there is plenty of sci-fi eye candy through, from the lived-in aesthetic of the sets to the epic space vistas.  One surprise major callback to the original film (that plays a surprisingly significant part here) is handled well and has been kept very quiet.  The finale has everything but the kitchen sink thrown at it, and an attempt to fuse an element of the wider mythology with - of all things - Alien Resurrection is both bewildering and possibly a step too far.  Overall, Romulus is a lively, bold and back-to-basics sci-fi thriller that mostly delivers well. 
 

VOD: Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes (dir: Wes Ball, 2024)

"You gotta stop thinking about the way things were, and start thinking about the way things are."

Wes Ball takes the directorial reins of this kick-off for a new Apes trilogy, with the story picking up generations after the time of Caesar (but with his legacy still being felt), following a young male ape Noa as he crosses paths with a seemingly-feral human girl Mae in his quest to find and rescue his family from a gang of ape raiders.  Part coming-of-age tale, part-exploration of the apes' ideologies and continuation of the man vs apes saga, sound storytelling is realised through an extraordinary fusion of seamless FX technology, effective character-building and a dollop of genuine emotion.  The film is beautifully shot and scored throughout, led by an excellent mo-cap performance by Owen Teague as Noa.  There is a deliberate contrast between the dynamic action set-pieces and the stillness and near-silence of the scenes that display how nature has overtaken civilisation that almost wallows in the melancholy of what man has lost. Not only does the film tell the central story of Noa's journey well, but it also offers an interesting third act challenge and sets up future films.  The big set-pieces undoubtedly deliver, but it is perhaps the more reflective nature of this particular film in the series that scores highly.   
 

VOD: Challengers (dir: Luca Guadagnino, 2024)

"This is getting brutal."

In this sporty love-triangle, Zendaya plays Tashi, an ex-tennis pro who has coached her husband (Mike Faist) to success but who is going through a crisis of confidence, and fate puts them in the path of his former doubles partner and love rival for Tashi (Josh O'Connor).  Trying to cover and fuse the tennis and relationships elements is handled well, with an effective balance struck between the signature delicacy and intimacy of Guadagnino's films and the urgency of the tennis play scenes.  Both composition and editing are used to create meaning frequently to very satisfying effect.  The deliberate sexualisation and objectification of the players is used here very purposefully - their bodies are weapons both on-court and off.  Zendaya proves to be very accomplished in a proper adult role, O'Connor is as detailed and charismatic as ever, and lesser-known Faist displays an interesting stillness in his performance.  The overall feel of the movie may be a bit leisurely and the abrupt time-hopping can get a little irritating, but this study of inter-relationships within the trio is certainly interesting to watch and well-played by the leads.
 

VOD: Imaginary (dir: Jeff Wadlow, 2024)

"I mean, none of this even makes sense!"

After a murky and confusing opening that sees a woman being terrorised by a creature in the dark, a young children's writer moves back into her childhood home with her husband and stepchildren (cute kid and antagonistic teen) only to find that her now-angry childhood imaginary friend has abandonment issues and latches onto the little girl.  There are lots of ideas in play and a number of elements that have genuine potential, but they never quite gel and engage, and unfortunately the film's low budget did not seem to furnish lighting and script editing.  It is a very dreary film to watch, with little happening of any consequence, a runaround-in-the-dark third act and a general air of disinterest in what is essentially another dull and undercooked Blumhouse stick-a-family-in-a-house cheapies.  
 

VOD: Elvis (dir: Baz Luhrmann, 2022)

"All showmen are snowmen."

This sprawling, time-hopping musical biopic focuses on the close but difficult long-standing relationship between Elvis (Austin Butler) and his manager Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks), the man who launched and guided his career for better and worse, from Elvis's spiritual musical awakening as a boy to the remarkable comeback special and the sadness of the declining final years.  The film swings wildly between inventively-edited montages to melodramatically-written soap opera, with less of a focus on the music that might have been hoped for.  In spite of a relentless feel of being glossily manufactured similar to Bohemian Rhapsody, the first half particularly does a good job of conveying Presley's roots in R&B and soul/gospel music (together with the tensions it created in 50s segregated USA) that pays off in his reinvention in later years.  This is unquestionably an excellent showcase for Austin Butler's talent, but as Parker this film has one of Tom Hanks's less convincing performances.  This film is interesting as it follows some of the machinations and decision-making that led to the inconsistencies in Elvis's career and legacy, but the man himself feels a bit short-changed by the movie. 
 

VOD: The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare (dir: Guy Ritchie)

"Sounds like stealth mode's over."

Based very loosely on some actual World War II escapades, Guy Ritchie's latest action caper follows a group of quirky elite soldiers sent behind enemy lines on an unofficial mission to disrupt U-Boat supplies.  The lead cast is a likeable enough bunch - Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson, Hero Fiennes-Tiffin, Henry Golding and Alex Pettyfer are all good fun - but the whole affair seems rather leisurely and stilted in delivery.  It is enthusiastically violent from the outset with a high body count, the location work is scenically pretty, and the film delivers a couple of decent set pieces.  Overall, this is an adequate, very-male-dominated lightweight romp that is just about saved by its cast. 
 

VOD: Living (dir: Oliver Hermanus, 2022)

"Not too much fun and laughter.  Rather like church."

Living arrives with quite a pedigree - based on a Kurosawa film, co-written by Kazuo Ishiguro and immaculately (period) costumed by Sandy Powell - and delivers beautifully.  Bill Nighy plays Mr Williams, a rigid and repressed County hall bureaucrat in the 1950s facing a huge personal crisis and learning how to finally live a little.  The whole film is mounted exquisitely through its old-style presentation nods and featuring Nighy at his gently heartbreaking best, aided by strong supporting performances from Aimee Lou Wood as his young woman co-wprker who helps him on his journey and Alex Sharp as the callow office newbie.  This is a quiet, simple tale told beautifully, shot through with wistful melancholy and a powerful message that everyone has the capacity to change and embrace life.
 

VOD: 11/11/11 (dir: Keith Allan, 2024)

"How much more of this are we supposed to take?"

After a promising opening leaving party massacre, the film follows a professor, his wife and their uncommunicative son as they unknowingly move into the same house, soon followed by mysterious accidents and conspiracy theory claiming that the end is nigh on 11/11/11 - the date their son conveniently turns eleven years old.  The scene is thus set for this simplistically-written and somewhat leaden-paced thriller/horror that rapidly turns into a minibudget suburban take on The Omen.  With foreshadowing delivered with the subtlety of flying mallets, a mind-boggling array of sub-par performances and a music soundtrack that meanders along purposelessly simply because it feels it has to be there, it all leads to an utterly bizarre third act and all amounts to very little.