(THE FEAST, 93 mins, Piccadilly Circus, Corner of Great Windmill Street and, Shaftesbury Ave, London W1D 7DH, United Kingdom, Release Date :19 Aug 2022 Certificate: 18 Director: Lee Haven Jones Starring: Julian Lewis Jones, Lisa Palfrey, Anne Elwy, Nia Roberts, Steffan Cennydd, Sion Alun Davies, Rhodri Meilir) "The Feast" A family gathers at their lavish contemporary home made of glass and steel in the Welsh mountains. They've little idea of what awaits them. The matriarch is hosting a dinner party with her politician husband on behalf of a businessman hoping to buy land in the area for mineral mining. Hosted at their luxurious new house, the family have a valuable mining venture at stake and the atmosphere is tense. Unbeknown to them the owners of a neighboring farm are the only other guests and will be charmed into selling parcels of their farmland. The family’s two adult sons are reluctant dinner party guests. One is a London hipster struggling with addiction issues and the other is a doctor training for an ironman event. The family’s values and beliefs are challenged by the arrival of the young woman they've hired to act as waitress for the evening. She brings a quiet, unsettling presence to the evening. Her presence forces the characters to face their shortcomings and question their relationship with the land they claim to belong to. And as the night progresses, she soon begins to challenge the family’s beliefs, unravelling the illusion they’ve created with slow, deliberate, and terrifying consequences. Cadi’s (Annes Elwy) influence grows in strength and the family’s behavior becomes increasingly extreme until they face the horror of what they represent and tragedy changes everything forever. On the face of it "The Feast" is a supernatural revenge horror that delivers all the thrills and spills that audiences expect of a genre film, the relentless slow burn of intrigue and suspense, the blood and gore. But as a cinematic piece it also functions on the level of parable. An allegory of sorts, it's a contemporary morality tale about the importance of being true to yourself and your community, and offers a stark warning against the consequences of greed and avarice. Rooted in the potent mythical tales of Wales where women are made of flowers and transform into animals, the film is singularly Welsh in tone but also universal in theme. Elucidating what Camille Paglia would refer to as the age-old battle between Culture and Nature, the film charts the struggle between those values that give structure and form to the world that Glenda (Nia Roberts) and Gwyn (Julian Lewis Jones) nhabit, society, wealth, progress, and the indiscriminate forces of nature as embodied by Cadi that challenge this world order. Moreover, thematically the film is preoccupied with the increasingly urgent issue of environmental sustainability, exploring how humankind exploits the land and abuses the earth. An environmental horror film with an eye to the ticking-clock of climate crisis. "The Feast's" horrifying, blood-soaked conclusion suggests that our fragile planet will sooner or later take revenge on humanity for the devastation we have caused. A meditation on family and history, greed and responsibility, identity and difference, the film intends to offer the viewer an intravenous injection of mood. Bringing together forensic performances, searing cinematography, a spine-tingling score and environmental politics. "The Feast" is a striking addition to the horror genre and a compelling piece of work that aims to blister the imagination and prick the conscience. Considering the film in it's context as a contemporary Welsh-language film, it also becomes a tale of the individual’s responsibility to tradition, history and a language that exists against the odds despite sharing a land border with England whose language has colonised large swathes of the world. Many who are unfamiliar with Wales will be unaware of the language’s existence but to those who know of the fragile cultural and linguistic ecosystem that exists in our small nation the film speaks keenly of the individual’s responsibility to sustaining a culture and language in the age of globalisation. Written by Gregory Mann

Hey, Sean, you got to see this. Look, this… this girl, you got to see what she can do. She has some crazy powers or something. Although this minimalist SF offers a rather disappointing outcome and they could have done more with the powers Alex (Stefanie Scott) has at a certain moment, this film is still worth watching. For the umpteenth time, it’s clear you don’t need a huge budget to make a fascinating film. A limited budget also means there’s no need to expect overwhelming special effects. Apart from moving objects with the help of a certain kind of telekinetic force and a few moving light points, there are not a lot of impressive effects. Yet another communication problem. This SF is best described as a mix of “Close encounter of the third kind” and “Chronicle“. And this mixed with a bit of teenage romance. Films about earthlings who come into contact with extraterrestrials are nothing new. It’s only recently that you could enjoy “Arrival” and “A quiet place“. The first one in which humans try to build a communicative bridge between man and strange aliens with the help of a linguist. In the second film, one avoids the unsightly space creatures and communicates as little as possible. The mutual conversations in “At first light” are also as good as absent. Here it’s limited to some floating points of light that dazzle you rather than say something that makes sense. An extraterrestrial romance. In most films where there’s such contact, adults handle this. In “At first light” the two teenagers Alex and Sean (Théodore Pellerin) are confronted with these science-fiction-like situations. There were more films in the past with kids meeting some kind of Martians. Just look at “E.T.” and “Super 8“. The nice thing about “At first light” is that it’s not only about a communication problem between humans and extraterrestrials, but also about a recurring love between the two protagonists. It’s quite clear that something went wrong between Alex and Sean in the past. Yet there’s still some affection between both of them. Certainly from Sean’s side. Despite the fact that his presence near Alex has a destructive influence on his physical constitution, he remains on her side. Diehard SF enthusiast. Don’t skip it. Perhaps the film is a bit too average when looking at the SF-part. So many will be disappointed. But the story itself is fascinating enough and it feels as if it’ll have a dazzling apotheosis. But this turns out to be absent afterward, unfortunately. Don’t expect a lingering denouement. And there’ll be unanswered questions after the film. That in itself isn’t so dramatic. There are more films like that. Nonetheless, this film still shines in one specific way. And that’s because of the admirable acting of the three young actors Theodore Pellerin, Percy Hynes White, and Stefanie Scott. In spite of its limitations, this film could be popular with a teen audience. Compared to “The darkest minds“, where teenagers also possess certain supernatural powers and you’ll witness some corny romantic developments, this was certainly way better. Not that there’s something new to discover in it or that it left a breathtaking impression. But “At first light” will stay longer with me than the silly stuff from “The darkest mind”. For the diehard SF enthusiasts, this film is highly recommended. My rating 6/10

https://youtu.be/oIQpwam-n4M

(Release Info London schedule; September 1st, 2018, Electric Portobello, 12:00) "Puzzle" "Puzzle" is a closely observed portrait of Agnes (Kelly MacDonald), who has reached her early 40s without ever venturing far from home, family or the tight-knit immigrant community in which she was raised by her widowed father. That begins to change in a quietly dramatic fashion when Agnes receives a jigsaw puzzle as a birthday gift and experiences the heady thrill of not only doing something she enjoys, but being very, very good at it. After years of concerning herself exclusively with the needs and wants of her husband Louie (David Denman) and sons Ziggy (Bubba Weiler) and Gabe (Austin Abrams), Agnes has found something that she wants to do. Stepping out of her domestic bubble to pursue her new hobby, Agnes meets Robert (Irrfan Khan), a wealthy, reclusive inventor who immediately recognizes her talent and recruits her as his partner for an upcoming world jigsaw tournament. Each day she spends out in the world, puzzling and conversing with Robert, takes Agnes further along on the road to a new understanding of herself and her strengths. With that understanding come new insights and an assertiveness that finds her speaking out on her own behalf and pushing back against the assumptions and routines that have until now defined her role in her family. Ultimately, Agnes will decide for herself what comes next. This is a story so rarely seen in film, one about a woman over 40 finding her true self. Agnes is a suburban woman who has spent her entire life attending to her father, husband, and sons until she discovers, in the most unlikely of ways, her own voice. It's about a mother who dotes on her husband and sons and didn’t get to live the life she would have liked to live. It's the idea of a woman who finds a way out of a world that keeps her very limited when she has all this potential. She has a real voice and ultimately makes choices that are first and foremost right for her, and not just for the people in her environment. The film reveals all these little gems about her as it progresses. She’s a believer in order and routine; running the household and tending to husband and sons as she tended to her widowed father before them; volunteering at church; cooking dinner for the family. A birthday gift of an iPhone bewilders her, she’s firmly in the analog world, but a gift of a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle absorbs her with unexpected delight. Agnes secretly thinks of herself as a mathematician; her mind silently whirs away beneath her placid exterior, and her flair with puzzles shifts this clamped-down part of her persona into gear. She's living the life she knows. And then as she discovers this unique talent that she has, a door is opened on a world that she didn’t know existed. Robert, is at a low point in his life when he meets Agnes. His wife has abruptly left him and he has given up on his career as an inventor, certain that his breakthrough discovery is all he will ever be able to achieve. Robert has closed his doors to everybody but he’s looking for something to engage him emotionally. When Agnes comes to his house, he’s not ready for a relationship at all. But he's drawn to her personality. There’s some distinct quality about her, which is very spontaneous. She has an intelligence and perceptiveness about the world. When they meet, she's in her shell, he's in his shell. Somehow, together, those shells are broken. If Robert falls in love with the unexpected side of Agnes’s character, her husband values her solid, reliable predictability above all else. Louie is a hard- working auto mechanic whose conception of family is the one he grew up with; the husband is the breadwinner, head of the family and sole decision maker; the wife stays home and tends to her husband, children and household. Louie has very strong ideas about what everyone's role in the family should be, and that's worked all right for him for twenty years. He’s a good guy, but there’s a lot he doesn’t understand about his wife, a lot he doesn’t understand about his kids. When Agnes begins standing up for herself and challenging his ideas, it shakes the foundation of everything that he's known, everything that they've had and been through. Initially, he’s very defensive and confused; it doesn't make sense to him. But then he has to regroup and reassess the situation and we see him begin to make changes. The character of Louie presents certain challenges as a man who loves his wife but has also failed to see her fully. Because he loves Agnes, Louie tries to change. And as much as we see his weaknesses, we begin to see a different Louie. Ziggy has always appreciated and connected to his mother. He's heartened by her burgeoning independence. Agnes is Ziggy’s best friend. They're so in tune with each other and they can read each other's feelings in a way that the rest of the family just doesn’t. When Ziggy sees Agnes becoming more confident and coming into herself, it inspires him to do the same thing. Younger brother Gabe is a bit spoiled and cocky, not only does he fail to lift a finger around the house, but he expects his mom to prepare a special diet for his vegan Buddhist girlfriend at the family dinner table. Gabe is trying to get outside of the family, and his girlfriend is helping him open up to new ways of thinking. Gabe is aware that his mom is very sheltered and giving her the iPhone is his way of encouraging her to do that for herself. To discover such a story in a screenplay as powerful as this is irresistible. "Puzzle" is adapted from the Argentine film "Rompecabezas" (Spanish for puzzle). The film’s sensibility is very Argentinian, but it has a universal story about a middle-aged woman who's been underestimated and taken for granted by her family. She discovers she has this talent for jigsaw puzzling and secretly enters a competition with a man she meets through an ad. The puzzles are the catalyst for figuring out her life and relationships and making choices. That’s something anybody can identify with. It's a very specific way to show a woman waking up and reckoning with her life. It’s small but it’s hers and it’s real. As singular as Agnes is, her story speaks to something universal. That idea of following your heart, of following your passion, and allowing yourself to be happy is something that will resonate with people. Everybody’s got their special gift, And not everybody is fortunate enough to find it or to recognize as a gift. Because it’s a simple thing, jigsaw puzzling, it’s not like the theory of everything or something that’s going to change the world. But Agnes certainly changes a few lives in the time that we see her in the film. She changes everybody in her life and changes her life. Life is random, but when you finish a puzzle you know you’ve made all the right choices. This wistful observation articulates the subtle lure of puzzles in this quietly surprising character drama. You think of jigsaw puzzling as something incredibly solitary and inward, something that pulls you into a smaller world, but in "Puzzle", this very solitary activity actually opens up the world for the heroine.

The air is moving. Fritz left a door open somewhere. Did the creators of “Trench 11” know that the film “Overlord” is going to be released this autumn? Or did they want to beat film studio “The Asylum” and be the first one to deliver a low-budget horror in which American and English soldiers face German zombies? The biggest difference with “Overlord” is the world war they’ve chosen. “Overlord” is about American marines after D-day in the 2nd World War, while “Trench 11” is situated during the 1st World War. So no Nazi Germany. No magic tricks from the CGI department. And another difference is the footage. Just look at the trailer of “Overlord” and you’ll easily notice that there’s a difference in the budget for the department “Special Effects” and “Computer Graphics”. Film producer “Carousel Pictures” doesn’t seem to have a CGI department. And in terms of special effects, it’s not all high-tech what you’ll see. It’s limited to practical effects (though excellent ones) and stop-motion techniques. Fancy a spaghetti Bolognaise? Watch this movie. In a strict sense, this isn’t really about zombies. You can call it chemical experiments that went out of hand. Somewhat like what happened in “Attack of the Lederhosen Zombies” where a chemical product for artificial snow was the cause of all the misery. What Lt. Berton (Rossif “son of Donald” Sutherland) and the group of American soldiers and English officers encounter in the underground tunnels of a giant German bunker in the forests of Argonne, are infected guinea pigs. Test subjects who underwent some kind of medical experiments, after which they changed into ruthless savages whose bodies are stuffed with wriggling spaghetti. A type of parasite that infects the frontal lobe of the human brain, causing the victim to lose his personality and no longer knowing the difference between right and wrong. The result is a few bloody confrontations with somewhat deliciously gross images. Exciting and funny at the same time. Maybe the bloody scenes look a bit cheap and old-fashioned (even though I like to see a bursting skull from time to time), yet they managed to create a threatening atmosphere. Of course, the location is something that’ll take care of that. Underground tunnels are suitable to provide dark, claustrophobic images. A creepy labyrinth full of corridors where you can encounter an insane mutation at every corner. So the tension is certainly present. And humor is also present at certain times. Even though I think this was not done on purpose. Like this conversation, for example: How do I know I’m not infected? What are the symptoms? Begins with fever. You become increasingly violent. How do you feel? I feel like blowing up something. That is a symptom Who’s more nuts? Reiner or Pronger? Unfortunately, the characters are a bit clichéd. You have another know-it-all, authoritarian superior (Ted Atherton) who doesn’t tolerate contradiction and keeps coming up with excuses or pronounces threatening language when exercising his authority. They are accompanied by a trio of seasoned American soldiers goosed up on adrenalin. While the English officers bring out an authentic English teapot, these gentlemen sniff a line of coke (or something similar) to enter the battlefield fearlessly and more alertly. The most colorful and atypical figure here is Sgt. Pronger (Jeff Strome). That facial expression shows how insane this war has made him. And then you have the German sadistic officer Reiner (Robert Stadlober) who is a fervent supporter of chemical warfare. A bit similar to Dr. Maru from “Wonder woman” or Red Skull against who Captain America fought. But Reiner is less machiavellistic. It’s not an extraordinary horror. But it’s not bad either. “Trench 11” won’t become an instant classic in Horror Land. But you can say a lot of positive things about it. Admittedly, some of the actors aren’t particularly overwhelming. And at times there’s silliness and there are some improbabilities (but most horror movies have that). I found the statement of Capt. Cooper (Luke Humprey) about the entire US Army (“Whatever Jennings is doing down here is important enough to secure the full cooperation of the American army. How else could he get a whole division down her?”) a bit strange. I suppose that a division from the American army consists of more than three soldiers. But despite these hiccups, I thought this war/horror film quite successful. My rating 6/10 More reviews here

(FULL TIME Fri 26 May - Thu 1 Jun Cine Lumiere 11:00 · 20:35 17 Queensberry Pl, South Kensington, London SW7 2DW, United Kingdom) "Full Time" Julie (Laure Calamy) goes to great lengths to raise her two children in the countryside while keeping her job in a Parisian luxury hotel. When she finally gets a job interview for a position she had long been hoping for, a national strike breaks out, paralyzing the public transport system. The fragile balance that Julie has established is jeopardized. Julie then sets off on a frantic race against time, at the risk of faltering. "Full Time"  begins with a noise, the leading character Julie’s breathing, as she sleeps. The idea is to reveal the character gradually, from an intimate perspective, in a macroscopic, sensory manner, with this deep breathing that enwraps us, letting us know that we will be right by her side the entire film. Extremely close to her breathing, to the very grain of her skin. Also, it's a moment of calm before the storm. The film is like a long forward thrust and the first scene precedes the constant motion that ensues. We’re pretty much in the only point in time when Julie is at rest, in that single and transient moment when she can recharge her batteries. Afterwards, there will no longer be any respite for her. Through the lens of this woman, alone with her children, it's about the rhythm of our lives and our daily struggles. Just like Julie, we want to speak about the people we see on the train every day who gamble on living far from the capital to have a better quality of life. It’s a difficult balance to strike and not everyone manages to find the way to make it work. It's difficult to keep the character’s bright composure in spite of the spell she is going through. The fact is that we know very little about this woman’s life, except that she's in the moment, yet relentlessly thinking of how to make things work from one day to the next. This woman is going through a rather chaotic chapter in her life, that Americans would sum up in the expression the perfect storm, meaning when you run into every possible and conceivable problem at once and you've to find ways to solve everything. It's a sensory film. Through the creation of a musical backdrop echoing Julie’s stressful daily life. The electro soundtrack reflects the character’s inner throbbing, the tempo and the repetitiveness of her own life. It’s like her inner music, a succession of waves transporting us into her experience. This way, everything that surrounded her became off screen sensory matter. It's a simple means to add density to the city, and make Paris more anxiety-inducing. For this is how Julie feels about being in town, instantly receiving its full- blown violence every time she steps off the train. This also explains why she wishes for another life for her children. She wants to maintain, regardless of the cost for her, her safe harbor in a more peaceful territory where the prevalent rhythm is less dehumanized. She’s a warrior. For her every means is acceptable, which sometimes includes small arrangements with the truth. Julie is an everyday heroine. We see her with her children, her colleagues, her friends, in her job interview. Each time, she isn’t quite the same woman and it's the sum of these women which tells us who she's. She has her own shortcomings, can be her own worst enemy, and can be tenacious to the point of obstinacy. She's both strong and fallible. Julie is highly physical, and you can feel her experience in the way she occupies the space. Because of the messes she has to deal with, Julie must constantly be one step ahead, planning for the future; just like a chess player, she said always several moves ahead. Paris is filmed in a rather unusual way, sharp and metallic although it essentially a mineral city. The urban surroundings aren’t typically Paris, and could have been any other large city. The inspiration comes from the way New York was filmed in certain 1970s movies. Paris hues are in orangish-gray tones, while my decision was to make them colder and cruder, as this corresponds well with the state of mind Julie is in the minute she sets foot in this hostile territory. "Full Time" is interested in the idea of repetitiveness in everyday life, having to repeat the same gestures endlessly at work and at home, as though caught in perpetual motion. The job shows us the extent to which Julie is attached to performance and perfection. The position of head chambermaid in a luxury hotel is not simple. There are specific skills and knowledge involved, precise tasks and gestures, and codes one needs to abide by. The film takes place during a massive nation-wide strike that spreads through all sectors of activity. Everything starts breaking down everywhere, in the image of what's happening to the leading character. The film wants the individual and collective struggles to follow parallel courses for us to gradually understand that they're connected, that they tell the same story, that one is the consequence of the other. Julie is stuck in a societal blind spot. She belongs to a category of workers who are the most vulnerable, for whom going on strike or having any form of representation is pretty much impossible. We remembered how, during the strike in Paris in 1995, we'd been very impressed with the way people who lived in and out of Paris showed great solidarity and found ways to function differently in their urban environment, walking, hitchhiking, helping one another. "Full Time" also plays with the rhythm of the day and above all that of the night. Living far from your place of work means leaving early and coming home late. Establishing Julie’s departures and returns home when it’s dark outside allowed me to convey the very long days, to broach the child-care logistics issues as well as the downsides of life in the country. This relation to time also gives the film the possibility to have the sun rise and set in public transportation, thus easily structuring days that succeed one another at an increasingly fast pace, without losing track of the story. Written by Gregory Mann .

Hereditary is directed by first time director Ari Aster – who proves himself a brilliant director, creating a film that doubled my heart rate and made everyone leave the cinema with their jaws on the ground. The film is without a doubt something that horrors of recent years have been missing; it pays homage to many greats such as The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby and puts its demonic twist on it. The film centres around a conspiracy: after the death of the grandma, mysterious occurrences begin to happen. Bit-by-bit, each character (excluding the father) becomes more and more twisted – little signs appear, forewarning us of the horror that is about to come. The girl, Charlie, is an abnormal girl: lonely and quite, and when things go south we begin to see the whole picture. The film has been perfectly crafted, inserting elements that foreshadow greater ideas – with the open-ended way the film cuts to credits you are left in shock; there is no one answer to what happened, rather it’s left up to your interpretation. The film tackles the idea of demons, hell and spirits, sprinkling familiar ideas throughout, but the direction, visuals and sound are remarkable. An irritating ticking is always present in the house, whenever the film cuts elsewhere, there is some sort of foley sound to create tension, which the film instils so perfectly. Toni Collette (Annie) puts on the performance of her life. She plays the mum – plagued with troubles and loss – we learn it all stems from her mother who leaves a cryptic letter; it is just prior to that that things go the wrong way. She is an artist, she has been commissioned to re-create scenes from her life – this only emphasises the dark and creepy nature of what surrounds her, as most images are rather terrifying. One element that some may not have caught, that a few others and I did, was Annie's nightmares were signals – implanted subconsciously. Throughout her entire life, she has sleepwalked, and in nightmares and reality, she has attempted to kill her son, because deep down she knew what would happen. The idea of a boy being the host body was implanted early on when it was briefly referenced, the grandmother always wanted Charlie to be a boy and now she is gone, the sacrifices were worth it in the eyes of the maddened grandmother. Hereditary is without a doubt the horror we need, and I think it could be up for Academy recognition when it comes to next year – this is a film that cannot be missed. 5 Stars rating (5/5) Written by Ben Rolph thenamesradical@gmail.com

When Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac), a mild-mannered gift-shop employee, becomes plagued with blackouts and memories of another life, he discovers he has dissociative identity disorder and shares a body with mercenary Marc Spector (Oscar Isaac). As Steven/Marc’s enemies converge upon them, they must navigate their complex identities while thrust into a deadly mystery among the powerful gods of Egypt. ★★★★ Directed by: #Mohamed Diab #JustinBenson #AaronMoorhead Produced by: #KevinFeige #LouisD’Esposito #VictoriaAlonso #GrantCurtis #BradWinderbaum #OscarIsaac #MohamedDiab #JeremySlater Starring: #OscarIsaac #MayCalamawy #KarimElHakim #F.MurrayAbraham #EthanHawke Released: 30th March 2022 Film review by: Ahmed Abbas | Published: 29th March 2022 | Edited: 5th April 2022 It was December 2015 when Oscar Isaac’s first appearance as a Marvel character in the X-Men: Apocalypse teaser trailer was ridiculed. And yet, the special screening of the first two episodes of Marvel Studios’ Moon Knight was met with a standing ovation. Isaac’s iteration of the Steven Grant-Marc Spector biformity trades the bright blue makeup of the X-Men villain for an awkward, yet endearing gift shop worker conjoined to a brash, unprincipled mercenary. Moon Knight takes us on a journey with Grant as he uncovers his newfound, suppressed personality and unravels the never-ending train of troubles his alter ego precipitated. The series first portrays Spector as an invader of this innocent man’s body, before subtly hinting that this narrative may in fact, be the inverse. Isaac’s performance of these polar opposite men surrendering control of their body to each other, is a performance unparalleled. The “bodymates” are juxtaposed in all manners but must come to terms with each other, as their shared body can only be controlled by one of them at any given time. Stephen’s gentle nature is exhibited by the care of his goldfish, while Marc’s brash psyche is evinced by the aftermath of Steven’s blackouts. The events of the first four episodes have the pair forgo their differences, but place their ethics as a major dilemma between them – Spector has no qualms with his barbarity, while Grant takes great issue with his body being used for lethal acts – a contention the series seems poised to resolve in the episodes to come. From the opening scenes, we waste no time with unnecessary scenes and immediately meet our antagonist, and protagonist(s). Arthur Harrow’s (Ethan Hawke) introduction in the opening moments is an automatic improvement to the pacing of Marvel shows, as Moon Knight opts to reject the slow burn approach of many of Marvel’s previous outings. We have an unprecedented four-way relationship between Grant, Spector, Khonshu, and Harrow, where each character in this relationship acts as both an antagonist and a protagonist for the other three at various times within the series’ first four episodes. Ethan Hawke’s tremendous performance takes full advantage of this, as the empathetic and apologetic identity he adopts while he drains the life from a supposedly innocent, elderly woman leaves viewers unsure of how they should feel – his charisma is welcoming and evokes trust, while his actions say otherwise. This is even replicated with one-half of the main character, as Harrow appeals to Grant’s timid nature. Throughout the four episodes, you simply cannot tell whether Harrow truly cares for Grant, or whether the character is performing to gain Steven’s trust and remove his rival’s most powerful weapon. This is a masterclass on display, where both writing and acting have synergised to deliver a character who compels the audience to undergo a prescribed ride of emotions. Powerful performances are not exclusive to Isaac and Hawke. Moon Knight is among the better-cast Marvel projects, as the entire ensemble gives it their all. No better actor could have been chosen for each role, and even more encouraging is that the show features a consortium of Egyptian performers, which is appropriate for the extent of the show set in Egypt. May El Calamawy, an Egyptian-Palestinian actress, is the most notable example of this, and actually used her experiences for reference, allowing her to offer insight into her character and uplift her character on paper as well as on-screen, transforming her into the heart of the show. The effort given by the cast is reflected across the board. This is evident from the show’s visuals, as the cinematography is among the best I’ve ever seen. The marriage between the director's & cinematographer’s artistic styles and the production designer’s craft birthed a revolutionary mechanism of storytelling. If one were to watch Moon Knight on mute, the main character’s dissociative identity disorder is visually conveyed just as well as it is written. The set design is incredible, employing an abundance of reflective surfaces as apparatuses for the two main characters to perceptibly confront each other. Moreover, the practical design of locations ranging from the streets of Brixton to the tombs of Egypt are unbelievably believable, and remarkable work was put in (as can be read in the press conference breakdown). Mohamed Diab’s (executive producer and director) insistence on minimalizing the use of green screen is apparent and sets Moon Knight apart from any Marvel production. Moon Knight effortlessly manages to evolve the standard of humour in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), whilst also creating Marvel Studios’ most mature project yet. Within the first half of the debut episode, viewers are treated to more blood within a single shot than has been seen in the entirety of Phase 4 to date. That is not to say that Moon Knight is overly violent, but rather that previous efforts have felt somewhat suppressed – it is a breath of fresh air in the MCU. The humour itself is also situational and not laboured – the title character isn’t going to take a break from a life-and-death moment to make a gag to the viewers. Dotted throughout, are plenty of horror-like segments, ranging from the display of Khonshu, the God of the Moon and of Vengeance, as a grand and powerful figure that is to be feared, to the numerous, true horror scenes in a single episode, which were tense and genuinely superior to sequences within several horror pictures in recent years. Moon Knight learns from Marvel’s past, taking what worked from Marvel’s most acclaimed projects, and combining them into one smorgasbord of a series. It fuses the best parts of FX’s Legion, Marvel’s Daredevil, and Marvel’s The Punisher, incorporating such genres as adventure, horror, action, fantasy, and psychological thriller, and it just happens to feature the “Marvel Studios” banner above its title. Moon Knight is not another superhero piece to be skipped or saved to the ‘watch later’ category; it is among the best of the comic book genre and is one to be viewed and discussed by all on a weekly basis. Moon Knight has all the makings of an iconic show, and if it sticks the landing in its final two episodes, it’ll be placed among the ranks of the “greatest shows of all time” – Marvel’s first masterpiece could arise. Bold, sincere, and surreal, Moon Knight is a complete reinvention of the MCU, taking viewers on a psychedelic expedition inside the broken mind of Marvel’s latest, most lovable protagonist. Moon Knight is available to stream now on Disney+.

Cinema, an illustrious industry that has spanned a century. It has raised Hollywood and brought the stars we hold dear into the spotlight and let them shine brighter than thought possible. People like Audrey Hepburn, Robin Williams and Tom Hanks have long had their names in lights, and captured the hearts and emotions of the public for decades and shall live forever to the fans of film. However, in recent years the ticket sales have been waning, and the sales of home formats have been on the decline due to the growing popularity of streaming services. To many it seems like soon the traditionalized way of experiencing the film industry may come to an end for those films that are not a part of a longer on going “franchised universe”. Many would rather see a reboot, sequel, prequel or spin-off that Hollywood likes to churn out, than something original. I in Shakespearean fashion, say “neigh! The art of cinema shall not die!” and raise my sword like He-man. This is where I would like to admit that I had once perpetuated the collapse of the film industry. I’d have happily have watched a 67th installment of the Marvel franchise than something with substance and depth, i.e Lady Bird. In fact, growing up I didn’t get to explore cinema to much extent. I had never watched Mrs Doubtfire. I had never watched a film that was in black and white. I still have not seen E.T. As a child I visited the cinema to watch the Harry Potter films, and had a select set of VHS tapes that my parents had bought my brother and I to watch, which included The Lion King, Aladdin, and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Movie. I can tell you that as a child, when you have watched the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Movie for the 100th time you end up thinking it is a good film…until you watch it on streaming services as a hungover undergraduate student and realise it is rather hilariously terrible. In recent months I took to writing a list of cinema and cult classics that I am still working through (yes E.T. is on the list, don’t @ me) and I have been to the cinema more than I think most people have been in their entire life times. I also at one point in time studied the great Mickey Mouse subject of Media Studies and therefore have opinions. And so it was decreed that from here on out I intend to write reviews of films that I watch, be it from the ever-growing list of well-respected cinema, or new releases. To begin, let’s talk about last years’ film everybody couldn’t possibly have forgotten because we were all constantly reminded about how we could never forget it: Mother! (2017) which was released on DVD and Blu-ray recently. Put back to basics, Mother! (2017, directed and written by Darren Aronofsky) is a film that follows Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem as a nameless couple. Whilst Jennifer single handedly renovates their house that comes straight out of a post apocalyptic version of Grand Designs into a paradise, Javier is a writer with writers block. From no where, Jennifer and Javier’s desolate sanctuary is intruded by Ed Harris, and then his wife, Michelle Pfeiffer who has the best acting work in the film….and of course their two sons…oh and can’t forget all the people who attend one of their sons’ wake….and then what can only be described as the population of a small town who all love Javiers’ work…none of whom have any character names. In the sudden surge of popularity Javier relishes the new found glory by drawing religious symbols on foreheads and being worshipped, where as a now heavily pregnant Jennifer becomes increasingly stressed and anxious to get these people to leave so she can presumably ponder whether to paint the living room sickly green or a dull version of urine yellow once again. However, as the movie spirals and twists Jennifer becomes meek, loses control of the house, which descends into anarchy and finally finds a backbone once it is too late. In my own opinion, Aronofsky’s work can be rather hit and miss. Requiem for a Dream (2000) is still talked about and held in such regard to this day. Black Swan (2010) gives grace and elegance juxtaposed with harsh and dark undertones for something even your own mum will point to when you pick up a copy of Mother! and say “ooooh! The director of Black Swan, that was a good film Dan!” (yeah, thanks for the input mum). Noah (2014) on the other hand falls rather flat. Mother! resides somewhere in the middle territory of these oppositions. It is not an awful film, but I wouldn’t characterize it as being good. Even just in technical aspects Mother! is all over the place. Aronofsky’s use of colour in the film intends to draw you towards Jennifer Lawrence’s character and highlight the dark undertones of everything we see in the film from beginning to end, but Aronofsky shoots on 16mm for the film so the intensity and focus that comes with shooting in digital or 35mm is lost. I note that as a great shame as, apart from Michelle Pfeiffer, the unfinished house is the best character in the film and would be amazing to see the intricate details of. In terms of plot, Aronofsky’s work on Mother! definitely has quite a clear and obvious viewpoint that he is trying to up hold in regards to both religion and the environment. In the subtext of the film Javier Bardem is the big man himself, God, Jennifer Lawrence is Mother Nature, and the house she tends to is representative of the Earth. Therefore, the intruders who cause the destruction to Lawrence’s house are symbolic of humanity, beginning with Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer as Adam and Eve, and the effect we have with climate change. Although this sounds like quite the interesting concept for a film, Aronofsky is very heavy handed with the underlying message. To call this message “subtext” is very generous on my part as Aronofsky has about as much subtlety as someone shouting “This is that point of the film!” over and over into your face. In addition Aronofsky litters the film with plot points that do not come to any fruition. For example, through out the film Jennifer Lawrence has to take a urine coloured elixir (bright urine this time as to not match the walls) that is essentially a mystery powder and water, so that she can stop what appears to be abdominal pains. Do we find out what that powder is? No. Do we know what the abdominal pains are caused by or what they symbolise? No. Could she take a Gaviscon instead? Probably. It is apparent in the promotions for the film, and in the themes and structure, that Aronofsky takes a lot of inspiration for the film from Rosemary’s Baby (1968, directed by Roman Polanski). Mother! uses imagery reminiscent of Rosemary’s Baby for the film poster, and in viewing is many ways a reflection of the thriller classic. Where as Rosemary’s Baby shows a mortal husband betray his wife in service to Satan, Mother inverts this to a Godly husband betraying his wife in service to a mortal congregation. With this we are left to question whether we are the monster we truly fear, or whether the hubris of religion creates the monster for us to cower from. Where Mother! also differs from Rosemary’s Baby is in pacing and extremity. Mother stays at the same pace for a long time of just asking “what’s going on?” and then quickly escalates to what some would describe as “What the actual fuck?” (Thanks random teenager in the Chicago Arclight screening I originally went to). Rosemary’s Baby, which the film actually takes from however is a slow progression of clues, events and misleads that culminate in an unsettling conclusion, and where Mother! resolves in a series of violent acts aimed at a modern day audience that bores of anything without action, Rosemary’s Baby leaves the viewer trapped in thought as much as Rosemary is trapped in the film. Overall I would give Darren Aronofsky’s Mother! (2017) 6 Michelle Pfeiffer’s “special family recipe” lemonades out of 10. Although the film has some flaws, it remains perfectly watchable, has a predominantly good cast, and some twists in the story that can be commended.

Stephen Wight & Aisling Bea - Dir. Jack Carrivick

(London Film Festival, October 4th, 2019, Curzon Soho, 99 Shaftesbury Ave, Soho, London W1D 5DY, United Kingdom, 10:00 am) https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=coldcasehammarskjold "Cold Case Hammarskjöld" The documentary tries to solve the mysterious death of Dag Hammarskjöld. As the investigation closes in, the film discovers a crime far worse than killing 'The Secretary-General Of The United Nations'. In 1961, United Nations secretary-general Dag Hammarskjöld’s plane mysteriously crashed, killing Hammarskjöld and most of the crew. With the case still unsolved 50-plus years later, the film leads us down an investigative rabbit hole to unearth the truth. Scores of false starts, dead ends, and elusive interviews later, the film begins to sniff out something more monumental than anything we initially imagined. In a signature agitprop style, the documentary challenges the very nature of truth by performing the role of truth seeker. As the film uncovers a critical secret that could send shockwaves around the world, we realize that sometimes absurdity and irony are the emboldening ingredients needed to confront what’s truly sinister. When the film opens it's around midnight on September 18th, 1961, a small plane flying over a remote part of 'Central Africa'. Suddenly the lights at a nearby airfield go out and we hear the sound of another plane. Then something sounding like gunfire breaks out and Hammarskjöld's plane crashes, killing all 16 people on board, including 'The 'U.N. Secretary-General' who's en route to negotiations for a cease-fire in the ongoing 'Congo Crisis'. The accident is officially blamed on pilot error, however rumors have persisted for decades that it's a well-planned assassination. The wreckage is buried a few days after the crash. Convinces that it's nearby, the jaunty pair outfit themselves with shovels, a metal detector and pith helmets and set off to find it. It's supposedly a remnant of Hammarskjöld's plane, found at the crash site. It's apparently unremarkable, but there's one thing that seemed unusual; a series of perfectly round, irregularly spaced holes. Could they be bullet holes? But just as the search seems promising, local authorities abruptly withdraw permission to dig. But who wants Hammarskjöld dead, and why? What possibly go wrong there? What's the meaning of the mysterious playing card found intact on Hammarskjöld's partially scorched body? Why's an unassuming young marine biologist murdered? What did witnesses see in the sky that night? Could it all be an elaborate hoax perpetrated by an eccentric, highly skilled propagandist? The story begins to gain momentum with the discovery of a secretive figure named Keith Maxwell, who styled himself 'Commodore Of SAIMR'. Dressing exclusively in crisp naval whites or, for special occasions, the brass-buttoned uniform, cutlass and three-corner hat of an '18th-Century' admiral, Maxwell sometimes claimed to be a doctor and ran medical clinics throughout poor black areas in African offering low-cost health care and vaccinations. Could he be the key to unlocking all of 'SAIMR's Secrets'?  Now deceased, Maxwell left behind a half-finished, somewhat fictionalized memoir called 'The Story Of My Life' that seemed too improbable to be true. 'SAIMR' is the successor to a 184-year-old organization started by British mariners. Maxwell was a stocky middle-aged man with tousled hair, tinted aviator glasses and a blank expression. A retired doctor whom Maxwell tried unsuccessfully to recruit remembers him as a flamboyant but harmless member of a group dedicated to finding sunken treasure. Maxwell was some kind of demonic clown, a kook. He had the resources to use violence and to supply weapons. He was financed and directed by 'MI6, British Intelligence'. The slow, steady crescendo comes to an abrupt climax when a man named Alexander Jones provides by far the film's most compelling testimony. Jones not only admits to being an 'Ex-SAIMR' operative, he's eager to share what he knows. Jones verifies the names of 'SAIMR' members and allows himself to be taped making incendiary allegations, describing the organization's mission as overthrowing governments and taking over countries. Murder and mayhem are a means to eradicate black Africans and maintain white rule, he claims. The group is so secretive that the 5,000 or more members are unlikely to even know of each other. Jones describes Maxwell as a very dangerous man, someone exquisitely manipulative, charismatic and dedicated to eliminating black Africans through non-militaristic means. In the late 1990s, he claims, Maxwell's clinics are a cover for his most sinister plan, infecting black Africans with 'HIV' using contaminated vaccines. Black people have got no rights, they need medical treatment. There's a white philanthropist coming in and saying, 'you know, I'll open up these clinics and I'll treat you'. The more pieces of the puzzle the film fits together, the more clear it becomes just how many more are missing. A Swedish aristocrat and lifetime public servant, Hammarskjöld was elected as 'The U.N.'s' second 'Secretary-General' in 1953. A seasoned bureaucrat tasked with overhauling the burgeoning organization's administrative capacities, he was a compromise candidate between 'Cold War' foes. His aggressive anti-colonial stance took the world by surprise as he attempted to help black Africans reclaim their countries from their foreign corporate masters. The quiet technocrat had become a flaming idealist and an inconvenience to those in power. Chief on his to-do list was 'Congo", then beginning to emerge from decades of brutal subjugation begun by 'The Belgian King Leopold II.' In 'The Late 19th Century', 'Leopold' ruthlessly siphoned off untold millions of dollars' worth of ivory, rubber and precious minerals for his own enrichment, while virtually enslaving the native population. 'The 20th Century' brought corporations like 'Union Minière', which continued to loot the country's wealth and exploit black Africans. In 1961, Hammarskjöld was attempting to bring a series of civil wars in 'Congo' to an end. As emerging African nations became another 'Cold War' proxy battleground between 'The U.S'. and it's allies on one side, and 'The Soviet Union' on the other, Hammarskjöld's 'U.N.' was becoming increasingly troublesome to both factions. If he succeeded in his goals, the map of 'Africa' would change and rule would be restored to black Africans, allowing them to define their own futures. Instead, the battle for control would rage on for decades more, and much of the area's wealth would continue to slip away. On the night of September 18th, 1961, 'UN Secretary-General' Dag Hammarskjöld's plane crashes under suspicious circumstances in 'The Congolese' province of 'Katanga'. Swedish Hammarskjöld was in favor of 'The Independence Of Congo' which had not made him popular with 'The Western' superpowers on 'The African Continent'. The mysterious crash was never fully explained. The tragic death of Dag Hammarskjöld remains one of the greatest mysteries of 'The 20th Century'. Over 50 years later the film tries to discover the truth about this cold case once and for all. The film trecks across 'The African Brousse' in search of answers. To try and solve a case that has baffled people for decades. What begins as the unraveling of murder plot slowly turns into a true thriller that surprises you at every turn. Even today, there are many questions and conspiracy theories. Why did the plane carrying the world's highest ranking diplomat crash in Africa? Was it shot down? And if so, by whom? Was Hammarskjöld a victim of 'The Cold War' between 'The US' and 'The Soviet Union'? Was he a thorn in the side of the former colonial powers due to his support for the newly independent African states? Could Hammarskjöld have been murdered by powerful political opponents? And who left the ace of spades death card on his body? From 'Zambia' and 'South Africa' to 'The U.K'., 'The U.S'., 'Russia', 'Spain' and beyond, the film conducts an estimated 50 interviews with witnesses both central and peripheral to the tale, leading to a constantly widening maze. The film ends up in a web of deception, betrayal and more questions. A journalist should not wish for his journalism to be flawed, but due to the horror of what he discovers. We've secretly been hoping that it all would turn out to be a misunderstanding. Unfortunately, that's not the case. The search, which long led nowhere, suddenly kuncovers crimes that are much more recent and much more terrifying. With the twists and turns of an elegantly plotted murder mystery and the intrigue of an international espionage thriller, "Cold Case Hammarskjöld"  winds it's way through three continents and almost seven years of investigative reporting. Tracking down Belgian mercenaries, telling tales of evil men who dress in white, the ace of spades found at crime scenes, rumors about secret societies. It's a unique and effective way of visualizing colonialism and racial relations in Africa. The villain only wore white, but also, in a strange way, white is the color of power in this story, so it accentuates the interracial relationship in a powerful cinematic effect. Having difficulties at first and having leads go cold is good for the narrative. If everything is perfectly clear from the beginning, that's not interesting. And that's the way it played out in reality. It's a weird outfit, like a cross between 'Hezbollah' and 'Scientology'. Perhaps there's a successor out there. Some of what we discovered we know is very real. But some of it's very difficult to prove.

Well, here is the film that started an empire. Not only was it Walt Disney's first foray into feature length animated films, it was also the first full length cell animated film ever attempted. I suppose it's needless to say that the gamble paid off for him. Especially when you take into account the fact that Disney, after just buying 20th Century Fox entertainment, now technically owns about a third of the entertainment industry. Walt Disney first came across the tale of Snow White when he was about fifteen years of age after reading The Brothers Grimm tale of the same name. He later stated that he couldn't get the story out of his head and he would be constantly playing the story over in his mind. After the success of his Mickey Mouse and the Silly Symphonies series, Walt pooled everyone together and started work on Snow White in early 1934. The film was finally released in December 1937, and received a standing ovation from an audience containing that of Judy Garland. Snow White went on to do exceptionally well at the box office, and in 1939 became the top grossing sound film of all-time. Snow White at the start of the tale has been forced into the life of a scullery maid. This is being enforced by her incredibly jealous and equally vain stepmother, the Queen. This obstinately vain monarch is particularly fixated with being the fairest in the land and believes her beautiful stepdaughter, Snow White, to be a growing threat to her. However the Queens fears are eventually realised when her magic mirror declares Snow White to be the fairest in the land. Overcome with jealousy, the Queen hires a huntsman to take Snow White into the forest and kill her. The huntsman however is struck by Snow White's innocence and beauty, and tells her to flee into the forest in order to escape the Queens wrath. There she bumps into a company of dwarves, all with distinctive personalities and lovable quirks. The dwarves allow her to stay after learning she's on the run and especially after learning that she can cook and clean (I don't think sexism was a big thing in the 1930's unfortunately). Meanwhile, the Queen is hatching more maniacal schemes to find and kill Snow White. Snow White as a lead serves her purpose well enough. These days however she pales in comparison with Disney's latest and more stronger and self-sufficient movie heroines, such as: Moana and Frozen's Anna and Elsa. Since Snow White's only noticeable qualities is her uncommonly kind nature, naivety, and Betty Boop esc singing voice (which is also a little dated). She tends to come off a bit bland, but fortunately the dwarves more than make up for the leads short comings, and outright steal the show. The dwarves themselves all have different personalities, which are reflected in their names, in their timeless designs and exquisitely differing animations. The stand out has to be Dopey, his animation and musical cues made me chuckle a good few times. The dwarves serve as the charm and heart of the film, of which I am sure, has played a big part in this films continued success amongst children even today. I've heard a few people say in their reviews that they didn't think the Queen was a very effective villain. I can understand that point of view, especially since some of her schemes are not the cleverest. However when I watched the film as a kid I found the Queen to be absolutely terrifying, especially when she disguises herself as the old crone. I am pretty sure that I had nightmares over that old crone, and that for me has to show a definite level of effectiveness to a villain. The first thing for me that stands out is the terrific design. She looks menacing and intimidating as the queen, with her tall slender frame and pointed features. While her truly frightening design, as the old crone, allows the character to reveal her evil and deceitful ways. There is one character who gets cast aside and receives basically no development at all, and that would be the prince. He shows up a bit at the beginning and then again for the finale at the end. The problem with this is they have no interaction with each other in-between these events. This makes the relationship between the two characters very unbelievable by modern standards. Perhaps if he was given some more scenes to expand his personality a bit, or maybe even a name, his appearance at the end would not have been so jarring. The musical numbers for the most part are brilliant and truly timeless; such as "Heigh-Ho". This particular tune is extremely hard to get out of your head once it's ingrained itself in there. However the "I'm Wishing / One Song" and most others sung by Snow White herself have a tendency to sound a little dated, and as I mentioned before, a bit Betty Boop like. When I re-watched the film for this review, I couldn't help but be amazed by the extraordinarily lifelike animation that Disney and his incredible animation team had achieved. I hadn't watched the movie for a very long time and for some reason expected the animation to be, not bad, but dated compared to the more recent animated movies. Boy was I wrong. Eighty years on and it still looks practically flawless. There's nothing better than watching true masters of their craft and Disney's animators are in top form here. Apart from occasionally showing its age and having some key characters shockingly underdeveloped. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is an enduring classic that will most likely be passed down for generations to come. If you're looking to entertain your nostalgic side a bit. Or perhaps looking into the origins of modern day animation and cinema, or maybe even trying to entertain your children for a couple of hours, there is not many finer options out there than this Disney classic.