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(Release Info London schedule; June 22nd, 2018, Curzon Victoria, 13:30) "In The Fade" Out of nowhere, Katja's (Diane Kruger) life falls apart when her husband Nuri (Numan Acar) and little son Rocco (Rafael Santana) are killed in a bomb attack. Her friends and family try to give her the support she needs, and Katja somehow manages to make it through the funeral. But the mind numbing search for the perpetrators and reasons behind the senseless killing complicate Katja's painful mourning, opening wounds and doubts. Danilo Fava (Denis Moschitto), a lawyer and Nuri's best friend, represents Katja in the eventual trial against the two suspects; a young couple from the neo-Nazi scene. The trial pushes Katja to the edge, but there's simply no alternative for her, she wants justice. This film is inspired by the 'NSU' murders in 2011. 'The German Neo-Nazi' group 'National Socialist Underground' perpetrated a series of xenophobe murders between 2000 and 2007 throughout Germany. The big scandal was that the police focused their investigation on people within the community of the victims, blaming drug or gambling connections. Police pressure was so intense that even the press and the community themselves began to have similar suspicions. The film is broken into three parts. The first establishes Katja’s relationship with her family and takes us through the bombing. The second us into the courtroom where the perpetrators of the bombing stand trial for their crimes. The third follows Katja as she decides what to do in the wake of the trial. The courtroom scenes are some of the best in recent memory. Danilo Fava puts in a rock solid turn Katja’s lawyer. The scenes in which he's debating the defense are exciting, and it’s just as interesting to watch him work the system on both strategic and methodical levels as it's to study the differences between a German trial and an American one. The slight alterations of format allow room for all the high energy courtroom bickering that procedural fans know and love, but with a decidedly unique flavor afforded to it by it's foreignness. For example, the way that the lawyers punctuate their ranting knowledge-drops with a loaded thank you evokes things like "Philadelphia" and "A Time Fo Kill", but in a way never before seen, much like your honor which is dramatized by litigants to great effect. The third act brings us into what should be a typical revenge tale, and in a lot of ways it's, but "In the Fade" is less concerned with the catharsis of vengeance than it's the ethical questions that revenge naturally raises. Katja has her own morality, her own definition of justice. In that way, Katja embodies something dormant inside of us that should always remain dormant. This film is about that universal feeling of grief and it's many layers. Here’s hoping this gem gets a wide release.

Here is my review of Towering Inferno…sorry. Let me start again. Here is my review of Die Hard…sorry. Let me start again.  Here is my review of Skyscraper. I have no idea why I wrote those two other films that clearly have no relevance or similarity with the film I am reviewing.  📷Originally posted by justalittletumblweed Yes as Bruce rightly says, Skyscraper has joined the ‘there is a massive problem in a huge tower and a hunk of a man needs to fix it’ roll up roll up Dwayne Johnson. Move over Steve McQueen. Move over Bruce Willis. It’s time for The Rock to add his input. I mean, if Die Hard and Towering Inferno had a movie child it would be Skyscraper. Right, Dwayne is an ex army guy whose leg got amputated and he now works as an advisor on this new skyscraper, the tallest in the world. His family are in the tower whilst he is not in the tower. Terrorists come into the skyscraper and start a TOWERING INFERNO. Dwayne runs off a crane about 100ft in the air into the skyscraper, finds the terrorists and makes sure that they DIE HARD.  The film is a blockbuster dumb summer flick, there’s a few chuckles, there’s good action scenes. Is it gonna grip you? No. Is it a bit of fun? Yeah sure. It’s nothing new, it doesn’t add anything to the genre. It won’t stand the test of time like the other two films have when it comes to disaster/action films. It’s largely forgettable. Apart from the one scene where Dwayne jumps off the crane, there are no hilariously stupid scenes, you know, like in Fast and Furious eg the plane, the tank, the bank in brazil, the tower in Dubai. For me, that was the biggest disappointment. I went in knowing it was going to be dreadful, but was expecting big set pieces to rival F&F, alas, there was none. The cast were lacklustre which was a bit of a let down considering some of the actors in the film. The villain was useless, I didn’t feel threatened or scared of him. He was everything a villain shouldn’t be.  The only good thing was the representation of disabled people in the film. Seeing a guy who has a physical impairment on screen battling bad guys and saving the day is something very positive to see. Obviously there were a few criticisms of Dwayne being cast as he does not have an amputated leg, but the fact that there is that representation can only be a good thing if that continues.  2/5 Predictable, boring, pointless. Not much good about this. It’s a good summer flick, but you won’t come away wanting to see it again, or remembering it 30 minutes later.

Another outing for Drac and his pack! After years of running the hotel together, Mavis (Selena Gomez) decides her and her father, Dracula (Adam Sandler) need a well-deserved vacation to rest and relax and spend quality time together; booking the gang on the world's first monster cruise as a surprise. After a less than stress-free flight on 'Gremlin Air', the gang arrive, and once aboard, are met by the charismatic Captain Ericka (Kathryn Hahn), with whom Dracula immediately 'zings'. But unbeknownst to our monster holidaymakers, this seemingly innocent cruise will bring them into direct confrontation with Dracula's nemesis, Abraham Van Helsing. It says something when, after almost one hundred years since their big screen debut, and over one hundred and twenty years since the novels which inspired them, variations of these characters (or monsters) and their stories are still being written: and for children at least, the Hotel Transylvania franchise is one of the most endearing. The film's greatest strengths are the monsters who feature, the mythology surrounding them, and the filmmaker's ability to poke fun at the clichés that inhabit, whilst still being respectful to the pedigree. The cartoonish, colourful and surprisingly detailed – if slightly over-the-top – animation is extremely pleasant and accessible; complimenting the tenor of the movie nicely. The world in which it's set is vibrant and rich, and while I really enjoyed the setting of the first film (being primarily set in the hotel and its grounds), the franchise does benefit from occasionally getting away from that area and exploring different locales; something that's always a pleasure: in the second film it was the pack's "old haunts" and California: in this film, it's the cruise ship and the fabled lost (but now found.) city of Atlantis. Love him or loathe him; there's no denying that Adam Sandler is ideally suited to this genre of film: as is the rest of the cast which remains fundamentally unchanged from the first two films; with Steve Buscemi (Wayne-Wolfman), David Spade (Griffin-Invisible Man), Keegan-Michael Key (Murray-The Mummy), Kevin James (Frank-Frankenstein's monster), Andy Samberg (Johnny) and Selena Gomez (Mavis), amongst others, reprising their respective roles. Two notable additions include Jim Gaffigan as Abraham Van Helsing, Dracula's nemesis, and Kathryn Hahn as Captain Ericka, granddaughter of Van Helsing: both do a perfectly adequate job, but both are also wholly unremarkable: this isn't a criticism of Hahn and Gaffigan as actors; more of the movie's ability to extract more from its talent. The narrative and script are the movie's primary drawbacks; neither being able to produce anything innovative or intuitive; making these aspects of the film feel maladroit. Worst still is the character development, which is either non-existent or badly paced; resulting in characters that either haven't changed at all or experience a total metamorphosis seemingly out of the blue. The humour is a mixed bag of slapstick, fart jokes, and eccentric limb gesticulations; all the things kids (and, admittedly, many adults) like, unfortunately, this can make the movie feel a little in-your-face and irritating, even crass. Yes, you can argue it's a kids film, and, as such, it's just playing to its target audience, and you'd be right: however, the film does this even as it references things clearly intended for the adults in the audience; almost as though it can't quite decide who it's communicating to at any given time. And don't get me started on the ridiculous music and dance focused gags. Verdict There really isn't an awful lot more to say about Hotel Transylvania 3, it is what it is; a harmless, good-natured, sometimes irritating kids film. There's no deep, affecting poignancy here; no emotional resonance to be found. If you wanted to assign some deeper meaning to it, you could argue it speaks of the importance of tolerance. Most people will be content to take it at face value; as the entertaining and safe family film, it is. Hotel Transylvania 3 isn't likely to attract a significant number of adult viewers, but it will bring in families in their thousands, and that's great. If you have children wishing to see this, or even if you happen to have enjoyed the first two films, you'll likely not be disappointed: and if like me, you're just happy that these characters/monsters are still relevant and being introduced to a new generation of viewers, you'll be over the moon. 7/10

(Release Info London schedule; June 5th, 2020, Curzon Home Cinema) https://www.curzonhomecinema.com/film/watch-guest-of-honour-film-online Guest Of Honour" Jim Davis (David Thewlis) and his daughter Veronica (Laysla De Oliveira), a young high-school music teacher, attempt to unravel their complicated histories and intertwined secrets in "Guest Of Honour", a film that weaves through time exploring perception and penance, memory and forgiveness. A hoax instigated by an aggressive school bus driver Mike (Rossif Sutherland) goes very wrong. Accused of abusing her position of authority with 17-year-old Clive (Alexandre Bourgeois) and another student, Veronica is imprisoned. Convinced that she deserves to be punished for crimes she committed at an earlier age, Veronica rebuffs her father’s attempts to secure her early release. Confused and frustrated by Veronica’s intransigence, Jim’s anguish begins to impinge on his job. As a food inspector, he wields great power over small, family-owned restaurants. It’s a power he doesn’t hesitate to use. While preparing Jim’s funeral, Veronica confides the secrets of her past to Father Greg (Luke Wilson) who may hold the final piece of this father-daughter puzzle. "Guest Of Honour" is a twisting morality tale exploring the complicated relationship between Jim, and his daughter Veronica, a young high-school music teacher, and the past that haunts them both. As the film weaves through time, scenes from the past catch up to the present, illuminating dark secrets. Jim is a food inspector working in a multicultural city. For him, each establishment is a potential hazard. He has the power to shut down restaurants not observing health codes. It’s a power he doesn’t hesitate to wield. Part of Jim’s weekly ritual is visiting his daughter in prison. Having confessed to abusing her position of authority as a music teacher during a high school band trip, Veronica rebuffs her father’s attempts to secure an early release. Confused and frustrated by his daughter’s intransigence, Jim’s anguish begins to impinge on his work. Scenes from the band trip gradually reveal that Veronica and Clive, one of her senior students, turned the tables on Mike, their aggressive bus driver. Their prank spirals out of control and becomes the basis for the charges brought against Veronica. Over Jim’s visits with Veronica, it becomes clear that there's another history at play. Veronica is using the prison sentence to punish herself for earlier transgressions. When she was a young girl, Veronica believed that her father was having an affair with her music teacher. Tragedy unfolds, in which Veronica is implicated, but was never held responsible. As a teenager, she confessed to the teacher’s son, with devastating consequences. Having lived with these secrets for years, Veronica has found a unique way of serving her penance. Jim doesn’t seem at all aware of his daughter’s true history even though he finds himself increasingly implicated in the compelling revelations of Veronica’s personal narrative. Father and daughter move towards a resolution, which is brought to a brutal halt when Jim dies. As she prepares for Jim’s funeral, Veronica confides in Father Greg (Luke Wilson) who may hold the final piece to the puzzle of the past. "Guest Of Honour" is a disturbing and compelling study of perception, memory and forgiveness. As a food inspector, Jim has the power to close a restaurant down, and while he uses this authority to determine other people’s destinies, he desperately tries to understand his own place in the world. Jim’s relationship with his daughter is obviously highly complex, that’s what the film is about. Realizing that the story really begins there, with the death of the mother. Jim is left on his own from then onwards, the fifteen intervening years between Veronica as young girl and Veronica as a woman. We've to understand what Jim so much loved about Veronica as a woman, a woman who’s gone off the rails, a woman who now baffles him, a woman who seems absolutely so incomprehensible in terms of her motives. And seeing that little girl playing the piano, the whole story becomes clear. Of course, there are sub-plots and various metaphorical issues and symbolism and storytelling, but it’s about a man trying to communicate with his daughter, trying to communicate the love he has for his daughter. That's utterly relatable in terms of how so many young people can get lost somewhere between adolescence and early adulthood, in all kinds of things that maybe one wouldn’t anticipate in their earlier years and can be catastrophic. It’s a terrible thing that’s happened really. One of the Jim’s characteristics is this sense of power he wields as a food inspector which may sound a rather banal job description. It doesn’t evoke wonderful images of this is a fascinating character we want to get to know until you really go down that hole and see what the issues are with food inspectors, and what a power-complex this man has. Simply, he can wreak havoc on people’s lives, close down family businesses with the flick of a pen-based on opinion or perfidy. He starts to abuse his power and manipulate his occupation to his own ends. But he’s rather delusional. He sees himself as some saviour, as some campaigner for health and safety, health and cleanliness, the health code is his bible and it takes him over. We've a backstory where he started a restaurant and that seems to have been scuppered by what happened to Veronica. He has to walk away from that business because of the vicissitudes of Veronica’s life and whether he holds some resentment there's another thing to be discussed. Maybe he’s doing this job as some kind of revenge. Now he enters a restaurant with the power to destroy the business, the lives of the owners. His vocation is taken away from him, and now he can visit the same fate on others. There are many levels to this film, you keep discovering. His daughter Veronica is a young music teacher who's passionate about her craft. But, she also carries trauma that bleeds into her relationship with her father. The film explores the complexities of family life. How family can absolutely make you or absolutely break you or both at the same time. The vast breadth of feelings, the turmoil those feelings cause! Music is very important to Veronica, it’s her source of joy and we’ll see in "Guest Of Honour" that she’s not always happy all the time so it will be nice to see the moments where she's lost in her music. She believes that she has found a way to a strange sort of peace in her life, until that is challenged by revelations of a past she never fully understood. She’s a character who’s broken, who makes impulsive, self-destructive decisions. We see her joy in music and we see her dark pain as well. With incarceration, she’s found a way of medicating herself. But it’s not sustainable and then something unexpected happens, which transforms her life. The character who holds the key to this past seems to be a priest. Father Greg is a Texan who's transplanted to Canada, The biggest mystery in the film is whether the food inspector Jim, in asking for his eulogy to be performed by this particular priest, has somehow planned an emotional reconciliation he could never have achieved with his daughter in life. Father Greg is an unusual priest. He knows about Veronica who’s come to see him to arrange a funeral for Jim. As he talks with Veronica to learn details for the eulogy, Father Greg comes to understand that he knows a great deal about her narrative. But he’s bound by oath not to share his knowledge. He breaks his word because, he decides, it's critical for Veronica to understand her father. Rather than see her continue to suffer, living with false assumptions, Father Greg renounces his pledge. As viewers, we can locate ourselves in this very complex narrative in terms of how he sets himself within it. Father Greg has an unexpected front row seat to Veronica’s story. Father Greg is one of those characters that’s woven throughout the story, Not quite a narrator, and not the protagonist, but a figure that intersects with the different characters. In that way, he knows all of the people that the audience meets, at different times and in different situations. And often times, as we find out, he knows these very personal parts of some of the characters’ histories. Father Greg’s character is a way for the audience to keep up with the storyline and these characters whose lives interrelate. You've these imperfect, interwoven characters and then there’s the priest who’s something of a psychiatrist, or a psychologist, or a doctor, somebody that people go to and share their personal stories. “Guest Of Honour" is an emotional investigation of the bond between a father and a daughter. Their history has been rocked by events that neither fully understands. They’re both in a suspended state for much of the film, trying to understand the nature of their connection to one another. There’s a very clear sense of time passing in this film. While we understand from the beginning that their physical relationship has ended with the father’s death, the details of their  past are evealed in a form of psychological autopsy. The film finds a cinematic way of allowing the viewer to inhabit they particular world the characters are trying to navigate. The film explores what might be called the emotional chronology of Jim and his daughter, Veronica, a way of measuring their complex feelings. While the structure of the film is non-linear, it's actually based on a simple recounting of the scenes as they flow into the characters’ minds. While the situations specific to Jim and Veronica are extreme, the parent/child bond will be very familiar to audiences. The film creates a sense that for Jim and Veronica the scenes all play in a continuous and sometimes shocking sense of the ‘eternal present’. The film itself becomes a sort of machine through which the characters come to an understanding of what they mean to each other. "Guest Of Honour" is a story told through glass. Apart from the actual glass of the camera lens, which displays the way in which images of the past can be refracted and refigured, there's a literal use of a glass musical instrument woven through the film. The use of glass as a distorting lens, as well as a material which allows the process of creative expression, is an important motif in "Guest Of Honour". The soundtrack wows in unexpected ways, as the characters come to terms with the complexity of their lives and the exoticism of their relationship to their own pasts. Every child feels their parents made mistakes, certain ways in which the parent did not express love, or pay the right sort of attention. Those moments reverberate through our lives in sometimes painful ways. "Guest Of Honour" covers such a wide range of time, you get to see the evolution of specific characters, which is very exciting. Our family has been around us for our entire lives, they’re everything we know. Sometimes we project our feelings onto them, sometimes we feel their words are hurtful, but that’s what having a family is all about. The film ends with an unexpected reconciliation.

The Star, is a computer animated adventure and comedy film which has an amazing cast including Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead) as the donkey Bo, Gina Rodriguez (Jane the virgin) as Mary and Zachary Levi (Chuck, Tangled and THOR) as Joseph. The Star also included a variety of stars as supporting characters including Oprah, Kelly Clarkson, Mariah Carey and Keegan-Michael Key. The Star is a playful retelling of the Nativity story but instead of focusing on Mary and Joseph, it is told from the animals point of view, all while remaining loyal to the story. .The Star tells the story of a small brave donkey working in a mill with dreams of doing more when he finds Mary and Joseph. Bo is seen by Jospeh as being a disobedient donkey, however, all the mishaps caused by Bo are his way of protecting Mary from the soldier King Herod sent to kill the new unborn king. This lovable retelling is entertaining and amusing for the whole family and is excellent at teaching younger viewers about the nativity.

Before I delve into the bowels of this movie's storyline; I have to state for the record that before watching it, I was relaxed. After watching Hereditary, I was so uptight, that I squeaked when I moved. Once in a while, a movie comes along which can mess with your head that much that by the time you have watched it on several occasions, you still can't decide whether or not you love it or hate it; Hereditary for me is one of those movies. In saying that; after much deliberation, I believe that I neither hate it or love it but respect it immensely for its extraordinary atmosphere of tension, edginess and graphic detail. And now for the movie's narrative. Hereditary gives us the story of the Graham Family's slow descent into hell after the death of Annie Graham's mother Ellen. From this point onwards, the dysfunctional family setup between Annie, Steve, Peter and Charlie becomes frightenly obvious as each family member seem to be uncomfortable whilst in the presence of each other and therefore spend most of their time in separate rooms. What starts out as a tense psychologically broken family story, ends with a very nasty vicious horror climax. Toni Collette is absolutely disturbing in it; her portrayal of Annie kept me on edge throughout the entire film with only two other movie moments that I can remember whereby you feel as if something is going to happen more and more as the tension builds in movies like The Hurt Locker while they are trying to disarm a bomb or in Foxcatcher when Steve Carell's performance as John Du Pont has you at bursting point with anxiety. Hereditary is a whole different monster with the pressure cooker starting to boil at the beginning and going supernova at the end. Gabriel Byrne, Milly Shapiro, Alex Wolff and Ann Dowd are all brilliant in their parts, proving that casting really did get it right this time. The soundtrack to the film is so sinister and unsettling, that it would over time disturb your mind and therefore wouldn't be recommended for relaxation. The director, Ari Aster has done quite a job with this movie, his vision both perverse and visually gothic; in my opinion, the first of many great movies in what could be a very promising career providing he doesn't sell out by making countless sequels that seem to get worse as each one passes by. In the end, what everyone wants to know is should you watch it and will you like it. My answer is yes you should watch it and as for the liking it part, that will be entirely up to you. If you're expecting a straight forward Horror film which falls neatly into the Horror Genre, this is not the movie for you. On the other hand, if you avoid the trailers, and keep an open mind which will allow you to watch this movie and rate it by its own merit, chances are, you'll enjoy it. Pleasant Dreams Richard Green

In the last review I spoke about Yardie, and how Idris Elba, in his directional debut hadn’t made a good film. Well Aneesh Chaganty, in his directional debut, has made one of the finest thriller films I’ve seen this year. Searching is about how a father begins to suspect that his teenage daughter has gone missing. He breaks into her laptop to find out who her friends are, who she has been talking too, what she is doing with her life. What he finds out on the laptop lead to clues and discoveries that otherwise wouldn’t have been found.  It’s a thrilling film. And what is different about it is that the whole film is shot through a computer screen. The majority of this is using the daughters Mac and the father searching on it. Some of it is filmed through the news. Some through the camera in a police investigation room. It’s really clever how it is shot and according to the director it took them a long time to figure out how to shoot the film. Whilst it is like this throughout the entire film it doesn’t feel gimmicky. It’s brilliant how effective they use to add something fresh to the thriller genre. The opening scene of the movie is the family documenting their daughter growing up through home videos, calendar dates. We learn so much about the family in such a short space of time, the daughters interest, what the family gets up to. Tragically the mother has died of cancer which we see documented through the computer screen (think of a 21st century UP, seriously, it’s quite heart-breaking) that by the time we see the family in the present we feel really connected to them. It’s an effective piece of story-telling. Quickly this tool stops being noticeable because the audience are so drawn into the family life.  There are plenty of other things that are good about this film. However the way of telling the story is very fresh. John Cho, the lead actor is brilliant as a father who has had to deal with so much heart-ache. He learns, with the audience, because we are seeing it with him for the first time too, so much about his daughter through her laptop. There are so many twists and turns throughout the whole movie. What I found totally different to other thrillers is usually when you see the clues it’s right at the end of the movie when the actor is describing how he came to that conclusion. With Searching, he normally finds the clue early on, and realises later and we see it all. So he might be flicking through a page that is a clue, carries on and then goes back to it, it’s so similar to what the audience is experiencing. It’s so damn clever.   5/5 Searching is pretty damn good. I feel like I haven’t given it enough justice. But it’s so different to most thrillers. This review sucks. But the film doesn’t. Does that work?

(Release Info London schedule; October 20th, 2018, Cineworld, 5 - 6 Leicester Square, 20:45) "The Hate U Give" Starr Carter (Amandla Stenberg) is constantly switching between two worlds; the poor, mostly black, neighborhood where she lives and the rich, mostly white, prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil (Algee Smith) at the hands of a police officer. Now, facing pressures from all sides of the community, Starr must find her voice and stand up for what's right.   Sixteen-year old Starr Carter lives in 'Garden Heights', a working-class community with her close-knit family. Her father, Maverick (Russell Hornsby), is a reformed ex-gang member who grew up in 'Garden Heights' and once served time in prison. Now, a family man and valued member of the community, Maverick owns  the community grocery store. Starr’s mother, Lisa (Regina Hall), a nurse, was also reared in 'Garden Heights', in a family that aspired more for its children through education, just as she does for her own. Half-brother Seven (Lamar Johnson) and younger brother Sekani (TJ Wright) complete the family. Dismayed by the academic achievements of schools in their community, and wanting to give their children better opportunities, Lisa and Maverick enroll Starr and her siblings in 'Williamson Prep School', a predominantly white school about forty minutes away. In 'Garden Heights', Starr is 'Starr Version One'. She's comfortable speaking the slang vernacular of her community, enjoys hip hop without feeling self-conscious, but fears being seen as acting white. At 'Williamson', Starr becomes 'Starr Version Two'. There, she's constantly on guard not to appear or act too hood. She refrains from speaking slang, even if the white kids do, her two best friends Hailey (Sabrina Carpenter) and Maya (Megan Lawless) are not black, and her boyfriend, Chris (K.J. Apa) is white. Everything changes when Starr witnesses the shooting death of her childhood best friend, Khalil at the hands of a police officer during a traffic stop. As the sole witness, Starr must choose between speaking up for Khalil, or remaining silent. Telling the truth could also endanger herself and her family by implicating King (Anthony Mackie), 'Garden Heights' drug lord who Khalil worked for. And, she worries about 'The Williamson Community' connecting her to Khalil’s death, and what they will think. As her community cries out for justice for Khalil, and word spreads about Starr’s involvement, Starr finds herself navigating an increasingly volatile environment. Starr begins a journey of self-discovery, one that will reveal powerful truths and realizations about herself and, where her true community lies.   The script opens with Starr’s father, Maverick giving his children 'The Talk', an instructional time-bound lesson black parents use to protect their children from the danger police can pose to their safety. The key message is know your rights. Maverick overcame his life as a drug dealer, gang member and convict to become a loving family man and a positive presence in the community. Mav prepares his children for the world by teaching them about their worth, and their rights. He's both protective and supportiv. He's very loving and sweet to his daughter, but he's also stern because he realizes she has the potential for greatness, and he expects nothing less. You’re seeing a black father have the conversation to make sure that his kids are safe. That's what's going to be good about this movie; to allow people to understand that some people’s circumstance and environments are not the same as yours. Anything can happen when your child leaves the house. It’s your responsibility as a parent to have that talk. Rehearsing the opening scene is a particularly emotional and painful experience. Audiences are going to bear witness to a father saying to his children; 'you better heed what I’m telling you because it can save your life'. Code switching can be defined as the practice of changing one’s behavior to suit different environments. For 'The African American Community', code switching is yet another survival tactic that often takes an emotional toll. "The Hate U Give" is about Starr’s awakening, triggered by Khalil’s tragic death. Tragedy forces Starr to realize who she's meant to be. This is what the story becomes, it’s about her journey of being a full person. Being the sole witness to Khalil’s death, Starr is thrust into a situation that seems insurmountable. It challenges her whole life, it challenges her whole perspective, it challenges her identity, as she has to figure out if she has the strength to speak up for him and what she believes in. It takes time for her to reach a place of strength where she feels comfortable to use her voice. But it's because she thinks deeply about her actions, and her priorities are her family, her friends and her community. It's also there that she finds her strength and resolve. The early lessons from Mav has given her a solid foundation from which to start her journey of self-discovery, to recite 'The Black Panther Ten Points Program', and about 'Malcolm X', Huey Newton and Martin Luther King, and so Starr has an understanding of who she's within the historical context of America. Starr struggles to reconcile her life in 'Garden Heights' with her life in 'Williamson'. Lawyer and community activist, April Ofrah (Issa Rae), also plays a pivotal role in the final phase of Starr’s growth. April wants justice and is willing to go to the Carter home and ask them to put Starr on television, and persuade her to testify for the grand jury. The bravery that requires on both ends is admirable. Initially suspicious of April’s motives, Starr grows to appreciate what's being offered. April recognizes how important Starr's voice is, and pushes Starr to utilize it as best she can. It's not until Starr realizes that she does need to use her voice that April and Starr develop a camaraderie, and April gives Starr the tools she needs in order to speak. The protest scene is the culmination of the journey Starr takes in finding her voice. It's the moment where Starr stands up for what she believes in, and stands in the authenticity of where she comes from. Starr’s mother, Lisa is someone who showed early promise before it was derailed by an unplanned pregnancy. Now, she's a devoted parent who wants to create a better future for her children. She doesn’t want Starr to make the same mistakes she did, or for her sons to get involved in the lifestyle Maverick had. Lisa wants her children to break the cycle that often sabotages the futures of children from communities like 'Garden Heights'.  And so, she and Maverick make the financial sacrifice to send them to 'Williamson'. It’s about trying to put them in the environment where they've the best opportunity to go to college, and so they've a fighting chance in the world with other kids who've access to more information and  better schooling. Like Starr, Seven is also split between two worlds; the loving family of the Carter household, and the chaotic home Iesha shares with King, the local drug lord. Seven benefits from living with Maverick and Lisa; he becomes the first to break the cycle by graduating 'Williamson' and eligible for college, by the end of the film. The Carter parents are a positive model of black parenting.  Mav and Lisa instill such morals into their children. It's awesome to see Mav's past and see where he comes from, where he's now and, the type of father that he's. The damages we do to one another gets passed on from generation to generation.  If we don’t stop hurting one another, future generations are going to have the same problems. This movie is a metaphor for that. Sekani embodies this idea in the film. He's the infant Tupac is talking about. He sees the police take down his dad. He’s seeing gang-members shoot to scare Starr from going to the grand jury. The sequence with Sekani and the gun gets to the heart of the issue. Carlos (Common), Starr’s uncle is a black police officer, which within this story becomes a real challenge, as it must be for some real-life black police officers who work in the community. He offers Starr a police’s perspective on Khalil’s death and asks her to trust the system. However, Carlos is forced to admit some hard truths himself about his own bias. Carlos believes that he’s taught a certain amount of things about how the police conduct themselves but also he admits himself in one particular scene in the movie, that he sees race in the wrong way as well. Through Carlos character the film explores what happens when we've internalized racism, and how we police ourselves and contribute to bias.  King is 'Garden Heights’ resident drug lord. He and Mav were childhood buddies. They're responsible for the drug game in the neighborhood before they got pinched. Mav goes to prison. King did what he was supposed to do to make their relationship right, but after Mav got out, he becomes his own man and King stays in the game. That’s where the tension comes in. King and his boys are telling Starr to stay quiet because snitches get stitches. But this little girl has more strength than any man or adult in the community because she stood up and spoke out. Khalil is not in the movie for long and, within that time, you've to fall in love with him and feel Starr falling in love. You also have to realize that while he has a lot of responsibility taking care of his mom and his grandma, that he's still a kid. Khalil is central to the story because not only does he trigger Starr’s emotional and political growth, his death also causes her friends to realize that they may not be speaking up for injustice as much as they could be. His tragic death allows Starr to discover her true allies. Chris, Starr's boyfriend, is someone who has never really looked at race because he comes from an upper-class, very rich family. He goes to private school in 'Williamson'. He’s dating a young 'African American' woman, but he doesn’t know what it’s like for her to grow up with the racism, and living in the inner city. Despite the difference in their backgrounds, Chris is willing to try and bridge the gap. Chris ends up getting to know Starr when she opens up her world to her. At the start he didn’t really understand racism. He understood it in an intellectual way, but Starr opened his eyes. The Carter family faces a lot of challenges, but, what remains through all of that's the deepest sense of love, of friendship, of strength found in each other.  In the early months of 2016, publishing houses found themselves in a bidding war for the unpublished manuscript of first-time author, Angie Thomas. Entitled "The Hate U Give", the story focused on Starr Carter, sole witness to the death of her childhood friend at the hands of a police officer. The coming of age story features an 'African American' teenager who lives in the working-class community of 'Garden Heights', but who travels 45 minutes to attend a private prep school in the prosperous community of 'Williamson'. The shooting death of Oscar Grant in Oakland, California on January 1, 2009 at the hands of a 'BART' police officer made headlines all across the country. Although Grant’s death took place hundreds of miles away, it triggers conversations in Starr’s dominantly black neighborhood and her majority white private prep school. The themes around 'The African American' family dynamic, self-identity and being black are particularly strong and not something explored a lot in film. Thie film explore a fresh take on these issues from a young person’s perspective. Starr and Khalil have to deal with a situation much like Oscar’s. It's about a individual who's searching for identity, who finds her voice and finds out who she becomes, against a background of police brutality and racism. It's critically important to understand Starr’s journey from a young girl who witnessed a horrible tragedy to a young woman willing to stand up for the things she believes in. “The Hate U Give" connects the fictional world of the movie to the long line of high profile police shootings of young black people that have sparked protests and gained national attention across the US in recent years. The film creates a dialogue about important issues about race, social justice, and identity in order to move towards peace and chang. We've to continue the dialogue about our differences. We all have biases within us. When you've a one-dimensional, self-centered approach to life, it does not allow you to understand how your actions and words can impact others. The film encourages people to have more empathy in everything we say and do. It’s important to be yourself, to stand up, to not be afraid to speak the truth and be heard. Your voice can make a difference. Maybe not at that exact moment, but down the line, and that’s what "The Hate U Give" stands for.

"It’s not just a call... It’s a warning." From Warner Bros. Pictures comes Matt Reeves’ “The Batman,” starring Robert Pattinson in the dual role of Gotham City’s vigilante detective and his alter ego, reclusive billionaire Bruce Wayne. Two years of stalking the streets as the Batman (Robert Pattinson), striking fear into the hearts of criminals, has led Bruce Wayne deep into the shadows of Gotham City. With only a few trusted allies—Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis), Lt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright)—amongst the city’s corrupt network of officials and high-profile figures, the lone vigilante has established himself as the sole embodiment of vengeance amongst his fellow citizens. When a killer targets Gotham’s elite with a series of sadistic machinations, a trail of cryptic clues sends the World’s Greatest Detective on an investigation into the underworld, where he encounters such characters as Selina Kyle/aka Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), Oswald Cobblepot/aka the Penguin (Colin Farrell), Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), and Edward Nashton/aka the Riddler (Paul Dano). As the evidence begins to lead closer to home and the scale of the perpetrator’s plans becomes clear, Batman must forge new relationships, unmask the culprit, and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has long plagued Gotham City. It was a rainy summer day when Robert Pattinson's casting had been officially announced back in 2019. DC fans and the internet alike drove in volumes to Twitter to protest the "sparkly vampire" from Twilight being selected as the new Batman, but I maintained the notion that he was the best choice for the role and counted down the days till he would prove me right. Come the end of this week, that day will emerge for fans worldwide. As you likely know thanks to Reeves' words, this feature begins with a young Batman, and is not a full origin story, but Bruce is not yet the iconic character we know and love. This makes sense: Bruce didn't become the Batman in a week, nor did he stay the same throughout his career; he must have developed, he must have changed and grown, yet we have never truly seen that on the big screen - The Batman marks the first chapter of that. From past adaptations, all the iterations we've seen feature Bruce wearing the Batman mask at times; this time, Batman wears the Bruce mask - this is evident from the opening scene. Rather than donning a playboy persona, Bruce keeps true to his mindset, adopting a depressed, reclusive attitude. It seems this story (and any follow-ups) will be a long-form origin story for Robert Pattinson's Bruce Wayne to eventually become the caped crusader from the comics, and this is true for the entire ensemble, as will become apparent. Speaking of masks, perhaps the most prominent theme in the movie is the question of identity. When the Riddler's first look was revealed, many fans criticised the uncharacteristic costume and the use of a mask, but the mask is vital to the theme. In this feature, wearing masks is not about hiding identities, it is about revealing them. As I spoke of Batman being Bruce's true identity, the same can be said for the Riddler, and their dichotomy is the heart of the film. It's this meaning that never allows the pace to falter - the movie does not feel remotely close to three hours. This theme wouldn't be anywhere near as impactful if it was not sold by the pairing of Pattinson and Dano. While every cast member goes above and beyond, the standout has to be Paul Dano. Dano sells this intelligent, unhinged, childlike Edward Nashton and it gave me chills. Dano also sells the fearless, terrifying, unbeatable Riddler: two characters, two performances. Robert Pattinson too adopts this philosophy and perfects his on-screen chemistry with every supporting cast member, most notably with Zoe Kravitz's Catwoman, who explores her own storyline that makes you root for her. Colin Farrell not only has the perfect look through the use of prosthetics, but nails the performance. Andy Serkis is the Alfred this feature needed - I was a little hesitant on this at first as I had always seen Alfred as a harmless-appearing butler with a renegade side, but Serkis was the perfect choice for this Alfred. The entire supporting cast give it their all, and I have never seen such a quintessentially assembled cast in any form of media. The Batman is a feature so well cast that even the extras have standout performances. The cast make sure not to play their characters from the comics, but to take a step back as they become them. This isn't a Batman origin story; this is a Gotham origin story. Gotham, in fact, is portrayed better than any past feature: yes, portrayed. Much like the television show of the same name, Gotham is written as its own character and given an identity on screen, and Liverpool was a great casting choice for the role. As Andy Serkis reiterated in an interview, the film is timeless, and that is in large part due to Gotham's style. The architecture (both classic and modern) only adds to the tone of the city, uplifting the movie's noir feel. The city's identity was one of the few flaws in The Dark Knight trilogy, and Reeves made sure to correct this from the very first scene. The world goes hand-in-hand with the world-building, and while the film works as a one-off, the world-building sets up an entire universe very well. I highly anticipate both the Gotham PD and Penguin shows, as well as the inevitable sequel. Despite my words on this iteration being an almost "proto-Batman" (or rather "proto-Bruce Wayne"), there are so many moments that made me giddy. Even shots from the trailer surprised me and carried so much more weight when played within the movie. In fact, these shots are so well produced by cinematographer Greig Fraser and compliment the tone of the movie so well, that The Batman is the most beautiful film I've ever seen. For Batman fans, especially fans of the Arkham games, this movie is a smorgasbord of some of the best Batman moments on-screen. Reeves also follows suit in keeping the comic-book genre alive. The Batman is not a superhero movie, it isn't even a Batman movie, it is an intelligent screenplay that chases its own ambitious story and draws elements from the Batman IP, but ultimately adapts them however it sees fit. As audiences are beginning to grow tired of what has now become standard of the genre, movie studios are beginning to adapt comic-book material into movies of other genres - this is an intelligent way of doing so but is adopted by so few filmmakers. Following such features as Logan and Joker, The Batman is a welcome addition to their ranks. The Batman is up there among the better comic-adapted movies and a breath of fresh air in the genre. From the first act, it took the spot as my personal favourite Batman film. Perhaps it's time to retire the "best Batman movie since The Dark Knight" and now set The Batman as the new staple. After decades of cinema rushing toward the latest tropes, The Batman is a much-needed (and long-overdue) return-to-form. About the Film Critic Ahmed Abbas

(Release Info London schedule; July 23rd, 2019, Curzon Soho, 99 Shaftesbury Ave, Soho, London W1D 5DY, United Kingdom, 9:00 PM) https://www.curzoncinemas.com/soho/film-info/marianne-and-leonard-words-of-love "Marianne & Leonard: Words Of Love" "Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love" is about the beautiful, enduring love story between legendary folk singer Leonard Cohen and his Norwegian muse Marianne Ihlen. The story begins on 'The Greek island of Hydra' in 1960, where Leonard, then a struggling and unknown fiction writer, and Marianne, a single mother with a young son Axel, become part of a community of expat artists, writers and musicians. The film follows their relationship from the early days on 'Hydra', a humble time of free love and open marriage, to how their love evolved when Leonard becomes a successful musician. She's an enormous influence on him. Marianne and Leonard’s is a love story that would continue for the rest of their lives. Along the way we learn of the tragedy that befell those that could not survive the beauty of 'Hydra', the highs and lows of Leonard’s career, and the inspirational power that Marianne possessed. This are magical moments of life. Never-before-seen footage shot by legendary documentarian D.A. Pennebaker make for a unique portrait of an idyllic 1960’s bohemia. Marianne had been visited the year before by D.A. Pennebaker, who had filmed her with her young son, and very much impressed her with the joys of documentary filmmaking. It's D.A. Pennebaker’s footage of Marianne, shot all those years ago, that's used in the film. D.A. Pennebaker, Marianne, and Leonard have remained the greatest of influences. It's on 'Hydra' in 1968 that director Nick Broomfield, then aged 20, first himself meet Marianne. Under 'The Greek' moon and stars she introduces him to Leonard Cohen’s music and encouraged Nick to make his first film. As she's with so many artists, Marianne is an enormous influence on Broomfield, who direct many documentaries about iconic music legends including Whitney Houston, Tupac Shakur, Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love. It's a time that left a lasting imprint on both Marianne and Leonard, whose friendship would last another fifty years. Marianne and Leonard went through many highs and lows. Bonded for life, even though drifting apart, they died three months apart in 2016. This touching documentary illuminates tender aspects of the enduring love between the Canadian musician and his Norwegian muse, who gained immortality through his songs 'So Long Marianne' and 'Bird On The Wire'. This Marianne is Norwegian Marianne Ihlen, his lifelong muse with whom he started an intense relationship in a time of free love. Nick Broomfield, director of documentaries such as 'Whitney: Can I Be Me', 'Biggie & Tupac' and 'Kurt & Courtney', follows their unconventional relationship from the early days in idyllic Greece. Along the way we learn of the tragedy that befell those that could not survive the beauty of 'Hydra', the highs and lows of Leonard’s career, and the inspirational power that Marianne possessed. In later life when Marianne lay dying, Leonard himself old and sick wrote to Marianne. 'Know that I am so close behind you that if you stretch out your hand, I think you can reach mine, I've always loved you for your beauty and for your wisdom, but I don't need to say anything more about that. Endless love, see you down the road'. Does love have to be conventional? "Marianne & Leonard" is a beautiful illustration of the twists and turns of a complicated relationship that has produced some of Cohen's most famous songs. Archive material and some recent interviews tell the story of the interrupted yet never ending love that began on the island of 'Hydra'. Cohen was mostly a writer at the time, the songs came later, when the melancholy poet evolved into a prominent musician. When Cohen became famous, and Ihlen became known as his muse, their relationship suffered and they lived apart more than they lived together. Still, their connection remained strong, even after Ihlen returned to Norway. A love story that defies conventional structure and slides back and forth in time within a rough chronology.