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Who exactly was Lee Israel? Leonore Carol “Lee” Israel, born in New York in December 1939, died in New York in December 2014. In the 1970s she began writing biographies, her first being about Tallulah Bankhead, in 1972. Her third and last biography was published in 1985 and concerned Estee Lauder. Unfortunately for Lee it came out at the same time as Lauder’s own autobiography and simply could not compete. The film Can You Ever Forgive Me? narrates an episode in the life of Lee Israel. In 1991 she lives alone with just an elderly, ailing cat called Jersey for company. She loses her job as a proofreader, for inappropriate language, and for drinking whisky in the office. She suffers from “writer’s block” as she attempts yet another biography, this time about Fanny Brice, a comedienne, singer and actress who died in 1951. She is three months behind in the rent. She turns up at a party given by her agent, Marjorie, who could not be less interested in what Lee describes as her “fascinating new projects”. To get her own back, Lee steals toilet rolls from the bathroom, and an overcoat from the coat-check. The outlook is depressing, to say the least. We next find her in a bar at four o’clock in the afternoon, alone, drinking whisky. And she meets Jack Hock, who is all that Lee is not. She is short and dumpy. He is tall and elegant. She dresses just to cover herself. He dresses to impress. She is unsociable, sullen, staves off any social contact. He exudes charm, will talk to anyone, makes instant contact. Neither of them has any income to speak of. One day, Lee Israel’s life takes a turn for the better. Doing a bit of research for her Fanny Brice biography, she comes across some letters signed by Brice herself. In a moment of inspiration she quickly hides them and manages to sell them in one of those New York bookshops dealing in rare books and unusual finds. Lee has discovered a new source of income: the market for letters written by celebrities. She starts on her new letter-writing career using a collection of old typewriters, one for each writer. These are not copies, fakes perhaps, but original letters Lee composes imbuing them with the very essence of the person she personifies. She researches her characters to reproduce each one’s writing style and manner of speech. Her favorite character seems to have been the writer and scriptwriter Dorothy Parker. The film’s title -- Can You Ever Forgive Me? -- alludes to Dorothy apologizing for her alcoholic behavior at some party. There is a moment in the film where we see Lee enjoying and reciting lines from The Little Foxes on TV (Parker wrote additional dialogues for this film). Dorothy and Lee had in common a huge capacity for alcoholic intake, a caustic sense of humor and a talent for scathing comments. Lee devotes the next year and a half to her letter writing business. She writes some 400 or more, from the most diverse celebrities, Edna Ferber, Noel Coward, and Dorothy Parker being only a few. To Lee this is the most creative, gratifying time of her life. For once she is happy, and manages to pay off her debts. Of course, rumours and suspicions eventually catch up with her. Her friend Jack makes use of his considerable talents of persuasion to sell the letters for her. As a last resort she takes to stealing and selling genuine letters, replacing them with fakes. The FBI is implacable. Lee receives a suspended sentence of five years, the first six months to be spent under house arrest. Jack, that good friend of hers who denounced her and collaborated with the FBI, is given a suspended sentence of three years. The film Can You Ever Forgive Me? is based on the book Lee Israel wrote concerning this episode in her life. Published in 2008 it was more successful than any of her biographies This is by no means a glittering super production. It is a loving reconstruction of New York in the last decade of the 20th century, reproducing some of Lee Israel’s favourite haunts: the bars she used to drink in, the renowned Bar Julius, the second hand bookshops she knew so well. It includes a lot of music and songs of the time, including one sung by a transgender singer (Justin Vivian Bond) In the Bar Julius, that well-known venue among the gay community of New York. The script by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty is agile, sparse, concise, with no unnecessary explanations and with not a dialogue too many. The two main actors, Melissa McCarthy (Lee Israel) and Richard E. Grant (Jack Hock), are extraordinary, portraying two solitary people who live precariously and survive miraculously. Melissa McCarthy started her professional life as a stand-up comedian, before beginning her film career, appearing basically in comedies. This time she has put together a character so complex, so intrinsically unpleasant as to be moving, tender, even likable. McCarthy’s version of Lee Israel is grumpy, thorny, bad-tempered, hopeless at personal relationships (she only gets on well with her cat, Jersey). In Jack Hock she finds a friend, she trusts him with her privacy, her secrets, and even lets him into her home – with mixed results. Richard E. Grant is a perfect Jack Hock: that happy conman dripping charm and charisma, oozing raffish elegance and juggling uncertain finances of a dubious origin. What a shame that though both actors were nominated, neither ended up winning an Oscar. This is Marielle Heller’s second full length film, her first being The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015), dealing with a teenager’s first, and most enjoyable sexual experiences. However, she seems to have several projects in hand so hopefully we will soon hear more from her.

(Release Info London schedule; January 29th, 2021, Curzon Home Cinema) https://www.curzonhomecinema.com/film/watch-assassins-film-online "Assassins" In 2017, Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of 'North Korea’s' leader Kim Jong-un, was assassinated in the bustling departures hall of 'Malaysia’s International Airport'. The spectacularly brazen murder happened in broad daylight, filmed entirely by security cameras. Footage showed two young women approaching Jong-nam from behind, covering his eyes with their hands, and pressing 'VX', the most lethal nerve gas on earth, into his eyes. He stumbled away and was dead within an hour. But if the murder was extreme, the story that came next was even more bizarre: The two women who killed Jong-nam claimed they had simply been hired to pull a video prank and had no idea what they're really doing. 'The Malaysian' government scoffed, arrested and imprisoned the women and put them on trial for murder, facing execution. But was their outlandish story actually the truth? And would anyone believe them? "Assassins" travels from the sanctums of 'Pyongyang' to the rice fields of 'Indonesia' and 'Vietnam' to the courtrooms of 'Kuala Lumpur' to tell an extraordinary tale of manipulation and subterfuge in the age of social media. A masterful investigation that offers an unprecedented look at the real story of Kim Jong-nam’s murder, "Assassins" is the wildly improbable tale of a calculating dictator, a nefarious plot, a very public murder, and two women fighting for their lives. Siti is represented by 'The Gooi & Azura' law firm. They've a contract with 'The Indonesian' embassy in 'Kuala Lumpur' so any time an 'Indonesian' citizen in 'Malaysia' is on trial facing the death penalty, they get that case. Doan’s situation is a little bit different. 'The Vietnam Bar Association' ended up hiring a team to represent her, three different lawyers in two different firms. Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, the main character in our film who’s her representative, is a big-time lawyer in Malaysia and in death penalty cases specifically. We feel that Siti’s and Doan’s lawyers don’t get enough credit for how brave what they're doing actually is. They're two of the only groups to publicly point the finger at 'North Korea' in a way that 'The Malaysian Government' would not, in the way that other foreign governments would not. It's almost as if nobody wants to take on that assertion, to say clearly that even if these women were the assassins, they're not the masterminds. Siti and Doan are from different countries, they've different backgrounds, they've different educations, it's really chilling, the idea of what might have happened to them. Worldwide almost everyone presumed that Siti and Doan were guilty, that they must have been part of this regime in some way, or that they're paid assassins. No one would ever jump to the conclusion that two people could be tricked into pulling off a major political assassination. Everybody on the ground thought that they're going to be convicted, the odds were so stacked against them. So the more we realized that they might be innocent and the further it got into the trial and the more likely it looked that they're going to be executed, the more heart-wrenching it's. Somewhat morbidly we assumed that because they're going to be convicted and sentenced to death. One of the more heartbreaking parts of the film is when Doan says that the world used to be pink to her and now she won’t trust people in the same way that she did. It’s so sad because that's robbed from her, why shouldn’t she be allowed to be trusting? But this film illustrates how dangerous the world can be if you're too trusting. Every time we follow the women at trial, day in and day out, the women are immediately escorted onto the elevator and up to the courtroom. And one day the elevator isn't there on time so the women have to wait a second and the camera is able to get this single shot of Doan clenching her fists with her handcuffs on. That shot gives us goosebumps because you can just feel what she’s feeling. Her hands are bound behind her and she’s feeling so much emotion and that’s how she expressing it, with these hands that she can’t move as she walks into a courtroom where she listens to a trial that’s not in her native tongue and faces the death penalty. The film creates a real sense of apprehension about whether Siti and Doan will be found guilty and put to death. The nexus of the film is the exploitation of young women. Even though this story goes in the most warped, bizarre, perverse direction, in the end these were women who were exploited because of the circumstances that they're in, who were vulnerable. And that's happening worldwide. Kim Jong-nam was assassinated in February of 2017. To go back and look at history, that was Donald Trump’s first full month in office. Most Americans, remember it as a huge news story the day that it happened, but very quickly it subsided in 'The American' news because so much of the airwaves were dedicated to Trump. The assassination became one of those stories that everyone remembers happened but they don’t remember exactly what happened. They remember bits and pieces, they remember that it was something sensational. People say, weren’t they female assassins? And then they've some crazy version of how the women killed Kim Jong-nam, and those stories are always very elaborate and wrong. We’ve heard poisonous lipstick, we’ve heard darts, we’ve heard guns; everything but what actually happened. We didn’t have that big-picture view of the arc of Kim Jong-un’s rise to power and what role Kim Jong-nam’s assassination played in that rise. There’s a theme to the whole story about vulnerability and the exploitation of young women; it’s almost as if they've to force themselves to be gullible because they’re so desperate to survive and find a way forward. Anna Fifield, who's the Beijing bureau chief of 'The Washington Post', published a book last year called 'The Great Successor', which is an amazing account of Kim Jong-un. We feel like he’s often seen as a caricature, he’s laughed at, Trump calls him 'Rocketman', and Anna’s book really traced his pathway to power in a way that treats him seriously. When we read her book, it's like a missing link from the film. The story feels so bizarre, and so distant that in a way your first thought is that you don’t relate to these women. And then as you dig deeper into it and you realize exactly what happened to them, you recognize that this could have happened to anybody, that this appeal of fame and opportunity and a better life, particularly when you're more vulnerable, could lead you to do things that others may see as ridiculous. When you’re hoping so much to find a better life for yourself and you’re presented with something that seems like it will give you that, of course you’re going to want to do it. And also they've seen it happen successfully to other people around the world, people who had found fame and fortune with social media and Internet opportunities. So it didn’t seem far-fetched that it could happen to them. What’s so interesting about it's that in the end it did bring them fame but for the worst possible reason, for a crime neither of them knew they're committing. To see them toward the end with all of these cameras is just so ironic because in a way that’s what they both wanted but certainly not under those circumstances. That's something that we're always batting around. And there’s going to be no answer. No one will ever know why it was done in such a spectacle. There are various theories around the personality of Kim Jong-un, who loves the world of pop culture and spectacle, that perhaps that world influenced the choice of the way to do it. The one common denominator that most people come to is that this murder was a message to opponents of the Kim regime that you’re never safe no matter where you're, that they can get you at any time. This murder is so brazen and so terrifying, done in a public space, all over camera, by people who might not even be assassins and in a way that would grab the headlines in a sensational way. It’s a warning to all of 'North Korea’s' enemies. Even though there are so many factors that implicate 'North Korea' and specifically Kim Jong-un, we can’t say for sure. Assuming he's responsible, he had so many ways and opportunities to kill Kim Jong-nam and yet he chose to do it this way.

I don’t think the messages are a government broadcast. It’s almost like they’re reacting to what we do. Initially, I would immediately add “Await further instructions” to the list of “useless movies that only ensure that you don’t start running into the walls out of boredom”. But on the other hand, this low-budget indie-SF was fascinating and amusing enough in my opinion. Not because of the story, because that was completely absurd and contained a denouement that didn’t make any sense at all. But because of the wonderful acting and the way this dysfunctional family reacted during Christmas, the most joyful festive period of the year. A period in which families usually come together to have fun and also to carry on a family tradition. It’s the period of the year when people bury an old family feud and sit down at the table to catch up while enjoying a drink and some food. There are countless films that show that this isn’t always the case. Like in “Krampus” and “Better watch out“. Even the McCallisters in “Home Alone” experienced this period as a time full of misery. Maybe not so macabre, but exciting enough. And in “Await further instructions” there isn’t a cozy Christmas mood as well. And certainly not when the Milgram’s house is wrapped as a Christmas present. Interesting relationships. And not only the last mentioned fact ensures it’s not too cozy at the Milgram house. The mutual relationships also ensure that the tension remains high. Apparently, it’s years ago Nick (Sam Gittins) showed up at his parent’s place. And when he decides to pay them a visit, he turns up with his Indian girlfriend Annji (Neerja Naik) at his side. I suppose Nick knows all too well how some members of his family will react and he already feels there will be problems the moment he parks in front of his parental home. First of all, there’s the emotionless, authoritarian sounding father Tony (Grant Masters) who can hardly accept that he hasn’t heard anything from his son for years. The authoritarian tone is cynically dismissed by grandfather Alfred (David Bradley) who can’t resist telling Tony he’s way too tolerant. And worse. Alfred is a purebred racist who makes derogatory remarks about foreigners constantly. Claustrophobic paranoia. Furthermore, you’ll meet the good-hearted mother Beth (Abigail Cruttenden). She’s a typical housemother who, despite the tense atmosphere and knowing that Christmas dinner will be a disaster, remains exceptionally optimistic and tries to calm things down while singing Christmas carols. Something that’s totally unthinkable when sister Kate (Holly Weston) waltzes in with her friend Scott (Kris Saddler). Not that Kate is a pronounced racist, but her naive, ill-considered comments are still hurtful. Witnessing these interactions in itself made the film interesting. And when they realize the next day that the house is wrapped with steel tubes and the television spontaneously starts spewing messages, it’s the beginning of even more squabbling. As the film progresses, everyone is on the verge of becoming paranoid. The whole claustrophobic situation creates distrust and suspicious thoughts among the family members. It’s all hysteria As in most low-budget movie, the entire film takes place in one and the same location. That isn’t necessarily a disadvantage. “Await further instructions” shows in a solid way how hysteria and helplessness take control of people when they find themselves in a hopeless situation. Conspiracy theories and disaster scenarios ensure that family members are diametrically opposed. Is it an environmental disaster? A chemical war? Or are there extraterrestrials who have conquered the world? Or are they all victims of a television program with hidden cameras? Does the film end up with a symbolic image of the Big Brother principle? Or does it show how television has crept into our daily lives and we blindly follow the instructions that appear on it? Messages that cause the family members to turn against each other and shamelessly hurt each. Not everybody will like it. On a psychological level, you can call this film a success. The SF section, which unfolds towards the end, I found less successful. That part felt rather absurd and grotesque. It seemed to me that the main part looked like a psychological family drama and the denouement was made up at the very last moment. As if it was meant to be satirical. And I wouldn’t call it a horror. All in all, I didn’t think this surreal spectacle was so bad. Especially because of the excellent acting and the sometimes magisterial footage. But I’m afraid this film won’t be appreciated by the vast majority of cinemagoers. My rating 5/10 Links: IMDB More reviews here

“For Want of a Nail​​” follows Marty, who attempts to live out a 'perfect day'. As the story unfolds it becomes apparent that his range of intricate routines have been compounded by a succession of deaths in the family. Now, with only his twin sister left, Marty has found himself seeking to finally, once and for all, dispel the urges and paranoia that drive the compulsions which are seriously affecting his life – and, in his mind, stop his sister from dying.

(Release Info London schedule; May 15th, 2019, Odeon Haymarket, 11/18 Panton Street, London, SW1Y 4DP, 12:20 pm) https://film.list.co.uk/cinema/43019-odeon-haymarket-london-sw1y/coming-soon/#times "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum" Super-Assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is on the run after killing a member of the international assassin’s guild. In this third installment of the adrenaline-fueled action franchise, super-assassin John Wick returns with a $14 million price tag on his head and an army of bounty-hunting killers on his trail; he's the target of hit men and women everywhere. After killing a member of the shadowy international assassin’s guild, 'The High Table', John Wick is excommunicado, but the world’s most ruthless hit men and women await his every turn. In the beginning John Wick wants to pay his respects to the best of atmospheric action cinema, by stripping a modern noir down to it's most unvarnished kinetic and emotional thrills. Without putting any limits on himself, the films imagines the most non-stop, concussive ride he could through a universe as perilous as it's darkly vibrant. In this chapter, John Wick goes to war with the world. This gives us a chance to go to new places, go deeper into his personal journey and expand the journeys of other characters. For this chapter, the film wants each of the action sequences to bring a new and different flavor, each gives you a bit more insight and clues into the different elements of who John Wick is and the path he's on. The emotional stakes mount with the physical challenges as Wick is forced to call in debts and rely on the deadly gifts from which he wants to escape. He's still looking for absolution, but meanwhile, nearly everyone is trying to kill him, so he must revert back to someone he doesn't want to be in order to survive. As the film’s ever-expanding canvas takes audiences deeper into John Wick’s origins, the story demands an even more technically evolved Wick. There are so many different kinds of action sequences, not only more styles of martial arts and more gunplay, but also motorcycles, horses and dogs. As John Wick is pushed to take last-ditch measures to dodge the global price on his head, he reveals more and more of just how thick and dark a web 'The High Table' is capable of spinning. In this film, you’ll see much more of this mythological, hyper-real world full of secret hotels, hidden underworlds and men and women possessed of crazy skills. The film gives you a sense of John Wick’s vulnerability without him ever feeling the least bit weak or contrived. The film also brings an earnestness to John Wick so, at the same time, you believe he takes it all very seriously. This time, you see more of John Wick’s world than ever. 'The John Wick' character is a compelling mix of lethal resolve and dryly humorous charm, fierce athleticism and suave grace. He's quietly a lethal man, a man who simply wants to live in peace with his dog following the loss of his beloved wife Helen. In "Parabellum", things have changed, though John Wick’s hope to even take a breath, let alone find peace, has never seemed more improbable. The character who once doggedly pursued revenge is now the prey, surviving solely on Helen’s memory. In this chapter the character is battling himself as much as the entire world. There’s a battle he’s becoming more conscious of in "Parabellum", a battle between two sides of himself. John is the guy who just wants to be left alone, who seeks a quiet life in which to remember his wife. In order to do that he has to engage the side of himself that's John Wick, the side that knows how to fight to the death. John Wick is the only one who can help John survive. As John Wick begins calling in favors to try to stay alive, knowing every assassin in every city is looking for him, he journeys to Morocco. In the searing deserts of 'The Sahara', John knows he will find a woman from his past, a fellow assassin who owes him, and isn’t too happy to see him. This is Sofia (Halle Berry). Sofia brings some real heart and soul to the story as someone from John Wick’s past who knows the costs of doing what he does. Sofia, like John Wick, is a loner in this dark world of assassins, retaining an aura of mystery to all that come across her. There's more to learn about her. What we know in this chapter is that she's trained by the same person who trained John Wick and their styles of fighting are very much the same. They clearly have some history together and we know that John saved Sofia's daughter Jenna (Dana Schick) at some point and that Sofia gave up all contact with her daughter in order to keep her safe. That's part of what sets Sofia apart in this mysterious universe. She has this very real and tangible person that she loves very much and that she's fighting for. It’s the balance between Sofia and John Wick that brings a fresh energy to "Parabellum". Sofia brings a really cool, sexy vibe to this world that typically has a more muscular and masculine feel. "John Wick: Parabellum" brings to light more about 'The High Table', which not only sells hits around the world, it also serves as a kind of underground justice system. Like a modern twist on 'King Arthur’s Round Table', the brutal enforcers of the world’s crime kingdoms are held in check by a staunch code of honor and a powerful elite who mete out penance. The Director' (Anjelica Huston) runs a school for assassins. 'The Director' is in charge of a very special kind of theatrical institute where children are trained either to be great artists or to have very special physical skills. She's a woman who straddles the worlds of devoted artistic perfection and crime. She’s someone who's having once been an assassin for 'The High Table' herself, but she long ago climbed the staircase of the assassin world, and now she runs the training. She's surrounded by beautiful young ballerinas who are going to be wonderful spies as well as martial arts geniuses who are junior assassins. 'The King' is also back in "Parabellum". 'The Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) is the underworld leader who uses New York’s gritty 'Bowery' district as a cover. This unusual character is an instant draw. In this film, you learn more about the symbiosis between 'The Bowery', 'The Continental' and 'The High Table'. No matter how dire the circumstances, he’s always so polite yet so righteous in his rage and anger. 'The Bowery King' is just as much a criminal as anybody in this world, but he follows the code. With the rules broken and John Wick on the run, 'The High Table' has been shaken and must take measures to regain control. However, not everyone has chosen clear sides. That's especially true of Winston (Ian McShane), the sly manager of New York’s 'Continental Hotel', where he has long kept chaos away from this essential neutral zone for assassins. Only now, Winston is contemplating to do what few would ever dare; go to war with 'The High Table'. It's time to show some of Winston’s internal struggle in running 'The Continental'. What does he want? What's his end game? Winston and John Wick have a strange loyalty to each other in a world where real bonds that go outside the rules rarely exist. In many ways, Winston is the only kind of family John Wick has left. You get to learn more about Winston and you get to learn more about the inner workings of 'The Continental'. At the same time, one message remains the same; don’t screw with John Wick. Charon (Lance Reddick) also rejoins as 'The Continental’s' multi-talented concierge and Winston’s resourceful right-hand man. He's a lot like 'Batman’s Alfred'; that unsung guy behind the scenes who keeps everything running smoothly. In this film, Charon takes on his largest role yet, as his services become essential to 'The Continental’s' war against 'The High Table'. You definitely see a lot more of Charon in this chapter. His responsibilities are taken to a whole new level. 'The Adjudicator' (Kate Dillon), is an authoritative power that enforces the rules of 'The High Table' with a pitiless efficiency. She's a character who stands apart from all our assassins and judges everybody in this unethical world, while enforcing their fealty to 'The High Table'. She's almost like an insurance investigator who in a very sober, cold and matter-of-fact way, investigates what rules were broken, who broke them and what the punishment should be. She has come to adjudge Winston for breaking the rules of 'The Continental'. We learn that everyone has to pay for any wrong doing in the eyes of 'The High Table' one way or another. If the rules are broken in this world it will be dealt with, and the person who's judge and jury is 'The Adjudicator'. 'The Adjudicator' turns to Zero (Mark Dacascos), a top 'The High Table’s' most lethal list, to mete out the death sentence on John Wick. Zero might be dead-set on taking John Wick’s life for the huge bounty, but he can’t help but idolize the invincible assassin. Zero loves everything about John Wick, his style, his grace, his class, his efficiency and how brutal he's while still being a gentleman. He's the biggest fanboy of John Wick there's, and he wants to be on a par with him. He's also a 'Shinobi', a 'Ninja' warrior, so he has students he cares for like his own children. Zero is, to put it mildly, a little psychotic. He has a broken rhythm, where he’ll be smooth then suddenly frantic. While in Morocco, John Wick risks it all to seek out the sage advice of one of the most revered, if rarely seen, members of The High Table', a man known simply as 'The Elder' (Saïd Taghmaoui). 'The Elder' is a guide for assassins. Berrada (Jerome Flynn) is an Italian member of 'The High Table'. He looks after the foundry where they make the gold markers. He’s a bit like Bronn in some ways because he’s a survivor and he’s got a real sense of humor to his brutal darkness. 'The Tick Tock Man' (Jason Mantzoukas) keeps track of time, which John Wick is running out of, for 'The Bowery King'. Five years ago, 'The Premiere Chapter' of John Wick set a new bar for action films. In this hardboiled world of killers- for-hire, audiences worldwide experienced the rush of dazzlingly pure battle sequences, of which moved like a frenzied ballet, pushing practical filmmaking to it's limits. John Wick had become a flesh and blood icon, embraced by audiences hungry to see and know more about him and his stylishly seductive world. From the propulsive start of "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum", the clock ticks relentlessly against the formerly retired super-assassin. The action picks up directly from 'Chapter 2' as John Wick finds himself on the brink of being declared excommunicado; stripped of the protective services of 'The High Table', the secretive global association of crime organizations that enforces the assassins’ code. With a $14 million bounty on his head, even John Wick has never faced so many simultaneous threats hellbent on ending his existence. Enemies are everywhere, but that will only drive Wick to the ends of the earth as he continues to seek a personal reckoning. Now, 'Chapter 3' expands 'The Wick Universe', revealing more about the hidden operations of 'The High Table' and introducing intriguing new characters. How can you continue to stay true to what the franchise created with John Wick, while constantly upping the bar? In usual form, "Parabellum" is rife with nods to cinematic legends, from a wink at Russian film master Andrei Tarkovsky to visual echoes of 'Lawrence Of Arabia'. To him, there's still nothing more fun than the sheer human pyrotechnics of one man struggling to outlast every possible form of attack. Why do people love kung-fu movies, spaghetti Westerns, a Steve McQueen car chase, Charles Bronson swinging his ax and "Die Hard: 80s action? It's that grounded excitement you get from stunts that feel real but that you’ve never seen before. When John Wick makes his passage to Morocco, a country that has long lit the imaginations of filmmakers and moviegoers, the film reveals a new kind of version of the famed 'Continental Hotel'. It's an homage to that most classic Humphrey Bogart noir of all, Michael Curtiz’s "Casablanca". Morocco is also a way to see how the John Wick vibe might translate to a sun-soaked locale. It's the contrast of going from rainy, gray, textured concrete of New York to Morocco, with it's heat, sand, color and rolling dunes. It’s a pretty intense change of pace. In many ways, this realm of glimmering, splintering glass represents all the contrasts that make "John Wick" so beguiling; the way the series plays with both the brutal and the beautiful, the straight forward and the magical, the most demanding designs yet the purest visual storytelling. In an era of seductively unreal digital effects, part of the John Wick ethos has been to entirely buck the trend. In John Wick’s world, the thrills are primal and always based around practical, if high-wire, stunts. In this world, jump-cuts never interrupt a fight. Rather than zoom in to create illusions, the camera instead always pans out, the better to show the audience every precarious detail. Whereas much of the fighting in the first two chapters was one-on-one, in "Parabellum" there's a fresh focus on large-scale group action which really put the spotlight on choreography. Given the bounty on his head, Wick also faces a far greater breadth of enemies, pitting himself against more distinct styles of martial arts, from kung fu and wushu to 'Indonesian' silat. Each is shot differently, in different environments, featuring different skill sets. "Parabellum" goes beyond martial arts spectacles to stunts that range from a high-speed horse chase through New York City to climbing sand dunes in 'The Sahara'. From the outset, John Wick forged it's own aesthetic; a dark neo-noir realm lit with neon hues and the fierce determination and sly humor of it's characters. Everything in this world is pushed and hyper-real and sexy and dramatic. This film is even more colorful, has stronger contrast and showcases even wilder action. The design of the films, the language, the deadpan comedy and the irony of it all feels very contemporary yet also a lot of fun.

(■ Paw Patrol: The Movie showtimes in London Mon 09 AUG ● Cineworld Leicester Square.5-6 Leicester Square, • 11:30 • 13:50 ● Vue Cinemas - Piccadilly (Apollo), 19 Lower Regent Street, • 12:00 • 14:15 ● Vue Cinemas - West End, 3 Cranbourn Street, Leicester Square, • 10:00 • 12:30 • 15:55 Vue Cinemas - Islington, Angel Central, Central Shopping Mall, 36 Parkfield Street, • 10:00 • 12:30 • 15:15 Fulham Road Picturehouse, 142 Fulham Road, • 13:15) https://we-love-cinema.com/movies/54311-paw-patrol-the-movie/ https://ttrp-www.cineworld.co.uk/films/paw-patrol-the-movie/ho00007948#/buy-tickets-by-film?in-cinema=london&at=2021-08-09&for-movie=ho00007948&view-mode=list "Paw Patrol: The Movie" In it's first motion picture event, 'The Paw Patrol' is on a roll! When their biggest rival, Humdinger (Ron Pardo), becomes mayor of nearby 'Adventure City' and starts wreaking havoc, Ryder (Will Brisbin), and everyone’s favorite heroic pups kick into high gear to face the challenge head-on. While one pup must face his past in the bustling metropolis, the team finds help from a new ally, the savvy dachshund Liberty (Marsai Martin). Armed with exciting new gadgets and gear, 'The Paw Patrol' fights to save the citizens of 'Adventure City'! The film opens in familiar territory, the pups’ home base of 'Adventure Bay', but when the pups get a call for help, they pack up 'The Paw Patroller' and head off to the booming metropolis of 'Adventure City. Unfortunately for it's residents, newly elected Mayor Humdinger is already causing new problems. So, the pups have to jump into their all-new vehicles and spring into action to keep the city safe. Indeed, Humdinger’s name pretty much says it all. The self-involved, self important, self-impressed, and cat-loving official has a strict edict of, surprise!, No. Dogs. Allowed. But little does he know that the world’s greatest team of canine rescuers are on the way to stop his plans of turning 'Adventure City' upside-down with corruption and crazy capers. We learn the moving and emotional backstory of police pup Chase and of the fears he must overcome to become the hero 'Adventure City' needs. Ryder is the resourceful and fearless leader and mentor of the pups. Ryder’s favorite sayings are 'No job is too big; no pup is too small!' Chase (Iaia Armitage) is a 'German Shepherd' who serves as a police dog and is, like Ryder, a natural leader. His pup house is a police station that transforms into a police truck. Chase gets a new car that's super fast, has a shield-mode when things get dangerous, and there's even a motorcycle hidden inside of the vehicle. He's prepared for all challenges, so it’s no surprise that he is known to tell everyone, Chase is on the case ready for action', There’s also a lot to love about Liberty’s hometown, 'Adventure City', Rubble calls it supersized!, but for one pup, Chase, it brings some trepidation. He’s not sure he wants to be there, and we soon learn why. Chase’s confidence falters, and his journey is to find it. Chase thinks about where he comes from but at the same time, how much he’s grown since then, now that he has this family as a support system. Chase is a funny, smart, quick and brave pup. In fact, all the pups are funny, relatable, and smart. Marshall (Kingsley Marshal) is the team’s brave firedog, and an excitable, all-action 'Dalmatian' pup. He’s always fired up and ready to roll. Marshall’s house transforms into a fire truck or ambulance, depending on the type of rescue. Marshall shines, as always, a perfect combination of fun and heroic. Of course, he has the biggest vehicle in 'The Paw Patrol', and has an awesome moment with its water cannon, which puts out the fires from Humdinger’s crazy fireworks. Perhaps Marshall’s coolest moment is when he unfurls his endlessly long ladder for a rollercoaster rescue. The ladder converts into a slide, and who wouldn’t want to go down that slide and land in Marshall’s fire truck. Skye (Lilly Bartlem) is a cute and smart 'Cockapoo' puppy, Skye is a fearless aviator and daredevil who will try anything to complete a rescue. Her house is an 'Airstream' trailer that transforms into a helicopter, and her pup pack opens to reveal wings that let her take flight. This pup’s gotta fly! Syke has a spectacular rescue in the movie, sacrificing her copter to take down a gizmo known as 'The Cloud Catcher' (Ian James Corlett), which has created powerful and dangerous storms enveloping 'Adventure City'. Rubble (Keegan Hedley) is a construction 'Bulldog' who's tough and gruff but possesses a heart of gold. Rubble’s construction office pup house becomes a digger with a bucket shovel, drill, and auger. His motto: 'Rubble on the double'. Rubble provides much comic relief throughout the story. But like all the other pups, Rubble is also heroic and has a great moment using his cement mixer to prevent disaster with an out-of-control rollercoaster, which is the result of Humdinger’s dumbest idea ever: an upside-down subway/hyper-loop. In another scene, Rubble uses his wrecking ball to crush through a Humdinger-run doggy day care center to rescue Chase and release other pups who’ve been trapped there. Rocky (Callum Shoniker) is a master of recycling and a mixed breed, creative canine. His pup pack contains a mechanical claw, as well as tools like a screwdriver and ratchet. Rocky has a great moment during which a wild fireworks display, unleased by Humdinger, is put out by the pups, and Rocky scoops up all the remaining fireworks into the back of his vehicle and crushes them, for recycling. But there’s still some life left in the fiery display, which causes Rocky and his truck to bounce up and down like he’s riding a bucking bronco. In that moment, you get to see how much fun the pups have, even when they’re in the middle of the most intense rescue. Zuma (Eva Olivia) is a water rescue 'Labrador' pup, whose pup pack contains air tanks and propellers that enable him to dive and swim under water. Liberty is a long-hair miniature dachshund who has grown up in the streets of 'Adventure City'. She's 'The Paw Patrol’s' number-one fan, and dreams of one day joining their ranks, though Liberty never could have imagined that she’d be going on adventures with them in her home city. But the great thing about Liberty is that she always stands up for what’s right. She has all the qualities that make her a perfect fit for 'The Paw Patrol'. The key thing about Liberty is her extraordinary optimism and confidence, She’s a joyful character who sees the best in everyone, loves her city, and wants to protect it from the moment Humdinger enters the picture. So, she calls 'The Paw Patrol'. Liberty brings great energy to the team and makes an easy connection with all the pups, They’re funny, lovable, and many people’s best friends. And the pups in "Paw Patrol' are saving the world, have awesome pup packs, cool cars, and amazing helicopters and motorcycles. Gus (Tyler Perry), a cantankerous truck driver, is rescued by the pups prior to their arrival in 'Adventure City'. He makes his way through 'Adventure Bay', pulling a load of 'Canadian' maple syrup. He’s drinking a slushy, which falls on his lap, and causes him to lose control. Looking for the helpers when you’re young is so important. The rescues and adventures are inspiring to kids, and helps them learn about helping, doing the right things for others, and just being all around good people. That’s a profound message, and it’s what’s drew us to 'Paw Patrol' all these years. Delores (Kim Kardashian), a pampered poodle who’s all bark and no bite. She finds herself aligned with 'Paw Patrol’s' efforts to stop Humdinger’s dastardly deeds. Delores is a 'Valley Girl' poodle pup, who doesn’t mess around with other pups. She doesn’t want to be pushed around and is really sassy and funny. She has little in common with 'The Paw Patrol' pups, and she really doesn’t have their ‘vibe.’ She doesn’t like to get dirty. It’s fun to see a pup like that enter 'The Paw Patrol' world. Another celebrity fan and now, part of 'The Paw Patrol' family, is news reporter Marty Muckraker (Jimmy Kimmel). He’s a, well, dogged correspondent if you will. Marty is always on the scene and reports the news honestly. There’s no fake news in Marty’s reports, much to the chagrin of Mayor Humdinger, for whom Marty is a thorn in his side. While Kimmel’s Muckraker is reporting on Humdinger’s nefarious plans, the latter’s henchmen, Ruben (Dax Shepard), and Butch (Randall Park), are doing everything they can to ensure the villainous politico’s success, albeit in their own comically brutish and incompetent ways. Ruben and Butch are lower-echelon goons. Ruben is a kind of low-rent Jersey gangster who’s made his way into Mayor Humdinger’s circle. Ruben is disreputable, prideful, thin-skinned, and always searching to advance his status. Another character new to 'The Paw Patrol' universe is Kendra (Yara Shahidi), a super-nerdy scientist and Humdinger’s lead egghead, who's employed by the clueless mayor to create a weather control machine known as 'The Cloud Catcher', which will ensure eternally sunny skies above 'Adventure City'. As with all of Humdinger’s humdingers, things go awry, and Kendra must enlist the help of 'The Paw Patrol' to save 'Adventure City' from meteorological catastrophe. Kendra has a big part to play in this film because she’s been forced to use her invention, 'The Cloud Catcher', at Humdinger’s whim, which causes a chain reaction leading to disaster. Kendra’s never-ending stream of four or five-syllable words was the hardest part of getting my mind around the character The series 'Paw Patrol' debuted in 2013 on 'Nickelodeon', becoming an instant hit and thrilling youngsters around the country, and, ultimately, the globe. It now airs in 160 countries. For many years, the fans have watched 11-minute or 22-minute stories on television, but we always knew that the characters and their world could hold up to a much bigger scope. As created by Keith Chapman, 'Paw Patrol' focuses on a 10-year-old named Ryder, a precocious young man and the rescuer, leader, and teacher of a team of pups who join forces on missions to protect the bucolic, sleepy little town of 'Adventure Bay'. Each pup has a specific and impressive set of skills based on first responder professions, such as firefighter, police officer, pilot, and water rescue. They live in doghouses that transform into customized “pupmobiles” for their thrilling adventures. 'Paw Patrol' is one of the most exciting shows in the pre-school space. It entertains, empowers, and connects with kids, while teaching them to be good citizens through teamwork, loyalty, and friendship. The film tells a big story with an emotional impact and find out what makes some of the characters tick. The action is thrilling, but safe, and features cute, cuddly, smart, heroic, empowering, and aspirational pups. They’re your best friends. The movie celebrates the themes of being there for your friends and family, and being a good citizen, all in the context of 'The Paw Patrol’s' biggest adventure. So so, okay if you don't pay.

‘Batman’ has undergone a number of different approaches throughout the years, in terms of comics and films. With cinema there is a large collection of styles, ranging from the camp and comedic Adam West classics, to the slick and smooth Nolan Trilogy. Well, it might have been re-imagined this time round in one of the most surprising but effective culmination of styles. On the surface it may seem a bit odd. A crime fighting fictional vigilante in a bat suit alongside a real life Victorian Ripper. But in a lot of ways, they are a perfect match. They both operate in the shadows, they both wear masks and they both exist in poverty stricken cities, where crime and evil run riot in the streets. There is also the detective element. Many focus on the physical prowess of the caped crusader but we must not forget his aptitude as a crime solver. With Gordon, Bullock, Harvey Dent and Batman himself trying to put the pieces of the Ripper puzzle together, it stops it from becoming too solely ‘Batman’ orientated. Although one of the Warner Bros Animated films, it is not suitable for kids. As I mentioned before, there are many reincarnations of ‘Batman’. Some kid friendly, others more adult. This is the latter of the two. It couldn’t really not be, when it’s main focus is ‘Jack The Ripper’. The broody, dark and atmospheric setting of Gotham seems even more poignant with the influence of Victorian culture. The swirling fog, dark alleyways and imposing architecture merge well with the themes of ‘Batman’ and the city of Gotham itself. One of the reoccurring themes in the ‘Batman’ universe is that of orphans. Bruce Wayne is the obvious one. But there is also Dick Grayson, Selina Kyle and Poison Ivy. That fits in perfectly to the Victorian setting, as street urchins and orphans were a common occurrence. Work Houses and orphanages were standard practice. This is but another example of how these two worlds blend together adequately. The script has been tweaked with a Victorian flair, which is a delight. Especially when you have a fancified version of Jim Gordon telling his wife he will be with her directly. Costume design has been altered slightly. In particular Selina Kyle pulls off a dress and corset combination, made all the better by her accompanying whip. Batman’s suit is not too altered but it has a more steampunk feel to it with its gold buttons, formal shirt and more traditional mask. There are a few other character tweaks. Harvey Dent for example has a curly moustache and comb over hair. His character also mirrors Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, another Victorian classic. Poison Ivy is an exotic dancer, tying in more with the ‘Jack The Ripper’ angle. Dick, Jason and Tim, the three Robins are depicted as ‘Twist’ inspired pick pockets. These reinventions of the characters are ingenious, as it serves to cement the two styles. The inciting incidents when occurring are both exhilarating and unique. Most of them involve Batman squaring up against Jack The Ripper. They are you’re standard fisticuffs and roundhouses but the backdrop is what sets them apart. One of the confrontation occurs in a slaughter house, an ideal selection for obvious reasons. Another is a chase scene across the roofs of Gotham. Just the image of The Ripper’s shadowy outline being pursued by The Batman’s even more defined black outline, sent goose bumps down my spine. There is also a zeppelin, a signature of Victorian steampunk and a fairground, more familiar with the ‘Batman’ canon. This attention to detail reinforces the themes and style of the film, giving viewers a visual narrative of its own. In most adaptions of ‘Batman’, there is a large emphasis on bat gadgets and tech. One might think this poses a problem this time round, as it is more Victorian inspired. Luckily, the creative team have found a way around that. For example Batman is famous for having a bat cave, always located underneath Wayne Manor. This time round his hideout is in the attic, or as my fiance cleverly pointed out ‘the battic’. Although this is a break in tradition, I found the whole concept refreshing. It also fits in more with the period, as many Victorian London houses were built with attics. He doesn’t have a bat-mobile for obvious reasons but he does have a crazy steampunk bat bike with various pistons, motors and cogs. Also, there is more of a challenge for Batman in the Victorian inspired setting, as finger prints aren’t considered legitimate evidence. This forces Batman to find other ways to solve his mystery. ‘Batman Gotham By Gaslight’ is a gamble. It takes two beloved and very distinct worlds and brings them together. It is a tall task, trying to introduce The Ripper into the ‘Batman’ universe with all its history and style, whilst still remaining at its core distinctively dark knight. Fortunately it pays off, delivering an end result that provides something fresh and new but at the same time familiar. It is a reinvention of ‘Batman’ as we know it but then reinvention is what ‘Batman’ is all about. There are so many versions and takes both in comics and film, that it gets away with it. Visually it is stunning with the cities’ dark alleyways, high rooftops and abandoned buildings. Facets that are present in both Gotham and Victorian London. In fact there are so many similarities between the two, that after a while you forgot that it is even different. You accept it as commonplace that the world created is the genuine article because it is convincing. The characters are still the same at there core but they are tweaked to give them a Victorian flair. Being focused on ‘Jack The Ripper’ and his murders, this version of ‘Batman’ is largely focused on his skills as a detective. I found this refreshing, as a lot of the recent ‘Batman’ films have been more focused on the fighting and gadget side. The twist of the piece took me by surprise. I am normally able to predict the shock reveal but they did a good job of misleading the viewer on this one. If you are a fan of ‘Batman’ or a fan of Victorian steampunk and The Ripper you’re in luck. And if like me you are obsessed with both, then it is a dream come true.

You know that guy Paul Feig, the dude who has directed all them comedy films like Spy, Bridesmaids and Ghostbusters (the new one), well his newest film is a bit different. It’s a thriller film. It’s like Gone Girl meets Taylor Swift; there’s a big mystery but it’s super extra.  📷Originally posted by dailyswiftgifs Anna Kendrick is a super sweet, over the top do-gooder mum who befriends a chill, workaholic, style queen Blake Lively. It’s a complete contrast in mums but they form a friendship. Then one day Blake vanishes whilst Anna is looking after her kid. We know it’s not Blake’s boyfriend, Henry Golding because he’s in London looking after his mum. 5 days pass and then they find her in her lake, dead. Anna gets a little too close to her dead best friends husband AS YOU DO and then starts receiving mysterious phone calls from her dead best friend WHAT. So Anna does a bit of swooping about. You know, just the usual; breaking into her works office, visiting Blake’s ex, taking advantage of her dead best friends mum who has severe alzheimer's AS YOU DO. She finds out she’s got a twin WHAT. Blake comes back from hiding. She killed her twin. She then sets up her husband even though he’s done nothing wrong apart from sleeping with his dead wife’s best friend on the day you buried your wife AS YOU DO. Then we’ve got the big climax. Anna brings a gun to her boyfriend/dead (now not dead) best friends (probably not friends now as she slept with the hubby) and confronts the pair of them. Then there’s a bluff, then there’s a double bluff, then a triple bluff, a quadruple bluff and then the ending, I think. There might be another bluff.  📷Originally posted by magobjects It’s a good film, Paul Feig does his usual of showing strong women in his films who don’t have to just talk about men. This is a film about women and men are pretty weak in this film, it’s the women who rule the screen in this one. Anna Kendrick is pretty darn scary in it. Not least because of how cringe and nice she is, but how quickly she can turn it round and become quite psychotic. Blake Lively is rather bad-ass but again when it gets serious its quite shocking to see how it all plays out. A problem I found is that the comedy takes away the seriousness of the film. At times the film is very dark but the comedy, that normally works so well in Paul Feig doesn’t in a thriller. Spy films such as Spy, goes well with comedy, Archer and Johnny English two examples. The Heat, cop buddy comedy film, Turner and Hooch and Rush Hour. But thriller films, unless it’s a parody I don’t see how it works and in A Simple Favour it doesn’t. Which lets it down massively, because the film, when dark and serious works really well. But when it tries to be too funny feels like a dramedy. The ending really sums up my whole point here. The film is really let down by this ending which to me, seems like they didn't know how to end it, or didn’t want to so just made multiple plot points in the hope of confusing the audience. It’s a shame because if they stuck with one idea, and done one twist it would've made a whole better ending, and therefore a smoother film.  3/5 3 out of 5 may sound a bit harsh but the ending massively lets it down, it’s so extra and tries to hard too be a hybrid film. If they stuck to it being very dark the whole way through with a few comedy elements it probably would've worked. Alas, they did not. Ergo, the 3. 

(Release Info London schedule; August 23rd, 2018, Picturehouse, 18:00) "Yardie" Set in ’70s Kingston and ’80s Hackney, "Yardie' centres on the life of a young Jamaican man named 'D' (Aml Ameen), who has never 88 recovered from the murder, committed during his childhood, of his older brother Jerry Dread (Everaldo Creary). 'D' grows up under the wing of a Kingston Don and music producer named King Fox (Sheldon Shepherd). Fox dispatches him to London, where he reconnects with his childhood sweetheart, Yvonne (Shantol Jackson), and his daughter Mona (Naomi Ackie) who he's not seen since she was a baby. He also hooks up with a soundclash crew, called 'High Noon'. But before he can be convinced to abandon his life of crime and follow the righteous path, he encounters the man who shot his brother 10 years earlier, and embarks on a bloody, explosive quest for retribution; a quest which brings him into conflict with vicious London gangster Rico (Stephen Graham). Getting the character of 'D' right is the key to making this movie work. Though now more relatable and sympathetic than he's in the book, it's still essential his on-screen incarnation is not only someone who could convince you he’d grown up under tough conditions on the gang-war-torn streets of Kingston, but who you could also relate to and empathise with, no matter your own cultural background. 'D' has a certain charisma in his eyes, but he also has a volatile and traumatised personality. The 'D' in the script has gone through some shit, so it’s not just about holding up a gun and screaming and shouting. 'D' is undeniably the heart of "Yardie". It’s hardly a one-man sbow. The first place we find 'D', of course, is Jamaica, during a very troubled time. Even today, some areas in Kingston, especially Trench Town, the birthplace of reggae music and Bob Marley’s hometown. After all, Trench Town is still considered one of the world’s most dangerous places, blighted by poverty and suffering frequent gun battles between it's rival gangs. The audiences can relate to the lead character of 'D'. His anger, his drive and charisma. The Rico character’s really central. You want him to be memorable. King Fox is a manipulative, imposing gang boss. He's quite a big, physical character. He's skinny and has a really interesting, singular, sculpted face. He can be genuinely very frightening, but not in a predictable, obviously gangster-y way. When we meet first Yvonne in the story, she's still a kid, trying not to get caught in the crossfire of King Fox’s ’70s turf war with rival gang 'The Tappa Crew'. Yvonne has something else going on. Of course she’s from Kingston, but she has an international appeal as well. Namely, the spontaneous street party thrown by 'D’s brother Jerry Dread meant as a way of quelling the gang war, but which horrifically ends with Jerry’s murder. The final piece of the casting puzzle js perhaps the hardest to find. On it's publication in 1992, Victor Headley’s 'Yardie' proved an instant cult hit. Put out by a two-man independent publishing operation called 'X Press', it was sold at clothing stores and outside nightclubs rather than in traditional bookshops, and through strong word-of-mouth shifted 30,000 copies. It was the first populist black title aimed at a black audience” in 'The United Kingdom'. It’s a page-turning novel full of twists and turns, with a compelling main character. It's a UK gangster story. And it explores a culture that everybody in England is a little bit aware of, but which this book really delved into. Adapted by Norman Brock "Yardie" is a story about a young man dealing with the trauma of losing a sibling at the tender age of 10. Victor’s novel captured the imagination and that of the many people that made this book a cult 80s classic. The script has all the attractive qualities of a genre movie. The film brings it to life in a unique way, in a way that's driven by 'D's experiences as a young 'BWOY' growing up in East London. The film crafts the visuals with every moment detailed in a way that the viewer leaves the film as if they're there too. It's about the trauma of 'D' to be the spine that connects all the limbs together, the violence, the love, the loss, the migration, the music, and attempt to deliver a layered portrayal of a young Jamaican man, someone you love or hate by the end but you do have an opinion on. Not only is it a period movie, set in 1973 and 1983, which required a lot of detail specific to a particular culture. "Yardie" is undoubtedly a tense, gritty thriller. It's something that sat in pop culture. The gangster element feels true to the world. The look and tone of this film is very cinematic. Obviously, Rasta culture is at the forefront, but it’s a vibrant, multicultural world. It gives you an insight and humanises these people. "Yardie" is a word that was coined by Scotland Yard about Jamaicans who came to England in the ’70s”. Drawn from the patois word ‘yard’, meaning ‘home’, it doesn’t just describe the notorious criminal element on which the movie focuses. Everybody got the banner. And a lot of black people in England were saying, ‘I’m a Yardie', and putting a Jamaican flag in their cars and stuff so they didn’t get attacked. Because Jamaicans were the feared black element among the prejudiced people in England at the time. So it has very negative connotations for most people who know it. But in the film we’re readdressing what it means. The point of film-making is to humanise the experiences of other people we would never meet, and people are gonna fall in love with the world in this movie. When the music drops, it’s gonna hit people in the most positive way, man. It’s just gonna warm up their spirits. "Yardie" is a gangster movie and a thriller. It's also, in some ways arguably, a musical, the film compares the toasting scenes with the rap battles of 2002 Eminem-starring movie "8 Mile". But as well as entertaining his audience, the film also wants to provide an insight into 'Yardie' culture. If you’re not so au fait with Jamaican culture, you’ll learn something from "Yardie".

You never, ever take off your blindfold. If you look, you will die. Do you understand? Each year ends with a bang. You’ll have the end-of-year festivities and people party themselves into the new year. But when it’s about movies, this one created an end-of-a-filmyear-bang. Frankly, I didn’t expect too much of it. But maybe my prejudice about Sandra Bullock has something to do with that. I readily admit that I’m not really a fan of this actress. Is it her way of talking? Or her facial expression? No idea. But I have already avoided a lot of films just because of her being in it. But for her acting performance in “Bird Box“, she deserves a standing ovation. I admit Sandra Bullock’s acting is brilliant. Brilliant how Sandra Bullock plays her character, Malorie. A free-spirited woman who’s on her way to becoming a single mum. All indications point to her being a cynic who prefers not to have too emotional bonds with others. Even the way she talks about her unborn baby shows how aloof she is. Even the two children, with whom she makes the dangerous boat trip, are still called by the names “boy” and “girl” after 5 years. Is it pure selfishness? Or self-preservation? Or fear of commitment? Probably. But as the film progresses, you’ll also notice that she has other character traits that make her more human. She stands her ground, shows understanding, defends others and shows how vulnerable she is herself. So thumbs up for Bullock, even though she looks more and more like Michael Jackson. The threat, helplessness and fear. But it’s not just the acting of Sandra Bullock why this film entered my list “Best movies of 2018”. The film itself impressed me. It’s that constant feeling of threat, helplessness, and fear that you get while watching this film. Inevitably one will compare “Bird Box” with “A quiet place“. In this film, the survivors had to produce as little noise as possible, because those who have conquered our beloved globe have a pair of sophisticated ears. Every sigh or groan can, therefore, be heard by them over kilometers, with the result that the person who produced the sound can’t do this a second time. In “Bird Box“, looking is already fatal. That’s why a lot is being blinded with newspapers, curtains, and blindfolds. An advantage for the pregnant among the survivors. No problem to be noisy while giving birth. Look! Oops no, don’t. You can see this film as a fusion of “A quiet place” and “Cell“. Just as there’s chaos in “Cell” after a telephone signal has changed those who were on the phone into murderous psychotics, in “Bird Box” it’s when looking at something unknown that all hell will break loose. In this film, I found that moment more frightening and more breathtaking. When I watched “Cell“, I was slightly disappointed about that moment. Perhaps because I also read Stephen King’s book and King wrote it in such a brilliant and unparalleled way that it was impossible to film it. After the general mass hysteria where a lot of suicides are being committed, we see how a group of random people is entrenched in someone’s home. Soon they are confronted with the known problems. Their food supply is shrinking so they are forced to go outside to resupply. A hazardous undertaking that provides the necessary tension. There’s also the constant threat of falling prey to the unknown danger. Or people who seek help (or something else) knocking at their door. A lot of flashing back and forth. Most criticism will probably be given to the fact that the phenomenon that causes a global suicide wave can’t be seen at all. Apart from some wind, shadows, and leaves that appear to be floating motionlessly in the air, there’s nothing to see. Is it an alien invasion? A failed scientific experiment? A virus? A social media syndrome? No idea. And weird but true, even that didn’t bother me. It stimulates your curiosity and makes you feel the same way as the victims. A feeling of helplessness and fear of the unknown. During the entire film, it goes back and forth between past and present. Normally I’m not such a flashback-fan because this usually undermines the pace and mood of the movie. With “Bird box” I didn’t have that feeling and the subcutaneous tension remained constant. A must see. It’s clear this film competes for the title “Best film of the year 2018“. Sandra Bullock steals the show and is emphatically present in almost every scene. Also worth mentioning is John Malkovich as the sometimes hard-hearted cynic and pessimist Douglas. Such a person who immediately assumes that his country is in a state of war. So he’s constantly parading around with a gun. There is also Trevante Rhodes who is the absolute opposite of Douglas. A sympathetic fellow who’s helpful and shows compassion. And finally, the two young children who act so natural at certain moments. The moment when a terrible decision had to be made during the trip on the river, was touching and brilliantly acted. It’s kind of obvious. “Bird box” left a crushing impression on me. It wasn’t so exciting that I wanted to cover my eyes. But it was a close call! Indeed, a must see. My rating 9/10 Links: IMDB More reviews here

(Release Info London schedule; June 14th, 2018, Vue Cinemas, West End, 12:20) "Hereditary"   When Ellen Leigh (Rachelle Hardy), the matriarch of the Graham family, passes away, her daughter’s family begins to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry. The more they discover, the more they find themselves trying to outrun the sinister fate they seem to have inherited. Making his feature debut, director Ari Aster unleashes a nightmare vision of a domestic breakdown that exhibits the craft and precision of a nascent auteur, transforming a familial tragedy into something ominous and deeply disquieting, and pushing the horror movie into chilling new terrain with it's shattering portrait of heritage gone to hell. The Grahams are a seemingly ordinary, relatable American family plunged into grief in "Hereditary's" gripping opening minutes. Grappling with the loss of Ellen Leigh, Annie's mother and a cryptic matriarchal figure for the entire family, the Grahams process the death in disparate ways. When Annie attends a bereavement support group, we learn more about her late mother's life and heritage and Annie's feelings of alienation inside her own family. Annie is someone who has a lot of issues with her mother, but can't quite seem to get to the bottom of them. There are intimidations as to what Ellen was up to when she was alive, but Annie can't fully piece them together. There's probably a large part of her that doesn't want to know what her mother was doing. It's something she knows in her gut, but she has to deny it. If she looked straight at it, she'd be destroyed. A stay-at-home artist who's preparing for an imminent gallery show, Annie processes her angst by making art out of her life, miniature dollhouses depicting the Graham family's real-world trials and tribulations. She's creating these miniatures of real places and situations in her life, perfect little replicas that give her the feeling of having some control over her life and memories. Annie's husband Steve (Gabriel Byrne) spends long hours seeing clients in his psychotherapy practice; teenage son Peter (Alex Wolff) is adrift in high school, and sneaking joints with his stoner friends. Younger daughter Charlie (Milly Shapiro), is remedial courses, bides her time brooding in the family tree house and quietly fabricating disturbing totems made from animal parts and household trinkets. Peter doesn't have a lot of direction in life. He has no serious interests and hasn't really formed a solid identity, but it becomes the bleak joke of the film that, by the end, he'll have been given a real sense of purpose. Charlie is tightly wound, extremely quiet and is crippled by social phobias. But there's more that's darkly off-kilter about her. As more is revealed, tbe Grahams come to feel like pawns beeing moved around by forces existing in the story's periphery. After introducing the Grahams, "Hereditary" teasingly shifts direction into the realm of a ghost story as Annie strikes up a friendship with Joan (Ann Dowd), a suburban housewife who's grieving the loss of her own recently deceased kin. She persuades Annie to join her in a séance, hinting at paranormal dimensions for the story's second half. With his debut feature director Ari Alster builds on a series of short films centering on domestic rituals and trauma, telling the terrifying story of an American family battling malevolent forces that seek to colonize it's bloodline. The film is a prolonged succession of misfortune that comes to resemble a curce, marks the arrival of a born auteur. This shattering debut transforms the domestic trauma into a work of operatic horror calling to mind classics of the 1960s and '70s. Leading with an elegantly fluid tracking shot that seamlessly fuses two distinct story worlds. The film becomes a sinister vision of a family living under a terrifying curse. This is the story about people who've no agency. The Grahams are like figurines in a maligned dollhouse being manipulated by outside forces. The Grahams house is much a character in the movie as the house's human inhabitants. This movie falls into tbe haunted house genre. The film avoids those clichés like the plaque. No creaking floors or weathered walls or Gothic architecture. The main rooms and hallways of the house and Charlie's private tree house takes on a greater role in the film's diabolical climax. Taking the cue from seemingly unlikely sources such as "Ordinary People", "The Ice Storm", and "In The Bedroom", searing dramas in which multigenerational families grapple with death, mental illness and emotional violence, Alster pushes "Hereditary" into the realm of supernatural horror. He fuses the substance of tbese emotional dramas with creative inspiration from iconic slow-burn shockers of the '60s and '70s, including "Rosemary's Baby", "Don't Look Now", and "The Innocents". The film shapes the story of a family that's literally cursed, suffering through a series of gruesome events revealed over time to be part of a grander Machiavellian scheme. The film's title takes on increasing chilling resonance as the story progresses, taking it's subject of lineage and bloodlines into the realm of supernatural horror and beyond. This is a movie about inheritance. The notion of having no choice in who your family is or what's in your blood. It's about the horror of being born into a situation over which you've no control. There's nothing more upsetting than the idea of being absolutely powerless. The film deals with sacred family ritual and traditions turned toxic, finding dark comedy and hysteria in uncomfortable yet recognizable subjects. The film puts a lot of those feelings through a horror movie filter, where the canvas demands a high level catharsis. And if you're making a film about life being unfair, the horror genre is a very unique playground for that. It's this sort of perverse space where life's injustices are more or less celebrated and even gloried in. In it's rigorous examination of free will and it's damning insistance that everything is ordained and inevitable, "Hereditary" takes a fantastic stance toward breeding and generation. The fact that the Grahams have no agency is a crucial point in this movie, and the feeling at the end is one of hopelessness and futility. It's a simultaneously intimate and large-scale horror film that absolutely refuses to let the viewer off the hook. The film stays with people for a long time, and provokes them to contend with something deeper and more primal, a feeling of something inescapable. "Hereditary" goes to places few audiences will anticipate. Carefully embroidered nightmares about the horrors of family life.