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"Expend4bles"     In "Expend4bles", a new generation joins the world’s top action stars for an adrenaline-fueled adventure. Lee Christmas (Jason Statham) and Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) are back, leading the irreverent and indestructible team of elite mercenaries who laugh in the face of death. They're again joined by Gunner (Dolph Lundgren) and Toll Road (Randy Couture). Armed with every weapon they can get their hands on and the skills to use them, The Expendables are the world’s last line of defense and the team that gets called when all other options are off the table. The core team is buttressed by some new blood with equally unique styles and tactics, but with the same Expendables-style attitude.   They're a tight-knit team who run missions for various and ultra-secretive agencies. The leader of the pack, Barney Ross, has been with The Expendables  since its inception. Barney, is iron-willed, a master tactician, and supreme badass. He’s also a loyal friend to his comrade-in-arms, Lee Christmas. Before embarking on the team’s next mission, Barney’s bond with Christmas comes to the fore at a biker bar, where Barney and Christmas are seeking the return of the former’s cherished ring, which Barney lost, in a thumb-wrestling contest. When the duo’s fast-talking, joke-infused banter fails to yield results, Barney and Christmas do what they do best: take on the entire bar in a wild melee. Barney and Christmas are closer than brothers. As Barney heads into battle, you’ll never find him without his lucky skeleton ring. Barney’s number two, until he passes the torch in this new installment, is Lee Christmas, a hot-headed, knife-wielding merc who’s always by Barney’s side. Christmas is rough around the edges, but The Expendables are always there to support him.   If you double-cross Christmas, you’ll probably end up with a knife between your eyes. Gunner Jensen, a hulking giant, is, like all The Expendables, dedicated to the team’s success. A former chemical engineer, Gunner combines brains, when he chooses to use them, and brawn. This time, he’s trying to stop drinking, and is hung up on a woman he’s met only on the internet. Gunner has more than his share of idiosyncrasies and issues, be it substance abuse or concentration. But he’s been sober for several months and is doing the AA program. He’s also dating on the internet and love may be affecting his skills. There’s always something comedic going on with him, so he’s a bit of a comic relief for the team. Gunner is the only Expendable that isn’t trying to be tough; he doesn’t really care about that. He’s truly an agent of chaos. The fourth founding member of The Expendables is Toll Road, a skilled demolitions expert who’s also proficient in grappling. Due to the latter, Toll Road sports a prominent cauliflower ear, which his teammates, including the new crop, enjoy making fun of.   Newly 'Expendable' are Marsh (Garcia), a suit-and-tie CIA bigwig who assigns the team to its most dangerous mission; Easy Day (50 Cent), a former Marine who had once worked closely with Barney; Gina (Megan Fox), a hired gun and Christmas’s hot-tempered ex; and the hot-blooded, fast-talking Galan (Jacob Scipio), who’s the son of a former Expendable stalwart. They're the shadows and the smoke. They are the ghosts that hide in the night. It’s all about the camaraderie and chemistry. These guys can’t navigate through life, in general; they are only successful when they are together, saving the world. Their individual dysfunction makes them relatable; instead of being indestructible warriors, they feel pain and loss. That’s where we find Lee Christmas as the story opens. He’s having a volatile break-up with his girlfriend, Gina. In addition to being a skilled warrior, Christmas is known for his way with the ladies. But he’s met his match with Gina, a fellow mercenary with whom he’s experiencing a tumultuous, and very loud, breakup. And the team mission that follows is marked by a monumental error in judgment, not long after Christmas takes the reins from Barney as team leader.   But as The Expendables come together for their new mission, Barney is still very much in charge, greeting his longtime team members, welcoming the newcomers, and setting the table for the daunting and life-changing challenges to come. It all seems like business as usual for Barney and the team, but as the mission unfolds, and Barney remains in the pilot’s seat of their plane while his men battle the enemy on the ground, everything is about to change. The Expendables new mission finds them once again aboard their iconic turboprop plane, the Antanov, headed to a secret base adjacent to Libya’s nuclear weapon program. They’re on the hunt for a pitiless arms dealer, Rahmat (Iko Uwais), and his private army, which has stolen detonators to a nuclear device that could start World War III. Rahmat is a former military officer who’s now spearheading a deadly arms deal that could trigger nuclear war. He has some very dangerous clients. When Christmas goes off mission to help a comrade, Rahmat makes a narrow escape, taking the detonators with him. It’s a rare but total mission failure for The Expendables. As the team regroups, they set off on their most fateful journey to stop Rahmat and uncover the high-level operative he’s serving.   The Expendables is synonymous with great fighters and martial artists, it's in the franchise’s DNA. To carry that flame forward and keep it alive, we continue to pay tribute to the great fighters in cinema. Expendables crosses over generations. You've these iconic 80’s, 90’s, 2000’s action movie stars who are still clanging and banging with the best of them to this day. But you also have a new generation passing through, so we're honoring the new, the old we should say, but inviting the new into it. While next-level, explosive action provides the thrills, the film maintains the ante of the action in different areas, including hand-to-hand combat in more of a Hong Kong style than we’ve seen in the previous Expendables films. The film wants to create a much more visceral feel, which is what the Expendables films are all about. "Expend4bles" is a film to enjoy for its characters, thrills, heart, and laughs. That is the film’s triple-threat.   Written by Gregory Mann

(Release Info London schedule; February 6th, 2019, Cineworld, 5-6 Leicester Square, 11:00 AM) "Alita: Battle Angel" From filmmaker James Cameron comes "Alita: Battle Angel", an epic adventure of hope and empowerment, based upon 'The Manga Gaphic Novel Series' by Yukito Kishiro. When Alita (Rosa Salazar) awakens with no memory of who she's in a future world she does not recognize, she's taken in by Dr. Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate cyberphysician who realizes that somewhere in this abandoned cyborg core is the heart and soul of a young woman with an extraordinary past. As Alita learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of 'Iron City', Ido tries to shield her from her mysterious history while her street-smart new friend Hugo (Keean Johnson) offers instead to help trigger her memories. But it's only when the deadly and corrupt forces that run the city, headed by Vector (Mahershala Ali), come after Ido and Alita that she discovers a clue to her past; she has unique fighting abilities ingrained in her that those in power will stop at nothing to control. If she can stay out of their grasp, she could be the key to saving her friends, her family and the world she’s grown. 'The 23rd Century', Earth underwent 'The Fall', a shattering war that halted all technological progress  and left in it's wake a society where every last shred of tech is repurposed and the strong prey on the weak. The story takes place 300 years after a huge war has devastated the planet and a plague weapon left only a tiny percentage of human survivors. The heart of life on Earth beats in 'Iron City', a rich melting pot of survivors; a city full of ordinary people and cybernetically-enhanced humans living side-by-side in the shadow of 'Zalem', the apex of civilization at the time. 'Zalem' is the last of 'The Great Sky Cities'. 'Iron City' may be an oppressed factory town, cranking out goods for the invisible elites who live in the sky, but it has it's own color and energy, it's thrills and it's aspirants. But 'Iron City' remained as essentially a giant refugee camp. It’s full of all these people trying to get to 'Zalem', to get to the land of opportunity and dreams that they can see but always seems just of reach. It's a world in which cybernetic body parts are routinely melded with human bodies and brains to create cyborgs of all shapes, sizes and abilities. And now it's about to get an unlikely hero, a teenage cyborg who emerges from a junkyard to discover her identity and become a source of buoyant hope. When Alita re-awakens to a brand-new life in 'Iron City', she goes through a series of intense transformations. She begins as a nearly blank-slate, devoid of memories, so that even the sour tang of an orange peel electrifies her taste receptors. With no clear identity, she wonders if she's just an insignificant girl who has no real purpose, no real family, even as she begins to forge fledgling bonds. Then, when she discovers the body that's intended to be hers; the so-called 'Berserker' body that has faculties the likes of which 'Iron City' has never seen, Alita has to contend with a whole different idea of her destiny. Ultimately, Alita realizes she's definitely not going to be an insignificant girl, and she refuses to be just the weapon of destruction that 'The Berserker' body is created for. Instead, she turns herself into a passion-fueled instrument for justice. A massive casting search ensued to find someone who could embody all this; a diminutive person with a mammoth persona, with both high-flying moves and the sheer force of a bright and openhearted spirit. After all, tiny Alita must stand up to 13-foot tall cyborg brutes, so the audience has to trust not only in her battle virtuosity but in her growing confidence and determination to both understand the vastness of her power and use it wisely. It's a sleek, iridescent work of biomechanical art with a complex network of neuronal connections that morphs to her subconsicous. Alita’s body change is a kind of metaphor. Alita comes to feel deeply grateful to Dr. Ido, the brilliant cyberphysician who uses his medical training to help the needy of 'Iron City', even while prowling the night as a hunter-warrior. The mesmerizing adventure begins as Ido do makes a scrapyard find that will change his life and 'Iron City' forever, the discarded cyber-core of a girl whose body may be broken but her human brain is still barely pulsing with life. Ido cannot abandon her. He begins to restore this mysterious cyborg and discovers a second chance at fatherhood, a chance to watch her learn, grow and taste the wondrous pleasures of life for the first time with wide-eyed excitement. It's Ido who, in trying to assuage his own emotional pain over the loss of his own daughter, gives Alita a warm, loving home where she's free to explore her true self. Ido tries in some ways to control her but also learns to trust her and let her go, believing that she will make the right choices. They go through all of the moments that a father and daughter go through; the struggling, the love, that moment of the bird leaving the nest. Alita replaces a piece of Ido’s broken heart and in return he gives her life. But the sweet, curious girl Ido names Alita hides many secrets. When Alita inadvertently reveals she possesses unique long lost fighting skills, it becomes clear she must carve out her own destiny. For even if the art of the battle was long ago hardwired into her, Alita must discover in her soul the reasons to fight.   Hugo has to be a hustler to survive in this tough, tough world. He could have gone the route his father did as a factory worker, but he’s driven by the hope of getting to 'Zalem', which has led him to do things he isn’t proud of. Even so, there’s a lot of good to Hugo. He’s passionate, open-minded and when he puts his mind to something, he expects to accomplish it. As it turns out, Hugo is also a 'Jacker', an 'Iron City' outlaw who takes cybernetic body parts by force; a dark truth he tries to keep from Alita. Hugo believes jacking is his way to 'Zalem', but when he falls in love with Alita, he's no longer sure if 'Zalem' is worth it to him. Hugo certainly doesn’t expect to fall for a cyborg, but Alita’s exuberance about the world is intoxicating. When he teaches her to play street 'Motorball', only to watch her excel beyond his wildest fantasies, his heart takes off racing. 'Motorball' is Hugo’s game, so when he sees her incredible talent, it blows him away. But he also sees such a pure soul in Alita. Hugo may not have the enhanced physicality of a cyborg, but he has his own skills. He knows every secret alley and shortcut in 'Iron City'. Then there’s Hugo’s gyrobike, an amped-up, aggressive, single-wheeled version of a motorcycle. The more Alita reveals about who she's, the more she also develops enemies across 'Iron City'. One of the first to recoil in her presence is Dr. Ido’s ex-wife, Chiren (Jennifer Connelly), also a skilled cyberphysician, but one who has turned grief into the pursuit of money and power in the high-stakes world of 'Motorball'. Chiren is aghast to see that the body Ido used to give Alita a new chance at life was the one they designed for their now-deceased daughter. Chiren was born in 'Zalem' so she sees returning there as a kind of magic balm for her life, a way to escape her memories of grief and loss in 'Iron City'. She wants to be transported away with every part of her being and there’s no way she’s going to surrender to existence in 'Iron City'. Her extreme drive is a measure of her desperation and bitterness. In an indelible moment, Chiren’s iced-over heart almost cracks when she first catches sight of Alita. Chiren immediately perceives Alita as a threat because she brings up all this pain she doesn’t want to confront. And she also starts to realize that Alita is going to disrupt 'Iron City' and challenge all the institutions that still exist there. Chiren cannot fully hold at bay the feelings Alita spurs in her. She experiences something like a thaw when she realizes she’s trying to kill someone who looks like her deceased daughter. It’s a moment when Chiren recognize she’s become all that she abhors. And from that moment forward, things move in a different direction. Chiren has allied herself with one of the darkest forces in 'Iron City'; Vector, who has amassed great influence as the city’s top broker of cyborg parts. Vector, who's 100% human, views himself as an elite and looks down upon the striving masses of 'Iron City'. Vector has fully absorbed that only way to win in 'Iron City' is to prey upon the weak. He’d rather be a king in hell than be at the bottom of the totem pole in heaven. His need to stay on top makes Alita an immediate adversary. Vector will do anything in his power to not lose his status. He craves control, and Alita’s way too much of a wild card. Still, though Vector lives better than most in 'Iron City', the truth is that he’s given up his freedom in exchange, allowing himself to be overtaken by the mysterious Nova (Eiza González), an entity on Zalem with the ability to inhabit Vector’s body. Vector is a villain but it turns out he’s really just following orders. The plans are all being dictated by Nova and Vector is sadly just his pawn. Alita soon learns she is not the only cyborg in 'Iron City'. In fact, large portions of Iron City’s denizens have cyborg parts. But what she does not know is that she will become the target of the city’s most feared cyborg, the colossal Grewishka (Jackie Earle Haley). A fallen star of the 'Motorball' games, raised in the sewers of 'Iron City', Grewishka has never known anything but darkness and fighting for whatever he can get, which along with his super-charged frame of parts, makes him the ultimate henchman for Vector. His body goes through several iterations; growing larger and larger each time he must be rebuilt, becoming a massive metal gargoyle, but always plastered with his synthetic face, a reminder of the human within. The only way that he actually derives happiness is through having this enormous, powerful body and the only way he can find self-esteem is by abusing others. That psychology runs deep in him. Also posing a grave danger to Alita is the total replacement cyborg Zapan (Ed Skrein), with his sleek, high-tech body replete with synthetic skin. Zapan is most renowned for his 'Damascus Blade', an ancient 'URM'-built sword that can slice through armor like butter. He's an ostentatious, almost theatrical person. Most hunter-warriors are dirty and rusty, but Zapan prides himself on his ornate body.  He’s a dangerous mix of ego and insecurity. From the earliest stages of imagining "Alita", the film puts audiences inside the tumult of 'Iron City', a 26th Century city reeling from war 300 years prior and but also pulsing with life. 'Iron City' is much more a character itself. The film also envisions a deeply layered place of abundant contrasts, at once a cyborg-filled 'Wild West' of rampant crime and bounty hunters, but also a place where Alita experiences the thrill of discovery, love, elation, street life and the inspiration to change the city for the better. No matter how tough times have become in 'Iron City', the human instinct for fun, for art, for achievement and for joy still runs rampant. 'Iron City' is the place that people have come from all over the world to find sanctuary. So it’s an ad hoc kind of slum superimposed on the high-tech world that existed there before the war. It’s dangerous but it also has this amazing, chaotic energy. 'Iron City' also evokes a whole history of evolution and devolution, with hints of sophisticated technology falling into disarray. You can feel the disparity between the technology that's created before the war but is still in use, and the living conditions that people now enjoy. 'Iron City' is presented as an equatorial city, somewhere in 'South America', though more a melting pot than representative of a singular nation. 'Iron City' has a futuristic culture unlike any you’ve seen before.We’ve seen so much rain-slicked, neon-lit sci-fi and the fact is, you can't top 'Blade Runner' in that regard. The film creates a dusty, sundrenched look that suggests that life goes on in this place despite the oppression people are living. If there's one obsession that unites the people of 'Iron City' it's 'Motorball'; the glam and brutal gladiatorial sport whose champions are the heroes of an otherwise desperate city. The game takes place on rocket-propelled wheels, as hulking cyborgs fitted with chains, spikes, blades and armor race at 100-mph through the hairpin turns of a trap-filled track designed to damage cyborg parts. Those who win at 'Motorball' not only attain rock star status in 'Iron City' but a chance to ascend to 'Zalem' forever. Everyone in 'Iron City' watches 'Motorball'. Kids play street 'Motorball', which is how Alita is first introduced to the sport. Later, with her 'Berserker' body, Alita tries out for the 2nd League; the minors of 'Iron City Motorball'. It’s all new to Alita but she eventually becomes the 'LeBron James' of 'Motorball'. 'Motorball' is just a game, but things quickly turn from a game to a hunt sequence as the cyborgs try to annihilate Alita.    Even when a cyborg’s body has been damaged beyond repair, the human brain can live on and be connected to a new body, which is why Dr. Ido is able to save Alita. But Alita has no clue who she's, where she comes from, or what her life story. When Ido rebuilds her, Alita has no memory. She’s completely open and curious about a world that’s new to her. But as she finds out more about herself, she becomes a more complex character, one who's not only looking for who she was but must decide who she wants to be. Alita’s innate fearlessness, programmed into her long ago when she was built on the human space colony known as 'URM' ('United Republic Of Mars'). Alita has no fear for herself. It doesn’t matter how big or menacing an opponent, she just goes right at it. So this is about Alita’s bonds, betrayals and all she learns about human nature. At the center is always Alita’s human journey. And that’s also what Alita realizes. She may have lost much of her memory, but she has found her humanity, which is what counts. At it's core, this is the story of a girl who gets a second chance at life, and decides this time it will be about following her heart. Based on 'The Graphic Novel Series' by Yukito Kishiro, "Alita: Battle Angel"  re-imagines a mythical post-apocalyptical world as a photo-real city full not only of behemoth cyborgs, furiously fast sports spectacles and dark justice but also of compelling human stories. "Alita: Battle Angel" is a result of many combined imaginations synching up, but most of all it's meant to be Alita’s vision of 'Iron City'. You see this story through Alita’s eyes, eyes that have an innocence to them and see the beauty in things. The film creates something that feels very tactile, that’s immersive, that has unexpected moments, all the things you anticipate in a James Cameron movie. The fervor, risk-taking and fusing of mind and machine, that drove the making of Alita echo what Alita discovers about pouring your all into what you do. “Alita: Battle Angel" pushes a character to a place that’s pretty unique in film history. You not only come to believe in Alita as a human being, but you really get to feel like you are part of her experiences in this rich, new world of 'Iron City'. Plunging the audience full-bore into Alita’s deeply felt experiences of beauty and chaos after being reborn in Ido’s clinic is always central to the vision of the film. It's a fresh vision of the future mixed with thunderous action and themes of exploration, curiosity, self-discovery and a yearning for freedom. The tale of a young amnesiac cyborg, a universal story of discovery and identity and what really matters. The attraction is more the humanity of the story than it's 26th Century setting. The history of 'Iron City', and the gleaming presence of the paradisiacal 'Zalem' looming over it, so close yet ever unattainable, is rich with metaphors. Today, the cutting edge of medical prosthetics research is pioneering new ways for the human brain to both directly control and sense artificial limbs. But what if the fusion of mind and machine make such a quantum leap that it could grant humans the promise not just of restoration but of total reinvention? People have to replace limbs due to the effects of the worldwide plague. Then, it's a normal way of life for people to have replacement parts. There are no bad connotations to being a cyborg, it can even be a sign of wealth. The highest-end cyborgs are what are known a 'Total Replacements'. That’s when all you've left is an organic, human brain but your entire body has been replaced by parts that are stronger, faster, whatever you aspire to.  With "Alita: Battle Angel" comes a total sensorial immersion into a world of unbridled imagination, breathless action and visceral emotion. It's a combination of mutual zeal for world-building and empowered female heroines to push the possibilities of visual story-craft into a new zone. We're already living in an early iteration of a machine-reliant cyborg society. Even before the internet, we couldn’t live without electricity or technology, which makes us similar to cyborgs. We just accept it and try to live our lives, as cyborgs do in 'Iron City'. It only puts the emphasis on how can we be more human. Audiences emerges from theaters with an emotional connection to Alita and the movie rather than wondering how the immediacy of this photo-real world of the imagination was achieved. Times change, but many things stay the same. The film is sets hundreds of years in the future, but if you look back at life 400 years before today, people still sat in a chair to eat breakfast in the morning, just as we do.      

British legends of film and TV come together for this true crime flick that is based upon the robbery of Hatton Garden where old school criminals steal £14 million worth of jewellery and money. Michael Caine leads the cast as a recent widower who promised his late wife he would go straight. However this last job proves too good to turn down, so with the help of his old friends they cause the crime, but end up doing serious time.  📷Originally posted by mizworldofrandom The cast is full of true British icons: Michael Caine, Jim Broadbent, Tom Courtenay, Michael Gambon, Paul Whitehouse and Ray Winstone. It is a cast full of charisma and character. A cast that the audience connect with. The humour is humour for that generation, there were plenty of laughs from the audience in their late 50′s because they relate to the references of going deaf, not understanding the internet, making sandwiches, homophobic rhetoric to the younger criminal. It wasn’t particularly funny. What was funny was hearing the likes of Michael Caine dropping the f-bomb every other sentence. I don’t think that makes a film good though.  📷Originally posted by pemberley-press There wasn’t a lot of action, which isn’t a surprise considering the age of the criminals. Therefore it was dependant on the humour which did let the film down. The film just bumbled along as we watched these men make mistake after mistake. They tried to make it interesting by adding in little sub-plots, the rivalry between Caine and Broadbent, the decisions that Courtenay would make but in all honestly it all seemed a bit pointless considering the whole of the robbery was over in 40 minutes and the next hour we are waiting for them to be arrested. There was no build up to any of it.  2/5 Whilst it was enjoyable seeing old legends embrace the screen again enthusiastically, the pacing of the film was all off and didn’t entertain as much as the cast has the potential to do.

(BFI London Film Festival • Peter von Kant Sunday 09 October 2022 • Curzon Mayfair, 21:00 Tuesday 11 October 2022 • BFI Southbank, NFT1, 12:40) "Peter Von Kant" Peter Von Kant (Dennis Ménochet), a successful, famous director, lives with his assistant Karl (Stefan Crepon), whom he likes to mistreat and humiliate. Through the great actress Sidonie (Isabelle Adjani), he meets and falls in love with Amir (Khalil Ben Gharhia), a handsome young man of modest means. He offers to share his apartment and help Amir break into the world of cinema. For Fassbinder, the world of fashion was merely a context. Petra’s work is not developed or analyzed. We only know that she's successful, that she needs to draw new designs, and that her assistant is there to help her. His work is how he meets others, discovers them, elevates them. Amir reveals himself before the camera, not just to Peter but also to the viewer. Suddenly we see him differently, he becomes an actor, which also makes us doubt his sincerity. Is his story true, or is it merely calculated to move Peter, to stimulate his desire to create? When Peter seizes the camera, his appetite to film Amir is clear. That movement plunges him into the creative desire of Pygmalion for Galatea. Sidonie is also a variation on the theme of Pygmalion and his muse. Peter loves and hates her simultaneously. 'I preferred the actress to the woman', he says. In Fassbinder, the character is merely a confidante; a best friend for Petra to bounce of off. We imagine Peter as a big drama queen, always making too much of things. In the Fassbinder film there's a queer side, with the women overplaying their femininity. Peter is forever drowning in his emotions. He’s excessive, overly emphatic. And more often than not, he’s high on alcohol or drugs. The trick is to embrace the theatricality of the character. The color and stylization work characterizes his final period on material from his first period. Peter wants to take Amir in, protect him, be his Pygmalion. Peter falls in love not just with Amir but also with the creature he could shape Amir into. And when Amir ultimately escapes him, Peter is riddled with jealousy. And again, all his theories about freedom in relationships come tumbling down. When Peter meets Amir, there’s a sexual fantasy for sure, but he’s also found someone who is as alone as he's, whose life is broken. Beyond the physical and sexual attraction. Peter ends up alone, but he has his memories of Amir on film. Exploring the theme of love through the prism of cinema is moving, especially right now, with changing attitudes towards going to the movies, falling theatre attendance, the emergence of platforms. This film "Peter von Kant" is perhaps more optimistic than Fassbinder’s. Though Peter ends up alone and isolated, his eyes are open to his films, his imagination, fiction. He films Amir, he records his love. Creation and cinema save Peter. The film is an adaptation of 'The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant'. Fassbinder originally wrote the story for the theatre. He made it into a film in 1972 when he was just 25 years old. He had recently discovered the Hollywood melodramas of Douglas Sirk, and used all the theatrical and cinematic artifices and mannerisms at his disposal to film his play about emotional dependence and the impossibility of loving as equals. Fassbinder’s body of work, philosophy and vision of the world have always haunted us. His unbelievable creative energy fascinates us. The film centers around one of Fassbinder’s passionate love affairs. In 'The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant', Fassbinder had turned his own unhappy love affair with one of his favorite actors, Günther Kaufmann, into a lesbian love story between a fashion designer and her model. The character of Karl is inspired by Peer Raben, who composed music for Fassbinder’s films and was also his assistant. The film trades the world of fashion for the world of cinema and changes the gender of the three main characters. It's a way of betraying Fassbinder the better to find him, in a universal tale of passionate love. The story is more relevant than ever in the way it questions the power dynamics of domination in the creative arts, the Pygmalion/muse relationship. 'Water Drops on Burning Rocks' was consciously very theatrical, with an ironic detachment reminiscent of Fassbinder’s cinema. This film wants to inject more empathy into a new version of 'The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant'. Maybe with age and experience we understand Fassbinder better, the way he sees life, creation and love right down to it's most monstruous aspects. Fassbinder is not a loveable filmmaker. His films are not loveable. But we feel a wide range of emotions towards Peter. To hate him one minute and find him touching, grotesque or endearing the next. He blends the intimate and the political in the most naked of ways, both literally and figuratively. The effect is at once pathetic, sincere and devastating. There’s also a dash of boulevard in Fassbinder’s work, but it’s more Brechtian, there’s more distancing. The film wsnts to highlight the emotional power of the text, bring the character's humanity and feelings to the fore, leave behind Fassbinder’s little theatre of puppets in favor of flesh and blood characters. The bitter tears in Fassbinder’s play and film are artificial, which is what makes them beautiful, both theatrically and cerebrally. Written by Gregory Mann

The hardest part is… not knowing what’s happened to them. If there’s one horror genre that pops up ad nauseam, it’s that of zombies. Not a month goes by without a release in which undeath feast on innocent non-infected fellow humans. Since the cult film “Night of the Living Dead” by George A. Romero, a countless number of zombie flicks have already been made. Every once in a while they try to give it an original twist to make it more comical or profound. So that for once the emphasis isn’t on the bloodthirstiness and the jump scares. Something like “Attack of the Lederhosen Zombies” or “Warm Bodies“. These movies bring a smile to your face rather than scaring you. Others try to put in some more melodrama as in “Maggie“. “The night eats the world” (original title “La Nuit a dévoré le Monde“) is such a film that tries to follow an alternative path in the zombie genre. Just like in “Dead within“, the film deals more with the psychological state of mind of a survivor than about the destructive character of the infected persons. Paris once looked more lively. Let’s introduce Sam (Anders Danielsen Lie) who dozed off in a back room during a party of his ex-girlfriend. And then he wakes up the next day in an abandoned flat where seemingly a chaos has broken out. Everything is a mess as if everybody left in a hurry and the walls are smeared with blood traces and splashes. Soon he discovers that the streets of Paris are taken over by a mob of zombies. Gradually he realizes that he’s lonely and abandoned in the building and that he must do everything he can to survive this holocaust. And that’s what you are presented within this movie. A portrait of a solitary survivor whose daily routine slowly turns into a rut. The isolation and loneliness take their toll. Don’t expect to much tension. For those who associate a zombie film with bloody scenes and nerve-wracking moments, it will rather be a disappointing film. I’m sure that the words “boring” and “annoying” will be the most common terms used by seasoned zombie fans. But admit it. If you end up in such a situation, you will also have a limited daily life, resulting in a tedious dullness. A walk in the park around the corner, going for a newspaper or drinking a cup of coffee in a local bar are all options that belong to the past from this moment on. Because after the slightest noise, a whole myriad of mutilated zombies will be rushing towards you to consume you as a snack. In itself, the zombies don’t look so terrifying but rather moronic and stupid. Only the lack of growling or making creepy noises makes it rather frightening. So don’t expect any ominous sounds, bestial growls or threatening teeth chattering. Zombie flick for beginners. If you really aren’t a fan of zombie movies and you leave skid marks in your underwear every time you see such a hollow-eyed creature appearing around a corner, I guarantee it, you can watch “The Night Eats the World“. You won’t experience a shuddering moment. The only thing you will feel is compassion. You’ll feel sorry for Sam. How he slowly withers away and gradually comes to terms with his fate and the fact that he can’t go anywhere. His only problem is his food supply and the lack of company. That’s why he keeps an infected old man locked in a blocked elevator and uses him as a partner in dialogue. And to kill some time (how appropriate), he uses the apathetic looking zombies in the streets as a target to improve his shooting skills with a paintball gun. In a way, it surprises. Even though his part isn’t filled with entertaining dialogues or fascinating conversations, Anders Danielsen Lie manages to play a whole range of emotions in a convincing way. I thought the cunningly added twist was quite obvious. Don’t you think you’ll become delusional from such a secluded existence and the constant fear of an upcoming assault? The behavior of certain undead can even be called hilarious at times. And the relationship between Sam and his trapped neighbor is at least surprising. All in all “The night eats the World” is an original film with a unique view on the zombie genre. My rating 7/10 Links: IMDB More reviews here

The German doctor, he believes the tar in the ground has some kind of a power. He calls it his science. But it’s just an excuse to kill us. When I watched the movie “Trench 11” at the end of last year, I already said this might be the cheaper version of “Overlord“. The starting point was identical. In “Trench 11” it’s a group of soldiers who had to search an abandoned bunker of the Germans. There were rumors the Germans conducted experiments there. The Germans tried to fabricate a chemical product so they could create invincible storm troops and thus conquer the rest of the non-German-Friendly world. The biggest difference between “Overlord” and “Trench 11” is the choice of world war. In “Trench 11” they were wallowing in the trenches during World War I. “Overlord” takes place during the 2nd World War. That means a lot of raised hands and loud clacking of heels. But the rest is actually similar. A film that shows the madness of a filthy war and mixes this with non-human creatures with the madness flowing through their veins. It’s D-Day all over again. Operation Overlord was the code name for the invasion by the Allies in German-occupied Western Europe. Obviously, that’s where the film got its title from. And that’s also where this film begins. A swarm of flying fortresses on their way to France to drop a load of paratroopers. It seemed as if I was watching “The Longest Day” back again. Even the ritual with the agreed code words “Flash” and “Thunder” is used in this movie (I missed the clicking though). The opening scene is still impressive and reminds you of legendary WWII films such as “Saving Privat Ryan” (although the first 15 minutes of the latter were obviously more impressive). First, it’s a genuine war-movie The first part is therefore entirely devoted to the mission of a few American paratroopers. The task they need to complete is disabling a radio tower somewhere in a French village. An extremely important assignment, it seems, It sounds far-fetched but the success of the entire invasion depends on it apparently. From the group of soldiers Boyce (Jovan Adepo), Ford (Wyatt Russell, son of) and Tibbet (John Magaro) take center stage. Boyce is the wimp. An inexperienced soldier who’s regarded by the others as useless. Ford is the leading officer who has to make sure the operation succeeds. A gut-eater avant la lettre. And Tibbet is the bigmouth of them all who brags about his sniper qualities. Something that he wants to put into practice in Berlin. He’ll put a bullet through Hitler’s head and thus end this world war rapidly. And then the horror kicks in. Their path crosses that of Chloe (Mathilde Olivier), a French resistance fighter who wants to take revenge on the German occupiers of her village. Understandable, since those Germans systematically use the inhabitants of the village as test animals. Including Chloe’s parents. From here, the film gradually transforms into a horror/zombie film. Not that it’s all so scary or nerve-racking. In my opinion “Overlord” is nothing more than a typical war film in which a commando, with a specific mission, not only battles German troops but also non-human opponents. So be prepared for lots of veined bloodthirsty creatures, blown away or crushed body parts and gallons of blood. Pulp War/Horror Movie. I wasn’t really impressed by this film. For me, it’s just a more expensive, slick version of “Trench 11“. Maybe I was misled by the trailer. The trailer suggested it would be a blood-curdling zombie movie. Ultimately, the film shows the horror of this world war in a proper way. And there are also a bunch of crazy Nazi doctors who try to create an Übermensch. Something similar as when General Ludendorff sniffs some kind of chemical stuff in “Wonder Woman“, after which he suddenly has superhuman powers. In short, “Overlord” is a pulp war/horror movie. It’s great material to create some kind of videogame from. It isn’t very original and certainly disappointing for the seasoned horror fanatic. But this much I can say. It isn’t boring. On the contrary. It’s entertaining enough. And it’s been expertly put together. It’s worth a look for sure. My rating 6/10 Links: IMDB

Her story begins where the fairy tale ends. I suppose this movie was inspired by the well-known fairy tale “The Little Mermaid” by Christian-Andersen. Now, if you were an attentive reader, you’d noticed that this little sea-dweller was explicitly present throughout the whole story. If this film is a kind of homage to this fairytale, then it really falls short on that part. It’s more like the movie “Godzilla“. This legendary monster also appeared only a few minutes in the film. The same for the singing mermaid in “Mermaid’s song” (First titled “Charlotte’s song“). You can admire her for 5 minutes. That’s rather scanty for a film that lasts 88 minutes. But in that short period, you can see that the transformation of Charlotte (Katelyn Mager) to the dreaded mermaid is shown in a successful way. Nope, this isn’t horror. This film obviously isn’t a fairytale suitable for little children. However, it’s not such a frightening film as the film poster suggests. And categorizing it under the genre “horror” is also a bit exaggerated. You could call it a drama with some fantasy elements. The drama part deals with the demise of a flourishing cabaret theater somewhere in no man’s land in the United States. The deterioration of this establishment is caused by the death of Serena (Natasha Quirke, mother of Charlotte and also blessed with the mermaids gene) and the economic depression. And before he realizes it, George (Brendan Taylor), father of Charlotte and a spineless wimp, is having a financial hangover and is heading for a forced closure. I guess men went crazy when seeing such a show. Whether the bankruptcy of this bar is caused by the prevailing economic crisis only, I doubt anyway. The stage show isn’t exactly a crowd puller either. Maybe it was exciting enough for that period. In those days naked flesh of a female foot was enough to drive an average man crazy. I was surprised to see (during a stage performance) that the phenomenon of twerking was already invented in the 1930s. The fact that a lot of people showed up in the past, was mainly because of the enchanting singing of Serena. She was a mermaid who has exchanged her tail for a pair of slender legs and completely renounced to live on as such a sea miracle, so she can spend the rest of her life with the man who has completely and absolutely won her heart. Business has been slow? Turn it into something erotic. But to be honest, the whole thing about mermaids is subordinate to the rest. “Mermaid’s song” is rather a social drama about poverty and the local mafia trying to exploit misfortunes. That’s when Iwan Rheon appears on the scene. He plays Randall. A kind of Mafia type who has a lucrative proposal for George so the bar could be saved. The fact that George needs his daughters to act as ordinary prostitutes and his business is more like a brothel from then on, is the other side of the coin. And in this horrifying situation, Charlotte needs to grow up. An innocent looking girl who discovers that she has a special gift. Pros and cons. It’s strikingly clear that “Mermaid’s song” is a low-budget film (and the lion’s share of that budget went undoubtedly to Iwan Rheon). The sound is simply terribly bad. The balance between music, sounds, and speech was so bad that you couldn’t understand what people were saying sometimes. It was completely drowned out by the sound effects and music. Sorry to say, but that’s something typical for a low-budget film. Also, the acting wasn’t always enjoyable. It was rather clumsy and inexperienced. In retrospect, Katelyn Mager wasn’t so bad after all. But I was really pleased with the overall presentation of the film. The decor, the props, and clothing looked authentic. And the scarce moments with the mermaid showing up, weren’t so bad either. It’s a mermaid hype. So, all in all, it is nothing more than an average film. No, it’s not the kind of film that makes you very enthusiastic. And no, it isn’t so bad that it should be ignored at all time. If you ever come across it on one or another television channel, you should give it a chance. “Mermaid’s song” is definitely worth a look. The film itself dates from 2015, but only surfaced again last year via “Video On Demand” services. Weird. Does it seem as if they are trying to benefit from the success of “The shape of water“? My rating 4/10 Links: IMDB More reviews here

“Poor Things”     “Poor Things” in the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), a young woman brought back to life from the brink of death by the brilliant and unorthodox daring scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). Under Baxter’s protection, Bella is eager to learn. Hungry for the worldliness she's lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.   At the beginning of the film, Bella is a prisoner in the house and wears very Victorian looking blouses, but never a complete outfit. Bella doesn’t have any shame or trauma, or even a backstory. She's not raised by a society that's putting these confines on women. Bella draws things from the men she meets, from the women she meets, from the environment she's in, from what she's eating. Her character has never been told that there’s anything wrong with enjoying sex or the freedom to do whatever she wants when she wants. She's like a sponge. From being trapped at home, she goes to Lisbon on a romantic voyage with her lover. On the ship, she's met with a constant desire to escape. Then Alexandria are her younger years, where she sees the world as a messed-up place. Paris is her exploration of sexuality, where she pushes herself as far as she can before she returns home. Bella’s representation of woman sexuality is more in line with today’s landscape rather than thirty years ago. She's able to explore sex without feelings of guilt, which makes her a modern heroine. It feels like an unlocking and acceptance of what it's to be a woman and to be brave and free. Socially, you're so wired to think, ‘do people like me? She's not thinking about that.   Alongside themes of sexuality and social constraints comes the exploration of the male character's need to control Bella. Dr. Godwin Baxter is a brilliant, traumatized scientist, and a lonely man who wants to push his science and his art as far as it can go without a care for society’s rules. Baxter has his own journey as well. He starts out trying to possess her in a way, to parent her in the only way he's learned through his father. But you see that he kind of matures through his interaction with her. And eventually he comes to understand that he needs to let go and let her experience the world, and he's really supportive. Baxter also comes from an experiment, and he’s quite literally scarred by what his father has done to him. When Baxter brings Bella back to life, she becomes more than just an experiment to him, their relationship is not easily defined. Baxter hasn’t loved before, but he accidentally loves Bella, cares for her deeply and sees something of himself in her. There's an intelligence, curiosity and aliveness in Bella that he maybe wishes he could explore in himself. They're father and daughter, scientist and experiment, and even soul mates in a way, though not in a romantic or exploitative way. It’s not a simple relationship to categorize. The dynamic is being worked out over the course of the film through Bella’s discoveries. At a certain point, Baxter realizes she has to go out into the world, but he’s selfish and needs to go to a higher love.   Their relationship reaches a crisis point when Bella decides to leave home with Duncan Wedderburn. Duncan embodies toxic masculinity. He’s controlling, insecure and has a deep alpha male mentality. When Bella decides to leave London with Duncan Wedderburn and travel to Lisbon, she leaves with the mind and outlook of a young girl. Lisbon is her first time out in the world, and she wants to consume and experience everything, revealing in all the possibilities it has to offer. The danger with Duncan is that he just come across as a cad. As a ladies man who has been with many women, when he unexpectedly falls in love with Bella, it ultimately destroys him. She’s the perfect woman for him if he would just let her be herself. She’s rebellious, she’s game, and she makes him feel something, but his need to control kills the relationship. Under every raging narcissist is a really broken, vulnerable person, and Bella just cracks him open.   A bittersweet catalyst in Baxter and Bella’s relation's hip is the introduction of his student, Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef). Max is a poor-disheveled student who's clearly in awe of his professor, who has offered him an opportunity he can’t refuse. He has a gentle and friendly energy, but we also see an edge of darkness that he wants to let go. Part of the draw for Max is that he has lived a very sheltered life, and Bella seems safe, and very pure for obvious reasons. He’s a character that grows and whose moral compass shifts as he encounters Baxter and Bella. There's a rawness about Bella which attracts Max, she really speaks to something that any person is probably trying to regain. She's a modern woman in this time, and she gets to retain that human curiosity that we all had at a young age. It really shows the multitude of what is thrown at women from a young age. Bella gets to experience that from a different vantage point and then pick it apart and demolish it.   Harry Astley (Jerrod Carmichael) is someone that Bella meets at a key point in her journey on the ship. So far, she thinks that people are good, which comes from a place of privilege. Harry broadens the scope of the world. He shows her poverty that she didn’t know existed in a way that's juxtaposed to the very wealthy as a spectator sport. Harry is a cynic, through his life and career, his viewpoint has narrowed, which is why the scenes with Bella work so well; the juxtaposition of her naivety to his prejudices. When he takes Bella to Alexandria, she's confronted for the first time by mankind’s inhumanity to poverty. When he takes her to Alexandria, her soul shatters and her entire life changes. It's her first trauma and leads to some very important decisions in her life. Bella’s eyes are opened to the monstrous part of society when Harry takes her to Alexandria, and she sees the impoverished slum dwellers. This is the only time we see Bella as a representative of her social class and as an upper-class woman. There are really souls in the world that are pure and nonjudgmental, and you oscillate between thinking that they’re naïve and also wishing that you could have that freedom.   Bella is fascinated by Martha Von Kurtzroc (Hanna Schygulla) when she meets her on the cruise ship. She’s an older woman who's dressed eccentrically for the time and is very independent, so Bella is inspired by her instantly. Martha is a Women’s Libber and emancipated. She’s wealthy and can afford to have certain thoughts and ideologies because she’s never been dependent on a man. In Paris, Bella reaches a pinnacle for her sexual and intellectual development. It all comes together there in a way, she truly decides on how to see the world and how she wants to live in it. Swiney (Kathryn Hunter) is outrageous and cruel. On the face of it, she’s the horrid Madame of the Brothel, but then she falls for Bella, and she wants to possess this extraordinary creature. With Swiney’s character, Bella ultimately understands that it’s not just men who try to control her. With the profession she works in and the assortment of characters that have come through her doors, Swiney assumes that she has seen every facet of womankind. When Bella shows up on her doorstep, it astonishes her. She’s amazed by this, kind of naïve genius.   After Bella returns home and starts to settle back and relax into this world — and the happiness of her existence, Alfred Blessington (Christopher Abbot) suddenly appears, and her whole backstory comes to surface. He’s a bit of a cunt, generally, but he still has a heart somewhere deep down, shrouded under a bunch of ice. He's very possessive in some ways, but he's been through war and has a lot of PTSD. While Alfie knows Bella from her former existence, he's, ultimately, seeing her for the first time. It's probably quite jarring for Alfred because he's catching her when she's become a fully formed adult again. To him, he probably actually believes this is her, and it's some farce, there's a lot of denial happening. His character admits that their relationship had not been an ordinary one. It feels like they probably had this sort of mischievous, very combative, but fiery relationship in the past.   “Poor Things” deals with the patriarchal tension through Bella’s eyes. Bella is not only the protagonist but also the foil for the male characters. It's her ability to remain true to her humanity and to use her experiences to discover a sense of purpose that makes her admirable. Her zest for life encapsulates the curiosity that humans possess and crave new life experiences. It's about the development and liberation of a woman who grows up in a very repressive male society. That’s a lot of the source of the comedy because her relationships with the male characters are very frank and quite exposing of the fear men have of women. The male characters are trying to control Bella in their own various ways, and she doesn’t even entertain it. She's just too autonomous. The film explores men’s views of women and the lens that they're put under, and how men believe women are there to serve them.   What would a woman be, if she were able to start from scratch? Alasdair Gray’s novel is immediately something very visually striking and complex, the themes, the humor, and the complexity of its characters and language. The book is packed with ideas about gender, identity, and even Scottish nationalism. You’re in this incredibly rich philosophical and political world, all while being hilarious. It's a story about a woman’s freedom in society. To imagine a world where your mind isn’t conditioned by growing up and being taught to be a certain way. But it's also a version of the Frankenstein story, inverting the classic story by making the monster’ a very perceptive, beautiful woman, and her love interests potential monsters. While the book is told from numerous points of view, the script gives Bella the central one. It’s Bella’s coming-of-age story, and it lives in a dystopian version of a Merchant Ivory film, with the idea of a grand tour. The script pulls on different mythologies and story tropes. The story is grotesque and visceral.   There's a different mentality around sex in Europe versus America. We can watch so much violence and pain inflicted on people in a mass way in America, but nudity and sexuality are shocking to us. With the liberation of social constraints, also comes the return to a child-like wonder of the world. It’s that draw to purity, to something that hasn’t been tarnished. A wish to possess something that maybe reminds us of whom we used to be and try and regain that innocence in ourselves. We're very cognizant of the sexual politics and how that relates to the present day. There are always those people in society that don’t have the look of the time. You could walk down the street now and see someone who looks like they’ve come straight from the 70s. We're exploring who those people might have been, and what if they thought differently? When reading about women in the Victorian times, she noticed it was often much more about what rules they should follow. Bella has no shackles on her, making her a wonderful character to watch and the perfect example of pushing back against what was expected in Victorian England.   “Poor Things” comes at a time that might offer some insight into the problems currently faced around the world. The times that we live in right now can feel particularly chaotic. Sometimes you want to look back in history and learn lessons from the past. This is a political film, and we've to recognize the feminist and socialist aspects. The endeavor of the novel and the film is to make the world a better place by not accepting the evils we've come to regard as normal.   Written by Gregory Mann

You people are out of your minds. The place you wanna go? It’s off-limits. This is really the most miserable film I’ve seen this year. Not only the story was totally stupid and completely absurd. Also, the acting was sometimes extremely bad. I’m sure there are local theater associations who could exceed this. Furthermore, there were certain elements in the story which didn’t make sense. And last but not least, the subject this movie was about, was absent almost the complete film. You have to be satisfied with just the head of the monster appearing above the water or an approaching shadow with accompanying dangerous growls. Except during the denouement. At that moment the monster, that makes this island a dangerous place, is to be seen in all its glory. And that’s also such a bad design. It would have been better if they left it in the shadows. As far as I’m concerned, they could have played it with a hand puppet. Probably it would have been the same. Horribly outdated CGI. No way. There are 6 “Lake Placid” movies? After watching this film I went looking for more information and came to the baffling conclusion this was already the 6th film about the famous lake. I’d never heard about this franchise before. And after watching this 6th movie, it’s better that way. I don’t feel the urge suddenly to view all other parts. And as far as I could read, the level of the predecessors was of the same caliber. You could say that for example, the “Sharknado” series is the stupidest film franchise of all time. But at least there was humor in it and it earned an unbeatable cult status. I’m sure that won’t happen with the “Lake Placid” franchise. I’m afraid it’ll get the same status as “Dinoshark” for instance. The status of “crap movie of the year“. Let’s call it quits. Wow, 100 grand. Ok, let’s go. In this film, it’s a group of environmental activists who are challenged by a former member. Their actions consist of entering a facility of a dubious company that violates environmental guidelines and animals or human rights. Once they’ve worked themselves inside, they unroll a gigantic pamphlet. In my opinion, a ridiculous statement. But that’s beside the point. And then, when they’ve decided to stop with these activities, they receive the challenge to explore an island where Lake Placid is located. It appears that it would be polluted with chemical or nuclear waste. But as soon as they’ve arrived at the site, they notice there’s no radiation and that an immense lab has been built. And even worse. It appears that a giant reptilian monster is stumbling around on this island. Go ahead croc. Tear them apart. And yes, it’s literally stumbling. Because our friend the crocodile isn’t really swift-footed. Not difficult if you are a whopper of 15 meters. The fact that the monster swims rapidly under water is quite evident since he has such large feet. But on land, the thing is ponderous and slow. And yet this creature succeeds in squeezing itself through corridors, stairs, doors, and shutters one way or another. And the unfortunate gang who ended up there can run as fast as they can. This bad boy always shows up back again. To be honest, there were only two persons I hoped would survive. And those were the ex-marine Pennie (Alisha Bailey) and the journalist Alice (Sai Bennett). The rest were just annoying characters who actually deserved to be torn apart. Plain simple. It’s a bad movie. Is there nothing positive to say about this film? Yes, there is. The film poster looks great and was actually the trigger that made me watch this film. I’m even convinced that most energy has been put into the design of this poster. But in general, “Lake Placid: Legacy” is simply a bad movie. Inadequate acting, a ridiculous storyline and a monster that barely comes into the picture. And when it does, it looks terrible. In short, I hope they aren’t planning to make another sequel. In any case, I will avoid it, if that’s the case. My rating 1/10 Links: IMDB More reviews here

"All Of Us Strangers"     One night in his near-empty tower block in contemporary London, Adam (Andrew Scott) has a chance encounter with a mysterious neighbor Harry (Paul Mescal), which punctures the rhythm of his everyday life. As a relationship develops between them, Adam is preoccupied with memories of the past and finds himself drawn back to the suburban town where he grew up, and the childhood home where his parents appear to be living, just as they were on the day they died, 30 years before.   There’s a textured, indelible sense of pathos that runs through "All Of Us Strangers", and the vast majority of the film’s complexities sits firmly on the shoulders of the protagonist Adam. Adam is a forty-something gay screenwriter living in a new build apartment block in London. He’s an orphan. He’s single, lonely. He carries around the burden of grief from a traumatic episode in his youth that saw both parents killed in a car crash. A cliché, he claims. Adam is a very solitary figure. He’s described by his mother as a very gentle and compassionate person. But that’s a kind of privilege, in a way. Adam is yearning to see his parents again, aching to be known by them. Perhaps finding them again will bring comfort and closure after the terrible loss. But it’s no easy task, nostalgia can often hide a different truth, and his parents were a product of the time they lived. Adam must also confront his fragile sense of self, battered by growing up gay in the 80s and 90s. Two traumas perhaps, closely entwined, stopping him from finding peace. Harry lives in the same apartment block as Adam, and after propositioning his neighbor one drunken evening, the two eventually become romantically involved. Their intensely passionate and transformative love affair has a transcendent power for them both.   He feels like a little boy, like somebody who should be a lot happier than he is, and the world tells him that he should be, but he’s not. He hides behind being sex positive and sex forward, and being fun, and he has a somewhat casual but problematic relationship with drugs and alcohol, he’s trapped. We recognize him in little bits of outself and friends and young men in the world. Much of the film’s emotional punch comes from the tender, heart-wrenching, and healing bond between Adam and his parents, when he returns to his childhood home and spends time with them. His deceased parents, who are alive, and the same age they were when they died. It’s a unique and endearing sense of absurdity, yet one that almost instantly feels weird. Mum (Claire Foy) has a complicated role, she's less accepting of who Adam is, of who he’s become. You can imagine that the father (Jamie Bell) would be the one to be uncomfortable with the idea that his son is gay. It adds this layer of complexity to Mum’s character. Adam coming out to his parents, finally, is one of the key narrative forces within this tale, and is handled with an adept, delicate touch that makes for some of the film’s most moving sequences, down to the subtlety of the writing. The characters have to maintain a sort of element of mystery.   "All Of Us Strangers" is hauntingly poignant and hypnotic story of loss and love and everything in between, is inspired by the novel 'Strangers' by Japanese author Taichi Yamada. First penned in 1987 and translated into English in 2003. What if you met your parents again long after they were gone, only now they’re the same age as you? The romantic parallel journey of "All Of Us Strangers" takes place in a more familiar, contemporary London. Scenes there range from the towering, modern apartment block where both Adam and Harry live, to the nightclub, which hosts an impactful and beautifully rendered portion of the film, shot on location at the iconic queer London institution: the Vauxhall Tavern. The isolation of the former set where Adam lives adds not only to the themes of loneliness that are prevalent, but to an otherworldly feeling which plays up to the supernatural element of the story. It’s a key part of the story as it really symbolizes the character’s isolation, and feeling very disconnected from the world, so we all have a real vision in mind. It seems an emotional way to explore the nature of family. The film wants to explore the complexities of both familial and romantic love, but also the distinct experience of a specific generation of gay people growing up in the 80s.   Though "All Of Us Strangers" is set in a singular time frame and era, the sequences when Adam returns to his childhood home to see his parents take place in a 1980s version of our world, as though stepping into a dream, a hazy, nostalgia-induced memory. It’s kind of hallowed turf, in a way. Move away from the traditional ghost story of the novel and find something more psychological, almost metaphysical. It's very surreal, and it makes us think a lot about what our children are going to say about our homes in forty years. It almost feels apocalyptic. It mirrors the isolation of the world to a certain extent; you’ve got these corporate towers, and these cities that are rapidly eroding, and you feel like little ants in this massive tower.   If you’re not inclined to go out and mix with the world, you can very easily find a place that isolates you. That’s what the tower represents, it feels cold and soulless. And in the face of all that, these two characters still manage to find a connection which we think is really uplifting. The off-realism feeling, the ever-so-slightly otherworldly atmosphere, is something that's also informed by Francis Bacon exhibition in London and the paintings were really strong, timeless, and there’s something about floating in time and space, about a lot of those images which ties in really well with this script. It's also grounded by the way in which it tackles the human experience. Its many layers and textures carry a profound, emotional undercurrent.   The film feels quite like a dream, then like the moment just before you fall asleep or the moment you wake from a dream, not quite sure what’s real. A more liminal space. Rather than play up to the supernatural elements, the film wants to focus on the notion of memory and how it works. Memories define us; they define what we become, our character, both for good and bad. We dug deep into our memories of growing up. It's a painful but cathartic experiment. In many ways, the film is about how you integrate emotional pain into your life. That pain will never vanish, it will always find a hiding place, but that doesn’t mean you can’t move forward. We're just living in the moment. We are not considering that this has a finite time on it. We’re not considerate of the rules on what it means to be dead.   We don’t think we’re ever really discussing the logistics of what that means, necessarily, and that’s what we love about it. That’s something not just gay people experience, everybody wants to feel connected to their family. What would you want to tell your parents about your life if you could revisit them, or what would you tell them right now? We live in a world that feels impersonal, or cold. It’s harder and harder to find the connections that we see Adam and Harry have in the film. All of us have been children, and most will lose our parents. Many of us will be parents ourselves and have kids who will grow into adults in the blink of an eye. Many of us will find and lose and hopefully find love again, even if it doesn’t last an eternity.   Written by Gregory Mann

Everyone has to pay for the pain that they’ve caused. Pain needs to be balanced. Armomurhaaja (original title) Every detail was just perfect in this Finnish low-budget indie. From the first second this film intrigued me and managed to hold my full attention. Not only the magnificent acting of Matti Onnismaa and Hannamaija Nikander, as the bitter and sinister person Veijo and the strange figure Lotta whose sexual preference is also rather lugubrious, caused that. The narrative and the message that simmered under the surface also fascinated me. Yet it’s not an easy, everyday film. On the one hand, there’s the language. Finnish isn’t something I’m confronted with on a daily base (well, for everything there’s a first time), so I understood absolutely nothing. On the other hand, the story itself is rather unorthodox with the euthanizing of pets as a central topic. Not exactly cheerful material, even though it sometimes felt comical. After ten minutes I knew this was an extraordinary movie. Veijo is the local freelancer who offers his services to help pets out of their misery in an inexpensive way. He’s, therefore, a not so well-liked competitor of the local veterinarian. To be honest, nobody likes him. Veijo thus creates its own Pet Sematary. Dogs are simply shot in an adjacent forest, after which their necklace is dangling from a branch as the only remembrance. Cats and other minuscule creatures from the animal kingdom are gassed in a pimped station wagon. A cat carrier graveyard next to his meager shed is the final result. The first ten minutes alone made it clear an extraordinary film was presented to me. Pain needs to be balanced. “Euthanizer” is a film about pain and suffering. And according to Veijo, pain needs to be balanced. And that’s something this pipe-smoking anti-social person applies in his life. Also on himself. The owners who bring their sick, disobedient or simply annoying pets can expect a psychological analysis first. Veijo apparently has the gift of being a dog whisperer. And some of those owners get a similar treatment as their pet. In the same way, he approaches his dying and suffering father. An alcoholic who apparently treated Veijo very badly and brutal during his childhood. Not just an odd couple. It’s a bizarre couple. The moment Lotta enters Veijo’s life, a life in which human contact is quite an obstacle for Veijo, I can vividly imagine his confusion about his feelings towards her and at the same time about her reasonably perverted fantasy. The reason why she feels attracted to Veijo was unclear to me. Was his aloofness or morbid profession something she related to? Or did she have suicidal thoughts for herself? Is she fascinated by death in a macabre way? It was a mystery to me. But they certainly go down in history as the most bizarre couple. Let the singing begin … The weakest element in the whole film was for me the would-be Finnish neo-Nazi club “Soldiers of Finland”. Notwithstanding that Petri (Jari Virman), who is only too keen to be part of this gang of jackasses, has an important part in the denouement, I thought it was a laughable fact. Apart from stealing some car tires and some provocative behavior, they seem far from being dangerous. And when they are singing as four choir boys for a karaoke machine, the image of these pseudo machos changes into purebred sissies. There’s even one of them who can’t control his emotions during that musical moment. It’s cruel. Rough. And it’s non-mainstream. “Euthanizer” is a cruel and filthy film. Filthy in multiple ways. A film that shows how cruel people can be. A film with contradictions as well. Gasifying animals with the exhaust fumes of an old station wagon is, in my opinion, not a peaceful and pleasant way. And yet Veijo is an animal lover who wants to put these poor creatures out of their misery. “Euthanizer” is breathtaking. A gem. Fans of small-budget non-mainstream films will enjoy this. I did for sure. My rating 7/10 Links: IMDB

(Release Info London schedule; August 21st, 2019, Cineworld Leicester Square, 5–6 Leicester Square, London, WC2H 7NA, 13:40 pm) https://film.list.co.uk/cinema/42944-cineworld-leicester-square-london-wc2h/coming-soon/#times "Angel Has Fallen" When there's an assassination attempt on 'U.S. President' Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman), his trusted confidant, 'Secret Service Agent' Mike Banning (Gerard Butler), is wrongfully accused and taken into custody. After escaping from capture, he becomes a man on the run and must evade his own agency and outsmart 'The FBI' in order to find the real threat to 'The President'. Desperate to uncover the truth, Banning turns to unlikely allies to help clear his name, keep his family from harm and save the country from imminent danger. "Angel Has Fallen" is a explosive, rip-roaring thriller in which the fate of the nation rests on the very man accused of attempting to assassinate 'The President Of The United States'. The film opens at the former 'U.S. Air Force Base' at 'Upper Heyford' in Oxfordshire where Banning goes through a terrifying simulation. Banning has long been one of the stalwart heroes-in-the-shadows on whom national security depends on day in and day out, but is the always-ready warrior starting to lose it? Haunted by a lifetime soaked in adrenaline, danger and more than a few insane snafus, Mike feels his usually knifelike edge slipping. The uncertain becomes the unthinkable as he wakes up to his worst possible nightmare; The President' has fallen and Banning stands accused of conspiring to kill his friend, mentor and the man he’s sworn to protect. Now the expert hunter has become the hunted, spurring Butler’s deepest, darkest take yet on the loose-cannon action hero. On the run and with no one but his family on his side, Banning may not be able to pull himself back from the brink. But he will put his patriotism above his own as he stops at absolutely nothing to save the country that he’s alleged to have betrayed. As Banning maneuvers to evade his savvy colleagues, every quality that made him the top agent on the presidential detail is put to the test; his high-level combat skills, his ability to out-think the most twisted minds and his willingness to put himself at extreme risk to pull others from harm, only that might just be the easy part, for Banning now faces a situation for which he has zero preparation. Forced into the cold, isolated from his family, in dire physical and mental peril, the only way he can go forward is to take an unwanted turn into his past. 'Secret Service' agents live in a constant state of high alert. At any given second, they've to be ready to thwart a near-infinite number of potential threats that could come from any country, any group, or any person, without warning. Their sacrifices, the persistent danger, the merciless demands on body and soul, the stress on their relationships, are rarely recognized publicly, but they don’t do it for the recognition. They do it because they're driven to serve the highest office of the land and the bedrock of democracy. That kind of devotion has always defined Mike Banning, though, he's also a man of contrasts. On the job, he's a cunning, dogged, laser-focused patriot, but he's also a self-questioning and at times a self-deprecating man who has his dark corners of jagged regrets and frustrations. He has done and seen it all. In "Olympus Has Fallen", he rescued 'The First Family' from a 'North Korean'-led kidnapping inside 'The White House'. In "London Has Fallen", he kept 'President Asher' from harm during a terrorist attack on world leaders attending 'The British Prime Minister’s' funeral. For the first time in "Angel Has Fallen", Banning is no longer sure if he can trust his own agency. He can’t sleep, he can’t get through the day without pain killers and even his doctor can see that he’s heading at 100 mph for a brick wall. Then, the bottom drops out. He might be a trained killer, but there’s always been an everyman aspect to Mike. So, in this film, even though there’s a huge external struggle, we get to know a lot more about his internal struggles with his father Clay (Nick Nolte), his wife Leah ( (Piper Perabo) and his own future, struggles we all have. It makes the stakes of the action that much higher because we’re so inside his world. It's a portrait of a more life-sized man, a hardboiled warrior facing down his own doubts. It all starts with Banning being offered the prized job of 'Director Of The Secret Service' by 'President Trumbull'. It’s an incredible opportunity, but it’s also just the kind of indoor job that makes Banning chafe. He’s not at all sure he’s ready to be a desk jockey. Mike’s wife Leah loves the idea of the director job. She knows he’ll be safer, but Mike still loves being on the frontlines. In a way it’s heartbreaking because his dedication and courage are what motivated 'President Trumbull' to offer him this really great, prominent job; yet to Mike, it feels a little like the end of who he's. That’s exactly what Mike is thinking about as he faces a desk job. It brings up this huge question for him; 'do I keep trying to be the person I was in my youth or do I find a way to embrace who I’ve become'? It’s something a lot of people go through in all walks of life. Mike Banning is known for his badassery, and now we get to see a lot more of where he comes from. The film puts you inside Banning’s head as he goes from offense to defense, from proud warrior to fugitive, so that you get to see and feel everything he’s going through. For fans, it’s a chance to see what makes Banning tick, and for new audiences, it's a discovery of a really relatable character surviving in an extraordinary situation. So, you still get a tremendous amount of action but with a whole new and fresh point of view. It has always been Banning’s everyday authenticity and down-to-earth humor that stands out against today’s line-up of fantastical superheroes, but in this film, he's stripped down to his most human yet. Part of Banning’s appeal has been that he’s such a real-life guy. He’s someone trying to be a family man while dealing with the heavy emotional toll his work takes on him. People can really relate to that, but on the other hand, he’s one of the toughest dudes you could ever hope to meet. He will never quit. That’s how he sees himself, but that image is put to the test in this film in ways he’d rather it wasn’t. With his grit and loyalty under fire, Banning also comes face-to-face with the costs of the warrior’s life as he tries to evade mounting signs of 'PTSD'. In this chapter, you realize that this man you’ve seen go through all these firefights, explosions and crashes has paid a price. Banning has been silently struggling in his work and at home, but he’s keeping it all secret because he doesn’t want to let people down and he wants to keep doing the job he loves and believes in. It’s not the greatest timing for the whole nation to think he’s a terrorist at large, to say the least. He’s also very clear on that fact that, whatever his fate, 'The President' is in grave danger and he's the only person left who can figure out where the threat is coming from. As Banning is put under crushing pressure, it gives him more room to dive deep. It’s very revealing to watch an incredible hero you’ve always seen chasing others, become the chased and desperate man. 'President Trumbull' has taken on the mantle, and all the hazards, of being 'Commander-In-Chief'. Now his life is on the line along with his trust in Banning. Nearly assassinated and told his most trusted 'Secret Service' agent is the prime suspect in the deadly attack, Trumbull faces a dilemma that could endanger not only his cherished friendship with Mike Banning but the future of the world. In the earlier films, Trumbull already proved that he trusted Banning, and Banning has always felt a bond with Trumbull, beyond his duty to protect him. In this film, you see how much of a mentor Trumbull has become to Banning. They each look at the other as one of the few people they can talk to honestly. They can joke together, and they even rip on each other a little, respectfully, which is rare in Trumbull’s life, and to me, Trumbull becomes the center of the movie because in a way, they're each other’s lifeline if either one is going to survive. 'President Trumbull' is such a father-figure to Mike Banning and that's really put on the line. He has that mix of pathos, gravitas, and warmth, yet with a dash of roguishness that makes him a great leader and the kind of person to whom Mike can relate. Trumbull is a honorable, courageous man and a very good politician. But he’s not really based on any historical president because the situation is so unique and the decisions he has to make haven’t really had to be made by any President that we know of. "Angel Has Fallen" takes Mike Banning into his darkest hour, but also his hidden past. Things take a wild switchback into turbulent father-son territory when Banning looks for refuge in the last place on earth he ever thought he’d go; his long-estranged father’s Clay (Nick Nolte) off-the-grid cabin. Here he has to confront a man he has never understood or had the chance to question; the Vietnam vet who walked out on him as a boy and retreated from his 'PTSD' and paranoia into life as a lone survivalist in the woods. He brings a sense of frayed dignity to a man not quite sure if he’s ready for redemption. There’s a fascinating contrast between Mike and his dad because Mike is driven to keep running into war and his dad is still trying to run from it. All along, it’s been a deep regret in Mike’s life that he never really had a father, but now that he needs his father that means he also has to put up with him. He and Clay think they're cut from different cloth, but now that they’re forced together, it allows them to see their connection. Like Mike, Clay came from a proud tradition of military discipline, but it left him in distress. After two tours in Vietnam, when he came home to his wife and child, he couldn’t make it. It happened to a lot of good soldiers. You can’t go easily from the extreme survival of war back to a normal life. Your brain gets rewired and that’s what happened to Clay. He came back and felt he couldn’t be a good father, so he cleared out. The way he sees it, his disappearing was the best thing that ever happened to Mike because Clay felt he had nothing to teach but violence and anger. Clay wants to allow himself no creature comforts. He wants the barest minimum he can possibly live with, one cup, one fork, one plate, one bed. Really there's no reason to even have a chair because he doesn’t have any visitors, not until Mike shows up. When Mike does show up, the mix of anger and affection, skepticism and understanding, defiance and need is incendiary. In the scene at the cabin, you can feel so much going on inside Clag all at once; he’s broken, grief-stricken, excited, questioning, wondering, fearful, judging, hoping and more. You can see Clay’s whole life and struggles coming through in just the way he moves his face. As the characters grew closer, we also bonded in a big way. Another character who comes to the fore in "Angel Has Fallen" is Banning’s wife, Leah. She has always been one of Mike’s biggest supporters and joys, but now as a new mother, she worries that Mike is retreating into private darkness that could lock her out. Now that they've a daughter, there's a whole new dynamic between Leah and Mike, she has a vision of them moving forward in a way that will make them both happy. Much as she understands what drives her husband, Leah can’t hide her desire for Mike to take the director job that will see him still doing his patriotic duty, but safely seated within four walls. Most of all Leah just wants Mike to be home more. Their relationship is really healthy and they trust each other, but she just wants more time to have fun with him. Leah knows something is about to explode. Another key player in the film is Wade Jennings (Danny Huston), a long-time buddy and military compatriot of Banning’s, who in a time of peace has turned to the growing world of private military contractors. It's Wade who spurs doubts in Banning’s mind after a training session that leaves him battered. Wade has taken a different path from Mike. He sees himself as a ferocious lion who has been put in a cage and he doesn’t really know how to interact with the world in a state of peace. They both understand that power of adrenaline, even if they make different choices. Once the chase begins, the cat to Banning’s mouse is 'FBI Agent' Thompson (Jada Pinkett Smith). She's really smart and tough as nails. She's intense, serious and a straight-shooter, but she’s also wily enough to keep up with Banning. Of course, she’s under biggest pressure to bring in the suspect wanted to assassinate 'The President Of The United States'. To lock Mike Banning into a chaotic world of ceaseless jeopardy, the bottom line for all can be summed up in one word; groundedness. The film captures how people really move in a fight or a chase, what it really sounds like and the visceral feel of it. The idea is to immerse people completely into Banning’s 'POV' of every moment. "Olympus" and "London" each had about 13 action sequences. Here we’ve upped that to 23 sequences, which is a lot. It never stops. The audience feels every bump and explosion. Everything is bigger and faster in every moment; we've fast boats, fast trucks, fast drones, and huge explosions. These drones can work as a swarm to find and target an enemy. Of course, it’s all military secrets, so the film designs his own, but everything you see in the film is based on real tech. In one of the film’s most harrowing chases, Banning finds himself in a speeding semi on a dark mountain road pursued by police and helicopters, with no obvious escape route. It feels super grounded and real but also put you inside Banning’s head as he’s trying to escape while inflicting as little damage as he can. The film puts in almost documentary-like details to create what’s an incredible gauntlet run. As Mike Banning becomes a fugitive on the run, the film flows seamlessly through a real-time chase that never lets up. The 'Oval Office' colors are quite different to the ones you’ve seen before, but we learn that each president gets to pick the colors they want, so 'President Trumbull' has a great taste and makes 'The Oval' more dynamic than you’ve seen it. The third installment in 'The Fallen Series', "Angel Has Fallen" stands on it's own as a psychologically tense, kinetic thriller that never lets off the accelerator from its opening killer-drone attack. It also adds a revealing new chapter to the legend of Mike Banning, as the hazards of his work collide into his private life, pushing him to explore how he became the man he's now. It’s also exactly where we want to see the franchise go next, inviting audiences into a ride as psychologically volatile as it's filled with wall-to-wall stunts and battles. What’s great is that while this movie gets much more personal, there’s also more action than ever, so the ride is heightened on all levels. There’s brutal, crazy, epic combat, but in the same breath, there’s real drama and it’s also the funniest of the films. The film makes this mad roller-coaster ride as visceral as possible at every turn. As visceral as the action and design are, it all serves to open up a window into Banning’s soul that resonates beyond the thrills. The film puts in all the fun and thrills you’d expect from a Mike Banning story.