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(Ninjababy, Curzon Home Cinema, Available 10 September) "Ninjababy" When Rakel (Kristin Kujath Thorn), 16, way too late, finds out she’s six months pregnant after a not-so-romantic one-night stand, her world changes. Her boyfriend Mos (Nader Khademi), who’s not the father, is kind of ok with her having a baby. But Rakel is absolutely not ready to be a mother. Since abortion is no longer an option, adoption is the only answer. That’s when 'Ninjababy' (Voice/Hermann Tâmmeraas), an animated character who insists on making Rakel’s everyday life a living hell, turns up. He climbs out from her note book, jumps into her tea cup, and keeps reminding her what a terrible person she's. Rakel has greasy hair, a laidback posture and manspread while sitting, without it becoming too much of a cliché. Rakel is unique. Someone who breaks a little with the norms, a non-conformist. Her room is dirty and messy. She becomes pregnant by accident and has to figure it out by herself in her room; paradoxically, your most fertile age. "Ninjababy" has a multiplot story in which one of the characters accidentally gets pregnant. The main focus is on the relationship between Rakel and her best friend Ingrid (Thora Christine Dietrichson). The film explores the mental aspects of carrying a child. Being pregnant, the fact that another human is growing inside you, can be emotionally overwhelming. It's an amusing movie, but you can’t overload it with gags when the main story revolves around a young girl’s unwanted pregnancy. You've find right balance between humor and the seriousness of it all. The book ends right after childbirth, but the film wants to include more. The film mixes real-world imagery with animation, and although they don’t make up a huge part of the movie’s runtime, they’re extremely important to the movie’s overall tone. It's okay to stumble and mess up, you’re going to do that many times in your life, and as long as you get back on your feet, you’ll be fine. At the same time, the film wants to address the younger generation’s fear of getting pregnant. We live in a society where getting pregnant at your most fertile age is unusual. We believe a lot of people can sympathize with feeling stuck, being in a place you don’t want to be, not truly trusting you’ll be able to handle whatever life throws at you anymore, being a shitty person. Inga H Sætre’s comic strips about 'Møkkajentene' ('Dirty Girls') came out in the early 2000s. We recognized ourself in her comical, and at times melancholy point of view. She has a reckless pen that’s both sensitive and resilient at the same time. We've always been incredibly fascinated by animation as an art form. But ever since 'Covid-19', the digital form of work has become the new norm, and unfortunately; not as fun. May the portrayal of women in 'Norwegian' film isn’t good enough. It has improved in recent years. The film wants to show that there are variations within all genders and help build a more tolerant and diverse society. The film is also about taking responsibility, growing up, and being able to push through any situation you find yourself in. A lot of pregnant women have felt the fear of becoming a mother, even those who planned for it. And in turn the feeling of care and love that develops through a pregnancy in different ways. In several instances we use the animation to describe the bodily aspect of the anxiety and uncertainty that comes with it. A lot of people can sympathize with feeling stuck, being in a place you don’t want to be, not truly trusting you’ll be able to handle whatever life throws at you anymore, being a shitty person. And people of all ages can recognize themselves in the expectations of the outside world and how that contradicts with how you feel inside. It's okay to stumble and mess up, you’re going to do that many times in your life, and as long as you get back on your feet, you’ll be fine.

Lee Chandler experiences a life changing event, and with this internal transformation we witness an external transformation, thanks to the effective costume designs of Melissa Toth. During flashbacks showing Chandler’s earlier life with a wife and children, he dresses in light and colourful clothing, such as a bright mustard t-shirt and beige shorts. These colours reflect the presence of a brighter and more comedic personality at this point, and as well as the presence of purpose in his life as a father and husband. During the present, Chandler has lost his children and subsequently his wife. This is paralleled with the loss of colour and brightness in his wardrobe. He is now seen is dark shades of blue, grey and green. This loss of colour and variation evidences his loss of joy and expression of individuality. The absence of boldness/brightness matches his absence of purpose and love/emotions in his life. Black is the colour of grief, so utilising this colour predominantly works to evidence the enduring sorrow Chandler is facing. It also emphasises the mysteriousness of this character, highlighting his loss of ability to connect to those around him in the way he used to. Furthermore, the contrast in styles and colours expresses the change in his life. Flashbacks to Chandler’s previous lifestyle show a variety of activities, such as going fishing with his nephew, or hanging out with his friends, hence a wide-ranging colourful wardrobe. Now, Chandler is mostly seen working and spending time alone and therefore restricts himself to more monotonous styles and colours. These seemingly subtle yet important developments in wardrobe assist in the shifting of moods and circumstances, as well as helping to navigate where in time the scene lies.

(Release Info U.K. schedule; April 26th, 2019, Belmont Filmhouse, Aberdeen, 49 Belmont Street, Aberdeen, AB10 1JS, 14:00 PM) "Dragged Across Concrete" A stolid, old guard policeman, Brett Ridgeman (Mel Gibson) and his volatile younger partner, Anthony Lurasetti (Vince Vaughn), find themselves suspended when a video of their strong-arming tactics going viral and become the media’s special du jour. Low on cash and with no other options, these two embittered soldiers take it upon themselves, to delve into the criminal underworld, to gain their due, but instead find far more than they wanted awaiting them in the shadows. What they uncover is more than they were expecting. In keeping with his previous output. At the start of this story, two longtime police partners, Brett Ridgeman Anthony Lurasetti are suspended for use of excessive force during the arrest of a known criminal. These two flawed, but decorated officers are ostracized for their behavior and soon find themselves reconsidering their moral codes. They're neither innocent good guys nor amoral bad guys, but human beings who do both commendable and dubious things; these two cops have no easy choices if they want to provide for their loved ones. Apart from this pair, but no less conflicted, is the third protagonist, Henry Johns (Tory Kittles). This young black man, recently released from prison, soon discovers that his mother Lana (Vivian Ng) has returned to prostitution, which she practices in the house wherein his disabled brother Jeffrey (Andrew Dunbar) lives. Disgusted with the situation, the newly freed ex-convict returns to the underworld that sent him to jail to earn some quick cash. Surrounding this trio is a large supporting cast. Included in this group is the frustrated, Melanie (Laurie Holden), a tough former cop and Ridgeman’s wife who was forced to retire from law enforcement at a young age because of a disability. There’s also Biscuit (Michael Jai White), the slightly successful wheedling criminal, who's a childhood friend of Henry Johns and his partner in a new criminal undertaking, and Denise (Tattiawna Jones), Anthony’s fiancé, an inquisitive and very observant social worker. Elsewhere is Kelly Summer (Jennifer Carpenter), a distressed young mother who must return to her job at a bank and leave her newborn baby for the first time. Lieutenant Calvert (Don Johnson) is another distinct face Ridgeman’s high-ranking former partner who offers his cohort some critical advice that may or may not be heeded. Director Craig Zahler ("Bone Tomahawk"), returns with an unflinching and gritty tale that's sure to cement his reputation as one of the leading voices in genre blending film today. It's a film about police brutality that's as unsettling as it's violent. It's rich genre fiction that has multiple viewpoints, complex characters, scenes that breathe, and moments of drama, comedy, and surprise. The film has distinct characters, narrative momentum, and moral complexity, but the sum of these elements is a far greater thing. It's a vivid fictional world. When we watch this picture we've a sense of a world and the lives beyond the events shown in the movie. These are movies that turned us into a committed movie fan and works of art that will survive and make people ask questions rather than spoon feed them answers like so many didactic movies do today. As is often the case in novels and screenplays, the protagonists are in perilous circumstances against which they struggle in different and surprising though logical ways. The look of "Dragged Across Concrete" is carefully planned in terms of lighting, color palette, and use of shadows in order to create strong atmospheres and expressive tones with these visual elements. The music is also non-intrusive and precise. Because we've faith in the script and the actors, it's not necessary to tell the audience how to feel about what's happening. The emotions comes from the content of the film, and if they don’t, the film forces it down somebody’s throat with sad music or suspenseful music. In this modern concrete landscape, a jazz orchestra illustrates the many hues of Ridgeman, Anthony, Henry Johns, Biscuit, Melanie, Kelly Summer, and the others who struggle to find their melodies. The film shows influences of hard bop composers like Charles Mingus ('Black Saint And The Sinner Lady'), John Coltrane ('Africa Brass'), and Oliver Nelson ('Blues And The Abstract Truth') as well as the great modern jazz leader Maria Schneider ('Thompson Fields') and the jazzy 'Taxi Driver' score by Bernard Hermann, though the senses of melody and harmony are quite different and resulted in a unique take on composed, orchestrated jazz. The scope and amount of plotting of this large movie required a more detailed visual style than the hand-held kind that Zahler uses in his previous pictures, but the overall approach has the same end goal; never distract the audience from the characters and the story. Although there are many highly stylized movies the film is performance-centric. The camera never gets between the actors and the audience. The film wants the audience to connect as directly with the characters as possible, elaborate crane shots and canted shots and flashy filters and long lenses work against this idea, as do using close ups as the default shot size; most things in life are not viewed in close up and people often express themselves with their hands. The environment of "Dragged Across Concrete" is bigger than those pictures and there's a larger sense of American communities and how they do and don’t co-exist.

"Corsage" Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Vicky Krieps) is idolized for her beauty and renowned for inspiring fashion trends. But in 1877, ‘Sissi’ celebrates her 40th birthday and must fight to maintain her public image by lacing her corset tighter and tighter. While Elisabeth’s role has been reduced against her wishes to purely performative, her hunger for knowledge and zest for life makes her more and more restless in Vienna. She travels to England and Bavaria, visiting former lovers and old friends, seeking the excitement and purpose of her youth. With a future of strictly ceremonial duties laid out in front of her, Elisabeth rebels against the hyperbolized image of herself and comes up with a plan to protect her legacy. We all grew up with Romy Schneider as Sissi. Depictions of Sissi are everywhere nonetheless. Sissi is certainly Viennas central tourist attraction. The trilogy still screens on television every Christmas. It depicts Empress Elisabeth as a young obedient monarch in a kitschy, folklore-style setting. This Elisabeth, on the other hand, is 40, so she’s an old woman by the standards of her day, grappling with her life and searching for some way to escape it's constraints. Why did Elisabeth have fitness equipment built for her? Why did she refuse to be painted after she was 40? This is the phase in Elisabeth’s life when, on the one hand, she begins to rebel against all the ceremony and, on the other hand, started to withdraw and isolate herself; a time when it had quite obviously become impossible for her to squeeze herself into a predetermined template. There’s that sense of always having to live up to an outsized image of yourself, as that’s the only way for you to gain recognition and love. She lives in a tight corset of self-restraint and societal censure. At first she's still keen to measure up to her own aspirations, as well as satisfying public expectations that she will conform to an idealized image. For decades she helped cement that image with her cult of beauty and iconic braided hairstyle. But Elisabeth has grown older and is tired of passing muster as an image of perfection. Riddled with despair, Elisabeth increasingly withdraws from her life. That’s exactly what the real Elisabeth is said to have done. In later life, she only appeared in public with her face hidden behind a veil, she travelled extensively, and even had a double to take her place on official occasions to avoid having to attend. This is a perpetual state of affairs in women’s lives. Being beautiful is still seen as a woman’s most important and valuable trait. What happens when we all stop pretending? Historical progress has not altered that, despite the women’s movement and emancipation. Women are still considered less valuable if they're overweight or older. An attractive female partner still boosts a man’s status. The only difference between then and now is that people used to talk openly about it; 'All you need to do is be appealing'. After a certain age, women can’t win no matter what they do; they're accused of being vain if they get some work done, but people comment on their wrinkles if they don’t. That’s a particular issue for women in the public eye, like Elisabeth, but it affects all of us because they've a kind of emblematic function. In "Corsage", Elisabeth is overwhelmed by fate. Depressive tendencies are also documented in her family. She's fascinated by poetry, by Heinrich Heine’s poems. Cocaine and heroin naturally penetrate deep into the brain and alter people’s perceptions. In addition, she constantly subjected herself to a kind of slow torture, with diets and endurance sports. Everything she tries by way of distraction appears to be in vain until ultimately the empress comes to a tragic end. What was it like being a woman in 19th -century Europe? Marriage market conventions in particular exerted enormous pressure on women. Back then, if a man married outside his class, for example, if a nobleman wed a commoner, which would have been quite unusual, the bride would promptly be given a noble title. The exact opposite applied for women. If a noblewoman married a commoner, she would need to find even more money to avoid slipping down the social ladder. Just like today, a woman was also expected to be the most beautiful, the most intelligent, the best of all. And of course, everyone lost out in that kind of competitive set-up. Above all, women’s influence steadily waned as they grew older. In those days, women essentially became invisible when they turned 40. Making herself disappear was also a desperate stab at self-empowerment on Elisabeth’s part. Written by Gregory Mann (Corsage • Showtimes London, Wed 21 Dec, Thu 22 Dec, Fri 23 Dec, Sat 24 Dec, Sun 25 Dec, Mon 26 Dec, Tue 27 Dec, Vue Cinema London - West End (Leicester Square), 500 m·Leicester Square, 3 Cranbourn Street, LONDON WC2H 7AL, United Kingdom, 19:45 Curzon Bloomsbury - 2,0 km·The Brunswick, LONDON WC1N 1AW, United Kingdom, 18:00 Vue Cinemas - 3,4 km·Islingto, 36 Parkfield Street, LONDON N1 0PS, United Kingdom, 19:45)

The film has divided critics quite a bit! Check out the Kong: Skull Island Trailer

Much hype has surrounded Spike Lee’s BLACKkKLANSMAN due to its political and racial content, drawing similarities and comparisons to the political climate faced by today’s society in the Donald Trump era of so-called divisive and extremely polarising policies. Based on the memoirs of 2014’s Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth, what does this film say, if anything, about racial inequalities from an era set 50 years before the current POTUS? THE GOOD: The Setup - What became the selling point for this comedy-drama was the hilarity of the plot where we encounter the goings-on of Ron Stallworth, the first black cop of the Colorado Springs Police Department. He quickly moves from the mundane, abusive file room, to an undercover cop who infiltrates the KKK by impersonating a ‘white guy’ over the phone. This endeavour becomes the catalyst for comedy and extreme laughter, highlighting and challenging ideas of ‘blackness’ and ‘whiteness’. The first part of the film is by far the most compelling, quickly setting up the tone, characters, and direction in an entertaining and comical manner. The story is an easy watch, never straying towards anything too complex or convoluted, instead concentrates on a strong script told by interesting, likeable protagonists. The Acting of the Protagonists - Impressive acting was abundant in this movie, including stellar, but limited performances from Alec Baldwin, Robert John Burke, Michael Buscemi, and Ryan Eggold. But it is John David Washington, playing Ron Stallworth who steals the show, whose performance was tight within moments of high-drama and comedy, to the more tender and romantic occasions. John Washington’s acting style has a strong resemblance to his father Denzel, and has clearly been influenced by his father’s mannerisms, tone, and eloquent recital of words. Although John Washington’s performance in BLACKkKLANSMAN isn’t Oscar worthy (but don’t hold me on that), it was still good enough to make us believe that he may one day follow in his father’s footsteps to achieve ‘Best Actor Award’ glory. A pleasant surprise performance came from Adam Driver who plays the more experienced undercover agent David Zimmerman. His character is equally important as Ron Stallworth and probably more interesting due to his Jewish ‘non-practising’ background. Whilst Ron initiates the infiltration over the phone, Driver continues it physically, but his ‘Jewish looks’ arouses suspicion to one of the more wacky members of the Klan who constantly goads David with questions about his background and motives. David Zimmerman reminds us that the Klan isn’t just a black-hating organisation, but one that hates everyone who doesn’t fall or fit under the category of ‘White Christian America’. Like Washington, Driver acts fairly uncontrived without being over the top or excessive, never taking any limelight away from Washington and instead, creating a fun, onscreen charismatic chemistry between them. Representation of the Minority - What seems to be a trend in films surrounding the historical inequalities of the black community (e.g. Hidden Figures, The Help), the representation of African-Americans in BLACKkKLANSMAN in a time of greater bigotry, discrimination and disparity than today, never fell to a poor state of sadness or depression, nor did they let the hate get the best of them (with the exception of one scuffle in the police station), always staying strong and optimistic with humorous interactions to fight against the debauchery of white supremacy. THE BAD: The Middle and End - As said before, BLACKkKLANSMAN takes on an interesting premise - undercover black agent infiltrates the Ku Klux Klan by impersonating a racist, xenophobic white guy over the phone. The pacing of the beginning and setup was fairly quick and helped move the film along in a way that kept the audience interested in what would happen next. However, after the infiltration occurs and Zimmerman meets the head of the faction and its members, the momentum and interest of the film takes a turn to a slower pace with nothing really happening in the story. It’s not boring per se, with romance, funny conversations with David Duke (leader of the Ku Klux Klan), and a scene involving a lie detector keeping us slightly enthused, but the change of pace compared to the beginning made the film drag slightly, and the excitement felt at the beginning disparates. Maybe one reason for the drag is that the film portrays the KKK as this violent, dangerous organisation. But it is never really felt that Zimmerman, or any members of the black liberation group were ever under threat, even though the film seemed like it was giving us hints that something major was about to happen. For example, when Stallworth drives away from the Klan after throwing a plant through their kitchen window, Felix, the most unstable member of the Klan, starts firing his gun, but Zimmerman snatches it from him and fires the gun himself only to purposely miss Stallworth. A few scenes later, Zimmerman and the Klan are on a firing range and Zimmerman hits the targets on point. Felix notices this, and it seems that Felix would work out that Zimmerman is not who he says he is. But nothing substantial ever comes of this. The biggest anti-climax though was the ending. Felix finds out through word of mouth. rather than logical deduction, during the after-dinner party of his initiation that Zimmerman is an imposter, so one would have expected havoc to take place, after all, they just initiated a Jew into their Klan and is eating at the same table as them. But like everything noted before, nothing; no drama, no action, no vengeance. Instead, the finale concentrates on Felix’s wife trying to plant a bomb in order to severely hurt and kill the members of the black liberation group. This part was OK, but rather than the occurrence being the result and natural sequential conclusion of what had gone before, it felt more like a quick ex-machina to wrap everything up, and before you know it, everyone is happy, justice is served, and everyone can go back to their day job. The Antagonists - It is most likely that the majority of the audience watching this film won’t be Donald Trump supporters, and so the biggest mistake Spike Lee makes is the characterisations of the KKK members; they are portrayed as paranoid (no matter how justifiably), feeble and stupid (really really stupid), a stereotype most middle Americans would find offensive and untrue. This is somewhat problematic, as the film does not address the issues why the support came abundant for Donald Trump. Now one could argue that these Trump supporters are paranoid, feeble and stupid, but it is more pragmatic to believe that ideologies like those is what made so many mid-Americans vote for Trump in the first place. Rather than addressing real issues and social depravations faced by white middle-America, it is quite lazy and dangerous for the film to suggest that it is stupidity that lead to the rise of the Trump presidency. What would have been more pragmatic in the film was to highlight the antagonistic character of Walter Breachway, the first member Stallworth contacts over the phone. Walter is the more level-headed, intelligent, charismatic member of the Klan, and one can see why mid-Americans would be drawn to his logical, reasonable, rational thinking, even though a blanket of racism and xenophobia underlines his dogma. Instead, the film decides to demote his status as the head of the faction and swerves towards concentrating on David Duke, a more flimsy, uncharismatic man in comparison. By concentrating on Breachway, at least the film would have offered some form of suggestion as to why supporters voted the way they did, instead of offering us this divisive reasoning, which ironically, can inadvertently bring a bigger gap to the divisions America faces today. The Message - It is clear that the message inferred in BLACKkKLANSMAN speaks about the comparisons of today’s American society under the presidency of Donald Trump, to the historical civil rights campaigns and protests of the 70s, and that after all this time nothing much has changed. It is an interesting ideology that has merits and truth, but the message in the film is so obvious and blatant that it feels slightly preachy, and seems to treat the audience with little belief that they are smart enough to work out semiotics in subtle ways. The last few images of the film were historical scenes of the KKK to the 2017 protests and rallies of Charlottesville, highlighting the tragic death of Heather Hayes, a victim who died after being run over from a vicious car attack. The shift in tone was so abrupt and juxtaposed from the light humour of the film, that the end sequences had a big, emotional impact. Were these images really necessary in any way? Not quite sure. Either way, it is fair to assume that the last few scenes had an impassioned strong-hold on the audience, and so BLACKkKLANSMAN may have had a different affect without it. The Verdict - It was ok. Not as tight or profound as Jordan Peele’s 2017 film Get Out, so not really a must see for the cinema, but no harm in watching it when the film does comes out online. The good humour and the good acting was a delight to see, but the overbearing message and the misuse of characters over-simplified recent historical events. The film neither asks the question or goes into depth as to why Donald Trump became the United States’ President, nor does it give any solution to the ‘Donald Trump problem’. Whilst the intention of the film can be applauded, it feels like the film is exploiting recent events rather than making a commentary about them. Rating: 6½/10

This is not about politics. It’s about your children. This is about our children. We will find a cure and we will save our precious sons and daughters. If you want to form a sentence with the words “monotony”, “mediocrity”, “clichéd sameness” and “corny”, you can do that without any problems along with the movie title “The Darkest Minds“. Well, I’m getting sick of the concept of dystopian teen films. Even though they mixed it this time with a kind of “X-men” mood. Apart from some crackling electrical flashes, a storm with trees crashing down and flying containers, there’s not much more to see here. And don’t expect impressive special effects either. Actually, I already had the feeling while watching “The 5th Wave” that after the successful franchises of “Divergent” and “The Hunger Games” we would be flooded with weak duplicates of this genre for years. Duplicates of which they hoped it could be the start of again some successful sequels. However, I’m afraid this is yet again another feeble attempt that will fail. Simply because “The Darkest Minds” is really embarrassingly bad. Watch out for the orange and red ones. This time it’s not a devastating war or an alien invasion that makes our planet a place where survival is priority number one. No, it’s a sudden emerging disease (Idiopathic Adolescent Acute Neurodegeneration) that actually kills about 95% of young people. I suppose this is a kind of childhood disease of a higher level. And those who survive suddenly have supernatural powers. They are locked up straight away in youth camps by the adult world. Allegedly to examine them and to find a cure. Ultimately it’s because these adults, like with the X-men, are afraid of mutants and secondly because they are afraid to lose power. There, on the basis of their acquired powers, those kids are divided into groups. Each with a specific color, whereby those from the orange and red camp are considered to be the most dangerous. In other words, persons who’re allocated to these two groups, simply are going to be eliminated. Likewise, the lovely girl Ruby (Amandla Stenberg) who appears to be part of the orange team after being tested. It’s kind of predictable. For the umpteenth time, we see how moronic and stupid adults are portrayed in these kinds of films. Orange means that a person has the ability to manipulate someone else’s thoughts. You don’t need to be an Einstein to know how Ruby manages to save herself from this life-threatening situation. The moment Ruby escapes from this concentration camp and joins a group of teenagers, you can get ready for the most sugar-coated and predictable storyline ever. Let’s meet “The slip kid”. The group of teenagers, consisting of Liam (Harris Dickinson), Chubs (Skylan Brooks) and Zu (Miya Cech), are looking for a kind of youth camp where children are safe. It’s led by a legendary figure with the name “The Slip Kid “. And before you know it, love is in the air and Ruby finds the ultimate hint to find out where the camp is located. And finally, there’s also a mandatory plot twist. Only viewers who have fallen asleep above their popcorn, haven’t seen that one coming. The only thing I could appreciate was the end. I can’t say it was really original. But it’s kind of daring. But I came real quick to my senses when I realized that sequels with similar nonsense are likely to be released in the future. Uninspired and mediocre. To be honest, you can’t blame the film studios to release such films. After all, the profit is the most important thing for them. And when a specific genre is already a hype for a number of years, you have to continue with it until the subject has been completely milked dry. And as long as the theaters fill up with teenage girls (With helmets on because they run into walls while being constantly focused on their smartphones) who dream away while watching a film full of female heroism and who swoon when looking at a handsome Boyband-like wuss, the studios continue to produce these type of movies. Till one day when those youngsters themselves exclaim in disgust (the age of reason probably) that they’ve had enough. And despite the political correctness in this film and the moral of equality (an “It doesn’t matter what color you are”-like message), it still remains mediocre crap with superheroes in it. So even though colors play an important role in “The Darkest Minds“, it’s just a colorless (and also uninspired) teenage film. My rating 2/10 Links: IMDB More reviews here

(TIMES & TICKETS, London Central, FRI 1 JUL, BFI London Southbank, 0 Belvedere Rd, London SE1 8XT, United Kingdom, 6:20 PM) https://www.flicks.co.uk/movie/wayfinder/ "Wayfinder" Set during a pandemic, The Wanderer (Perside Rodrigues), a young girl, undertakes an intrepid journey across England. The film tracks the movements of it's central protagonist, The Wanderer, on an intrepid journey across England. Presented across six chapters, including The North, The Land of Smoke and The Kingdom of the East, this film builds a dialogue around the themes of class and economic exclusion, belonging and displacement, cultural heritage and the meaning of home. Travelling from North to South, The Wanderer passes through different regions, towns and landscapes, encountering people, stories and situations on her way. With the film set during an unknown point in the not-too-distant-future during a discursive moment in time. The Wanderer acts as a witness to accounts, conversations, places and histories, both known and dormant. Setting out from Bowness-on-Solway, a village that separates England from Scotland, the film follows the Wanderer’s journey across the ancient paths of Hadrian’s Wall and other significant environments thereafter. From Hemmingwell housing estate in Wellingborough to the National Gallery deserted at night, through the international port London Gateway (in Essex), eventually reaching the sea at Margate. The film’s cast includes former athlete Anita Neil Oly (herself) who's Britain’s first Black female Olympian and we see The Griot (Mataio Austin Dean) in a trippy dialogue-driven scene set within East London Café E. Pellicci in Bethnal Green. A road movie of sorts, "Wayfinder" draws on British traditions of travel and exploration of the sublime landscape and the sea, reflecting on division and crisis in this nation today. Addressing an unreconciled history of empire and inequality, it asks, who's allowed to feel that they belong? The film combines sweeping shots with poetic voice-over narratives, melded with real vox pop testimonies, field recordings and an original orchestral score. This project feels like a poignant moment. It feels important and necessary, especially at this point in time to be able to bring this range of subject matter and conversations to the table at what is increasingly becoming a contentious moment of our times. This expansive vision marks a new and exciting stage in art practice. The film employs still imagery, aural and visual archives, live performance, objects and sound to explore ideas surrounding class, gender, cross-cultural and post-digital identity. With works that examine communal and personal heritage, in particular, the intersection between Popular culture and the post-colonial position, the film crate-digs the vaults of history. These investigations examine constructions of the self by splicing the audible and visual materials of personal and interpersonal archives, offering multiple perspectives that reveal the deeply entrenched inequalities in contemporary society. Written by Gregory Mann

(Release Info London schedule, May 11th, 2018, Cineworld, Leicester Square) "How To Talk To Girls At Parties" From the visionary minds of director John Cameron Mitchell comes a story of the birth of punk, the exuberance of first love, and the universe’s greatest mystery of all. It’s London, 1977 and our teenage hero Henry (Alex Sharp) and his two friends John (Ethan Lawrence) and Vic (Abraham Lewis) are in search of a night to remember, uninterested in 'The Silver Jubilee' celebrations that are going on behind the privet hedges and lace-curtained windows of quiet suburbia. Desperate to be taken seriously by local punk matriarch Queen Boadicea (Nicole Kidman) and her coterie of followers they hear of a party not far away and decide to gatecrash. On arrival, nothing is quite as they expected; the house seems to be full of teenage students: exotic, foreign, unbelievably gorgeous. Know-it-all ladies man Vic identifies them as American; what else could they be? Soon Henry is in way over his head with the beautiful, enigmatic Zan (Elle Fanning), an outsider just like him. As Henry becomes her ambassador to a brave new world of punk, partying and music, he learns that Zen has a new world of her own to share and over the course of twenty four hours the two will go on an adventure that's truly out of this world. Zan, the rebellious alien drawn to the punk life, and Henry, the shy punk rocker who falls for her; and have an appealing on-screen chemistry. Zan is a tourist although she would resent that description as she wants to be more than just a tourist. She's there to see earth and what she sees is Croydon in 1977. She wants to see more and she's frustrated. Zan is part of 'The Fourth Colony' whose motto is 'Fourth Colony Manifests Individuality'. The colony is all about being unique and self-confident but PT Waldo (Tom Brooke), the father of the colony, is very protective and doesn’t allow to be individual. Zan is very frustrated because the colony have been touring many different places now we’re humans and in London, an amazing city, and we can‘t do anything, we can’t meet locals, we can’t dance, we can’t drink, all we‘re allowed to see is coal. How exciting! And then she meets Henry and she rebels. Zan comes from a sterile world where everything is strictly regulated, even the food we’re allowed to eat, so when she meets Henry, she wants to know everything about the punk world because he’s this fascinating thing, wearing interesting clothes and safety pins and she wants to be a part of it and experience something new. Punk is nasty and gritty and exciting! Zan is fascinated with every little detail, and every little vein on a person’s face. We see the story through Henry’s eyes. He's a budding graphic novelist, doesn't quite fit in, smarter than his own good. He's not a full on punk but has something of a punk in him. Henry is a great cartoonist, a great visual artist and a wannabe punk. He's quiet and introverted but loves cartoons and creating them. One night when he’s out with his two best mates, he ends up at a party where he meets Zan who turns out to be extraordinary in a lot of unpredictable and bizarre ways and he falls in love. He’s not the archetypal nerd; he’s got a lot going on. He's got that teenage confusion and lack of self-confidence, in some ways he knows exactly who he's and what he wants. He's in that period of his life, coming of age, where he wants more than what he’s got so far and feels frustrated by it. As Henry gets to know Zan, he becomes aware of her very different ways of expressing herself and showing her affection. Queen Boadicea is the outlandish owner of the local punk club. Matt Lucas plays PT Wain (Matt Lucas) is a grumpy alien in a purple outfit. He's a bit of a killjoy and is quite stern which is a bit of a stretch. He likes to do things by the book and of course this film is about people thinking for themselves and following a new path, and this character is a barrier to that. "How To Talk To Girl At Parties" based on a short story by Neil Gaiman from his collection 'Fragile Things'. A funny and delightful genre mash-up, the film focuses on Henry, a shy teenage punk rocker in 70s suburban England, and his two closest friends, Vic and John. One night they all sneak into a party where they meet a group of seemingly otherworldly girls; at first they think it’s a cult, but eventually come to realise the girls are actually from another world, outer space. The leaders of these alien colonies have an ominous plan in mind, but that doesn’t stop Henry from falling madly in love with Zan, one of the colonies key members. Their burgeoning romance sets in motion a series of increasingly sensational events that will lead to the ultimate showdown of punks versus aliens, and test the bonds of friendship, family, and true love. The adventures of Henry and his friends are autobiographical-ish. The film takes those fragments and makes it about the gulf between boys and girls at that age; and girls might as well be aliens. Based on the short story by renowned author and graphic artist Neil Gaiman, the film‘s tone, spirit and period setting chimed perfectly with gleeful love of the alternative. It draws on Neil Gaiman's youth as a punk in Croydon and in some ways we need a punk spirit more now than perhaps we did in the 70's because of a feeling of darkness, harshness and doom that's suffusing everyone now. The juxtaposition of worlds represented in the story also struck a chord. It's also a real romance between a punk and alien, it's a mixture of cultures and subcultures. Both the aliens and punks are tribes on the fringe in the normal grey 70's world of Croydon. What's lovely about the story is that it has a first act and then it stops and it's just what happens if one of the girl’s from the story follows Henry home. It starts as a very short story, that's in effect the first scene in the film. The film loves the idea of exploring punk and pop, like 'The Damned' and 'The Ramones'. The thrill of the unknown, the way the music you loved is the most important thing on earth, the mysteries of the human and alien heart, all set in a world where the line between the everyday and fantastic is blurred. This is a film about waking up and maybe it's time to wake up again because culturally everything’s become a bit homogenous. Maybe it's time for another punk explosion. While whipping them into shape you really want to keep that punk energy of freedom, laughter, spontaneity and improvisation. The story is set in 1977 but the film is not slavishly faithful to the period. The sci-fi aspects to the story allows to let our imaginations run free. The story embraces grit-Brit naturalism as well as unbridled fantasy and the design echos that combination. Although it's set in 1977 it doesn't try too hard to be 1977. It's a mash up between now and then. It's definitely the world of punk as seen from the early 21st Century. “How To Talk To Girls At Parties" is a British film about a British subject matter, directed by a US director. As a result there's always a danger the film can feel disconnected from reality, but that’s not the case here. "How To Talk To Girls At Parties" has an authentic spirit. Key to the look is the spirit of punk and it's effects on popular culture both in the UK and around the world. It’s difficult to understand now but when the 'Sex Pistols' appeared on early evening television in 1976, the shockwaves were seismic. If their surly attitude, scruffy clothes and hair and swastika armbands weren‘t alarming enough, it was as though civilisation had crumbled and the four horsemen were coming into view over the hilltops. Swearing on TV was just one of the barriers broken down by punk. From music to fashion, art to politics, punk represented a breaking away from the past and a dismantling of tradition. Old ways of doing things were out and the new way was whichever way you wanted. Punk means what it always meant which is that you do it. The joy of punk was that famous poster; here’s a chord, here’s another, now form a band. Just do it, find out how to do it on the way, but start doing it. It’s for the original punks and the generations whom they’ve transformed from the inside out since. It’s a wild ride and big-screen punk-show and the belief that different worlds can combine in unexpected ways to create something exhilerating and urgent and new.

Hi Guys, Just wanted to share the official trailer for my upcoming short charity film, I am Sherlock Holmes, let me know what you think! https://vimeo.com/284323662 Also please give us a follow on Twitter if you like what you see! We'll follow back! https://twitter.com/sherlock_short

(Release Info London schedule; December 26th, 2019, Vue Cinéma, O2 Centre, 255 Finchley Rd, London NW3 6LU, United Kingdom, 2:00 pm) "Spies In Disguise" Super spy Lance Sterling (Will Smith) and scientist Walter Beckett (Tom Holland) are almost exact opposites. Lance is smooth, suave and debonair. Walter is not. But when events take an unexpected turn, this unlikely duo is forced to team up for the ultimate mission that will require an almost impossible disguise; transforming Lance into the brave, fierce, majestic pigeon. Walter and Lance suddenly have to work as a team, or the whole world is in peril. Brimming with confidence and swagger, Lance is the world’s greatest spy, the best of the best of international espionage agents, Lance is all sharp angles, tall, elegantly attired, exuding coolness. Everyone knows his name, and he's often greeted by his fans with applause. He’s also used to being armed with the most state-of-the-art, cool spy gadgetry, including his cutting-edge two-seater sports vehicle, 'The Audi RSQ E-tron'. In this way, Lance and all the other agents are dependent on the technical wizards behind-the-scenes who design these gadgets for 'The Agency'. One of these tekkies is awkward yet lovable Walter Beckett. Walter is the opposite of Lance, short and appealingly geeky, dressed more for comfort and practicality than style; a genius, not an athlete. Where most of these gadgets designed by 'The Agency' are intentionally destructive and deadly, Walter, who graduated 'MIT' at age 15, has a different point of view, and designs gadgets that are completely effective, but cause no harm. For example, when tasked to create a grenade, he invents a device that explodes with glitter and creates a visual of an adorable kitten. Walter understands that seeing a kitten releases serotonin, causing the viewer to feel happy, reduce aggression and become distracted from the situation. Much safer than a grenade that blows things up. While Lance believes in fighting fire with fire, Walter believes that type of thinking just gets everyone burned. If Walter could save the world with a hug, he would. Friendless save for his faithful pet pigeon 'Lovey' (Karen Gillan), Walter’s co-workers at 'The Agency' refer to him as a weirdo, but he was raised by his late police officer mother to believe in himself and his unconventional ideas. Together, Walter and his Mom Wendy (Rachel Brosnahan), proudly called themselves 'Team Weird'. Lance and Walter both work at 'The Agency', headed by Joy Jenkins (Reba McEntire) who Lance affectionately calls 'Joyless'. She’s a pretty tough nut. Harsh and demanding, she doesn’t have many soft spots, but one of them is for Lance. Her devotion is tested when 'Internal Affairs' agent Marcy Kappel (Rashida Jones) reveals evidence that shows Lance has stolen a cataclysmically deadly drone from 'The Agency’s' covert weapons lab. The truth is that the weapon, 'The M-9 Assassin', is really in the hands of supervillain Keller 'Robohand' Killian (Ben Mendelsohn), disguised as Lance. A criminal whose real identity is unknown to global authorities, Killian’s missing right hand has been replaced by a robotic claw, hence his nickname. Joy can’t believe that Lance would turn, but Marcy, aided by her video surveillance and analysis agent Eyes (Karen Gillan) and audio analysis expert Ears (DJ Khaled), is determined to have him arrested. Lance, knowing there's a bad guy out there, needs to go rogue to stop him. Eluding capture by 'Internal Affairs', Lance is able to escape from 'The Agency' headquarters and, remembering Walter saying that he could make someone disappear, heads to Walter’s house seeking this new technology. Walter has been working on an invention called bio-dynamic concealment, an elixir that will make whoever ingests it turn into something that most people ignore, allowing them to disappear in plain sight. When Lance unintentionally drinks the formula, he's transformed into a pigeon. Lance, who always viewed pigeons as rats with wings, is horrified and demands that Walter unbird him immediately. But Walter hasn’t yet cracked a formula to reverse his concealment invention. Trapped in the body of a pigeon, our super suave spy struggles to adjust to his new body. What’s more, this guy who’s always flied solo finds himself suddenly part of a flock, surrounded by a trio of other pigeons. And Walter, who may not be built for action in the field, ends up out there, while he desperately tries to find the antidote to the elixir. As they learn to work together in order to stop 'Robohand' from turning the Assassin on mankind, Lance slowly begins to open himself up to a whole new, weird approach to saving the world from Walter.   In addition to being a spy movie, “Spies In Disguise" is a buddy comedy that derives much of it's humor from the differences between it's two main characters. Lance and Walter are a classic odd couple. Lance is a pretty straightforward character. He’s self-confident, he likes being in the spotlight, he likes being the hero, and he likes the accolades. But he’s pretty full of himself, so there’s definitely a balance to be struck there. It’s a special kind of charisma that can carry that off, and you look up chqarisma in the dictionary. Lance is built for the world of espionage: He’s 6 ft. 5 in., 230 lbs. of pure muscle, with broad shoulders, a narrow core and extremely long legs. He’s sleek, sophisticated, strong and athletic and he looks like he could take on anything. That means straight lines, broad shapes, clean. He's better than the best, he’s cool, he’s suave, he’s got swagger, he’s got all the great one-liners, and he’s the good guy. And then you’ve got the guy with the robot hand who’s leering and stands in the shadows and says horrible things and is violent. So you know he’s bad. Then as the movie goes on, the balance walks a delicate line, is to blur those edges, so that the hero’s flawed, he lacks empathy and employs violence. Walter is a hard character to discover because the film wants to make sure the character is sincere. So it's really important that he's affirmational, so kids will go to see the film initially wanting to be like a Lance Sterling, but realizing that the hero is really inside them, like Walter Beckett. Walter’s a really smart dude so you never want him to feel goofy. But he's definitely out of his element in being out in the real world. He’s an academic, but he’s also very committed to those ideas and forceful but not aggressive the way Lance is. Walter is a really happy go lucky kid. He’s really positive, he’s really excited about using his brain for good and to make a difference in his workplace. And then he’s really excited by the idea of a challenge and a mission and going into the field.  But what’s most endearing about him is that he’s trying to change 'The Agency’s' way of thinking and instead of blowing people up and killing people he’s trying to make everyone be happy and positive and safe. So it’s quite nice. Walter has a smaller build, 5 ft. 4 in. and is very wiry. He works hard and feels unappreciated and underestimated, so his posture is somewhat slumped. But he’s full of naïve optimism. He's a dreamer that thinks if you can just come up with the right sort of ways, we can do things differently. A man turns into a pigeon, which is insane. What's genius about the conceit of the script, is that pigeons are actually amazing creatures, and they're the perfect disguise! They’re in every city around the world. No one pays attention to them. Nobody even knows that they’re there. So they’re hiding in plain sight. Because they've eyes on the side of their head, they can see in 360 degrees, which means that at any given time, they can see your face and their butt. And you can’t sneak up on them. They’re one of the fastest birds in the world. But because they’re so fast, they see at a faster rate of speed than we do, so everything to them feels slow motion. We would always refer to that as 'Pigeon Bullet Time'. They see 'UV' light, bands of light that we can’t see with the human eye. On the surface, it seems like a joke, but really this is the best cover for a spy.  No one knows you’re there. You’ve got all these built-in gadgets. It’s actually genius, as are all of Walter’s other gadgets. For example, Walter develops a personal protection device called the 'Inflatable Hug'. It envelopes whoever is holding it in a cushy bubble to avoid harm. Another is the multi-pen. While it looks like a traditional multi-colored pen, it actually has functions such as the ability to shoot serious string like 'Silly String' but only serious to tie up bad guys. It can spray a serum, complete with a hint of lavender that will make even the biggest baddy reveal the truth. It can even shoot a non-lethal electrical pulse that causes whoever is on the receiving end to lose all muscle control and collapse into a rubbery mess.  One of the cool differences about the two characters is that Lance is obviously so into action and beating people up and fighting and being a super spy. Whereas Walter is very much more the guy who wants to help people and, yes, get the job done, but do it in a way with no casualties and he has this one device called 'The Kitty Glitter' which basically explodes glitter everywhere and calms people down to the point where they don’t want to do bad stuff anymore. Whereas Lance just wants a grenade. One of the major differences between Lance and Walter is their approach to the job. Lance flies alone, but the main reason for his desire to stay solo is his concern that anyone else around him might get hurt. Walter, on the other hand, is a firm believer in teamwork, something Lance is forced to accept when he finds himself transformed into a pigeon and is surrounded by three other pigeons known as 'The Flock'. Lovey, Walter’s faithful pet and the smartest of the three, is instantly taken by Lance’s pigeon magnetism, and can’t resist the urge to constantly try to get closer to him. Fanboy’s awkward movements set him apart from the other birds, but nothing will stop him from trying to imitate the suave stylings of his hero, Lance. Walter believes that if we’re the good guys, we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard and do things a good way. In Lance’s world, at first, that seems weird. But then Lance starts to realize that maybe his uncompromising version of good and bad in the world isn’t the only version. As in all classic spy films, there needed to be a formidable villain, an antagonist to set the plot in motion and challenge, but it's important that there be real world motivations for his actions. 'Robohand' is a mysterious and terrifying villain, and it's important to hold back a lot of who he's and why he's. There’s definitely a history with our hero, Lance Sterling. There’s a revenge plot that he’s taking on. The film wants it to feel scary and menacing, so that when we reveal who he's, it’s not just revealing his plan, but a reason for what he does. In order for there to be a Lance Sterling you’ve got to have a Killian. And Killian is the other end of the spectrum of good guys/bad guys. Killian is a super villain. He’s a guy that can and will take down enormous body counts and damage. These are the old paradigms of what good guys and bad guys look like, and they’re very pervasive and they have a great influence in the way that we think about ourselves, and crucially in the way we think about others. That’s all sort of 'Cold War' and 'Pre-Cold War' ideas and notions, and they worked for a long time. Underworld hacker Katsu Kimura (Masi Oka) is the shady character responsible for stealing 'The Assassin' and selling it to Killian. Katsu and Lance have a history together. So he’s not surprised when Lance invades his hideout when he’s doing his deal with Killian, he's probably him. Even though Lance always wins, Katsu has always been able to get away and keep on doing what he does. Physically, Katsu’s a massive giant, very imposing. But he doesn’t use force. He doesn’t have to, he has his Yakuza minions that do it for him. He uses his clever intelligence and his wits and technological skills to do his dirty work. Another obstacle for Lance and Walter is Marcy, "The Internal Affairs' agent on their trail. Marcy’s strong, she’s capable and throughout most of the movie, she’s very definite about what she thinks is right or wrong, but then that strict viewpoint starts to soften a little bit. She realizes she has to open herself up to all the shades of gray in between right and wrong. Marcy’s a very by-the-book, no-nonsense woman. She’s like Tommy Lee Jones in "The Fugitive": on a mission, straightforward, persevering, with only one thing important to her, which is to get Lance Sterling and solve this case. Whereas Lance is all about sports cars and tuxedos and flashy, she’s all about getting the job done and doing it efficiently. She’s not into him from the beginning. At the same time, Marcy’s a very skilled negotiator. And when she needs to be, she can be empathetic and calm and communicate in a way that’s actually going to help the situation. She isn’t hot-headed. Joy Jenkins (Reba McEntire) is Lance and Walter’s boss at 'The Agency'. She’s tough. And to have a name like Joy, you would think she’d be bubbly and animated and not, not at all.  She’s very deadpan. Not much melody in her voice. So her nickname 'Joyless' fits her really well. She's such an effervescent personality that even in a character who’s supposed to be dour at times, you still really feel this fun connection to her. She really brought that sort of undercurrent of charisma to a character who could be pretty flat otherwise. Wendy Beckett, Walter's mom, is a police officer who’s out there facing the hard realities of the world that we live in on a daily basis. At the same time, she needs to appreciate how special Walter is and how important it's that he stay optimistic and true to his beliefs, no matter what other people say. Wendy obviously loves Walter very, very much. And Walter’s kind of a weird kid. He’s into stuff that other kids his age aren’t, and sometimes that’s hard for him. And while Wendy is sometimes annoyed by his inventions and how they interfere with their everyday life, she supports him wholeheartedly, and encourages him to be himself all the time, in all of his weirdness. Even if that means that other kids make fun of him, she tells him that the things that make him weird right now are going to be his superpower as he grows. That's one of the most important lessons that she teaches him that carries through the film. Everyone’s weirdness is their superpower. Everyone’s weird in their own way. There’s no such thing as normal. And it can be so hard when you’re growing up and, and everyone’s striving for this idea of normalcy that just doesn’t exist, to let your freak flag fly, to be yourself in the face of everything else. She only gets screen-time at the beginning, but we feel the effect of her character throughout the whole movie. "Spies In Disguise" is a film that has it's own unique style, design and color palette. In paying homage to classic spy movies, the film creates all exotic globe-spanning locations from 'Washington, D.C.' to Japan to 'The Mayan Riviera' to 'The North Sea' while evoking a world that's very contemporary. The film’s cool spy base, in keeping with the whole idea of espionage where things are hidden before your eyes, is concealed under the reflection pool of 'The Washington Monument'. So it’s in sight, but never seen. The film developes a color language where warmer oranges and yellows represent teamwork and community. A warm shade of turquoise represents 'The Agency', whereas a cool shade of blue is isolating, which is why Lance’s tux is that color, he’s a man who flies solo. Red is an indicator for danger, so the first time we meet Kimura, he’s wearing a big silk red shirt and he’s in a red environment. Killian’s got an eye that goes red; 'The Assassin’s' drone has a red eye. Lance, who prefers to work alone, wants to be isolated, so he’s seen in single shots, carved out by light, or in focus with everything else in the frame out of focus. This way, the audience can see and feel the isolation he’s chosen. Whereas Walter is kept more engaged in the broader focus range and warmer, brighter light. It's an animated spy comedy adventure set in the slick, high-octane, globe-trotting world of international espionage. The film has all the familiar elements of the genre; exotic international locales, dazzling cinematography, big action set pieces, futuristic gadgetry and a great score with a memorable theme. So if the film wants you to feel sad, you might not even notice that the clouds are overhead and it’s a little gray and the characters are a little glum and distant from each other. But when they’re happy, they’re together and they’re in the same frame and it’s a little sunnier out. "Spies In Disguise" teaches a good message to kids that violence isn’t the answer and friendship is more important than anything really.

The third instalment of the Johnny English franchise started back in 2003 with Johnny English. A brilliant film. Funny, witty and good fun. In case you’ve forgotten, here is the plot for the 2003 Johnny English. A stupid secret agent is called up because the current spies can no longer be used. He fumbles his way through missions whilst doing a good job. He believes that the bad guy is a friend to the British establishment. He meets a beautiful young women. She turns out to spy working against said bad guy. Johnny English accuses the bad guy of being the bad guy in front of the British establishment and they kick him off the job. The bad guy then turns out to be the bad guy. Johnny English, through national pride captures the bad guy in an old, famous British building for the world to see, whilst fumbling along at the same time. Here is the plot for Johnny English: Strikes Again, 15 years after the original.  A stupid secret agent is called up because the current spies can no longer be used. He fumbles his way through missions whilst doing a good job. He believes that the bad guy is a friend to the British establishment. He meets a beautiful young women. She turns out to spy working against said bad guy. Johnny English accuses the bad guy of being the bad guy in front of the British establishment and they kick him off the job. The bad guy then turns out to be the bad guy. Johnny English, through national pride captures the bad guy in an old, famous British building for the world to see, whilst fumbling along at the same time. 📷Originally posted by pawnee-scranton Sounds familiar right? Right. Unfortunately the whole plot is exactly the same as the original film but with just a few things changed. Different nationalities. Different scenery. On the whole it is the same. You know how The Force Awakens is the same as A New Hope. It seriously lets it down because it is so obvious that you cannot see it. The jokes as well are also very similar to stunts performed in previous Johnny English films or Rowan Atkinson related comedy sketches like Mr Bean.  The film itself is very poor. The jokes fall flat. The dance floor sequence is so cringy it started to become impossible to watch. Rowan Atkinson is a good actor but it looked like he just wanted this movie to be over so he could collect his pay cheque and go. So much of Johnny English is down to its physical humour. Atkinson is at an age now where that is become harder to do. If that is the key to a films humour, it’s probably best to stop. The VR sequence was funny however and that was it’s only positive throughout this re-hashed and unoriginal film. 1/5 It’s what we have all seen before. Literally. Apart from the Virtual Reality scene the jokes and plot are the same as the original film. Hopefully this will be the last we see of Johnny English.