LIVING

 Kurosawa transformed Tolstoy's novella "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" into "Ikiru", the study of an elderly man dying of cancer in post-war Japan and in "Living" director Oliver Hermanus has transformed Kurosawa's version into the story of an elderly civil servant, (Bill Nighy), dying of cancer in 1950's London. While never really aspiring to reach the heights of Kurosawa's masterpiece, (often sited among the best films ever made), Hermanus has nevertheless created a deeply moving and surprisingly unsentimental film that, thanks to superb cinematography and design, actually looks like it might have been filmed in the period in which it's set.

While certainly different from the Kurosawa version it can't be considered a poor cousin with Kazuo Ishiguro's brilliant screenplay honoring the maestro at every turn and with Nighy turning in a career-best performance. In fact, there is nothing in the film with which I can find fault, (the entire supporting cast are superb). Of course, it could have been crushingly gloomy but Hermanus, Ishiguro and Nighy imbue it with the lightest of touches making the least likely of sceanarios plausible. Ultimately it may be a film about the death of a human being and yet I found it among the most life-affirming of films.

EMPIRE OF LIGHT

Anyone who goes to see "Empire of Light" expecting another cosy movie about the love of cinema, both the medium and the building, will be sadly disappointed since Sam Mendes' superb new movie is about so much more. Yes, it's a love letter to all aspects of 'cinema' but it's also about racism and mental illness, lonliness and our ability to connect and it works on all these levels.

The setting is an unnamed town on England's South Coast in the early 1980's and the Picture Palace in question, (the Dreamland Cinema in Margate standing in for the Empire), really is a Picture Palace of the old school, (well, the bits of it that are open to the public are, at least), and Hilary, (an Oscar-worthy Olivia Colman), is the unhappy, lonely and mentally challenged duty manager who has allowed herself to drift into a casual sexual relationship with her married boss, (Colin Firth), and who now finds herself drawn to a new young employee who happens to be black, (Michael Ward, excellent).

Today, even with the age difference between them, this wouldn't be thought of as a problem but this was the early '80's and the National Front were on the march and Mendes' 'romance' doesn't shy away from the racism directed at Ward's character or from Hilary's mental problems. But this isn't a glum picture. Gorgeously photographed by Roger Deakins it is indeed a love letter to the movies and if like me you don't go stir crazy over "Stir Crazy", the joys of "Being There" should draw you in. Beautifully written, (also by Mendes), directed and acted, (as another employee Tom Brooke is also outstanding), this moving and intelligent picture really shouldn't be missed.

BABYLON

 It may or may not have been but Damien Chazelle envisages Hollywood in the 1920's as a modern day "Babylon" with parties that might have been engineered by Hieronymus Bosch. In the first few minutes of his film an elephant defecates on his handler and a starlet urinates on a naked fat man. This Hollywood isn't a place for prudes or, you might say, 'decent' people. If Cecil B. De Mille had directed this picture the entire cast would be thrust down to Hell by Chuck Heston.

They say nothing succeeds like excess and this is one excessive movie, (I mean why open with an elephant and not a horse?), and it's BIG in a way that almost puts Baz Lurhmann to shame. Of course, it's also derivative. There might be more of everything in Chazelle's vision of Hollywood as Hell but we've been here countless times before. Ultimately, then, it depends on just how well Chazelle handles overly familiar material and the answer to that is very well indeed. This may come to be regarded as one of the great movies about old Hollywood but it doesn't come close to a few standards I could mention.

Of course, as befits a movie of this size Chazelle has assembled quite a cast. A near-perfect Brad Pitt is the alcoholic silent movie star, Margot Robbie, the talentless starlet who becomes a talentless star, Jean Smart is the Hedda Hopperish gossip columnist and then there's Jovan Adepo as the black jazz player who breaks into the mainstream, former child star Lukas Hass, Eric Roberts, Olivia Hamilton as a female director, a terrific P.J. Byrne, Max Mingella as Irving Thalberg, Katherine Waterston, a very creepy Tobey Maguire and perhaps best of all, Diego Calva as the gofer who rises to the top.

Like the movie itself they all go over the top. At times I felt that Chazelle imagined himself as a kind of 21st century D.W. Griffith and as pure cinema this is the real deal, maybe too much so. This is a film that draws attention to itself from shot to shot though what it lacks is something resembling a decent script serving up instead one set piece after another. That said, it is hugely entertaining, a kind of malodorous love letter to cinema. Personally, give me "Singin' in the Rain" anyday, (and the countless references to that masterpiece are a major misstep).

'ROUND MIDNIGHT

 Fiction, but said to be inspired by events in the lives of commercial artist and jazz aficianado Francis Paudras and the musician Bud Powell, (with a touch of Lester Young thrown in), Bertrand Tavernier's "'Round Midnight" is one of the great movies about jazz, (just take a look at the jazz alumni in the cast), and at its very large heart is the relationship between the great tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon in the central role of Dale Turner, (Oscar-nominated for Best Actor), and Francois Cluzet as Francis Borier, (the Paudras role).

Of course, being a movie about jazz it's also a movie about drugs and alcohol and all the things that can destroy a great talent but unlike say, "Lady Sings the Blues" director Tavernier doesn't fashion it as a conventional biopic. This is in every respect a much looser kind of film, more in keeping with its subject, (which is jazz rather than just jazz musicians), and he styles it like a reverie from the past with a Paris more in keeping with an MGM musical than from any kind of reality. Of course, if you don't like jazz, (and I've heard it said some people really don't), you might not 'get' the movie but if you do you just might feel as if you've died and gone straight to heaven.

THE MENU

This horror-comedy, written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy and directed by Mark Mylod, (he of "Succession" fame), is destined for classic cult status. It's a highly original take on the old 'Hounds of Zaroff' riff where a group of people find themselves on an island with some kind of maniac who basically plans to kill them in one way or another. Usually 'the guests' are let loose and then hunted down; that happens here, too, but not before they are served up some very unusual cuisine in said maniac's very fancy restuarant.

You see Chef, as he's known, (a terrific Ralph Fiennes), is an elitist who is out to revenge himself on those people who have, in some way, done him wrong over the years and who now has gathered them all together for what he intends will be their last supper. However, one of the guests, (an equally terrific Anya Taylor-Joy), isn't meant to be there which kind of upsets his plans, if only a little.

Of course, it's thoroughly nasty and deeply cynical but it's also a delicious concoction, gorgeously photographed, designed and acted, (others in the first-rate cast include Nicholas Hoult, Janet McTeer, Reed Birney, Hong Chau, John Leguizamo and Judith Light), with its tongue lodged very much in its very cheeky cheek. If in the end there is less on the plate that you might have hoped just getting to the end of the meal proves to be a lot of fun.
 

TILL

 This film about the lynching of Emmett Till and of his mother's near futile fight for justice is sadly just the kind of movie that still needs to be made today. It still horrifies me to think that lynchings and killings of black people in the USA were still happening in the fifties and sixties and that even today black lives don't seem to matter not just in America but in many countries in the so-called civilised West including here in the UK and that a film like "Till" isn't just a history lesson but something distressingly commonplace and director Chinonye Chukwu treats the subject with all the care and respect it deserves.

At its core is a superb performance from Danielle Deadwyler as Mamie Till who overcame her grief and her anger, not only to try to get a justice she knew in her heart would probably never come, but to make a difference to black lives in general. For an established actress this would be a remarkable performance but Deadwyler is still a relative newcomer which makes her performance all the more impressive. This is a performance and a film that is neither sentimental nor hysterical making it all the more moving and all the more distressing. A credit to everyone concerned.

THE WOMAN KING

 Based apparently on a true story, or at least on real events, Gina Prince-Bythewood's "The Woman King" is like a feminist 'Black Panther' but without the superheroes, a female action flic born out of the #metoo movement and probably the last thing you would have thought Viola Davis would have chosen as Oscar bait. It's certainly a gorgeous looking epic, very well directed by Prince-Bythewood though to a contemporary western audience it may take quite a suspension of disbelief that as late as the 19th century there existed in Africa a kingdom where women warriors basically ruled the roost.

You might also think "Spartacus" with a cast of all-female slaves and in truth this is much closer to the great sword-and-sandal epics of the past than to the current trend towards Marvel superheroes, the only difference being the leads are female and they kick ass as well as any man.

Davis, of course, is excellent and there's first-rate support from Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim and Thuso Mbedu while John Boyega continues to impress as the male king. There's also a fine script, (this is an intelligent crowd-pleaser), chock full of great action sequences. It has, in other words, universal appeal.

DIARY OF A MAD HOUSEWIFE

 

 

I honestly thought the opening scene of "Diary of a Mad Housewife" was a dream. Surely, I said to myself, no-one could be as obnoxious as the character Richard Benjamin was playing and if Carrie Snodgress's 'mad housewife' were to murder him, (and their two appalling children), she would be found not guilty. Later she meets and has an affair with Frank Langella; he's equally obnoxious but at least he's better in bed.

This was the film that launched Snodgress' career, (it never really went anywhere), and she did get an Oscar nomination, losing to Glenda Jackson in "Women in Love". She is superb as indeed are Benjamin and Langella but these are the kind of people you really do love to hate and were it not so brilliantly acted, written and directed would probably have been unendurable. A minor hit at the time it has now largely disappeared perhaps because it's not very likeable.

 MY HONORS FOR THE FILMS SEEN BETWEEN JAN 1ST AND DECEMBER 31ST 2022

2022 was an exceptional year by any standards, even if some of the films which I have  'honored'  were actually released in 2021, (living as I do here in the north of Ireland seeing 'new' films during the year of their initial release isn't always easy), and were seen very early in the year. Indeed, nothing by an actor or an actress eclipsed the performances of Simon Rex and Penelope Cruz, (though a few came close), testament as to just how good they were.

It was also a year of great debuts. Some of the best films of the year were first features by their directors and it was also another great year for films directed by women. Great films directed by women were once something of a rarity; now there seems to be one almost every week or two. Of course, my views will be at odds with the views of many and I doubt if the Academy would agree with me on most of my choices. While I loved the sheer bravado of a film like "Top Gun; Maverick" I am still mystified by the success of "Everything Everywhere All at Once".  Here, then, are my Honors for the past year.

Best Film from Any Source:  AFTERSUN (Charlotte Wells, UK)
Best American Film:  LICORICE PIZZA (Paul Thomas Anderson)
Best Film Not in English:  HIT THE ROAD (Panah Panahi, Iran)

Best Director:  PANAH PANAHI for HIT THE ROAD (runner-up: Charlotte Wells for Aftersun)
Best Actor:  SIMON REX for RED ROCKET  (runner-up: Paul Mescal for Aftersun)
Best Actress:  PENELOPE CRUZ for PARALLEL MOTHERS  (runner-up: Ana De Armas for Blonde)
Best Supporting Actor:  BARRY KEOGH for THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN  (runner-up: Mark Rylance for Bones and All)
Best Supporting Actress:  MARTHA PLIMPTON for MASS  (runner-up: Ann Dowd for Mass)

Best Original Screenplay:  MARTIN MCDONAGH for THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN  (runner-up: Pedro Almodovar for Parallel Mothers)
Best Adapted Screenplay:  ANDREW DOMINIK for BLONDE  (runner-up: Kogonada for AFTER YANG)

Best Cinematography:  Chayse Irvin for BLONDE  (runner-up: Benjamin Loeb for AFTER YANG)
Best Art Direction:  Tamara Deverell and Brandt Gordon for NIGHTMARE ALLEY
Best Costume Design:  n/a
Best Film Editing:  Jonathan Redmond and Matt Villa for ELVIS
Best Sound:  TOP GUN; MAVERICK
Best Special Effects:  TOP GUN; MAVERICK.
Best Music Score:  Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for BONES AND ALL  

Most Promising Director:  CHARLOTTE WELLS for AFTERSUN  (runner-up: Panah Panahi for Hit the Road)
Most Promising Actor:  PAUL MESCAL for AFTERSUN  (runner-up: Gabriel LaBelle for The Fabelmans)
Most Promising Actress:  TAYLOR RUSSELL for BONES AND ALL  (runner-up: Frankie Corio for Aftersun)

Best Comedy:  LICORICE PIZZA (Paul Thomas Anderson)
Best Thriller:  DECISION TO LEAVE (Park Chan-wook)
Best Musical:  ELVIS (Baz Luhrmann)
Best Western:  THE DROVER'S WIFE (Leah Purcell)
Best Horror Film:  BONES AND ALL (Luca Guadagnino)
Best Documentary:  SUMMER OF SOUL  (Questlove)
Best Animated Film:  ENCANTO  (Jared Bush, Byron Howard and Charise Castro Smith)
Best Action Film:  TOP GUN: MAVERICK  (Joseph Kosinski)
Best 'Entertainment':  GLASS ONION; A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY  (Rian Johnson)

Most Overrated Films:  EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE (Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) and PINOCCHIO (Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson)
Most Underrated Film:  BLONDE  (Andrew Dominik)
Most Disappointing Film:  IL BUCO  (Michelangelo Frammartino)
Best Classics Seen for the First Time:  AFTER LIFE (Hirokazu Koreeda), THE ASCENT (Larisa Shepitko), I FIDANZATI (Ermanno Olmi) and YI YI  (Edward Yang)
Best Classics Seen Again:  L'ATALANTE (Jean Vigo), THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS (Gillo Pontecorvo), THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS (Orson Welles), LES QUATRES CENT COUPS (Francois Truffaut), RIFIFI (Jules Dassin), SAINT JACK (Peter Bogdanovitch) and TOUCH OF EVIL (Orson Welles)
and seeing we are still in the Christmas season 3 Turkeys:  AMSTERDAM (David O. Russell), DON'T WORRY, DARLING (Olivia Wilde) and MEMORY (Martin Campbell).

MY 15 BEST FILMS SEEN BETWEEN JANUARY 1ST AND DECEMBER 31ST 2022

1)  AFTERSUN  (Charlotte Wells)
2)  THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN  (Martin McDonagh)
3)  HIT THE ROAD  (Panah Panahi)
4)  PARALLEL MOTHERS (Pedro Almodovar)  
5)  THE SOUVENIR PART TWO  (Joanna Hogg)
6)  THE QUIET GIRL  (Colm Bairead)
7)  LICORICE PIZZA  (Paul Thomas Anderson)  
8)  WHEEL OF FORTUNE AND FANTASY  (Ryusuke Hamaguchi)
9)  AFTER YANG  (Kogonada)
10) THE FABELMANS  (Steven Spielberg)
11) DRIVE MY CAR  (Ryusuke Hamaguchi)
12) DECISION TO LEAVE (Park Chan-wook)
13) AMERICAN UTOPIA (Spike Lee)
14) BLONDE  (Andrew Dominik)
15) ALI & AVA  (Clio Barnard)

THE PAPER CHASE

 "The Paper Chase" is one of the few 'college' films, (in this case, Harvard Law School), to concern itself almost exclusively with studying. Yes, there is some sex and a bit of partying but essentially this is about what happens in the classroom and the cut and thrust between professor and student. It's a highly intelligent ,well acted picture but it's also a bit on the slow side and even rather dull; there's only so much contract law you can take in one picture.

Timothy Bottoms is the law student in a relationship with his professor's daughter, (that's the sex bit), and John Houseman is the professor, (superb in an Oscar-winning turn). It's certainly not a bad movie but it might have been easier to like had Bottoms' character been more sympathetic. You know the world will be his oyster but somehow you don't really care.

TRUE ROMANCE

 Quentin Tarantino wrote "True Romance", with some help from an uncredited Roger Avary, but Tony Scott was the director which might account for why, at times, it's a sickeningly violent, exploitative mess of a movie redeemed by the brilliance of Tarantino's dialogue and its terrific cast.

Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette are the young lovers on the lam with $500,000 worth of cocaine stolen from the Mob while Christopher Walken, brilliant as always in his one-scene cameo, and James Gandolfini are among those on their trail. Movie references abound, of course, but it needs a firmer hand on the helm. There's fun to be hand here but it's also really rather unpleasant.