American Animals

I really didn't know what to expect from American Animals. I'd seen the trailer and was suitably intrigued, but when people asked me what it was about I could never really hold it in my head. A heist/robbery was all I could mutter, but it looks really good. 

I was even more intrigued when my friend and trusted reviewer of Thursday Night At The Movies gave the film 4.5/5 which is high praise indeed. Seriously, sign up to her blog because her reviews are fantastic and way more frequent than mine.

I missed the film at Cineworld but I was determined to see it and boy am I glad I did! Part heist movie, part documentary, the film follows two college friends who decide to steal some rare, and highly valued books from the college library rare books room. It's guarded by one lowly librarian (played by The Handmaid's Tale's Aunt Lydia) so how hard can it be?

It turns out very, as the boys have to enlist the help of two other students before attempting the robbery.

This film is one of the most interesting I have seen this year. Much like Searching, this film is uniquely filmed, but this time it's in the way it seamlessly goes between interview footage from the real people that the movie is based on, to film footage of the actors playing these people. It's a fascinating story even if all you saw was the actors (who embody their characters perfectly) but to see the real people and find out what happened to them and how it affected those closest to them takes it up a whole other level.

I don't think I breathed during the robbery scenes and actually had my hands on my head for some of it, it's super tense and stylishly shot, but never feels anything other than gritty and true to life. 

Evan Peters completely stole the show for me, playing the charismatic Warren, but similarly all of the actors were faultless. I'd only seen Barry Keoghan in Dunkirk, and I don't think I've seen anything that Blake Jenner or Jared Abrahamson have done before but they were all the complete embodiment of their characters as far as I was concerned. 

If you can find this movie in cinemas I urge you to go and experience it. It's a ride you won't forget. 

9/10

The Miseducation of Cameron Post and Call Me By Your Name

My main reason for reviewing these two films together is that they cover a similar subject matter, and I saw them on the same day. But I wanted to show you the two posters for these films side by side, because it wasn't until I searched for the posters that I realised how eerily similar they are. Same colour blue, same wistful look up to the sky from one of the main characters, same colour and similar font of the titles. Weird.

Anyway, allow me to start with Cameron Post as that was the film I watched first. A film set in the 90s about a girl - Cameron Post (played brilliantly by Chloe Grace Moretz who impresses me more and more each time I see her) - who is discovered to be a lesbian by her religious family and promptly sent off to God's Promise, a camp for troubled teens, in the hope of converting her into a straight and God fearing member of society.

This might not be a true story, but the fact that this did happen to many kids and is still happening around the world today makes me really fucking angry. The story is well told and has lighter and also incredibly dark moments too but it handles everything with sensitivity and the acting on show is top notch.

I definitely felt like they could have done more to set the time period for film, as although it's a 90s set movie, there were only a few moments where my brain remembered that fact. For the most part I felt like this could have been set in the present day. I don't know if that's because the 90s doesn't feel that long ago to me, or because I know things like the conversion camp still happen, but I felt more like it was because the filmmakers hadn't done enough to make it feel like a period piece. 

Having said that, I didn't feel like this detracted from the film, more that I would have just liked to have seen more 90s references in there and had it feel more like a 90s set film. 

The acting as I said is all top notch. This is Chloe Grace Moretz's film, make no mistake, and she is fantastic in the lead role. But she is ably supported by Forrest Goodluck and Sasha Lane who play two of Cameron's alley's in the camp, whilst Jennifer Ehle (remember her? Where has she been for the last 20 years) and John Gallagher Jr are both great as the leaders of the camp.

I think it's an important film on many levels, it continues the conversation around the importance of mental health in young adults, and that they should have a safe space to express themselves, as well as adults that they can trust. It also does a great job of not talking down to the audience it's aimed at, and doesn't shy away from showing them sex scenes and pretty horrifying scenes too, but at no point do those scenes seem gratuitous or unnecessary. 

8/10

Call Me By Your Name is a film I'd wanted to see since it was released last summer but I'd somehow missed it at the cinema. It was shown on an open air screening this summer but I happened to be in London on the night it was on and so missed it again. 

Now that I've seen it I'm quite glad I didn't go out of my way to pay to see it in the cinema as I don't think anything would have been gained by seeing the film on the big screen.

I've heard such wonderful things about Call Me By Your Name, but unlike Cameron Post which is also a period set film and about a young person coming to terms with their sexuality, the sex scenes in this do feel slightly gratuitous and unnecessary. 

Maybe it's because of the way the film is shot like some art history experiment that the sex scenes just feel really out of place. Yes it's got stunning scenery, yes it's got a rousing score that would impress the harshest of critics, but where is the film's heart?

I found the film over long, and quite dull until it came to Elio and Oliver actually getting together and then everything seemed rushed. I assume this was intentional, because the characters waste their summer together by denying how they both feel, and then when they realise they want to be together the summer is over. It's a great metaphor but it doesn't really make for a very interesting film.

I felt like this film also suffered from the same time period setting issues as Cameron Post, but not quite on the same scale. Yes this does feel like a period piece, but not necessarily an 80s set film. Maybe because it's set in rural Italy so you don't have the same pop culture references that would be available in movies set in the USA for example? I'm not sure but I know that again there were only moments when I remembered it was set in the 80s, and those moments were few and far between. 

I also had trouble buying into the relationship between Oliver and Elio. I could see why Elio would fall for Oliver, I mean who wouldn't fall for Armie Hammer? But I really struggled to see why Oliver would feel anything for scrawny and underage Elio who if anything, seemed to act even more childishly than his age would allow. From what the film showed you they barely spent any time together too, so it's not even plausible that they fell in love with each other's personalities over time. It just didn't work for me.

I really wanted to like it, and I didn't think that was something I'd need to work on, I assumed it was a given. How wrong I was.

5/10

Searching & The Children Act

On this gloriously sunny Sunday in September, with absolutely nothing to do, I decided last minute to take myself on a double movie date. Most people would think this was a crazy idea but as the cinema is my second home this doesn't strike me as a weird way to spend my day.

First film of the double bill was Searching. A film I'd only recently heard of and which probably wouldn't have been at the top of my list of films to see, had it not starred John Cho. Cho is someone I always enjoy watching, whether it's in a stupid role (Harold and Kumar/American Pie films), turning an iconic sci-fi character on his head (Star Trek Reboots), or in a more serious role (usually on some ill fated TV series - Kitchen Confidential/Flashforward).

The fact that Searching had Cho as the lead character immediately piqued my interest and I am so glad it did. Not only is he fantastic in this film, easily captivating the audience, it's also a really good film. I might even go so far as to say one of my favourites of the year so far. 

The story is a simple one, and if you've seen the trailer you'll know it's about a father of a missing girl. The question is, what happened to Margot Kim? Did she run away, was she kidnapped, murdered? And if she was kidnapped or murdered, who the hell did it? This is a great whodunit thriller and keeps you guessing right to the end. There are plenty of twists that I didn't see coming, and best of all, it's whole premise is something I had never seen before on film.

So if you're looking for something a bit different, something that will keep you hooked til the last reel, definitely go and see Searching. 

9/10

The second film of the day was The Children Act, starring Emma Thompson and Stanley Tucci, based on the novel by Ian McEwan.

I was not familiar with the novel on going to see the movie, and in fact I knew next to nothing about it. I based my decision to see it purely on the talent involved. I mean who wouldn't want to see Emma Thompson and Stanley Tucci on screen together? It's an acting powerhouse.

The story revolves around High Court judge Fiona May (Thompson) and the two big events unfolding in her life as we come into her story. One is the breakdown of her marriage to husband Jack (Tucci), and the other is the case she is presiding over regarding the life of 17 year old Jehovah's Witness Adam. Adam is in need of a blood transfusion to save his life, but on religious grounds he is refusing the transfusion. As he is a minor, the hospital seek an injunction to save the boy's life. 

For the most part this felt like a BBC drama, particularly from the point where Adam's story really started to present itself. The actors playing the roles of Adam and his family felt very much like the kind you'd see in a BBC drama. A good one, but still not quite movie worthy. Having Emma and Stanley in the film however was always going to raise it to another level. The sad thing is that I feel like the film wasn't really worthy of them. And without them it probably wouldn't have even had a theatrical release.

That's not to say that they are not both fantastic. I doubt either of them knows how to be anything but that, but sadly even Queen Emma and Superb Lord Stanley have their work cut out with such a dull storyline and bland support. It's a shame because when they are on screen together I could feel so much potential but it just wasn't realised. 

It did make me realise just how much I adore Stanley Tucci though. He's just so damn cool. 

If you're a big fan of the actors you should see it for their performances, but just don't expect to see a life changing film. 

5/10 for film 10/10 for Emma and Stanley (😍)