Mini Review - Fremont
Fremont (out May 2) won the John Cassavetes Award (best feature made for under $1 million) at the Independent Spirit Awards and is a heartfelt, darkly funny flick about an Afghan refugee in the United States who gets a job working in a Chinese fortune cookie factory. Loved the emotionless lead performance from Anaita Wali Zada. Great cameo from Jeremy Allen White too! Grade: A-.
Mini Review - The Taste of Things
The Taste of Things (out May 2) is an inventive French drama set in the late 19th Century. It follows a longtime couple with an insatiable love for food. Rather than communicate using words, the pair dazzle friends (and each other) by creating mouth-watering dishes in their kitchen. Beautifully captures the sounds of sizzling food and the facial expressions of those enjoying it. Grade: A-.
Mini Review - Golda
Golda (out May 2) looks at the Yom Kippur War of 1973 from the perspective of Israeli’s chain-smoking Prime Minister Golda Meir (Helen Mirren). With the focus on boardrooms as opposed to battlefronts, it comes across as a basic history lesson (with simplistic dialogue) as opposed to an enriching drama. Grade: C+.
Mini Review - The Fall Guy
The Fall Guy (out Apr 24) will tick boxes to promote Australian tourism (there’s even a scene on the steps of the Sydney Opera House) but if you’re looking for a fun, entertaining way to spend two hours… this ain’t it. An action-comedy where every joke is overdone, and the characters induce cringe as opposed to laughs. Needed a much better script. Grade: C.
Mini Review - The Teacher's Lounge
The Teacher's Lounge (out Apr 25) is a thought-provoking German drama about a school teacher embroiled in an escalating situation after a fellow staff member is caught stealing. With something to say about information (and who is entitled to it) and the relationships between parents and children, this resonates strongly. Grade: A-.
Mini Review - Mad About the Boy: The Noel Coward Story
Mad About the Boy: The Noel Coward Story (out Apr 25) isn't ground-breaking in terms of style (it's just archival footage and narration) but it's still an interesting, worthy documentary about the acclaimed English actor-playwright and his achievements throughout the 20th Century. Grade: B+.
Mini Review - Abigail
Abigail (out Apr 18) is worth a look (particularly for fans of the horror genre) but lacks a distinctiveness to make it stand out from the growing vampire pack. Characters are dumb when it suits the film’s needs, and they’re smart when the opposite applies. The humour works better than the drama (laughed at some of the explosive deaths). Grade: B-.
Mini Review - Challengers
Challengers (out Apr 18) dumbs down the tennis elements to make it more cinematic, but it's still a terrific movie about three players (played by Zendaya, Josh O'Connor, and Mike Faist) and the power games between them. It’s great to see Hollywood getting behind a romantic drama with meaty ideas. The movie entertains (lots of great individual scenes) while offering plenty to chat about afterwards. Cool music score too! Grade: A-.