Movie review: Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn
Director: Cathy Yan
Stars: Margot Robbie, Rosie Perez, Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Well. Margot Robbie reprises her role as Harley Quinn from 2016's Suicide Squad, and they decided to add the Harley Quinn part to the title just so you know, after lacklustre initial box office. I cannot possibly recommend this to you, for it requires a certain sensibility to enjoy, but I found it to be crazy comic-book fun and hilarious.

For devoted fans of Harley Quinn, sorry I have no information to offer as to its legitimacy - my experience of Harley is pure Rule 34 plus the aforementioned Suicide Squad, and I had to look up Birds of Prey.

For fans of Robbie, she has toned down the sexuality of Suicide Squad and turned up the crazy and the result is fascinating. Something does not really gel with much of the other casting and they missed a trick when Sam Rockwell turned down Roman Sionis and the part went to Ewan McGregor instead. The trouble is Ewan's menace, when he manages it, is organic everyday-man-pushed energy and not comic-book character manic.

Much of the rest of this also misses a beat much of the time, yet somehow, I was immensely entertained. If you like big bold colours and an aesthetic that owes more to Tim Burton's Batman than more recent efforts this might be for you.

Movie review: Emma
Director:  Autumn de Wilde
Stars: Anya Taylor-Joy, Johnny Flynn
At the bottom of the list of Austen for me, I have not re-read Emma in decades, and I did not see the 1996 version with Gwyneth Paltrow, nor the 1996 Kate Beckinsale TV movie, though I did see Clueless. I might have passed on this too, but I wanted to see what Anya Taylor-Joy made of it.

First up, unless you enjoy Austen then no, this is not for you, Anya or not. Of course, you might be here for the Empire dresses and Regency furnishings in which case all well and good.

The rub here, is that if you like Emma as a novel then you might find some of the changes a bit much. Spoiler alert - skip this paragraph if you are not familiar with the plot. Mr Knightley is played by a 37-year-old Johnny Flynn, but he does not present at all as an older man, reinforced by it not being mentioned in the movie that he is the older brother of Emma's brother-in-law. This goes as far as the younger Knightley not even being credited (IMDB as at 17/02/2020). This gives the appearance of Mr Knightley inherently being more insightful, wiser, more genteel, and more sensible than Emma instead of only being so through much greater experience of the world, which clashes with Austen's usual motif of an equality of talent and sensibility leading to the main match. Jane Fairfax is not remotely presented as someone Emma could feel threatened by, though Mr Churchill is about right.

This was very much a movie of two halves. For the first half I thought much of the cast was mis-cast, including Taylor-Joy. Somewhere in the second hour it finally started to charm me, especially Anya, as though the whole production had finally found its legs. This is the first feature film for director Autumn Wilde, and it shows and given how she drabbed out some beautiful women playing characters who should be attractive, it seemed she did not really understand Taylor-Joy's on-screen presence. Perhaps there was something else going on in the first half as well - a thoroughly modern eye mocking the mores of the time in which it is set. In which case, why make it?

Movie: Seberg
Director:  Benedict Andrews
Stars: Kristen Stewart, Jack O’Connell, Anthony Mackie
This is in your Cineplex for one reason - Kristen Stewart, and frankly that is fair enough. Her performance is compelling, and it is worth seeing on the big screen just for the endless Taylor-esque close-ups of her face presumably so you can contemplate the meaning and philosophy of beauty and aesthetics.

The film’s ridiculous 4.8/10 rating on IMDB is entirely undeserved, but at the heart of the widely varied critical response is that the film does not hang together well despite several well put together scenes. It requires a lot of the viewer in terms of context so it will struggle to find an audience.

As a film very definitely in the Sixties, if you enjoyed that aspect of Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood then there is more eye candy here of rich Sixties detail. The ensemble cast is good too, but there is a missing link between cause and effect on Stewart’s Seberg that is ultimately unsatisfying.
I have barely any experience of Stewart’s work and suddenly I have seen her in three films on the trot. This is easily the most impressive of those three for her, so catch this on the big screen if you are a fan.

Movie: 1917
Director:  Sam Mendes
Stars: Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay
WWI flick that recently picked up the Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture - Drama and Best Director for Sam Mendes, and was nominated for ten Academy Awards, winning three.

Over-hyped in my opinion, this is an interesting enough film, but this much critical acclaim is bizarre. The premise is ridiculous, the acting competent yet hardly amazing, and the so-called "single-shot" is anything but, though the Cinematography Oscar was well deserved. Throw in endless over-worked symbolism, and a few adeptly emotive scenes and apparently we have a classic of the genre.

Mendes has made this all deeply sentimental and meaningful by taking a couple of soldiers on a hazardous mission through a variety of scenarios, much like a video game. This is much the exact opposite of WWI, when millions were rather un-sentimentally dispatched to die meaninglessly for ideas we find unfathomable today. Do I seem offended? I guess I am.

Mendes has also fallen into the trap that successful directors often do when they make films perceived to be weighty or important - that big-name actors are prepared to take bit roles to be part of the project, or to work with the director. This is often problematic, and it proves to be here. I see Colin Firth and Cumberbatch, not General and Colonel whoever because they don’t have time to occupy their roles. These roles should have been played by character actors whose fame was not at a level to overwhelm the roles.

Of course, starved for actual history we have no choice but to be grateful that films touching on these matters are even made, but this is a tourist's view of the Western front.

Movie review: Like a Boss

Director:  Miguel Arteta Stars: Rose Byrne, Salma Hayek, Tiffany Haddish

I saw this for Rose Byrne and Stifler’s Mom (Jennifer Coolidge), with a little bit of Salma Hayek appreciation thrown in. I also thought Tiffany Haddish was one of the few good things about The Kitchen.

There is no avoiding my earnest wish that this could end for long parts of the film, and at a mere 83 minutes that is extraordinary. I rarely ever think mainstream cinema releases deserve their lowly 4.3 rating on IMDB but for once I agree.

Movie review: Richard Jewell
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Olivia Wilde, John Hamm
Absolute gem. Top quality drama about the media circus that engulfed the security guard who found a bomb at the Atlanta Olympics but was then falsely implicated.

Keep in mind that the critical commentary was impacted by two issues. First, the belief that director Clint Eastwood had timed this to criticise the FBI and the media over impeachment. I imagine he did, but that is beside the point. Secondly by unhappiness at the portrayal of journalist Kathy Scruggs.

Paul Walter Hauser’s Jewell is brilliant - all awkward, dim, stupidly and antagonistically officious and yet Hauser deeply imbues the character with vulnerable humanity. It is a disgrace he did not get major award nominations. Sam Rockwell again demonstrates his versatility, this time playing quiet, and Kathy Bates earned Oscar and Golden Globe nominations playing Jewell’s mother. Against them we have Jon Hamm playing FBI smug and Olivia Wilde controversially playing Kathy Scruggs, long deceased journalist. Setting aside its accuracy, Wilde’s performance is engrossing too.

This has not done great box-office which is disappointing, but not surprising as it plays against the zeitgeist.

Movie review: Midway
Director: Roland Emmerich
Stars: Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Woody Harrelson

If you see WWII films then you are seeing this anyway, and there is nothing here to either push it on you nor to drive you from it.

There is a lot of CGI, and perhaps it is meant to seem almost colourised, presumably to make it seem more historical. I will give props to some of the dive-bombing scenes, but similarly to Dunkirk the question is raised of how relevant to a generation raised on FPS and flight-sim games these scenes can be.

Some serious acting talent is wasted here and in terms of thoughtfulness this is at the lower end of the spectrum for war films.

Movie review: Just Mercy
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Michael B. Jordan

Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx star in this movie based on a book from the experiences of lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Jordan) who has spent decades defending death row inmates. This is not a great film, but it is a solid film about an important topic. There is a little too much focus on nice sounding speeches, and not enough on the legal nitty gritty and grind, but there are some powerful scenes.

Movie review: Bad Boys for Life
Director: Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah
Stars: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence

We waited 8 years for the sequel to Bad Boys and then, fortunately, there were 17 more years before Bad Boys For Life. Strangely, given the sequel set-up final scene, they did not save "For Life" for the next instalment.

Except for the ridiculous plot, this is not that bad. Sure, I was thinking "this needs more Tea Leoni" but unless you are in your fifties you probably will not be afflicted with this. Martin Lawrence does not look like he should have something, but he does have something, and he can make you smile despite yourself. Will Smith does Will Smith and if you can stand that then this will work. I am a little bemused that this is doing such good box office since this is straight popcorn cineplex action film now being done better by others but presumably nostalgia is boosting the audience reach.

Movie review: The Gentlemen
Director: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Michelle Dockery

Guy Ritchie returns to his strength - Brit crime and gangsterism. This seems to take bits from Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and RocknRolla and come up with something with just the right amounts of familiarity and novelty. Well-paced, with lightning but organic switches of tone, this is a rollicking good yarn.

The presence of Matthew McConaughey’s American Mickey Pearson is simply, yet adequately, explained and frankly he kills it. Hugh Grant plays very well against type, Colin Farrell’s character Coach is memorable, Charlie Hunnam convincing as valuable henchman, but Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery is a killer match up with McConaughey and steals the show. Henry Golding could have had a much better scripted character.

Fortunes rise and fall and a solid interplay of banter with Machiavellian machinations holds attention throughout. If you did not enjoy Snatch 20 years ago this might not grab you but otherwise this is the trick.

Movie review: Underwater
Director: William Eubank
Stars: Kristen Stewart, Vincent Cassel

This will not be it for lovers of fine cinema, but for those who enjoy the claustrophobic genre encompassing films set in either deep space or deep marine environments then this will hit the mark as a standard addition. If a little escapism is all you are after, this will do.

Kristen Stewart is a solid lead here and some of the critical commentary bagging this for not being a veritable Alien seems a bit overdone. Production values are solid, if not the technology for Mariana Trench depth mining, and the pacing is the right blend of fast and slow for the genre.

Suffers a little from the standard flaw of these films that companies are always somehow forced to employ a few very loose units for their trillion-dollar projects, which is the lazy script writing equivalent of imagining that tattoos are a personality.

Trivia wise, this release has been delayed years by the Disney takeover, and will be the last film branded as 20th Century Fox, with 20th Century Studios being the new name. Seems like a wasted opportunity.

Movie review: Jumanji: The Next Level
Director: Jake Kasdan
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillan
Sequel to Welcome to the Jungle from two years ago, I was thoroughly entertained.
The director, Jake Kasdan, and all the actors came back and they threw in Danny Glover and Danny DeVito as well, though Rory McCann is not as well used as I would have hoped. This is a sequel done right: maintain and enhance what was built before regarding the milieu, add depth and complexity to the characters, but keep it grounded in a story where the effects help tell the story rather than being the story. Everything the Star Wars sequels are not.
Last time I mentioned they paid gaming no respect - this time the laughs seemed a little more “with” gaming rather than “at”, though possibly that was just familiarity. If you haven’t seen Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle then you should if you like a laugh, the Rock or Jack Black. This is more of the same but in the good way.

Movie review:  Jojo Rabbit
Director: Taika Waititi
Stars: Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, Scarlett Johansson
My advice is to ignore the negativity of some critics to this film and to see it. The positive and generous audience reaction is a much better guide. There are those who insist that every film that touches on Nazi Germany must be a Schindler's List, but this is not a film on concentration camps. This is a film about crazy, and one of the elements of crazy is ludicrousness and it is right to laugh at it, at least sometimes. Hitler after all could not stand his enemies laughing at him.

This is a farce, in the deliberate, not metaphorical, sense and like all great farce it is funny because it has true elements. The Hitler Youth scenes are simultaneously ridiculous and yet incredibly real - as any person who has attended cadet camps or even scout camps could attest - at least last century anyway. Director Taika Waititi does an incredible job of juxtaposing fantasy with reality, surrealism with verisimilitude - forcing the obvious question: which of these is more believable? Playing the Beatles over actual footage of teen hysteria for Der Fuhrer, and sometimes having better WWII props and war effects than actual WWII films yet with some dis-consonant farcical element attached, prove effective devices.

ScoJo is beautifully cast here, and Rockwell is perfect. I have looked on bewildered at the acclaim for Waititi’s “acting” at times, but he nails Jojo's imaginary friend, Adolph. Thomasin McKenzie threatens to be the next big thing, and Roman Griffith Davis is an affecting Jojo.

Of course, it is not all laughs, and eventually the flipping between gallows humour and, well, gallows will force the realisation that this cannot end well, but the denouement is done well.

Juddy keeps busy consuming cultural media while posing as a student at a major Sydney university, thus shirking real work. He hosts pub trivia, and tutors at said university, for beer and book money.