COLD WAR
Pawel Pawlikowski is a worthy winner of the Best Director Award at the recent Cannes Film Festival and following his previous multi-award winner IDA he cements his reputation as one of the most exciting talents of current European Cinema.
This passionate love story begins in the 50’s in Poland where Wiktor (Tomasz Kot) is auditioning for singers and dancers for his touring show. He sees hundreds of hopefuls but when he sets eyes on Zula (Joanna Kulig) he immediately feels a strange attraction for her beauty. It doesn’t take long before these two persons from different backgrounds as well as temperaments fall for each other…
The luminous black and white cinematography is from Pawlikowski’s previous collaborator Lukasz Zal, who also gave IDA such a distinct look. It is a compelling film that begins with a lighter touch before the action with the Cold War as a backdrop turns into a living nightmare.
The acting is of the highest order and the leading actors share a tremendous chemistry but it is Pawlisowski’s vision and fluid direction that will stay long in the memory. His remarkable career began in Britain with LAST RESORT and MY SUMMER OF LOVE in which he discovered Emily Blunt – a truly European director at the peak of his career!
SEARCHING
Aneesh Chaganty’s intelligent piece of filmmaking recently won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. His clever screenplay co-written with Sev Ohamian tells the story of David Kim (John Cho), a single father, who decides to begin his own investigation following his 16-year-old daughter’s disappearance. A detective is assigned to solve the case of the missing girl but David believes that the secret behind his daughter’s whereabouts are probably in her laptop…
The whole action of the whole film, like last week’ UNFRIENDED: THE DARK WEB, is seen on the computer screen as David is determined to open any device possible in order to retrace his daughter’s last steps.
John Cho, in a rare leading role, is mesmerising as the agonising father while Debra Messing from “Will and Grace” is totally unrecognisable as the detective in charge of the case.
It is economical, precise, intriguing and unpredictable!
C’EST LA VIE
This delightful French comedy is directed by the winning partnership of Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, the team behind the equally entertaining UNTOUCHABLE.
The action takes place in a 17th century French palace where preparations for a wedding are rapidly getting organised under the eagle eye of Max Angely (Jean Pierre Bacri), an experienced caterer and his team. But last minute cancellations and a rich, arrogant bridegroom that gets in the way with his endless, absurd demands lead inevitably to disaster…
It is an ambitious project with a myriad of characters all perfectly drawn and fleshed out. The performances are excellent with Jean-Pierre Bacri on fine form as the man in charge slowly losing control as the day progresses. Newcomer Eye Haidara shines as his assistant but the real revelation here is Gilles Lellouche well known for his action roles, who proves he is also an expert in comedy as James, a second rate entertainer.
A joyous experience not to be missed!
UPGRADE
Leigh Whannel’s intriguing sci-fi keeps the suspense going till the final credits. It is highly original and unpredictable and arrives direct from its Frightfest premiere last week.
The action takes place in the future where everything is controlled by technology. Following an accident in his wife’s self-driven car and an attack by a group of thugs Grey has no alternative but to become dependent on an experimental computer chip implant called Stem in order to seek revenge…
The opening with the smart car brings to memory another Frightfest film screened a couple of years ago but sadly without getting a release called MONOLINTH before the action moves into a kind of superhero territory.
It is a stylish film that marks writer/director Leigh Whannel as a talent to watch!
YARDIE
Idris Elba makes an impressive and stylish directorial debut which was screened at the London Sundance Film Festival a few months ago.
The action begins in 70’s Kingston where a young Jamaican boy named D tries hard to recover from the murder of his older brother Jerry Dread (Everaldo Creary). Years later D, now a grown up man (Aml Ameen), moves to Hackney but is still scarred from his brother’s murder. He tries to find his childhood sweetheart Yvonne (Shantol Jackson) and his daughter whom he hasn’t seen since she was a baby. Life is beginning to get normal again until he meets the man who shot his brother 10 years earlier…
The production values are superb and Elba creates a very persuasive period details of Kingston in the 70’s and Hackney in the 80’s. The acting is strong but curiously one doesn’t care much about his characters and their violent outbursts unlike the classic 70’s Jamaican film THE HARDER THEY COME.
THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS
Brian Henson, the son of Jim, the creator of “The Muppet Show”, continues his father’s legacy with this delightfully rude comedy which is strictly for adults only and certainly not suitable for children.
The action takes place in the streets of Los Angeles where puppets co-exist with humans. They are treated inferiors in every way despite the fact that everybody loves the 80’s television series “The Happytime Murders”. But when members of the cast begins to get murdered tough puppet detective Phil Phillips (Bill Barretta) is forced to be re-united with his former police partner Detective Edwards (Melissa McCarthy)…
It is a wonderful world wittily scripted in the spirit of the Phillip Marlowe movies – here moody detective Phil Phillips, who narrates the story, is visited by the regular femme fatale this time by the desirable puppet Sandra (Dorien Davies). Melissa McCarthy relishes the filthy dialogue and shares an adorable relationship with her co-star.
It is very rude, very funny and very enjoyable!
George Savvides
