Portman is mesmerising. All strutting swagger (encasing fragility)
In the face of: traumatic memories; personal demons; press hostility.
Glitter armour against the pernicious.
Corbet’s vision: audaciously ambitious.
(Double) star turn from Cassidy showcases impressive versatility.
Knockout central performance from Stenberg. Starr: a code-switcher,
Her compartmentalised life is a difficult-to-balance mixture
Of conflicting worlds. Navigating justified fury
(Police brutality, racism, an unfair jury …).
A gripping gut-punch. A timely, essential look at the ugly big picture.
Breathtaking visuals from Schnabel & Delhomme. And Dafoe has presented
Us with achingly brilliant work (as fragile Vincent, often dismissed as demented)
That brings home the heartbreaking shame
That posthumous was the acclaim
And universal love for this talented, beautiful soul who was so tormented.
The weakest elements here are via Hedges Snr (as director and scribe),
Roberts gives her all as a mother scared for the eldest of her offspring tribe.
The addiction situation is clearly fraught,
But the whole film’s too overwrought -
And has a general After School Special kind of vibe.
In McKay’s look at this VP who had powers unchecked,
It seems there’s no trust that the audience will connect
The dots themselves.
So it’s all over-spelled.
Trying hard to be clever. Comes out smug. No real attempt to reflect.
Magnificent film. Intriguing machinations of the palace.
Visually stunning, with wonderful characters (many callous).
Their plotting is viscous
And wickedly delicious.
An utterly mesmerising world of drama, scheming and malice.
So the young candidate’s supporters and volunteers follow
Along for the race. Then Hart’s sprung. Cue to: him wallow
In self-righteous indignation.
Any filmic drama? No, stagnation.
… In this pedestrian offering with no grunt (just feels hollow).
What a remarkable work: Burnham’s feature debut.
Empathy enwraps the rawness, as we see right into
Kayla’s soul (insecurity & awkward anxiety
While navigating: growth; expectations of society).
Fisher’s deeply moving, sensitive work here rings so true.
A true delight. So perfectly cast; a wonderful score;
Clever nods to many classics (including the ’64);
The colour palette: divine;
Exquisite wardrobe/production design.
A purely joyous film (with bonus cameos to adore).
A beautiful performance from Ali as a man with abhorrent prejudices to face,
Despite a script that’s disappointingly simplistic with regards to issues of race.
(And I just can’t believe
Shirley’d be so clueless/naive
RE: the contemporary popular music culture that he doesn’t embrace).
Lovely lead performances. Overall highlight: witty, clever princess stuff.
It’s a kids’ film unafraid to have an undying message that’s tough
(Being co-dependent and possessive
Can makes a friendship oppressive).
Won’t age well (‘today’ references: too specific; not generic enough).
Ms Israel (briefly known in the cliquey world of New York lit)
Refuses to play the game - and therefore just doesn’t fit.
The screenplay and direction here is sterling.
Grant shines, as does McCarthy (the unfurling
Life of Lee - audaciously impersonating departed writers of wit).
Exquisitely, masterfully told memories (many turbulent; chaotic),
Even repetitive tasks: with such depth, transcend the robotic.
Spans from the intimate domestic
To the sweeping and majestic.
Unforgettable: those waves - so expansive and hypnotic.
Powerhouse Davis’ Veronica post a life-altering eruption:
Unfathomable grief, desperation and disruption.
More than a heist. Dark and gritty
And always looming: the city
With its deep memory and ingrained curse of corruption.
Charley’s struggling, after hardships and witnessing brutal crime.
Haigh’s direction and Plummer’s performance: both sublime.
Here’s a boy both determined and gentle,
Dealing with problems (monumental).
A beautifully mesmeric film, with so much welcomed breathing time.
Here, Gaga is captivating as a music industry beginner
In this newest take on a classic. There’s the inner
Struggles of a star on the rise
As her partner’s in demise.
Goosebump-inducing songs. Shallow: such a winner.
We learn that even from the early days, Westwood was iconoclastic.
Her designs evoked the rebellious, the provocative, the fantastic.
Interesting work from Tucker who (in pursuing
Answers during interviewing)
Faced a main subject whose participation was less than enthusiastic.
Here’s a hotel of mysteries: The secret; the taboo.
Clever story. Expertly paced (unpredictable too).
Wonderfully intense.
Black humour, plus suspense.
Standout performance: Eviro’s phenomenal film debut.
But the film can’t be saved by the visuals (however gold)
Because it’s devoid of heart.
It’s detached from the start,
And the accompanying human story is so empty and cold.
Dull filmmaking here, that’s disappointingly at war
With the two brilliant lead performances at its core.
Two scenes in particular
(Cafe and vehicular)
Highlight acting that’s heartbreakingly, viscerally raw.
