Manchester By The Sea
A sombre examination of mourning as a withdrawn and troubled man is unexpectedly left guardianship of his dead brother’s 16-year-old son.
Angela Young says: This film will split audiences. For me, I was seared in two by its utterly real depiction of a pain so awful as to kill a man’s soul. An eccentric soundtrack (from orchestral to choral to swing) and extremely slow pace fits this artistic masterpiece like a glove. Casey Affleck’s portrayal of Lee – now guardian of his late brother’s kid – deserves the Oscar. Michelle Williams’ brief appearances are perfect, and Lucas Hedges is spot on as the kid. A profoundly moving piece on the vast variances of mourning, superbly written and directed.
Split
What’s it about?
A trio of teenagers are kidnapped and imprisoned by a brilliant but strange man with ambiguous motives. Also, it’s an M. Night Shyamalan film, so, you know, take that as you will.
What we thought
Dan Beeston says:If there’s one thing M. Night does well, it is suspense. The problem is that there is always a sword of Damocles distracting you from being in the moment. That notion that you’re waiting for ‘The Twist™’. Ignore that. Split is not ‘The 6th Sense’. It’s just a scary and interesting story told well.
It’s also one where you can’t trust the reviewer’s experience. I can tell that some people will get a lot more out of this than I did and some people will be left frustrated. Ironically, I expect ‘Split’ to be divisive.
Jackie
What’s it about?
An intimate portrait of stoicism, pride and ego; Jackie is an imagining of the Life magazine interview with Jacqueline Kennedy (Natalie Portman); covering her dignified reaction to the traumatic events she experienced in November 1963, and how she created the legend of Kennedy’s Camelot from her unabashed desire for a meaningful legacy.
What did we think?
Stephen Scott says: The culmination of a thought-provoking script, Portman’s mesmerising portrayal of the iconic First Lady, psychological storytelling technique verging on poetic, and an innovative and organic soundtrack, Jackie delivers a profound exploration of how truth is manufactured and interpreted.
Elizabeth Best says: Just give her the Oscar already.
Monster Trucks
What’s it about?
An all american teen boy finds a strange creature that uses his old truck as a hermit crab shell that allows him locomotion at high speeds.
What we thought
Dan Beeston says: This conceit is so absurd that I expected a collision of poorly thought out reasons for shonky car chases. What I did not expect was a kids adventure story that rivals Spielburgian classics like ET and the Goonies. Every story element meshes together beautifully. Characters are beautifully realised and I found myself chuckling through the entire film.
This film also manages to add something new and fresh to the tired (no pun intended) trope of the car chase.
The best of 2016 – Anthony edition
The highlights of 2016 according to Anthony
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
What's it about?
It is a period of civil war.
Rebel spaceships, striking from a
hidden base, have won their first victory
against the evil Galactic Empire.
During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret
plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, an
armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet.
What did we think? Stephen Scott says: Where Return of the Jedi was let-down due to 'alleged' toy company requirements, Rogue One seems let down by a meddling committee. Too many cooks dilutes a terrific premise (4 stars) and muddies great characters (3½ stars) thanks to an overly-convoluted introduction (minus 2 stars) and dollops of unnecessary spoon-feeding (minus 7 stars).
But make sure you see it on the big screen for the final battle sequence - it's basically a 21st Century version of the ROTJ final act (5 stars in all its glory - wow it's good).
Epilogue: If you recall, we all loved Star Wars for George's ground-breaking "used universe" and the mythical unanswered questions (Jedi, Clone Wars, why there is no underwear in space). Edwards delivers a gloriously dirty reality, but the committee let the movie down by interrupting him, and providing us with too many answers to questions we didn't ask. A Star Wars movie doesn't require title cards to tell the audience where we are, that's part of the charm. Drop us in and let us swim!
What’s Popular
Show Dogs
What’s it about?
A loner police dog gets partnered with a goofy and impatient FBI officer to go undercover at a dog show in search of a stolen panda.
What we thought
Dan says: Show Dogs biggest claim to fame is a misguided subplot about the hero learning to be relaxed when his dog junk is physically checked for quality. This scene was removed in the international version for accidentally sending the wrong message to children about molestation.
Interfering with the auteur’s vision can have negative effects on the resulting product.
Thankfully, in this instance, the auteur appears to have spent so much of the film’s budget on coke that nothing makes any sense before the edited scene. The story is both simplistic and yet baffling at the same time. The effects are laughably nineties. There are more jokes about breeding than I’d expect in a kid’s film including one with Ru Paul that I can’t figure out whether it’s racist or transphobic.
I did chuckle twice at the pug.
Sicario: Day of the Soldado
What’s it about?
Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro team up to try and incite a war between drug cartels, but don’t really do a very good job.
What did we think?
Nick says: Day of the Soldado opens and closes beautifully, but the big issue lies in the fact that there’s not a lot to rave about in the middle. Still, Del Toro and Brolin are terrific and there are some really satisfying bits and pieces amongst the retreading and boring politics.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
What’s it about?
People try to profit off dinosaurs. Dinosaurs eat people. Other people try to save dinosaurs.
What did we think?
Anthony Sherratt says: Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom asks some very interesting questions and even throws in an unexpected surprise. It’s just a shame it’s all couched within a cliched and boring storyline. When you care more about the survival of one of the dinosaurs than most of the human characters (including, it has to be said, the main two), then you’re doing something wrong. The first half was entertaining but the makers seem to have forgotten the charm of the original was based on the humans with the dinos just being the danger.
It’s not bad as monster movies go, but at the end of the day, it’s a blockbuster popcorn movie profiting off a legacy instead of adding to it.
Tag
What’s it about?
Inspired by true events, a group of mates who’ve played a game of tag for decades get back together to see if they can make the only member of the group who’s never been tagged “it” before he retires.
What did we think?
Elizabeth says: That moment when you have to break your review down into three parts because of a badly misfiring joke…
Pre problematic joke: This movie feels like Adam Sandler should be attached to it somehow, I hate myself for enjoying it this much and that’s all you really need to know about that.
During problematic joke: Oh god they’re not going there are they? They went there. Oh god they went there again. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WHY WON’T THEY STOP GOING THERE?!
Post problematic joke: I’m still horrified at the joke subject matter but somehow I’m back to laugh/crying. I need a shower to feel better about this.
Editor's Choice
Show Dogs
What’s it about?
A loner police dog gets partnered with a goofy and impatient FBI officer to go undercover at a dog show in search of a stolen panda.
What we thought
Dan says: Show Dogs biggest claim to fame is a misguided subplot about the hero learning to be relaxed when his dog junk is physically checked for quality. This scene was removed in the international version for accidentally sending the wrong message to children about molestation.
Interfering with the auteur’s vision can have negative effects on the resulting product.
Thankfully, in this instance, the auteur appears to have spent so much of the film’s budget on coke that nothing makes any sense before the edited scene. The story is both simplistic and yet baffling at the same time. The effects are laughably nineties. There are more jokes about breeding than I’d expect in a kid’s film including one with Ru Paul that I can’t figure out whether it’s racist or transphobic.
I did chuckle twice at the pug.
Sicario: Day of the Soldado
What’s it about?
Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro team up to try and incite a war between drug cartels, but don’t really do a very good job.
What did we think?
Nick says: Day of the Soldado opens and closes beautifully, but the big issue lies in the fact that there’s not a lot to rave about in the middle. Still, Del Toro and Brolin are terrific and there are some really satisfying bits and pieces amongst the retreading and boring politics.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
What’s it about?
People try to profit off dinosaurs. Dinosaurs eat people. Other people try to save dinosaurs.
What did we think?
Anthony Sherratt says: Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom asks some very interesting questions and even throws in an unexpected surprise. It’s just a shame it’s all couched within a cliched and boring storyline. When you care more about the survival of one of the dinosaurs than most of the human characters (including, it has to be said, the main two), then you’re doing something wrong. The first half was entertaining but the makers seem to have forgotten the charm of the original was based on the humans with the dinos just being the danger.
It’s not bad as monster movies go, but at the end of the day, it’s a blockbuster popcorn movie profiting off a legacy instead of adding to it.
Tag
What’s it about?
Inspired by true events, a group of mates who’ve played a game of tag for decades get back together to see if they can make the only member of the group who’s never been tagged “it” before he retires.
What did we think?
Elizabeth says: That moment when you have to break your review down into three parts because of a badly misfiring joke…
Pre problematic joke: This movie feels like Adam Sandler should be attached to it somehow, I hate myself for enjoying it this much and that’s all you really need to know about that.
During problematic joke: Oh god they’re not going there are they? They went there. Oh god they went there again. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WHY WON’T THEY STOP GOING THERE?!
Post problematic joke: I’m still horrified at the joke subject matter but somehow I’m back to laugh/crying. I need a shower to feel better about this.