Danny Ocean and crew relocate to Amsterdam, having to steal a Faberge egg to repay a nemesis. Some over-confidence in plotting and approach that might grate, but this is nevertheless a slick, effortless sequel doubling down on the mix of heist comedy and New Wave stylings established in its predecessor.
Here’s the trailer.
Multiple gangsters and assassins with varying motives are aboard the same shinkansen. Too-pleased-with-itself slapstick thriller, adapted from the novel Maria Beetle by Kotaro Isaka. Some early stuff works, but there’s little control over the premise, so it falls apart despite committed work from star Brad Pitt and others. A hack approach to Japan doesn’t help.
Here’s the trailer.
A baseball team manager tries an unorthodox approach to player selection. Based on the Michael Lewis non-fiction account, this is a riveting sports drama from perhaps unpromisingly uncinematic – though excellent – source material. A smart script, understated playing, and keen observational direction make this a modern classic. Recommended.
Here’s the trailer.
A stunning adaptation of the Palahniuk novel and a David Fincher film masterclass. Witty, funny, powerful and visually fantastic – Norton, Pitt and Carter are enjoying every scene and chewing up the dialogue. Truly brilliant- you’ll never look at luxury soap the same way! A must see!
Trailer:
Drama-documentary explaining the 07/08 financial crash. A chirpy well-cast flick taking a fourth-wall-tastic approach to explain itself as it goes. Ever-so-slightly pleased with itself, this is nevertheless fun, entertaining, and actually shows how and why what went wrong, and the lessons that weren’t learned.
A pop-culture geek finds true love and a suitcase of cocaine. A modern fairy story, an ode to the movies, and a movie nerd’s fantasy script come together; riffing on Malick’s Badlands and wearing its references on its sleeve, True Romance stands up well to this day, and has a cast of up-and-comers and veterans to die dor.
An astronaut finds that his long-lost father may be alive on a deep-space vessel now threatening Earth. Defiantly odd Freudian space opera, part First Man, part 2001 wannabe, part Moonraker. And all the better for it, even though the story doesn’t stack up. Glorious-looking throughout, and with mesmerising sound design and soundtrack.
In 1969 LA, a fading action star struggles with his future prospects. A stunning evocation of late 60s Hollywood, packed with ideas, in-jokes, good ideas, and pop-culture geekery. A shaggy dog story that meanders, but which goes into some startling – and just-about justified – places. Recommended: later novelised by Tarantino.
A veteran spy on his last day at the CIA works to protect a compromised asset. Slick and confident thriller balancing office politics, espionage and action moments. An entertainment in the sense of the kind of film Graham Greene might have directed in the 2000s.
A UN investigator tracks a zombie virus to its source. The z-movie as big-budget spectacular; not quite action-adventure, not quite horror. A series of linked set-pieces, and not bad, though not for fans demanding a faithful adaptation of its source novel.
255 Review 