A fresh reboot of i-Flicks - the same stuff, but more of it in bite-sized chunks. Plus, what I'm writing and enjoying reading on other sites. Now Showing: The 2016 London Film Festival.
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With running VODzilla.co taking up more and more of my time, this poor old blog keeps getting neglected - so, it's been given a fresh lick of paint and rebooted over at iFlicks.co.uk. You'll get the same film reviews, blog posts and festival coverage, but more of it and in shorter chunks. Plus, more of what I'm writing elsewhere and what I'm enjoying reading on other sites. Now Showing: The 2016 London Film Festival.
Film review: Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Written by Ivan Radford
Friday, 16 September 2016 12:51
Director: Taika Waititi Cast: Sam Neill, Julian Dennison, Rima Te Wiata Certificate: 12A
Learn the name Taika Waititi now, because you'll be using it a lot in the coming years. Saying things like "Hey, have you seen Taika Waititi's new movie?", "It's so cool that Taika Waititi is directing the next Thor film!" and "What do you mean you mean you haven't seen Hunt for the Wilderpeople?"
Sundance London film review: Author: The JT LeRoy Story
Written by Ivan Radford
Saturday, 04 June 2016 07:40
Director: Jeff Feuerzeig Cast: Laura Albert Showtimes: 4th / 5th June
Truth is stranger than fiction, Mark Twain once said - but what about when truth is fiction? In the 1990s, that was exactly the case, when a talented author, JT LeRoy, became an overnight sensation. He was young, talented, a prostitute turned artist turned celebrity. He also didn't exist: he was the creation of Laura Albert, a mother from Brooklyn.
What started out as a pen name soon took on a life of his own, as JT was hailed by stars such as Winona Ryder and Bono - despite the fact that his initials actually stood for "Jeremiah Terminator". Roping in her sister, Savannah, to play LeRoy in public - and even Savannah's musician boyfriend to support the act, Laura's little white lie spirals into a web of lies and celebrated song lyrics.
Director Jeff Feuerzeig picks apart the myth with gripping precision, walking us step by step to the moment of discovery. By the time her second novel is turned into a film that debuts at Cannes, we're shocked but somehow unsurprised. That's thanks to Albert herself, who doesn't shy away from offering her take on events throughout. And, sure enough, she's a gifted presenter, given the main stage to narrate events without interruption from her no doubt many detractors.
What emerges is a sensitive study of stories and storytellers - a look at someone who claims that all she wanted was to be a normal human being. It's perhaps revealing that she compares her plight halfway through to The Prince and the Pauper, rather than any real life incident, but Feuerzeig's film resists the urge to psychoanalyse its subject, letting her speak for herself. Whether you believe what she says is another matter entirely, but you'll be hooked on every word. "It's the most exciting thing to get a response to a book I never meant to write," she observes. It's truth. It's fiction. And it's fascinating to watch.
Three couples get together to tell a fourth couple that they should get a divorce in this very familiar indie dramedy. The ensuing middle-class mid-life crisis, as each relationship finds itself under fresh scrutiny, is far from revelatory, but Clea DuVall's writing/directing debut is performed by such a good cast that it's hard not to caught up in the mild scandals and milder affairs.
Director: Roger Ross Williams Cast: Owen Suskind Showtimes: 4pm, 4th June
When Owen Suskind was three years old, he suddenly stopped talking. Diagnosed with autism, it was "like he'd been kidnapped", say his parents. But then they discovered something remarkable: Owen had learned all of the Disney movies they owned on VHS off by heart. Disney has always been a magical force in childrens' lives, but for this family, they became a lifeline: the Suskinds began to communicate with Owen through Disney films, puppets and drawings. Owen used the end credits of the films to learn to read. He created his own animated story to express his emotions. And, after growing up, started a Disney club at school so he could have friends.
Sundance London is back this weekend, after kicking off last night with opening film Tallulah - and, while I'll be reviewing some films for VODzilla.co over here, you'll be able to read some thoughts on the movies screening at the festival here too.
In the meantime, just LOOK at this sexy, giant, neon logo in the foyer of the Picturehouse Central - proof that London's most stylish cinema is a perfect home for the indie festival, especially when compared to The O2, where it used to take place (no offence, The O2). Neon logos, snazzy bars, and a superb performance by Ellen Page in Netflix's Tallulah (showing again on Sunday)? Sundance London has never looked better.
Director: Bryan Singer Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Oscar Isaac, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender Certificate: 12A
"The third one's always the worst," quips Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) halfway through X-Men: Apocalypse - just in case you hadn't already guessed that director Bryan Singer didn't like Brett Ratner's The Last Stand from the fact that he invented an entire film (Days of Future Past) to eradicate it from existence. After the timey-wimey complexities of that convoluted retcon, though, X-Men: Apocalypse marks a return to simpler ideas: a giant, blue guy trying to destroy the world and a school-load of good mutants trying to stop him. And some jokes about that Brett Ratner sequel.
Director: James Watkins Cast: Idris Elba, Richard Madden, Charlotte Le Bon Certificate: 15
"Deploy the final hashtag," says the villainous mastermind behind a Paris bombing in Bastille Day. Given the events of 2015, it might seem a tad insensitsive to be releasing a film so soon in UK cinemas, but any concerns soon drift away within minutes of the film's opening - it's too cheesy to be tasteless.
Immigration has never been a more pressing issue for the world at large, but it's something that has always been a part of civilisation: the need for the booming human population to move elsewhere, whether by necessity or desire, and make a new life. Jacques Audiard's Dheepan explores the issue, but never in the way that you expect.
Director: Zack Snyder Cast: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Jesse Eisenberg Certificate: 12A
The ending of Man of Steel proved two things. Firstly, that superhero movies need to climax with something other than a gigantic object hurtling into a city. And secondly, that no matter how hard comic book movies may try, they often end up the same.
The spectre of 9/11 looms large over Hollywood - and it's perhaps no surprise that when tasked with coming up with something threatening and terrifying in scale, the attack on the Twin Towers is subconsciously called to so many writers' minds - a cultural act of catharsis, more than a commercial act of unoriginality. And so Zack Snyder's Superman film, like many sci-fi blockbusters before it, ended with a CGI monster battling a CGI monster in Metropolis, as skyscrapers toppled and innocent bystanders perished. Fans were in almost immediate uproar, some arguing that Superman would never let this happen and others that he was still young, he hadn't completed his Jedi training yet, and didn't know any better. The real issue, though, was that it was dull and repetitive.
Director: Ben Stiller Cast: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Penelope Cruz Certificate: 12
It was 1996 when Derek Zoolander was first introduced to the world at the VH1 Fashion Awards. 20 years later, he returns for his second big-screen outing and the joke is getting old. Ben Stiller's comedy creation was always based on a simple premise: a model who was really, really, ridiculously stupid, but also extremely good-looking.
