Film Reviews by AER

Go into a viewing of Vivarium with as little prior knowledge as possible. I won't spoil the plot of this interesting and gripping existential horror film. Good performances boost the surreal and off-kilter elements to this very strange film that is an allegory for the perils of suburban lives and the aspirational drives and conventions placed upon most of us these days. It's also pretty chilling and rewarding for those with a soupcon of patience. This plays like a feature-length episode of Black Mirror or the Twilight Zone, and doesn't suffer from those comparisons. Imogen Poots, Jesse Eisenberg, and Jonathan Aris (in particular) as the three principles all embody their weird roles with perfection.

Wonderful - 8 out of 10

This is moviemaking with stencils and made according to strict blueprints - however, nobody went to see a GI Joe movie for originality, grit and realism. For me, Snake Eyes was all about the fight sequences which are short, varied, and fairly thrilling. It's OK to switch off when the characters are talking to one another as it never amounted to anything interesting. I enjoyed the scene at the docks where the lorry Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow are driving gets riddled with samurai swords in a fierce battle. It's fun but nothing special. It's very thin.

3 out of 10

Even though this could have done with some judicious editing, The Last Duel is a chilling tale of the kind we don't see so much anymore. It was refreshing to see an old fashioned film with knights, horses and battles featuring some great actors. The plot device of telling the same story from three different POV's could have worked if each strand was substantially different from the last and its an awkward fit for a pretty straight story. Less fussiness would've have given The Last Duel its much needed pace. Where the strengths lie are in the superb performances by Matt Damon (His best for ages), Ben Affleck, and Jodie Comer. The central duel does not disappoint and the ending is quite harrowing. It's a solid and entertaining film and worth checking out. Ben Affleck & Matt Damon co-wrote this alongside the sometime director of the Parks & Recreation series, Nicole Holocefener.

7 out of 10

This film doesn't show an inkling as to why it exists for the most part of its running time, such are the lethal-strength cliches that dog Malignant. However, when the twist in the tale is out of the bag it redeems itself for a short spell as it turns from a tired and badly-acted J-Horror into a pretty good action film with chase sequences. Otherwise this is another bum-note / one-note snore-fest from Blumhouse.

2 out of 10

Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train is a very chaotic, annoying, and alienating film that fails dramatically at getting under the skin of any of its characters. It's like somebody playing three jazz records at once. Nothing works in this drama about a very loathsome family that assembles to attend the funeral of a famous Parisian artist that wants to be buried in Limoges. It has some fleeting scenes of genius, like seeing a coffin being ferried at breakneck speed in the back of Peugeot estate whilst the family watch on from the train. But this is far too confused, and difficult to navigate, and the characters are without fail a humorless and disgusting bunch of backstabbing kn*bs. The worst French drama I've seen for many, many years.

This lively remake of George A Romero is an inside job produced by the maestro himself, alongside Menahem Globus (of Cannon Films notoriety) and directed by Tom Savini (the some-time actor and effects wizard from all the early DEAD films). The acting is OK from Patricia Tallman (Barbara), Tony Todd (Ben) (Candyman), Tom Towles (Cooper), and Bill Moseley (House of a 1000 Corpses) yet we've all seen so many ZOmbie films we'll be agog at the number of cardinal / common sense rules like doing a house sweep, or boarding up windows before the hordes turn up etc, etc. It does a fair job at reviewing certain parts of the first film to fit the later times (this was made in 1989 / released in UK cinemas in early 93) by making the heroine, Barbara more kick ass, adding changes to Ben's ultimate fate, and the coda. It's OK but its dated and been bettered by TV shows like The Walking Dead etc. Anyone coming to this as a newbie will find it rather quaint. One for completists and fans of Tony Todd - that are looking to see him excel in a rare leading role.

At face value this is just another John Wick knock-off, or another disposable shoot 'em up like SHOOT EM UP, or SHOOTING ACES. It serves fans of action films well and owes a debt to '90s bulletfests out of Hong Kong too by John Woo and Ringo Lam et al. Gunpowder Milkshake has a bit more charm than your average hitman/woman film though and add to this some interesting set-pieces and heaps of humorous, gory scenes, Gunpowder Milkshake is a cut above the competition. Plus its not a sequel / remake / reboot which has to go in its favour, right?

7.5 out of 10

This Irish film by photographer Perry Ogden is a fly-on-the-wall view of life as a traveller living in urban Dublin. Winnie is 10 and has been kicked out of school, and her family are being evicted from their location on council land. The council are obliged to provide running water and a school education for the travellers on their land, but through some underhanded means, the council get them to move and leave them with no choices but to carry on getting by. It's an engrossing film that follows the trails of young Winnie without preaching or making statements., Everything you need to understand the difficulties facing Winnie and her family are in plain view. Recommended, however, some will be turned off by the lack of production values and the camera work. It looks like it's been made in the Dogme 95-style (barring a few deviations).

In The Earth has atmosphere and impressive settings for days but it falls down because the plot lacks clarity. Up until the half-way mark, In The Earth is intriguing, but then the narrative loses its grip until it turns into a series of interesting but bewildering ideas that have as much rhyme or reason as a pop-promo. It looks, sounds and feels very cool but it lacks heart or true human interest. I was never invested in the peril shared by the two main characters once they encountered those hiding in the woods. Hayley Squires' delivers a weird and not particularly convincing performance as a rogue doctor on a nebulous mission, everyone else is a bit better. The mission's raison d'etre is original but garbled in the telling. It's probably best for most viewers to enjoy the awesome visuals and sound design. Ben Wheatley used to be my fave UK director but since Free Fire, he's been a bit flat for me. Maybe he's running out of creative steam. After Happy New Year Colin Burstead, Rebecca, and now this, he should maybe take longer between films to come up with something really worth our while once more.

Those without a sense of humour will right this off as a corny Aliens rip-off but this supremely corny action-horror nails the tone perfectly. Mercenaries hijack a luxury cruise liner just after it gets attacked by a giant squid! What!???? A game cast who look like they got involved just to have fun sell this alongside excellent (for the time) SFX by ILM / Rob Bottin elevate this to crazy cult favourite. Treat Williams, Famke Jansen, Jason Flemyng, Wes Studi and cameos from Djimon Hounsou, and Cliff Curtis make this a very entertaining and OTT banger. At the time it got written off as derivative and poorly made, but this is an arched, expertly pitched tribute to the bad b-movies of the 1950s. It's a winner and contender of one of the best 'so bad it's awesome' films of all-time. Full Scream Ahead indeed!!!

This road movie looks like it got scuppered because of the Covid Lockdowns. It's a road movie that is supposed to take place between John o'Groats in Scotland, and Land's End in Cornwall but looks as if it was all filmed in Scotland. Timothy Spall is note-perfect as the pensioner on a personal mission to get himself to Cornwall in a race against the clock. Spall's performance is the sole reason for giving this film your attention, elsewhere the film flounders with badly scripted, and acted scenes by a largely Scottish cast. The scenes are clunky and poorly executed, making huge sections of this potentially thoughtful film trite, and unconvincing. Where Spall is left to his own devices, this film soars, particularly in a scene or two at the end. All the rubbish about him becoming a social media sensation is corny and schmaltzy to the max. This is a great shame as the director Gillies Mackinnon has made some great films in the past like Small Faces, and Regeneration. I wonder how this could have been with a similar story yet with convincing supporting characters and a much better script.

3 out of 10

The Conjuring 3 - The Devil Made Me Do it promises an interesting court debate of how law courts recognise the presence of God but deny the existence of the devil. Now, I'm not sure I would have wanted a horror film stuck in a courtroom but this interesting debate is sidelined for the usual hokey, corny run around. This time, the dopey psychic Warrens are left to beat around the bushes to shake loose clues as to why and who is targetting unwitting folks in Massachussetts, USA and making them the subject of a demonic curse. It's poorly plotted, riddled with plotholes, lazy character development and clapped-out horror tropes.

There is not a single shred of originality in this film, and the main reason to watch these films (the chills and thrills) are repetitive, unscary and boring.

Sorry - this gets 1 out of 10.

STRAY is a fantastic nature documentary that follows the lives of several stray dogs that live on the streets of Turkey's Istanbul. Told in a free style, without a narrative to constrain it, it's a captivating portrait of man's best friend, and how well they'd probably all cope without us if we all just let them get on with their lives. Also watch the two deleted scenes which show you more of the same in different locations around Turkey. We probably project our own feeling about dogs onto this film but if like me you love them, you will be entranced by their ministry, their personalities, and their fleeting interactions with the people in the city. Recommended.

Candyman 4 has some great ideas and its course shifting of the Candyman myth is interesting, but thin characters and on-the-nose politics hobble this one. It lacks tension and scares, and by putting Candyman off-centre robs this film of a delicious villain. Also, like the first film, this one dives off a cliff into a bay of nonsense two-thirds in only to return in the final scene with the best scene in the movie.

Nobody goes to see a horror film for subtlety so I'm not mad at the overt political messages of the film, its a way of getting important issues into the mainstream - but in Candyman (unlike other horrors) the social commentary isn't in the form of an allegory, it's part of the plot. This is also good. However, I was sad that all the messaging. and intriguing Candyman myth-making failed to bridge the gap between the slasher/gory elements. It felt like two different films were vying for attention - a potentially interesting film about gentrification and black trauma meets a gory kill-repeat film; it's an unhappy marriage. It also missed the pursuit element of the first film, where Tony Todd's Candyman loomed large despite few appearances; in this new Candyman, the bogeyman, (a few briefs moments aside) doesn't chill, scare, or thrill...

A missed opportunity, but still a very interesting one. 5 out of 10.

Isaac Julien documentary Derek is a beautiful collage of his old films, an interview (by Colin McCabe directed by Bernard Rose), and rare home movies. It's also a touching letter narrated by Tilda Swinton (who was a long-term collaborator of Jarman's) and serves as proof that the British film industry needs mavericks and talent like Derek Jarman to give us challenging art / films. There's been nobody else like him, and as tastes shift, his work may become forgotten and impenetrable. I've read several of his published diaries so it was great to have the extra context through this documentary.

Derek also works as a gateway to his life and those who still celebrate his work. This was directed and edited by his contemporary Isaac Julien, another great Gay filmmkaer who never seems to make films anymore.

Recommended.