Mubi Monday: In Camera (2023)

The feature debut from writer-director Naqqash Khalid, In Camera has a number of familiar reference points, certainly when it comes to the exploration of a young actor struggling with the grind and toll of the audition process, but also adds an exploration of self-identity that allows it to feel fresh and more accessible.

Nabhaan Rizwan plays Aden, our main character, and he's struggling to keep his spirits up as he moves from one audition to the next, often trying to sell himself to disinterested assistants. Aden shares living space with Bo (Rory Fleck Byrne), a junior doctor who is also feeling the strain of his career choice, but they also take on another tenant in the form of Conrad (Amir El-Masry), a confident and energised young man who works in the realms of fashion and lifestyle branding. While initially wary of Conrad, Aden soon comes to learn that he can mimic some of his attitude to perhaps help him work on a better "fake it until you make it" approach.

If I mentioned the main films that came to mind while watching In Camera then I would risk creating some kind of expectation in your mind that the film itself may not necessarily meet. Suffice to say, two fairly well-known features from the last few decades kept looming large as I noticed intriguing intersections between them and this, but there's also every chance that other viewers will take something very different away from their viewing experience. This is a very personal story positioned in a world that is often impersonal. Despite us growing closer and more connected, in many ways, thanks to the internet, it's also just a way to provide extra barriers and obstacles, from ongoing comparisons to other people on Instagram to a bigger struggle to simply stop people being distracted by their phones. 

Khalid presents everything with the sense that he knows a lot of it from bitter personal experience. I may be jumping to the wrong assumption here, but there are exchanges, in dialogue and just in looks between characters, that stem from a life lived through far too many familiar moments of weariness and exasperation. He keeps everything intriguing though, especially in a second half that allows the lead character to start a slight and tentative transformation, and, while many moments speak to specific experiences, that specificity (as is so often the case) also creates a universal recognition for anyone who has been mistreated, taken for granted, dismissed, or constantly overlooked in favour of someone else.

Rizwan is fantastic in the lead role, confident and capable in his performance in a way that belies the fact that he's only been acting onscreen for just over half a decade now. It's the kind of performance that signifies even greater things to come. Both Byrne and El-Masry do very well, although both have easier and more straightforward characters to portray, and there's a very short sequence featuring Gana Bayarsaikhan that allows her to steal part of the movie with her inquisitive and empathetic character.

Smart, sharp, sometimes darkly comedic, In Camera has quite a faultless cast and crew working together to take viewers on a difficult, but rewarding, journey. It doesn't answer every question that it poses, but it provides enough material for viewers to consider a number of interpretations and decide on the ending that they deem to be the most satisfying.

8/10

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Netflix And Chill: Hot Frosty (2024)

While people may have been worried about Netflix making the bold move of "poaching" Lacey Chabert, AKA Christmas movie queen, for one of their main seasonal offerings this year, rest assured that there's nothing here to cause concern. Yes, there are a few bigger names in supporting roles than you might see in some other movies like this, and someone had enough cash to ensure a few big songs made it into the soundtrack selection, but the rest is pretty standard and safe stuff featuring someone who has played perfectly in the space that she has now made her main brand.

Chabert plays Kathy Barrett, a young widow who runs a popular cafe/diner in her small town. She is given a scarf by a friend one day, a scarf that may well bring her some good luck and love, and she wraps it around the neck of a strangely ripped snowman that stands alongside some others in the centre of town. A little tinkly music and hint of magic later, Jack (Dustin Milligan) is standing in that spot. And he's wearing naught but a scarf. He is in love with Kathy, for giving him life (of course), and starts trying to convince her that he is the perfect snowman-made-human for her. Meanwhile, the local Sheriff (Craig Robinson) and his deputy (Joe Lo Truglio) are looking for someone new in town who may have damaged a window and exposed himself to a couple of residents. 

Writer Russell Hainline doesn't seem to have been in the movie business for too long, although that's just going by the credits that he has amassed since 2018 (who knows how long he has been slogging away over numerous screenplays and trying his hand in a variety of roles), but he's certainly been busy delivering no less than five Christmas (TV) movies since 2022. Judging him by this alone, he knows the formula, and he knows how to have fun with it. Hot Frosty isn't entirely successful, it's surprisingly jarring to see both Robinson and Lo Trulgio in such prominent roles here, but it works well enough when not trying to turn the central character in a low-budget Buddy The Elf. 

Chabert is effortlessly delightful in the lead role, even when having to make a tiresome Mean Girls gag to justify the now-obligatory reference to other Netflix Christmas movies. Milligan does well as the innocent/naïve Jack, and he does well to bring a fun and energy to the role that saves him from being as irritatingly bland as many of these male romantic leads often are. Elsewhere, both Robinson and Lo Truglio are fun, even if they feel mis-cast, and there are enjoyable moments for the likes of Katy Mixon Greer, Sherry Miller, Lauren Holly, and everyone else orbiting our leads.

Director Jerry Ciccoritti is maybe not known for this kind of stuff, but he's been working consistently on TV shows and TV movies for the past few decades, after starting his career with some darker material in the mid-1980s. He is the very definition of a consummate professional, and subsequently treats the material here exactly how it should be treated. It's sweet, it's earnest, things are done to satisfy viewers who don't want to be distracted by pesky things like logic or plausibility, and it aims to give people a good helping of cold snow and warm loveliness, which I guess could also be referred to as a . . . Hot Frosty.

Like many of these Christmas movies, it's not really good, not when compared to other non-holiday movies, but it's enjoyable enough while all of the snow-dusted silliness plays out.

6/10

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Shudder Saturday: To Fire You Come At Last (2023)

While I appreciate the idea of Shudder allowing Kier-La Janisse the chance to curate a seasonal selection of short spooky tales, in the tradition of the Christmas ghost story best appreciated beside a roaring fire and inky darkness pressing at your windows, I am a bit bemused as to the timescale.* This is the first tale presented, and one will be added every year, apparently. So we'll have ten to choose from if the idea of The Haunted Season, as it has been named, lasts for an entire decade.

Written and directed by Sean Hogan (someone very much worth your time/support), this is the tale of four men carrying a coffin on a lonely stretch of road as the day is turning into night. There's the Squire Marlow (Mark Carlisle), a man grieving the fact that his son is the one being buried, Pike (Richard Rowden), an assistant to the squire, Holt (Harry Roebuck), a young man who was a friend of the deceased, and Ransley (James Swanton), a local often hired for the unpleasant task of coffin transportation. Nerves are frayed and tensions run high as this foursome move along with more than just a corpse weighing on their shoulders.

People may be more familiar with Hogan nowadays for his writing than his film work (but if you're unaware of his writing then you should really change that). I've been a fan of his since he impressed me on two different occasions over a decade ago, with his work on Little Deaths and the superbly spooky The Devil's Business. Both of those films deserve to be rediscovered and re-appraised, by the way. Anyway, Hogan knows how to create tales that can unnerve you and chill your bones, while at the same time keeping you intrigued and entertained. He focuses on dialogue and atmosphere, and then helps himself by making great use of cast members who seem to clearly relish the words they're entrusted with.

Although viewers haven't often seen him looking as he normally looks, Swanton is arguably the most well-known of the central performers here. Horror fans will have seen him embodying a great number of strange and dark characters over the past few years (it would be too easy to refer to him as the British Doug Jones, but it also wouldn't be too inaccurate), yet he has lots of fun here with a wonderfully theatrical performance that serves as a reminder of his excellent one-man turn in Frankenstein's Creature. Whether already familiar with him or not, Swanton makes himself the star of the piece, but he's nicely complemented by Carlisle, Roebuck, and Rowden, who all chew on the material with great gusto.

Hogan doesn't have too much to keep layering over the spooky core of the film, which explains why it's only a 43-minute short, but he sketches out the characters and the group dynamic with attention and care, giving viewers more to appreciate and chew over than can be found in most horror movies, whatever their length. If this is a taster of more to come from him in the film world, I remain very enthusiastic to see anything and everything else he wants to present. I might even end up rewatching this before the year is over.

7/10

*EDIT: Someone rightly pointed out to me that the BBC has been doing the same thing for many years, of course, but the timescale never feels problematic there because they already have a nice backlog to rewatch and enjoy.

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Dear Santa (2024)

Based on a joke that seems to have been around at least since I was born, which is fast coming up on half a century now, Dear Santa is, in a way, exactly what you'd expect a Christmas comedy from the Farrelly brothers to be. It's also one of their weaker efforts.

Robert Timothy Smith plays Liam Turner, a young boy with dyslexia who struggles to make friends and avoid embarrassment in most social situations. His bestie is Gibby (Jaden Carson Baker), a young boy who has his own social obstacle, simply due to having some large upper teeth. When Liam writes a letter to Santa he mis-spells the name of the recipient, leading to the letter instead being delivered to the fiery underworld. Which is where a devilish Jack Black comes into the picture. Much like a standard genie, he will offer Liam three wishes. Is there any catch? Of course there is, but it's easy for Liam to forget about that when he can get a chance to ask Emma (Kai Cech) out on a date, be friends with Post Malone, and maybe even fix whatever has become broken in the marriage of his parents (played by Brianne Howey and Hayes MacArthur).

Director Bobby Farrelly really seems unsure of what he wants to do here. The screenplay, by Ricky Blitt and Peter Farrelly (developing a story they created with Dan Ewen), doesn't help. Not only is it weak when compared to other Farrelly brother outings, it doesn't even manage to have fun with the Christmas spirit of it all. It doesn't help that it makes no sense, with rules being carefully spelled out near the start of the movie that are completely ignored by the frankly bizarre final scenes. There's some fun to be had, but it's thanks to a couple of fun set-pieces and the sweet screen presence of Smith.

Black does his usual thing, and he's amusing enough with it, but the younger cast members get to steal the movie by simply emphasising their relative innocence. Smith is endearingly hapless, Baker is very sweet, Cech is just the right kind of loveliness to make her seem worth the effort that Smith is making, and Post Malone has fun playing himself. Both Howey and MacArthur do well enough as the parents who have clearly gone through some kind of trauma that has affected the whole family, and P. J. Byrne, Keegan-Michael Key, and Cate Freedman add some laughs. There's also a fantastic cameo from Ben Stiller, just about recognisable despite all the make up he is wearing for his one scene.

Maybe others will enjoy this more than I did, and maybe I had my viewing experience shaded by considering the real-life tragedy that Bobby Farrelly experienced over a decade ago. Maybe those things are inextricably linked though. It certainly seems as if this is a very pointed film, which is another thing working against the comedy and silliness, and there's a lot of pain and hurt at the centre of it that cannot be easily pushed aside before the end credits roll. 

I guess that it sometimes takes more than a half-assed shart gag to counter-balance an exploration of the dark and deep wells of grief that we often have to carry around within us for far too many years.

4/10

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Terrifier 3 (2024)

So . . . I didn't love Terrifier. And I certainly didn't love Terrifier 2. I've not really been a fan of the combination of Damien Leone and Art the Clown since All Hallow's Eve. Which means that I can understand why people would question why I would even give Terrifier 3 the time of day. Well, first of all, I keep hoping for the series to reach the potential it has. Second, it's important to actually watch every movie that you want to have an opinion on. If I disliked, or dismissed, Terrifier 3 without even watching it then people could quite rightly ignore my ignorant take on it. Every unwatched movie has a chance to be great, no matter what you thought of any prequels, sequels, or other elements connected to it. Oh, and I saw that it was basically a Christmas horror movie, and I do like to add any new Christmas horror movies to my schedule at this time of year.

In a way that almost completely proves my point, Terrifier 3 turns out to be the best of the series so far. I'm not sure if a full plot summary is required here. Art the Clown (played once again by David Howard Thornton) ends up on another killing spree, accompanied by the seriously mutilated Victoria (Samantha Scaffidi). It's surely only a matter of time until they relocate the plucky Sienna (Lauren LaVera), who is now living with her uncle and aunt (played by Bryce Johnson and Margaret Anne Florence, respectively).

Whether Leone now has more freedom and scope to play around, or whether the film is simply helped enormously by juxtaposing the bloodshed of Art with the festive decor of Christmas, Terrifier 3 is almost as great as I always wanted the series to be. The gore and nastiness are still there, and those seeking it out will be satisfied, but there's a gleeful tone to the carnage that makes it a much better viewing experience. While I have been impressed by the extended torture and kill scenes in previous instalments in this series, they were often undeniably grim. This has a playfulness to it that helps to break up the vomit-inducing gore gags. The script still needs some work, it's too long and gets a bit tiresome when interrupting the flow of the whole thing to build the mythology of the series, but it's a step up from everything else that came before it.

The cast, aside from Thornton, Scaffidi, and LaVera, are largely irrelevant. They're not bad, far from it, but they're all available to be potential victims of Art, and they just don't get any chance to steal any scenes away from the three main cast members who spend the majority of the runtime as sides of a triangle that viewers know will be fully formed before the end credits roll. There are also some fun cameos, including Jason Patric, Tom Savini, and Chris Jericho, but the other names worth mentioning are the legendary Clint Howard and Daniel Roebuck, with the latter portraying the Santa actor who finds himself in big trouble when Art takes a liking to his beard and traditional garb.

If Leone can find a way to do this again, make use of Art in a way that skewers something traditionally full of good feeling and warmth, then he might be able to take this series from strength to strength. Maybe have Art hiding out in a religious community, or pretending he has been asked to teach mime to kindergarten kids, or maybe interrupting dates on Valentine's Day with people thinking he is about to deliver a message of love before he instead delivers painful death. You get the idea. Art works best when he is being dark AND silly, and dark and silly works best when shown alongside something light and earnest.

7/10

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Prime Time: A Very British Christmas (2019)

It's not surprising to see that this is the only feature, to date, written (well . . . co-written) by Karl Hall. It is surprising to see that it's not the only feature directed by Steven Nesbit though. A Very British Christmas feels like one of those personal projects that someone does to get their friends and family together and have a bit of fun. It's not very good, but I would also not dismiss it as completely terrible.

Rachel Shenton plays the beautiful opera singer, Jessica, who ends up stranded in a small Yorkshire village. She ends up staying at the vacation site managed by Andrew (Mark Killeen), receiving a warm welcome from him, his young daughter (Katie, played by Isla Cook), and his mother (Sandra, played by Michele Dotrice). There are also friendly faces at the local coffee shop. Unfortunately, the area is under threat from Ben Ritchie (Steve Evets), who is pressuring Andrew into selling his land to a mining company. That would be a nice payday for both men, but it would effectively destroy the village. Jessica ends up spending more time in the village than anticipated, and she starts to be won over by the place. And the people.

Aside from a fun turn from Evets (real name Steven Murphy, he picked a palindrome when he started acting because of another Steve Murphy being in the business), the biggest problem with A Very British Christmas is the standard of the acting. Nobody is really helped by the script either, but it's hard to consider whether or not this cast would have done much better with better writing. The two main leads aren't that bad, and both of them are able to keep sneaking glances at one another with an obvious hint of the feelings developing between them, but Cook mugs terribly as the cute and unfiltered child, Dotrice looks as if she's trying to remember how to nail her emotions and dialogue, and Jennifer Bryer and Adam Fogerty, both working in the coffee shop, are hampered by the fact that they're given the job of being involved in scenes that mishandle some quirky comedy. Paul Barber is fun to spot in a cameo, but that's mainly because you can wonder about his familiarity until you remember that he was Denzil in Only Fools And Horses.

Nesbit tries to make the best of things, occasionally distracting viewers from the weak screenplay with some lovely shots of the picturesque village setting or moments infused with the warming glow of lovely Christmas spirit, and both he and Hall know what needs to happen within the parameters of this kind of easygoing and predictable Christmas movie, but the combination of weak writing and awkward acting do enough to stop this from being an undemanding distraction. There are so many other films you can choose while getting on with the usual seasonal activities, whether you're wanting background noise or a firm favourite that you can check in and out of for the "greatest hits", and I doubt that anyone will even remember that this exists within a few years . . . except for the cast members who may hang on to their personal copies and remind people that they have at least one IMDb credit to their name.

4/10

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Red One (2024)

If you're going to be responsible for kidnapping Santa Claus (played here by J. K. Simmons) then you would probably hope to avoid being pursued by Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans. Okay, wait, I know some people would dream of that scenario, but let's just say that no villain wants to be caught by powerful heroes, especially if they're trying to make up for decades of Santa's apparent leniency towards those who should be, or are, on the naughty list.

Johnson is Callum Drift, the head of security for Santa. Which makes it a terrible time for him when the big guy is kidnapped. Who would do such a despicable thing? Drift doesn't know, nor does Zoe (a capable higher-level boss, played by Lucy Liu), but there's one person who might be able to help. He's a lost cause though, a "naughty-lister" of the highest order who also happens to be very good at tracking people down. That's Jack O'Malley (Evans).

Written by Chris Morgan, who has taken some ideas from Hiram Garcia and sprinkled them with the kind of muscular moments that you'd expect from someone who has been in the writer's room for at least half a dozen Fast & Furious movies, Red One is loud and ridiculous in a way that may well cause some to love it, but didn't really work for me. There are one or two fun set-pieces (you'll know them already if you saw the trailer), but not enough to make this truly worth the runtime that clocks in at just over 2 hours. And it doesn't help that Johnson is armed with a gadget that allows him to pull some Ant-Man maneuvers. Very little of the humour works (especially in the earlier scenes), the action gets messier and harder to keep track of in the third act, and there's a general sense of being underwhelmed throughout the finale.

Director Jake Kasdan obviously found this premise appealing - some more Johnson silliness after their work together on the Jumanji movies, but with lots of seasonal trimmings - and I don't begrudge him giving it a try, but he seems to have been distracted by the idea of presenting a modern and cool new yuletide "classic" that he failed to spot the many weaknesses. Things don't flow well, the tone lacks a sweetness and innocence that the best Christmas films keep at their core, and the best bits don't necessarily feel as if they need to be grounded in a Christmas movie. 

Johnson plays the kind of character he always plays (tough and mean, but with a heart of gold), although he deserves some praise for being able to move around in this onscreen world in a way that makes him feel as if he does belong there. Evans has fun being someone with a much wobblier moral compass, but it's a fun inversion (another one) of his clean-cut image that is never fully committed to. Simmons is a surprisingly good, if also surprisingly muscular, Santa, Liu does perfectly well with her small role, Bonnie Hunt is a pleasant Mrs. Claus, and Kristofer Hivju is a lot of fun whenever his Krampus character appears. Other familiar faces include Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Nick Kroll, Marc Evan Jackson, and Kiernan Shipka, all doing just fine, and Wesley Kimmel is decent enough in the role of Dylan, the son of Jack O'Malley, and the one main child who ends up seeing some of the magical battle to return order to things in time for Christmas. I'll also mention the work from Reinaldo Faberlie as Agent Garcia, a large and intimidating polar bear. Overall, the cast isn't bad. I'm just not sure that the leads couldn't have been replaced by better choices, which could have then led to a screenplay being tweaked and improved to fit different personas.

I could sit through this again. I didn't hate it while it was playing. Nothing stands out though. It's the movie equivalent of the overdone musical Christmas tree. Bright, loud, somehow seeming to miss the point of the season while bathing the whole room in flashes of red, green, and gold light. But sometimes you can still look at it and enjoy the temporary distraction.

5/10

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Mubi Monday: Gloria (2013)

It turns out that I am quite the fan of director Sebastián Lelio, who also co-wrote this screenplay with Gonzalo Maza. In fact, it turns out that the only film that I have seen from him and thoroughly disliked is the remake of this. Maybe I just wasn't able to appreciate it when I watched it, or maybe the entire premise of the movie is undermined when you get someone like Julianne Moore cast in the lead role.

Gloria is all about Gloria (Paulina García), funnily enough. She is a woman of a certain age, trying to enjoy a time in her life when she can be a bit more free-spirited and confident in her relationships. Trying to enjoy some time with Rodolfo (Sergio Hernández), Gloria soon finds that not everyone at her age has the same approach to life. Some people just aren't ready to move forward without carrying ALL of the baggage from their past with them, either due to a sense of obligation or due to having that baggage available as an excuse whenever they want to provide some distance between themselves and anyone else trying to get close.

While I was critical of the remake because of how lightweight it seemed, Gloria shows that the cast is the only major difference between two interpretations of the material. That makes all the difference though. Whereas Julianne Moore appears onscreen and is Julianne Moore (a damn fine actress, but familiar and able to turn her star power on or off, depending on the role), García feels much more like the character. I don't want to be dismissive of her body of work, but she feels much less like a star and more in line with who Gloria is, the type of unglamorous and natural older woman who isn't often depicted in movies. The rest of the cast do equally well, and there are more people involved in a number of scenes, but the focus remains on Gloria and Rodolfo, which makes the excellence of Hernández in that role so important. Whether you think he is being too caring or too cowardly, Rodolfo is very much a reflection of many people at his stage in life.

Lelio keeps things pretty unfussy, allowing the screenplay to be elevated by the leads, who do as much in moments of silence as they do with the dialogue. There's satisfaction here, but it's not necessarily the kind of satisfaction you get from movies that are building to a standard release of tension in the final act. This is satisfaction derived from watching someone consider their self-worth and firmly decide on whatever could be the key to their own happiness. It also makes great use of a popular song with the same name as the main character. If I wanted to recommend a film from this director then I would recommend others ahead of this one, but Gloria is a rewarding watch, especially for those who have lived enough life to understand that cutting through the BS and believing in yourself is much better for you than trying to please everyone else while you miss out on your own happiness.

7/10

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Netflix And Chill: Meet Me Next Christmas (2024)

While they may not be the first names you think of when you consider the selection of entertainment that specifically aims to keep people pleasantly distracted during the festive season, both Christina Milian and Pentatonix have done enough in the past decade or so (well . . . make that two for Milian, who starred in Snowglobe back in 2004) to make them quite comfortable alongside all of the expected holly jolly trimmings.

Milian stars as Layla, a young woman who bumps into a very handsome man named James (Kofi Siriboe) at an airport. The two of them form the kind of immediate and strong connection that should lead to a fantastic love story. That cannot happen though. Layla has a boyfriend, Tanner (Brendan Morgan). James offers to let fate decide for them, and he suggests that they meet at the Pentatonix Christmas concert in a year . . . IF they are both single at that time. Considering how much of an obstacle to the plot Tanner would be, it's no surprise to find him out of the picture just in time for Layla to try and reunite with James, but the problem is that she didn't buy any Pentatonix tickets. She ends up hiring a young concierge (Teddy, played by Devale Ellis) to try and help her Christmas dream come true. Is Teddy up to the task though? And is Layla sure that James is the right man for her anyway?

While your enjoyment of this will depend on how much a capella singing you can stand, and at least Pentatonix allow themselves to be the butt of one or two very gentle jokes, the cast all do a very good job at keeping viewers on their side. That's easy enough for Siriboe, who is offscreen for most of the movie, but both Milian and Ellis make their rapport and interactions feel enjoyably effortless. Nikki Duval is fun, playing the beleaguered assistant who has to put up with random harmonising from Pentatonix, and Kalen Allen enters the proceedings just when it needs another shot of energy. Everyone knows what is expected from them, and they generally exceed those expectations.

While I'm unfamiliar with writers Molly Haldeman and Camilla Rubis, who don't have too many writing credits to their names, both do well enough when it comes to delivering a rom-com full of obstacles on the way to the enjoyably predictable ending. I have seen some other work from director Rusty Cundieff, but none of it would have made me think of him as a capable pair of hands for this type of fare. Which just shows how much I know. A) He's already done a couple of other movies in this vein, and B) he handles the material with a great instinct for making it work the best it can.

It doesn't feel too obviously cheap, unlike so many other Christmas "TV movies", it has a couple of genuinely enjoyable set-pieces, and there is an attempt to at least add one or two wrinkles to the standard formula. If you don't mind the acting from Pentatonix, who would do better if they just stuck to the singing, then you should have fun with this. If you do mind them though . . . well, probably best to look elsewhere for easygoing festive fun.

6/10

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Shudder Saturday: Rita (2024)

Okay, we need to get one thing clear from the very beginning here. Rita isn't a traditional horror form. In fact, I would agree with people who wouldn't consider it a horror film at all, despite the fact that the real event it is based on, and what is shown here in the finale, is quite horrific. This is the kind of film that I actually appreciate seeing hosted by Shudder, despite the fact that the comments from viewers inevitably include a whole lot of dismissals from those who wanted a straightforward horror movie. 

I admit, however, that I was worried when this started. It focuses on young Rita (Giuliana Santa Cruz), of course, and begins by showing her being placed in a facility alongside many other children. The children all seem to pretend they are in different factions, imagining themselves as fairies or other fantastical creatures, and the early scenes of magical realism had me very worried that I would end up watching something far too pre-occupied with showcasing the theatricality of child performers being encouraged to dress up and improvise amongst themselves. There was no need to worry though. Writer-director Jayro Bustamante (who impressed me with his previous feature, La Llorona) makes use of the childish playfulness and innocence to simply soften the edges of subject matter that might otherwise have been too bleak for many to watch.

I encourage everyone to watch Rita, first and foremost, but I then encourage everyone to type "rita guatemalan tragedy" into any decent search engine. Finding out what the film was based on, and why it needed to be made, adds another layer of appreciation, and it underlines just how well Bustamante has balanced everything. This works as a movie, as long as (once more for those at the back) you're NOT expecting any straightforward horror genre moments, but it works equally as a testament and condemnation of a major stain on the recent history of Guatemala.

While the entire cast do very good work, Santa Cruz is the focus, and she does a fantastic job. She is both vulnerable, as any child is, and yet ever-ready to fight for the safety of others. Ángela Quevedo and Alejandra Vásquez are two other children in the facility, both already trying to plan ways to fight back against a system that has put them in a very dangerous situation, and they easily hold their own alongside the young lead. The few adults throughout the movie aren't shown in a good light, but they're also portrayed by very capable actors who grit their teeth and commit to showing the horrible truth at the heart of the whole movie.

I can't say that I noticed every individual element here, which means I won't be praising the score or the editing or anything else that may deserve some extra praise. I was drawn in, almost as if taken by the hand, by the characters and the feeling of innocent playtime providing a way to process some great pain and unpleasantness. The end result is a gently-crafted piece of filmic heartbreak.

8/10

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Noirvember: Dead Reckoning (1947)

If you're a younger film fan, or maybe just a casual film fan, and you can't quite understand why Humphrey Bogart was such a big star for a while then, forgive me, I would have to insist that you just haven't watched a Humphrey Bogart movie. The man is riveting, and often also feels like the personification of cool, and he had the added benefit of being placed in some great features. While not at the very top of any ranked list, Dead Reckoning is a very enjoyable noir that pairs our leading man alongside the lovely Lizabeth Scott. 

Bogart is Rip Murdock, a military man who ends up on a personal quest when he finds out about the death of a fellow serviceman. Not only that, he discovers that the man may not be who he thought he was, and he was suspected of murder. His quest leads him to meet Coral Chandler (Scott) and Martinelli (Morris Carnovsky), a criminal masquerading as a legitimate businessman.

Mainly written by Oliver H. P. Garrett and Steve Fisher, with various people responsible for the main story and adaptation, and directed by John Cromwell, there's nothing here behind the cameras to mark out Dead Reckoning as an above-average noir. It looks good enough, the screenplay has some excellent lines of dialogue sprinkled throughout, and the plot is both slippery and fairly easy to predict. That doesn't make it special though.

Bogart, however, Bogart makes it special. As does Scott. The two leads work well, particularly when sizing one another up and trying to maintain a relationship that is mutually beneficial, and Bogart feels completely at ease in a role that plays to his strengths. He's confident, smart and quick enough to recognise when he's being conned, and he's willing to risk letting someone inside his exterior armour if they can prove that they're not working an angle on him. Scott plays the ambiguity of her character all the way to the end, as expected, allowing viewers to constantly wonder about her role in the murder being investigated. Carnovsky doesn't need to be ambiguous. He's very enjoyable as a charming and unflappable antagonist, and Marvin Miller is also good value as his main henchman, Krause. Others worth keeping an eye out for are William Prince (in the small, but vital, role of Johnny Drake), George Chandler, James Bell, and Charles Cane.

More of a comfort viewing than many other noirs, thanks to the charisma quotient and the perfect pacing that helps the 100-minute runtime breeze by easily enough, this may not be considered essential, but it's one I will highly recommend to those who want to spend some time in the company of some star performers shining brightly in material that seems to have been nicely tailored around them.

8/10

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Thanksgiving (2023)

Whether directly or indirectly, the Grindhouse movie is arguably one of the more influential "failures" of the past couple of decades. So many other films have taken a cue from it, and some of the fun fake trailers have now been made into full features. We've had TWO Machete movies by now, one Hobo With A Shotgun, and now Thanksgiving, a film that fans were wanting to see made as soon as they started laughing at the entertaining ridiculousness of Eli Roth's trailer. 

Things start off with some Black Friday carnage, and I do mean carnage. As openers go, Thanksgiving has a corker. It's gory, it presents a varied group of people who could all then have a motivation to kill, and it's memorable. If the rest of the film was then a much more subdued piece, saving major kills for the final act, then it would still be worth your time. It's certainly not subdued though, and the kills are well-spaced throughout, as well as being nicely constructed (from the playful camerawork to the gore gags). The killer is someone wearing a John Carver mask, and, as the tagline says, there will be no leftovers.

Written by Jeff Rendell, who worked on developing the original concept with Roth and making the most of the premise (ensuring enough space for all of the trimmings, shall we say), Thanksgiving is an absolute blast from start to finish. The younger cast members, including Nell Verlaque, Addison Rae, Jalen Thomas Brooks, Milo Manheim, Thomas Sanelli, Gabriel Davenport, and Jenna Warren, all do a decent job of trying to unmask a killer before he or she takes them all out of the picture, and the likes of Patrick Dempsey, Gina Gershon, Tim Dillon, Rick Hoffman, and Karen Cliche do well as the adults who may find themselves in just as much danger as the youngsters. Joe Delfin is right in the middle of those two main groups, which gives me a chance to single him out here as an extra treat in a film full of them.

Roth is a divisive figure, although you could say that about almost any horror movie director to have emerged in the 21st century. I certainly see why some would take such a dislike to him though, with his worryingly easy way of channeling the voice of at least one typical douchebro into most of his movies. He certainly knows what slasher movie fans want to see though, and delivers it in spades. Maintaining just the right tone throughout, no easy feat when it comes to a couple of the more memorable set-pieces, Roth and Rendell present a fine selection of red herrings, some imaginative kills, and the expected reveal and explanation during the grand finale. The humour works well, especially when it's underlining the holiday theme of the murders, and the survivors do just enough to keep you rooting for them at the end, even if they aren't exactly the most immediately likeable individuals.

I tend to like Roth movies, although I have often had to rewatch them to fully make my mind up. He may be abrasive, he may be over-exposed, and he may sometimes let his mouth write cheques that his film-making body can't cash, but he certainly knows the specific horror movies that he likes to reference and be influenced by. Thanksgiving is impressive because it not only manages to deliver the slasher movie goodies, but it does so without making use of the self-aware and meta layering that almost every other big American slasher movie has contained since Wes Craven helped that style become hugely popular. 

That's not cranberry sauce being sprayed around the place, and this is definitely no turkey.

8/10

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Prime Time: State Of Grace (1990)

Sean Penn, Gary Oldman, Ed Harris, Robin Wright, John C. Reilly, and John Turturro have a lot of film experience. In fact, I don't think I could do the maths to tally up their cumulative total amount of screentime. Having them all working together in State Of Grace should be a good thing, but you have to then consider that director Phil Joanou didn't have much experience. And writer Dennis McIntyre made his feature debut here, although his early death from stomach cancer removed any chance of seeing what other movies he may have written. The inexperience behind the camera ends up negating the vast experience in front of the camera, sadly, and then there's the presence of Sean Penn, an actor who . . . well, he's just sometimes not as good as he thinks he is. Let's all just try to agree on that for now.

Penn plays Terry, a man who reunites with an old best friend, Jackie (Oldman), after a number of years apart. Jackie is a violent criminal, working for a mob ruled over by his brother, Frankie (Harris). Loyalties are tested, people end up dying, and things get a hell of a lot worse when it becomes clear that someone isn't who they claim to be. There's a rat, someone working for the police, and betrayal will inevitably lead to much more bloodshed.

Despite the selection of music videos that he's shot, Joanou doesn't show any real eye for style or captivating imagery here. State Of Grace is a drab and ugly film, and I don't mean that in a way that allows the aesthetic to match the content (because the cast make the most of the few moments that allow them to set off some fireworks, metaphorically speaking). Perhaps hampered by McIntyre's script, which proves incredibly disappointing in how slavishly it follows a template we have already seen so many times before this, or maybe even overawed by, or too reliant on, his leads, Joanou does nothing to make this stand out from a crowded field.

Let's take a closer look at that cast now. Oldman at least has some energy in his performance, even if it's not always the right energy, and he's as captivating as ever. Harris is similarly capable of holding your attention when he's front and centre, and he gets to play his part with an ongoing attempt to stay calm and controlled, even as he feels himself being caught between a rock and a hard place. Wright tries her best in a role that gives her too little to work with, but both Reilly and Turturro are able to do just enough to make their mark, with the former particularly enjoyable in a role that feels a step removed from many of his other performances. Then you have Penn, who simply fails to convince throughout. He's play-acting in a way that would be excusable if you were watching a young child, but is embarrassing when watching a grown man. I do like Penn in some of the roles that have helped him to earn his reputation over the years, but there are times when he just isn't the right man for the job. This is one of those times.

I wish I could praise anything else, even the score from Ennio Morricone feels a bit lacklustre, but there aren't many positives to grasp on to. There are a couple of decent songs tucked away on the soundtrack, and you also get supporting turns from Joe Viterelli and Burgess Meredith. That's it. This just isn't a good film, despite the presence of some very good people doing occasionally good work. I would advise most people to avoid it completely.

3/10

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Noirvember: They Made Me A Fugitive (1947)

Considering how well it depicts post-war England, and also how well it makes use of Trevor Howard in the main role, you may be surprised to find out that They Made Me A Fugitive was directed by a Brazilian, Alberto Cavalcanti. Fans of classic British film may be less surprised though, considering the fact that Cavalcanti also helmed a number of films for the mighty Ealing Studios at this time.

Howard plays Clem, a thieving criminal who has a major pang of conscience when the ruthless Narcy (Griffith Jones) starts dealing in the drug trade. Clem doesn't want any part of the drug business, and plans to quit after one last job. That last job doesn't go to plan, which leads to Clem being framed for the murder of a policeman. He ends up sentenced to fifteen years in prison. An escape is inevitable, considering the title of the movie, and Clem is soon seeking revenge against those who framed him for a murder he didn't commit. 

Based on the novel "A Convict Has Escaped" by Jackson Budd, They Made Me A Fugitive was turned into a screenplay by Noel Langley, who does a great job of mixing together a large cast of characters into a frothing pot of dark soup that is destined to be spilled all over by the time the finale comes around. While everything is tame compared to more modern content, there are moments of nastiness and grit that keep you feeling as if nothing is guaranteed. Main characters may or may not survive to the end credits, pain will be the main currency for everyone involved (be it physical or emotional), and as for a happy ending . . . this is a noir, after all, so even that isn't a given.

Howard may not seem like the best fit for the lead role, but he grows into his performance with each minute of screentime, and has that essential spark of charm that keeps viewers onside. Jones is deliciously dastardly and irredeemable as Narcy (short for Narcissus, which basically tells you all you need to know about him). Jack McNaughton does well as another crook, Soapy, and Ballard Berkeley is entertaining as Rockliffe, an officer heading up the manhunt for Clem. It's not all about the men though, and Sally Gray, Rene Ray, Mary Merrall, and Vida Hope all get time to shine as they play their part in the unfolding drama, with Gray cutting a particularly sad and vulnerable figure as things turn even darker in the third act.

It may lack some of the style and edge of similar films being made in the USA at this time, but that is what helps to make They Made Me A Fugitive so memorable. It's very British, but the Britishness is placed around some serious unpleasantness and violence that wasn't usually part of the fabric of UK cinema at this time. It was there, and you can certainly find some other classics from this time that make good use of it, but it was very rare.

8/10

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Mubi Monday: Sword Of Trust (2019)

Life is funny. One little extra bit of knowledge can completely reframe and recontextualise everything around you, from childhood incidents to relationships, from societal problems to art. I decided to watch Sword Of Trust because I am quite the big fan of Marc Maron nowadays, and have been a full-time listener to his podcast for a couple of years now. But checking the credits made me almost slap myself in the face for my ignorance. Maron has spent a lot of time on his podcast discussing the pain and grief he went through after the death of a loved one, Lynn Shelton. Despite being aware of her work over the years, I never did think of the Lynn Shelton that I'd seen in various acting and directing roles as THAT Lynn Shelton. Now I know better, and I also know that I am a fan of her work.

Shelton is the director and co-writer (with Michael Patrick O'Brien) here, as well as appearing onscreen in a small role, and what she delivers is a wonderful and gently amusing look at, well, how profitable it can be to cater to those who have chosen to believe in conspiracy theories, and how some people can be sold on conspiracy theories as they are fooled into thinking themselves smarter and more open-minded than others.

Maron plays Mel, a pawn shop owner who ends up heading down quite the rabbit hole when Cynthia (Jillian Bell) and Mary (Michaela Watkins) walk into his store. Cynthia has inherited a sword, and she's looking to sell it for a good price. In fact, she wants to sell it for a very good price, considering the fact that it seemingly proves a very different interpretation of American history. Mel smells a load of crap, of course, but decides he could work with Cynthia and Mary when it becomes clear that there are some sellers who are ready to believe in what the sword seems to represent. The main buyer (Dan Bakkedahl) starts the ball rolling via his middle-man, Hog Jaws (Toby Huss), but everyone will have to trust one another when it comes time to actually complete the negotiation.

You really should watch Sword Of Trust for the same reasons I watched it. Anyone who is aware of, and likes, Maron will enjoy this, particularly in the many moments when his character feels very close to the persona he has presented to the public for a number of decades now. It isn't just the Maron show though, and there's plenty of enjoyment to be had with the work of Bell, Watkins, Bakkedahl, Huss, Jon Bass (playing a shop assistant, Nathaniel, who seems to have been retained for the few times when he can help his boss with tech), and Al Elliott (as Jimmy, a friendly owner of a neighbouring business). Even the much smaller roles are cast well, guaranteeing that viewers are never more than a moment or two away from a chuckle.

Everyone is assisted by a great script, of course, and both Shelton and O'Brien do a fantastic job of taking their slight, and slightly ridiculous, central idea and turning it into something that allows for some great commentary mixed with great character moments. Shelton may have a simple and straightforward directorial style, through personal choice or budgetary necessity, but it works perfectly with the tone and pacing of the whole thing.

Although it was making a very specific point back when first released in 2019, Sword Of Trust manages to feel even more relevant and critical of the conversations and discourse happening all around us right now. That's a shame, in terms of how society has continued to slide further into decline, but it makes the film feel very close to essential viewing.

8/10

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Netflix And Chill: Reptile (2023)

Not only is Reptile co-written by director Grant Singer, but star Benicio Del Toro apparently had a helping hand in the screenplay, alongside Benjamin Brewer. That makes it even more curious, considering how Del Toro is the best thing in it DESPITE the weak screenplay. A messy mix of neo-noir tropes and moments that seem to be struggling to give the movie more substance, Reptile is enormously unsatisfying. And it's made all the worse by how badly it wastes a great cast.

Del Toro plays a cop named Tom Nichols. He's been entangled in some bad stuff in the past, but he seems to be trying his best to be good at his job. That is essential when he is called to the scene of Summer Elswick's murder. Summer's body was discovered by Will Grady (Justin Timberlake), making him a prime suspect, but others soon start to arouse suspicion. It doesn't help that Grady and his mother (Frances Fisher) have upset people with their business practices. One of those upset people is a young man named Eli (Michael Pitt), who blames the Gradys for the suicide of his father. Maybe there's more to the case than what seems obvious though. Maybe Tom needs to start looking at everyone around him with equal suspicion.

Although he has a wealth of experience helming music videos, this appears to be the feature debut from Singer. That makes complete sense when you consider how much (misplaced) faith he has in the strength of such clumsy and half-baked material. There are some good moments here, some strong individual images, but there are just as many moments that don't work, whether it's the plotting of the central mystery that doesn't feel worth really caring about or the moments that have a discordant piece of music increasing in volume in a way that's supposed to unnerve viewers and lead to some nerve-tingling climax, but then fails to present anything to justify that audio choice. With both Brewer and Del Toro similarly inexperienced in the role of feature writer, Reptile is left as a collection of decent images that can barely cling on to the decomposing skeleton of the script that should have given it a strong centre.

Del Toro is much better in front of the camera though, and he's the best thing about this. His performance is easily on a par with some of his best work, and equally thoughtful and morally discombobulated, at times. Alicia Silverstone is excellent in the role of his wife, although she also suffers from one or two moments that seem to just peter out just as they could get more interesting. Timberlake is fine, working comfortably with a persona that he tends to portray well in movies, Fisher is riveting, despite having disappointingly little screentime, and Pitt adds another quirky turn to his repertoire. The fact that the film also has room for great work from Eric Bogosian, Domenick Lombardozzi, and Ato Essandoh (playing the partner to Del Toro's character) is both a plus and a minus, because everyone here deserves to be delivering that great work in a stronger film.

I'm guessing that this is a story that Del Toro was passionate about, considering he also attached himself as an executive producer, and I can see how the whole thing could have been handled much better, but the end result feels like a wasted opportunity. The cast cannot be faulted though, nor can the cinematography from Mike Gioulakis (with shot choices and framing complemented by some fine editing from Kevin Hickman). Technically, all is well. It's just the writing and direction that work against it, but those are the two areas that need to be locked down for this kind of material.

4/10

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Shudder Saturday: The Creeping (2022)

I want to review The Creeping in a way that somehow explains why I disliked it, but also gives due credit for what it gets right. While the film didn't work for me as a whole, there were enough individual moments to make me appreciate the effort made by director Jamie Hooper.

Riann Steele plays Anna, a young woman who is going to spend some time caring for her grandmother, Lucy (Jane Lowe). There will also be another carer, Karen (Sophie Thompson), on hand to help, but Anna will still struggle to deal with the various turns in her grandmother's behaviour. She will also struggle when she starts to suspect that something is wrong in the house. There's something there that shouldn't be there, or perhaps she's just spooked by seeing such changes in her grandmother.

Co-written by Hooper and Helen Miles, The Creeping is a supernatural horror grounded in the same real-world horrors of films like The Taking Of Deborah Logan and Relic. There are few things more upsetting than watching a loved one turn into someone completely different, and struggle to keep themselves together as they face losing themselves, piece by piece. The Creeping treats that aspect of the story with due care, but it also does well when the scares start to filter in. Unfortunately, Hooper and Miles cannot keep things tightly intertwined on the way to a disappointingly anti-climactic third act. Some reveals are drawn out for too long, which undermines their impact as viewers get a step ahead of the narrative, and tension starts to dissipate when it should be building, and things just don't come together in a way that is anywhere near as satisfying as it should be.

Steele is decent, if unremarkable, in the main role, and Lowe does well with her portrayal of an old woman who is no longer as compos mentis as she once was. Thompson is also good, as she has been in pretty much every role she's played throughout the decades of her career (even when being horribly abusive to a child during her stint in Eastenders), but it's a shame that Jonathan Nyati and Peter MacQueen aren't given enough time and space to do anything with their paper-thin characters.

Hooper has achieved something impressive here, especially when considering that it's his directorial feature debut. It's just a shame that there's no consistency, which affects the pacing, which ultimately unbalances the whole thing. Individual moments are great, but often all too brief, and I hope to see Hooper do even better with whatever he lines up next. Maybe he can take an extra run at the script to iron out any wrinkles and ensure a more rewarding viewing experience. Or maybe he can just strip things down to a more basic core idea that allows him to focus more on the atmosphere and scares.

I do recommend this one to horror fans, but you have to be patient and willing to see the potential in it while Hooper keeps stumbling and weaving around the intermittent high points.

5/10

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Noirvember: My Name Is Julia Ross (1945)

I've been to some dubious job interviews in my time (and I'll take a moment to remind everyone that group interviews are a very special form of torture for some people), but I am thankful that I've never headed along for a job to then wake up some time later being called a different name by someone claiming I am married to them. I mean, hey, before I embraced the sober life it was always a remote possibility. That is the fate of our main character, Julia Ross (Nina Foch), in this enjoyable mystery noir.

While things move very quickly in this film, the runtime is only 65 minutes and it doesn't take long to set up the main premise, viewers get a quick sketch of the life of Julia Ross in the first few minutes. She is looking for work, most importantly, but she also has a male friend/potential love interest in the form of Dennis Bruce (Roland Varno). This will prove to be an essential wrinkle, of course. Once woken up in the household of Mrs. Hughes (Dame May Whitty) and her son, Ralph Hughes (George Macready), Julia is repeatedly told that she is actually Marion, the wife of Ralph. Attempting to escape, Julia inadvertently helps her captors as they continue to inform those in the local area about the sad ill-health of "Marion".

Based on a book, "The Woman In Red", by Anthony Gilbert, My Name Is Julia Ross is written by Muriel Roy Bolton, who helped to co-write the enjoyable The Amazing Mr. X only a few years later. It manages to stay just about plausibility, despite how brazen and overt the villains are, and weaves the plot around a couple of very enjoyable set-pieces. The ending is a bit abrupt, but anyone knowing the runtime before starting to watch the film should be ready for that.

Director Joseph H. Lewis was fairly prolific with his film output between the mid-1930s and mid-1950s, and this is almost right in the middle of this fertile period. He knows what he's doing, and he makes great use of a talented cast making the most of their colourful characters, whether in main roles or amusing supporting turns.

Foch is a decent lead, and she does well with a role that requires her to stay vulnerable and helpless for most of the runtime. Macready is enjoyably dastardly, and it's easy to loathe him whether he's being charming or showing his true nature, and Whitty is an absolute delight throughout. Varno is appropriately pleasant and harmless in the role of Dennis, and both Doris Lloyd and Joy Harington provide some lighter moments without overdoing the comedy of their scenes. I could happily mention almost everyone else involved, but then it might take longer to read this review than it would take to watch the actual film.

As simple and slim as the short runtime would suggest, this is a great little noir that everyone should be able to make time for. Balancing a sense of fun and menace in equal measure, it may not feel essential, but it's one I can see myself revisiting every so often.

8/10

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Noirvember: Another Dawn (1943)

AKA Distinto Amanecer

Based on a play by Max Aub, although it doesn't feel too stagey throughout, Another Dawn is a noir-tinged melodrama that feels, coincidentally or not, like a gender-flipped riff on the classic Casablanca. An estranged man and woman end up reunited during a time that has one of them trying to deal with a rather sensitive political situation that could land them in major trouble. There's a bit more to it, of course, but that is the one-line summary.

Andrea Palma plays Julieta, a woman who is delighted to meet Octavio (Pedro Armendáriz) while he is hiding away from people who want him dead. Octavio has some important documents on him, documents that others want to recover, and he ends up being assisted by Julieta and her husband, Ignacio (Alberto Galán). Things are helped by the fact that Julieta, Ignacio, and Octavio are old friends, but complicated by the closer relationship that Julieta and Octavio once had. As the net closes in around Octavio, it also becomes clear that Julieta and Ignacio don't exactly have a happy and idyllic marriage.

Co-written and directed by Julio Bracho (who also wrote and directed the wonderful Twilight), with input from Xavier Villaurrutia, this is a brisk and engrossing melodrama that is paced perfectly to help the 108-minute runtime absolutely fly by. While the plot is based around political intrigue and a dangerous "mission", it dedicates even more time to the turbulent emotional journeys of the three lead characters, raising the stakes for all involved as they all realise just how feelings are changing between one another.

Palma is the heart of the whole thing, and she plays her part with grace, strength, and thoughtfulness. Both Armendáriz and Galán try to essentially have their cake and eat it, but the former gets to act suave and more caring than the latter, who is portraying a man who doesn't realise how good he has things until there's a threat to the status quo. Narciso Busquets also does well, playing Juanito, the son of Julieta and Ignacio, and there are a number of wonderful performances from the supporting cast members.

There may not be anything here that stands out as spectacular, but it's all put together in a way that works in service to the characters and the material. The melodrama is interspersed with moments of real menace, and everything leads to a finale that perfectly blends the physical danger with the emotional noose bringing everyone together. It becomes more than the sum of its parts, and I definitely recommend it to all, but particularly anyone who has already dipped their toes into the rich and rewarding history of Mexican cinema.

7/10

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Prime Time: Hickey & Boggs (1972)

If I remember right, some technicality means that you cannot label Bill Cosby as a rapist nowadays. That didn't stop me from feeling no small amount of reservation, however, when I realised that Hickey & Boggs starred Robert Culp alongside the definitely-not-rapey Bill Cosby. I debated how to get the review done, and then I remembered that movies are chock full of people that I wouldn't necessarily want to say good things about, personally, and so I'd have to go on with business as usual. There may even be other movies I watch one day that feature the definitely-not-rapey Cosby, and I would just do the same thing. I won't use any images of him, and I won't feel great about it, but he is one of many threads woven throughout the fabric of cinema.

Culp is Frank Boggs and Cosby is Al Hickey. Both of them work together as private investigators who end up tasked with tracking down a missing woman. What begins as a simple case soon turns into something a bit more complicated, and much more dangerous. Everyone involved in the central investigation starts to die, and both of our leads eventually figure out that the missing woman is at the heart of a very sticky web.

Written by Walter Hill, this is a strange film, but I can see why it has retained a cult following throughout the decades since it was released. Things start off fairly light, and the chemistry between Culp and Cosby is as you would expect, but they soon spiral into much darker waters. The third act is about as bleak and nihilistic as can be, with the typical fight back from our heroes given no fanfare or cool edge. Yes, you get men holding their ground while also holding huge hand cannons, but it's ultimately dissatisfying when so many lives have already been ruined.

Culp does well in his role, Cosby less so. I'm not sure I can blame the leads for that though. The script doesn't quite know how to keep things consistent, and clearly lures viewers in before dragging them towards an abyss. Culp's direction is solid, if a bit flat, and there are a couple of set-pieces that struggle to impress while weighed down by that darker tone.

Elsewhere, both Rosalind Cash and Isabel Sandford get a couple of good moments, and Robert Mandan, Michael Moriarty, Vincent Gardenia, and Ed Lauter help to populate the cast with interesting and watchable characters.

While it's certainly not a bad film, Hickey & Boggs feels worse in comparison to most of the other films that have gone for a similar vibe. The mystery element never feels as intriguing as it should, the occasional moments of shocking violence are toned down by the shot choice and editing, the interplay between the two leads starts to fade away as the bodies pile up, and it all plays out like a neo-noir presented by people who aren't really all that keen on making a neo-noir. Everything is there, but none of it fully works.

6/10

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Noirvember: The Kid Detective (2020)

Being a kid detective is a very good thing. Or so it seems. Getting to help the local community, being underestimated by many people dealing with you, and acting wise beyond your years in a way that many view as endearing. It all becomes a bit more difficult to deal with when you're no longer a kid though, particularly when you stay in the same job, carrying around the weight of your childhood success.

Adam Brody stars here as Abe Applebaum, the kid detective who is now an adult in an apparent state of arrested development. He hasn't let go of his past, and hasn't moved beyond what many expected to just be a phase. He doesn't see why he should change though, considering his gift for detection. But his latest case, a young woman named Caroline (Sophie Nélisse) asking him to find out who murdered her boyfriend, turns into an opportunity to completely re-evaluate his past, and perhaps even allow himself to move on to the next chapter in his life.

A great mix of comedy and drama, and with a proper and well-constructed mystery at the heart of it, The Kid Detective is an excellent character study that benefits from Brody being such a great fit in the lead role. Writer-director Evan Morgan nails the tone throughout, jumping deftly between effective little gags and scenes that show the pain of someone feeling more adrift in the turbulent sea of life, and his script is full of an obvious affection for the tropes being used/subverted.

Brody carries the film on his shoulders, but does so in a way that emphasises how slim those shoulders are. He's been playing variations on this kind of role for much of his career, someone a bit emotionally-stunted and selfish, but this gives him a number of layers to work through as the plot unfolds. Nélisse is very good as the young woman who doesn't realise that the mystery she needs solving may lead to something even darker and more dangerous, and Sarah Sutherland is a lot of fun as the sullen Lucy, a woman who has somehow found herself as trapped in her role as secretary to the kid detective as he is trapped by his own history. Wendy Crewson and Jonathan Whittaker are bemused parents who expected their son to have moved on from this "phase" long before now, Peter MacNeill is the local school Principal, and Dallas Edwards plays a boy named Calvin who may be the key to unlocking the case.

Much darker than expected, but all presented in a way that stops that darkness from weighing it down too much and making it unbearable to watch, The Kid Detective is a surprisingly brilliant mix of the old and the new, making use of a fun core idea to springboard into muddy waters familiar to anyone who has watched their fare share of neo-noirs. Every individual aspect is handled with care, especially the set-ups and payoffs to gags that are used throughout to maintain the well-balanced tone throughout, and the end result is a gem of a film that should develop a strong cult following as more people discover it and recommend it to like-minded film fans.

8/10

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