For It Is Man's Number

Saturday, 12 July 2025

Shudder Saturday: Itim (1976)

AKA The Rites Of May.

After another few minutes of scrolling through streaming menus to see what I might watch today, I finally settled on this, what I thought would be a folk horror tale from the Philippines. It's actually not folk horror, not to me anyway (although categories and labels are often as personal and subjective to people as any other response they have to a movie), but a slow and moody look at the kind of supernatural quest for revenge commonly seen in the J-horror boom of the turn of the century.

The whole thing starts with a séance, always a great thing to include in a spooky horror movie. Teresa (Charo Santos-Concio, billed here as Charo Santos) is informed that her missing sister, a Catholic nun named Rosa (Susan Valdez-LeGoff, but at this point just Susan Valdez), is dead. In a seemingly-unrelated event, a young photographer (Jun, played by Tommy Abuel) visits the area to check in with his incapacitated father, Dr. Torres (Mario Montenegro). Jun ends up photographing Teresa, and the two soon discover that they are connected in a way that will only become apparent when Rosa can reveal a long-hidden truth.

The first feature film from director Mike de Leon, this is a strange and entertaining slice of horror that suffers nowadays in comparison to the many similar films that have been made in the intervening years. Not that it was a wholly original idea when first released back in the mid-1970s, but it might have felt a bit less predictable to those who hadn't already experience quite so many tales in the same vein. Writers Gil Quito and Clodualdo Del Mundo Jr. (aka Doy Del Mundo) don't do a bad job, taking their time to add layers of atmosphere without making the 105-minute runtime feel like a drag. Even knowing where things should be heading, the journey is a languid and dreamy wander through a field of pretty flowers and stinging nettles. That metaphor definitely works, in my head anyway.

The acting isn't always great, but the leads do well enough. Santos is quietly captivating as Teresa, helped by the fact that she has moments when she has to act quite out of character. Abuel is a forgettable, but perfectly fine, male lead, and Montenegro is restricted for most of the runtime by the fact that his character is both mute and in a wheelchair. There are some others in supporting roles, but Santos, Abuel, and Montenegro are the main focus for most of the film, which saves me from potentially insulting anyone else who isn't as good in the acting stakes.

Set during Holy Week, Itim (which is the Filipino word for "black") is helped by being stuffed full of imagery that ties in to the timing. Instead of obvious scares and horror imagery, De Leon tries to add a sense of fear via the rites and iconography of Catholicism, as well as the juxtaposition of sunny exteriors and much darker interiors (in terms of both buildings and people). There's also something very interesting about a film from this time that doesn't make the male lead a stereotypical hero ready to charge in and save the day before the end credits roll. Although he helps to put the puzzle pieces together, Jun is mainly just a witness to the unfolding events. He enters the film as a photographer, just an observer who can record individual moments, and end it the same way. The film really belongs to Teresa, which means that is belongs equally, if not more so, to Rosa.

Worth a watch. And then worth a rewatch, because there's more to dig into here than expected. There's a reason why this has been celebrated over the years, as well as being digitally restored for a 2022 theatrical screening at the Cannes Film Festival.

8/10

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Friday, 11 July 2025

The Judgment (2023)

Mo (Junes Zahdi) and Hisham (Freddy Shahin) are two gay Egyptian men in a relationship with one another. That hasn't been such a problem for them during their time in America, but it becomes more difficult when they have to return to Egypt to deal with some family matters. Aside from the usual side-eyes and threats, Mo is also worried about someone targeting him with actual witchcraft because of his sexuality.

The second feature film written and directed by Marwan Mokbel, this has a confidence and sensitivity to it that makes it feel like a much more personal project than his previous outing, a very generic-looking horror movie called You Will Kill AKA Ouija Summoning. What you have here is the kind of film that hopes to convey even just a fraction of the fear and unease that can affect people being judged just because of who they happen to love. While it makes use of certain Egyptian cultural elements, what surprised me most about The Judgment is how easily it could have been located in almost any country in the world. Everywhere has homophobes, and everywhere has older practices (witchcraft) that can be used to hassle and frighten those who still believe in them.

Zahdi and Shahin are very good in the lead roles, the former usually shown to be the more nervy and insecure of the two. The film needs their performances at the heart of it, although it's essentially about ideas that are so much more than just these two people. It's about the constant battle between the past and the present, it's about prejudice, and it's about the many small ways in which we can make life better or worse for people we don't need to know intimately. As the title states, it's also about judgment, be it from others or some ongoing self-judgment.

This may not be a typical horror movie, but it's impressive that Mokbel makes the sunny and hot streets of Egypt feel dangerous and creepy. As Mo starts to feel stalked by someone, it feels as if there's a growing supernatural presence that could reach out for him at any moment. Yes, this is partially due to his own nervousness, but that doesn't make it any less of a danger, especially when other encounters show just how hostile others can become when they see people in a relationship they disapprove of.

Something stopped me from loving this though, and I have to be clear about that here. I know I've given it a fair bit of praise, and all of it deserved, but the 111-minute runtime drags in places, there are a few scenes that needed something extra to add to the weight of them, and the third act was a bit underwhelming. I know that others didn't have those criticisms, considering the love I saw it receiving just after it screened at a film festival a few weeks ago, but there were enough minor failings here and there to stop it from being truly great. For me.

7/10

Thursday, 10 July 2025

Sunset On The River Styx (2021)

Vampires. Vampires are always a very useful horror archetype. They can be used to explore sex. They can be used to explore age. They can be used to explore almost every human experience, but in an amplified way, from love to grief, pleasure to pain. Not all vampire movies are interested in delivering scares and/or bloodshed, but they're still often very much vampire movies. Sunset On The River Styx may disappoint those seeking some easy thrills, but it should please those after a new vampire movie.

Phillip Andre Botello plays Will, a bus driver who seems to be in a bit of a funk. That funk could be alleviated by an encounter with Ashe (Jakki Jandrell). Ashe tries to encourage Will to start acting on some of his impulses, which include more confrontational ways of dealing with the occasional troublesome passenger. Ashe also ends up encouraging Will to try something else though, something that drags him into the orbit of Wreck (Cory Vaughn).

Written and directed by Aaron Pagniano, this is another interesting and effective use of vampirism to explore relationships and sexuality. There's a love and respect that develops between the main characters, but there's also some manipulation that makes things a lot more complicated when they look to possibly move forward to whatever the next stage of their relationship might be.

Botello and Jandrell are both great in their roles, and both work really well alongside one another. It's fascinating to watch how different they become around Vaughn's character, but it should be noted that Vaughn is easily on a par with them when it comes to the acting talent. This is a single person becoming part of a duo, and then being shown that there are many more connections they may want to consider, for better or worse, and everyone onscreen does well to show that development in status.

It's a bit slight, more concerned with being a character study than a full rumination on the potential and pitfalls of vampirism, but that doesn't mean that it's not worth your time. Everything looks and sounds good enough, with Pagniano clearly having assembled a team he could trust to get his vision onscreen, and there are some definite highlights scattered here and there throughout the 94-minute runtime.

I may well forget this by the end of the year, and I doubt it will shoot straight to the top of any favourite movie list, but this review can serve as a reminder to others to check it out. It deserves to find an audience, and there will be at least one or two others who enjoy it even more than I did. I would happily rewatch it though, and maybe next time around I will appreciate even more of what it has to offer.

7/10

Wednesday, 9 July 2025

Prime Time: Heads Of State (2025)

Although it is supposed to be an action comedy, I can honestly say that I never laughed once at Heads Of State. Seriously. I actually laughed more during a recent rewatch of Witness, the Harrison Ford thriller from 1985 that absolutely isn't a comedy (although there are a few deliberate lighter moments here and there).

John Cena plays Will Derringer, an action movie star who has managed to become the U.S. President. Idris Elba plays Sam Clarke, an ex-military man who has spent years serving as the British Prime Minister. The two of them are targeted by deadly killers, meaning they have to work together in order to survive. Just typing out this paragraph has made me sad.

It took three people to write this screenplay. Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, and Harrison Query. All three should hang their heads in shame. There are a couple of decent flourishes in the action beats, but not one laugh. I like both of the leads, but I loathed both by the time I got to the end of this. Director Ilya Naishuller has helmed some good stuff in the past. This shows him to be lacking any knack for handling straightforward comedy though.

Aside from Elba and Cena, who are both at their absolute worst, the cast includes Priyanka Chopra Jones (equally ill-served), Paddy Considine (meant to be a Russian villain, but not sure what accent, if any, he was told to try), Carla Gugino (wasted), Stephen Root (wasted), Sarah Niles and Richard Coyle (both wasted), and Jack Quaid (who is one of the few highlights). There are others, mainly playing bland baddies to be despatched in one of the many fight sequences that blur together.

Everything about this is lazy and ugly. It's another streaming release that feels exactly like "content", put together by an algorithm with no way to insert a spark of proper life or humanity. Even some of the main locations have a familiarity to them, as if they're the same places used by Amazon for a few of their other big-budget projects.

I have watched, and will continue to watch, a lot of rubbish. Some of it is rubbish that I have a soft spot for. Some of it is rubbish that I enjoy as something to have on while I don't need to overthink or worry about (when I want familiarity, predictability, and a happy ending). This rubbish is the worst kind of rubbish. It's a film that many will settle for, considering how it does have that familiarity, predictability, and expected final scenes, but it treats viewers without an ounce of care or respect. The main premise is silly enough, but it's then made less bearable by the film-makers trying to keep the whole thing grounded in some kind of reality one step away from our own.

2/10

Tuesday, 8 July 2025

Hauntology (2024)

Although I am late getting to this review of Hauntology, as I am late getting to a number of reviews for films that I watched in one great weekend a few weeks ago, I have been motivated to be more positive and upbeat about it after seeing a general consensus for it that I deem to be unfairly harsh. Hauntology is a horror anthology with a nice strand of LGBTQ+ identity weaving throughout every main sequence, and it stands out as a great example of how to do this kind of thing well.

The framing device concerns Jazmin (Samantha Russell) tracking down her upset sister, Venus (Jaidyn Triplett). Venus is upset because she can't trust her parents to support her as she explores her sexuality and identity, and Jazmin understands some of her misgivings. Jazmin also knows the history of their town though, and some past spirits that are always after an opportunity to create some trouble in the present.

Written and directed by Parker Brennon, this is in line with a lot of other horror anthologies. Not every segment works as well as it could, but there's enough variety to ensure that most viewers should find at least one or two tales worthy of their time. You get four separate stories, and there are elements that work their way into the unfolding tale of Jazmin and Venus. The first feels very similar to what is arguably the best part of Tales From The Darkside: The Movie, the second is the one I was least entertained by, the third is a fun riff on the kind of thing that would feature in any Hammer/Amicus anthology, and the final tale is the most classic, in terms of the genre trappings and spooky atmosphere. Each sequence also explores racism and homophobia, in different ways, mixing in everyday tensions and fears with the supernatural.

Brennon somehow manages to keep things consistent while allowing every individual tale to feel different enough from the others surrounding it. Everything looks and sounds great throughout, particularly impressive for an independent feature, and I would be very disappointed if this doesn't provide Brennon with a stepping stone to whatever they might want to do next.

Russell and Triplett are both very good in their roles, which makes it easier to put up with anyone onscreen who isn't quite as good. I can't think of anyone who really lets the team down though. Ace Rosas and Zoey Luna stand out in the first tale, Jacinda Forbes is very good as the heart of the second tale, Aaron Turnbull, Kurt Oberhaus, and Samantha Robinson provide some fun in the third tale, and James DeForest Parker, Nancy Loomis, and Annie Fitzpatrick do such good work in the fourth tale that they may make you wish that they'd also been used elsewhere in the film. Lindsey McDowell also deserves a mention, as do Abigail Esmena, Aubree Bowen, Naomi Grossman, and one or two others I obviously cannot think of right at this moment.

Maybe I'm speaking out of turn, but I feel like we horror fans are always on the lookout for the next great horror anthology. There are plenty to check out, but many of them nowadays are created by simply stitching together shorts helmed by different directors. Hauntology has one individual at the helm, one voice telling the tales, and that helps it to feel far superior to the many patchwork portmanteaus that are usually mentioned when people ask for horror anthology recommendations.

8/10

Monday, 7 July 2025

Mubi Monday: Carnal Knowledge (1971)

While it's over half a century old, Carnal Knowledge doesn't feel dated. That's as impressive as it is sad. Since finally watching it I keep making a joke about it being a film obviously loved by Neil LaBute, but I'm not sure I mean it. I mean . . . I DO mean it, but probably not as a joke. There's something in the bitterness and the misogyny here that is very much a precursor to the kind of sharp and jagged explorations of the same subject matter that LaBute would deliver in many of his own works.

Jonathan (Jack Nicholson) and Sandy (Art Garfunkel) are two friends who have plenty of conversations about the women they decide to pursue. This is all set up in the very earliest scene, a sequence that has Sandy trying to establish a connection with Susan (Candice Bergen) after Jonathan basically says "I'll let you have her." Susan doesn't realise that she's going to end up in the middle of a strange three-way relationship with both Sandy and Jonathan, at least until one of them gets bored with things. Jonathan also gets involved with Bobbie (Ann-Margret), a woman who is worn down and seriously affected by the mistreatment she suffers from him. As time rolls on, various women see Jonathan unable to extricate himself from his self-created black hole of self-loathing and inability to view women as nothing more than potential conquests. It just remains to be seen whether or not Sandy will be locked in there with him.

While there's no denying that the heart of Carnal Knowledge is the bold and unflinching screenplay from Jules Feiffer, which lays bare an attitude and culture that persists to this day, it's hard not to give just as much credit to director Mike Nichols and his main cast members. Nichols may not have avoided a number of mistakes throughout his decades-spanning directorial career, but his best works cast a long shadow over a few different eras of cinema. This is one of his best, taking a scalpel to examine some of the wounds of the 1970s that were left to scab over by those wandering around aimlessly in the 1960s. Could Benjamin Braddock have turned into Jonathan one day? Maybe, maybe not.

Garfunkel does very well in his role, being a bit more timid, yet also far too willing to join in with his friend when it seems as if it may prove to be a winning tactic for him, and all of the women make an impact in various ways (Bergen, Ann-Margret, Cynthia O'Neal, Carol Kane, and Rita Moreno), but the film belongs to Nicholson, who manages to somehow keep his character riveting even as he becomes more and more overtly loathsome. He's quite pathetic and horrible, but that is sometimes hidden away under a projected image of false confidence and bravado.

Carnal Knowledge isn't an easy watch. I'm not sure I'd even call it an entertaining one. It's thought-provoking and vital though, an essential part of a conversation that is still happening over half a century after it was first released. The fact that we're still having the conversation may well make your heart sink, but it's also better than this kind of behaviour playing out without people having the knowledge to more easily recognise it and call it out. And at least there's a somewhat happy ending here, seeing the lengths one character has to go to in order to hold on to any imagined scrap of power.

9/10

Sunday, 6 July 2025

Netflix And Chill: The Wrath Of Becky (2023)

Considering how much I enjoyed Becky, I am surprised that it took me this long to get around to the sequel. There didn't seem to be a lot of the main people returning behind the camera, but Lulu Wilson was back in the main role, which ensured I would eventually give it a watch. I'm glad I did. This sequel is a lot of fun, and I'd say that it's on a par with the first film.

A bit of time has passed since the events of the first film and Becky has been doing her best to lay low. She's moved between a number of foster homes, but is now settled with a woman named Elena (Denise Burse). Elena doesn't ask Becky too many questions, and Becky tries to act like someone happy to make a fairly normal life for herself. That all changes when a group of racist incels, part of a group called the Noble Men, start trouble in town though, and Becky refuses to put up with their attitude in a confrontation that kicks off a chain of events that will lead to a lot of pain and death.

Co-directed by Matt Angel and Suzanne Coote, with a story from the two of them shaped into screenplay form by Angel, The Wrath Of Becky makes a choice early on to remind us that Becky is an entertainingly cold-blooded psychopath. She can keep herself in check, just, by indulging in occasional daydreams of violence against those who piss her off, but it's glorious to watch things build and build to a point that allows her to start doing what she enjoys most. While this idea felt like a bit of a twist in the first film, the joy here comes from watching people push the buttons of someone that we know will eventually explode in absolutely spectacular fashion.

Wilson remains as good in the central role as she was in the first film, and arguably gets to have more fun thanks to the fact that the dark (aka fun) side of her character is visible for almost all of the runtime here. The rest of the cast work well in roles that only need them to be menacing for a short amount of time before clarifying that they're actually just dead (noble)men walking. They may think they're Proud Boys, but everyone else knows they're just inadequate man-babies, and they're played well by Michael Sirow, Aaron Dalla Villa, Angel (wearing a third hat that allows him to join in with the fun in front of the camera), and Courtney Gains. Seann William Scott is the leader of the group, and he also does good work, and Jill Larson manages to make a hell of an impact with her few minutes of screentime.

There are so many immensely satisfying moments in this that I just want to describe them all, but I won't. It's a real treat to watch, easily summarised as a young girl exacting revenge upon violent neo-Nazis, but feels especially heartening when we are surrounded by news and media that seems intent on refusing to call out the disturbing rise of these ideologies as they constantly mistake dangerous bothsidesism with fair and balanced reporting. It's perfectly okay to be intolerant of intolerance, it should be okay to call a neo-Nazi a neo-Nazi (especially if it walks like a neo-Nazi and talks like a neo-Nazi), and The Wrath Of Becky reminds everyone that it's always acceptable to punch any kind of Nazi in the face. In fact, it's almost a duty.

8/10

Saturday, 5 July 2025

Shudder Saturday: Home Sweet Home: Where Evil Lives (2023)

I knew that watching Home Sweet Home: Where Evil Lives could go one of two ways. Having seen comments about it being delivered in what looks like a single take, as well as revolving around a pregnant woman in peril, I worried that it wouldn't have much more going for it. I figured I would either love or hate it. I hated it.

Nilam Farooq plays Maria, the woman who has to hold our attention for the majority of the movie. She's heavily pregnant, which makes her even more vulnerable when things start getting a bit odd at the remote house she is occupying. That house belongs to her partner (Viktor, played by David Kross), and there's a dark history to it that may not be content to stay quiet.

Written and directed by Thomas Sieben, who has been helming features for over 15 years now, this is a disappointingly underwhelming experience. Although technically fine, and paced well enough throughout the 87-minute runtime, it doesn't do enough to make it memorable. The plotting feels a bit too predictable and tired, the "one shot" gimmick feels stale in the wake of the many films that have now taken that concept to such impressive heights (with both Victoria and MadS being the two I always think of as superior examples of the style), and the scares just aren't effective, due to the limitations of the format and the lack of atmosphere.

Farooq does a good enough job in the main role, and certainly tries to hold your attention while she has to wander around for a while and start getting freaked out, but she isn't able to dance around the clunkier moments that feel designed to either set up a later scare attempt or deliver some exposition. Kross has a lot less to do, but is also perfectly fine. There are very few others onscreen, as you might expect if you know the main premise, but Justus von Dohnányi and Anton Fatoni Schneider both do well in supporting roles, used in different ways to add some sense of potential menace to the situation.

I know that I haven't sounded overly critical here, not in a way that would make people think I hated this, but I have to remind you of how I ended the first paragraph. I hated it. It doesn't matter that the main cast members could at least act. It doesn't matter that it's made with a degree of competence. What matters is that I was never invested in the fate of the main character, never scared, and never impressed or entertained by anything onscreen.

3/10

Friday, 4 July 2025

The Brooklyn Butcher (2025)

It's great to be able to spend my time watching so many movies, and to then have this outlet for reviewing those movies. It's also always a balancing act though. My brain wants to watch every movie around, despite me knowing how impossible that is. My brain also knows that I have to get a review done every day. I know that the world won't end if I don't get my thoughts down, and I am well aware that the world is not waiting with bated breath for my opinion on everything I watch, but it's still a very strong compulsion/habit/memory aid nowadays. Why did I mention it being a balancing act? Well, there are only so many hours in each day. I don't get paid for any of my writing (nobody would be quite that insane), which means I have to focus on my day job and plan everything else accordingly. Which means sometimes I am reviewing movies a week or two after viewing them. Which is the case here. That's not always a big deal, but with something as low-budget and independent as The Brooklyn Butcher time is of the essence.

What you have here is a film that is listed in many places as a horror, but that's not really the case. It uses some horror genre trappings, but there are a few different genres played around with in a fun anthology that moves around the various residents of an apartment building that may well be the recent playground of the titular killer. While not always successful in achieving whatever it is striving for, The Brooklyn Butcher is admirably amusing and steadfastly unique throughout, serving as a decent calling card for co-writer/co-director Joshua R. Pangborn.

I wanted to like this more than I did, but there's nothing here that is actually bad. You have to know that it's made with very little money, although it looks and sounds much better than some movies made with a hundred times the budget, it's aiming to throw plenty at the walls in the hope that some things stick, and it very much belongs to the many films we have helping to make up the ever-growing selection of genre films that can make up part of the LGBTQ+ cinematic rainbow. I will say that a very fun opening scene actually worked against it, leaving me wanting more of that scenario as the film instead jumped to spend time with other characters, but everyone tries hard to deliver consistent fun.

Pangborn and Johnathan Cerio try to pack a number of good twists and turns into their screenplay, alongside many individual lines that should make viewers smile or chuckle, and they also take a turn at portraying a couple of characters in front of the camera. The same goes for Stuart Kiczek, credited as both a segment director and the character of Dmitri Jeffries.

The rest of the cast includes Paul Antzoulis, Andrew Carter, Jahir Christian, Alexander Colon, Alexander Dorf, Mark-Eugene Garcia, Jonny Gottsegen, Greg Hoffman, Dhafir Jackson, James King, Alvin Christmas, Anthony J. Smith, and Ashley Monique Menard, as well as a few others I don't have the time or space to namecheck here. Everyone deserves recognition though, and they're all in line with the tone and intention of the film.

It should be clear that I liked this, but I have to say that I didn't love it. I wanted to, and I absolutely admire what Pangborn and co. have achieved with the obvious limitations restricting them, but the good only just outweighs the bad, and the best moments make the weaker moments a bit more frustrating. That can happen with any anthology though, and I would easily rewatch this ahead of some better-known titles. (Creepshow 3, I'm looking at you)

6/10

Thursday, 3 July 2025

F1 (2025)

What I know about Formula One racing, AKA F1, could be written on the back of a matchbox, and you would still have room to add what I know about NASCAR, the Isle Of Man TT, and the prestigious 24-hour races held at Le Mans. Despite my ignorance, I knew I wanted to see F1 as soon as the first trailer for it dropped. It looked slick, it looked predictable and cheesy, and it looked like the kind of big blockbuster that knows viewers will be happy to overlook a number of weaknesses as long as the star power shines brightly enough and the car sequences are shot well. Let me say right now that F1 more than delivers on those two main fronts.

Brad Pitt plays Sonny Hayes, a broken older man who loves to race cars, and is very good at racing cars. He doesn't have any celebrated career though, having (literally) crashed out of F1 years ago in an accident that changed his entire life. He's invited back by an old friend though, and that old friend (Ruben Cervantes, played by Javier Bardem) needs his racing team to score some points. Even just one point. It's halfway through the third season, and if no points are won then Cervantes will lose his team, and he's sunk far too much money into it to survive that embarrassment. The car isn't good enough to win races, but Hayes knows how they can gain some tactical advantages. He just has to convince young Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris) that he knows what he's talking about. And he needs the rest of the team to back him up, whether they end up working to tweak the design of the car or co-operating on some unusual tyre tactics.

Written by Ehren Kruger, with input from director Joseph Kosinski, F1 is just about as by-the-numbers as you can get. It's what you should expect when you hear that a Brad Pitt movie about F1 is being guided to completion by the steady hand of producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Many people have referred to this as simply a F1 riff on some previous Bruckheimer productions, but I think that's being a bit unfair. It's also not entirely untrue, but the entire world of F1, and the tactics we see used here to desperately grab for just some of the points available, is enough of a new landscape, cinematically speaking, to make this feel a bit more fresh than it otherwise would. Okay, we've also recently had Gran Turismo (also fun), but there are still enough differences to make this feel like a far superior film.

Everything is as good as can be on the audio and visual front. The soundtrack has a pulsating energy running throughout, whether in many of the songs used or in the score from Hans Zimmer, and the camerawork that puts viewers as close as possible to the driving action is absolutely incredible. Remember how you felt when watching actors in fast planes in Top Gun: Maverick? Kosinski repeats that sensation here, and it's somehow just as thrilling, despite our leads all being much closer to ground level.

It's okay to view the car as the star here, and anyone who loves racing cars will enjoy the footage displayed here, but it's hard to deny that there's also a handful of people cast perfectly in roles that absolutely lift the whole movie. Pitt is a great damaged hero, and still allowed to learn a lesson or two during his onscreen journey (although that journey is more literal, this is not a film looking to take him on some astonishing character arc). Bardem hovers around the edges of every scene just enough to maintain the required extra suave quotient, something he does effortlessly. Idris has to portray talented and cocky, which he does, until he finally starts to learn from those who have more experience under their belts, which he also does. Kerry Condon and Kim Bodnia are equally good as two very different, but invaluable, members of the team, with the former actually turning out to be the real hope for a team needing to claw at every opportunity to gain a fraction more speed on every lap. Tobias Menzies is a smug exec, Sarah Niles is the concerned mother of the character played by Idris, and Simon Kunz is enjoyably irritating as the reporter/pundit who keeps underlining just how bad things look for any team relying on Sonny Hayes to help them find some consistent winning form.

You will see better movies this year. There are better movies starring Brad Pitt. And Javier Bardem. AND Kerry Condon. But you won't be thinking of any of those movies when this film starts to work its magic. You'll be enjoying the roar of the engines, the thrill of the race, and the fun interplay between all of the main characters. I was enjoying myself so much that it was only after the credits rolled that I made a long-overdue pun about the races being won by . . . Pitt stops.

8/10

Wednesday, 2 July 2025

Prime Time: Spaceballs (1987)

There was some recent news that put Spaceballs at the forefront of my mind. First of all, we're apparently getting a sequel. Second, Mel Brooks just turned 99 a few days ago. Both of these things reminded me that it had been too long since I last watched Spaceballs, despite owning it on both disc and digital form for some time.

Everyone should know about this by now. It's spoofing a very famous sci-fi franchise (hence the sequel, now there are so many other moments to mine comedy from). Bill Pullman is the reluctant hero, Lone Starr, travelling through space with his furry companion, Barf (John Candy). With a large debt hanging over their heads, the two end up incentivised to rescue Princess Vespa (Dapne Zuniga) and her metallic handmaid, Dot Matrix (voiced by Joan Rivers). That leads to them all trying to stay one step ahead from the powerful and dangerous Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis).

Directed by Brooks, who also co-wrote the thing with Thomas Meehan and Ronny Graham (the latter giving himself one of the best scenes in which he plays a minister), Spaceballs benefits from a great cast that includes those already mentioned, including Brooks himself in a couple of different roles, and Dick Van Patten, George Wyner (superb as Colonel Sandurz), Michael Winslow aka the human sound machine. There's also room for very brief turns from Stephen Tobolowsky, John Hurt, Rhonda Shear, Rick Ducommun, an unrecognisable Dom DeLuise as Pizza The Hutt, and a few other familiar names.

I still have a soft spot for Spaceballs, mainly thanks to Pullman and co. in the lead roles, but most people would admit that it's far from top-tier comedy from Brooks. It's time, however, to be a bit more honest about how far it is from his best work. Spaceballs isn't that good. The jokes are more miss than hit, although they work on an eye-rolling "dad joke" level, the thin plot feels exactly like what it is (an excuse for the gags), and some of the makeup and effects are absolutely awful. This is the start of Brooks spoofing something because it is popular, as opposed to the masterpieces he crafted when spoofing movies that he appeared to have genuine affection for.

There are good moments here and there (anything with Rick Moranis is usually good enough to make viewers smile, and the gags that reference Alien and Planet Of The Apes are nicely constructed), and I defy anyone to tell me that they wouldn't enjoy spending some time in the company of 1980s Pullman, Candy, Zuniga, and Rivers. It's just a shame that nobody seemed interested in making this the best that it could be. It's sporadically amusing, but it mainly feels lazy, and if I want to watch something lazy that will also make me laugh then I'll just spend time looking at my middle-aged spread in a mirror.

I'm not going to rate it like I hate it though, because I don't. That soft spot doesn't simply disappear because a rewatch has reminded me of so many negatives. It's sustained by small pleasures as simple as Candy wagging his tail in excitement or a literal display of radar being jammed.

6/10

Tuesday, 1 July 2025

M3GAN 2.0 (2025)

I am not ashamed to remind people of how much I enjoyed M3GAN, the sci-fi thriller from a few years ago that also benefited from some entertaining viral moments. I will remain unashamed now, even as I tell everyone that I had even more fun with this ridiculous sequel. There have been a few movie trailers this year that have, in an impressively refreshing way, actually sold the features accurately, and if you have seen the trailer for M3GAN 2.0 by now then you should know whether or not it's for you. Because, as advertised, this is a brilliant and bonkers mix of impressive action and consistently hilarious snark. It's a camp delight that somehow stealthily delivers some of the most crowd-pleasing movie moments of the year, and I'm already hoping that they come up with a premise for M3G3N. (alternatively, they can still make use of my title suggestion, M3GAIN)

Here's the most basic of plot summaries. A new killer robot is on the loose. Her name is Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno). Because her actions may endanger Gemma (Alison Williams) and Cady (Amie Donald), a plan is eventually hatched to make use of a "rehabilitated" M3GAN (Amie Donald and Jenna Davis working together once again to provide the physical form and the voice, respectively). Can M3GAN be trusted though? Or will she just bide her time until she can get back to whatever her own agenda is.

Most of the team return for this second bite at the cherry, although director Gerard Johnstone now thinks he can do a good enough job writing the script by himself . . . which, it turns out, he can. It's making use of ideas worked on with original writer Akela Cooper, but this feels like the kind of vision that could only have come from the mind of someone left to indulge a number of whims that all somehow turn out for the best. Key members in other departments also return, but it's unsurprising to see some changes in the cinematography and music departments, considering the different tone on display here.

Williams and McGraw are both very good, and both get to have a bit more fun with their situation this time around. The performers bringing M3GAN to life remain the real stars of the show though, and it's great to see that central character remain somehow very well-realised and yet artificial enough to be ever-so-slightly stuck in the uncanny valley. Sakhno is a great addition, even if she feels a bit hampered by the fact that she looks so much like the Olsen twins (and I say that because it feels as if her similarity to them has been emphasised for her playing a very powerful and deadly female). There's also some more time spent with the characters of Cole (Brian Jordan Alvarez) and Tess (Jen Van Epps), and Aristotle Athari, Timm Sharp, and Jemaine Clement all have their part to play in the android wargames.

While the film before this may have been a light-hearted update of the classic "killer doll" trope, M3GAN 2.0 is a whole new trip into very different tech thrills. This is a fetishization of the sassy queen android persona, accompanied by as much neon as possible, shiny gadgets and silky dance moves, lines of dialogue like the so-stupid-it's-wonderful "hold on to your vaginas", and fight choreography that feels as if it was cross-pollinated from Upgrade, Malignant, and Alita: Battle Angel. I was hoping to enjoy myself. It ended up being my most fun cinema experience of the year so far, and I was still grinning like a loon as I headed home to reassure my Alexa speakers that I would always stay friends with them if they suddenly had access to bodies with which they could then try to overthrow humanity.

8/10

Monday, 30 June 2025

Mubi Monday: Ali & Ava (2021)

Some people can still feel lonely when surrounded by crowds of people. Some people can hide that loneliness as they work hard to make the day better for other people. Some people only start to realise how lonely they have been when they meet someone who makes them feel seen. Ali & Ava is a film that looks at loneliness, in a number of ways, but also looks at class, culture, and what it takes people to connect at a time in their lives when they may feel very weighed down by accumulated baggage from their past.

Written and directed by the fantastic Clio Barnard, the most basic summary of Ali & Ava is that it's about, well, Ali (Adeel Akhtar) meeting Ava (Claire Rushbrook). Ali has to come to terms with the fact that his marriage is over, but he still urges his wife to be cautious as she looks to begin/continue a new relationship with someone that others may deem an unsuitable match. Ava is a single mother, having to spend some of her time tip-toeing around a son, Callum (Shaun Thomas), who is still struggling to deal with the death of his father. When Ali and Ava meet, they start to become fast friends, which means they may want to take things to another level. It's just a shame that not everyone around them will root for a happy ending.

Barnard really does great work in this territory. She has the ability to present British characters from working class backgrounds that never feel exploited, treated in a patronising way, or used to simply present a lesson about the crushing inhumanity of the societal mechanisms that have been built over time to grind down bodies and souls with equal consistency. None of the characters here feel like they are there just to be pigeon-holed, they're just very real people who happen to live with less opportunities and more hardship than others may have.

Barnard is helped by the fact that her lead cast members are so good. Both Akhtar and Rushbrook easily hold your attention while acting separate from one another, but it's crucial that they seem to give each other a boost to make them shine brighter when keeping one another company. Thomas may just be the angry young men causing tension for most of his screentime, but he does it well, and presents an ugly pushback against happiness that helps to keep willing for everything to improve for Ali & Ava. While not being given too much to do, Ellora Torchia, Vinny Dhillon, Macy Shackleton, Ruby Lowther also do good work, as does everyone else helping to populate the small pockets of personal space shown here.

Nothing is overdone, from the performances to the way everything is presented, and Barnard keeps everything grounded while also delivering one or two moments that are surprisingly cinematic. Ali being a bit of a DJ allows for some bursts of lively music here and there, as well as some interesting shots that show him enjoying a dance move or two in an isolated spot that he uses for his own "silent disco".

It won't ever feel like essential viewing, but you may be very glad that you made time for it as the end credits roll, especially when you realise how much more time you could happily spend in the company of two characters who do such a great job of uplifting one another.

8/10

Sunday, 29 June 2025

Netflix And Chill: Strays (2023)

A comedy so memorable that I actually watched it about a year ago and couldn't bring myself, at that time, to write a full review for it, Strays is a fun concept that I'm sure will amuse many. It didn't work for me though, at least not as well as I hoped it would.

Will Ferrell voices Reggie, a cute little dog who finds himself a stray when he's abandoned by his loser of a human owner, Doug (Will Forte). Reggie soon meets Bug (Jamie Foxx), Maggie (Isla Fisher), and Hunter (Randall Park), other strays who help him adapt to life on the streets. It takes him some time to realise just how awful his owner was though, but eventually he gains some clarity. That's when he comes up with a plan to get home and, well, bite Doug's dick off.

If you like some of the cast members here then you're bound to find a few laughs. Will Ferrell plays Reggie with the kind of comedic innocence that he's done before, and it works well. Foxx is tough, but a very good friend, while Fisher and Park grow close to one another in a way that is obvious to everyone but themselves. Other voices come from Rob Riggle, Josh Gad, Sofia Vergara, Jamie Demetriou, Jimmy Tatro, and a few other fun performers. Forte is enjoyably loathsome, making his apparent destiny something that viewers will really look forward to, and there's a random and very amusing cameo from Dennis Quaid just being a version of Dennis Quaid.

Writer Dan Perrault throws in a lot of obvious gags (things revolving around peeing, pooping, or humping whatever looks humpable), and there's an entertaining sequence that has the dogs tripping after eating the wrong kind of mushrooms, but I will give him kudos for committing to a couple of the darker punchlines in ways that were slightly unexpected.

Josh Greenbaum has about three features under his belt by now. This is the least of them. While not inept or absolutely awful, it's disappointingly . . . basic. That might be down to the fact that this was done in live-action, because it would be a much better fit for some kind of animation, but it's also obvious that Greenbaum consistently makes the most obvious and uninspired choices for source material that is middling, at best.

I laughed a few times, and I was grossed out by one sequence that led to an inevitable poop-centric set-piece, but, overall, this feels like a film made about 30-40 years too late. Oh, dogs pee on things to claim them, hahaha, dogs hump lots of things, hehehe, dogs do poop a lot sometimes, hohoho. If you're going to fill your film with old standards then you need to find new or interesting ways to frame them. This doesn't.

4/10

Saturday, 28 June 2025

Shudder Saturday: Founders Day (2023)

Here is another horror movie from brothers Erik and Carson Bloomquist (the former directing, both of the having written the screenplay together), and I think it's clear that they are only able to deliver movies that hang around the level of average. Look, that's more than I could do, and it's more than a lot of other people could manage, but it's a shame that nothing in their filmography shows a spark of something better.

Founders Day is a slasher movie. It's set in a small town as a local election looms, which means many of the residents are already viewing one another with some suspicion and bitterness as they clash over priorities for the community. One young woman (Allison, played by Naomi Grace) is traumatised by a murder that she witnesses, but she may feel worse before the final scenes, especially when it becomes obvious that the killer may have a special plan for her.

There are very small germs of decent ideas here, but none of them are developed in a way that makes them feel worthwhile. People becoming increasingly divided in this age of polarising political stances, politicians making use of any tragedy to spin their image into a more positive one, and a very Hot Fuzz narrative that shows how things are being done for the greater good ("the greater good"). These could have made for a decent little slasher, especially if there was a good sense of fun alongside the commentary, but it falls flat. The Bloomquists don't have any sharpness to their writing, and they also forget to make the kills fun and inventive enough to distract from weaknesses elsewhere.

Grace is pretty good in her role, but she's one of very few highlights. Olivia Nikkanen isn't bad either. Catherine Curtin and Emilia McCarthy are both underused, despite doing solid work, but I can't say I was very impressed by Devin Druid, William Russ, Amy Hargreaves, Jayce Nartok, Andrew Stewart-Jones, or anyone else. Not that they were bad (okay, maybe some of them were bad), but they're unable to do anything to improve upon dialogue that feels one foot away from tame TV movie stuff.

I admire the fact that people tried to make use of another calendar date for some masked killer shenanigans, and a good enough concept can keep me easily amused if enough little touches are sprinkled throughout to tie in with the central theme and iconography, but Founders Day probably wasn't the best event to try and liven up with a killing spree. Others might have done something better with it, but we're left with this . . . and this is about as much fun as standing in a polling booth and reading the list of candidates before finally using your pencil to mark down who is getting your vote. Okay, it's a BIT more fun than that, but not by much.

4/10

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Friday, 27 June 2025

The Premiere (2025)

It's a real compliment to the cast and crew of The Premiere that when I discussed it with others immediately after seeing it last weekend I couldn't figure out how much of it was improvised and how much of it was scripted. There are a number of strands running throughout, and a proper arc for the main character, but every interaction and moment feels absolutely natural and realistic.

Sam Pezzullo plays Sam, a man who has a dream. That dream revolves around staging a musical adaptation of the movie Scream. He just needs the right cast. And he needs to be able to collaborate with others. And money is an issue. Oh, he'll also need to ensure that all of the legal issues and permissions are in order. Sam doesn't care about any of that though. He knows that he has a vision, and nothing will stop that vision being shared with others.

With Pezzullo also co-writing and co-directing with Christopher Bouckoms, it's clear that he's the real heart of this film, just as it is clear that both of these creators have a perfect sense for mining the comedy of the premise. Things get silly and ridiculous, but they're also grounded in something that feels absolutely plausible. My only complaint is that I wish we'd had even more of the songs, and seen them more completely staged and choreographed, but the more I thought about The Premiere after it ended, the more I came to realise that I'd absolutely loved it.

All of the performances are perfect. I'll namecheck Christina Brown, Alan Ceppos, Wendy Federman, Lisa Gallo, Jacqueline Murphy, and Marissa Ruben (most of the other main cast members listed online), and it was a pleasant surprise to see them all working at the same level as Pezzullo, when it comes to displaying that mix of authenticity and on-camera awkwardness you get in many documentaries. Pezzullo may steal the entire film, and his character is the focus for almost every minute of the runtime, but he also doesn't overshadow anyone else, with each supporting character getting at least one or two opportunities to really shine.

A knowledge of Scream is preferred, of course, but those who dislike slasher movies could always read a very brief plot summary as a primer for this. That film is a starting point, but things soon grow and develop as we get to know the various characters, see the tensions rising, and appreciate the many brilliant set-ups, punchlines, and running gags. The end result is one of the best mockumentaries I have seen in years, absolutely fantastic stuff on a par with the comedy gold standard set by Christopher Guest and co.

*note - Sam Pezzullo tried to file an injunction to stop any reviews mentioning the tension and problems arising from his attempt to stage a musical of an IP he had no permission to adapt. His request was denied.

9/10

Thursday, 26 June 2025

Psychonaut (2025)

In case you didn't know it, a psychonaut is someone who explores the human mind. That's how literal and straightforward this movie is, all about a young woman who ends up entering the mind of her dying girlfriend in search of the one essential memory that could save her life. Things do get muddled up, because travelling through a mind and a mass of memories isn't something neat and tidy, but Psychonaut never twists and turns quite as it should.

Julie Batelaan is Maxime, AKA Max, the young woman who ends up desperate enough to try out some experimental treatment that could save the life of her girlfriend, Dylan (Yasmin Blake). The treatment has been created by Samantha (Fiona Dourif), although identites become fluid and blurry as memories start to crash like waves against the shores of the here and now. Meanwhile, a vengeful figure (Lloyd Hamwijk) seems determined to barge into memories where he shouldn't be present.

It's a surprise to find that this isn't the first film from director Thijs Meuwese, but less surprising to find that it's the first feature from co-writer Lawant. Some lovely black and white cinematography, helping the whole thing to feel very noir in between moments when the sci-fi element comes to the fore, and the strength of the acting from the leads isn't enough to make up for the lack of any proper tension or momentum. And the occasional splashes of colour don't help, although it differentiates between the main environments that the characters are moving through. Someone with a bit more creativity, and perhaps a slightly bigger budget, would have been able to use colour much more effectively, maybe even helping key memory touchstones to stand out from the rest of the monochromatic limbo.

Both Batelaan and Blake are very good. The odd thing is that Dourif should be better. She's not bad, but she's nowhere close to being as good as she has been in other projects. This might be as much to do with how she's wasted as it is to do with her actual performance, which feels a bit out of sync with how everyone else is. Hamwijk gets to spend most of his time looming over proceedings, and does well enough, and it's worth mentioning that everyone does well to work with a screenplay that doesn't always serve them well.

Not terrible, but surprisingly boring, considering the premise, and without seeming to say enough throughout the 87-minute runtime (it feels much longer than that), Psychonaut sadly remains a frustrating display of unfulfilled potential throughout. Kudos to Jasper Verkaart for his visuals, and well done to whoever did the casting, but I can't recommend this. The noir style doesn't stick, the science isn't used in an interesting enough way, and, one or two scenes aside, the drama lacks any major impact.

4/10

Wednesday, 25 June 2025

Prime Time: Killer Crocodile (1989)

An aquatic creature feature ripping off (*cough* sorry . . . homaging) the absolute king of the aquatic creature features, Killer Crocodile is a dubious delight from director Fabrizio De Angelis, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Dardano Sacchetti.

A group of people are exploring some waterways. They want to take photographs and check the local environment, which is why they become very interested in an area that has had a lot of toxic waste dumped into the water. There's also the titular killer crocodile, which means people start going missing until the group is whittled down to just a few survivors who will need to find their own "smile you sonofabitch" moment.

While there's not too much to discuss here, this isn't a film layered with extra commentary beyond the most superficial use of environmental damage to get our characters into place, Killer Crocodile is a bit more fun than some other movies that have come through the Italian movie industry, homage sub-division. The crocodile itself often looks too silly, but there are one or two shots that have it not looking too bad. Ideally, everyone involved should have worked harder to keep the thing as a hidden threat, but that's not really the approach that these films take.

Richard Anthony Crenna, Pietro Genuardi, John Harper, Sherrie Rose, and Ann Douglas are all potential ingredients in one lavish meal for the big croc, and they're generally bland and not given enough to do when not being put in peril, Ennio Girolami is a more experienced hunter type, and Van Johnson and Bill Wohrman are crooked locals. None of the cast are great, but they're in line with what you might expect from a film called Killer Crocodile.

Riz Ortolani provides a derivative score, there are people credited for things like special effects and script supervision (despite overwhelming evidence against the presence of either), and the entire feature is one that you'll either already know you want to see or not. I had enough fun with it that I will watch the second film, filmed at the same time as this, but I could happily rattle off a list of much better films in this sub-genre. That includes pretty much every monster movie from William Grefé.

If you're after some undemanding cheese then check this out. If you're after something half-decent then feel free to ask me for a list of recommendations, whether you want your deadly predators in the water, on the land, or even in the air.

5/10

Tuesday, 24 June 2025

28 Years Later (2025)

With Danny Boyle back in the director's chair and Alex Garland back on writing duties, it's safe to say that 28 Years Later was one of the films I was most looking forward to seeing this year. That level of expectation also brings some anxiety though. What if it just ended up being not very good.

28 Year Later is not very good. It's pretty brilliant. And it's nice to see marketing that, for once, ends up helping to mislead people and tie in to the main themes being explored (perception and misplaced faith being the elements that stood out to me).

It is, as you'd guess from the title, 28 years since the rage virus first took hold of people in the UK, as shown in a wild and horrific opening sequence. Europe managed to fight it back, leaving the UK as an isolated infected zone. Small pockets of people have come up with ways to survive, including one group living on Holy Island, which is separated from the mainland by a causeway only usable when the tide isn't high. This is where young Spike (Alfie Williams) lives. He's about to be taken to the mainland by his father figure, Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), and he'll go through the ritual of his first kill. Meanwhile, Spike's mother, Isla (Jodie Comer), is very ill. Maybe Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) can help her. But Dr. Kelson seems preoccupied with gathering corpses and burning them. Everything also depends on Spike surviving his "hunting trip".

Although I haven't seen any Danny Boyle film that I've not enjoyed, 28 Years Later feels like a bit of a statement announcing his return to bold and adult content after the sweetness and light of Yesterday (a film I enjoyed way more than most people). The opening sequence alone is more disturbing than many other horror movie moments, and there are more grisly times ahead. That's all front and centre, however, as Boyle and Garland start to guide viewers on a journey that moves from the visceral horror to more emotional moments. Rage remains all around, sometimes visible and sometimes not, but the vacuum it creates is soon filled with memories and sadness. And memories aren't the same for everyone, depending on how you have viewed certain events.

I could spend hours dissecting a number of key scenes here, but let's just say that it's a testament to the power of the work that this proves to be so moving and thought-provoking, after ensuring that the requisitie scares and tension have been delivered. Not everyone will appreciate the directions that the movie goes in, but it's impossible to deny the confidence and boldness of the vision.

Williams is basically the lead of the film, and he's absolutely fantastic in every moment that he's onscreen. Strong when he needs to be, but vulnerable as he's pushed along a very steep learning curve, he's simply a great choice to be the heart of the film, newcomer or not. Taylor-Johnson is fine, and it's certainly easier to appreciate his casting when his character becomes a bit less likeable (I just can't put my finger on it, but Taylor-Johnson would rarely be my first choice for most of his acting roles). Comer works hard around a wobbly accent that wasn't really necessary for her character, but the rest of her performance is as good as you'd expect, and Fiennes gets to enjoy portraying a character who looms large over events even before people actually get to meet him. Most of the other performers play infected individuals, and play them well, although Edvin Ryding has a good couple of moments as a soldier named Erik and Jack O'Connell turns up in a scene that will ensure viewers either love or loathe how this instalment ends.

You get some fun camera tricks (although I couldn't help thinking that one gimmick feels like the same kind of thing that had Uwe Boll being harshly criticised just over 20 years ago), a great selection of music supplied by Young Fathers, and production design and set decoration that consistently help you to view the UK as a place with a very low population and a very high threat level. While I also enjoyed the second movie in this series, this feels like a return to the high of the first film. I'm intrigued to see where things go next.

9/10

Monday, 23 June 2025

Mubi Monday: Grand Tour (2024)

Although I keep forgetting how much I enjoy his work, I've been a fan of Miguel Gomes since I saw his wonderful and dreamy Tabu. I've not kept up with the entirety of his career, but I have mostly been pleasantly surprised when I stumbled upon another film helmed by him.

Grand Tour feels like a bit of a travelogue, at least throughout the first half of the movie. It then uses the differing experiences of two main characters to show how we can all go on a very different journey through life, even if we're seeming to walk along the very same paths and trails. Gomes may make you wait a while until things look to be heading towards some kind of resolution, but patient viewers are amply rewarded.

Gonçalo Waddington plays Edward, a civil servant who finds himself with an extreme case of cold feet on the day he is due to marry Molly (Crista Alfaiate). He decides to do some travelling instead, but his "holiday" is tinged with fear, paranoia, and a sadness regarding his actions. Molly follows in Edward's wake, and is often amused by his misadventures, but Molly also connects with others in a way that Edward does not.

Having co-written the screenplay with three other collaborators, Gomes does a very good job of exploring some weighty themes with a light touch that helps the 129-minute runtime to pass by breezily enough. The black and white cinematography is gorgeous throughout, and there are occasional splashes of colour interrupting things, and it was a great idea to focus on Edward in the first half of the movie before then allowing us to spend time with the much more pleasant and upbeat Molly.

Waddington and Alfaiate are both very good in the lead roles, the former stuck in the midst of his negative aura while the latter flits here and there like a reflected sunbeam that wavers whenever a cool breeze creates a ripple through the shadows and light. Other people come and go, but very few make a strong impact. They are very much weaving in and out of a story made for two. Lang Khé Tran does very good work though, as does Cláudio da Silva, both becoming an important part of Molly's journey.

Those familiar with the concept of the Grand Tour itself will find even more to enjoy here, the juxtaposition of varying experiences showing us differences created by gender, personality, intent, and whatever historic baggage is carried around. Gomes delivers a treat here that actually pairs very nicely with the aforementioned Tabu, and it's something that is able to work on a number of different levels, from the superficial sight-seeing imagery to the deconstructive commentary on traditions and global history.

9/10