Films round-up

A (mostly) very good selection this time around:

Knives Out - Old mansion: check. Mysterious death: check. Lots of deliciously unpleasant characters, all of whom have a motive but none of whom seem to have had the means: check. Yes, it's a murder mystery in the best Agatha Christie tradition. It's also a brilliantly black comedy. I don't want to say too much, as it unfolds in unexpected ways and it's best to watch it unspoiled. At first it feels like too much is being revealed too soon, but the plot keeps on twisting and turning and keeps you guessing almost to the end. So much fun, and the stellar cast (including Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Christopher Plummer, Toni Collette and a weirdly-accented Daniel Craig) are clearly having a blast. Recommended.

Jojo Rabbit - Taika Waititi's films aren't for everyone. I've seen reviews ranging from 1 star to 5 stars for Jojo Rabbit, an anti-Nazi satire in which Waititi writes, directs and stars (as the title character's imaginary friend, one Adolf Hitler). Personally, I thought it was brilliant. Yes, it's unsubtle and silly, but that's deliberate. It's a child's-eye view of the war. Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) desperately wants to be a good little Nazi, until events start to help him see through the propoganda and think for himself. As one character tells him, "You're not a Nazi; you're a 10-year-old kid who likes dressing up in a funny uniform and wants to be part of a club." There's a serious message and character drama underlying the humour, and no shying away from the life-or-death reality of the time. This is Waititi's genius. Somehow he manages to make the Nazis both comically ridiculous and terrifyingly dangerous, often in the same scene. Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell and Thomasin McKenzie also turn in memorable performances.

1917 - Two WW1 soldiers - Lance Corporals Schofield (George MacKay) and Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) - must deliver an urgent message across several miles of enemy territory. In real time. I'm a sucker for long, tracking shots, and the whole film is designed to appear as just two continuous shots. It's a bit of a gimmick and you can often see the joins, but it works. It brings a sense of immediacy and documentary-style filmmaking that wouldn't be there with the usual cutting between cameras. You feel really close to the action like almost no other film, and there's a constant sense of danger. The story may be largely fictitious, Sam Mendes has given us a haunting exploration of what life must have been like on the front line. Lives up to the hype.

The Personal History of David Copperfield - Armando Iannucci gives us his take on the Dickens novel, and it's actually much closer to the source material than you might believe. Dev Patel is as likeable as always in the title role, and Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie and Paul Whitehouse are among the star names fleshing out an impressive cast. Much has been said about the "race blind" casting, and it's generally (a) a good thing and (b) works fine. My only gripe about it is that, when casting blood relatives, you ought to cast actors who look at least vaguely similar to one another. That wasn't half as incongruous as Peter Capaldi's cockney accent though. At times the film isn't sure whether it wants to be a drama or a comedy, so it's a bit uneven, but a more-or-less successful adaptation.

Parasite - Two families, not alike in dignity. The wealthy Park family live in a luxurious modernist mansion; the Kim family live in a run-down basement and struggle to make ends meet. Then one of them gets a job with the Parks, and step-by-step the Kims start to wheedle their way into the Park family's lives. You can't help but root for the underdog anti-heroes here, even as they build lies upon lies and show a callous disregard for the lives of others. Things don't all go their way however, and events take some unexpected (and occasionally violent) turns. As Best Picture winner at this year's Oscars, Bong Joon-ho's film is inevitably over-hyped, but it is nevertheless very, very good. It's said to defy description, but it's essentially part black comedy, part thriller, and does both of those things very well indeed.

Sonic the Hedgehog - Surprisingly, this isn't that bad, though your milage may vary depending on your appreciation for Jim Carrey. His Dr Robotnik is pretty full-on Jim Carrey here. That worked for me, and he has the most wonderful toys. The (strangely furry) blue one, voiced by Ben Schwartz, has been re-CGI'd since the original trailer to make him cuter rather than creepy - a big improvement. This Sonic is a lonely teenager, stranded far from his homeworld. His buddy team-up with local cop, Tom (James Marsden) has just enough screen chemistry to work, though the constant emotional blackmailing bugged me a little. The action sequences are a fun ride, the gags are broad, there are plenty of videogame in-jokes, and it all works about as well as you could realistically hope for. I was amused that both the goblin child and I were counting how many hits the final boss machine took ;o)

Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) - I don't usually watch DC Universe movies, but this one looked fun. And it is fun, gleefully violent and anarchic fun. Harley (Margot Robbie) has broken up with "Mr J". This means she no longer has his protection, and everyone with a grudge against her is out for payback. Chief amongst them is gangster, Black Mask (Ewan McGregor). Cue a rambling, madcap plot involving an assassin (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a singer (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), a cop (Renee Montoya), a runaway kid (Ella Jay Basco) and a missing diamond. All of which is just an excuse for lots of witty banter and technicolour set-pieces. The script is very funny, the action is inventive and well-shot/choreographed, and the whole film is just a blast. A certain Ruby Jay of my acquaintance would love it (perhaps a bit too much!).

Onward - I knew about the weird concept - psuedo-fantasy world, two elf brothers (voiced by Spider-man Tom Holland and Star-Lord Chris Pratt) cast a spell to reanimate their dead dad for 24 hours, but only succeed in bringing him back from the waist down). I wasn't expecting Pixar's take on D&D. But that's what this turns into as the film goes on. Early on, it's a bit of a mess, a strange mix of high school comedy meets Zootropolis meets high fantasy. But once it settles down into the two brothers on a quest, we're into familiar Pixar buddy comedy/road trip territory. The gags mostly hit the mark and the messy set-up settles down as the film goes on. You can see the groundwork being laid for the superb last act, yet it still manages to be surprising and (as is compulsory for Pixar these days) a tear-jerker. Overall, it's not a classic perhaps, but still well worth a watch. Oh, and as a sign that Disney now own everything, Simpsons shorts before Pixar movies are now a thing. I'd rather have had a Pixar short. PSA - There's no credit cookie at the end (apart from the lamp).