Get Out ####
The wide acclaim for this film by North American critics and audiences alike came without much warning and surprised many. In fact, in a practically unprecedented move, Get Out held a 100% approval rating on many critic’s websites upon its release. Now, it’s still receiving universal praise, which will continue here. Telling the story of irresistible, interracial couple Chris and Rose (Daniel Kaluuya and Girls co-star Allison Williams), there is a seemingly effortless energy that exudes from these characters. So much so that when Rose takes Chris to a family reunion on a posh estate, things quickly take a turn for the weird and the questionable. First-time director and producer Jordan Peele has had some TV success with his partner Keegan-Michael Key on their show Key & Peele. However, with this film—which has already made a killing at the box office—Peele puts himself en route to becoming a new force within the industry. Kudos to him for completing a legitimately creepy film that lingers on the mind after you leave the theatre…all with comic timing to boot!
Alien: Covenant ###
It’s good, sometimes gripping, BUT…do we really need an origin story? After all, the Alien franchise started at the very end of the Seventies and has raged and ranged ever since, even including The Predator at times. Director Ridley Scott is back at the helm this time around, which in theory should raise the level of interest. The focus of Alien: Covenant however turns out to be less on the title character and more on an android called David, who appeared in Prometheus (2012)—the director’s last foray to resurrect the franchise. Played again by Michael Fassbender, I felt the performance was a bit tired, especially when his first question to his creator (Guy Pearce) is, “If you created me, who created you?” WHATEVS! Co-written by screenwriter John Logan, what we get is a sterilised version of other films in the series (and genre!). I often found the dialogue disjointed, and that made the film plot rather heady to wade through. I liked Katherine Waterston as the main force to be reckoned with, in her silent campaign for humankind, and the supporting cast does their work well, but I kind of feel like this genre needs to be hung out to dry.
Miss Sloane ###-1/2
Everyone’s favourite new ‘real actress’ Jessica Chastain returns to the big screen in Miss Sloane, where she takes on the role of a driven D.C. lobbyist with a hard-earned reputation. When she focuses on passing a firearm regulation bill that appeals to women’s safety, the gun lobby throws everything at her, most telling coming in the form of a congressional hearing. That hearing, which is shown in flashbacks and such throughout the film, creates the sometimes taut, often interesting drama-thriller (even if a bit slowly). We have a morality tale here, where issues arise and people’s ethics are shown and tested. Screenwriter Jonathan Perera’s vision for the film takes us into previously charted territory in reference to dramas with the same foundation, but what we also see more and more of is that Jessica Chastain has, after a decade, become a movie star whose choices have made her one of the most interesting character actresses today. I shan’t reveal the ending, though it’s not the happiest, but we do get the luxury of seeing authentic performances throughout the film, and Miss Sloane leaves us wanting more questions answered.
Shepherds and Butchers ####
I have not seen a movie with this theme…perhaps ever. Coming to us from director Oliver Schmitz, it tells the story of a young white prison guard, played to sad and eerie perfection by Garion Dowds, who literally loses his mind during a late-night road rage incident, and brutally guns down seven black men on the road. Keep in mind, the film takes place at the height of South African apartheid drama, and when a British barrister (Steve Coogan in a wonderful change of pace) arrives to take the case, he goes on to demonstrate how the unkempt nature of prison guards’ daily activities, such as them being forced to assist in hundreds of ‘legal’ deaths of inmates starting at the ripe old age of 17, was the ultimate culprit. The film is a relentless and rather concise look at the senseless nature of Death Row and gives a striking look at the many aspects that shaped South African law at the end of the Eighties/early Nineties, as well as a horrifying glimpse into the minds of prison guards which we have not seen much before. Heavy!
