Apostasy (2017). 26&27.2.22. This had a sort of ‘writing by numbers’ feel, a bit like an educational tv film: more informative than colourfully dramatic. But of course this subject matter cannot fail to be interesting, and it’s still a good way to spend a spare 1½ hours. 7/10
Lilies of the field (1963). 28.2.22. Feel-good film with no ‘baddies’ and four identical / cardboard cut-out nuns! It certainly started off promising but alas became a very insipid and twee comedy. 6½/10
Sorry we missed you (2019). 5&6.3.22. Another perfectly-crafted film by the Paul Laverty / Ken Loach team. Always utterly realistic, and yet again the entire cast of amateur actors seem more convincing than professionals! 8½/10
The spy gone north (2018). 10,11&12.3.22. I thought this might be heavy-going and overly difficult to follow but it turned out to be exciting throughout - no dragging - and for the most part just the right side of intelligible on first viewing. Kudos for a good portrayal of Kim Jong-il. 8/10
Queen of Katwe (2016). 15.3.22. I watched half of it; not quite good enough for me to want to continue watching.
If Beale Street could talk (2018). 23.3.22. A film needed to be made on this specific topic, and a very creditable one it is too, although not quite in the same class as the director’s Oscar-winning “Moonlight”. 8/10
Witches of Eastwick (1987). 29.3.22. The first half was distinctly better than the second, which was a riot of childish nonsense. 6½/10
West side story (2021). 6&7.4.22. It could perhaps never be as good as the original, but the move away from stagey to straight drama was creditable. It meant however that the songs felt slightly incongruous to the whole (although, by and large, the arrangements were excellent: a worthy complement for the original). Casting was uninspired however; the only cast member who really stood out for me was the actor playing Riff - and perhaps also Bernardo. Nice touches were the non-binary Anybodys, Rita Moreno’s character singing “somewhere” (presumably about Puerto Ricans as a whole), the prostitute quickly but subtly looking herself in a cage after the police left to avoid the potential for toxic masculinity getting out of hand, and the Jet girls having to choose between ethnic and gender identities during the Anita assault scene, quickly plumping for the latter. 8/10
The favourite (2018). 10 & 12.4.22. There was nothing wrong with this film as such, but I only watched the first half as it didn’t sufficiently maintain my interest.
Burning (2018). 18.4.22. I hoped that this
well-paced, watchable thriller would come to a satisfactory resolution. I didn’t
think it had, but I came to understand what the film was trying to say. There
was some clumsy editing in the scenes where Jong-Su was following Ben. 7½/10
