Inside Man
Spike Lee as a work-for-hire director is still a cut above most movie-makers. His New York heist-with-a-twist adds much meat to the bones of the somewhat convoluted script by Russell Gewirtz (also responsible for penning Righteous Kill, and keeps the audience on its toes with feints and dummies and time-hopping structure. As with The Usual Suspects, Getting’ Square and other such treats, the whole twist is revealed in the very first scene, but like any riddle the enjoyment is in the full reveal. Nice turns by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Willem Dafoe and Christopher Plummer, and even Clive Owen’s woeful American accent isn’t too annoying.
24 Hour Party People
Steve Coogan becomes Tony Wilson for Michael Winterbottom’s metabiopic more about a a certain place at a certain time – Manchester from the mid-70s to mid-90s – than just one person. We get the history of Factory, the Haçienda, Joy Division/New Order, Happy Mondays and hints of Gunchester all crammed in too. Not too shabby, with nice touches like Howard Devoto appearing onscreen to deny a Wilson claim about something the actor representing him has just done ever happened.
The King
David Michôd and Joel Edgerton put together a polished revisionist take on Shakespeare’s version of the Henrys; with a grubby, brutal Agincourt, and Timothée Chalamet as Hal impresses with his youthfully arrogant blend of petulance and a desire to step up to his duty.
The Addams Family (2019)
Pointless animated remake of the 90s live action movie reboot of the 60s kitsch comedy horror, wasting the vocal talents of Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Finn Wolfhard and Allison Janney. Co-helmed by the director behind such unforgettable second string CGI classics as Shrek 2, Madagascar 3, Monsters Vs Aliens etc…
A Week In Film 