Week In, Week Out
Weekly collections of five mini-reviews capturing a wide range of films—old and new, obscure and iconic. A personal film journal in snapshots, offering quick, insightful takes on whatever’s been on the screen lately.
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Movies of the Week #41-42 (2022)
The Beta Test (2022): There’s nothing quite like watching a Jim Cummings movie. What might otherwise have played out in ways that are expected, takes all kinds of twists and turns thanks to the central character played by Cummings – in this case, a distasteful Hollywood agent. There’s an art to making movies with unlikable… Read more
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Movies of the Week #40 (2022)
Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022): I’ll admit I’m torn about BBB. There were some things I didn’t like about it as the movie progressed, but an ingenious ending made me reassess my musings. First off, this is a cool, smooth flick, with a bunch of really unlikable characters. It plays off of one of those teenage… Read more
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Movies of the Week #38-39 (2022)
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022): I wasn’t that surprised to find out that the previous movie of directors’ Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert was Swiss Army Man – it shares the same DNA of otherworldly-ness. But EEAaO is much more, setting itself apart with a creative riff on the Matrix, ripe with memorable characters,… Read more
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Movies of the Week #36-37 (2022)
The Argument (2020): There’s usually something that gets me about quaint, little movie experiments. The Argument is one of them, an atypical take on a minor lover’s quarrel, that leads to (ridiculous) reenactments with the hope of apportioning blame. With an inspired cast (your favourite actors from various TV shows), the movie just about works,… Read more
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Movies of the Week #35 (2022)
Competencia Oficial (2021): Movies about movies are generally exciting to me and Official Competition is one of the more memorable ones. An octogenarian pharma-multi-millionaire looks to cement his legacy by producing a top-tier movie, which ends up pitting two legendary, but radically different actors – the mainstream, popular star (Antonio Banderas) and the arthouse star… Read more
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Movies of the Week #33-34 (2022)
Herr Lehmann (2003): I’d have probably loved HL if I’d seen it on release – a movie set just before the fall of the Berlin wall, led by a young bloke with no aspirations, but a love thorn to spur him on. With a set of interesting characters, including a small part for pre-fame Christoph… Read more
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Movies of the Week #32 (2022)
Jerrod Carmicheal: Rothaniel (2022): Bo Burnham directs Jerrod Carmicheal’s latest “stand-up”, which in fact proves to be an honest, insightful meditation of the self. The show feels instantly intimate thanks to Burnham’s clever touches, but it is Carmicheal’s charming, wavering, truthful performance that allows Rothaniel to stand out in the busy, busy field of one-man-spectacles.… Read more
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Movies of the Week #30-31 (2022)
Life of Brian (1979): Monty Python’s Life of Brian remains to this day one of the most memorable movies of its decade. Relying on the wit and charisma of its classic troupe of performers, the story is an inspired spoof about religion and politics that has stayed (mostly) fresh through the years. So in spite… Read more
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Movies of the Week #28-29 (2022)
Heikos Welt (2021): You’d think this movie about German pub culture is set for a beaten path, but an enigmatic romantic interest, a daring heist and some German schalgers ensure your expectations will be surpassed. Director-writer Dominik Galizia has a steady hand and put together a well-tuned story about a likable lead, portrayed with flair… Read more
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Movies of the Week #26-27 (2022)
The Producers (1967): If Spaceballs was a later-day Brooks movie, The Producers is the first film he directed and, arguably, his most enduring – and one of my favourite comedies! Led by the exceptional duo of Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, it features little old ladies, pigeons and stormtroopers, in a brazen attempt of producing… Read more
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Movies of the Week #25 (2022)
In the Loop (2009): Armando Iannucci achieved the perfect three-seasons-and-a-movie run with Malcolm Tucker & co. In the Loop takes the fundamentals that The Thick of It defined, twists some characters around and makes for, arguably, the most compelling political satire of this decade – nay, century! The writing is brilliantly sharp and made to… Read more
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Movies of the Week #21-24 (2022)
Top Gun: Maverick (2022): For all the rave reviews it’s getting, TG2 starts out as a fairly unimaginative follow-up to the original – it works perfectly fine, but does not stray far away from formula. And then they start flying some planes and all that’s generic is forgotten and you’re left with a phenomenally choreographed… Read more
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