298. The Intent; movie review

THE INTENT
Cert 15
101 mins
BBFC advice: Contains very strong language, strong violence, sex, drug misuse, torture

Bliss. It has been many months since everyfilm.co.uk was up-to-date to such an extent that I could write reviews ahead of movie releases but here we are.
So, Femi Oyeniran and Kalvadour Peterson's The Intent is not out until Friday but, thanks to an internet link sent to me by its PR company, I can give you an early verdict.
The film is a representation of what happens when power intoxicates in the world of London's gangs and the conflict of an uncover police office in trying to expose those who have, on the face of it, become his friends,
Dylan Duffus plays the aforementioned detective who becomes embroiled in a series of increasingly violent raids by a gang called the TIC, led by a loose cannon known Hoodz, portrayed by Tayo Jarrett, better known a 'grime' artist Scorcher.
Duffus and Scorcher provide the most potent aspect of The Intent, convincing in both language (it took me a good ten minutes to acclimatise to their street lingo) and expression.
I could sense a truth about the way in which tension ratchets up between rival gangs and how innocent bystanders become collateral damage.
It is also interesting to see how death affects the participants differently. The head of Hoodz is turned so much towards the prize (money, fast cars and women) that he has no conscience and cannot understand those that have one.
However, both Mrs W and I felt that its representation of the police was wooden and off the mark.
The point which particularly jarred to me was the way in which arrests were carried out, gung-ho and in public when most often operations are at dawn when the suspects are in bed and at their most vulnerable.
There are also scenes in interview and briefing rooms which feel strangely forced when compared to the much more natural acting in other arenas.
The Intent's makers should take credit for the fact that it does shock and it is thought-provoking and has a final twist which is particularly effectively handled.

Reasons to watch: the realistic representation of gang culture
Reasons to avoid: its off-the-mark portrayal of the police

Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: off-screen
Nudity: very briefly
Overall rating: 6/10

Star tweet

DJ IRONIK ‏@DJIronik  5h5 hours ago

Enjoyed the @theintentmovie film premiere last night. Wicked movie! Good to see @femioyeniran too bro, congrats!

297. Dirty Dancing; movie review

DIRTY DANCING
Cert 12A
96 mins
BBFC advice: Contains moderate sex references

This summer's Secret Cinema event gave mums a chance to catch up on one of their favourite films and possibly introduce new generations to it.
One pronounced on Twitter that she had watched Emile Ardolino's Dirty Dancing scores of times but it still made her cry.
Forgive me for not being carried away on the same tide of emotion.
I thought it was important that I didn't just present the view of a beer-swilling footy fan so I took in Dirty Dancing with Mrs W.
The old gal won't mind me stating that she isn't much of a romantic (who would be with a husband like me?) and I have to report that it failed to hit her tender spot.
Dirty Dancing was a phenomenon when it was released in 1987 and has continued to accrue fans over the following 29 years,
Surprisingly, it was brand new to us and we were agreed that, of the genre, Hairspray trounces it.
It's not that it is bad - the dance scenes are the epitome of lithe and Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze are screen eye candy.
My difficulty was that the movie's plot is thin - young girl (Grey) goes to summer retreat, falls for bad boy dancer (Swayze) who really has a heart of gold all along.
Once we have thrown in a well-meaning but misunderstanding dad (Jerry Orbach), a carelessly pregnant young woman (Cynthia Rhodes) and a belligerent big sister (Jane Brucker),  pretty much all of the parts are in place.
It throws up a clutch of moral dilemmas but they are far too easily resolved and I could not grasp why a movie set in 1963 should have a soundtrack which, albeit catchy, is so firmly set in the 1980s.
But it is light viewing and by its end we were singing along to Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes just as I imagine those who attended Secret Cinema did.

Reasons to watch: one of the most famous films of the 1980s
Reasons to avoid: struggles to pass the test of time

Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 6.5/10

Star tweet

Lindsey KelkVerified account ‏@LindseyKelk  Jul 18

Is it weird that my entire adult wardrobe is inspired by Baby Houseman and until today, I never realized? #DirtyDancing

296. The Sacrifice (Offret); movie review

THE SACRIFICE (OFFRET)
Cert 15
149 mins
BBFC advice: Contains brief female sexualised nudity

I am conflicted about whether to curse Artificial Eye for releasing an Andrei Tarkovsky retrospective or be happy that I am plugging a hole in my film knowledge.
Even his fans will appreciate that Tarkovsky is heavy going although I warmed to him after I watched Ivan's Childhood last week.
I would pitch The Sacrifice at the same level.  Arty to the point of surrealism at times but with an overall point which does provoke deep thought.
The problem for me is that viewing Tarkovsky is a little too much akin to being in a literature appreciation class at school or philosophy seminars while studying for my degree.
I remember how we used to have to try to raise the veil on French poets or work out what was going through an author's mind when they wrote a classic novel or understand the complex theories of the likes of Nietschke and Hegel.
It is, in my view, an impossible task because we can never really know what they were thinking at the time.
Even the opening conversation in The Sacrifice prompts the question: "what on earth are they talking about?"
The film is set on the birthday of its lead character, Alexander (Erland Josephson) who has a nasty habit of drifting into windy monologues about the meaning of life (he nearly loses his grandson during one).
Actually, the grandson (Tommy Kjellqvist), only named Little Man and mute until the film's final scenes, is central to the main plot of the film - which is the imminent threat of nuclear holocaust.
The latter is revealed when Alexander's family and best friend (Allan Edwall) are gathered to celebrate his birthday. Their extreme reactions following the announcement of doom are fascinating.
Of course, this prompts deeper thought about what anyone would do in similar circumstances. In the hands of Tarkovsky it is is strange yet effective.
One scene, in which his wife (Susan Fleetwood) seems to lose her mind in the face of death, is particularly memorable.
But, like all Tarkovsky films, it goes on and on and ends with a finale so baffling that I don't even think my philosophy lecturer could work it out,

Reasons to watch: deep and poetic 
Reasons to avoid: meanders far too much for me

Laughs: none
Jumps: one
Vomit: none
Nudity: yes
Overall rating: 6/10

Star tweet

Mark Oosterveen ‏@MarkOosterveen  Jul 15

Friday night treat - more Tarkovsky. Finally going to get round to watching The Sacrifice, his final masterpiece apparently.

295. Bo66y; movie review

BO66Y
Cert PG
95 mins
BBFC advice: Contains mild bad language

I am sitting in a hotel room in Germany writing about the moment, 50 years ago, that, for once, England held sway over the old enemy on the football pitch.
I have the very vaguest recollections that, when I was three years old, my parents and relatives watched the World Cup final while on holiday in Porthcawl.
But that's it - my first concrete memory of England playing football was the excitement of collecting Esso coins and a sticker album ahead of the 1970 tournament.
I still look back on that World Cup as the very best - even though England succumbed to what would be a familiar tale of disappointment against... guess who?
I digress. Matt Lorenzo, once a regular TV football presenter, co-produced this biopic of the 1966 World Cup captain, Bobby Moore, to coincide with this year's anniversary and I caught up with it on itunes.
In today's world of overblown celebrity it is hard to believe how the only player ever to have lifted the World Cup for England was allowed to drift from public consciousness.
But the fact that Lorenzo had to finance his film through crowd-funding is disappointingly apt.
Moore's story is told through current interviews with both his wives and his daughter, close friends and former team-mates. Unnecessarily, there are contributions from Wayne Rooney and Roy Hodgson - neither of whom would have been fit to lace Moore's proverbial boots.
Bo66y tells how Moore's career with West Ham unfolded before he was picked for England and, ultimately, became its captain.
It includes footage and memories of 1966 but is not just about that World Cup campaign.
And it reveals how Moore, who died in 1993, first fought cancer just over a year BEFORE winning the World Cup and how his team-mates didn't know.
All contributors agreed that he was a wonderful leader of men but the Football Association later snubbed him despite the failure of successive England managers and did not even use him as an ambassador.
There are some very personal contributions in which his battle with depression and, finally, terminal cancer are described.
Director Ron Scalpello tells a powerful story with a light touch but does use a persuasive hammer in making the point that Moore was the first celebrity footballer and one of the few who have actually deserved the tag.
Today's crop of England failures should watch this film. They would learn a lot.

Reasons to watch: the largely untold story of England's greatest football hero
Reasons to avoid: if you are not a football fan

Laughs: a couple of chuckles
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 8/10

Star tweet

Henry WinterVerified account ‏@henrywinter  2 Sep 2015

Crowd-funding starts Thursday for BO66Y THE MOVIE - The Bobby Moore documentary by Matthew Lorenzo http://kck.st/1N0ATWC  #whufc #eng

294. Bang Gang; movie review

BANG GANG
Cert 18
96 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong sex, nudity, sex references, drug use

I have heard a lot of talk about misspent youth and sexual teenage adventures and it makes me wonder why I spent my time playing Subbuteo in my mate's garage (no offence, Paul).
It seems that while we flicked to kick, others were getting their kits off and having a whale of a time.
Well, maybe not in 1979.
Worryingly, Eva Husson's Bang Gang is depicted as a 'modern love story' and, if that is the case, my children must have had the sort of social life of which no dad needs to know.
Or perhaps they should. One of the over-riding themes of the movie is how the young are being outrageous to kick against their parents.
The latter are portrayed as unfeeling or just plain ignorant as their offspring go on the inevitable voyage of exploration.
Bang Gang suggests that today's rite of passage is dominated by sort of free-love which was seen as glamorous in the late 1960s but dangerous in 2016.
It centres on two 16-year-olds (Marilyn Lima and Daisy Broom) who allow themselves to be used by the ego trip of two boys (Finnegan Oldfield and Fred Hotier).
Lima's character is spurned by Oldfield's after having sex with him so spontaneously creates a truth or dare game to which she gives the moniker Bang Gang.
As the summer progresses so these Bang Gangs become a more popular school extra-curricular activity than any sport could hope to be.
Meanwhile, regrets begin to abound and the real meaning of growing-up comes to the fore.
The elephant in the room is that there is a lot of sex and nudity in Bang Gang and I did wonder about the question of exploitation of young people and the sort of person who may be watching Husson's debut feature,
I have seen much praise for it across social media, particularly from feminists but it must have dawned on them that this could be seen as fodder for the dirty mac brigade.
Nevertheless, it is original and thought-provoking and does lead me to look forward to Husson's next film (in a good way).

Reasons to watch: a story of today with lots of beautiful people
Reasons to avoid: the age of the participants might churn the stomach

Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: yes
Overall rating: 6/10

Star tweet

evahusson ‏@evahusson  Jun 13

#BANGGANG is importantly abt the role that misspent youth has in shaping us all #ukrelease

293. The Legend Of Tarzan; movie review

THE LEGEND OF TARZAN
Cert 12A
110 mins
BBFC advice: Contains moderate action violence, threat, injury detail

I have to say that we painted the town a little redder than we intended in Hamburg and so we were a bit jaded when we arrived in Odense in Denmark - the latest leg on our mini European tour.
Therefore, we plumped for a nice meal and a walk to the Biocity complex for David Yates' The Legend Of Tarzan.
We wondered, as the cashier discussed our seating requirements in perfect English, just how many of his counterparts in the UK could have responded in Danish.
And then we took our places in front of rows of teenagers and feared the worst.
In England, there is no doubt that the demographic of this screening would have meant chatting, giggling and loud popcorn guzzling.
Not so, at Biocity. The audience were quiet as mice until Samuel L. Jackson cracked one of his many funnies and then they burst out laughing.
In other words, they respected the film and the rest of the audience and helped our enjoyment of another movie of which I had been apprehensive.
But I am pleased to report that, as with Ghostbusters a few days before, Mrs W and I were very pleasantly surprised by the retelling of an old story.
If I remember the 1984 movie Greystoke: The Legend Of Tarzan correctly, this picture takes up where it left off, with Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgård) now acclimatised to life in London society.
However, he is lured back to the jungle by a missive from King Leopold of Belgium who wants to show off his developments in the Congo.
Actually, this is a ruse by the king's representative (Christoph Waltz) who has promised a tribal chief to bring him his sworn foe (Tarzan) in return for access to a rich seam of diamonds.
Against his better judgment, Tarzan returns with a comic American sidekick (Jackson) and his beautiful and feisty wife, Jane (Margot Robbie).
And within a minute, Skarsgård's shirt is off, revealing admirable muscle tone and Tarzan is swinging through the trees and talking to the animals like Doctor Doolittle.
It takes a little while before the familiar "Taaaaa.aaah...ahh" shout but once we hear it we know that good guys will prevail.
I heard an interview with the erudite Waltz a couple of weeks back and he justified yet another retelling of Tarzan by saying the story had been updated and he is right.
Johnny Weismuller, Ron Ely and even Christopher Lambert would not pass the test of 2016 but both Mrs W and I agreed that this version worked... for now.

Reasons to watch: its action - and SLJ's comic foil
Reasons to avoid: might be too cheesy for some

Laughs: three
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 8.5/10

Star tweet

Harry Knowles ‏@headgeek666  Jul 1

Well this life long Tarzan fan loved LEGEND OF TARZAN! Script by @MyBrewTube did not disappoint

292. The Hexecutioners; movie review

THE HEXECUTIONERS
Cert 15
93 mins
BBFC advice: Strong language, bloody violence horror

I have to accept that watching a movie, downloaded from itunes, in the passenger seat of a car trekking around Europe, is not a cinematic experience.
But I would not be able to review as many films as I do if I did not use my time in this way.
Thus, it struck me that I may not have gleaned the best shock effects from Jesse Thomas Cook's horror movie The Hexecutioners.
If I had seen it on the big screen I reckon I would have jumped at least twice more than I did but its cinema release was so limited I didn't have the opportunity.
Cook's film surrounds the premise that euthanasia has been legalised in the United States and unscrupulous companies could be given licences to carry out the 'closures'.
Malison McCourt (Liv Collins) has signed up for such a firm and soon discovers that all of the official training she has received goes out of the window when it comes to helping finish off her clients.
Actually, there is a bit of a grey area over who the clients are - is it those who are about to fall off the mortal coil or their families?
I digress, Her first experience of applying a lethal injection is not a good one so she is teamed up with a more experienced closure 'expert' in the shape of Olivia Bletcher (Sarah Power), a power-dressed, conscience-less killer.
But even Olivia is shaken by the expectations of the next bumping off which takes place in a scary mansion and involves rituals for which her firm has been paid $1 million.
To be fair, The Hexecutioners has an interesting, if convoluted, premise. But its problem is that its budget is not as big as its ambition.
Therefore, neither actress convinces in the lead roles and it tries to prompt its audience to jump with basic sound effects. Its finale is also in need of finesse.
But I reckon horror fans will approve and, as said, I think my own perspective needed to be better for it to have full effect.

Reasons to watch: it will make audiences jump
Reasons to avoid: obviously low budget

Laughs: none
Jumps: twice
Vomit: none
Nudity: yes
Overall rating: 6/10

Star tweet

John Jennings ‏@MangaArtGalway  Jul 10

#TheHexecutioners that is how you make a scary movie Excellent :)

291. Them Who? (Loro Chi); movie review

LORO CHI
Cert 15
94 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong language, strong sex

A few months ago, Fabio Bonifacci's Italian crime caper somehow made it on to the Cineworld roster.
I say 'somehow' because it had no marketing, is not an award-winner and the UK doesn't have a big enough Italian population to make its distribution worthwhile,
It has a small entry on internet movie database with only one critical review and two from users.
Regardless, it was on Cineworld's schedule and in its week-long run made less than £500 - nationwide!
And, therefore, because I try to watch every film released in the UK, it is the movie I took in between Hamburg and Odense - the latest leg of our European trek.
It stars Edoardo Leo as a marketing executive called Davide who loses everything after being victim of a con which means he misses a vital presentation.
The film begins with Davide threatening to shoot a book publisher if he does not read a manuscript which tells his dramatic life story.
Instead, he reads it to him, chronicling events which led him to initial desperation and then to high-adrenaline fun.
This begins with the conman (Marco Galliani) asking Davide to help him get over his shyness with two very attractive neighbours (Catrinel Marlon and Lisa Bor).
After the trio rip Davide off he goes in search of their leader, vowing to kill him but instead becomes fascinated by the calm brass neck of their scams.
Them Who? tries to have a touch of Ocean's Eleven about it with a sprinkling of Carry On. It is reasonably clever and there are a lot of beautiful people.
But where it fundamentally fails is that it did not make me laugh, It jokes were a little obvious and, after the opening con, its twists were predictable.
I am still trying to work out how it make the Cineworld schedule. I downloaded it from itunes,

Reasons to watch: amiable crime caper
Reasons to avoid: not as funny as its makers might have hoped

Laughs: a couple of sniggers
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 5/10

Star tweet

Filomena Calabrese ‏@mscalabreezy  Jun 12

"Them Who?" (by Miccichè & Bonifacci) is a clever comedy about the creativity and smarts behind con arting. June 16 @ Vaughan. #icff2016

290. Ivan's Childhood (Ivanovo detstvo); movie review

IVAN'S CHILDHOOD (IVANOVO DETSTVO)
Cert 12A
93 mins
BBFC advice: Contains disturbing images of dead bodies

The summer tour of Europe continues apace but I am keeping the everyfilm chase ticking along, thanks to a combo of itunes downloads and movies which have been sent to me.
The latest download gave me cause for trepidation because it was a re-release of a movie directed by Andrei Tarkovsky.
Those with a particularly keen eye on everyfilm.co.uk will know that Tarkovsky's Mirror is the only film I have abandoned in the past six years.
So, I anticipated that I might be served up some more impenetrable Russian surrealism in his 1962 movie Ivan's Childhood.
Thankfully, I was not. Tarkovsky still uses much allegory and imagery but the story is both easy to understand and gripping.
Ivan's Childhood is a monochrome tale of a 12-year-old boy (Nikolay Burlyaev) who has found himself on the frontline of the Soviet battle against the Nazi invaders during the Second World War.
The young orphan is startlingly street-wise and has risen to be an important part of his battalion's war effort using his size and stealth to great effect.
But while what he says and does may make him appear as a man, his blonde hair and tiny frame betray the fact that he really should be at school, playing with his friends.
Indeed, he does slip into occasional reveries about playing innocent games with a little girl and his need for childish comfort is seen in the developing relationship he has with his fellow soldiers.
Tarkovsky adds to the melodrama with his use of close-ups and shadows and a hard-hitting finale. Overall he gave me a fresh perspective on a director who is a favourite among many critical observers of cinema.

Reasons to watch: unique and compelling
Reasons to avoid: Tarkovsky's style is not for everyone

Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: very briefly
Overall rating: 7.5/10

Star tweet

rain chudori ‏@rainchu  Jul 15

i think what tarkovsky wants us to know through IVAN'S CHILDHOOD is how, above all else, there is still time for love even at war

289. Criminal; movie review

CRIMINAL
Cert 15
111 mins
BBFC advice: Contains very strong language, strong violence

I have just read a tweet which simply remarks: "I don't know where Kevin Costner has been but it is good to have him back."
Of course, there was a time, back in the late 1980s and early 1990s when we could not get away from him.
Successes with The Untouchables, Field Of Dreams, Dances With Wolves and JFK led to studios throwing giant budgets at him but their fingers were badly burned with Waterworld and The Postman and yesterday's hero became today's has-been.
Nowadays, Costner appears to be trying to nail down that big part which restores him to the top of the A-list and I suspect with Criminal he thought he had found it.
Ariel Vroman's film certainly boasts a top-of-the-range cast - with Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot supporting Costner's meaty lead.
But it has been a box office flop. its $31million outlay only returning $14million in the USA.
Of course, by the time worldwide sales and on demand income is accrued, it won't lose money, but these are not the figures which resurrect careers.
I couldn't help thinking this was a pity because Criminal has an incisive edge and Costner gives his best performance in years,
He plays Jericho Stewart, a prison inmate who literally has something missing in his brain, prompting him to lack any emotion, particularly when he attacks people.
However, he makes the perfect candidate for a secret CIA job because his brain is so vacant it can accommodate the memories of a recently deceased agent (Reynolds).
'Hold on', I hear you say.. 'isn't that the same Ryan Reynolds who has been involved in similar transplants in Deadpool and Self/less.
Indeed. It would appear that Mr Reynolds fears being typecast as an actor who just provides transplant bits so he doesn't even get a credit in Criminal!
I digress. The CIA want to know where their operative has hidden a stash of cash and what he knows about a code-breaker (Michael Pitt) who could be on the cusp of selling vital information to a Spanish anarchist (Jordi Mollà).
So, a top surgeon (Jones) is persuaded to transfer the memories to the unhinged Jericho with pretty obvious results.
Costner is convincing as a ruthless crazy who gradually becomes more lovable as the movie goes on while simultaneously trying to escape those who are trying to get inside his head.
As suggested, I was gripped by Criminal but I fear that Costner's star has dimmed so much that he has become box office poison.

Reasons to watch: unusual thriller with all-star cast
Reasons to avoid: doesn't quite have the edge it should

Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit; none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 7.5/10

Star tweet

Ariel Vromen ‏@vromen  Apr 14

#TBT to shooting #criminalmovie! Had such a great time on set w/ my amazing leads See it in theaters tomorrow!

 Kevin Costner & MW, Gal Gadot and Criminal

288. Demolition; movie review

DEMOLITION
Cert 15
99 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong language, sex references, injury detail

Outside of mainstream movies, there is a regular push-me, pull-you over what is art and what is entertainment,
There are many scenes in Jean-Marc Vallée's Demolition where the audience might, with some justification, feel that the director has 'gone off on one."
For example, there is a showcase of Jake Gyllenhaal's admirable dancing skills which just comes out of the blue and yet it is strangely engrossing.
'Strange' would be an apt one-word description for Demolition. 'Bereavement seen through art' might be a more nerdy summary.
Gyllenhaal plays Davis a successful money man whose wife (Heather Lind) is killed in a car crash in the movie's opening scene.
From then on, Davis becomes emotionally detached and, as a consequence, finds himself hugely at odds with his father-in-law (Chris Cooper) who is also his boss.
He finds weird solace in complaining to a vending company about a machine which did not release a packet of peanut M & M's (I found comfort that I have not been the only one infuriated by the way in which they often become stuck).
Anyway, he becomes embroiled in a relationship with the company's customer care manager (Naomi Watts) and even acts as a father figure to her troubled son (Judah Lewis).
I suspect my synopsis makes Demolition appear far more straightforward than it is.
Its intent seems to be to drift around the mind of a widower who did not love his wife. His reactions are not the norm because he cannot cry and he finds himself reaching out in unexpected directions.
Gyllenhall excels in the lead role and Lewis is a surprising and powerful foil, backed up by the ever reliable Cooper and Watts.
It is not a movie for everyone and has myriad flaws but I found myself unexpectedly drawn to it.


Reasons to watch: stand-out performance by Jake Gyllenhaal
Reasons to avoid: very surreal for much of the time

Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 7/10

Star tweet

JESSE ROSEVerified account ‏@mrjesserose  Jul 11

The movie Demolition got bad reviews but I thought it was outstanding. So on point.

287. Ghostbusters; movie review

GHOSTBUSTERS
Cert 12A
116 mins
BBFC advice: Contains moderate threat, infrequent crude references

A tour of Europe would not be complete without at least one visit to a foreign cinema.
This is easiest in The Netherlands where all of the English-speaking films are shown in their original form with Dutch subtitles.
So, after enjoying a day up and down the Oudegeracht in beautiful Utrecht, we alighted upon Pathe's Rembrandt picture house.
The only reticence was the film being shown was the 2016 version of Ghostbusters of which we had next to no expectation.
And then we laughed and laughed and laughed,
Paul Feig's movie is so much better than we anticipated. Indeed, I might commit sacrilege in some eyes by suggesting I enjoyed it more than the original!
Our relief was that, while there are obvious nods to its predecessor (the theme tune runs through it, the logo, ectoplasm and appearances by the 1980s cast), it is brought right up to date.
Central to its success is the comic acting of Kristen Wiig and, surprisingly, Chris Hemsworth.
The latter is hilarious as the ditsy personal assistant in a movie which is refreshingly focused on girl-power.
This manifests itself in the form of three scientists (Wiig, the seemingly omnipresent Melissa McCarthy and Kate McKinnon).
A late addition to the trio is Leslie Jones who joins up after witnessing an apparition at an underground station.
Frankly, the plot is pencil thin with Neil Casey playing a malevolent type who has the ability to appear as a spectre or take over the bodies of the living.
The world is threatened and The Ghostbusters, despite being discredited by those in academia and authority, are the only ones who can save it.
So, what's new? The gags and their spot-on timing. Particularly, the physical ones. It is just very funny. I counted seven belly laughs but there could have been more and the rest of the cinema reacted in the same way.
People were leaving the auditorium with wide smiles or still chortling loudly.
And after the few weeks the world has had, a summer blockbuster which tickles the funny bone is just fine.
Take your negative pre-conceptions to the cinema with you - they will be Ghost-busted.

Reasons to watch: much much funnier than anticipated
Reasons to avoid: its overblown ending

Laughs: seven
Jumps: none
Vomit: only ectoplasm
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 8.5/10

Star tweet

Paul Feig ‏@paulfeig  Jul 15

GB's now open here. It's been quite a ride, gang. Supporters, you rock. Haters, I've heard you all. Now let's all just have fun. We need it.

286. Kardesim Benim; movie review

KARDESIM BENIM
Cert 15
120 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong language

I am really going for the everyfilm catch-up in earnest so a nip on to Ebay helped me discover a Turkish film which hit UK cinemas earlier this year.
And on a hot day in Bruges, we took a couple of hours shelter from the sun to take in rom-com tearjerker Kardesim Benim.
Mert Baykal's film stars Murat Boz and Burak Özçivit as estranged brothers who are also well-known musicians.
They come together at their wedding singer father's funeral and are compelled to watch a last testament which he video-recorded two weeks before his death.
Their dad, who brought them up alone after their mum died, tells his sons a few home truths and then informs them that the only asset he has left them is a beaten up old car which used to transport them to gigs.
In an attempt to bring them together he leaves the car to one brother and the keys to the other and his last request is that they should perform at a wedding together.
The brothers' initial frostiness is gradually worn down and this is helped by a bit of romantic interest provided by Asli Enver who they don't realise is an undercover reporter.
The trio traipse across the Turkish countryside, getting into a few scrapes and the lads gradually learn to love each other again.
But what they don't really know is why their father sent them on such a strange mission.
Özçivit and Boz have the looks and chemistry which is bound to have female audiences swooning. One minute they are akin to stags bumping up against each other, the next they are like soul-mates.
And their story is helped by the beautiful Turkish countryside and weather which is so great I could almost feel the warmth coming from the DVD.
But Kardesim Benim falls into the same trap as many films of is genre in that it presents myriad complex problems and solves them far too easily.
This is particularly true of its conclusion.

Reasons to watch: push-me, pull-you chemistry between the two on-screen brothers
Reasons to avoid: too cheesy for some tastes

Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating 5/10

285. Battle Mountain - Graeme Obree's Story; movie review

BATTLE MOUNTAIN - GRAEME OBREE'S STORY
Cert 12A
104 mins
BBFC advice: Contains infrequent strong language, sex and suicide references, wound detail

So, what do you do when delayed waiting for a Eurotunnel train or in a giant traffic jam at the French-Belgian border?
You turn to a documentary which proves that dedication prevails even in the face of extreme adversity.
If Graeme Obree had faced the hiccups that we did on our first leg of our European road trip, he would have shrugged them off.
Well, he might have done if he had not spun into one of his desperate depressions or had any more fall-out from vascular surgery.
Obree overcame both to have a crack at the world record for a human powered vehicle which, by the way, he had designed in his kitchen.
The kitchen in Obree's home is not a place where any food should be cooked or consumed. Instead, it is where he built Old Faithful, a bike which he rode to world record and world championships in the 1990s.
Nowadays, it has been the birthplace for The Beastie, a bizarre contraption on which Obree lies prone and somehow contrives to peddle it to more than 50 miles per hour.
University experts have helped build a plastic casing in which Obree is confined and means he can barely breathe but makes the Beastie more aero-dynamic.
Obree is a fascinating character and slices of his life story accompany the chronology of his world record attempt on The Beastie during Dave Street's Battle Mountain.
He is frank about his fight with terrible depression which has led to suicide attempts including one in which he says he died. He is also honest about being told that he has the emotional development of a "12 to 13-year-old."
The combination leads to him continually pushing the boundaries of his abilities and being perpetually dissatisfied with himself.
But his battle against all odds makes him a fascinating subject who inspires and delights followers and fans.
Others in the traffic jam must have wondered why the crazy British car passenger was cheering at his ipad as Obree's Beastie took on Battle Mountain. I just couldn't help it.

Reasons to watch: a fascinating story of an obsessive
Reasons to avoid: brief graphic medical scenes

Laughs: a couple of chuckles
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 7.5/10

Star tweet

Graeme Obree ‏@GraemeObree  Jul 11

Thx you all for your support @BattleMountFilm is no5 in Top Film/Doc sect on iTunes. Please share with your friends:

284. Azhar; movie review

AZHAR
Cert PG
130 mins
BBFC advice: Contains mild bad language

In my opinion, films about sport fail more often than any other genre and I am sad to report that Tony D'Souza's Azhar is another in the long line of duds.
The problem that movie-makers have is that audiences for these type of pictures are more likely to be information anoraks and, therefore, the detail is important.
My initial concern for Azhar came in its opening in which a giant disclaimer distances it from the cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin and states that this is a fiction, based on true events.
So, before I even started watching what I thought was going to be a biopic, I was thinking: "What's the point?"
As the movie progressed, the clearer it became that this was going to be a superficial account of the life of the infamous Indian cricket captain.
Azhar (played here by Emraan Hashmi) gained notoriety when he was named in the match-fixing scandal which enveloped South Africa's Hansie Cronje.
At the time he had also walked out on his wife (Prachi Desai) from an arranged marriage to take up with Bollywood actress Sangeeta Bijlani (Nargis Fakhri).
D'Souza's film never mentions the full name of Azharuddin but there is no mistaking this is his story.
It begins with him being accused of match-fixing and then spins through his tumultuous life from birth up until he was cleared at a legal hearing.
Hashmi is unconvincing as a cricketer who was known for his single-mindedness but this may be down to a script which is certainly loaded on Azhar's side.
But it is the cricketing scenes and accompanying wooden commentaries and team-mate conversations and confrontations which really struck me as lame.
Seldom are sports reflected well by actors and it really does look as if Hashmi has never picked up a bat in his life.
As I have outlined, I didn't think much of Azhar but I was actually invited to watch it being filmed because some of the scenes were at Derbyshire's cricket ground.
Well, at least I think they were because it states as much in the credits and on Wikipedia but I must have blinked and missed them.
However, there were romantic scenes outside of Canary Wharf tube station which were set at the time of Azhar's romance with Sangeeta in 1996.
Only one problem - the station was not opened until 1999! It is a faux pas which sums up why Azhar is a miss.

Reasons to watch: highlights the cricket match-fixing scandal
Reasons to avoid: lacks the critical detail which would have made it an important watch

Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 4/10

Star tweet

emraan hashmi ‏@emraanhashmi  May 17

emraan hashmi Retweeted Emraanians

Thanks to all the @Emraanians for supporting @AzharTheFilm and all my past films.. Love you guys #TalkToAzhar

283. Mustang; movie review

MUSTANG
Cert 15
95 mins
BBFC advice: Contains infrequent strong sex references

How topical that on the night of the attempted coup in Turkey I should be watching a movie which reflects the contradictions of a beautiful country,
Deniz Gamze Ergüven's film was nominated for an Oscar and will live long in the memory - thanks to its beauty and thought-provoking content.
It shows a country which, as the failed coup demonstrated, is struggling to be comfortable with itself.
It is the story of five vibrant sisters who live with their grandmother (Nihal G. Koldas) in a traditional seaside community.
She has let them have a loose reign while growing up since the death of their parents but this has meant they have become free spirits, loving life but loathing rules.
This is a hefty problem in a society where girls are brought up simply to be married and serve men.
So, when neighbours complain that their behaviour, which would seem simply carefree in the West, is unseemly, their uncle (Ayberk Pekcan) enters the fray and there is a conveyor belt of potential husbands.
Is it not said how old the girls are but even the eldest looks no more than 16. The girls are appalled at the prospect of marrying and as the match meetings progress the more they dissent.
Much of the movie is focused on the youngest of the girls, Lale (Günes Sensoy), who cannot understand why she is prevented from doing the things she loves the most (such as watching football) and why her sisters are being taken away from her.
Therefore, the feisty youngster leads the rebellion.
Mustang is an attractive film. The girls are all very pretty and look so much like each other I was convinced they were real-life sisters (they are not).
The countryside in which they live is an idyllic place to grow up which is ironic when their 'bad behaviour' means they are kept indoors.
It is incredible to think that Turkey which has become a major holiday destination and wants access to the European Union should still be wrestling against traditions which would be seen as barbaric in the west.
Girls are being 'given' to husbands who are much older because that is the way it has always been.
Mustang shows clearly why people are not happy.
PS I still don't know to what the title refers.

Reasons to watch: barbaric tradition seen through the eyes of the young
Reasons to avoid: could be accused of repeatedly going over the same ground

Laughs: couple of chuckles
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 8.5/10

Star tweet

Jake Macapagal ‏@jakepromac  Apr 17

@DGErguven I just watched your film- Im a huge fan @mustangfilm is heartbreakingly beautiful.