Coco

(Lee Unkrich/2017/USA) 

After 2016’s Moana, which came in for criticism of its homogenised depiction of Polynesian cultures, Disney/Pixar went the extra mile for Coco, which focuses on Mexico and specifically its traditions around the Day of the Dead. Some care was taken to be respectful and it worked by all accounts as the film has been a great success in Mexico due to its faithful depiction of La Dia Del Muerte. The titular character is an elderly woman who is great grandmother to the hero of the film, Miguel. He gets transported to the land of the dead and discovers the truth about a family secret which leads to greater unity and love within the family. I’ll say no more than that, it’s a beautiful film that combines adventure, comedy and music into a unique cultural perspective that opens up and becomes accessible to all with its message.

(3.5/5)

Ill Manors

(Ben Drew/2012/UK)

A vehicle for rapper Plan B to showcase 8 songs revolving around the 8 characters whose lives are the focus of the film Ill Manors works in places and not in others. Essentially it captures the sense of frustration and hopelessness in growing up in a particular part of London as well as the community dynamics in those estates and streets too. But it also over eggs the story or stories to the point of soap opera level drama. Far too much happens in a week to stay completely engaged with it as issue after issue is highlighted. It’s a pity because if it had scaled back the script to focus more on 3 or 4 of the main characters it might have resulted in a tighter and more forceful film. The performances can’t be faulted and the setting and characterisations are on point so it really is a case of an overstuffed narrative.

(2.5/5)

The Great Gatsby

(Baz Luhrmann/2013/Australia & USA) 

Luhrmann brings his recognisable flair to F. Scot Fitzgerald’s tale of heartache and woe in 1920’s New York. The heart of the book is put on screen dressed up in gaudy excess; swinging jazz becomes infused with modern rap and hip hop pop and the crass pre crash opulence is perfect fodder for Luhrmann’s eye for pomp and spectacle. Indeed it’s a good marriage of minds and styles. If you like either or both it should go a ways to keeping you entertained. Leonardo Di Caprio more or less sails through his performance as Jay Gatsby without too much fuss, leaving Toby Maguire to shine as the greenhorn Nick Carraway. But the standouts are Joel Edgerton and Carey Mulligan as the dysfunctional Buchanans whom the plot orbits around.

(2.5/5)

We Are The Best!

(Lukas Moodysson/2013/Sweden & Denmark)

A lovely, endearing look at growing up in early 80’s Sweden. Bobo and Klara are on the cusp of puberty, they love punk and don’t mix well with their classmates. Klara wears her hair mohawk style and they both talk about the spirit of rebellion of punk which is not dead. They are 12 year olds righting the wrongs of the world in every conversation they have, they are young, free and idealistic and this film captures that sense of youth and excitement and potential for changing the world. It’s a truly sweet movie, funny and touching on something most of us have experienced, a loss of innocence and naivety in the rush to be taken seriously and be grown up.

When they force due procedure in the local youth club to gain access to a rehearsal space the idea of forming a band hits. They then recruit the only proper musician they know, a quiet Christian girl in their class who turns out to be more than willing to help. There are practice sessions, parties, dates with boys from another band and a concert in a nearby town and they throw themselves into it all with an abundance of vim and gusto that will keep you smiling. There are tensions too though and angst and fallings out and shouting and tears but it all comes good. One of the best coming of age movies I’ve seen in a long time. The music, clothes and setting are all excellent.

(3.5/5)

Kill Your Friends

(Owen Harris/2015/UK) 

I don’t know what the book of the same name by John Niven is like; it was a best seller apparently, but this film is a mess. It just doesn’t know what it wants to be. It starts as an acidic take on the music business but a lot of the humour is neither as incisive nor witty as the rapid fire voiceover would have you believe. Nick Hoult’s character Steven is a deliberately repugnant and smarmy twat so when he kills his first pal it looks like it’s going to be a comedy of black humour following this A&R mans murderous ambition. It’s a good metaphor for the cut throat music industry and maybe this should have been the path followed but it starts taking itself too seriously. Things begin to come apart for Steven and he falls flat on his arse in a cocaine and alcohol binged descent into hell. The entire middle section goes off on this personal crisis, which is neither here nor there as he’s an unsympathetic character to begin with and Harris forgets to play it for laughs. Steven pulls himself together and starts back stabbing work mates and climbing to the top again. There is another murder but for a film called Kill Your Friends you can’t help feeling a bit short changed at two killings. By the time our hero has established himself as the king of A&R it’s hard to care about anything or anyone you’ve just seen onscreen. Everyone in the film is purposefully reprehensible with few redeeming qualities, I get it, the music business is scummy and we’re poking fun at it but the humour is second rate and the tonal shift from comedy to dark personal hell doesn’t work before trying to claw back the satirical punch line at the end. It’s really just a waste of time.

(1/5)

Northern Soul

(Elaine Constantine/2012/UK)

This is a film about friendship, the beginning, the middle, the end and the rebirth of friendship and it wears the coat of the Northern Soul scene in 1970’s England to tell its story. The first half hour or so is excellent. Constantine perfectly relates the excitement of being young and discovering something that makes more sense to you than anything else in your life. The music, the clothes, the gritty northern working class life is all present and correct. The gradual immersion in the “scene” is very good. The story it goes on to tell of two lads with shared love of the music and dreams of it being their path from rags to riches is solid, well told and never lags. Well worth a watch.

(3/5)

Quadrophenia

(Franc Roddam/1979/UK)

Jimmy Cooper is a Mod in 1960’s London and his passion for scooters, mod music and amphetamines help him escape the drudgery of his suburban home and office mail boy job. We see him fighting with Rockers, taking pills, chatting up a girl he likes called Steph and getting up to other mischief. The Mods rivalry with the Rockers culminates in a weekend in Brighton where the two gangs clash and riot. The fallout from this is his arrest, getting thrown out of home and then losing his job. As things unravel Jimmy tries to escape his disillusionment by taking more and more pills and revisiting Brighton alone. Finally, Ace Face, an uber Mod of sorts, is revealed to be not very Mod at all. This forces Jimmy to realise the Mod scene isn’t an answer to his disenchantment with the world and he discards his adolescent rebellion in a symbolic and dramatic closing shot. Phil Daniels nails the teenage angst and hormonal kick back against adulthood throughout. Roddam’s refusal to use The Who’s soundtrack exclusively and turn this into a musical á la Tommy is important and a large part of the reason the film works. Instead he combines elements of the kitchen sink drama style with a documentary feel to make a visceral, gritty coming of age film that has achieved cult status. It goes beyond being a sensationalist look at youth culture and manages to capture something of the essence of growing up.

(3.5/5)