Movie Reviews
From dramas and comedies to thrillers, action extravaganzas and clever animations, there’s something for everyone in this selection of great new films.
Smart, fresh and funny, this is an endearing coming-of-age story about sexual identity, friendships, family and first love. Based on Becky Albertalli’s novel, Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda, it’s a deceptively simple screenplay where the vulnerable voice of its protagonist leads you on a tumultuous emotional journey.
Teenager Simon Spier (Nick Robinson) has a secret: he’s gay. Many revelations follow, including the object of Simon’s desire, how his secret is revealed, how a critical situation spirals out of control, how relationships change and the impact on his closest friends and family. Josh Duhamel stars as Simon’s father, while Jennifer Garner, as his mum, wears her heart on her sleeve.
Told through Simon’s inner voice, the film feels personal. It all begins with an email exchange on a school blog with an anonymous student (pseudonym Blue), who declares himself to be gay. It’s an effective mechanism, a springboard into unexpected places complete with red herrings, guffaw moments and sweetly developed relationships. An intriguing package of psychological mind games, this electric thriller from director Steven Soderbergh is a ripper.
Trying to start a new life after being stalked, Sawyer Valentini (The Crown’s Claire Foy) relocates from Boston to Pennsylvania. When she makes an appointment with a therapist at a behavioural centre, Sawyer finds she has unknowingly signed her consent to involuntary commitment for 24 hours. She meets fellow inmates Violet (Juno Temple), who is antagonistic and violent, and sympathetic Nate (Jay Pharoah), who’s recovering from an opioid addiction. When she sees hospital staff member David Strine (Joshua Leonard), she believes he is her stalker. But is he really guilty or is she delusional?
Shooting on an iPhone and editing and scoring with Apple technology, Soderbergh has created an intense and engaging film that keeps you on edge. Foy’s dazzling portrayal of Sawyer ensures you are with her every step of the way. The tension builds to a climactic crescendo that doesn’t disappoint.
It’s been 17 years since Angelina Jolie embraced interactive video game heroine Lara Croft with abandon. So what can Norwegian filmmaker Roar Uthaug bring to this new version of the tale? And how has Alicia Vikander placed her unique stamp on it? Happily, the talented actress has maintained her individuality in her portrayal of Lara, the strong-willed daughter of an eccentric adventurer (Dominic West) who mysteriously disappears.
This new Tomb Raider plays out like an Indiana Jones adventure, complete with bow-and-arrow action, pulsating rhythms and chase sequences. The story begins in London and the action kicks off with Lara following clues that lead her to her missing father’s final destination.
Lara is skilled in martial arts and Vikander, a former ballerina, undertook seven months of intense training for the role. Some of the action sequences are too orchestrated and the music cues heavy-handed, with overzealous percussion. But this is Vikander’s film and much can be forgiven because of her luminous presence. Fear, life and death are the themes of Breath, Simon Baker’s auspicious directorial debut. Adapted from Tim Winton’s novel, it’s a coming-of-age film that’s also a love letter to a friendship forged underwater.
When Pikelet (Samson Coulter) sees surfing for the first time, the impact is profound. To him, this pointless and elegant pursuit of “dancing on water” is the “bravest thing a man could do”.
Life changes for Pikelet and his daredevil pal Loonie (Ben Spence) when the impressionable teens meet Sando (Simon Baker), a hippie surfer-adventurer who inspires his protégés to push the limits.
Like the boys, you become hypnotised by Sando. Baker is superb as the laid-back surfer, while Elizabeth Debicki projects melancholy as his needy wife. Newcomers Coulter and Spence are outstanding as the young duo.
Baker also captures the mood of remote Western Australia. The bushland and the pounding surf that batters the rocks look like they’ve been rendered with dappled paintbrush strokes.