Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander and Joel Edgerton are the stars of The Green Knight, the fantasy re-telling of the medieval story of Sir Gawain and The Green Knight.
Gawain, a knight of King Arthur’s Round Table, accepts a challenge from a mysterious ‘Green Knight’. The Green Knight dares any knight to strike him with his axe if he will take a return blow in a year and a day.
Directed by David Lowery, additional key cast includes Barry Keoghan, Sarita Choudhury, Sean Harris, Kate Dickie…
The visuals, general mood and the hunger for power certainly have my attention. I want to find out how The Green Knight fairs in the end.
Aaron Edo, Erin Kellyman, Helena Browne, Ralph Ineson, Emilie Hetland, Anthony, Morris Megan Tiernan and Noelle Brown also star
In new historical drama The King, Timothée Chalamet stars as Hal, a.k.a King Henry V of England. Previously a wayward prince, Hal ascends the English throne upon his father’s death, and must navigate the palace snake pit, chaos and inherited war against France.
Directed by David Michôd; key cast includes Ben Mendelsohn, Robert Pattinson, Joel Edgerton and Lily Rose Depp.
Wow!
Hello, brilliant cast. I cannot wait for all the super acting and all the tensions that stem from being surrounded by people who underestimate you.
Sean Harris, Dean-Charles Chapman, Thomasin McKenzie, Ivan Kaye, Tom Glynn-Carney and Edward Ashley also star.
Gringo (2018), Charlize Theron, Joel Edgerton, Amazon Studios
There are three things I like about Gringo, director Nash Edgerton’s action/comedy about a former law-abiding citizen (David Oyelowo) who’s turned to crime to survive.
The first is Charlize Theron, her general awesomeness and her character’s beautiful style. The second is the way Gringo is concluded. The ending is surprising and simultaneously unsurprising. I didn’t fully expect the turn the story took, but I also wasn’t surprised because it was still clichéd.
The last thing I like about Gringo is how the movie appears to be a little inspired by one of my all-time favourite films, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998). ThoughI certainly wouldn’t say that Gringo is as smart and as well-written as my beloved Lock Stock, it did, however, deliver some laughs. It’s just disappointing that I didn’t find the whole experience as amusing, engaging or exciting as the trailer hinted.
Boy Erasedis a biographical drama based on a specific time in the life of Garrard Conley, a Baptist preacher’s son who as a teenager was forced to take part in a church-supported gay conversion program. A disturbing and damaging practice that I’m sadly unsurprised to learn still continues today.
Besides standing out for being a heartbreaking true story that’s well-acted and directed, Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe and Joel Edgerton’s latest movie features several scenes that will stay with me for a while.
My very favourite one is a scene so moving that it made me realise I don’t actually recall the last time I so desperately wanted a person’s all-important phone call to be answered.
My second favourite scene takes place just before the one with the phone call. It’s a moment that had me hoping every parent with a strong-willed child recognises the value of their child’s will. Especially when the child chooses to question what appears as nonsense, at the most crucial time, regardless of who may be spewing said nonsense.
Boy Erased has many heartbreaking things that happen, meaning you really won’t be laughing much, if at all. Still, I found the experience worthwhile for the insight into what can occur at gay conversion camps, and for well-executed and memorable scenes that take place towards the end.
Watch it if it intrigues you enough, and also because it’s more hopeful than you might think.
Directed by David Ayer (End Of Watch (2012); and starring Will Smith, Joel Edgerton, Noomi Rapace and Edgar Ramirez, Brightis a buddy/cop movie set in a world where humans live alongside fantasy creatures. It’s also a film that isn’t quite all I wished it to be.
The issues I have with Bright start with the story. Perhaps the fact that fantasy and sci-fi are not my go-to genres has something to do with it, but I just didn’t fully buy into the world the story occupies. I’m not even sure that the truth of how Orcs, elves, fairies and humans came to co-exist in LA, let alone planet Earth, was properly explained.
Then there’s the fact that due to pacing and one or two other unfortunate factors, the movie did’t get particularly interesting for me until ‘the cop shooting’ that happens approximately forty minutes in. Even then, I still found myself thinking about how much more I enjoyed End Of Watch, especiallythe story and co-star chemistry.
I’m not saying that I think Bright is all bad – because if it were, I’d have stopped watching long before the end – the way I recently did with A Bad Mom’s Christmas (2017). The things I did enjoy about Ayer’s movie start with the vibrant graffiti in the opening sequence, followed by the impressive Orc prosthetics. Then there’s Noomi Rapace’s villain character, particularly the way she fought and dressed. Last but in no way least, I rather like how well Edgar Ramirez wore his elf/vampire look. I admit that it was a much greater highlight than expected.
A thought that entered my mind soon after I hit ‘play,’ ‘I bet Will Smith is super happy about not having to wear any Orc prosthetics or makeup. I know I would be‘. Who said that acting isn’t hard work?
Give Bright a chance if you’re curious enough. Or, you can always watch /re-watch End Of Watch instead, if not some other far better buddy/cop film.
The Movie My Life 