Hello lovelies 🤍
A very very happy new year to you. Hope you had a restful break (is anyone’s Christmas actually restful or is that just something we say??)
It’s January !!! I love January, partly because I’m a sucker for new year new me energy but also because it’s movie season. It’s cold and gloomy, so what better to do with your evenings than to scuttle down into a cosy cinema and be entertained.
There are LOTS of shiny new things gracing our screens at the moment, so if you feel overwhelmed and want to prioritise, here are my thoughts… 💭
🪩 QUEER — I didn’t know what to make of this when I saw it and I still don’t. I initially hated it and couldn’t wait for it to end, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since so it’s clearly made an impact. It’s set in 1950s Mexico City, and follows outcast ‘Lee’ (Beat Generation writer William S. Burroughs, who briefly went by the pen name William Lee), who becomes infatuated with a younger man, Allerton (Drew Starkey). Daniel Craig is extraordinary as Lee, a slightly sad, slightly desperate man, who spends his days bar hopping and trying to pick up men in a quest for love and attention. I think it’s a film that could benefit from a bit of pre-reading, especially if you’re not familiar with Burroughs’ life and work, as it’s made more sense to me the more I’ve learnt about it afterwards. Side note, but I’m very much enjoying Daniel Craig’s press tour vibe at the moment — those glasses?? He is a cool dude.
On Amazon Prime.
🪩 THE SUBSTANCE — Definitely the most disturbing thing I’ve seen in a long time (maybe ever?). I’m not a horror / body horror person in any way shape or form, so maybe not the right audience for this. I also thought there were some unforgivable holes in the plot (what happened to the cleaner and wasn’t she fussed about the body in the bathroom? Did Elisabeth have NOBODY that might bother to check in with her when she mysteriously disappeared for weeks at a time? And where did that whole extra room in the bathroom come from??). That said, I thought it was a fascinating idea and the ending was absolutely disgusting but completely hilarious. Not something I ever want to watch again, but I can respect it.
On Prime and AppleTV+.
🪩 CONCLAVE — Following the death of the pope, Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) finds himself responsible for running a papal conclave — the process by which the heads of the Catholic Church around the world come together to elect the next pope. Though duty-bound to oversee the process, Lawrence has concerns about the options for next-in-line, and struggles with doubts about his faith and the Catholic Church. It’s more of a gentle meander than some of the high-paced dramas we’re used to, but still very engaging. Knowing next to nothing about this process before the film, I actually found it quite educational and the subject matter lends itself to some stunning imagery (think 50 red-cloaked cardinal’s in a cinema / walking across a Vatican square / in a dining hall — you get the picture). Ralph Fiennes is as always, utterly gorgeous.
In cinemas and on AppleTV+.
🪩 WE LIVE IN TIME — I really enjoyed this. As a former and aspiring south London dweller it’s always fun to see your own patch on screen, many of the scenes being filmed in and around Herne Hill. Although it touches on heavy subject matter, it was funnier and lighter than I expected. It dips in and out of the ten-year story of Almut and Tobias — we meet them at their great ‘meet cute’ (where she runs him over), we see them welcome their child in a service station toilet (probably my favourite bit), and watch as they navigate career ambitions and life changing illness. Andrew Garfield is hugely likeable and endearing as Weetabix employee Tobias. I also enjoyed how it switched up gender expectations. It shouldn’t be novel seeing a man tell a woman that he wants to have kids (to be told to, basically, eff off), or for the female character to be the one with the impressive glitzy career, but alas, it still is. That said, did she really need to be a world class chef and former ice skating champ and also look like Florence Pugh? Leave some for the rest of us.
In cinemas.
If you’ve seen any of the above then please tell me your thoughts 👇
There are a few things I’m dying to see, that either came out recently or are landing very soon…
🔥 ANORA — This came out a little while ago and is generating quite a lot of buzz. It’s a comedy/drama/romance that follows the relationship between Anora (Mikey Madison), a young sex worker, and Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of a Russian oligarch. They meet, fall in love and get married, but once news of their marriage reaches Russia, his parents set out for New York, determined to get the marriage annulled.
🔥 A COMPLETE UNKNOWN — The new Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet, Elle Fanning and others. In 1961, an unknown 19-year-old Dylan arrives in New York with his guitar and sets out on his path to super-stardom. The film’s based on the 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric! by Elijah Wald, that charts Dylan’s course from his early folk music success to his performance at Newport Folk Festival in 1965, where he controversially ‘went electric’. Trailer looks great and it’s in UK cinemas from the 17th.
🔥 NICKEL BOYS — Nickel Boys is a historical drama, based on a 2019 novel by Colson Whitehead. The story follows two African-American boys, Elwood and Turner, in 1960s Florida. Elwood (Ethan Herisse) is on track for academic excellence, but after finding himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, is shipped off to an abusive reform school, where he soon forms a close relationship with Turner (Brandon Wilson). It looks beautiful and strikingly shot, almost entirely from the gaze of its two main characters. It also got a rare 5 star review in The Guardian.
🔥 A REAL PAIN — This film is the brain child of Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network). It’s about two mismatched cousins who go on a tour through Poland, in honour of their beloved Grandma who was a Holocaust survivor. Kieran Culkin’s interview in The Guardian is a fascinating insight into the way he works. He sounds like a complete nightmare but hilarious and very loveable.
🔥 BABYGIRL — Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson star in this drama following a high-powered CEO who puts everything on the line when she begins an affair with her much younger intern. I loved Harris Dickinson in 2023’s Scrapper, so excited to see him in this. He’s a very talented chap.
WOWEE. What the hell are you waiting for???? See you in the cinema 😉😘