Hello and welcome to the Geeky Brummie Film Roundup, where we run through the week’s biggest new cinema releases and why you should be excited for them. The Easter Bunny is bringing us three cracking choices this weekend, featuring Coogler, Coogan and, er, coo… guns?
Usual disclaimer: unless otherwise stated, I haven’t seen these movies yet so all of my opinions are based on trailers, early reviews and other rumours and buzz.
Sinners
The American Deep South has a peculiar mythology that is less a collection of stories and more a general vibe – where you might run into the Devil at a crossroads, and voodoo priests practise magic in the swamps, and the intense heat and humidity drive people to madness and depravity. Ryan Coogler, director of the Black Panther and Creed films, has tapped into that magic beautifully in Sinners to craft what is by all accounts a terrifically entertaining and original horror movie.
The plot sees twin brothers Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B Jordan) return to their hometown after years of fighting as soldiers and gangsters, hoping for a fresh start. But when they arrive they find something evil waiting for them. Jordan has long been Coogler’s lucky charm, starring in all three Creed films as well as the first Black Panther. He brings a swaggering intensity to the brothers here and it doesn’t look like the challenges of playing dual roles have given him any problems. Elsewhere in the cast we have Hailee Steinfeld (always a sign of something good), Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Delroy Lindo and Miles Caton.
Everything about this looks incredibly cool, from the intense lighting to the performances to the blues-heavy Ludwig Göransson soundtrack. I’ll avoid revealing too much about the sinister forces that Smoke and Stack have to contend with (if you want to go in blind about this, the trailer below is safe but try to avoid any others), but I understand they act as a metaphor for the remnants of colonialism in the Jim Crow era. At the time of writing the film has a 99% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This is absolutely going to be one to catch on the big screen (preferably late in the evening after a hot sunny day…).
- Sinners on IMDB
- Sinners on Rotten Tomatoes
The Penguin Lessons
With a very sharp change in tone, the next film on our list this week is The Penguin Lessons. As wholesome as Sinners is cool, this stars Steve Coogan as Tom Michell, a disillusioned English teacher in an Argentinian boarding school who unintentionally adopts a penguin named Juan Salvador. Between looking after the penguin and observing the impending military coup, Tom finds himself starting to care about himself, others and life in general again.
You really can’t go too far wrong with a penguin. It’s hard to watch one clumsily waddling around without instantly being in a good mood. Combined with the warm wit of Steve Coogan, this is shaping up to be a wonderfully feel-good movie despite the very serious political events that serve as its backdrop. Based on a true story and adapted from the real Tom Michel’s memoirs, there is always a risk that this sort of thing can be a bit schmaltzy but the 1976 Argentinian coup should mean it has a deeper message than ‘aww, aren’t penguins cute’. Writer Jeff Pope worked with Coogan to Oscar-nominated success on the excellent (and similarly based-on-a-true-story) Philomena, and this feels like it has a very similar vibe.
If you don’t fancy the violence of the other two options this week, or you just need something to raise your spirits again afterwards, The Penguin Lessons is the film for you.
- The Penguin Lessons on IMDB
- The Penguin Lessons on Rotten Tomatoes
Warfare
Another film based on a true story, but with considerably fewer penguins, Warfare is adapted from the memoirs of its co-director and writer – Iraq war veteran Ray Mendoza. It follows his platoon of Navy SEALs as their surveillance mission goes disastrously wrong, leading to an all out firefight in the streets of Ramadi, Iraq.
The other co-director is Alex Garland, whose last movie, Civil War, feels very much of a piece with this one. One of the big talking points from that film was the way it captured the intensity of war, with loud gunshots that felt like they were going off at the back of the cinema, and it looks like he’s carried that forward here. The fact that this is based on a real war, especially one recent enough for most of the audience to remember it, can only add to the intensity. There’s also a strong cast, including Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Joseph Quinn and Michael Gandolfini. Special props also to D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, who had the daunting job of playing Mendoza himself.
This has been getting some seriously good reviews, with particular praise for its uncompromising reality. Mendoza consulted with other members of his troop and constructed the film around their memories, telling the story in real time and not making any effort to glamorise it with a Hollywood sheen. The result is as close to being in a real battle as most of us will ever want to get.
- Warfare on IMDB
- Warfare on Rotten Tomatoes
If you only see one film this week…
There are no bad choices here – none of these films have less than 83% on Rotten Tomatoes – but I’ve been looking forward to Sinners for a while so I’m picking that.
Still in cinemas and worth a watch
- Drop – Tense and nerve-wracking, with an effective message about the long term impacts of domestic abuse and a great central performance from Meghann Fahy, Drop is a very entertaining way to spend a couple of hours.
- The Amateur
- A Minecraft Movie
Trailer of the week
If all you knew about The Life of Chuck was that it was directed by Mike Flanagan (the man behind such brilliant Netflix horror series as The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass) and adapted from a Stephen King novella, you might be forgiven for thinking it’s going to be an incredibly creepy ghost story. As this new trailer shows, it actually promises to be a profound and life affirming account of the beauty and fragility of human life. Tom Hiddleston plays the eponymous Chuck as an adult, before later chapters of the film play back earlier chapters of his life (with Jacob Tremblay playing him as a kid). The cast also includes Mark Hamill, Karen Gillan, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Matthew Lillard. Expect this one to pull at your heartstrings when it hits cinemas in June.
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