Hello, and welcome to the Geeky Brummie Film Roundup! Each week we run through the biggest new cinema releases and why you should be excited for them. This week is going to be a very quick run-through, as I’ve just got back from my holiday this afternoon and need to unpack and catch up on some telly…
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.
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere
A popular young actor plays an iconic musician at a pivotal moment in his career, as he tries to maintain his artistic integrity and create an album that is personal to his own life experiences, in the face of some doubting producers. No, it’s not Timothee Chalamet’s Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, but new Bruce Springsteen movie Deliver Me From Nowhere. The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White has stepped into the Boss’s shoes for this one, and it looks like he’s given as great a performance as you’d expect from the multiple-Emmy winning actor, but the reviews of the film itself have been slightly lukewarm. It charts the creation of Springsteen’s Nebraska album, and how it was influenced by his abusive childhood (Stephen Graham plays Springsteen Sr in flashbacks, and after Adolescence is probably starting to wonder if his agent is trying to tell him he’s a bad father). The naturally depressing subject matter doesn’t make for a fun film, which seems to have put some critics off. Nevertheless, don’t be surprised if this gets some Oscar nominations in the next few months, particularly for JAW.
- Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere on IMDB
- Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere on Rotten Tomatoes
Regretting You
Based on the novel by Colleen Hoover, Regretting You centres on mother Morgan (M3GAN’s Allison Williams) and daughter Clara Grant (Ghostbusters: Afterlife’s McKenna Grace) as they struggle to come to terms with the deaths of Morgan’s husband/ Clara’s father Chris and Morgan’s sister/ Clara’s aunt Jenny. Jenny’s boyfriend Jonah (Dave Franco) is also grieving, and bonds with Morgan as they try not to think about why Chris and Jenny were in a car together. Meanwhile Clara starts a relationship with Miller (Black Phone’s Mason Thames). This looks like it has all the ingredients of a great modern weepy romance film. Grace was a standout addition in Ghostbusters so I’m glad to see her getting a bigger (and more glamorous) role. However, the reviews aren’t being particularly kind – it currently only has 19% on Rotten Tomatoes. I’m sure fans of the book, or of romances in general, will enjoy it anyway.
- Regretting You on IMDB
- Regretting You on Rotten Tomatoes
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc
I must admit, I have never watched Chainsaw Man – most of my knowledge of it comes from some pretty epic cosplay at some of the anime and comic conventions we’ve been to over the last few years. The trailer for this, the series’ first movie spin-off, is 90 seconds long, and if you only watch the first minute you’d think it’s a series about a sexy love triangle. Then someone says “boom” and suddenly there are chainsaws and explosions and 6-eyed sharks and talk of kaiju battles. I still don’t have a clue what the show/film is about but the artwork looks stunning, and it currently has 100% on Rotten Tomatoes (and a 99% audience rating). As with most anime films based on TV shows or manga, it will no doubt be helpful to have some knowledge – more than me – of the source material going in, but if you’re already a fan or you can do just a bit of research, this looks like one of the better adaptations.
- Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc on IMDB
- Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc on Rotten Tomatoes
Sketch
Did you watch last year’s Harold and the Purple Crayon and think “I could make a better movie than this”? Trick question – of course you didn’t, nobody watched Harold and the Purple Crayon. But one person who maybe had that thought from watching the trailer was first-time filmmaker Seth Worley, writer and director of Sketch. Grieving for her late mother, Amber is encouraged to sketch pictures in a notebook as an outlet for her emotions. But when she drops the notebook in a mysterious pond, her pictures come to life and start causing chaos. It’s up to her family, including dad Taylor (Arrested Development’s Tony Hale) and aunt Liz (The Good Place’s D’Arcy Carden) to band together and stop them. This is getting some fantastic reviews (the 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating touted in the trailer has since dropped to a still-very-respectable 95%) and looks to be one of those rare gems of a family film that comes out of nowhere and steals the hearts of everyone who catches it. If you have kids who need some half term entertainment, this would be my recommendation.
- Sketch on IMDB
- Sketch on Rotten Tomatoes
The Mastermind
Unemployed father James Mooney (Challengers’ Josh O’Connor) decides to have a go at art theft. His first heist is a success, but when he struggles to decide what to do next, he finds himself having to go on the run. This is a gently-paced crime drama set in the 1970s which was nominated for the Palme d’Or at Cannes and is getting good reviews. The supporting cast includes Bill Camp and Alana Haim. It looks like fun, and O’Connor is an engaging lead.
- The Mastermind on IMDB
- The Mastermind on Rotten Tomatoes
If you only see one film this week…
I hadn’t heard of it before writing this today, but since the ones I had heard of haven’t been getting great reviews and I still can’t make any sense of the Chainsaw Man trailer, I’m picking Sketch as my Film of the Week.
Still in cinemas and worth a watch
- Frankenstein
- I Swear
- One Battle After Another
Trailer of the Week
Crime 101 follows Chris Hemsworth’s thief pulling off some high value heists, while Mark Ruffalo’s cop tracks him down. This looks like the kind of cool, big-name crime drama that will inevitably draw comparisons with the likes of Heat, and the supporting cast is excellent – alongside Thor and Hulk, there’s Halle Berry, Barry Keoghan, Corey Hawkins, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Monica Barbaro (who had a well-deserved Oscar nomination earlier in the year for her performance in A Complete Unknown).
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