marion cotillard

Director : Leos Carax – Cast Includes : Marion Cotillard, Adam Driver, Simon Helberg

ANNETTE : Henry is a stand-up comedian who falls in love with Ann, a famous opera singer. Under the world’s glare they form a much photographed and devoted couple but when Ann gets pregnent and gives birth to a little girl their lives are turned upside down : the passion & the commitment by Adam Driver in giving Henry McHenry this bat-shit crazy existence is totally admirable, from the opening tune of So May We Start to the scenes on the boat and his showdown with Simon Helberg’s Accompanist, Adam Driver is devastatingly good… as is Marion Cotillard playing Ann the opera singer and partner to McHenry, from the extraordinary sex scene to the birth scene Cotillard one again demostrates her prowess, her range of vocals and acting ability is astonishing… and don’t get me started on baby Annette (bizzare just don’t cover it)… and as for Leos Carax’s movie I can guarantee you that you will not see anything as uniquely ambitious, wildly bizzare yet quite as brilliant this year !! ★★★★½

Director : Robert Schwentke – Cast Includes : Henry Golding, Andrew Koji, Úrsula Corberó

SNAKE EYES (G.I. Joe Origins): After saving the life of the heir apparent a Japanese clan called the Arashikage welcomes Snake Eyes into their world. He is taught the way of the Ninja until his past catches upto him and his secrets become known to all around : I had a good time watching Snake Eyes but just felt the PG-13 rating hampered the overall tone of the movie, if it was darker, a tad more violent as the Yakuza generally are and the lead role of Snake Eyes was someone with a bit more experience in Martial Arts in real life and onscreen then the film would have kicked ass, I’m a big fan of Henry Golding but didn’t find his character believable enough… so overall Schwentke‘s movie is nothing more than a solid slice of entertainment that fails more than it does succeed ★★★

Director : Michael Morrissey – Cast Includes : Kay Tuckerman, Chukwudi Iwuji, Lexi Johnson

THE GIRL WHO GOT AWAY (aka: Mother) : After a female serial killer who killed four young girls escapes from prison, she returns to a small town to hunt the one girl that got away : It’s been eleven years since filmmaker Michael Morrisey directed Boy Wonder his first feature and judging by his latest I hope he directs another one soon… The Girl Who Got Away is a slow burning low budget slasher that’s reminisent of Carpenter’s Halloween, the film does a great job in keeping the tension bubbling with it’s intriguing plot and fabulous turns especially from Iwuji and Johnson, some of the death scenes really caught me off guard, making me jump on a few occassions and the film has a few twists that you don’t see coming duing it’s finale ★★★★

Director : Shawn Levy – Cast Includes : Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery

FREE GUY : A bank teller who discovers he’s an actual NPC (non-player character) in an open-world video game, decides to become the hero of his own story : Shawn Levy has directed many films in his career including the likes of Real Steel, Night at the Museum and The Pink Panther BUT nothing comes close to what he’s achieved with Free Guy a film that MUST BE SEEN on the biggest screen (please stay safe and wear a mask but this is perfect Cinema material), the writing by Zak Penn and Matt Lieberman is a delight, keeping the plot fresh, funny and playing perfectly into Ryan Reynolds capable comedy turning hands… the action is break neck and Jodie Comer is ON FIRE (and without sounding creepy she’s GORGEOUS too) her chemistry alongside Reynolds is terrific handling all the action scenes with ease and the faces she pulls when delivering her pitch perfect comic moments are so damn funny… I must also mention Taika “what you talking about Willis” Waititi who’s hilarious as the film’s villain, he swaggers with the best of them and his one liners are out of this world and along with some wonderful movie injokes look out for a great cameo by Channing Tatum who had me in tears (mum can you stop the hoovering)… CINEMA feels damn good right now and FREE GUY is the summer blockbuster of the year !! ★★★★★

With films in the Mid 80s through to the 90s such as Romancing the Stone, The Back to the Future Trilogy, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump and Contact filmmaker Robert Zemeckis was pretty untouchable, a master visionary with the Midas touch, a director who defined those times with exciting, bold film-making, great storytelling and colorful characters that we all love so well….

His latest ALLIED a WWII movie that’s more keeping with Casablanca rather than the violent brutal Tarantino pic Inglorious Basterds is an absolute treat – Zemeckis delivers on every detail, from the character’s costumes down to the general atmosphere of the times, whether it be the sand dune Nazi occupied Casablanca to the devastation of war torn London, as a filmmaker he keeps his sets simple yet pleasing on the eye making each scenario in the movie more believable – along for the ride are two accomplished actors Brad Pitt who plays intelligence officer Max Vatan and Marion Cotillard a French Resistance fighter named Marianne Beausejour, both finding themselves in Morocco paired up with one assignment to kill a German Ambassador who is stationed there and that’s where the fun and games really start – Brad Pitt is terrific, he absorbs his character that goes from a confident spy to slightly unhinged and carrying self doubt as the story slowly unfolds, the is the Pitt of old he’s in fine form, not only bringing the best out of himself but managing as he always seems to do by getting the best out of his co-star and in Allied Marion Cotillard is the perfect foil, she’s the glue that binds the movie together, there’s something exciting about a movie star on top of their game and this French actress is certainly that, she carries the elegance of an 1940’s movie siren, dazzling the screen with a comfortable ease, her acting in the film’s finale is both haunting and powerful and throughout the film she gives a performance that’s worth the ticket fee in itself – Overall: Robert Zemeckis Allied is an attention-driven, old school romantic thriller with plenty of twists and turns, some gorgeous photography and a dark finale that in my opinion was required and executed superbly – let’s hope it’s not too long before we see the brilliance that is Robert Zemeckis behind the camera once more….