Friday Five(ish): Films Watched in October

1. The Big Step (Il Grande Passo) (2019) - Beautiful and gentle story about estranged brothers who find a friendship and commonality while trying to deal with abandonment, rejection and an obsession with the moon. The storytelling is simple and improbable, encouraging us to dream big and aim high.
2. Corpus Christi (2019) - Despite being bookended by brutal acts, there are moments of deep reflection in this film. A young man pretends to be a priest in a small Polish village rather than face his probationary position as a convicted criminal. As he soothes the sick and navigates toxic conflicts in the community, his actions raise questions of penance and punishment; reconciliation and redemption; atonement and absolution. The subtlety of acting, design and direction allow the themes to shine through and the questions remain unanswered long after the film has finished.
3. It Comes at Night (2017) - Some people in a house in the woods (including Joel Edgerton) are hiding out from a mystery illness and protecting their own little family unit. They are joined by another family unit (including Riley Keogh) and grief, guilt, suspicion and paranoia all ensue, leading to strange goings-on. It could well be a stage play with limited characters and settings, and an interesting sense of development, written and directed by Trey Edward Shults.
4. Love Sarah (2020) - At one point someone says, "London is the most multi-cultural city in the world", and then the film proceeds to be as stereotypically Anglocentric as possible. The mainstream middle-class (and mainly white) characters set up a cafe in a posh (litter-free) part of London (Notting Hill) and interact with the foreigners only to condescend and steal their native recipes. To suggest that the best Matcha Mille or baklava in town is made here is patronising in the extreme: cultural appropriation and colonial oppression at its zenith. The cast are good, but they have poor ingredients to work with (and any shade of realism has gone AWOL: those uncovered cakes are screaming Health and Safety risk). There are a couple of other sub-plots that go absolutely nowhere, and although it looks nice, it collapses in on itself like a failed souffle (and that simile is as tired and lazy as the film).



5. The Meg (2018) - It’s like Jaws turned up to eleventy-stupid but without any of the subplots or subtlety. The Stath doesn’t quite get to punch a giant shark, but he does stab one in the eye. The special effects are pretty good and far more convincing than the so-called ‘love interest’, which has about as much appeal as a damp squib.
6. Ready or Not (2019) - With this film, directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett have done for the humorous horror genre what Knives Out did recently for the comedy thriller. It self-knowingly exposes every trope, yet still remains fresh, fun, and highly entertaining. Samara Weaving is great as the vengeful bride who is forced to protect herself from her in-laws on her explosive wedding night, and the ending manages to be unexpected.
7. A Street Cat Named Bob (2016) - Starring Luke Treadaway and Bob the cat, this is a delightful film. Roger Spottiswoode directs an adaptation of the true story of James Bowen, who manages to rehabilitate his life of drugs with the help of a cat. No longer homeless due to the proceeds of his book, Bowen now dedicates his time to helping numerous charities that involve homelessness, literacy and animal welfare. The film is a highly-sanitised version of life on the streets of London, but it is remarkably feel-good (SPOILER ALERT: Nothing bad happens to the cat) and clearly a lot of people wanted to be involved as the minor credits are full of British regulars (Joanne Frogatt, Anthony Head, Ruth Sheen, John Henshaw, Nina Wadia).