POMO

A praiseworthy work that dusts of the good old motorcycling setting and has a good time building a story and characters. With superbly cast actors who do excellent work. The fragile Jodie Comer among tough guys who don’t belong anywhere, so they belong to themselves. Tom Hardy’s growling and stares have never been more expressive and the rebellious heart-throb Austin Butler gives the film the spirit of the most iconic version of cinematic America (James Dean). The Bikeriders is an enjoyable old-school flick for fans of ensemble acting. It doesn’t need a sophisticated plot to be entertaining with every scene and it keeps its outcome unpredictable all the way to the end. Probably the film’s coolest and most original scene, romantic and macho at the same time, is Butler’s seduction of Jodie Comer in front of her house.

If you’re familiar with the Norwegian original and thus the whole plot, The Guilty won’t manage to thrill you. Rather, we can just enjoy the presence of Jake Gyllenhaal and compare the formalistic concept, which in this case is livened up with a communication centre’s large monitors displaying Californian wildfires. The intensity of the main character’s explosive mental state is surprising for a mainstream Netflix movie, as if Antoine Fuqua attempted to make up for the original film’s lack of rawness and authenticity. Gyllenhaal tries hard and everyone knows that he is capable, but the degree of focus on his character is almost superficially overwrought. We don’t know the character and his good human qualities enough to sympathise with him.

Bad Boys for Life was surprising with its fresh screenplay, which put new wind in the franchise’s sails. But without input from Joe Carnahan, the screenplay for Ride or Die gets sloppy. Forced jokes and a moderately interesting plot, routine action without a single memorable scene. The overwrought scene with a helicopter seems to have been flown in from the Fast & Furious franchise.  The fierceness and polish of Bay’s action style is history. However, Bay appears in one shot, DJ Khaled in a whole scene, and the central duo are still cool even without good jokes. The nostalgia, bolstered by Mark Mancina’s musical motif and the setting of Miami skyscrapers with Caribbean beaches and palm trees, simply works. And young Reggie rulez!

A corpse played by Daniel Radcliffe as the kindred spirit of a suicidal outsider played by Paul Dano? Why not?! An irresistibly imaginative and surprising cinematic flight of fancy packed with friendship, farting, existential ideas and personal fragments of life, among which each of us can find “their own”.

Alone loses points because of its unimaginative screenplay and the improbable behaviour of its characters. The forest setting is not enough, nor is the typologically well-chosen killer when there is neither the skill nor effort to motivationally shape his character, to somehow surprise the viewer or to have a greater goal than a hunt and fight for survival, which is done more interestingly by a lot of other films. An absolutely average two and a half stars.

The killers of Inisherin. This surprisingly little known Irish production with tough guy Liam Neeson is more pleasing than some of his recent Hollywood movies. Though the plot is heavily formulaic and predictable, the characters, between which sparks fly, are not one-dimensional; the story is told meticulously from the directorial standpoint, with love for westerns (including a harmonica), well-directed actors, great use of coastline panoramas and music that’s far nicer and deeper than what you would expect from a “cowboy flick with Neeson” (listen to the closing credits). The main villain played by Kerry Condon is an ultra-bitch and Ciarán Hinds and Colm Meaney are always delightful in supporting roles. Three and a half stars.

The autobiographical story of a young Sorrentino? A nice film about growing up and the effect that a terrible family tragedy has on a young man’s adolescence. In the first half, even the quarrels and friction between the characters are lightened with typical Italian humour and the film is a likable view into a Neapolitan banker's family with funny characters and moments. The second half aptly depicts the emptiness and fumbling of a teenager who has had independence thrust upon him, without the support and love of his parents. Sorrentino with a clearly comprehensible story, without metaphorical embellishments or visual eccentricities. But also with a generally well-worn story.

A slick Hollywood adventure with nicely constructed ape characters featuring flawless digital rendering of their facial expressions. And a screenplay rich in plot development in a beautiful, varied setting. But toward the end, there are some things in it that don’t make sense, that don’t correspond to the preceding meticulous narrative and the building of relationships between the characters or their logical behaviour. It seems as if there wasn’t time to polish the last few pages of the script.

The story of Furiosa and her anticipated revenge, with more looks into the Citadel, is dramaturgically richer than the endless chase in Fury Road. Despite that, it’s not emotional even in the cruellest scenes and hints of feelings. And mainly it doesn’t have Tom Hardy. However, the character of Furiosa, who since childhood has been shaped by violence, inhumanity and filth, is a strong enough draw, the film’s dynamics are incredible from the opening scene and, together with the visuals and the details contained in them, those insane masks and costumes are absolutely amazing. A filmmaking highlight of scenography and creation of an original fantastical world. But I had trouble fully believing Chris Hemsworth as the demented villain.

An extraordinarily gentle, quiet and slow film with a pure melancholic soul. It starts out as a profile of overpopulated, rain-soaked Mumbai with a look into the lives of two friends living there and later shifts to a calmer, quieter place. As the debut fictional film of an experienced documentary filmmaker, All We Imagine as Light reminds us of the interest and thoughtfulness with which original, high-quality Indian dramas can tell us about the feelings of their characters. The socially inhospitable setting and the difficulty of living life in it adds depth to their impressiveness. To be happy here means living in an illusion. [Cannes FF]