Review: Dear Future Children

Seeing protests and conflicts from a certain generation has become more frequent around the world in recent years.

Whether it's to do with political unrest in their respective country or climate change, a particular generation is not happy with how this world is run.

So with these sorts of stories already in regular news shows, I was intrigued to see what this film documentary would bring to the table.

Whilst showing what most of us are already aware of, there are also some interesting human stories and getting a more first hand account of the situation in the country's the film is focusing on.

Whilst the content of various conflicts, protests and summits is impactful and at time shocking, I feel it is the more grounded human stories that make this work.

Feeling their frustration I felt gave the other content much more meaning and depth.

For me, I thought this was a solid film documentary with interesting human stories to make everything that we're seeing feel a lot more real and distressing.

I can see others being really effected by this in every aspect and feel the importance this film has given itself.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Luchadoras

As a former fan of wrestling, I am very aware of the honour and tradition that is involved in Mexican wrestling.

So when I read about the synopsis for this film documentary, I was very intrigued as to would be involved.

It is definitely more than just the wrestling. This covers a lot of topical themes, particularly female empowerment and shows a type of town that I am amazed still exists.

It focuses on a few people, their struggles living in the town and others that are taking a stand and have had enough of the current order of things.

The film tells it's message with great passion and it is thanks to the people in front of the camera. You really admire these women. They each have a different challenge to overcome and the coverage we get is as personal as you can get.

It was great to see how they work their wrestling shows and how it brings the community together, despite the issues they are having to face each day.

It does have its slow moments. But there is plenty in here that makes rewarding viewing and I feel it is important to see this to realise how hard it is to live in that part of the world.

On paper, it may look to be for a certain demographics. But after seeing it, there is a lot of relatable themes covered that can appeal to a mass audience.

Rating: 7/10 

Review: The Innocents

When I think of strong, effective disturbing horrors, I usually go straight for Japan or South Korea.

However, Scandinavia is a region of the world that has given memorable features of a similar tone and vibe.

Yes, there is disturbing and even shocking content. But I think showing the darker side of childhood is the central theme in this and the horror is just background noise.

Despite it being a horror, this could be classified more as an arthouse superhero film. This could easily be linked in with 2012's 'Chronicle' or the X-Men franchise.

The performances from the child actors were very well delivered and directed. The big star was Alva Brynsmo Ramstad, who channeled Leonardo DiCaprio from 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape'. Rakel Lenora Flottum was great in the lead and strong support from Sam Ashraf and Mina Yasmin Bremseth Asheim. Those four as an ensemble cast did a great job and really helped with the tension and believability in the story.

Seeing the horror through the perspective of our child actors I feel is what made this great rather than good.

It had me constantly on the edge. There was a strong good vs evil structure. The good were easy to foot for and very sympathetic and the evil were cruel, mean and totally despicable.

That gave strong heat for me to care what was happening on screen and it made for a satisfying pay-off and viewing experience.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Hit The Road

The Iranian film industry has been going from strength or strength in recent years. I've been enjoying what they have to offer both in feature and short forms.

However, it was refreshing to see a feature from this country that had a comedic approach to a story. This is compared to most films from this country that are quiet serious and sometimes tough to watch.

The comedy caught me off guard in a good way and that eased me into the film straight away. I got strong 'Little Miss Sunshine' vibes from this. The style of humour used as well as the quirky characters involved were great value to watch.

The star of the show is child actor Rayan Sarlak. The style of humour given to him and his childish annoyance makes him great value. Also, his chemistry Hasan Majuni's character was entertaining to watch. Constantly trying to out wit each other will feel very relatable to viewers that are parents who have trying to outsmart any chance they get.

Giving us the drama and emotion of the story was thanks to Oantea Panahia's performance.

The moments of heart-breaking drama I felt mixed in well with the comedy. However, I did not feel fully aware as to what was happening in those moments. I had no idea due to the visual storytelling style used. But either I missed something in the dialogue or there was a lack of clarification.

But despite those moments of confusion, I had a surprisingly good time. The comedy and the execution of it gave me great reassurance and you could feel everyone was having a great time filming this.

Iran's film industry continues to expand and if you're struggling for a feel-good watch from this country, this is the one.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Cow

On paper, you would struggle to see if a narrative is possible to achieve.

But director Andrea Arnold and her team managed to just make this work, but bring out all the emotions.

Firstly, there is a definite clear narrative. It's a simple one, but one you can't resist but feel sympathy for the animals involved.

I liked at how the camerawork seems to slightly change depending on the surroundings. In the farm gives a shakier and more amateur style to portray the chaotic and claustrophobic perspective of the farms products.

But out on the fields, it's smoother to show a sense of freedom and blissfulness.

For the ending, while it was expected, the execution was surprising and so shockingly sudden that I didn't know what to do with myself afterwards.

There were monotonous moments in the film that dragged. But I was aware that that was the point to further show the life a cow at a farm.

Certain demographics will find this an unsettling watch and there are moments that will effect pretty much everyone.

But props to Arnold and her team for a very impactful viewing experience, that I can see converting a few people into how they eat and live etc.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Dear Mr. Brody

Going into a film documentary with no knowledge of the subject can be very rewarding.

This one is no exception.

The story is another one of those that is hard to imagine it happened in real life. There is a real sense of Willy Wonka a out it.

But after that, it goes down routes I was not expecting. From moving moments of being reunited to the dark side of obsession and deciding if there is a difference between need and greed.

This was a fascinating watch with a story that will amaze you. Not just on the surrealness of it, but how long it lasts. It is also very well put together. The cuts between the interviews, animated sequences and archive footage felt seamless and very effective.

Highly recommend and it will instantly make you want to find out more about it.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Lamb

A horror in Iceland distributed by A24 can only mean one thing, pure strangeness.

We certainly got so strange that we could lose a lot of people. But we also got a solid take on the themes of parenthood mixed in with folklore that would fit in well with a Grimm fairytale.

Early on, there were hints that had me fearing we could go completely bonkers with this story and not everyone is going to be on board with this. I was proud that I managed to work it out, which is something that I don't often be successful in.

The mood of the screening certainly changed and I was intrigued to see if they'll commit to this throughout. I feel they did in the end.

The small cast did a solid job of making this work. Noomi Rapace had great natural motherly qualities to make it a convincing performance.

The star of the show was probably the Icelandic landscape. The haunting and mysterious backdrop really gave us a new character added to the mysteriousness of this story.

Despite the shock factor this has, I feel they could have been a bit more frenetic in its execution of certain scenes, especially in the second half.

It does slow down at times and I would have liked them to explore more of the fantasy side of the story and not linger too much on the human side.

But after getting past the initial reaction of the big reveal, I thought it was pretty solid. On paper, many people including myself will think this sounds so stupid.

But the style chosen helped us show the commitment to the story and make it feel like a horror rather than an unintentional comedy that some may consider it to be.

It wouldn't surprise me if director Valdimar  Johannsson was actually Ari Aster or Robert Eggers in disguise.

Rating: 7/10