I was surprisingly captivated by Flow, this animated feature from Latvia directed by Gints Zilbalodis. And surprisingly again, it did deserve to pip Wallace and Gromit to the Oscar. Fortunately with not a human in sight, it was stunning to look at. The camera is always on the move, sometimes at great pace. How do they do that? It had to be a "U" certificate, but at times I found it really scary. Although the cat is the star (and what a scaredy cat he is) I loved the raccoon and the stupid dog as well as the lemur and the capybara who was always falling asleep. And who takes over steering the boat but the injured secretary bird. It was great that they all learnt to live together.
At the beginning, the cat's house is deserted. Have the owners left already and left him there as the waters start to flood. And someone is obsessed with cats, given the huge sculptures there. It works just great without dialogue, the animal noises speak for themselves. Some of the backgrounds are especially amazing. The music is great and is limited to when needed. But I didn't know that cats can swim (he is in the water a lot) or even dream? Who cares, this is just a brilliant movie. Kambole Campbell in Sight and Sound magazine said it felt "startling sophisticated" and that "the film was animated in the open-source 3D creation suite Blender" whatever that is.
I was less taken with Pamela Anderson's The Last Showgirl. It just seemed a very cheap movie, (only when I found later it was made for peanuts). The exterior shots of Las Vegas that I thought might be interesting are in very short supply. A strange sad film from director Gia Coppola, personified by Jamie Lee Curtis as the oldest and saddest ex-showgirl, now a waitress. But then I thought that Dave Bautista did so well in a sympathetic portrayal of the manager. As for Pamela, it was Wendy Ide who thought she gave the performance of her career in her four star review. I was less impressed with her character still trying to perform at 52! Over 30 years as a showgirl. The film was apparently shot in 18 days and looked like it. Jessica Kiang in Sight and Sound magazine of March this year was similarly unimpressed, " curiously cautious example" of the comeback movie.
Another surprise, and in a good way. The Amateur is an enjoyable spy thriller staring Remi Malek as a fish out of water analyst, now on the trail of the bad guys. It has taken the James Bond format and twisted the central character to someone that has to use his computer skills instead of physique to win the day. It has that fast pace, gadgets and wonderful locations - London, Paris and Istanbul. It is well directed by James Hawes and based on the book by Robert Littell. It has a very decent budget, exciting chases, and even some surprising emotional moments. Some of the scenes are very short with those quick fire sharp edits, typical for these films. A lot was shot at Pinewood Studios. So good fun while it lasted, but like Mark Kermode said, it does not outstay it's welcome or linger in the mind.
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