Empire of Light, The Enforcer and A Man Called Otto

 

Was it just me who felt the first half was quite boring? (Possibly not if I watched it again).Whereas the second half was much better dramatically. A homage to Margate and cinema palaces of years gone by. It was The Spectator who want Sam Mendes to stop writing his own scripts (most other reviews are also pretty negative) and there is a lot that is hammy here. Every social problem of the early 1980's is crammed in. Fortunately we have cinematographer Roger Deakins filling the screen with Margate's colour. 

The film is saved (just about) by a bravura performance from Olivia Colman. Colin Firth plays the seedy cinema manager who somehow disappears completely half way through. Michael Ward is fine as Stephen, loved by Colman and his co-workers but suffering racial abuse from others. Toby Jones is excellent as the projectionist, his scene late on with Colman on the steps at the back of the cinema is superb. There are also some great supporting performances. 

Not to be confused with the 1976 (superior) Clint Eastwood movie of the same name. Predictably formulaic which was a shame. It tried hard to be character driven but failed dismally. Just didn't know what it wanted to be. Antonio Banderas looked pretty bored with the whole thing. A nonsense plot almost saved by the atmosphere of Miami. But not quite.

Tom Hanks and a cat. That is it. Well, maybe a little more, a well written and acted drama based on the Swedish  novel "A Man Called Ove". Director Marc Forster has pitched the film in a claustrophobic community where it snows a lot. I liked the flashbacks. Tom Hanks is the grumpy widower trying to keep everything out there perfect, and failing. A good supporting cast try to help him with the loss of his wife, but only the cat succeeds.