Gripping Irish drama The Sparrow, plus 1980s retread Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, 1980s-set slasher MaXXXine, and strange Japanese anime Blue Lock the Movie: Episode Nagi
The Sparrow ★★★★☆
Directed by Michael Kinirons. Starring Ollie West, David O’Hara, Éanna Hardwicke, Aisling O’Sullivan, Isabelle Connolly, Dara Devaney, Mark O’Halloran, Michelle Gleeson.15A cert, gen release, 92 min
A young man struggles with oppressive masculinity following a secret trauma. The vice-like grip of The Swallow’s escalating tension is complemented by Christopher White’s sorrowful score, Aza Hand and Adrian Conway’s Ifta-wining sound design, and Richard Kendrick’s lush cinematography. The production design foregrounds watery greens and ominous shadows. A judicious use of overhead, omnipotent shots gives a sense of mounting consequences. A belated and most welcome release for the exquisitely crafted, expertly performed winner of best debut feature at the 2022 Galway Film Fleadh. Strong performances from West as the troubled protagonist and Hardwicke as his more assured brother. Full review TB
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F ★★★☆☆
Directed by Mark Molloy. Starring Eddie Murphy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser, Bronson Pinchot, Kevin Bacon. Netflix, 115 min
So-so, much delayed fourth chapter in the cycle that (still) finds Murphy’s eponymous Detroit cop bouncing about posher bits of LA. Nobody hitherto unaware of the franchise would, watching Murphy, Paige and Gordon-Levitt squabble their way along Rodeo Drive, guess that Axel F was the latest episode in a once-smash comedy behemoth. But each actor is better than the material deserves. Murphy reminds us, albeit at a lower temperature, what caused so many heads to laugh themselves off shoulders during his pomp. Still, it does feel like a missive from another century (as, indeed, it is). Full review DC
MaXXXine ★★★☆☆
Directed by Ti West. Starring Mia Goth, Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito, Kevin Bacon. 18 cert, gen release, 104 min
The Night Stalker! Dee Snider at the PMTC hearings! MaXXXine, the third (and weakest) instalment of West’s impossibly hip X horror trilogy, starts with a riot of 1980s references. It’s 1985, and Mia Goth, reprising her role as porn star Maxine Minx, sashays into an audition. Her southern drawl appeals to Liz (Debicki), the director of The Puritan 2. Goth remains fiercely committed to the bit. West, a talented, ideas-driven filmmaker, makes merry with contemporaneous tropes, yet falls well short of the substance or sleaze that defined Cruising, Hardcore or the other films referenced throughout. Full review TB
Blue Lock the Movie: Episode Nagi ★★★☆☆
Directed by Shunsuke Ishikawa. Voices of Nobunaga Shimazaki, Yuma Uchida, Kazuyuki Okitsu. 12A cert, gen release, 91 min
Deeply strange anime — derived from a hit manga and TV series — concerning a sinister academy for developing top Japanese footballers. The visuals are boldly declamatory. The translated dialogue has a faintly AI quality. “Don’t underestimate soccer!” we hear more than once. I wouldn’t dream of it. The film stands out for its singular Freudian deconstruction of the footballing ethos. It is, apparently, all about marshalling a particular class of ego. Football reimagined as a heightened form of futuristic warfare. Those who already know they like it will like it very much. Full review DC