Weekend Reviews episode #3

By Adam Ray Palmer
 
This feature does exactly what it says in the title. Some reviews of films, from over the weekend – basically.
 
No matter the genre, nor the year… I basically watch a streaming service, or a DVD, and do a little bite-sized reviews for you to agree or disagree to.

Out of the three, let me know which film you prefer!

You Were Never Really Here
Joaquin Phoenix, the best actor working today, plays a traumatized veteran who tracks down missing girls for a living. This 90-minute film unravels in no time as we join Phoenix taking on a job that spirals out of control, testing his mentality and turning his nightmares into a reality. Lynne Ramsay (writer/director) excels at the directing, creating a dark and gloomy videogame like feel with a tense sequence always looming. I just feel the script seems a little too light in areas, making this film a rounded 3.5 stars out of 5 for me.
 
Cineroom’s rating: 3.5 stars

Good Time
This film is very similar to You Were Never Really Here actually, it feels very much of the same vibe. It’s gritty, dark and tense, but still feels light on the narrative. Robert Pattinson and Benny Safdie star as bank-robbing brothers on the run. When Safdie is caught, it’s up to Pattinson to get him out of jail. What reads as an exciting plot plays out relatively mild. I would describe this film as very much style over substance. It’s worth 100 minutes of your time if you have a Netflix subscription.
 
Cineroom’s rating: 3 stars

Paddington 2
This is definitely my film of the weekend. The first Paddington movie was a great surprise to most cinema-lovers and so when this one arrived in 2017, the expectation was high. Well, the expectation was just about met. The comedy zingers, the cameos, the camerawork – all components are on point. In this instalment, Paddington (Ben Whishaw) picks up a series of odd jobs to buy the perfect present for his Aunt Lucy's (Imelda Staunton's) 100th birthday, only for the gift to be stolen. Then from here, things go awry for the bear, but the movie just gets better and better. Bring on a third film please!
 
Cineroom’s rating: 4 stars