The top entertainment picks to enjoy this May

The year is flying and already it is that time to get warm, spend more time indoors and find some great viewing! This is what I’ve seen recently and what I thought about it. I hope you find it useful.

It Ends With Us

Trigger Warning this movie contains intimate partner violence.

I haven’t read the very popular Colleen Hoover series of books, one of which this movie is based on. No particular reason why, I just haven’t got to it but I suspect I will eventually. I’m sure fans of the book will enjoy the film as Colleen Hoover along with Christy Hall wrote it. Justin Baldoni directed it while also playing neurosurgeon Ryle.

Blake Lively plays the aptly named florist Lily Bloom along with Jenny Slate as her best friend and eventually sister-in-law Alyssa and Brandon Sklenar as childhood sweetheart Atlas Corrigan.

It Ends with Us is the story of a woman who faces a difficult decision when she finds herself in a violent intimate relationship. It Ends with Us handles the layered intricacies of intimate violence well, creating an understanding of some of the issues albeit somewhat “movified” and that’s OK because it’s a movie, not a documentary.

Blake Lively is stunning and Eric Damon’s costume design is delightful; the sparkle boot socks Moly wears to a party are the bomb! I watched it on Binge.

The Critic

Remember the Walter Scott quote “Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive”? It could well be the byline for The Critic which is full of twists and intersecting turns. It stars the amazing Sir Ian McKellan as The Critic Jimmy Erskine, smug theatre critic for the Daily Chronicle in 1934 London. At 83, Ian Mckellan is front and centre as powerful and as mesmerising as ever. When changes to the newspaper’s ownership see Erskine given his termination notice he enters into an arrangement with actor Nina Land, (Gemma Arterton) who in return for favourable reviews does his bidding. The resultant plot darkens into deceit and death with desperation to maintain power at its heart.

There are some fabulous interiors and the 1930’s fashion to enjoy as it is visually very beautiful but don’t get distracted as you need to watch what is happening. It gets a little convoluted, with a network of relationships including a love triangle that took me by surprise. It is based on the book Curtain Call and directed by Anand Tucker. Alfred Enoch is Tom Turner, Erskine’s live in “secretary”, remember it’s London in 1934 and homosexuality is illegal, while Ben Barnes and Matthew Cottle also feature but it’s Mckellan’s masterclass portrayal of the acerbic, sneering individual clinging to power that makes the movie worth watching. I watched it on Binge.

Carmen and Bolude

Carmen and Bolude is a fun movie but carries a strong message. There are engaging characters and especially strong female leads. There are lots of laugh out loud moments and some tears. All the feels in one digestible package with some lingering messages to think about. Best friends Carmen and Bolude travel from New York City to Sydney where they have 10 days to collect 100 welcomes so that Bolude’s traditional Nigerian father will agree to allow her to marry an Australian. Inspired by true experiences and stars Michela Caratini and Bolude Watson who also wrote the movie, Caratini co-directing with Maria Isobel Delaossa

Those lingering messages are explored around cross-cultural relationships and identity in an adventure that includes New York, Sydney and some spectacular NSW sites. The “family dinner” scene is one many will relate to. with a level of discomfort that is tangible, squirmy but cleverly, funny. Everyone who has ever felt unseen or not quite sure of who they were will identify. Negotiations are currently underway for distribution via streaming services but you may catch a preview or a film festival screening which I was able to do. Disclosure: I did some unpaid work as a volunteer extra on this film and the back of my head is seen on the screen.