Easily one of the funniest, most enjoyable films about disability you’re likely to see for a long time, I Swear tells the true story of John Davidson, a Scottish lad stricken with Tourette’s Syndrome who rises above his condition to be an asset to his community and an advocate for tolerance and understanding.
Featuring an outstanding central performance by Robert Aramayo (where was his Oscar love?) the film balances the unintended hilarity of John’s involuntary, often obscene utterances with the moving story of how he comes to manage the condition with the help of friends and co-workers.
Blessed with excellent direction from writer Kirk Jones, the film is so easy to warm to, especially given the opening scene in which John has a memorable encounter with Queen Elizabeth II.
A truly wonderful film. Just beware of the naughty words because there’s a lot of them.
After a string of mediocre films aimed at non-existent niche audiences, the once-great animation studio Pixar rises from the ashes with Hoppers, a winning family film with heart, laughs and a lovely message about wildlife preservation in the modern world.
To save the beloved pond she enjoyed with her late grandmother, troublemaker Mabel accidentally has her mind transferred into to an experimental robot beaver that allows her to communicate with the local creatures and appeal to them for help.
Not only is Hoppers fast, funny and beautifully animated, it carries an intelligent eco-message about how civilisation and nature form part of the same environment – a great idea to have running beneath all the glorious mayhem.
In the space comedy-drama Project Hail Mary Ryan Gosling plays a science teacher who flies to a distant planet hoping to find a cure for the Earth’s dying sun.
There he encounters a giant alien ship whose sole passenger is on an identical mission. Together they work to save each other’s worlds, forming a strong bind in the process.
This is a fine film that, most importantly, comes good in the home stretch. If only it didn’t slow down every few minutes with flashback after flashback, some of which feel like padding.
Still, the film has been a massive box office hit. The visuals are beautiful and Gosling is personable and likeable as usual. Just prepare for the whopping 156-minute running time by avoiding black coffee beforehand.
Based on the classic Enid Blyton kids’ book, The Magic Faraway Tree is a reasonably good family film once it actually gets to the tree.
Money troubles send a family of five to the country (Claire Foy and Andrew Garfield play the parents) where the three kids happen upon the magical timber that takes them to magical places.
Not bad – and one of the few family films that actually scored a G rating.
As far as ultra-violent slasher comedies go, Pretty Lethal offers something different as five ballerinas, lead by Maddie Ziegler (from the Sia music videos) use their dance skills to deal with thugs who have trapped them in a remote Hungarian hotel.
Things get very messy as the girls kick and slash their way through the bad guys, but the novelty of seeing pretty ballerinas exact bloody revenge makes this well-made time killer a passable curio for those looking for some dark fun. Catch it on Prime.
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