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CINEMA Film round-up

Reviews of The Reason I Jump, Fatherhood, In the Earth, It Must Be Heaven, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, Luca and Monster Hunter

The Reason I Jump (12A)
Directed by Jerry Rothwell
★★★★

DOCUMENTARIAN Jerry Rothwell provides a unique and eye-opening insight into the world of non-speaking autistic people in his visually compelling and extraordinary new film.

It is based on the best-selling book by Naoki Higashida, who wrote it when he was 13, in which he described his thoughts and feelings and what it was like to be autistic without being able to utter a word.

Rothwell blends Higashida’s revelatory insights into autism with those of five remarkable young people from across the globe. His words are spoken by a narrator (Jordan O’Donegan) while a haunting Japanese boy (Jim Fujiwara) constantly running across a formidable landscape links the experiences of the others in this immersive cinematic journey through sight and sound.

Their intimate and moving accounts will change your perception of autism — the resounding message being that just because you are unable to speak, it does not mean you have nothing to say.

This is a must-see film.

MD

In cinemas

Fatherhood
Directed by Paul Weitz
★★★

THE struggles of a widower trying to raise a baby single-handedly while battling bereavement are explored in this funny yet moving drama from co-writer director Paul Weitz (About a Boy).

It is based on the heart-warming memoir by Matt Logelin and stars Kevin Hart as Matt, whose wife (Deborah Ayorinde) dies just after giving birth to their daughter Maddy (Melody Hurd). It is an uphill struggle as Matt decides to go it alone, despite being offered help from his own family and mother-in-law (a fantastic Alfre Woodard), who has no faith in him.

Hart gives one of the most accomplished performances to date as a man who finds himself completely out of his depth in a film that walks a fine line between humour and sheer tragedy.

But Hart’s vulnerability keeps you invested in a tale that proves it takes a village to raise a child, and that there is no shame in asking for assistance.
MD

Available on Netflix

In the Earth (15)
Directed by Ben Wheatley
★★

AFTER the stylish-looking thriller Rebecca, director Ben Wheatley returns with a dowdy horror which feels like it has been made by film students on a shoestring.

Written and shot during the pandemic, it is set in a world that is searching for a cure to a disastrous virus. A nervous scientist (Joel Fry), who has been isolating for the last four months, teams up with a park scout (Ellora Torchia) to go into the woods searching for equipment, and his missing ex (Hayley Squires).

Despite the cast’s sterling efforts, what transpires is an exceedingly gory mess and a hodgepodge of ideas (dark arts, mysticism and nods to The Wicker Man thrown in) with no earth-shattering final twist or epiphany.

Wheatley has always been very hit-and-miss — this is definitely a miss.

MD

In cinemas

It Must Be Heaven (15)
Directed by Elia Suleiman
★★

AFTER a decade away, Israeli helmer Elia Suleiman returns to our screens with It Must Be Heaven, an admirably quirky — if not entirely successful — jaunt around the world in search of funding for his latest project.

Presented as a more quantitively meta riff in the space between Woody Allen and Michael Moore, there’s an undeniable charm to be found in Suleiman’s absurdist presence and physicality — a charm, though, that sadly can’t quite carry a decidedly mixed bag of unevenly developed ideas.

Suleiman’s portrayal, for instance, of a loosely fictionalised version of himself feels immeasurably more consistent and unwavering than the comedic beats which run the gamut from genuinely profound statements on militarisation and the Israel-Palestine conflict to clumsy and even asinine takes on how many guns Americans seem to own.

It may indeed be heaven for diehard fans, but, otherwise, it may just be a tad all over the shop.

Van Connor
In cinemas

The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (15)
Directed by Patrick Hughes
★★

GARNERING themselves a surprise action-comedy hit back in 2017, the gang reunites for another riotous romp across Europe in tentpole sequel, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard.

This time, disgraced bodyguard Ryan Reynolds is forced to team up with not only assassin Samuel L Jackson, but also Jackson’s fireball wife (con artist Salma Hayek) as the trio attempt to save the EU from a potentially devastating cyber attack spearheaded by Antonio Banderas’s Greek kingpin.

Sounding like it should sport all the makings of Farage-penned fanfic, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard instead plays closer to something like the Horrible Bosses or Legally Blonde sequels — for sure, the cast, crew and production talent are all back, but the magic that made them successful is unfortunately not.

Louder, more shouty, less funny, and staggeringly lazier, Reynolds, Jackson, Hayek et al simply feel on autopilot throughout, with only a handful of fleeting asides — involving more time spent with Jackson and Hayek as a rampant middle-aged couple — offering increasingly diminishing amusement.

Pivoting its previously more cynical attitude into something bafflingly more stupid, it’s less a bodyguard you’ll need to make it through this one, and more perhaps just a strong coffee.

VC

In cinemas

Luca (PG)
Directed by Enrico Casarosa
★★★

EQUAL parts The Little Mermaid and Brave, it’s off to the Italian Riviera for Disney-Pixar’s latest, Luca, in which Room’s Jacob Tremblay is the teenage sea monster who just wants to be part of your world. And ride Vespas.

Luckily our little merman, with the aid of rebellious new friend Alberto (Shazam’s Jack Dylan Grazer in an essentially identical role), discovers that their kind can pass for human when on land; a discovery made conveniently in time for a local race offering just the prize money the pair might need to realise their Vespa dreams.

Though alarmingly over-familiar and worn to broader Disney fans, there’s a lot to like in this affectionately designed and well-realised adventure from La Luna director Enrico Casarosa. There’s little to mark it out as an especially memorable effort within the canon, but Luca’s got the sparkle and shine to send you off with a smile.

VC
In cinemas

Monster Hunter (12A)
Directed by Paul W S Anderson

EVEN the most casual of Paul W S Anderson fans would be unfazed to learn that the Mortal Kombat and Resident Evil director’s long-gestating “passion project” would be an adaptation of a Konami console game. They likely would, however, be gobsmacked to learn that it’s quite dull.

And yet dull is absolutely the watchword for this troubled video game romp in which real life Mrs Anderson, Milla Jovovich, is the platoon leader stranded in an alien desert and forced to fight off a giant monster.

“Predat-Her,” if you will. Except, that would be cleverer than Monster Hunter.

A film so shockingly rote and perfunctory that you could be forgiven for assuming Meagan Goode was included after the fact, one could charitably describe Monster Hunter as Anderson attempting to discover his inner Peter Berg. After 103 minutes of it though, you’ll rather he discovered screenwriting.

VC
In cinemas

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