Showing on Amazon Prime Video.

Based on Caitlin Moran’s book, How to Build a Girl is set in 1993 Wolverhampton and follows the life of 16 yr. old schoolgirl Johanna Morrigan, a talented and passionate writer which leads to her making a less than glorious appearance on a TV poetry competition. Living in a music obsessed family with a music fanzine editor brother and frustrated drummer dad, Johanna finds herself in the world of music criticism when she earns herself a job as a columnist for a national music paper, leading her into a very grown up world via her alter ego Dolly Wilde and eventually a personality change that makes her infamous.

How to Build a Girl takes a lot from work like Adrian Mole, Bridget Jones, Almost Famous and comes with a heavy dose of dark comedy.

There are issues with it and it takes some suspension of disbelief to get onboard, from ropey accents to a bit of a lack of attention to period details and I personally feel there are issues with the “antics” and situations we place our 16 yr. old central character in.

But the story of discovery and growing up in a hard up 90’s family did draw me in and that’s in no small part to its cast, Beanie Feldstein (hugely unconvincing accent aside) is a joy in the central role, taking Johanna from innocent and naive though to her darkest moments and back again seamlessly, Paddy Considine is fun as her still dreaming dad and Laurie Kynaston as her brother standout but performances are good throughout.

As I mentioned earlier this borrows heavily from some well known work and it shows in a pretty predictable story, but there is plenty to like, especially in the performances and if your looking for a decent story of growing up then this may be what you’re after.

Showing on Sky Cinema UK and available to stream on most services.

During lockdown I’ve not done much catching up on things I missed at the cinema, however I made an exception for Ad Astra.

Directed by James Gray and starring Brad Pitt on the surface this is a space adventure, Pitt’s Roy McBride is the son of pioneer H. Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones) who captained the deep space Lima Project sent out on mission to Neptune to study the galaxy for life. Thought lost, when strange sonic pulses threaten the fabric of the solar system, it seems they are coming from Lima and that Roy’s father is still alive and that Roy is the person to contact him and bring him in.

While the premise sets up the idea of a space adventure that’s not what Ad Astra is and that’s what I enjoyed, it’s not a story about space but is much more about loneliness, abandonment, desperation to be acknowledged and isolation, not only as individuals but as a species.

This won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, it’s slow moving, the quiet times are, for me, where the interesting things happen, but I appreciate that, that isn’t for everyone.

Pitt portrays the patient and conflicted Roy and this is certainly his film, supported by a particularly grizzled Tommy Lee Jones, who does also shows a level of vulnerability and desperation. Really the entire film is carried by Pitt, he is in pretty much every scene and for large parts the only thing on screen and he does an excellent job of keeping the story moving and engaging.

I imagine it would’ve looked marvellous on the big screen and lost a little of its scale at home, but that didn’t detract from the storytelling

The film is ambitious and interesting and happy to tackle its subject, but it also leaves enough peril and tension to give you more than a character study of Roy battling his inner demons and leave a bit of space adventure too.

Pity to have missed it on the big screen, but glad to have caught up on it nonetheless.

Showing on Sky Cinema UK and available to stream on other services.

I’ve been watching The Politician on Netflix recently and one of the star turns has been Zoey Deutch so scanning for a Friday night film I came across Deutch in Buffaloed.

Directed by Tanya Wexler it takes a look at the seemingly poorly policed world of debt collecting in the US and is told in the style of Wolf of Wall Street and The Big Short. Our story teller is young hustler with a dream Peg (Deutch) obsessed with making money from childhood, via an ivy league school and the world of finance, when events take a turn that ends that dream, she finds herself working in debt collection.

After seeing the seedier side of the business, she commits to “doing it right” which leads to animosity with rivals and a daily fight to make it work.

The story telling style is familiar for watchers of this genre as Peg breaks the 4th wall to address the audience with occasional explanations of the debt collection world. It’s not at the level of Wall Street or Big Short, but for me it was a pleasant surprise, its 90 minute run time keeps it bounding along and in Deutch you get a smart, energetic and fun performance that carries the film, she is well supported by Judy Greer and Jermaine Fowler, but this is a vehicle for Deutch and she does a good job of driving it along from start to finish.

If there is a criticism its short runtime means it never really digs to deeply into its subject or explores the miserable reality of its impact, but accepting that shortfall, it doesn’t distract from an entertaining 90 minutes and at least offering some exposure to a very seedy and poorly regulated industry.

New to Netflix.

Based on Greg Rucka’s graphic novel, The Old Guard follows four “immortal” warriors who have, throughout the century’s, tried to help humanity in a positive way by doing what they “believe” to be right, saving people and lives from the actions of those who seek to do harm.

Led by Charlize Theron’s Andy our group find themselves commissioned to rescue a group of kidnapped children, where they find things are not as they seem. The group are soon joined by Kiki Layne’s Nile to take on a new threat.

The Old Guard seems like Netflix’s attempt to find itself a franchise opportunity and if I’m honest I’m not sure there is enough in this rather predictable and formulaic first outing to guarantee this is the vehicle they are looking for.

There are things to enjoy and there are some interesting sections contemplating the concept of immortality and the price that comes with it, there is also an interesting touch of jeopardy added to these seemingly indestructible beings.

Theron is as watchable as ever and is well supported by Layne, Mathias Schoenaerts, Marwen Kenzari, Luca Marinelli and the always reliable Chewetel Ejiofor.

However it comes with plenty of flaws, its lack of originality is a real issue with the film following a very similar path to any other “super hero” origins story and while not the worst it is certainly not the most interesting. One of the key story issues for me, is the wholly unbelievable nemesis Merrick (Harry Melling) who never convinces as the power crazed head of a pharmaceutical conglomerate.

While there are enjoyable moments overall its a very average adaptation which I’m not sure will warrant further installments.

Showing on Sky in the UK and various on-demand platforms.

Omar and Pete are two teenage brothers who find themselves alone after the death of their beloved Grandmother but in her passing she leaves the boys letters and in Omar’s tells him about his estranged father and he decides to go and find him in far off Blackpool.

Eaten by Lions is a strangely uneven film, but it does have its heart in the right place and is anchored by a nice on-screen relationship between the two brothers and especially by Jack Carrol’s Pete who strikes a nice balance between comedy and pathos.

Its problems stem from a rather flimsy premise and story, which while there are the chances to develop it and some of the characters more, never really does more than scratch the surface with them including the father/son story, which doesn’t grow much beyond son meeting infantile father! Instead it wastes time with a strange segment in the final act that sees Pete and Parveen on a wild ride through Blackpool picking up a range of waif and strays.

For all of its flaws the film does have things to enjoy, with some nice comic touches, a warm heart, some fun performances and lovely cinematography showing Blackpool off better than it ever has been.

It certainly not perfect but there’s enough good intentions to just about forgive it its flaws.

Showing on Netflix.

Prentice Penny writes and directs the story of Elijah (Mamoudou Athie) a young man from a black neighbourhood in Memphis who rather than following his father and grandfather into the family barbecue restaurant business, dreams of becoming a master sommelier.

What we have is a setup for a pretty standard story of boy from the wrong side of the tracks pursues an against the odds dream, with a father who doesn’t believe in him, financial struggles and a family tragedy that makes him question his choices.

But what I really liked about Uncorked was how it took that idea and played with the format. Now to me, a master sommelier seems like a very white middle class pursuit, however by placing it in a black neighbourhood provides a fun twist, the film though never makes it about race or class, but just uses that to play with stereotypes, Elijah’s friend JT (Bernard David Jones) is a great example as a young “wide boy” DJ who is equally concerned by ensuring he has drinks on coasters and his teak table as he is his music.

Uncorked is not particularly challenging and is a gentle piece of storytelling, but its heart is in the right place and it is filled with subtle humour especially from Elijah’s father Louis (Courtney B. Vance). The cast are solid throughout all offering likeable characters whose company I enjoyed.

It feels a little long and drags a bit in the final act, but it was smart enough and funny enough for me to forgive that and took full advantage of the decision to take a well trodden story and twist it just a little.

I’d suggest you get yourself a glass, pop the cork and enjoy a gentle and enjoyable story.

Showing on Netflix.

Director Greg Barker has previously made a documentary about the life of Sergio De Mello a senior UN envoy who has spent his career travelling the worlds hot spots including Cambodia and East Timor, which eventually leads to a posting in US occupied Baghdad. His film focuses around the 2003 bombing of the UN headquarters in the city, its impact and the chance for De Mello to reflect on his lives and loves.

Wagner Moura and Ana de Armas play the two central roles of De Mello and Carolina Larriera, his later life love, both of who are fascinating real life characters with no doubt interesting life stories to share.

But here’s the problem with Sergio, while there is no doubt a truly fascinating story to tell of both of our central characters, this film pretty much fails to show any of it.

Instead what we get is a film that chooses to only occasionally explore some of De Mello’s career highs and lows and instead would rather tell a melodramatic Mills and Boone style insipid love story between De Mello and Larierra including all the over ripe romance tropes you could want, especially in a frankly dull final act.

It does seem a huge missed opportunity, with not only an interesting subject but in Moura and de Amas, two talented performer’s who even with the material given to them both deliver solid and very watchable performances.

Ultimately, Sergio is a frustrating film  there’s a really good movie trying to escape, but it can never get free of the over sentimental and cloying grasp of the frankly dull romance that surrounds it and that is a real pity, the only plus is I’m going to search out Barker’s documentary because I’m sure there is an interesting character to better understand it’s just this film is most certainly not the way to do it.

Showing on Amazon Prime.

There is a lot to be said about the idea that the end of a film dictates your view of it and Troop Zero is a good example of that, because it wasn’t until right to the end that I realised I’d enjoyed it!

Set in 1977 Georgia, the film focuses on the story of Christmas Flint (played by the excellent talent that is Mackenna Grace) a young girl who is coming to the terms with losing her mother as well as being one of her schools unpopular kids, she copes with this by immersing herself in a fascination with space. Her life is changed when she learns of a NASA competition to have the words of children included on a disk to be sent to space and played out into the galaxy, however to be included she needed to be part of the winning Birdie Troop at the local Birdie Scout Jamboree, but of course she is not a Birdie Scout.

Her answer is to put together a troop made up of other kids out on the periphery of the school social ladder, which leads us to the usual story of a group of misfits trying to get together to pursue a dream against the odds and of course up against the popular kids!

What I enjoyed about Troop Zero and what its end did, was that throughout it plays a little with this common movie trope and retains a quirky nature, never been quite the sweet success story you expect, none more than Viola Davis’s Miss Rayleen who is never quite the positive cheerleader that you expect and the troop never quite achieve the things they aim for.

What I enjoyed about it most though was that it stuck true to its quirky nature right up to the end and didn’t cop out. While it’s a relatively well trodden story path, Troop Zero does it with a quirky good nature and successfully plays around with the expected twists and turns for this kind of story. I doubt it will change anyone’s life, but it’s certainly an enjoyable diversion.

Showing on Netflix.

Earlier this year there was a lot of (rightful) praise for Adam Sandler’s performance in Uncut Gems showing that there is an actor of quality, two years previous to this was the less well known (to me) The Meyerowitz Story  written and directed by Noah Baumbach a film again in which Sandler shows there is more to his acting range.

The film focuses on the Meyerowitz family which revolves around the patriarchal figure of Harold, a lecturer and frustrated artist and how his behaviour and attitude have affected those closest to him especially his three children played by Sandler, Elizabeth Marvel and Ben Stiller. When Harold becomes ill it forces the three of them together and the 2nd half of the film focuses on how they discover a family bond that had eluded them and the more they spend time together the more the realise the relationship with their father has affected their relationship and attitude on life.

It’s a darkly comedic exploration of those relationships carried by four solid performances in the central roles and a story that relies on the cinematic trope of taking the same story from multiple angles, but in Baumbachs hands it is well executed and gives you a better understanding of the perspective of each of the character’s and their relationships.

It’s not perfect, nor a light couple of hours entertainment, but it is a well put together story that kept me engaged and interested throughout with characters who you cared about or at least had sympathy for.

If you want to see Adam Sandler in something interesting but with less stress than Uncut Gems, this is worth checking out.