masonsaul

Little Woods is a deliberately paced slow burn that's comfortable having lots of silence throughout, resulting in a film that operates as both a tense thriller and moving drama about the real world horror of having to deal with the American healthcare system. It makes its point extremely effectively by showing how awful the system is and the dangerous yet completely understandable lengths its characters have to go to work around it.

There are a couple of great supporting turns from Lance Reddick & James Badge Dale and Lily James gets ample material too but this is Tessa Thompson's film to lead. She gives one of her best performances so far and can easily anchor proceedings by bringing a lot of empathy to a character who is trying to do the right thing despite the amount of setbacks she faces. The sisterly bond she shares with Lily James is believable and the heart of the film.

Writer & director Nia DaCosta brings an assured craftsmanship where the dialogue flows naturally thanks to the stop and start rhythm, aided by Matt Mitchell's delicate cinematography utilising wide frames that can make everything feel claustrophobic. Even when it's moving through some familiar plot beats they're done in a more nuanced fashion whilst still being able to get all the necessary tension for what always feels like an unbearable amount of time.

The Amateur takes too long to get the job done whilst remaining a consistently entertaining watch that's built on the most recognisably generic plot beats which are all executed well. The trailer really shouldn't have showcased the 2 biggest and best kills considering there's so few of them in total but it has just enough action scenes interspersed throughout to sustain this. Plus, it wisely opts not to properly sequel bait.

Rami Malek offers an action star with a specific set of skills that are uniquely tailored to his strengths. Everyone else doesn't get a lot to do so it is up to Malek to carry the film and he is definitely capable. It's a performance designed to be underestimated and full of empathetic vulnerability which makes him a worthy protagonist. Out of the fairy stacked supporting cast, Laurence Fishburne leaves the biggest impression.

Director James Hawes crafts a visually slick film that looks so much better and has far superior production values when compared to every streaming original which is just as generic and costs significantly more. All 4 (arguably 3) major action set pieces are satisfying and hone in on its protagonist's strengths. Volker Bertelmann's sombre score is a natural fit for a film operating in the morally grey world of espionage.

Friendship is a fun black comedy about male bonding with a heavy dose of cringeworthy sequences which are hard to look away from as things keep getting worse for everyone involved. It's all built on the relatable desire to belong in a friend group and takes it to absurd extremes thanks to a main character who never knows the right thing to say in any situation. There's a nice unpredictability in seeing just how bad it gets too.

Tim Robinson is so perfectly cast it's impossible to imagine anyone else being able to handle this uncomfortable material as effortlessly as he does. He's incredibly comfortable in every scene that's heavy on the awkwardness and he never relents by constantly sinking further with occasionally really funny but consistently disastrous results. Paul Rudd is great by simultaneously leaning into and going against his natural likeability.

Andrew DeYoung's direction brings plenty of visual style through the lighting, suitably bleak look and a few surreal moments with the biggest highlight being the most mundane drug trip in cinema, sponsored by Subway. Andy Rydzewski's cinematography is creating meticulous framing from the first scene and Keegan DeWitt's score also stands out because its unusual sounds aren't the norm but certainly fits what this is going for.