Movie reviews of Garry Arnot

It’s wild and rebellious and has a remarkable sense of hope as well as heartache, and the theatre material is elevated on the big screen by terrifically moving performances, a sublime soundtrack, and an exciting artistic flair. Review

Clarke Duke’s first foray into filmmaking has resulted in a slacker comedy which masquerades as a gangster flick. Moving at the pace of a Southern drawl, Arkansas is casually entertaining and worth a watch if only for Vince Vaughn’s compelling performance. Review

A White, White Day is a brilliant portrait of grief and frustration by Hlynur Pálmason. Review

Tackling hard-hitting themes, the emotion in this piece is just as, if not, more integral to the film’s success than the humour, and The King of Staten Island might just be his most accomplished film to date. Review

A mixed-bag of movie that can’t, but also doesn’t really want to, escape the past. Review

Within the saturated war movie sub-genre, Jakubowicz succeeds in bringing a unique and inspiring tale of courage and bravery to the big screen. However, this depiction struggles to handle the various moving parts of the story effectively, lacking the nuance and skill that Marcel Marceau went onto become so well known for. Review

Fanny Lye Deliver’d makes for challenging yet utterly compelling viewing, like Haneke’s Funny Games reimagined in 17th century England. Clay does so much with so little, turning period drama into period trauma with a folk-horror twist. Review

Enemy Lines can be rather clumsy as it trudges through the minefield of war film clichés, but Banke’s astute direction cashes in on the breath-taking snowscape locations it unfolds upon, and he plays to his strengths in constructing energetic action sequences. Review

Ema has a vivid experimental style whilst dealing with sexually explicit and often harrowing subject matter, and Pablo Larraín expresses versatility as a director to handle the tonal shifts of a complex story. Review

Jane’s strenuous bad day at the office might be a mere footnote within the overarching story of workplace toxicity, but Kitty Green tells it with chilling intimacy and well-crafted conviction. Review

Gavron controls the chaos masterfully in a warm tale of friendship where, as the title sequence puts it, ‘real queens fix each other’s crowns’. Review

The traditional genre material is elevated by a trio of fantastic performances. Review

Bringing playful quirks to an area that appears to be close to his heart, his vivid imagination shines a positive light on subject matter that is usually shrouded in darkness. Review

Like Ben’s on-stage shtick, Standing Up, Falling Down doesn’t quite hit the comic beats necessary to make it a rousing success. It’s a perfectly fine routine but lacks an impactful punchline. Review

Eastwood presents the horrible fickleness of heroism with Richard Jewell, an intense and engaging retelling of a dark chapter in American history. Review

Parasite is packed full of shocks, suspense, and wickedly dark humour, but the storytelling is perfectly streamlined by Bong Joon-ho. Rich in subtext and astute in its razor-sharp microcosmic study of class divide, it’s a compelling cinematic experience from start to finish. Review

It’s an engaging, angry picture of prejudice and suspense presented with style, substance, and a suitably super soundtrack by the exciting creative mind of Melina Matsoukas. Review

The Gentlemen might lack the cutting edge and the social significance of Guy Ritchie’s previous pieces, but this crafty crime caper is proof that the master of mockney is still more than capable of spinning an entertaining yarn. Review

Little Women is a brilliant take of a classic tale and feels very relevant today despite its wholesome period setting. Greta Gerwig stays true to the established universal themes and shapes them around a fresh, sharp script, and though Alcott’s characters are already so well drawn, she’s added some significant shading in her own style. Review

Even by the far-flung constructs of the sci-fi fantasy genre, the plot is nonsensical, and the action is completely forgettable. The Rise of Skywalker is a rescue mission gone terribly wrong. Review

It might be haunted by its iconic origins, but Doctor Sleep pedals down freshly carpeted corridors of Stephen King terror. Flanagan presents a gripping study of Danny Torrance’s psychic abilities but the filmmaker himself pulls off the biggest trick of them all in the way he handles the material; paying homage to the old whilst breathing life into the new. Review

Le Mans ’66 takes us around a well-worn track and every bend is easily anticipated. It’s like a Rocky movie made for the road instead of the boxing ring, with Bale squaring up against business bigwigs, his racing rivals, and tiresome cinema conventions. Review

Harrowing and hard-hitting in its depiction of family hardship, Loach leaves no stone unturned in his portrayal of impoverished employment. Boosted by a hugely impressive performance by Hitchen, Sorry We Missed You is important, must-see cinema. Review

It’s an emotional film that breathes deeply, speaks softly, and demands your undivided attention. Not a single frame goes to waste in this magnificent coup de maître of cinema. Review