Movie reviews of Garry Arnot

Though its depiction of drug addiction is quite filtered, director Emma Westenberg has an eye for stunning compositions and Bleeding Love is a promising debut, presenting glimpses of movie magic in the genuinely tender moments between Ewan and Clara McGregor. Review

With a pulsing synth score and its deft application of violence, Karl R. Hearne’s callous revenge flick The G turns the tables on ageism and illustrates why we shouldn’t disrespect or underestimate our elders. Review

Endlessly inventive and darkly funny, Tummy Monster is a little film with big ideas. Review

A personal portrait of one of the Premier League’s greatest goalscorers, Defoe marks a promising documentary debut from director James Ross. Review

Sean Price Williams continues to rage against convention with his angsty, chaotic brand of lo-fi indie filmmaking. His feature debut The Sweet East is a messy testament to this, going against the grain with his own signature style of scuzzy grain. Review

With The Taste of Things, writer and director Trần Anh Hùng’s serves up a generous slice of salivating cinema. His sumptuous vision is French food-porn at its finest, but the story itself could’ve used a little more seasoning. Review

Andrew Haigh’s beautifully sad storytelling is illustrated by a heartstring quartet of nuanced performances that will devastate before the credits roll. Review

Incredibly funny but very moving at the same time, American Fiction does something that feels quite rare on film; it puts challenging societal themes front and centre of a bold and daring comedy, blends it with universally relatable family issues, and does it all with a staggering sense of authenticity. Review

With endearing characters and carefully engineered storytelling, we’re led to become emotionally invested in the team’s tireless efforts and The Boys in the Boat is a rousing gold medal triumph. Review

After his last couple of efforts have misfired, David Ayer leans on the bankable talents of his leading man for this hugely silly but perfectly serviceable action flick, and fans of Statham should swarm to cinemas to see it on the big screen. Review

Turning the tables on history to an extent, Sofia Coppola’s impeccably crafted character study masterfully illustrates this isolation. Review

With an inspiring true story and a terrific actor as his disposal, this was an open goal opportunity for director Taika Waititi. Instead of tapping it in, he’s really missed a sitter with this painfully unfunny dud. Review

Ridley Scott presents the type of old fashioned biopic that feels like it’s gone out of favour of late, but it works as a character study due to the tyrannical central performance. Review

With a winning turn from Paul Dano at its plucky underdog heart, Dumb Money is worth the investment. Review

Fans of the franchise will appreciate the signature style of this outing with Craig Fairbrass in brilliantly bone-crunching form, but as well as sandwiching itself in between two previous chapters, this works as a standalone revenge flick. Review

Bringing well-worn material back into the light in a unique and innovative way, Hope Dickson Leach’s version of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde is a stunning achievement. Beguiling in its skilful execution, the classic tale is reignited with themes of political greed and power that still feel very timely today. Review

Though there are some interesting ideas at play, the elements never burn as bright as they should in the execution. Not funny enough to be considered a comedy or romantic enough to be a romance, Afire is a confused portrait of an artist as an insufferable prat. Review

An impressive and visually striking debut from Freeman and Ping, Femme plays in the dangerous territory between romance and revenge, and its complex ideas are expressed through two compelling double-sided performances. Review

There’s an honesty to Passages that feels refreshingly authentic, Sachs recognising and more importantly normalising the messy lifestyles we often lead. Through this lens, his toxic love triangle is dangerously spiky, artfully abstract, but shaped into something special by the central trio of performances. Review

Masterfully pitched with the right balance of sweetness and cynicism, You Hurt My Feelings is another indie triumph from writer-director Nicole Holofcener. Review

Inventive, funny, and with an important message at its heart, Peter Sohn’s sophomore feature Elemental is exactly what you would expect from a Disney Pixar romcom. Review

In a time where the crowd-pleasing British dramedy feels like a thing of the past, Giedroyc’s Greatest Days fills the void nicely. Could it be magic? Probably not quite, but an enjoyable leading turn from Aisling Bea certainly shines. Review

With equal parts darkness and daftness, Smoking Causes Coughing is a madcap anthology that successfully showcases Quentin Dupieux’s vivid imagination. Review

War Pony is a compelling, faithful fable, and introduces a terrific Jojo Bapteise Whiting to our screens. Review