POMO

This dark pathological thriller descends into horror not through scares or a sense of dread, but through a chillingly realistic rendering of a disturbing subject. With its atmospherically appropriate setting in gloomy New York, the film features a creepy lead character superbly stylised by Marin Ireland. The film is psychologically balanced, as the motivations of the two doctor characters are understandable despite the definite crossing of ethical boundaries. Only the directorial guidance of the child actress is weak, and the film’s conclusion lazily avoids the escalation of tension that the viewer expected.

An homage to French horror movies of the 1960s and ’70s (e.g. the films of Jean Rollin). Nice retro visuals and an appropriate soundtrack including dreamy vocals. But the film is bland in terms of plot. Two teenagers run away from a Catholic girls’ school to attend a party for adults at a chateau, where they experience their first contact with boys, one of whom happens to be a vampire. And that’s it. Exalted boredom with pseudo-dramatization and criminally underused potential. [Sitges Film Festival]

With its subject matter, You Sing Loud, I Sing Louder is hackneyed low-key, low-budget banality that can’t be faulted much in its details and it’s interesting because it brings Ewan McGregor and his real-life daughter Clara McGregor together in front of the camera as the characters of a man and his daughter. [Karlovy Vary International Film Festival]

A film that knows what it's doing with every scene, character, humorous moment, choreographed fight and unexpected twist. And despite the mix of a serious subject with comedic abstraction, it never slides into cheapness or bombast for even a second. In terms of screenwriting, it’s three times more sophisticated than Sisu and, in terms of directing, there are few other films that are as tasteful and fresh without bigger-name actors.

Woody Harrelson is great, Kaitlin Olson is edgy and there is one joke and an apt one-liner that (of course) I had never heard in any American film before. The rest of Champions is made up only of the most hackneyed clichés of feel-good sports movies delivered in an average screenplay. But could I have expected anything more from Farrelly?

Veganism is out – don’t eat at all and you’ll become a saint. The progressive Jessica Hausner again composes wonderful industry exteriors and interiors, this time with an industrial and pulp touch (the luxury house is incredible), and the story delves into several issues: the dangers of manipulation at the hands of a mentor, pubescent self-discovery and, ironically, the increasing adoption of emerging diet trends. Her abstract world of characters with almost Wes Anderson-esque style is playful while being both funny and serious, but it is still not mature enough to leave a deeper and lasting impression. [Cannes FF]

It’s a shame that the evil is so divorced from reality due to its physical abilities and movements, while the film itself otherwise tries to remain firmly rooted in reality. And it’s also a shame about all of the strange and ill-conceived moments in the characters’ behavior and generally how they are set in the course of the scenes. Because otherwise, this “girl under the stairs from Holdenfield” very interestingly plays with genre clichés and is capable of surprising and delighting the viewer with delicious cinematography, editing and soundtrack treats.

I would have expected a sophisticated social satire from the South Korean envoy to the Oscars, especially now, just a few years after the brilliant Parasite. But Concrete Utopia is merely a technically polished post-apocalyptic genre movie with ordinary conflicts between the characters and a kitschy ending that tries for straightforward feeling without first building relationship emotions. It surely works as a blockbuster for the masses, as actor Byung-hun Lee is already a major-league crowd-puller, but the film is rather only for Asian audiences. [Sitges Film Festival]

A dialogue-based exploration of a woman’s complicated sexuality through flashbacks to her youth, childhood, relationship with her father, etc. Though this is an interesting subject for viewers, it is conveyed in a banal and overly safe manner reminiscent of a family film, without any creative artistic investment. The only part of the film that isn’t hackneyed in cinematic terms is the depiction of the first signs of sexual development in childhood. [Cannes FF]

I didn't really expect to like this, so it was an even more pleasant surprise. The plot formula is clichéd, but it’s dressed up with a lot of imaginative and likably playful details, including dialogue devices showing that the movie’s creators are more clever than is usually the case with such farces. This will turn out to be a successful franchise if it keeps the quality at this level.