END OF OAK STREET
(12A) 99mins
★★★☆☆
SINCE the explosive success of Stranger Things, the style of Spielberg’s Eighties sci-fi films is trendy – and this film leans into that nostalgia.
You know — the American small town where kids play out on the street and strange goings-on happen while the parents are too busy to notice.
That is certainly the feel of this action-horror movie, which combines ET with Jurassic Park.
It follows the Platt family, who are living in American suburbia in the Eighties — a more innocent time when neighbours had street barbecues and teens spent hours on their Walkmans.
Dad Greg (Ewan McGregor) and mum Denise (Anne Hathaway) appear to be a perfect union, but behind closed doors they are discussing divorce.
Their kids, Audrey (Maisy Stella) and Brian (Christian Convery) are concerned, but the foursome paper over the cracks by eating pizza and chatting about their naughty dog, Starbuck.
Soon though, their home life is thrown into disarray when a mysterious cosmic event rips through the neighbourhood and surrounds it with time before the Big Bang.
This brings tropical temperatures, terrifying water levels and lashings of really hungry dinosaurs that couldn’t care less if you own a gun.
The family have to stick together to work out how they can transport themselves out of this seemingly broken time machine — while avoiding being chomped on by a T-Rex.
There are a few jumpy moments early on and, like many “mysterious goings-on” films, it’s scarier when you don’t see the enemy.
But the build-up is intriguing and there are some nice, nostalgic Eighties moments thrown in for the millennials to enjoy.
Sadly, it’s a lacklustre performance from McGregor in a bad wig, who looks like he would rather become dino-feed than be in this film, as he has zero chemistry with the rest of the family.
While Hathaway is more watchable, she appears so distractingly young, she could swap roles with the actress playing her daughter.
Director David Robert Mitchell does a decent job showing his commitment to the genre and gives a few nods to Spielberg’s camera techniques for film geeks.
But, while perfectly entertaining, the story gets a little overcomplicated and the characters are not engaging enough for it to join the ranks of a truly great monster movie.
LADY
(15) 95mins
★★★★☆
KOOKY characters in film can quickly become tiresome, but not so in this bizarre and brilliant mockumentary about a flamboyant lady of the manor.
Lady Isabella (Fleabag’s Sian Clifford) rattles around with her housekeeper in the vast Ravenhyde Hall, until she becomes the subject of a documentary, allegedly for Netflix, calling herself “aristocracy’s answer to the Kardashians”.
Going at high octane all the time, she is in truth achingly lonely – one companion is a raven called Ricky.
This changes with the arrival of a camera crew led by director Sam (Laurie Kynaston), a trendy filmmaker.
But he is soon put in his place by the hilarious Isabella, who ignores his directions, calls “cut” regularly and even tries to seduce him with some milk when he is lactose intolerant.
The madcap satire soon turns into a study filled with empathy and intriguing, unconventional relationships.
Clifford gives a cracking performance, never pushing into caricature, and Kynaston is the perfect juxtaposition as the seemingly sane but hugely insecure director.
Surreal, sweet and seriously funny.
TONY
(15) 106mins
★★☆☆☆
IT’S not easy to make movies about real-life figures who have a cult following, which puts pressure on this story of how celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain became a culinary icon.
So instead of getting into the film about Bourdain becoming the great man the world knew, it’s more of a coming-of-age story that could be about anyone.
Tony (Dominic Sessa) has flunked school and travels to Provincetown, Massachusetts, to chase Nancy (Emilia Jones), a crush he barely knows.
Skint and with nowhere to live, he soon finds himself washing dishes in the restaurant of a local chef (Antonio Banderas) and sleeping in his hammock.
Working alongside him is drug-loving ladies’ man Sal (Leo Woodall), who regularly vomits in a bin on shift. Tony apparently becomes inspired.
Tony spends a really long time staring at things in a daze and not saying much.
When he does speak, it’s pretty infuriating.
With no real direction, this becomes more of a buddy movie than an insight into how the now sadly deceased great man became such a hit around the world.
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