The Legend of Ochi

 
Harking back to the adventure films of the 80s and 90s where things felt more innocence and slightly more exciting, writer-director Isaiah Saxon takes us into a new world, strange yet still familiar. The island where these characters live, described as a small island and yet there are mountains, rivers and a vast landscape that takes days to cross. Possibly compared to the rest of the world the island is small but here provides a magnificent backdrop to a story of courage, curiosity and connection. The Legend of Ochi is an adventure as well as a fantasy that could just about capture the imagination of any age.

Yuri, a young farm girl living on the remote island of Carpathia, has been brought up to never go out after dark and fear the mysterious reclusive creatures known as the Ochi. Her eccentric father is obsessed with killing the creatures and trains a group of young volunteers to protect the village. But when Yuri finds an injured baby Ochi, she decides to journey across the island to return it to its home.

Full review over at Filmhounds. 

Julie Keeps Quiet

 

Julie is one of the most promising players at an elite tennis academy. When one of the coaches falls under investigation for inappropriate conduct and is suspended, the players are encouraged to speak up. However, Julie, remains quiet.

Premiering at Cannes 2024, chosen as Belgium’s entry to the Oscar’s but not nominated, co-produced by the legendary filmmakers, the Dardenne brothers, Julie Keeps Quiet already speaks loudly as a film to be taken seriously. Coupled with the subject matter where there is a lot to be said, its interesting to see director and co-writer Leonardo Van Dijl, take a different approach. Van Dijl delves beneath the surface of Julie’s quiet and often serene exterior, channelling her emotions into her tennis and keeping her dialogue to a minimum.

Full review over at Filmhounds.

Warfare

 

Pieced together from memories of the people that were there, Warfare is a slightly different ‘war’ film than we’ve seen recently, but only because the concept is far more intriguing than the finished result.

Warfare depicts a Navy SEAL platoon during an encounter in Ramadi, Iraq, set in real time. During the events, a solider is injured and the platoon request a medical evacuation, but this results in an IED exploding. The fall out of the explosion is as visceral and bloody as you can imagine, there is no holding back, we hear, see and feel every reaction from each member of the platoon. As the battle ramps up, the situation only becomes more dangerous, there is a slight shift as the rest of the platoon arrive as backup but the barrage of pain and noise never lets up.

It's interesting to that these people’s memories are what brought this film together. What each member of the team remembered and what they saw. Stripped away from this being based on real events, this is a simple concept and the cast really are to be admired, in particular Cosmo Jarvis, Will Poulter, D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai (who plays co-director and co-writer Ray Mendoza) and though not long on screen, Charles Melton. The pacing and energy makes the film somewhat play out like a thriller in a warzone, and never lets up once the explosion happens.

However, there is the constant feeling that this is snapshot of a wider story, what fresh viewpoint is it bringing to the genre and overall subject. It’s hard to answer the question as well as who is this film for other than those who enjoy these stories and maybe those who were there when it happened (at least from the US side). As the credits roll, you’ll end up reflecting on who is the audience more so than the good performances and decent filmmaking.

Drop

 

Although Drop has a very enticing hook, there is more bubbling beneath the surface of our heroine. With a somewhat simple plot, that could very easily be slid into the ‘dumb premise’ category, gradually becomes an edge of your seat thriller with an actual three-dimensional character. The technology used in the film does play a major part and follows along the trend of other recent horror-esque thrillers, but again, thankfully, Drop manages to stand apart and offers a little more than what we’ve seen before.

Violet, a widowed mother, has finally decided to go on a date with photographer Henry having met him on a dating app. During their date a very up market restaurant, Violet is plagued with messages from an anonymous person. But as the evening goes on, the messages turn into increasingly violent instructions otherwise her young son and sister will be killed. All she has to do, is kill her date.  

Full review over at Filmhounds. 

The Wedding Banquet - BFI Flare

Remakes, or a reimagining, can be construed as long overdue, unnecessary or a welcome addition. Based on Ang Lee’s 1993 film, The Wedding Banquet, directed by Andrew Ahn of Fire Island fame, fits very comfortably in the ‘welcome addition’ category. With a truly fantastic cast taking the reigns on this new version, rather than updated, the comedy hits and the emotions flow and for anyone who loves a romantic comedy, this one is most definitely for you.

Full review over at Filmhounds.