Honeyland

This is an intriguing documentary, done with no commentary and through just observing a honey gatherer in a small Macedonian village, and how her business is affected by new arrivals with a different philosophy. I must admit this wasn't quite up my alley - it takes its time to draw things together, and, in all honesty, I do feel that this might be open to accusations of not playing entirely fair with its subject (in particular, the father of the family of new arrivals never really gets a balanced portrait, it seems if there was any footage of him not behaving like an arsehole, it never got used). But I appreciate the underlying metaphor and the time and dedication taken - even if I don't utterly love this.

The Invisible Man

A clever look at the oft-told tale, this version completely forgrounds the experience of our invisible douchebag's victim, played by Elizabeth Moss - first seen fleeing his house, we get the creeping sense that he hasn't left her behind (despite his apparent death), as strange experiences start to pile up. Director Leigh Whannel is one of those, formerly known best as a screenwriter, who knows how to bring a strong visual sense to the table, and this one is great at letting long lingering shots play out as we are constantly disconcerted by what we can't see. The build up to vicious mayhem is ratcheted carefully, with Moss' post-traumatic figure surviving worsening odds, with a suitably bold finale. This is excellent work well worth catching.

Honey Boy

This is slightly like watching someone else's therapy with the names mildly changed. Shia LeBoef wrote and stars in this story of a child actor whose relationship with his father is best described as "mixed" - he's the sole source of income for his father (as dad chaperones him on film sets) and his dad is his main role model (LeBoef plays the dad). We know this didn't go well as we're also introduced to a twenty-something version of the kid as he goes through his third try at rehab, attempting to process this (Lucas Hedges is good if slightly miscast as he matches neither with the kid playing his younger self nor looks particularly Jewish, which dialogue establishes this kid is). It results in a visually impressive and heartfelt film that, if it never really tries to deal with a fully rounded plot, exposes something raw and moving.

Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears

Reasonable nonsense without ever really transcending its TV origins, this knows what the audience is here for (basically, Essie Davis looking fabulous in a bunch of different outfits dropping bon mots and solving crimes) and gives us as much of it as possible (she gets through four costume changes in the first ten minutes). It's at least partially aware of its own absurdity, but the actual plot tends to drag just a bit as the mix of ancient curses and British skullduggery in and around 1929 Palestine never really adds up to anything particularly special. There's not a lot around Davis to really get invested in (even Miriam Margoyles, usually a guaranteed scene stealer, doesn't get much to do), though there is a lot of period charm in the sets and costumes. Still mostly enjoyable.

The Call of the Wild

A reasonable example of a dog-story (and frankly, I'm glad the dog looks a little CGI stylized - films with real looking dogs going through these kinda stunts make me uneasy as I worry about how many dogs got hurt or maimed along the way). While the plot is largely an odd collection of incidents as Buck goes from pampered judge's dog to Sled Dog to Harrison Ford's Best Friend, there's some decent moments along the way, along with a collection of weird stuff (including getting Bradley Whitford in a Southern-style-mansion-with-slaves that inevitably invokes "Get Out", and Dan Stevens channeling the soul of late-period Cary Elwes as a foppish villain). Harrison Ford's narration plays like the narrative blu-tack that it is, though when he's actually on screen he's not nearly as sleepy as he is in voice over (he does appear to enjoy being round CGI the Dog). And it's touching and adorable and probably has no resemblance to anything that's actually happened in nature or any theories of animal behaviour ever, but I still mostly enjoyed it.

Fantasy Island

Look, in many ways this is a mediocre horror movie stapled onto a pre-existing property (the 1970s anthology-by-stealth series where various guest stars experienced "be careful what you wish for" fates on a weekly basis). This time Michael Pena takes over the Montalban mantle, keeping suitably mysterious as our master of ceremonies, with a bunch of middling actors mostly with CW backgrounds as the guests, And yeah, this is, to a certain extent, gory soap opera - but dammit, I liked that in the late 90s and I like it now. There are a tonne of dumb twists piling up here, and I can't guarantee some character behaviour makes a lot of sense ... but never the less, I didn't actually hate this, for reasons that probably say more about me than they do about the movie.

Emma

This is a pretty solid Jane Austen adaptation with a bit of wit, romance and, yep, a random butt shot early on (apparently someone wanted to up the stakes on the Colin Firth Wet-Flouncy-shirt scene from the BBC Pride and Prejudice). There's strong visual style and enjoyment of the period, though it does take a while for this to really settle into being fun - the set-up of so many characters and side plots does take a while (and this doesn't top "Clueless" in getting that out of the way early). Anna Taylor-Joy enjoys a chance to do British snobbery for a bit, Johnny Flynn is damn good looking as the leading man type she's going to end up with, Bill Nighy kinda steals every scene he's in with sardonic side glances. Once it's settled into its groove this pays off pretty reasonably for those looking for a period romp.