Reviews by Angus Wolfe Murray

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  My Spy (2020)

  Review preview for My Spy

  The plot runs into the ground after the first bullet is fired.

  When a kid catches a spy watching her family, she agrees not to blow his cover if he trains her up.
• 
  Misbehaviour (2020)

  Review preview for Misbehaviour

  Apart from the women/cattle cliche it is difficult to tell where the dagger of disapproval is directed.

  A group of women targets the 1970 Miss World beauty competition.
• 
  Richard Jewell (2019)

  Review preview for Richard Jewell

  The pace is well controlled and never too breathless to lose direction.

  Story of a security guard wrongly accused of the Centennial Olympic Park bombing.
• 
  The Personal History Of David Copperfield (2019)

  Review preview for The Personal History Of David Copperfield

  It would be difficult to find anything but goodness in Copperfield's personal history and a delight in the way things turn and turn again.

  Retelling of the Dickens classic.
• 
  Uncut Gems (2019)

  Review preview for Uncut Gems

  Adam Sandler has always been a contender. Sexy and fun for some. Sandpaper for others.

  With his debts mounting and angry collectors closing in, a fast-talking New York City jeweller risks everything.
• 
  Just Mercy (2019)

  Review preview for Just Mercy

  Director Destin Daniel Cretton takes it at the right pace and avoids made-to-measure emotional hooks.

  The true story of a social justice lawyer's fight to prove the innocence of an African-American on Death Row.
• 
  1917 (2019)

  Review preview for 1917

  Action is controlled and distinguished by its restraint.

  Two British soldiers are sent on a mission through no man's land.
• 
  Jumanji: The Next Level (2019)

  Review preview for Jumanji: The Next Level

  Later, when you're explaining to someone who pretends to be listening what The Next Level is about, you've forgotten and realise that it's about the characters, the personality of the actors, doing what you like best about them.

  The gang are sucked back into the game - but everything has changed.
• 
  Knives Out (2019)

  Review preview for Knives Out

  As a whodunit, the film is fun and forgettable.

  A detective is called into investigate the mysterious death of a renowned crime writer.
• 
  Motherless Brooklyn (2019)

  Review preview for Motherless Brooklyn

  Edward Norton has taken risks all down the line and proves himself capable of unquestionable courage in storytelling.

  A lonely private detective with Tourette's attempts to solve his friend's murder.
• 
  Le Mans '66 (2019)

  Review preview for Le Mans '66

  The film avoids the easy route to Clicheville and stays on the dark side of the road.

  Dramatisation of a friendship that shaped motor racing in the Sixties.
• 
  Meeting Gorbachev (2018)

  Review preview for Meeting Gorbachev

  Herzog's film does not follow the documentary conventions - would you expect anything different from him?

  Werner Herzog interviews Mikhail Gorbachev and captures the human side of a world leader as he recalls his relationships with Reagan and Thatcher, his beloved wife Raisa and his dashed dream of lasting change.
• 
  The Aeronauts (2019)

  Review preview for The Aeronauts

  The film blushes with good intentions and yet cannot fulfil its ultimate promise of discovering strength in originality.

  In 1862, daredevil pilot joins up with a meteorologist in a bid to fly higher than any human in history and they find themselves on an adventure.
• 
  The Day Shall Come (2019)

  Review preview for The Day Shall Come

  When satire bites it draws blood. This one leaks fizzy water that’s gone flat.

  An African-American preacher is targeted by the FBI.
• 
  Joker (2019)

  Review preview for Joker

  Phoenix strips the skin off your eyeballs. What happens next is a gasp away from easy.

  Origin story of Batman's arch nemesis.
• 
  Blinded By The Light (2019)

  Review preview for Blinded By The Light

  The film has a personal touch and an honesty that surpasses clever writing and naturalistic acting.

  In 1987 during the austere days of Thatcher's Britain, a teenager learns to live life, understand his family and find his own voice through the music of Bruce Springsteen.
• 
  Pavarotti (2019)

  Review preview for Pavarotti

  The honesty and decency of his character never forces the narrative into areas of embarrassment.

  Documentary about the Italian tenor.
• 
  Stuber (2019)

  Review preview for Stuber

  The plot is by numbers and has no sense of involvement.

  An Uber driver finds himself in a spot of bother after picking up a detective on the trail of a drug dealer.
• 
  Ma (2019)

  Review preview for Ma

  Spencer is good enough to hold the film together single-handed, if there is enough to hold.

  A lonely woman befriends a group of teenagers and lets them party at her house... but things take a sinister turn.
• 
  Godzilla: King Of The Monsters (2019)

  Review preview for Godzilla: King Of The Monsters

  The plot rots in its own historical juices.

  Three ancient super-species vie for supremacy.
• 
  Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile (2019)

  Review preview for Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile

  By avoiding serial cliches, director Joe Berlinger touches on a different level of revelation.

  A chronicle of the crimes of Ted Bundy from the perspective of Liz, his longtime girlfriend, who refused to believe the truth about him for years.
• 
  Long Shot (2019)

  Review preview for Long Shot

  The politics are basic if not base and do not fulfil a rich man’s lunch hour.

  A journalist unexpectedly reconnects with his babysitter... who is now planning a run for the presidency and hires him as speechwriter.
• 
  The Curse Of La Llorona (2019)

  Review preview for The Curse Of La Llorona

  The complexity of this multigenerational chiller is difficult to follow and sinks into the darkness of the waves.

  A social worker and her family become the target of supernatural malevolence.
• 
  Tolkien (2019)

  Review preview for Tolkien

  The family built barriers to stop Hollywood intrusion into the private life of JRR, their famous son, which ironically makes for a better film.

  The story of the younger years of the Lord Of The Rings author.
• 
  Red Joan (2018)

  Review preview for Red Joan

  The film succeeds in creating an objective understanding of how fashion changes and an act of generosity becomes treasonable a few generations down the line.

  The story of Joan Stanley, who was exposed as the KGB's longest-serving British spy.
• 
  Greta (2018)

  Review preview for Greta

  The plot plays with the concept of friendship as a precious gift, or a perversion of captivity.

  A young woman befriends a lonely widow whose motives aren't all they seem.
• 
  Eighth Grade (2018)

  Review preview for Eighth Grade

  The movie hangs loose on your bones.

  Thirteen-year-old Kayla endures the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence as she makes her way through the last week of middle school - the end of her thus far disastrous eighth grade year - before she begins high school.
• 
  Shazam! (2019)

  Review preview for Shazam!

  What’s missing is a plot.

  Say the magic word and this teenager turns into a superhero.
• 
  Pet Sematary (2019)

  Review preview for Pet Sematary

  The directors, Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer, avoid horror comic clichés. In fact, they avoid clichés altogether.

  When a family discover an old Native burial ground near their new home, sinister things begin to happen.
• 
  Wonder Park (2019)

  Review preview for Wonder Park

  Attempting the fusion of psychological damage with cartoon sentimentality results in a mixture of what might have been and what doesn’t work any more.

  A girl with a sick mum tries to fix a hidden amusement park.
• 
  The Vanishing (2018)

  Review preview for The Vanishing

  The film takes time to gather pace and discover its true direction. Once there, the story takes hold and won’t let go.

  Three lighthouse keepers arrive on an uninhabited island 20 miles off the Scottish coast. It is the start of a six week shift that is anything but routine as they make a discovery that provokes greed, fear, paranoia and a vicious fight for survival.
• 
  Ben Is Back (2018)

  Review preview for Ben Is Back

  The subject is important and relevant and Peter Hedges avoids the obvious pitfalls with a skilful, honest approach.

  A young man who returns home is welcomed by his mother, little realising trouble is coming through the door with him.
• 
  Everybody Knows (2018)

  Review preview for Everybody Knows

  The uncertainty is like a necklace of seaweed, tighter than a noose.

  Secrets resurface after a woman returns to her family's village for a wedding.
• 
  Fisherman's Friends (2019)

  Review preview for Fisherman's Friends

  Why something so English, which includes actors of David Hayman’s quality, despite the Scottish accent, appears rudderless is difficult to justify.

  A group of fisherman form a band.
• 
  Scotch: The Golden Dram (2018)

  Review preview for Scotch: The Golden Dram

  Scotch may be a talking heads production but it is made with a genuine feeling for the subject and a sense of responsibility that never settles comfortably into the safely of cliche.

  The story of the whisky industry told through its most famous distillers and most ardent enthusiasts.
• 
  Fighting With My Family (2018)

  Review preview for Fighting With My Family

  What comes across more than anything is how the American way dominates.

  Saraya is part of a tight-knit Norwich family who scrape a living on the local wrestling scene. Her dream is to become a bright new WWE star. When opportunity knocks, does she have what it takes to make the grade?
• 
  On The Basis Of Sex (2018)

  Review preview for On The Basis Of Sex

  What could have been preachy is fascinating.

  Biopic of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
• 
  Alita: Battle Angel (2019)

  Review preview for Alita: Battle Angel

  With its CGI clever-dickery the kick boxing is controlled and packed. T

  A woman with no memories tries to uncover the secrets of her past.
• 
  Instant Family (2018)

  Review preview for Instant Family

  Do you care? That’s asking a lot. The answer is not enough. Or, not at all.

  A couple run into trouble when they foster three kids.
• 
  A Private War (2018)

  Review preview for A Private War

  Heineman’s docu-style fits perfectly into the look and sound of things.

  Biopic of The Sunday Times war correspondent Marie Colvin while on assignment in Syria.
• 
  The Mule (2018)

  Review preview for The Mule

  The director (Clint) takes it easy, letting the actors walk through their roles in style.

  A 90-year-old horticulturist and Korean War veteran is caught transporting $3 million worth of cocaine through Illinois for a Mexican drug cartel.
• 
  Green Book (2018)

  Review preview for Green Book

  Mortensen has gained weight. He plays Tony with confidence.

  An Italian-American is hired as a driver for a world-class black pianist on a concert tour of the Deep South.
• 
  Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)

  Review preview for Can You Ever Forgive Me?

  McCarthy is a revelation.

  The true story of Lee Israel who became a literary forger.
• 
  Vice (2018)

  Review preview for Vice

  Christian Bale is unrecognisable in the role, but he’s good at that.

  The story of Dick Cheney's rise to power and manipulation of US policy, presidents and process.
• 
  Beautiful Boy (2018)

  Review preview for Beautiful Boy

  The performances are a tribute to a screenplay that avoids the worst indulgences of the urban jungle.

  A father tries to help his son break his cycle of drug addiction.
• 
  The Front Runner (2018)

  Review preview for The Front Runner

  The film stands back, doesn’t take sides. As a political thriller it stays out of politics. As a human drama it rocks to a gentle rhythm.

  The story of Gary Hart, whose presidential campaign was rocked by scandal.
• 
  Mary Queen Of Scots (2018)

  Review preview for Mary Queen Of Scots

  Robbie plays Elizabeth with a pursed lip and the promise of stability in her stern demeanour, leaving the not-so-gentle men confused and alert for change.

  The life of the monarch.
• 
  Stan & Ollie (2018)

  Review preview for Stan & Ollie

  The performances by Steve Coogan (Stan) and John C Reilly (Ollie) are above and beyond the call of duty. They give the film heart.

  True story of the late years of the comedy double-act.
• 
  The Favourite (2018)

  Review preview for The Favourite

  The film is intelligent without being soft.

  Two of Queen Anne's acolytes jockey for position.
• 
  Bumblebee (2018)

  Review preview for Bumblebee

  Here comes E.T: The Reboot, disguised as a rom-com.

  A transforming VW and a teenager strike up a friendship and try to save Earth.