Reviews by Jane Fae

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  All About Nina (2018)

  Review preview for All About Nina

  This was raw, visceral stuff, for which we have writer/director Eva Vives to thank.

  A woman wrestles with difficult issues in her personal life as she strives to become a successful comedian.
• 
  Black Clover Season One (2017)

  Review preview for Black Clover Season One

  This is not great storytelling. But it is fascinating, compulsive.

  Two orphans, each of whom longs to become the Wizard King, seek paths to greatness - with or without magic.
• 
  2036 Origin Unknown (2018)

  Review preview for 2036 Origin Unknown

  There are stretches of this film that are interesting, engaging, well done. Over all, however, it feels like an ambitious project that has fallen short.

  When a scientist receives an “Origin Unknown” signal from Mars, she must investigate from mission control 150 million miles away on Earth.
• 
  Sgt Stubby: An Unlikely Hero (2018)

  Review preview for Sgt Stubby: An Unlikely Hero

  The film ceases to be history or documentary and starts to topple into the realms of propaganda.

  A dog embarks on a wartime adventure.
• 
  SpeakOut (2018)

  Review preview for SpeakOut

  SpeakOut, released 28 July 2018 at Norwich Pride, is a useful resource.

  An exploration of the experiences of young lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and questioning people coming out in the care system.
• 
  I Got Life! (2017)

  Review preview for I Got Life!

  This is a film from the perspective of women: and not just one perspective, but many, which is what gives it its richness.

  A woman embraces a new phase in her life.
• 
  Behemoth (2015)

  Review preview for Behemoth

  The art of Behemoth lies in the way it winds the viewer up in its quintessential narrative.

  Everyday life in a Mongolian community turns into a Dantesque journey. Documentary.
• 
  Venus (2017)

  Review preview for Venus

  Venus is delightful. Gentle. Lyrical. Funny.

  A transitioning woman discovers she has a teenage son.
• 
  Modern Life Is Rubbish (2017)

  Review preview for Modern Life Is Rubbish

  If you were a fan of Blur, Oasis or Radiohead, there is much here to like and relate to.

  Rom-com sees a couple whose relationship is on the rocks who find a shared love of music makes breaking up hard to do.
• 
  Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

  Review preview for Avengers: Infinity War

  Infinity War is a clearing of the decks: opportunity for new characters and plots to emerge; opportunity too for some characters to move on.

  The Avengers and their allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.
• 
  Maquia: When The Promised Flower Blooms (2018)

  Review preview for Maquia: When The Promised Flower Blooms

  An impressive score and imaginative visuals.

  An immortal girl and mortal boy meet and become friends, sharing a bond that lasts throughout the years.
• 
  Ready Player One (2018)

  Review preview for Ready Player One

  So much to like. Where this film falls down is in not moving beyond the standard quest envelope.

  When the creator of a virtual reality world called the OASIS dies, he releases a video in which he challenges all OASIS users to find his Easter Egg, which will give the finder his fortune.
• 
  Big Fish And Begonia (2016)

  Review preview for Big Fish And Begonia

  Once past the strangeness of the narrative, Big Fish And Begonia is beautiful, lyrical in every sense.

  Animated adventure about a girl who turns into a dolphin to visit the world of humans.
• 
  Mary Magdalene (2018)

  Review preview for Mary Magdalene

  At times one suspects that what the director really wanted was to dispense with dialogue altogether and substitute a plot in which Mary and Jesus spend two hours gazing meaningfully into one another's eyes.

  An interpretation of the Biblical story of the woman who travelled with Jesus.
• 
  Madame (2017)

  Review preview for Madame

  The script is cleverly done, the key relationships well and economically drawn; and while this is clearly comedy, it does not pull its punches.

  A wealthy American persuades her Spanish maid to pretend to be a noblewoman in order to make up the numbers at dinner, only to have an English aristocrat fall in love with her.
• 
  Casanova Variations (2014)

  Review preview for Casanova Variations

  How much of this is about Casanova? How much about Malkovich and his continuing public self-examination?

  Two stories about the legendary seducer.
• 
  A Caribbean Dream (2017)

  Review preview for A Caribbean Dream

  There are some brave decisions here. This is not the entire Shakespeare, but a cut down version, including the key bits and, where necessary, pruning boldly.

  A Caribbean take on A Midsummer Night's Dream.
• 
  Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

  Review preview for Thor: Ragnarok

  This really is the funniest, campest mainstream superhero film I can remember since the Adam West incarnation of Batman.

  Imprisoned, Thor finds himself in a lethal gladiatorial contest against the Hulk, his former ally.
• 
  Night Is Short, Walk On Girl (2016)

  Review preview for Night Is Short, Walk On Girl

  Do not go looking for logical narrative in this wild assortment of larger than life characters.

  A college student tries to work out how to approach the girl of his dreams on a wild night full of strange events.
• 
  The Reagan Show (2017)

  Review preview for The Reagan Show

  It's more an assortment of clips showing Reagan doing what Reagan did best, which was to project a sort of all-pervasive bonhomie through the camera lens.

  A documentary constructed entirely from clips of archive footage, exploring Ronald Reagan's media persona.
• 
  Folkbildningsterror (2014)

  Review preview for Folkbildningsterror

  This film is not afraid to take the piss out of itself. Probably.

  A queer anarchist punk musical about kidnapping a politician and taking him to the zoo.
• 
  Bushwick (2016)

  Review preview for Bushwick

  In the wake of events in Charlottesville in August 2017 it is downright terrifying.

  A young woman teams up with a military veteran to try and survive when insurgents bring war to the streets of New York City.
• 
  Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets (2017)

  Review preview for Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets

  A film that from its outset immerses you totally in the world of city Alpha, as well as the humans and aliens that throng its crowded streets.

  Two special operatives go on a mission to Alpha, where species from across the galaxy meet to share knowledge, and where an evil force is gathering its strength.
• 
  A Mermaid's Tale (2016)

  Review preview for A Mermaid's Tale

  If you are a teenager – and probably a teen girl - looking for a little non-challenging light relief, and a tale with an upbeat ending, you won't do much better than this.

  A lonely 12-year-old girl befriends a mermaid.
• 
  Napping Princess (2017)

  Review preview for Napping Princess

  There is much to like here: plenty of action, dazzling animation and a score that backs up the action without being intrusive.

  A sleepy girl's dreams of life as a princess with the power to bring the inanimate to life begin to intrude on the real world.
• 
  Final Recall (2017)

  Review preview for Final Recall

  About two-thirds in, the film turns aside from the well-travelled predictable path and becomes something else entirely.

  Five friends go to stay at a remote lake house in ignorance of the fact that planet Earth is facing an alien invasion and mass-abduction.
• 
  In This Corner Of The World (2016)

  Review preview for In This Corner Of The World

  Stay with it, allow it to draw you in and in the end you will have your reward.

  Animated story of a young woman, set against the backdrop of Second World War Hiroshima.
• 
  Destination Unknown (2017)

  Review preview for Destination Unknown

  Destination Unknown asks a subtly different question from most films that went before. Which is, how did those who came through that time survive? Even, have they truly survived?

  Dcoumentary, featuring the testimony of Holocaust survivors.
• 
  Girls Lost (2015)

  Review preview for Girls Lost

  So many questions... challenging us, in one filmic episode, to think long and hard about our definitions and expectations of trans, lesbian and gay.

  A strange plant gives three teenage girls the chance to experience life in male bodies.
• 
  Wonder Woman (2017)

  Review preview for Wonder Woman

  Sometimes a film is more, much more, than the sum of its parts.

  An Amazon princess ventures into the outside world to try and end a war.
• 
  The Wedding Invitation (2017)

  Review preview for The Wedding Invitation

  It is thoroughly endearing: a Jane Austen for modern times, exploring women and friendship in a way we rarely get to see on screen.

  Three women try to find dates for the wedding event of the year.
• 
  Amber (2017)

  Review preview for Amber

  Neatly done.

  An obsessed teenager terrorises a member of a boy band, but there's more to their interaction than meets the eye.
• 
  A Good Day to Die, Hoka Hey (2016)

  Review preview for A Good Day to Die, Hoka Hey

  The film maintains the image of a man very little interested in self-reflection.

  The life story of British conflict photographer Jason P Howe.
• 
  Miss Sloane (2016)

  Review preview for Miss Sloane

  One admires the cleverness of it, while wondering if there really are people who live like this.

  A ruthless Washington lobbyist takes on gun control.
• 
  Citizen Jane: Battle For The City (2016)

  Review preview for Citizen Jane: Battle For The City

  This documentary fails to join the dots or link a past that still resonates with a controversial present.

  In the 1960s, writer and activist Jane Jacobs fights against NYC’s most ruthless power broker, Robert Moses, and his draconian urban redevelopment plans.
• 
  Roxanne (2016)

  Review preview for Roxanne

  This is a film of contrasts.

  A transgender sex worker takes an abandoned young girl under her wing.
• 
  The Chamber (2016)

  Review preview for The Chamber

  An engaging, riveting watch.

  A submarine endeavours to locate a mysterious item at the bottom of the Yellow Sea off the dangerous shores of the Korean Peninusla. When an explosion causes it to overturn and take on water, the four-man crew enter a pressure cooker situation.
• 
  A Silent Voice (2016)

  Review preview for A Silent Voice

  Alternately, funny, engaging, witty and insightful, it cuts to the core of teenage cruelty.

  When a former bully is bullied himself, he grows up determined to make amends to the hearing impaired girl he used to pick on.
• 
  A Viable Candidate (2016)

  Review preview for A Viable Candidate

  A more compelling no-holds-barred insight into the racism at the heart of British society and the nature of power than many less talented filmmakers might achieve in a six episode drama.

  A man on the verge of becoming the UK's first black prime minister faces a difficult confrontation.
• 
  Fifty Shades Darker (2017)

  Review preview for Fifty Shades Darker

  Fifty Shades is rapidly becoming a modern erotic version of Dallas.

  Christian and Ana decide to rekindle their relationship, except this time there are no more rules or punishments.
• 
  Catfight (2016)

  Review preview for Catfight

  The make-up team have clearly been told not to stint on the blood.

  When two old college friends spend time together, their resentment of one another comes to the surface - and gets physical.
• 
  Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

  Review preview for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

  Like so many recent sci-fi/fantasy films, Rogue One both follows what came before, and delivers a much darker take on events.

  Rebels set out to steal the plans for the Empire's deadly Death Star.
• 
  Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (2016)

  Review preview for Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them

  There is meat and crunch and intelligent plotline.

  The year is 1926 and Newt Scamander has just completed a global excursion to find and document an extraordinary array of magical creatures when things go awry in New York.
• 
  The Guys Next Door (2016)

  Review preview for The Guys Next Door

  This is a very happy documentary, telling a very ordinary story of an extraordinary family coping with the addition of a second child.

  A married woman in her 40s, with a husband and three children, is also the surrogate mother for her married gay friends' children.
• 
  Suicide Kale (2015)

  Review preview for Suicide Kale

  A film about people with whom I have very little in common drew me in and made me laugh.

  A young lesbian couple discover an anonymous suicide note.
• 
  Free State Of Jones (2016)

  Review preview for Free State Of Jones

  Not surprising if the actors appear, at times, to be walking woodenly through their words. They are trying, doing their best, but they are overwhelmed by the enormity of the issues they are grappling with.

  A disillusioned Confederate army deserter returns to Mississippi and leads a militia of fellow deserters, runaway slaves, and women in an uprising against the corrupt local Confederate government.
• 
  Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children (2016)

  Review preview for Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

  Overall, the film doesn't quite achieve the level of dramatic tension it should.

  A boy who discovers a magical place that spans worlds and times comes to realise that it's under threat - and perhaps only he can save it.
• 
  Your Name (2016)

  Review preview for Your Name

  This is a lovely, joyful film from writer/director Makoto Shinkai that will, alternately, make you smile and have you perched anxiously on the edge of your seat.

  Two high school kids who've never met - city boy Taki and country girl Mitsuha - are united through their dreams.
• 
  War Dogs (2016)

  Review preview for War Dogs

  So while War Dogs includes elements of comedy, reviews describing it as “hilarious”, or pigeon-holing it as such are misleading.

  Based on a true story of two Florida friends who make a fortune as gun runners for the Americans in Afghanistan before the wheels come off.
• 
  These Final Hours (2013)

  Review preview for These Final Hours

  A compelling, interesting and well-acted redemption tale.

  The world is about to end and a young man is heading to one last party when he encounters a young girl searching for her father.