EVOLUTION ★★

Like the Russian film, Under Electric Clouds at last year’s MIFF, this French film was incredibly beautiful to watch visually, but was let down by a seemingless random and indecipherable plot. What a pity. It was about an island inhabited by young boys and women, and I guess they were experimenting with breeding and possibly inter-species breeding between squids and people. But don’t take my word for it.

THE FAMILY FANG ★★☆
American dark comedy/drama directed by and starring Jason Bateman with a great cast including Nicole Kidman and Christopher Walken. I think I’ve seen too many films about grown adult siblings getting together after a long time of not being in touch to work out their childhood issues with their parents. Started strong, but I lost interest about halfway through.

THE LOST ARCADE ★★★★
I was a kid in the 1980s and video arcades were just about the best place on earth (Hello to Wizards, Illusions and Three Rings in 1980s Calgary, and 10/4 Amusements in 1980s Melbourne). So, it’s probably not super surprising that this film was one I highly anticipated. It’s about one of the last old school video arcades in NYC, but was just as much about the friendships and tribe that was built around it. Worth seeing if you ever loved, or still love arcade games. BTW, if you’re hankering for some old retro video game playing, check out https://retropie.org.uk

TONI ERDMANN ★★☆
A well meaning German film about an aging father’s attempts to reconnect with his high-powered executive daughter who lives in Romania and doesn’t have much time for a personal life. This wasn’t a bad film, but I think it could have been a little better edited and possibly 20-30 minutes shorter. Had some nice moments, but didn’t really deliver for me.

HIRED GUN ★★★☆

Pretty awesome doco about session musicians who help lay down some of the famous riffs you’d attribute to major artists, mainly because they’re rarely attributed. I thought the guy from Filter seemed like a dickhead back when he ripped off NIN’s sound in the 90s, and now I’m pretty sure of it. Was glad to see Toto in there (who were session musicians for a little album called ‘Thriller’ by  Michael Jackson), and it was a bit of a thrill to have Ray Parker Jr in the audience and doing a q&a after. Who knew he worked with Stevie Wonder and the Rolling Stones before making that tune that sounds suspiciously like Huey Lewis & The News’ ‘I want a new drug’?