22nd October: Leo (2023)

I can imagine the pitch meeting: “you remember the start of A History of Violence? The bit before the right in the cafe?” “No, not really.” “Exactly! Now imagine it started with him fighting a hyena, you’d remember that wouldn’t you?” “Well, yes, I suppose so.”

The rest of the film carries on in the vein, ramping everything up to 11. The action is outrageous, the soundtrack is hilarious, and there’s a song and dance number about how great the drug trafficking industry is. I’m not that familiar with mainstream Indian films so it helped to watch it with an audience who were and they were loving it, probably the rowdiest audience I’ve experienced since a late night showing of Spider-Man: No Way Home (when someone shouted “you sexy beast” when Andrew Garfield first appeared). Seeing it the cinema also makes the shooting of the main character introductions make sense as they tease the reveal to get a big pop out of the audience, and it works too as each one was accompanied by shouts and whistles. The film is very silly and some of the CGI is shaky but you just get swept up by the film and the audience m

The only real drawback is that it was heavily cut in the UK to get a 15 and whoever did it didn’t wield a scalpel they hacked at it with an axe - there are some big noticeable jumps, especially late in the film. However, overall, it was a blast and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’d have just liked the option of seeing the uncut 18 version that was also passed by the BBFC.

26th October: Killers of the Flower Moon (2023):

It’s a fascinating true story and they go to great lengths to evoke the period and place but (and this might have been due to the heating being turned up a few notches in the cinema) but it seemed to go on forever. I get what Scorsese was doing in showing us their guilt, drawn out by the investigation and trial, but the last half just wasn’t as gripping as the first one where we get drip fed the ruthless plan. Oppenheimer was longer (and had a trial at the end) but I felt it needed that time and it kept you engaged right to the end, unlike KotFM. That’s not to say there isn’t a lot to like about the film and it is a story that needed to be told, but perhaps at a shorter length (or in a cooler cinema).