'Arthur's Whisky' Reviews:

         On October 4, 2024, 'Arthur's Whiskey' was released by Vertical to predominantly positive reviews from critics, currently holding at 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. "Arthur's Whisky is a charming, feel-good comedy about living in the moment. When Joan's (Patricia Hodge) husband dies, she discovers he had invented an anti-aging elixir that literally takes the years off. Sharing it with her two friends Linda (Diane Keaton) and Susan (Lulu), the three rejuvenated women waste no time in painting the town red, but they soon realize it's a very different world to the one they remember." The ensemble cast includes David Harewood and Hayley Mills. But what did the critics say?

        Leslie Felperin of Guardian says, "The cast, from the leads down to the bit players, feels pretty random, and some might wonder if the ensemble hasn’t gone through a number of transformations between greenlight and the wrap party. But the core threesome have a pleasant chemistry and are pros enough to make it work for an audience unlikely to be especially critical."

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       Kat Halstead of Common Sense Media notes, "Watching Arthur's Whisky, there's a sense of warmth, friendship, and fun that feels authentic and makes you wonder whether these actors bonded in the same way on set." Adding, "Their younger counterparts have a similar energy, doing a great job of stepping into pretty established shoes -- particularly Genevieve Gaunt, who plays the younger Keaton, and has her gestures and mannerisms down to a tee (no doubt having mined her back catalog for inspiration). Elsewhere Adil Ray (Citizen Khan) makes an impact as the charming love interest, and the likes of Boy George, Hayley Mills (The Parent Trap), and Lawrence Chaney (RuPaul's Drag Race UK) pop up too. There are definitely generic depictions of women aging -- talking about wrinkles, sagging breasts, difficulty getting up out of chairs, etc. -- that might cause a few eyes to roll, but there's enough else happening to let it slide and concentrate on what is a warm, funny tale of friendship, regardless of age."

'Lee' Reviews: Kate Winslet Anchors Film that "struggles to match her sense of urgency"

         On September 27, 2024, Roadside Attractions and Vertical released 'Lee', which has received a mixed reception from critics, currently holding at 64% on Rotten Tomatoes alongside a Critics Consensus that reads, "Kate Winslet's gripping performance in the title role helps elevate Lee beyond its disappointingly conventional biopic trappings." The ensemble cast includes Kate Winslet, Andy Samberg, Marion Cotillard, Josh O'Connor, Andrea Riseborough, and Alexander Skarsgård. Read the full review round-up below.

        Joey Magidson of Awards Radar says, "Too many people have never heard of Lee Miller. In the past decade or so, the model turned war photographer began to get a moment in the sun, but it has taken until now for a biopic to come together. Now, we have one in Lee and it’s a throwback film, for better and worse. It’s elegant and stacked with strong actors, but with a sense of eating your vegetables that other biopics have been able to shake of late. The good outweighs the bad, but it’s close. Lee lives and dies with its lead performance. Watching Miller come to life through Kate Winslet, who also produces and truly shepherded this story into existence, is actually very compelling. She’s too good an actress not to ace this role, and she’s incredibly invested, but the overall project struggles to match her sense of urgency."

       G. Allen Johnson of San Francisco Chronicle notes, "Lee,” based on Antony Penrose’s biography of his mother, “The Lives of Lee Miller,” is an interesting look at an artist whose true importance, unfortunately, became apparent only many years after her death."

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       Saskia Baron of The Arts Desk was less impressed, stating, "Anyone who has seen Lee Miller’s photographs – those taken of her in the 1920s when she was a dazzling American beauty, those she took as a World War Two photojournalist – and read about her extraordinary life will have thought: this will make a great biopic. Unfortunately, it’s precisely because those photographs have become so familiar that Lee was destined to be a frustrating film. We know what Miller looked like from the pictures taken of her by the likes of Edward Steichen, Man Ray, and David Scherman. It’s hard not to have those images in mind when watching the also familiar Kate Winslet portray Miller on screen. It's hard, as well, to be convinced by the movie, especially the 1977 scenes in which Winslet plays the 70-year-old Miller with none-too-subtle ageing make-up." Concluding, "The film’s biggest problem is the weary framing device that has a young man interviewing the ageing Miller about her life. Even the twist at the end, which reveals that the interviewer (played by Josh O’Connor with his trademark pout) isn’t some opportunistic journalist, doesn’t make these scenes work. It's best to stick to the excellent documentaries that have been made about Miller, her photographs, and the fascinatiing books about her written by Anthony Penrose, her son."

        Alex Sims of Time Out praises the film, stating, "As an argument for how urgent and powerful photography can be, and the debt we owe Miller for the lengths she went to take those images, Lee wins hands down."

'The Order' Impresses at the Venice Film Festival

        On December 6, 2024, after an impressive showing at the Venice Film Festival, Vertical releases 'The Order', which has earned predominantly positive reviews from critics, currently holding at 76% on Rotten Tomatoes. In the film, "For over a year, a series of bold daylight bank robberies and armored car heists leaves law enforcement baffled and the public panicked throughout the Pacific Northwest. As the attacks become increasingly violent, FBI agent Terry Husk (Jude Law) becomes convinced that the robberies are the work of a domestic terrorist gang that plan to use the loot to finance an armed uprising against the U.S. government. Based on a true story, The Order follows Husk and his team into the tangled world of white supremacists to try to head off a violent uprising that could shatter the nation. As the militia builds a war chest of over $4 million, Husk pursues the malevolent racist Bob Mathews to a final bloody standoff that will go down in U.S. history." The ensemble cast includes Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Jurnee Smollett, Alison Oliver, Marc Maron, and George Tchortov. But what did the critics say?

        Gregory Ellwood of The Playlist notes, "Despite a subject matter that feels shockingly contemporary, a plethora of fine performances, and true-life events that are a gift to any screenwriter, the movie ends, for lack of a better word, with a complete thud. And that’s not hyperbole. In all fairness, we cannot remember the last time we screened a movie that closed with such a dramatic whimper. There is nothing to spoil. Nothing is shocking. It just comes to a disjointed conclusion. And completely takes out the emotional sails of everything that preceded it. So much so that you leave the theater wondering, “How on earth did that happen?” We can’t wait for an answer."

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        Alonso Duralde of The Film Verdict says, "The relevant can still feel depressingly familiar, which keeps The Order from registering as anything but a slightly more competent tale of FBI agents circling in on bomb-throwing racists." 

        Jonathan Romney of Guardian praises the film, stating, "Visually though, the film means business, with the desaturated, almost tawdry pallor of Adam Arkapaw’s photography evoking a weary early 80s America, in contrast with the richly tactile panoramas of the film’s northwestern forests, rivers and sweeps of rockface. As for Law – sporting a bristling moustache and some girth that evoke the weariness that Husk must fight in himself – he gives a sometimes warm, sometimes commandingly irascible performance that shows this actor moving confidently into middle-career authority. He and Hoult’s icy-eyed adversary combine to somewhat mythical resonance; a wrestle-with-the-demon duo that actually fits the political context to pointed effect."

        Ema Sasic of Next Best Picture writes, "Kurzel, who previously examined the life and behaviors of a mentally distressed young man in “Nitram,” based on the Australian mass shooter Martin Bryant, delivers this gripping and intense police procedural that doesn’t let up until the very end."

'Catching Dust' Reviews: "A small film in stature, but one that has a larger personality and brims with a confidence and carnage that threatens to overstep the narrative’s constraints"

         On August 23, 2024, Verical released 'Catching Dust', which has earned predominantly positive reviews from critics, currently holding at 71% on Rotten Tomatoes. In the film, a woman "finally decides to leave her criminal husband Clyde and their isolated Texas hideout, but a couple from New York suddenly arrives. Ignoring the risks, she convinces Clyde to let them stay, a decision with dangerous consequences." The ensemble cast includes Jai Courtney, Erin Moriarty, Ryan Corr, and Dina Shihabi. Read the full review round-up below.

       Peter Gray of The AU Review says, "A small film in stature, but one that has a larger personality and brims with a confidence and carnage that threatens to overstep the narrative’s constraints, Catching Dust is tragic and hopeless, but consistently potent, made all the more so by an arresting Courtney who continues to prove his worth as a genuine character actor unafraid to play to his masculinity, but doing so without an inch of egoism or vanity."

        Stephanie Archer of Film Inquiry notes, "Catching Dust does risk losing the audience in the drawn-out moments between emotional interactions. Yet, as an audience, you will find yourself shocked by how invested you are in by film’s end." Continuing, "Erin Moriarty gives the widest range in a slow burn progression of character growth. There is a desperation that borders on control constantly flickering in the challenges and conflicts Geena faces. Yet, there is also a sense of fear, leaving audiences to feel ambiguous about Geena as she navigates both her relationship with Clyde, as well as Andy and Amaya. She is complicated and far from easily defined, and Moriarty handles each aspect of Geena with ease."

       Matt Hudson of What I Watched Tonight was less impressed, stating, "Whilst not a bad film, Catching Dust is a frustrating one. There was potential here to tell an arresting story, but sadly, we got an OK one instead." Adding, "Despite the talent on display, Catching Dust is a mainly middling affair. It is thoughtfully paced given its shorter runtime, Gatt never really moving the story out of second gear, however, with the lack of any real urgency or tension, the film never really gets going. Seeing Clyde assert himself so despicably over Geena, and to a degree, Amaya and Andy, is a disturbing aspect of the film though I never felt as if I really got to know the characters well enough to connect with them. Moriarty’s Geena uses art to escape her reality and tries to build bridges with the new visitors, but even she isn’t entirely squeaky clean throughout which raises some interesting questions. In her performance, Moriarty is game for the task, but as with the rest of the cast, she isn’t given a whole lot to work with. Greater focus on one of the four characters, probably Geena, would have strengthened Catching Dust overall in my eyes. Technically, the film is well constructed and presented. It looks sharp and the sprawling wilderness is captured to portray a grimy, solemn feel, which it does well. The juxtaposition also between the two couples is visualised effectively as well, I just wish they had gone further into that aspect narratively."

       Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com praises the film, "Catching Dust” should be a character study of two very different couples and how they influence one another, but it never quite takes these people seriously enough to work on that level."

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