What’s it about?

Bridget, now a widow, navigates through life two children, mean school mums, a new teacher, and friends who are encouraging her to re-enter work and the dating scene.

What’d we think?

Sam Donaldson says: The story kicks off when Bridget starts dating Roxter (Leo Woodall), a much younger man, but also keeps running into Mr. Wallaker (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a new teacher at her children’s school whose main features are that he has a whistle and is a man of science. Naturally, the ever-present Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) is still in the picture as well.

If you’ve seen the poster or the movie trailer or think about it for more than a minute you’ll figure out how all of this plays out. It’s a rehash of the original down to some of the camera shots and locations and main beats of the film, but not quite as sharp.

What surprised me about the movie was how sweet and sincere it was in other moments. As a romcom it’s predictable, but as a movie about grief and living with the memory of someone it is very sincere and patient. Bridget’s friends, as they often are, are at the heart of this, and this movie actually does very nice things with Hugh Grant’s character. I quite enjoyed this movie and I think it is very well worth your time if you are looking for something sweet and mildly funny.

What’s it about?

Two days before a meeting that will determine his application for asylum, Souleymane (Abou Sangare) ekes out an existence on his bicycle working for a meal delivery service in Paris.

What’d we think?

Em Tabler says: The Story of Souleymane is a quiet, raw film, showing an unglamorous Paris and the reality of asylum seekers lives with dignity and realism. Tightly shot with no score, it’s easy to be sucked into Souleymane’s world by Abou Sangare’s beautifully understated performance. It’s easy to see why he has won a number of best actor awards for his first film. As Souleymane struggles with telling his truth or giving a story that may increase his chances of asylum, the lack of inflated drama lets the natural tension shine. It’s the kind of film that you leave and don’t want to put the radio on for the drive home, the characters deserve more of your time and thought.

What’s it about?

Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) has settled into his role as the new Captain America, but an attempt on the life of President Ross (Harrison Ford) pulls him into a murkier world of intrigue and politics.

What’d we think?

The MCU has had its ups and downs before, some movies being better than others, and some being more significant than others. Captain America: Brave New World doesn’t do anything terribly brave or new, managing to land in the general area of “Okay, I Guess” when it really needed to serve as a solid foundation for the franchise moving forward.

The story initially leans more towards the relatively grounded tone of 2014’s The Winter Soldier, with a potentially interesting Manchurian Candidate sleeper agent plot that’s quickly discarded in favour of poorly explained mind control and clunky “I’ve been manipulating you the whole time” villain schtick. Characters do things and go to places because the script requires them to do those things and arrive at those places, and the whole thing is held together with ADR that’s as frequent as it is obvious.

I’m the first to admit that being too familiar with the production of a film can impact one’s enjoyment, but I found it genuinely difficult to watch this movie without playing “was this scene done in reshoots”. Director Julius Onah has done some great work in the past (Luce) and some paycheck work (The Cloverfield Paradox), but this seems to be another example of a studio having the major story beats and action scenes planned out well in advance, hiring a director to handle the scenes of humans talking in rooms later on in the production and affording them little to no control or creative freedom. The movie’s action scenes are mostly dull, there’s a jarring absence of internal logic or narrative momentum, and for the most part it kinda just washes over you until it ends.

Thankfully the cast elevates the movie – Anthony Mackie is solid in the lead role, Harrison Ford actually seems to give a shit, and the supporting cast is quite strong (with special mention going to Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley, absolutely crushing every scene he’s in). Tim Blake Nelson is wasted in a role that needed to be more significant, and Shira Haas similarly appears to have had the majority of her scenes cut from the movie.

I’m sad to say that I was disappointed with the movie. Brave New World isn’t bad as much as it’s not good. You’re watching pieces of different versions of the movie that have hastily been stapled together, but it’s not even done terribly enough to make it fascinating (ala Madame Web). Sam Wilson deserved better, and so do we.

What does the data tell us?