thejacksmit

[thejacksmit]

First Take: F1: The Movie - it really is lights out and away we go

SYNOPSIS: Racing legend Sonny Hayes is coaxed out of retirement to lead a struggling Formula 1 team—and mentor a young hotshot driver—while chasing one more chance at glory.

Spoiler free as usual. Because we’re totally spoiling an older F1 movie in The Journal soon.

Bankrolled by Apple, made with the full support and cooperation of the FIA, and with Sir Lewis Hamilton himself as a producer, you would imagine expectations for Hollywood’s first fully licensed foray into the greatest sport on four wheels would deliver the goods. Having seen it on one of its MANY premium large format versions, F1 is a movie which nails it with its style, but leaves a lot to be desired with its plot.

Joseph Kosinski takes up the directors chair on this one, and with his track record recently he feels like the natural choice - having helmed Top Gun Maverick, he turns in a 2 hour 36 minute film that feels made for IMAX, Hypersense, and whatever large formatted, Dolby Atmos equipped screen you have available, but while it works so well visually, Ehren Kruger’s script (which had it not been for WGA bickering, should’ve had Kosinski credited too) has its ups and downs - some elements around the characters could’ve been handled better, and sadly, my main issue WOULD constitute as a spoiler. What I can say is that I’m surprised the FIA allowed them to use that incident like they did, but airbrushing history like that for narrative effect just didn’t sit right with me. I have to really big up Claudio Miranda’s work as cinematographer though because my god has he pushed the envelope to get crystal clear footage in every scenario - from the drama, to actually seeing talent in the cars at over 200mph, it is a technical feat to put it simply and it’s the reason this film has got the big screens. And for the second time in his career, Hans Zimmer is the man tasked with soundtrack duties on a movie about F1… and unlike his work on Rush (which it sounds like he borrowed from a lot), this one sounds very of its time, not just with the collaborations on tracks for the film, but also some of the needle drops. Let’s just say opening on that Led Zeppelin track, a band notorious for being very picky about licensing, set the tone.

Onto the cast, and Brad Pitt leads it relatively well with his apparent love of anything with an engine these days (he’s co-producing a film about the Isle of Man TT next), with Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem, and Tobias Menzies providing some solid supporting talent. I think the standout in this one was Damson Idris though, playing a plucky upstart driver, obsessed with media, and acting as the perfect foil in a way to Pitt’s older but not as wiser character. Plus for fans of the sport - all the drivers of the 2024 season pop up - so Verstappen, Lando, Stroll, Russell, Leclerc… everyone is present and correct, even Toto Woolf gets a line of dialogue! On top of that, they got Sky’s team from the British F1 coverage involved. Natalie Pinkham pops up in a cameo, and of course you get to hear Crofty utter those iconic words to start each race off (despite him and Martin Brundle clearly sounding like they’re reading a script rather than commentating). Baked in authenticity, especially with Pitt and the production functioning as an actual team with a modified F2 car during race weekends, this film feels like the natural evolution of where Formula 1 as a brand has gone in the Drive to Survive era. Maybe rugby union can learn from this approach, just saying…

THE VERDICT

F1 is a proper big screen movie, but not one without flaws in its engine. A relatively flat narrative (and a very surprising use of one of the most is redeemed by some true edge of seat race sequences that are rivalled only by a film we’ll be revisiting on the YouTube channel in exactly 21 hours as I write this up. This really is where the summer of cinema begins, because it’s gonna be up against some huge films now. $300million to claw back, good luck Apple...

RATING: 4/5

[thejacksmit]

First Take Classics: Jaws - the sharks are circling, the water's getting clearer...

SYNOPSIS: When a massive killer shark unleashes chaos on a beach community off Long Island, it's up to a local sheriff, a marine biologist, and an old seafarer to hunt the beast down.

50 years ago last weekend Steven Spielberg unleashed the first of the true 'summer' blockbuster movies upon the world, and it is genuinely hard to think of a cinema industry that didn't have the Jaws franchise come into existence. More than just a film, this series changed the way that films go into cinemas, how they are promoted, and so much more - so while we haven't had Jaws 19 as prophecised in Back to the Future: Part II... now is as good of a time as any to look back at one of the most prolific films ever put in cinemas.

For the time it was made, Spielberg was able to do a LOT to make this film as spinechilling as he could, clocking in at 2 hours 4 minutes it is all killer, no filler, which is all the more impressive considering the well documented struggles they had filming it - to quote Richard Dreyfuss, "we started the film without a script, without a cast and without a shark". Once they found a shark (both real and mechanical), and got the script inspired by the book by Peter Benchley finished, shaped by the author himself and Carl Gottlieb, while it doesn't follow the plot beat for beat, it still has enough tension to make the ending that we do get feel properly terror inducing for those experiencing the film for the first ever time. It is shot brilliantly by Bill Butler, and of course you then have the John Williams score. So iconic, so menacing, and so recognisable that it works anywhere, even a packed Salford Community Stadium (because of course my friends over at Sale play the main theme just before they let Ben Curry and the boys loose on a home matchday). Two notes is all you need to not only make you think of the film but set the scene for anything where sharks may indeed be swimming.

When casting the film, Spielberg went with big names but not relatively well known ones at the time - and I think we can safely say that Roy Schieder, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss certainly became well known after the first screenings. They sell this film, they make it believable, and in the final act especially, they do it in a way that even in a CGI age, feels at home on a big screen (or a 3D reissue as they've done in the past). Supporting them is Louise Gary, Carl Gottlieb, Murray Hamilton, Jeffrey Kramer, and a wider cast who just understood the assignment and then some - while some elements haven't aged as well as others in a modern day cinema context, the film still holds up, it still delivers tension, suspense, fear and more, and of course, it made everyone realise that mechanical sharks called Bruce can sometimes complicate filming (making many people glad CGI exists now).

The impact Jaws had in 1975 understandably set the industry standard until Covid - the idea of the saturation release, where a distributor books every possible screen available to play the film for a fixed window with a marketing campaign to match... it's still something in place to this day. And nothing says how pioneering it was like the marketing itself - usually we have the modern day trailer on the reviews, but it's worth sticking the original teaser trailer on here too just to show off how on the ball they were back then. Imagine how audiences must've felt seeing this on-screen for the first time 50 years ago!

THE VERDICT

It's surprising that there wasn't a formal reissue here in England, because many people haven't had the chance to see it on a big screen where it belongs - but this film set off many careers, a whole franchise, and made a whole generation scared to go to the beach. Sometimes the best ideas really are the simple ones, after all, because two years later a little known movie called Alien was genuinely pitched to studios as "Jaws in space" by Ridley Scott...

RATING: 4/5

[thejacksmit]

First Take: The Phoenician Scheme - family business, Wes Anderson style

SYNOPSIS: Wealthy businessman Zsa-zsa Korda appoints his only daughter, a nun, as sole heir to his estate. As Korda embarks on a new enterprise, they soon become the target of scheming tycoons, foreign terrorists and determined assassins.

My word Wes Anderson is cracking out these films quickly nowadays, squished between Asteroid City and the fantastic Roald Dahl shorts he made for Netflix, somehow he’s found time to sneak in yet another feature film! But again, like with Asteroid City, there’s a few issues to be had with the general feel of this one, a film that had it not been for the strikes and the associated production delays, would’ve been with us last summer.

Obviously directing to his own script (and a story devised with Roman Coppola), the dialogue is very Wes coded, so if you’ve seen his older films you know what you’re letting yourself in for… but on a structural level, 1 hour 41 minutes though. Packing a fair amount into such a short runtime, while it is nice to see it come in under 2 hours, it just doesn’t feel tight enough. It’s a slow burner, a decent slow burner, but one that needs you to be paying attention. Stepping in for longtime DOP Robert Yeoman, who’s off making other films at the minute, is Bruno Delbonnel, who does a fine job keeping those stylistic conventions in tact with elements that will come alive on a laser projection screen, and as usual Alexandre Desplat comes in with music as and when it’s needed.

Onto the cast, and there is a lot of heavyweight quality as ever - Benicio del Toro leads another stacked group of talent, including longtime collaborators Bryan Cranston, Scarlett Johannson, F. Murray Abraham, Jeff Goldblum, and Mathieu Almaric with a side helping of Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Ayoade (playing a character that goes against everything we’ve ever seen him perform, for a change), Tom Hanks, Michael Cera, Riz Ahmed and so many more. But the standout is Mia Threapleton - understandably she has one of the best actresses in the world as her mum (she’s Kate Winslet’s eldest daughter), and on her first major Hollywood role she is rather good. Guess you can say it’s in her genes. Ultimately this film is style over substance, and knowing one mate of mine had this as their ‘introduction’ to the world of Wes Anderson… oh that group chat will light up once this review goes out.

THE VERDICT

It’s not the greatest Wes Anderson film, but it’s not the worst one either - The Phoenician Scheme is a perfectly fine addition to a fine body of work but ultimately somebody somewhere needs to start reining him in, or going back to more limited releases, cause this is arthouse stuff that somehow gets into multiplex cinemas.

RATING: 3/5

[thejacksmit]

First Take: Ballerina - when has Ana de Armas ever put in a bad performance?

SYNOPSIS: An assassin trained in the traditions of the Ruska Roma organization sets out to seek revenge after her father's death.

11 years ago Lionsgate unleashed an independently made action film called John Wick upon the world. Let's just say that John - and his puppy - went on to redefine the genre, spawning four Chapters, a TV series in The Continental, and now, this spinoff which is set after Chapter 3, but before Chapter 4. Timeline wise, bit hard to understand, but as a standalone film it works alright.

Len Wiseman is the man tasked with helming this film, and coming in at 2 hours 5 minutes, it feels relatively well paced and keeps up with the style set by the main Wick films, however, he can't take all the credit though, as Chad Stahelski did so some uncredited work reshooting aspects of the film that Wiseman couldn't quite nail down in principal photography. It'a slso pretty obvious that Shay Hatten's original script has changed a lot since Lionsgate picked it up in 2017 (directly influencing elements of Chapter 3), and as a result it is one of those films that EARNS its BBFC rating, so viewers of a nervous disposition should 100% read the extended information that everyone's favourite film ratings body has put out. Behind the camera is , and on score duty is the franchise's longtime composers Tyler Bates and Joel J Richard, quite literally picking up where they left off.

Leading this cast is someone who has learned a fair bit about this genre over the years (especially after stealing the show in No Time to Die) - as she always does, Ana de Armas continues to be a talent willing to put in the work on a film like this, clearly doing a lot of her own stunts in the process, and supporting her are a lot of familiar faces from Chapter 3: Anjelica Huston, Ian McShane and Lance Reddick (in his final performance) return to the series, with Catalina Sandino Moreno and Norman Reedus joining the cast for this entry into the John Wick universe. And of course, there's Keanu Reeves. I understand why they've gone back in time to allow him to appear, it is, after all, his most well known 'modern' film series... but was that cameo really needed in the end? I wound up watching this with Screen Rant writer Ben Gibbons in a cinema we both know rather well at this point - and it really comes alive on a premium large format screen if people are willing to watch it. Sadly the box office is indicating otherwise, audiences just don't seem to be responding to this film, and it's a shame.

THE VERDICT

Looking at this as a standalone film, it works on many levels, but tied in with the John Wick universe, and especially knowing that (somehow) we are getting a 5th chapter and inevitably a sequel... I don't know. Franchise fatigue is now a very real risk, and that's a shame for a series which has taken the rulebook and sent it down the Sacre Coeur staircase.

RATING: 3.5/5

[thejacksmit]

12 Years In. Time to judge a Festival. | TheJackSmit.com expands partnership with Lytham International & CineWyre

So this is a post we've had to wait a very long time to put out. Earlier in the year, those fine folks at the Lytham International Film Festival got in touch with an opportunity I couldn’t say no to, something which will boost the profile of global, and especially local independent cinema in the region - while I’m allowed to reveal some of it, a lot will be announced by the team as 2025 unfolds. What I can say - this year, TheJackSmit.com will be part of the official coverage of Lytham International once again, both on and off site, bringing the best of the festival to the blog, and The Journal for a third year in a row. I adore covering it every year, especially because of the Q&As and the ability to meet the filmmakers who attend the festival.

From John Parr’s short film UNCONQUERED, major names like Ben Whishaw and Maxine Peake appearing in shorts like Good Boy and Choked Up, local talents like Chloe Ireland bringing shorts like Beached to the big stage, to After Dark efforts like The Flute, Cakes!, and more, the last few festivals have given an insight into the world beyond Hollywood, and this year is no different. As I speak the judges are whittling down the submissions ready for the August bank holiday weekend, and the excitement has started to build ahead of the move to the new venue within the Lowther Pavilion, and on top of that, this year the festival becomes a 4 day event. With a gala screening on the 22nd, shorts and features on the 23rd to the 25th August, all capped off with the awards ceremony on the final night, seeing it grow like it has in such a short space of time is both crazy but so rewarding.

But LYIFF was only the start, keeping this next bit quiet since February has been easier said than done…

Wyre-d For Sound: welcome to CineWyre

They’re launching a second festival in 2026 too - CineWyre is set to be a four-day celebration of international film at the Marine Hall in Fleetwood, where cinema enthusiasts can be amongst the first to see award winning stories and new content from filmmakers from around the world. The festival is made up of four main categories: Family Friendly, Documentary, LGBTQ+ and Horror/Thriller, effectively a bit like Radio 2’s Festival in a Day in that each 'strand' will have a day devoted to it.

Each event showcases a range of short films and feature films, from early till late over each of the four days, with screenings complimented by fascinating Q&As with the filmmakers, plus daily filmmaking masterclasses, workshops and networking events. Like its’ bigger brother, CineWyre hopes to bring the best of global and local cinema together, and will act as the launch of the Lancashire Film Network, which we’ll share more about closer to the festival.

Heading the inaugural CineWyre jury alongside festival director Ed Greenberg is filmmaker Michael Farrell (writer/producer of soon to be released feature film Devil’s Game and LYIFF 2025 featured short The Circle), with film critics Poppy Blundell (best known as HowManyFilmsInAYear on Instagram), and Jack Smit (of TheJackSmit.com) completing the panel.

Yep. That isn't a typo. I am truly privileged to be on the jury for the inaugural staging of this event, when Ed asked if I wanted to join the team it was an immediate YES. I cannot wait to get stuck in, watch the submissions and ultimately meet some of the talent involved, and even readers of the blog, when the festival happens between February 26 and March 1st. You'll also be seeing myself, Poppy and Mike pop up on CineWyre socials (@cwfilmfest on Instagram) as we go on the journey of putting this programme together over the next few months.

But it wouldn’t be possible without entries from filmmakers based around the world - FilmFreeway is open until September 30, so if you have a short or a feature worth seeing, this is your call to arms. All we ask is that short films should be under 30 minutes, and features no shorter than an hour, but no longer than 2 hours.

Tickets for the 2025 Lytham International Film Festival are now on sale at lyiff.com, and filmmakers wanting to submit to CineWyre can do so at filmfreeway.com/cinewyre.

[thejacksmit]

First Take: Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning - two hours of Tom Cruise... inflating his ego some more, let's say it like that

SYNOPSIS: Ethan Hunt and the IMF team continue their search for the terrifying AI known as the Entity, with the world's governments and a mysterious ghost from Ethan's past on their trail.

Spoiler free as usual. Because the summer of cinema has begun.

Exactly 24 hours before tackling this one, two of my closest film nerd friends made the short walk over to that Hypersense screen and fed back to me that I should lower my expectations. I'm glad they did, because bringing the curtain down on 30 years of a beloved franchise felt like a task too far for Christopher McQuarrie and his team. We all knew how good Dead Reckoning was back in 2023, so to put this out as the follow-up... yeah, I smell a rant brewing.

To put it simply McQ has a lot to answer for. The 2 hour 49 minute runtime is one of them. I know they wanted to go big for this final act but surely some of that first hour could've been trimmed down, with a lot of exposition - but from about 1 hour 10 onwards it feels a bit more like a Mission Impossible movie, especially when we get the trademark "we totally did this for real" sequences towards the final act. Beyond that, McQ and Erik Jendresen's script just feels a bit overblown, with elements that are hard to believe, some cheesy dialogue at times, but, and this is the big bit, it's somehow able to tie all 8 Missions together in one plot. It's shot brilliantly by Fraser Taggart, taking full advantage of IMAX systems for those of you seeing it on the biggest of the premium large format screens, but musically the film loses a lot, as long-time assistants to Lorne Balfe (composer of the last two MI films) in Max Aruj and Alfie Godfrey handled the score - and you can tell.

Cast-wise, there's one ego - sorry, star - who takes the spotlight. I've respected Tom Cruise's work to stabilise the film industry since Covid, the last MI was of course the first production back shooting during the pandemic, but this movie is him saying thanks for the paycheques, Paramount, I'm off to Warners now. Understandably his love of the craft is front and centre, he's hanging off planes, baring all in diving sequences, and being himself as ever, but age is catching up with him. The rest of the cast are great though - Simon Pegg and Hayley Atwell form the core of that IMF team, flanked by Pom Klementieff, Greg 'Tarzan' Davis, Ving Rhames, small bit parts for Hannah Waddingham, Mark Gatiss, a decent villain in Esai Morales and of course a welcome return for Angela Bassett and a few other talents from across the series' history. As a send-off for a franchise which has seen 5 directors over 30 years, it is serviceable, but as a standalone film thank god the credits rolled when they did.

THE VERDICT

The Final Reckoning is just not a Mission film. Overtly long, too bloated, and showing signs of fatigue, the time really has come for the franchise to be rested now. To break even this film has to make a billion dollars (because of the delays due to the SAG and WGA strikes, we are talking about a record $400million budget plus the marketing costs). If opening week here in the UK is anything to go by... I hope the accountants at Paramount are ready to reforecast their futures.

RATING: 3.5/5

[thejacksmit]

First Take: Thunderbolts* - normal Marvel service is resumed

SYNOPSIS: After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap, an unconventional team of antiheroes must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.

When Phase 5 began within the MCU not even two years ago (with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania), it felt like Kevin Feige was having an identity crisis with the cinema side of it - the TV shows over on Disney+ had gone down well at the expense of all but a select few feature entries. But as one story ends on the big screen, another one begins - Thunderbolts* is a return to form, and just in time too with things we CANNOT dare spoil this soon after release.

Jake Scheirer of Robot & Frank fame is the man tasked with bringing the curtain down on this era of the MCU, in its 36th (yes, 36th) feature film - and what's he's done is go back to basics, taking clear influence from how James Gunn handled the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise and applying it to what is, effectively, their own version of the Suicide Squad that Gunn himself now oversees. As a result, working to a script from Eric Pearson and Joanna Kalo, this film is able to balance the darkness of what we ultimately see around the final act, along with the humour we have come to know from earlier MCU efforts, in a 2 hour 6 minute film that is paced well, delivers edge of seat moments, and will go down as required viewing in a storyline we're gonna see play out over the next few years - even if it suffers from the usual predictability at times. Cinematography wise, Andrew Droz Palermo did an incredible job here, with the film looking crisp on a 4K laser projection system, and Schreier's long-time musical collaborators Son Lux (the band behind Everything Everywhere All At Once's score) are allowed to do what they do best in another act of creative freedom from the powers that be.

This cast though, are one of the main reasons this film is able to work as well as it does. Marvel get to welcome back Florence Pugh (who once again delivers some standout work), Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Olga Kurylenko, Hannah John-Kamen and Julia Louis-Dreyfus back to MCU feature film projects, with welcome debuts to Wyatt Russell (picking up right where he left off in Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Lewis Pullman and Geraldine Viswanathan for good measure. With production taking place after 2023's actors and writers' strikes, it feels like the delays helped more than it hindered, because from what I understand it didn't require many reshoots - and you can tell. It's an MCU film which feels enjoyable, and good to watch, something I've not been able to say that often since Endgame. Now with a clean slate and a creative refresh, I have started to feel excited for Fantastic Four: First Steps and beyond. That should say a lot about where the quality of these films were prior to Thunderbolts* opening in cinemas.

THE VERDICT

Thunderbolts* is the perfect way to completely revitalise the MCU after a period of it being stale and, for some, overly cliched. Stay back during the credits because, as is tradition... events transpire which will start hype trains rolling (and try and see it on opening weekend if possible - it's gonna be all over the internet sooner rather than later). It finally feels like the creative handcuffs are off, as this year's output from Marvel Studios has felt a lot more unique and not made by committee. Roll on the summer and Phase 6 kicking off.

RATING: 4/5

[thejacksmit]

First Take: Mickey 17 - live, die, repeat... wait, wrong film

SYNOPSIS: During a human expedition to colonize space, Mickey 17, a so-called "expendable" employee, is sent to explore an ice planet.

It was a film delayed by Covid, actors strikes, and studio quabbles about exactly when would be the right time to put it out - but at last, film Twitter’s hero is back, with his first major project since the iconic 2020 Oscar win for Parasite put him firmly on Hollywood’s map. With a Bong Joon Ho film you kinda know what you’re letting yourself in for - precise, rounded filmmaking that has a social edge to it, and Mickey 17 is no exception.

Bong’s direction and script are tight as ever, coming in at 2 hours 17 minutes this is one which is mostly all killer, no filler - based on 2022 novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashton, the film doesn’t necessarily go all in on sci fi, as ultimately this is also a black comedy at points. Much like Parasite, the humour is balanced with the more serious plot points, especially with some elements about the cloning process and certain characters in the film, but ultimately this could prove to be a bit much for some mainstream audiences. It is shot brilliantly by Darius Khondji, and returning for his third collaboration with Bong is composer Jung Jae-il, all of whom take full advantage of the significantly higher budgets available due to Warner bankrolling this project.

Performance wise, we have one natural place to begin - Robert Pattinson is rightly the focus here, with a very complex character that would bring spoilers if I discussed it more. Subtle, nuanced, with enough comedic effect to balance the lighter elements from the darker plot points later on in the film, he carries it all alongside Naomi Ackie, Mark Ruffalo (who is continuing his post-Marvel resurgence in fine form after last year’s Poor Things), Toni Collette and Steven Yeun. Trying to describe this film without revealing much about the more sci-fi oriented elements of the plot (which aren’t in the trailers) is hard, but regardless of how it did in-cinema, this is a good attempt at a proper Hollywood film from the man who broke the barrier of subtitled cinema.

THE VERDICT

Mickey 17 is a movie built for premium large format. It's not Bong’s finest work but for his first proper effort with a mainstream Hollywood studio… it is still distinctly one of his films at the end of the day. It’s a crying shame that Warner didn’t market it properly, one of the reasons why it bombed, because this is a film that comes alive in a good cinema screen.

RATING: 4/5

[thejacksmit]

Short Takes: LYIFF x The Flower Bowl - the best bits from the indie film nights

As a lot of our readers know well - we've been incredibly proud here at TheJackSmit.com to be associated with the Lytham International Film Festival since day one in August 2023, so when their Independent Film Nights launched at the boutique Flower Bowl cinema just outside Preston, well, a piece had to be done following the first visits to yet another 'new to the blog' venue.

JANUARY

The first ever LYIFF Independent Film Night, like a traditional session at the Lowther Pavilion itself, consisted of 90 minutes of shorts followed by a Q&A afterwards with an industry professional (this month, anchored by film producer Richard Albiston) - some of the shorts picked for Flower Bowl audiences are ones we've covered from the main festival, but they're all picked to be a gateway into the worlds away from the mainstream films on offer in the other two screens.

Now due to licensing restrictions we can't feature the highlights in THIS post specifically - but they were all from the 2023 Festival selection which you can read all about here.

FEBRUARY

Headlining this month's session were two shorts and a Q&A from writer/director Chloe Ireland - just days before she would work on ITV's coverage of the Oscars - and this is what she brought along that evening.

ROBBIE WRECKED THE BAND

This one tells the story of a neurodiverse boy who wants to be part of his school band, albeit for his hypersensitivity to loud noise presenting some complications. It's a really, really sensitively done piece, and talking to Chloe in the Q&A afterwards, the amount of research and insight she got to make this feel authentic needs to be applauded.

BEACHED

And completing the collection from Chloe was Beached, a very on the nose take on influencer culture and relationships set in Blackpool. Anyone who knows social media will know what happens when 'doing it for the 'gram' becomes your life, and this short (along with its characters) showcases what happens when a girl has to make the choice between the stability of life offline, or following a friend into stardom. Two incredibly strong films, made as part of UWE Bristol studies, that hold their own in a proper cinema setting.

Now I know a thing or two about what's in store for the March edition (namely who's doing the Q&A) - I cannot wait to see this screning because when his short film Unconquered screened in 2023... the festival would then name their Music Video award in his honour because he is, after all, a Man in Motion... LYIFF events are always great for this reason because you get to talk and network with the people behind the films (both on and off screen), so if you're a film student or just curious about the behind the scenes world, it is worth dipping your toes in to these kinds of events.

The next LYIFF Independent Film Night will be on March 25th at 7.30pm in The Flower Bowl Entertainment Centre - you can book tickets at cinema.theflowerbowl.uk.

[thejacksmit]

Projection Room: Preston's Newest Cinema - day one at The Arc, through Jack's eyes

February 21st 2025 will go down as a landmark day for cinema here in Preston - for the last thirty years, film fans have either gone to the docks, or the out-of-town Capitol Centre for their big screen fix. But for the first time since the late 1990s, the city has its own prime, state of the art multiplex cinema, opened by the city’s favourite Bafta-winning son Nick Park CBE the night before (with Feathers McGraw statue to boot). So of course, I went digging around to profile what has already become a marquee development for the city.

Owned by Preston Council and built by the local Eric Wright Group, this isn’t the Council’s first attempt at bringing a cinema back into the city centre- the word Tithebarn always brings back bitter memories for any Prestonian, but since the ill-fated regeneration of that area of the city died a death in 2008, it has been a mission to create a premium leisure offering in the heart of the city centre, and especially in what is known as the Harris Quarter. In 2015, the first iteration of a redevelopment of the indoor market went before councillors, which was set to be a 12 screen venue not too dissimilar to what we eventually got - but a little thing called Covid made things a bit tricky. Years passed, the operator originally set to deliver the scheme backed out, we land in 2022, and a new version of the scheme was signed off, inspired by a similar development in Chorley - this time it passed all the political red tape and steelwork began to rise in the summer of 2023.

And that brings us to the complex now known as Animate. Anchored by Irish family owned chain The Arc, the complex also features the Argento Lounge, Taco Bell, Ask Italian, Hollywood Bowl, a street food hub and a 164 capacity car park (which provides 3 hours free for cinema users), this development has been in the planning for as long as this blog has been going.

Now a lot of readers will be thinking ‘who are The Arc?’. Well, here’s a small history - the independent chain began life very humbly in 2014, opening a six screen cinema in a shopping centre in Drogheda as a way to regenerate a shopping centre owned by the chain’s parent company Melcorpo. From then they’ve become a 13-strong circuit with six venues in Ireland and an ever expanding English complement of venues, from ‘classic’ sites refurbished to modern standards in Hucknall, Peterhead and Great Yarmouth to new-builds in Daventry and most recently Rotherham. Talking to Arc director Brian Gilligan and their marketing manager Mark Gallagher on the public opening day last week (alongside friend of the blog, Screen Rant and Blog Preston writer Ben Gibbons), there is a lot of pride around this new site on both Arc and cinema fans’ sides, with it being the company’s most significant new build of the company’s expansion so far. With this being their first foray into North West England, this is also a new market for Arc to learn about, especially with a wealth of competition in a highly successful Vue site, a middle of the ground Odeon, and the boutique Flower Bowl all on their radar.

For the Love of Film: The Facilities

The Arc have brought an 8 screen venue to Preston, kitted out with everything you’d expect for a cinema in 2025: self serve food and drinks, recliner seating as standard, 7.1 surround sound, and laser projection in all screens. Gone are the days of proper projection booths, such is the technology available to exhibitors - because they can legitimately put them into the ceilings of each screen. Capacity wise, the smallest holds 55 and the biggest standard screen holds 111 - there are two very special screens though, more on them in a minute. A lot of care has been put into the foyer area, with a seating area ideal for us critics who like writing their reviews up on-site!

They also put a lot of thought into the midweek offers too, from student ticketing for those who study up the road at UCLan, to things like Date Night Thursdays, Silver Screen, Second Chance Mondays (the perfect way to catch up with films that are about to conclude their big screen run) and a reasonably priced Family Ticket offering at £5.95 per person off-peak, but if their film launch events are anything to go by, I can only imagine what they’ll have in store for major Marvel launches. Plus for those of you of a certain vintage who miss hearing a certain bit of music before and after the adverts, yes, they’re with Pearl & Dean so the iconic Asteroid kicks things off for every screening.

Preston, Meet Premium Large Format: Welcome Hypersense

But undoubtedly The Arc’s USP, and the thing which I had been excited to test out on day one, is their Hypersense screen. Like a good bus service, just when you expect one to turn up you actually get TWO. Premium large format screens have become quite a big deal for cinemas in the modern age, you just have to look at things like Dolby Cinema, IMAX, and other chains’ offerings, and to finally have two literally on the doorstep is a major coup. Hypersense is the standard Arc screen specification, but turned up to 11. The same seats, but an enhanced 4K laser projector (standard screens have 2K laser projection), a wall to wall screen, and in the sound department, 45-speaker Dolby Atmos sound powered by no fewer than seven amplifiers. In layman’s terms, Dolby Atmos is true 3D surround sound, as not only do you have the speakers in the usual places… there’s also a few more above you too.

Screen 4, Arc Preston’s biggest, holds 169, and understandably this is the marquee Hypersense screen (seconded by screen 8, which holds 134), and on a movie like Captain America: Brave New World you can literally hear the difference - the extra capability offered to filmmakers with that height channel certainly allows for inventive sound design, and as every speaker gets its own individual feed there’s no reverb or delay like many other cinema screens. Hypersense does carry a £2 uplift but on the major films to come in 2025 like Mickey 17, Thunderbolts* Snow White, F1 and most of the blockbusters to come over the next 12 months, this is completely justified for the technology on offer.

SO IS IT WORTH IT?

In a word: yes. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea in terms of the comfort offered by the recliners, but to have a venue like this to add to an already thriving big screen scene can only be a good thing. Paired up with the wider Animate complex this cinema is off to a fantastic start - and in time it’s only gonna get more polished. Tickets under £10 for regular screenings, respectable food and drink pricing, warm and welcoming staff (both at cinema level and higher up) makes it a venue that 100% will be on the rotation of sites we use to bring you the film reviews here on TheJackSmit.com. The minute that coffee machine is plugged in, that cinema will be running as I like it - because no cups of tea were sadly available on day 1. Helps having an entire city centre next door though!

A huge thanks to everyone at The Arc for welcoming me in as a paying customer on the first day open - tickets are available from Preston.ArcCinema.co.uk.

[thejacksmit]

First Take: Captain America: Brave New World - and the audience went mild

SYNOPSIS: Sam Wilson, the new Captain America, finds himself in the middle of an international incident and must discover the motive behind a nefarious global plan.

A new era for the MCU began in 2025, months on from Deadpool and Wolverine coming together in a way that made the nerds happy, Kevin Feige wanted to crack on with the new stories we’ve been building since Black Widow as, somehow, we reach the end of Phase 5 and the looming releases of both Thunderbolts* and Fantastic Four: First Steps. So it is apt that the first review from a new cinema in Preston (which we will be profiling very soon), is a film called Brave New World - it is just a shame that the Marvel identity crisis is still very much present beyond the obvious new additions to the universe.

Julius Onah is the man tasked with directing this, coming in at 1 hour 58 minutes (a rarity for an MCU product these days), it has a lot of potential from the man who is best known for making The Cloverfield Paradox, but where this film falls apart is in its script. Five credited screenwriters. Let that sink in folks. FIVE credited screenwriters. Rob Edwards, Malcolm Spellman, Dalan Musson, Peter Glanz and director Onah all contributed to a very exposition-heavy film that doesn’t have the passion or the pride which has made previous Captain America films have utilised - it is all very cliched, predictable, formulaic, and just dull, especially with some of the more, well… politically on the nose elements of the plot that we have here. Cinematography is handled relatively well by Kramer Morgenthau, and I wasn’t really that taken with the Laura Karpman score, even if I was experiencing this film, for the first time ever, in Dolby Atmos.

With the cast though, luckily they save this film from being an outright disaster - after some stellar work on Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie was more than ready to assume the shield on a bigger screen for the first time, and he is reunited with some of his TV castmates in the form of Danny Ramirez and Carl Lumbly. Supporting them is Shira Haas, Xosha Roquemore, Giancarlo Esposito, Tim Blake Nelson and some cameos who can’t be spoiled for very obvious reasons, but holding it together though is Harrison Ford - he wanted to move on from Indiana Jones, so why not move into a franchise where it’s more CG than stunts? Replacing the late William Hurt was no easy task but he saved this film from getting a full rant, it is as simple as that. I wanted to enjoy this film but beyond the shiny, new cinema there isn't much to bang the drum about, and that says a lot.

THE VERDICT

Captain America: Brave New World is more Same Old, Same Old - it had been billed as the start of a new phase for the MCU’s storytelling but it’s the same formula they’ve always used, predictable as all hell, and just not great. There needs to be some serious soul searching because somewhere in LA, James Gunn is rubbing his hands with glee knowing that audiences could pivot to DC content if this dry spell continues.

RATING: 2.5/5

[thejacksmit]

2024 Wipe | A Journal Special

Having swapped cinemas for stadiums for 14 weekends a year... certain adventures in Salford didn't stop a staple of the blog's content. Long time fans know the setup - it's time for our satirical look back at the year that was, and all of 2024's film, TV, music, news, and just a tiny bit of sport, in a true feature length Journal.

Expect VERY strong language from the outset, scenes of an adult nature, and be advised that some segments feature flashing images.

Watch the 2020, 2021 (Director's Cut), 2022 and 2023 editions here.

[thejacksmit]

First Take: We Live in Time - the director of Brooklyn + Film4 funding = a great start to 2025

SYNOPSIS: An up-and-coming chef and a recent divorcée find their lives forever changed when a chance encounter brings them together, in a decade-spanning, deeply moving romance.

Next year marks 10 years since John Crowley made the criminally underrated Brooklyn - and while there have been ups and downs with his work in the Hollywood system (infamously making The Goldfinch for Warner… and it bombing big time), at long last he is back making independent film with StudioCanal and A24. So ahead of its release on New Years Day on these shores and earning many plaudits at the BFI London Film Festival and various preview screenings during December, it gives me a lot of pride to say that he’s back on form with his latest work, which, believe it or not, was exec produced by one Benedict Cumberbatch.

Crowley does a hell of an effort to tell this story in 1 hour 48 minutes, with most of the film being all killer no filler - the nonlinear nature of it does take a bit of getting used to but ultimately that script from Nick Payne delivers a lot of light and comedic charm to really emphasise the darker moments of this film, of which there are many considering the subject matter. Tissues definitely advised, even recommended for the second half, and that’s about as much as I can say about the plot without revealing how it plays out. It’s shot brilliantly by Stuart Bentley, and with Bryce Dessner (of The National) on score duties, it looks like an A24 commission, sounds like an A24 commission, and importantly has the star power to prove it.

At its core are two performances from talents who arguably command any film they make - on their own, Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield have had stellar careers but combined, they create some absolute magic and sell this plot so incredibly well with young Grace Delaney playing their daughter (and by all accounts forming a lifelong bond with Pugh and Garfield if recent Instagram posts are to be believed). Supporting them are talents like Niamh Cusack, Aoife Hinds, Kerry Godliman, Adam James, Douglas Hodge and many more, but it is the work of that main trio which take this film into the realms of a very special release. I honestly hope it opens well because it is not often that the local film industry can hit it out of the park like this.

THE VERDICT

We Live in Time is going to break many hearts when it goes wide in UK cinemas next week, and while it might get some awards nods from BAFTA at the very least, it's another gem supported by those fine folks at Film4, continuing their fantastic strike rate of backing homegrown talent. Yes, it takes a while to get into but by god does it stick the landing.

RATING: 4.5/5

[thejacksmit]

First Take: Paddington in Peru - the trilogy doesn't quite stick the landing

SYNOPSIS: Paddington returns to Peru to visit his beloved Aunt Lucy, who now resides at the Home for Retired Bears. With the Brown family in tow, a thrilling adventure ensues when a mystery plunges them into an unexpected journey.

It’s a trilogy of films that have become very well regarded in the family film market, and one which StudioCanal are arguably building their UK brand around (quite rightly) - we all know how beloved Paddington 2 was when it released in 2017, you just have to ask Nicolas Cage and he’ll tell you the answer. But with their trusted bear handler Paul King now in the big leagues making films like Wonka, and long-time producer David Heyman going with him, the big question with Paddington in Peru was whether a new director could keep that style and reputation of the series in tact.

Enter Dougal Smith. A music video director by trade, with no experience in anything beyond 3 and a half minutes, this is the man trusted to helm this 1 hour 43 minute film and he does a relatively good job keeping to the style we’ve got so used to under Paul King - but boy does the film miss his midas touch across the board, even if the trademark slapstick and wit that’s defined the earlier entries remains present and correct. However, the script has issues, while the work of Mark Burton, Jon Foster and James Lamont (taking a story devised by 1 & 2 veterans King and Simon Farnaby) does what it needs to do, the big sticking point is the involvement of Sony when it comes to global distribution rights- there are elements which pander to the American market, and where it struggles is when you take a stereotypically London-based film out of London. Erik Wilson yet again nails it on the cinematography having now worked on all three films, and Dario Marianelli turns in a pretty decent score (which doesn’t feature the calypso band that popped up in 1 and 2) to keep things consistent even with the change in direction.

On to the cast, and in time honoured tradition, we’ve got a few Hollywood legends not taking themselves seriously for the purpose of comedic effect. In 1 it was Nicole Kidman, in 2 it was that legendary Hugh Grant role, and in 3, Antonio Banderas and Olivia Colman join the party with funny, if a little predictable characters - and in Colman’s case it is great to see her doing a family film and using years of work in TV comedy to her advantage. The new additions also include Carla Tous and a little cameo from Hayley Atwell- but importantly a lot of the OGs return too, with Hugh Bonneville, Samuel Joslin, Madeleine Harris and Julie Walters all coming back as expected within the live action realm, with Imelda Staunton coming in to voice Aunt Lucy- but the major change to the lead characters is the recasting of Sally Hawkins’ role to Emily Mortimer, and ultimately the whole thing struggled as a result. Whoever made that call is getting a hard stare. Importantly, the glue which just about holds it together is Ben Whishaw, who once again keeps the film on track as the voice of that marmalade-loving bear as only he knows how.

THE VERDICT

It’s not reaching the same heights as the first two (especially with Wicked and Gladiator II taking most cinema screens imminently), but as far as the first Paddington film under new creative stewardship goes, it’s about as smooth of a transition as it could’ve been - whether StudioCanal pursue the wider franchise that they have planned, without King’s involvement, could be the call which makes or breaks the series moving forward.

RATING: 3.5/5

[thejacksmit]

First Take: Piece by Piece - the most 'out there' documentary released for a while

SYNOPSIS: A vibrant journey through the life of Pharrell Williams, told through the lens of LEGO animation.

I never thought Lego breaking away from Warner would lead to a film like this - a few years ago everybody's favourite Minion enabler had the idea to make a biopic of his life, but with a typical Pharrell twist: it's told through Lego animation. Such is the mastermind behind most of pop's most inventive production. They duly obliged and, well, this isn't one for the family market for sure.

Seasoned documentary veteran Morgan Neville is in charge of what is, naturally, his first animated effort - he's best known for 20 Feet From Stardom amongst other live action efforts, and all things considered, he packs a lot into the 93 minutes… but he is restrained quite considerably by the PG certificate. What he and writers (and the film's editors) Jason Zeldes, Aaron Wickenden and Oscar Vazquez have done is try to tell as much of the Pharrell Williams story as they could within some very restrictive requirements, and that's before I mention the current situation with him and Neptunes co-founder Chad Hugo. It is animated incredibly well though, and as you would expect, alongside a score from Michael Andrews and 5 new songs from Pharrell himself, the key music choices you'd expect from a greatest hits album as a producer and solo artist are there, with a completely new light being shone on one particular song's inadvertent creation.

As for the voice cast, well, this is ultimately an animated documentary so it's all pretty authentic- a lot of Pharrell’s collaborators and his family pop up, with appearances from Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Timbaland, Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, and many of the artists who he has worked with since the late 1990s - but ultimately this feels like one big flex to create a documentary that has never been done before, using an unconventional method to tell a life story… kinda similar to everything Pharrell’s done in the music world then. Considering that there’s a more live action take of his early life slated for next year with Michel Gondry effort Atlantis, this feels more of a ‘second chapter’ to a film we’re yet to see.

THE VERDICT

Piece by Piece is a really well thought out documentary that struggles to find where or what it wants to be, especially with such a limiting BBFC rating as a PG. Had it been a 12, it could’ve expanded on some elements way more, and ultimately been a better film for it - but understandably Paddington did need some competition when it opened in the UK last week.

RATING: 2.5/5

[thejacksmit]

First Take: Venom: The Last Dance - Sony once again fumble another superhero film

SYNOPSIS: Eddie and Venom, on the run, face pursuit from both worlds. As circumstances tighten, they're compelled to make a heart-wrenching choice that could mark the end of their symbiotic partnership.

Three films, three directors, and a universe that's allegedly unconnected to the MCU's multiversal adventures, even if characters were featured in the post-credits of No Way Home. Sony has a bit of an identity problem when it comes to their Spider-Man universe away from animation and the Tom Holland efforts, and, as feared, the final part of this Venom trilogy is more of the same.

Stepping up from sole writing duties to direct this one is Kelly Marcel, taking the main seat for the first time in her career, and, well, it's 1 hour 49 minutes of superhero filmmaking that isn't designed to be taken seriously. There are highs and lows as expected, with the tone very much being set with a joke about being done with the multiverse (Ryan Reynolds called, he did it better), but she lands the final act really well when all things are considered. It's shot well by Fabian Wagner, and once again, another new composer takes the helm with Dan Deacon succeeding Marco Beltrami and Ludwig Goransson on scoring duties. It genuinely feels like production on this film was hit hard by last year's strikes, and as such, everything feels very hastily put together to hit the October 2024 release slot.

Understandably Tom Hardy's input on this film is felt, he definitely had a lot of fun with the Venom character over the years, and with this being his last (potentially), he just decided to go all out. Co-writing the film, shaping the jokes which are at times very much dad jokes, and generally saying 'screw it', if this is how he wants to exit a franchise then fair play. Supporting him is Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Stephen Graham, Rhys Ifans, Alanna Ubach and Clark Backo, and putting it all together, as a solo film this is a silly and at times ridiculous plot. But as part of the Venom trilogy, well, it's opened strong, outperformed Joker: Folie a Deux (like most films are right now) and got off to a good start - the second week box office drop will be the telling sign for Sony's next steps with Kraven The Hunter set to open at the end of the year.

THE VERDICT

From middle of the road superhero film to... middle of the road superhero film. This hasn't been a pretty trilogy for Sony, but with their continued grasp on Spider-Man rights (every villain they use in their films allegedly keeps Marvel Studios from using them in the MCU) these 'universe-adjacent' movies belong in the void. The best thing about this film was the cinema I reviewed it in - and that says it all.

RATING: 2.5/5

[thejacksmit]

First Take - The Wild Robot - DreamWorks’ best hope at an Oscar as their in-house era ends with a bang

SYNOPSIS: After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot called Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island. To survive the harsh environment, Roz bonds with the island's animals and cares for an orphaned baby goose

DreamWorks, oh how we have missed this level of quality. After a few years of relatively decent sequels, some missteps, and dare I say the word Trolls, they are back with a book adaptation that delivers and then some - and on top of that, it could be a dark horse come awards time next February, it is that good.

Chris Sanders of Lilo & Stitch fame is the man tasked with directing and adapting Peter Brown’s 2016 novel of the same name, and even with the obligatory changes to make it a viable feature, this comes in as an incredibly well thought out 1 hour 42 minute film that will make all audiences feel a lot as it all unfolds. While it does push the threshold of a U certificate, bordering on PG at times, it is a film that has more heart than a lot of that has been missing from the releases the Glendale studio have put out of late, this is namely due to the animation style, with this being the last film to be made at their campus in full ahead of a partnership with Sony Imageworks starting next year. Kris Bowers’ score also creates this world so well, making this one of the finest technical achievements in the near 30 years Dreamworks have been in business.

Understandably the voice talent are another key reason as to where this film excels, with Lupita Nyong’o delivering a performance that carries the emotional core of this story incredibly well, which is even more impressive when you have talents like Pedro Pascal, Mark Hamill, Kit Connor, Catherine O'Hara, Bill Nighy, Ving Rhames and Matt Berry in that cast. Seeing this film do as well as it has is brilliant for all the studios, even if over in the States it has come at a small cost (there have been reports of people buying tickets for this, then sneaking into the viral sensation Terrifier 3), but either way, this is a film that showcases everything that made the studio who brought us Shrek, The Croods, How To Train Your Dragon and more stand out in a very Pixar dominated world. Having both studios delivering fantastic movies in one calendar year can only be a good thing long tierm.

THE VERDICT

The Wild Robot is an incredible piece of work from a studio that have consistently released animated films that pushed the boundaries for what is possible - some audiences will be scared at times considering the certificate, but given the impending changes at the studio this is one hell of a way to bring the curtain down on the Glendale campus.

RATING: 5/5