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"Red Right Hand" is playing and it's time for Ghost Face to return. After the tragic events in Woodsborough Carpenter sisters are trying to move on. Tara, Mindy and Chad are uni students in New York and Sam is stuck in the past, trying to protect her little sister from a seemingly invisible threat. But it's only a matter of time until the bodies start to pile up and Sam has to face her legacy and learn to trust her gut if she wants to protect the people she loves.

SCREAM VI is an action filled slasher that caters for the fans of the franchise as much as it enters uncharted territory, trying new things and collects on chemistry between Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega. They had become leading ladies in their own right, and carry a lot of the new chapter on their shoulders. Their relationship is a focus of the film as they learn how to exist in a post traumatic world and figure out what does it mean for their future.

The real tension in the film comes from the possibility of loosing some legacy characters, the beloved Kirby (Hayden Panettiere) who is back with a vengeance and Gail (Courteney Cox). Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Chad (Mason Gooding) also appear to find themselves on the chopping block. Scenes with Gail are particular traumatic and she has the epic showdown with The Ghost face, it is much more than the trailer revealed, more gruesome and has the best dialogue lines of the film. Gail, Tara and Sam work best when they are together in a scene and there are some epic moments involving those three. Gail has a better story ark then Scream 5 here.

As to the identity of the killer or killers - I almost figured it out. There were some surprises in store for this seasoned fan and plenty of red herrings to collect. The finale is epic, insanely gory and satisfying.

SCREAM VI is filled with great ideas, there are plenty of inventive death scenes and some cringe worthy stubbing. Not everything seems believable, but when did it stop us to love the franchise?

A special praise for the opening scene - this instalment is trying to do it very differently, and do yourself a favour - wait for the end of credits, it will be worth your while.

One thing is clear - SCREAM is becoming a modern franchise, my only wish it would experiment more in the future films. But as it is, SCREAM VI is a whole lot of fun and made me very happy indeed!

Doctor Strange is happy or at least he believes he is. He may not have gotten the woman of his dreams, he may not have settled down and have had someone to care about, but he has the powers some can only dream of... all this come into question when he crosses paths with a rebellious teenager who can move between parallel universes. Recruiting Wanda Maximoff, The Scarlet Witch, to figure out who is after the girl and why, Steven Strange faces off with the enemy like no other, travels to places like no other as the line between a friend and a foe starts to blur.

MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS is a movie only Sam Raimi could make and get away with. The film is just a step away from being a full flashed horror film. All throughout the stakes are very highly, at least on characters' personal level, and tongue in cheek black humour reminds me of another Raimi's favourite - DRAG ME TO HELL.

Moving at a frantic speed the plot doesn't take much time to unravel. There's a twist early on and your enjoyment of the rest will depend on whether you liked it or not. But as the plot thickens you will definitely admire the approach Raimi had taken. This is a unique Marvel movie in every way imaginable.

The visuals look gorgeous on giant IMAX screen and 3D is being taken advantage off at every turn (the girl that sat beside me couldn't help but duck from some objects flying straight at the audience). I had a feeling I held my breath throughout and exhaled only as credits rolled. With the running time of more than 2 hrs this really passed in a flash.

I would be curious to find out fans' reactions on some of the characters' treatment, but this is definitely a direction no one but Raimi would ever dare to take.

THE DESPERATE HOUR focuses on one character on the move, who interacts with the outside world through the mobile phone as the world unravels beyond. The structure is similar to Tom Hardy's LOCKE, although it is not as well written. Given the star power do Naomi Watts to carry the whole film on her shoulders Australian veteran director Phillip Noyce shoots a minimalistic thriller. It is sharp, focused well acted and easy to relate to. How many times in your life you could not get in touch with your loved ones considering the worst and hoping for the best? This conflict is at core of the story as Amy learns of the situation by the smallest bits of news, her hopes crushed and restored over and over again.

The cinematography is spectacular for such a small film, the woods are picturesque and the visuals are always in synch with the mood of the characters. As the ending is not as forceful as the rest of the film makes us hope - THE DESPERATE HOUR is still a tense ride you don't want to miss.

25 years after the original SCREAM was released and 10 years since the last entry comes a film that no one expected but everyone hoped to see. There's been much excitement and nervousness after the dispatch of Wes Craven - will the new directors be able to maintain the level of tension, terror and somewhat cosiness of the four previous films? And the answer is "hell yes!" The new movie takes a lot of chances, breaks the rules, but remains true to what the fans expect (or want to be surprised about) in the series.

It is a hard task to review the film when any potential comment may be a spoiler. But to give you something to look forward to I say this: the film has the best chemistry ever between Dewey Gail and Sydney and I felt like reuniting with the best friends. The film is also brutal - it's not just the most violent entry in the franchise, it also gets personal - as a fan you should expect to get hurt. Badly. It also features the most gruesome opening scene in the franchise... but with an unexpected result!

This new SCREAM takes the Mickey out of the 1996 original and does it well, giving us fantastic new characters and a modern final girl for generations- Melissa Barrera's Sam Carpenter is a vision to behold. It should please the old time viewers and bring new fans to the franchise.

The set of new characters has a nice dynamic and while you know they are doomed to be picked off one by one it makes every death matter. The finale is reminiscent of ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD and will not disappoint. The audience clapped for 5 minutes after the credits rolled. Enough said.

Rewatching it years later shows just how ahead of their time the directors are. Brilliant ambitious sci fi with great characters and mind bending ideas.

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER finale lacks pacing, thrills and chooses the easiest twist that makes little sense. There's simply not enough time to tie all loose ends and however much screening time of previous episodes was wasted.

With some decent ideas and talent on display the show was made undone by poor writing and lack of pacing and sense of mystery the original is famous for!

ICH-CHI is a spirit from Yakut mythology that protects the earth and its people. When city dwellers Lisa and Timur return to Timur's childhood house the family's past quarrels come to the surface. But when the night arrives something more menacing lurks in the dark and it is rooted in deep tragedies and great evils of the past.

ICH-CHI signifies the coming of Yakut film into Mainstream movie world. The movie begins as a serious drama about the reconciliation of the old and the new. The first half of the film is an engaging family drama which focuses of the conflict of two brothers - one came back from the city, the other lives in the wilderness with his parents. Both are dismissive of the other's lifestyle, and their inability to find common ground may demand a high price to pay.

The cast of characters supported by mysterious background of Yakutia's wild nature builds up to something incredible, but when the night falls and the horror part of the movie begins, it turns into a confusing mess. Remaining stylish and beautiful throughout, consistently well acted, the film would have done better to remain on the familiar family drama track. But the director Kostas Marsan is much more interested in the myths of the Yakut land and the terrifying nature of the past that haunts our characters.

The second part of the film is a dream-like labyrinthian sequence that makes little sense as it progresses and only by the end some questions will be answered. But will it be enough?

When an unspeakable tragedy strikes at the heart of her family Eddie runs away from people and into the wilderness where she tries to carry on living. Away from civilisation, with no connection to the outside world, the life of a hermit hits her hard with cold, hunger and the wildlife dangers of the forest. Can her body survive the trials of her lonely life? And can her mind survive the memories of her unspeakable sorrow?

Robin Wright produces and directs a simple story about a woman coping with grief. The movie was released in multiplexes here in Australia, which is unheard of for such a small Arthouse film with only a few actors in it. (Maybe COVID is not so bad for film after all).

The movie looks stunning on the wide screen, the cinematography is breathtaking with almost every frame delivering a stunning visual impact.

Wright owns the film, her portrayal of grief through its trouble and tribulations is heartbreaking, and her journey to healing is believable. Her performance bounces well of her "partner in crime" Demian Bichir as Migel. They have real onscreen chemistry, and their scenes together are carefully crafted, keeping their growing relationship well balanced and real.

LAND is a one woman show that is surprisingly entertaining for a film that doesn't have much happening and the short running time and the stunning cinematography play their part. The script is often very close to sliding into plain melodrama, and the dramatic element is played to the max - the ultimate tragedies that plague the characters are slightly manipulative. But this is a wonderfully shot and acted movie that has a meditative, spellbinding effect, and is an astounding directorial debut.

Since his teens Alex has wanted only one thing - to become Miss France. The problem is - he is boy.

At the age of 24 Alex is trying to attempt just that - to participate in a competition that will propel him to stardom. Now he needs to become a woman if not in the flesh, then in look and spirit. His helpers are his quirky family of neighbours - all outsiders in their own right, plus a childhood friend, a famous boxer, who will help him build his fighting spirit. Will Alex be able to achieve the impossible and what price will he have to pay?

Director Ruben Alves (The Gilded Cage) loves to populate his films with quirky memorable characters and MISS is no exception. The boarding house where a middle aged cross dresser, two drug dealing wannabes, Indian sweatshop workers who don't speak French and where all are ruled by an always grumpy landlady, is a great setting for a comedy about serious issues. While providing plenty of laugh out loud moments and delivering some hard to swallow twists, the film demands to be taken seriously when the story concerns the dilemmas of the protagonists.

Under someone else's clumsy hand MISS could have turned into a preachy and boring politically correct drama. Ruben Alves manages to provide the exact balance of funny and sad, with plenty of irony and humour, creating a lighthearted atmosphere that is, above all, genuinely entertaining.

MISS would never have worked without its star Alexander Wetter, who makes this outrageous scenario a believable one. He is the heart and the soul of the film. It is a surprisingly deep and poignant performance.

MISS is a modern Cinderella story where a prince and a princess come in the same package. It's about accepting who you are, striving for greatness against all odds.

Once upon a time Cassandra was a promising young woman who was a brilliant medical university student. But it was all gone overnight. Now Cassie wanders the city streets at night, letting herself be taken home by strange men - all a part of an elaborate revenge plan... as people from her past re-surface and a chance of romance comes her way, will Cassie be able to leave her grudge behind and start anew?

It is hard to write a synopsis for PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN as almost everything may be considered a spoiler. It's that kind of story! The film has generated a lot of anger as it shows men in the worst possible light. However Director Emerald Fennell must be applauded for showing that abusers have no gender (two of the four film's main villains are female). Even our heroine Cassandra is a sort of an anti-hero, although our sympathies are always on her side.

This story is made complex by its script, that gives us only bits of information about what happened to Cassie in the past and what her intentions are.

An important part of the film is its soundtrack- clever upbeat covers of famous hits have an interesting double meaning, enhancing the scenes.

If not for the snappy dialogue, quirky characters and a sharp, not-a-scene-wasted script, this would be just one in a row of many rape-revenge thrillers that come cheap by the dozen. Instead PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN is wickedly funny, sometimes shocking, often sad, but always an irresistible thriller that pretends to be a comedy about the war of genders.

Constantly reinventing itself, building on its irony and comedy sketches, the movie delivers its sucker punch when you least expect it.

Derrick Tyler is a successful businessman who loves his wife, but during a trip to Las Vegas he cheats on her with a beautiful stranger. Upon returning home he becomes a victim of a violent home invasion which leads to an unexpected encounter with his one night stand from Las Vegas. Oh my, he wishes that he'd kept his pants on!

FATALE has a distinct vibe of the 90s about it and could have been a remake of UNLAWFUL ENTRY, a film with Kurt Russell and Ray Liotta.

I realise I enjoy recent work of Deon Taylor (the director): BLACK AND BLUE and THE INTRUDER both released in 2019 were down to basics thrillers, intense and fun to watch. FATALE is such a film, structured around Hilary Swank's character (detective Val Quinlan) it introduces a few surprises in the genre of so called "one night stand" thrillers, but then it evolves in a most predictable way.

The important thing about FATALE is that something is always happening, the action is propelled forward and the film ends in a flash. Whether you like the end result is a different story, but FATALE is the kind of guilty pleasure that you don't really feel guilty about. Hillary Swank's acting is also what makes the film very bearable!

As for the hidden meaning - white cop killing black people left right and centre is definitely a deliberate choice for the writers, making that cop a woman making this even more intense. Black people in the film are also depicted in a bad light, they are either gangsters, cheaters or murderers. Or plain stupid like the main character Derrick. So there we go.

But step away from political correctness and enjoy the movie for what it is - a cheesy femme fatale thriller straight from the 90s.

In a year when big movie projects are either delayed or stopped indefinitely the third film from Japanese anime franchise FATE/STAY NIGHT sneakily got into movie theatres. I only understood what a big deal this release was when I couldn't buy a ticket, every session sold out for ten days straight.

The anime film revolves around teenagers playing the deadly "battle royal" game, where the last one standing will win the Holy Grail and have their wish fulfilled. Think HUNGER GAMES with dark magic, with some high school romance and Dragon Ballz battles, and you will get what the FATE franchise is about. The film reviewed here is the third in the trilogy called HEAVEN'S FEEL, and you would have to see at least the original tv show and both previous theatrical movies to understand what's going on.

HEAVEN'S FEEL III is loud, colourful and even thought provoking entertainment, however I found its rather simplistic story very heavy on unnecessary details that you won't get if you don't remember them from the other movies and TV shows.

This one is for the fans! For non aficionados it's impossible to follow up on every thread of information given, and I was often at a loss, even though I had seen the minimum requirement to understand it.

Hearing the fans talking after the film, it was clear they got what they wanted. With its huge budget, HEAVEN'S FEEL has an indie production air about it, as common sense is often sacrificed for artistry. The animation here is mind blowing and if anything it's the reason to see the film. The soundtrack from veteran anime composer Yuki Kajiura is a masterpiece (the album unfortunately is unavailable on Spotify). All in all HEAVEN'S FEEL III can be quite an experience but to those exposed to the franchise for the first time it will look like an incomprehensible mess.

Josh and Rachel are living their not so happy suburban lives when Josh's old buddy Bucky storms into their imperfect world, turning it all upside down.

The first feature from Sahm McGlynn is a character driven story about impending life change that everyone needs once in a while.

LOVE FLOWER has a feel of an independent play of a small New York or London theatre one can stumble on by chance. It will be popular with the indie movie crowd and can be a darling of the indie festivals.

There's solid direction here and some good performances. A slice of life drama that is hard to get going, but eventually sucks you in and you stay for the weird characters and the plot that is hard to identify. The dynamics of Joshua (Ben Lynch) and Bucky (Sahm McGlynn, the director himself) are fun to watch, as best buddies they have a real chemistry onscreen, and Anna Irving as the yoga guru and Joshua's girlfriend Rachel does more with her role than the script allowed. She definitely has what it takes to make it big if the stars align.

There's a lot to admire in this first time feature film - the performances, the subtle humour and most importantly there's something that makes the characters relatable and their relationships true.

The director should be proud of LOVE FLOWER as at the end of the day there's something to discuss, something to laugh about and something to be sad about.

Max has a sixtieth birthday coming up. The problem is he is broke, divorced and depressed. When a group of his best friends show up at his doorstep to help him celebrate, he reluctantly agrees to spend a few days with them, but won't explain what's going on in his personal life. When ones darkest moments come, will friendship conquer all?

Seven years after the breakout success of the film Little White Lies (Les Petits Mouchoirs) comes the long anticipated sequel and it is worth the wait. The success of WE'LL END UP TOGETHER is not in its rather predictable plot, but the chemistry on screen, the characters that we recognise ourselves and our friends in, and the amazing warm atmosphere that makes one believe there's no problem a good dinner with friends won't sort out.

Written and directed by much loved French actor and director Guillaume Canet this movie feels like a welcome return home to those who have seen the original and will also welcome new viewership - the film can be enjoyed on its own. Welcoming French acting royalty at the peak of their career WE'LL END UP TOGETHER is a perfect escape movie and can be enjoyed again and again.

Bruno and Malik couldn't be too different. Bruno is Jewish, Malik is Arab. Bruno is a loner Malik is a family man. But they are united to help children with autism. And this passion drives every day of their life.

We often forget what a definition of a good person is. In THE EXTRAORDINARY it's those who don't look away and don't give up when things get hard. Once again the duo Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano (The Intouchables) wrote and directed a film about real people standing up to great hardships, and they've done it with a lot of heart, humour and no preaching.

The film's first shot could be one from a thriller - a young girl is running from her pursuers through the city steers, only to be caught and drugged into a van, which quickly drives away. This is a common theme of the film - a fight with preconceptions. What seems like a kidnapping is actually a rescue mission.

Nakache and Toledano created a perfect style of story telling - through small character story arcs and anecdotes they speak of a greater things, creating a versatile canvas of the world their characters live in.

The other strength is in choosing their cast: Vincent Cassel and Reda Kateb are at the peak of their popularity in France and have a perfect chemistry. The script is written with honesty, clarity, irony and humour and can only be described as perfect.

With its themes of following one's calling and challenging the rules society creates for the problems it doesn't understand, THE EXTRAORDINARY is deep and emotionally satisfying experience.

Alliance Française French Film Festival Alice is a philosopher who is invited to work for the Mayor of Lyon. Paul, the Mayor has reached the time in his life where he is suffering from a lack of new ideas, both political and of any other kind. Alice, unknowingly to herself is also having a crisis of self belief. Can these two very different people complete each other? What are the defining characteristics of a real friendship?

ALICE AND THE MAYOR is a slice of life gentle sort of film that touches lightly upon serious problems. There are no higher stakes and dramatic turns. But it's a timely reminder that those are often not needed to have a turmoil in one's soul.

The main focus of the film is in dialogue. It is swift, precise, somewhat intellectual but never snobbish. There are many characters, some are memorable even though they fleetingly enter and leave the scene. Fabrice Luchini, as the mayor, is warm, with not being overly friendly, and stern in a way that comes out as gentle. It's a complex character with only the tip of the iceberg being shown, but somehow we can feel the rest of it hidden away. A wonderful performance indeed.

This is not a film for everyone. It's very smooth and devoid of any sharp angles. If politics is a cutthroat business this is not how it's presented here. For most of the viewers the characters will seem to come from a parallel world. Even being very likeable, they are extremely detached from reality and this is the movie's weakest point.

Sado, a death row prisoner, makes an astounding claim that he had an accomplice. He refers to his companion as Doc (teacher) and according to Sado's testimony Doc was the real mastermind behind the crimes. A young journalist Fuji is determined to uncover the truth, but is he being sent on a wild goose chase by a man ready to do anything to postpone his death sentence?

THE DEVIL'S PATH is a thriller based on actual events, but according to the opening credit note none of the characters are real people. The film has a rather frustrating structure with an hour long "FLASHBACK" inserted in the middle of it. We do not need to know all the horrific details of each crime committed and in truth this has only slowed down the pacing. The story has an interesting take on the origins of evil. Sado and his companion commit their atrocities without second thought, almost just like our protagonist and a fighter for the truth Fujii is ignoring the growing unsettlement at home. Has he been turning away from his loved ones for too long?

Takayuki Yamada (Fujii) gives a very one sided and unlikable performance of a young man in distress, who is finding the only distraction from his hard life at home in chasing his perfect villain.

The killer Sudo (Pierre Taki) does a quick transformation from humbled to enraged whenever it is required, and his larger than life charisma plants a disturbing thought that this monster is actually really likeable.

Lily Franky in the role of Doc will make your stomach turn, he is one of the most hate inspiring villains I have seen on screen.

With it Silence Of The Lamb sort of set up THE DEVIL'S PATH fails to deliver in terms of action, but with its slow movement reaches to us nonetheless. Can any punishment fit the crime as the victims cannot be brought back from the dead? Is any obsession, even the one of justice, a way to begin the DEVIL's PATH of its own?

Commissar Yacoub Daoud knows his multicultural community. In fact he was one of those migrants himself once upon a time, but now calls northern France home. We follow him through his busy days on the job as he investigates a disappearance, an arson and a murder with some unexpected results.

Director Arnaud Desplechin does slightly provocative serious dramas with a lot of dialogue. He had had mixed results over the years, with his film Ismael's Ghosts being a confusing mess according to some. Here, however the artistry gives way to an intelligent cop movie, where the realism hits a sour spot. While OH MERCY! feels fresh, there's nothing innovative about its approach. This is how they made procedural police films in the 80's, only instead of Roschdy Zem you would have gotten Lino Ventura.

Talking about Roschdy Zem, this is one of the most versatile modern French actors, who has a unique presence in action, comedy or serious drama. He and Lea Seydoux, who plays one of the girls tangled in the murder investigation, carry the film forward, delivering intensity and realism. The movie is drastically different from what we are used to in cop dramas coming from USA, and this may be one of the good reasons to give it a try.

Pierre takes over his fathers farm at the age of twenty five. He loves the land and his family, wife and two children. They are a happy tightly knit unit and it seems there's no hardship they cannot overcome. But as the debts mount and the business spirals out of control, how long will it be until Pierre breaks under the pressure?

IN THE NAME OF THR LAND is an unflinching look at what it is to be a farmer in France. The beauty, the isolation, the rewarding hard work and the financial reward that doesn't always match the effort that was put in. The best thing about the film is the acting. Guillaume Canet deserves an Oscar for his portrayal of a good man in crisis.

Eduardo Bergeron is a documentary director and the film at times feels as such. You almost expect a voice over commenting on what's going on. Bergeron does not use the shaky camera move or first person shots to make the movie feel real. The tension and drama here comes solely through the performances and supported by the wonderful soundtrack of Thomas Doppelo - the disc should make pleasant stand alone listening.

IN THE NAME OF THE LAND is not an easy film to sit through. It could lose a 10 minutes or so from its running time, but even in shorter form it's hard to watch the characters you deeply care about being emotionally destroyed on screen. This is where the film succeeds and where it fails. There's rarely a ray of hope in the story. IN THE NAME OF THE LAND is a devastating experience.

Sibyl wants to stop her psychiatry practice in order to write the next great French novel. But not before she agrees to treat a pregnant girl who is in love with a famous actor. Fast forward a few weeks, and Sybil is suddenly in the middle of a Love triangle (or is it trapezium?), that opens old wounds and make her question her perception of reality. Who needs therapy now?

Independent director Justine Triet has been praised by the critics for her previous works that underline social and political problems. Here we deal with a crisis of a domestic nature and one wonders if the film is based on the director's personal experience. SYBIL cannot be called feminist even though it features plenty of strong women making tough choices. The problem is that those female characters are all despicable and hardly inspire any sympathy from the viewer. The story is patchworky and, while intriguing, it takes a long time to get to the meat of things. Erotic scenes while well made seem irrelevant and the plot itself is hard to define - it's like it was re-written in the last minute. And we are left wondering what it was all about.

Filled with great performances from all Involved, and with its decent cinematography, the movie mostly suffers from the story's inconsistencies and a lack of focus. Overstuffed with ideas which are plenty but never quite make it whole the film struggles to find its identity and borderlines on any piece of entertainment's worst enemy - which is boredom!

Victor and Marianne are in their early seventies. While Marianne refuses to grow up Victor struggles to adapt to a modern world full of gadgets and the virtual reality of the internet. A present from his son - a successful media businessman turns his life upside down as he is allowed to relive the best days of his youth.

Once again a romantic comedy where the protagonist tries another chance with his past. However this time around the premise does not include literal time travel or rewriting of history. If TRUMAN SHOW was a romantic comedy you'd get LA BELLE EPOQUE. It is also refreshing to see French acting royalty Daniel Auteuil and Fanny Ardant in the main roles. Sparks fly when they are together on screen and it is realistic, exciting and intense. The script is extremely clever, well paced and filled with hilarious situations.

Sometimes everything comes together in a film - the music, the acting, the direction, all supporting an original story that digs deep but makes perfect sense. Perfectly funny, spot on dialogue, memorable characters - it's all there. A feel good, but an intelligent film - I didn't want it to end.

Raphael has everything a man needs for a happy life - a successful writing career, plenty of fans and a devoted wife Olivia. He doesn't seem to understand the sacrifices Olivia has made to help him build his career, putting aside her own ambition... until one day Raphael wakes up in a world where he is a humble school teacher and Olivia is a world famous concert pianist. More than this - she doesn't even know who Raphael is. Will they be able to reunite? And at what cost?

The "What if" premise is the signature style of a French romantic comedy. LOVE AT SECOND SIGHT, however, examines an interesting dilemma - does one of the spouses always have to sacrifice his or her own ambition for the other to succeed? And can the cycle be broken?

Apart from this interesting premise the film doesn't have much in store. Action does not propel the protagonists' relationship forward and there's a lack of quirky hilarious and engaging situations that make romantic comedy really work.

Both Francois Civil and Josephine Japy look great in front of the camera but lack chemistry. They work better as best friends than future lovers. They are also too beautiful to be believable as an average couple.

LOVE AT SECOND SIGHT is something you have seen many times before, and there's little to praise beyond its high concept premise. As a piece of entertainment, however, it works rather well and never feels dull. If you love romantic comedies with a twist it may be two hours well spent.

Pierre lives with his radio host mother and a scientist brother in a small town where nothing ever happens. When Juliette has her car stolen it's Pierre's job as a policeman to find it. On their amusing journey to solve the mystery of a stolen vehicle they connect, they fight and discover the truth about each other that they never wanted to face.

PERDRIX is a romantic comedy with a particular style that can be only described as a farce. The characters that populate the film are caricatures and nothing should be taken at face value. The performances are great all around in particular Fanny Ardant as the matriarch of a family, and who depends on one of her sons more than she cares to admit.

The problem is the script. While full of clever imagery and funny episodes it is slow to unfold and there are plenty of scenes that don't serve the narrative or character development.

Dealing with many interesting themes the story has its own, not always comprehensive, approach. It doesn't help that many characters of the film, while not one dimensional, are rather plain.

This is the first feature from Erwan Le Duk. While he definitely has his own voice this is the sort of film that will appeal more to the critics than to the audience.

George has reached a crossroad. Quitting his family life he is searching for a higher calling. This comes to him as soon as he obtains a Deer skin jacket. Everything seems clearer now. Especially when his jacket starts talking to him. Sharing its ultimate dream of being the only jacket in the world.

DEERSKIN steps into the rather tricky territory of a middle age crisis and treats it like no other movies have done before. Jean Dujardin is perfect as a slightly unhinged man whose search for purpose in life goes to the extreme. His partner in crime Denise (Adele Haenel) is seemingly clueless and adoring but has her own secrets in store. Their tandem is not unlike the one of Bonnie and Clyde. They ooze chemistry and a sense of approaching doom.

The film's genre is hard to define. It's too black to be a comedy. Too cheerful to be a horror movie and too grotesque to be a serious drama.

The Director Quentin Dupieux, famous for his thriller RUBBER about a murderous car tire, has another weird story to tell, this time it's more intense and adequate than I care to admit. But he knows how to be precise and concise, and with less than a 90 min run time the film never overstays its welcome. With its dialogue straight from Twin Peaks and the dream logic of David Cronenberg, DEERSKIN is never boring. It will surprise and frustrate in equal measure, but will linger in your mind for a long time.

There's a library in a French provincial town that holds the manuscripts refused by the publishers. Among those lies a book of gold - a novel that resonates with the public and becomes a bestseller. The author is Henri Pick - a man who hadn't been seen writing or reading a novel in his life time. When famous literary critic (Fabrice Luchini) claims Henri Pick had not actually written the book the public is enraged. As a result he loses his tv job and his marriage. It is now an obsession for him to prove he was right and he embarks on a hilarious journey to find the truth.

Fabrice Luchini is fantastic in the main role of literary critic gone astray, the role feels written specifically for him. If the film was made in the 80's the role could be played by Pierre Richard. Just like Richard, Luchini has a perfect balance of hilarious and dramatic and the film draws on this talent in every frame he is in.

Part intellectual mystery, part comedy, part love story, part a serious dwelling on what it means to be an artist THE MYSTERY OF HENRI PICK is almost a perfect movie. In a country where 90% of people read extensively and 70% attempt to write the next great French novel the film exist in a parallel universe from most overseas viewers. Who cares about a book unless it's Game Of Thrones or Harry Potter? But this suspension of disbelief is easy to overcome with engaging characters and quirky dialog.

The script is focused, inventive and delivers a perfect ending. It definitely tricked me. Supported by a cheeky and slightly frantic score from a young (but also a veteran in his own way) French musician Laurent Perez Del Mar, THE MYSTERY OF HENRY PICK is the best French Cinema has to offer. As much tongue in the cheek as it is serious, this is an intellectual mystery and a guilty pleasure in one!