david-meldrum

This most-loved of the Coen Brothers' films is surprisingly warm-hearted when I revisit it for the first time in a very long time. That heart comes from performances - especially Jeff Bridges, but not forgetting the terrific supporting cast - , and script, the deft direction and pretty much everything else, a whole film where the constituent parts are all doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing. It also benefits from less of the wilful, unhinged weirdness that infects their less great work; all in all, it's hard not to love, and hard to imagine the person who would talke against it.

This horror sequel stands or falls on the performance of star Naomi Scott, a pop star on the brink of a comeback world tour who encounters the 'smile demon' of the first film. It's a terrific performance - energetic and very physical, she gives a convincing portrayal of a woman under huge pressure, who is either having a breakdown or subject to a demonic curse. Along the way, the film is about mental health and the pressures of fame (especially for women), and it's impressive that the film isn't afraid to be downright weird at times. The ending is creepy, if a little overwrought, but this is a fine horror sequel that's not afraid to properly scare and disorient.

Do we need to worry about Francis Lawrence, director of several Hunger Games films, and The Long Walk? The premise of this Stephen King adaptation suggests he asked his agent to find him a project similar to the Hunger Games films, but grimmer and with less hope. The result is a disarmingly simple idea; in a dystopian America that has suffered a devastating war and exists under an authoritarian regime (I know, right?), every year one young man from each state is selected from a wide pool of volunteers to take part in The Long Walk. The rules: keep walking at 3 miles per hour, or receive a warning. 3 warnings and you're shot dead. Stray from the path, and the same thing happens. The one survivor wins a huge amount of money, and one wish. It's a great credit to the writing and the performances that this is neither unwatchably bleak nor profoundly dull. What is almost entirely a film about men walking under unimaginable pressure is shot through with soulful moments, drawing out themes of finding beauty and meaning in simple things and the power of friendship. The director keeps it simple, and it's all the more effective for that - and whilst some of the deaths are brutally horrible, it's not quite so relentless as to be too much. Little outside the necessary is either seen or explained, and like in all good horror, that works well to keep the narrow focus moving as we progress to the bleakly inevitable ending. It's ultimately the central performances that carry the weight of this film, and it ends up giving us one of the best Stephen King film adaptations for some time.