Godzilla Minus One ★★★★★
Directed by Takashi Yamazaki. Starring Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamadai. 12A cert, gen release, 125 min
Top-quality unearthing of the venerable Japanese monster. The enduring quality of Ishirō Honda’s 1953 original is rooted in its engagement with the twin atomic disasters of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. This prequel, similarly, yokes American imperialism, postwar malaise, survivor guilt and weaponised atomic power to produce the best action film of the year. CGI is eclipsed by clever cinema grammar: a flick of the tail here, bang goes the neighbourhood there. Takashi Yamazaki’s urgent script — which was written against a backdrop of Covid-related governmental distrust — adds gravitas to the thrills and spills. TB
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget ★★★☆☆
Directed by Sam Fell. Voices of Thandiwe Newton, Bella Ramsey, Lynn Ferguson, Jane Horrocks, Daniel Mays, Peter Serafinowicz, Zachary Levi, Imelda Staunton. Netflix, 97 min
Sequel to Aardman Animation’s 2000 hit finds the chickens trying to break into a high-tech meat processing facility to rescue a young friend. Though Dawn of the Nugget is not on the same plane as a masterpiece like The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, it delivers zippy good-hearted jokes at a cracking pace without outstaying its welcome. There is some evidence of digital tinkering, but not enough to distract from the blinking oddness of those charmingly imperfect clay faces. There are some fine new villains. The voice-work rumbles with buttered-crumpet charm. Middle-ranking Aardman is better than almost anyone else on top form. DC
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I Like Movies ★★★★☆
Directed by Chandler Levack. Starring Isaiah Lehtinen, Romina D’Ugo, Krista Bridges, Percy Hynes White. Limited release, 100 min
Newcomer Lehtinen plays Lawrence, a hilariously obnoxious teen movie lover who lives in an anonymous Ontarian suburb of Burlington with his widowed single mother (Bridges) and long-suffering best friend (White). In Levack’s endearing Portrait of a Film Bro as a Young Man, Lawrence’s many movie-related preoccupations — making movies, watching movies, talking exclusively about movies — inform all life choices. Levack based the screenplay on her own experiences as a Blockbuster clerk, but the empathy for a central character that might easily have been dismissed as a proto-incel is her own, delightful innovation. Hugely enjoyable. TB
In the Shadow of Beirut ★★★★☆
Directed by Stephen Gerard Kelly, Garry Keane. Limited release, 92 min
Keane, director of the fine doc Gaza, partners with Kelly for a brilliantly made, often heart-breaking film on the roughest, most neglected corner of the Lebanese capital. We are in the twin neighbourhoods of Sabra and Shatila. Palestinian refugees rub up against Syrians and struggling Lebanese. There is little health care. Electricity is erratic. Produced by Hillary and Chelsea Clinton. the film — often surprisingly beautiful — teases out four fascinating stories with great elegance. Arriving quietly before Christmas, the film now edges into awards season as the Irish submission for the best international feature Oscar. DC
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