film reviews

Reel Asian Film Festival 2018 Review: TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY (Hong Kong 2017) ****

festreviews 2018 movies, movie, Movie Review, Uncategorized , , , , , , ,
Tomorrow Is Another Day Poster
Mrs. Wong knows her husband is carrying on an affair, but for the sake of their marriage and autistic son, she has chosen to silently endure. However, the mistress comes to disturb them, …See full summary »

Director:

Tai-lee Chan

Writers:

Tai-lee Chan (screenwriter), Nicholl Tang (screenplay consultant)

Stars:

Teresa Mo, Ray Lui, Man-Lung Ling

Don’t let the ordinary sounding title fool you.  This one is the best of the films I have previewed at Reel Asian 2018.  Mrs. Wong (Teresa Mo) knows her husband, a driving instructor (Ray Lui) is having an affair, but for the sake of their marriage and their autistic son (Ling Man Lung), she chooses to silently endure his infidelity for the time being. What follows is an extremely realistic, heartfelt drama of a working-class woman struggling to breakthrough her midlife crisis. 

 One cannot help but feel for the central character, Mrs. Wong.  Director Chan lets us into the reason she persists.  Two reasons, one which is her son who occasionally shows how loving he is  The other is that she has little other alternatives.  TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY and there is nothing one can do about it.  At the film’s mid-point, the film turns into a suspense thriller as Mrs. Wong decides to stab the husband’s mistress to death.  Besides  the compulsive storyline, Chan’s camera also shows the beauty of Hong Kong as a city as well as the terrible gossip that exists in every neighbourhood in such a closed community as Hong Kong.  

Teresa Mo and Ling Man Lung both win acting honours at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FF-BiUHpUc

Film Review: DOLPHIN MAN (L’HOMME DAUPHIN)

festreviews 2018 movies, movie, Movie Review, Uncategorized , , , , , ,
Dolphin Man Poster
Trailer

Dolphin Man draws us into the world of Jacques Mayol, capturing his compelling journey and immersing viewers into the sensory and transformative experience of free-diving. From the …See full summary »

Director:

Lefteris Charitos

Writers:

Yuri Averov, Lefteris Charitos

Stars:

Jacques Mayol, Jean-Marc Barr, Umberto Pelizzari

The title DOLPHIN MAN belongs to the legendary free-diver Jacques Mayol whose life became the inspiration for Luc Besson’s cult-movie THE BIG BLUE (LE GRAND BLEU) .  The bio doc is narrated by Jean-Marc Barr who played Mayol in THE BIG BLUE.

Free diving is as the name implies, diving deep into the ocean without any breathing aid. Lungs get compressed and without oxygen, if the diver faints, he or she will be unable to re-surface which implies certain death.  Mayol is world famous as a free diver having broken his own records of depth free diving many times.

Mayol achieved fame in 1976 when he became the first free diver ever to descend 100 metres.  This legend of the sport spent his life setting records and going beyond what was considered humanly possible.

Charitos’s bio plays safe and covers all aspects of the diver’s life from his childhood, to his philosophy (of being one with the ocean), to his lifestyle and finally to the legacy he leaves behind.

His childhood is narrated with archive footage of China.  Mayol was born and lived as a child in Shanghai as his father was a French architect there.  Mayol loved the sea and when he was old enough took off to travel the world.  He married and settled in California with a Dane.  They broke up.  Before attaining fame, Mayol worked all kinds of jobs including the chauffeur of Zsa Zsa Gabor.  (Wish there were shots of him and Zsa Zsa together.)  But always broke, he used to stay at friends’s places for free.

The title Dolphin Man comes from Mayol’s fascination of the mammal.  He was nicknamed the French Dolphin by the Japanese.  He preferred a world of dolphins without humans.  In a way, Mayol has led his life similar to the dolphin’s.  The film reveals Marol’s first sight of the creature while on a ship as a child.

The bio finally rests on the diving.  Mayol is shown in many segments, diving into the waters for various purposes – treasure hunting; lobster fishing or breaking new records.

The film includes interviews with friends, family and free-diving champs like William Trubridge and Mehgan Heaney-Grier, and the vast beauty of the ocean is explored through fascinating archival footage and breathtaking present-day underwater cinematography.

Chartos’s film diverts a bit to the subject of breathing, as breathing is an important element in free diving.  His camera takes the audience to India to meet Yoga Masters that tag the wart of breathing or non-breathing.  The film also diverts to other free divers who are also champions in the field.

Every subject in a doc would have a downturn in his or her life.  For Mayol, one downturn was the death of his true love Gerda.  Gerda was the love of his life, loving the same things he loved like animals, eating the same food and sharing the simple pleasures of his life.  Gerda died in his arms – though the reason is not given in the film.  Mayol, described as a lolly man by nature, goes into deep depression as a result.  Another time was when he was shooting a film when he descended the deep too quickly bursting an ear drum.  The footage shows Mayol much older and obviously not the young athlete he was.  Again, Mayol went into depression.

Director Chartos uses Mayol’s depression to lead the film towards its sad conclusion that nevertheless provides the audience with some valuable insight on life – distinguishing DOLPHIN MAN from the run-of-the-mill bio documentary.

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/237685725

ReelAsian Film Festival 2018 Review: DEAR EX (Taiwan 2018) ***

festreviews 2018 movies, movie, Movie Review, Uncategorized , , , , , , ,
Dear Ex Poster
When Sanlian’s ex-husband passes away, she discovers he has altered his insurance policy, cutting out their son in favor of a stranger named Jay. Outraged, Sanlian decides that she and her …See full summary »

Directors:

Chih-Yen Hsu (as Kidding Hsu), Mag Hsu

Writers:

Mag Hsu (screenplay), Shih-yuan Lu (screenplay)

Stars:

Roy Chiu, Ying-Xuan Hsieh, Joseph Huang

This gay positive Taiwanese entry arrives timely at ReelAsian just in advance of same-sex marriage becoming legal in Taiwan in May of 2019.  Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-Liang has championed the gay art house movie with films like VIVE L’AMOUR but DEAR EX is yet another worthwhile entry, looking at the gay lifestyle from a lighter though still quite serious view.

  The film follows three people who are linked by fate because of love and family. Adolescent Song Chengxi (Joseph Huang) loses his father Song Zhengyuan (Spark Chen) to cancer, but instead of having time to mourn, Chengxi finds himself caught in a feud between his widowed mother Liu Sanlian (Hsieh Ying-xuan) and his father’s gay lover Jay (Roy Chiu). 

 As Liu fights Jay for Song’s insurance money,  though it is never clear what had happened to the money.  Each of three subjects are super-hyper and when they get together, there is now hostage of shouting and fighting, driving not only the other crazy but the person him or herself.  

It is comical to see the three interact and what is the final outcome of the film.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r94pd519Jf4

Reel Asian Film Festival 2018 Review: WISH YOU WERE HERE (China/Japan 2018)

festreviews 2018 movies, movie, Movie Review, Uncategorized , , , ,
China, Japan 2018 Rated PG 113:00 Mandarin, Japanese with English subtitles North  

“What’s kept hidden has its own power on us.”

On the eve of her latest fashion showcase in Beijing, successful entrepreneur Yuan Yuan is approached by Keiko, a mysterious young Japanese woman. An admirer of Yuan Yuan’s career, Keiko has learned Mandarin and fashion design for a chance to speak with her idol. As Yuan Yuan takes Keiko under her wing, long suppressed memories begin to surface of her time in Hokkaido and the husband she’d left behind.

Yuan Yuan finally builds up the courage to visit the small town she left behind more than 20 years ago in order to confront her past decisions and face her deepest fears. A journey of forgiveness and reconciliation, Wish You Were Here marks Kenneth Bi’s return to Reel Asian. His latest feature, a co-production between China and Japan, is an examination of a woman traversing through modernity and tradition; youth and maturity; past and future. -KE

Credits

Faye Yu, Takao Osawa, Ayane Kinoshita, Lu Yangyang, Goki Maeda, Yuriko Hoshi, Shingo Tsurumi, Zhou Tie, Liu Dan, Ma Yinyin

 

Directed by Kenneth Bi

Kenneth Bi’s third film follows the tone of his early films THE DRUMMER an RICE RHAPSODY – slow and pensive.  I am not really a fan of Bi as his films require a bit of patience to reap their rewards. 

 On the eve of her latest fashion showcase in Beijing, successful entrepreneur Yuan Yuan is approached by Keiko, a mysterious young Japanese woman.  An admirer of Yuan Yuan’s career, Keiko has learned Mandarin and fashion design for a chance to speak with her idol.  As Yuan Yuan takes Keiko under her wing, long suppressed memories begin to surface of her time in Hokkaido and the husband she’d left behind. 

 Yuan Yuan finally builds up the courage to visit the small town she left behind more than 20 years ago in order to confront her past decisions and face her deepest fears.  A journey of forgiveness and reconciliation, his latest film is an examination of a woman traversing through modernity and tradition; youth and maturity; past and future. 

 The closing night film.

Film Review: CLARA (Canada 2017) ***

festreviews 2018 movies, movie, Movie Review , , , , , ,
Clara Poster
An obsessive astronomer and a curious artist form an unlikely bond which leads them to a profound, scientific discovery.

Director:

Akash Sherman

Writers:

Akash Sherman, Akash Sherman (story by) |1 more credit »

Stars:

Patrick J. Adams, Troian Bellisario, Will Bowes

CLARA is a rare science fiction romantic drama made in Canada’s own Toronto that disguises the fact quite well, passing of as an American film in an unnamed city and in unnamed university.  Lots of references to NASA gives the impression that CLARA is an American made movie.

The film opens with Dr. Isaac Bruno (Patrick J. Adams) delivering a lecture on astronomy to an auditorium full of eager students.  He is quizzed by one who challenges his disinterest in the field.  It is here that Isaac draws a parallel between finding true love (L=0), which equates to a zero to finding life in the other parts of the universe.  

In the next scene, Isaac is fired from the Faculty by the dean (Jennifer Dale) for – it all sounds really funny – “misappropriating telescope time’.   Obsessed with his work, he decides to conduct studies on data on his own and seeks the help of an outsider who turns up to be his romantic interest. Clara (Troian Bellisario) is a sort-of free-spirit who shares Isaac’s fascination of the wonders of the universe.  Their unlikely collaboration leads to a deep connection and a profound astronomical discovery as they detect patterns in stellar data.  She also opens Isaac up to the outside of space research and data.

CLARA contains spots of uplifting moments.  One cannot go wrong with the music of Bob Dylan as Clara picks one Dylan’s vinyls and plays it.  The lyrics: “She once was a true love of mine” also tells the story of Isaac.

The script, also written by director Akash Sherman often falls into cliched territory.  Like the line spoken by Clara; “Do you want something more than all this, for the universe to surprise us?”  Clara and Isaac then kiss for the very first time.  The script also plunges the audience into the here and now of its two characters.  But nothing is known of the two characters’s past backgrounds.  

At one point, the free spirited Clara appears to be a character just out to change the life of another subject and then move on to another.  This premise made a very interesting movie in the 70’s called SWEET NOVEMBER in which Sandy Dennis picked a character every month to change a life for the better.  November was played by Anthony Newley who falls in love with her but she moves on.  CLARA sort of follows this story as Clara thus moves on while Isaac gets on with an improved life.

CLARA has an ending (unfortunately unable to be revealed here as it would be a massive spoiler) that badly undermines whatever message the film intended to portray, thus betraying the entire movie. 

CLARA is a sad film about two lonely people who eventually find each other, only to find that fate is not on their side, despite the good connection.  It is a sad premise lifted by the story’s setting in the wonders of space.  The resulting film is, as expected, a mixed bag of tricks, with some good moments as well.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eIbm4cfA8M

Film Review: TAKE LIGHT (Canada 2018) ***1/2

festreviews 2018 movies, movie, Movie Review , , ,
Take Light Poster
Trailer

TAKE LIGHT is a look at the tangled wires of Nigeria’s electricity crisis, told through the everyday trials and tribulations of a charismatic electrician.

Director:

Shasha Nakhai

A web of corruption and anger leaves 50% of Nigerians without electricity in Africa’s largest energy-producing country.  The film opens saying that Nigeria produces more gas than any state in Africa.  Yet 50% of the population are without electricity and those who are with have it for a few hours at most.  The film blames the corrupt post-colonial Government.  These are everyday stories of people connected to the grid.

Being an electrical engineering by profession who got a job at Singapore Power but did not work there as I just got my Canadian immigration approved at that same time, I take special interest in the technical portions of the film – like how the control room at the power plant operates.  The director keeps the engineering jargon at a minimum so that the layman can understand the basic principles of power generation, such as the reason blackouts occur.  The reason is attributed to two causes.

Despite the grim subject, the director does not fail to provide some needed humour.  The film also tracks the PHED workers as they cut off electricity supply to the cities that default on their payments.  The PHED is the new name for the Government Power Supply company though every Nigerian still insists on the old name – NEPA (acronym: Never Expect Power Again).  In a humours spill, they say that the are the most hated employees in Nigeria.  Everyone also thinks they are corrupt.  One swears that on the job application form, one has to declare that one is corrupt.  Also interviewed are James and Harry, in the words of Harry: “We are James and harry, two angry men on YouTube.”  They complain about the dwindling value of the currency.

A few reasons to see TAKE LIGHT:  one is that few films provide a glimpse inside the country of Nigeria and her people.  The second is a fairly understandable examination of the workings of a electricity power plant.  The third is to witness how the Nigerians deal with public corruption.

One of the film’s most intriguing segments shows Godwin, a illegal Nigeria electrician at work.  He studied electrical in school, is smart and works under the cover of darkness.  “We youth are tired of empty promises,” he says.  “We are smarter that PHED and we move fast, without safety measures.”

The film shows two sides of the argument.  The camera follows the citizens complaining about power outages.  The PHED or NEFA CEO, Jay McCowsky is interviewed mid-point during the film.  The film also includes a very disturbing image of from space, at night. Nigeria is awash in light.  But the glow almost entirely flares from oil and gas wells – accelerating global warming and polluting the planet.  The country, with the world’s largest proven oil reserves, leaves half its population without electricity, and the rest with erratic service.

Before its opening run, TAKE LIGHT has a Special Event Screening on October 29,  2018 at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema where director Shasha Nakhai, Cinematographer/Editor Rich Williamson, Producer Ed Barreveld (who also narrated the doc) will be in attendance and holding a Q+A following the screening.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eu1ToXEvtA

Film Review: SCIENCE FAIR (USA 2018) ***1/2

festreviews 2018 movies, movie, Movie Review, Uncategorized , , , ,
Science Fair Poster
Trailer

Nine high school students from disparate corners of the globe navigate rivalries, setbacks, and hormones on their quest to win the international science fair. Only one can be named “Best in Fair.”

Directors:

Cristina Costantini, Darren Foster

Writers:

Cristina Costantini, Darren Foster |

School kids giving their best for some world competition has always made good fodder for feel-good, inspiration and entertaining documentaries.  Spelling bees, ballroom dancing have successful source material and now science projects in a typical school science fair.  Hopefully these projects will do the world a change and make it a better place.  Yes, the children are our future!

SCIENCE FAIR follows nine high school students as they navigate rivalries, hiccups and triumphs on their journey to compete at the 2017 International Science and EngineeringFair (ISEF) in LA.  As 1,700 of the smartest, quirkiest teens from 78 countries face off, the stakes are high for the fair’s $75,000 top prize.

The film does well to make the subject personal as these students are interviewed and tell the camera their aspirations and goals in life.  The audience sees these kids as both highly intelligent talent as well as normal children wanting to have a good time while attaining their goals.

Choosing which nine students from the seven million that try to qualify for ISEF must have been a daunting task for directors.  And why 9?  9 seems an appropriate number to show differences and variety in the film.  I am sure whichever 9 the directors would have picked – the nine would still be interesting – so it is clear the most charismatic the ones chosen the better and the more eclectic the better, which appears to be the case in the film.

Among the 9 students: A West Virginia math whiz nearly failed algebra, yet he taught a computer to rap like Kanye West.  At a sports-obsessed South Dakota school, a Muslim girl turns to the football coach when she can’t find a teacher to serve as her research advisor.  In a poor Brazilian area, two friends identify a protein that inhibits the Zika virus.  In Germany, an aeronautics fanatic redesigns a century-old wing.  But will it fly?  Then there’s the Kentucky trio who invent a new kind of stethoscope and, from the same school, a child prodigy who deals with a set-back.

There is nothing wrong too with a touch of nostalgia.  Also interviewed are 93-year old Dr. Paul Teschen, winner of the first-ever national science competition in 1942, and Dr. Nina Schor, the first girl to win after boys and girls were allowed to compete against each other.  Script is by Jeffrey Plunket, Costantini and Foster.  Costantini and Foster also collaborated on the award-winning short documentary Death by Fentanyl.

One cannot argue that SCIENCE FAIR lacks spirit.  The film’s most energetic segment sees the finalists dancing up a storm at a dance party.  Consider the background of the doc’s two directors.  But Costantini is a two-time alumna of ISEF, thus giving her an insight into 

the scene.  Foster was a science kid too, but he admits that the level at which Costantini competed was another world.  She even skipped going to the junior prom with her high school crush so she could compete at science fair.  Dedication and obsession!

SCIENCE FAIR is a very entertaining and inspirational documentary that went on to win the Audience Award winner at both the 2018 Sundance and SXSW festivals.  SCIENCE FAIR is not the kind of doc that would go on to win the Oscar for Best Documentary but the best thing is that it is such a pleasurable and easy yet inspirational watch.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJdYLAc-gzM

Film Review: SUSPIRIA (USA/Italy 2018)

festreviews 2018 movies, movie, Movie Review, Uncategorized , , , , , ,
Suspiria Poster
Trailer

A darkness swirls at the center of a world-renowned dance company, one that will engulf the artistic director, an ambitious young dancer, and a grieving psychotherapist. Some will succumb to the nightmare. Others will finally wake up.

Director:

Luca Guadagnino

Writers:

Dario Argento (characters), Daria Nicolodi (characters) | 1 more credit »

Stars:

Dakota Johnson, Tilda Swinton, Doris Hick

What happened to good old fashioned subtlety?   And what happened to the maggots dropping from the ceiling of the boarding school?

SUSPIRIA 2018 is the curious remake of the 1977 Gallo horror classic by Dario Argento about a young girl entering a new ballet school, discovering it to be run by a coven of witches.  The director here is Luca Gaurdagnino who helmed the overrated CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, whose talent (or lack of) is more evidently displayed here.  

Jessica Harper who starred as the innocent girl in the original has a cameo in this updated version as the doctor’s wife who went missing during the war.  Dakota Johnson plays the lead role here with Tilda Swinton playing Madame Blanc and an elderly male doctor using heavy prosthetics.  

SUSPIRIA opens with words implying a long film (2 and a half hours) with 6 Acts and an epilogue.  The film is and feels lengthy.  It looks great, courtesy of cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom with haunting music by Thom Yorke who won an Award for it at the Venice International Film Festival.

SUSPIRIA is all looks but it is unfair to say all looks and no substance.  There is more plot than the original though the script is based on Argento’s screenplay.  The story is still set in a German dance school.  But the problem is that Guadagnino’ s storytelling technique appears not to be in use.  It was ok for his last film CALL ME BY YOUR NAME that worked on a weaker narrative, the beauty of the Italian countryside and first love.  In SUSPIRIA many scenes appear unconnected and after reading the story from the press notes, a lot of what transpires is not communicated to the audience.  The plot is made more complicated by its setting in 1977 with the politics of the Berlin Wall.

SUSPIRIA is a complete mess.  Take this scene near the end as a classic example.  The old doctor, Dr. Klemperer (played by Swinton herself)  and his lost wife (now re-untied and played by Jessica Harper) are out walking out in the snow before she disappears for no reason.  The doctor is then dragged into a building by two elderly women, screaming at the top of their lungs.  The doctor is supposed to be lured to the building by a witch disguising herself as the wife.  A huge witch ritual begins with no shortage of nudity (the sort with lots old old withering bodies, sagging breasts and drooping buttocks) but the type one does not want to witness.  Madame Blanc (Tilda Swinton) is killed in this ritual or isn’t she?  – All too confusing.

Director Guadagnino has put too much effort and has obviously become too serious with the project.  The original SUSPIRIA was a slasher film, scary but fantastic cheesy entertainment that is on every horror fan’s list as a must-see.  Gaudagnino has definitely taken all the fun out of the horror classic.  This one is elaborate, creepy and disgusting for no reason it was meant to be this disgusting.  SUSPIRIA has so far got mixed reviews from critics, as most probably are unsure what to make out of this mess of a horror movie.  Argento’s SUSPIRIA was funny, clever and short.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY6QKRl56Ok

Film Review: ROOM FOR RENT (Canada 2017) ***

festreviews 2018 movies, movie, Movie Review, Uncategorized , , , , , ,
Room for Rent Poster
Trailer

When a broke thirty-two year old ex-lottery winner convinces his parents to rent their spare room to save from downsizing, a creepy stranger with a hidden agenda moves in.

Director:

Matthew Atkinson

Writer:

Matthew Atkinson

Stars:

Brett Gelman, Mark Little, Mark McKinney

Direct from Manitoba!  I seriously cannot recall any Canadian film from Manitoba (excepting Guy Madden films) but this one is not half bad.  It is in fact, quite good.

Mitch Baldwin (Mark Little) is a classic case of a loser.  As an adult, he is still living with his parents and too unmotivated to work.  Worst still, Mitch had won $3 million in senior year. Three years later, he is flat broke and a laughing stock after becoming famous on TV upon winning the lottery.  The status quo is challenged when his father, Warren (Mark McKinney) loses his job.  Short of money, Mitch convinces his parents to take in a lodger.  The stranger, Carl Lemay (Brett Gelman) turns out more than Mitch anticipated.

Written and directed by Matthew Atkinson, this simple premise proves ample opportunity for twists and turns in the plot.  The stranger Carl is the biggest wild card and Atkinson keeps the secret of who he actually is right to the very climax of the film.

“My parents are hounding me all the time”, says Mitch at one point in the film.  Of course, Mitch does nothing but sit around all day, never looking for work as he is supposed to, expecting his parents to bring snacks and food for him all the time.

Carl does everything that director Atkinson can imagine to annoy Mitch.  And these are really annoying.  

Among them: 

bringing Mitch’s old girlfriend, Lindsay (Carla Gallo) back into the house

bonding with Mitch’s parents – something that Mitch was never able to do

showing up talk to Mitch all the time and lastly

annoying Mitch just because he can

The reason all this works is that Mitch deserves what he is getting from Carl.  Mitch is plain lazy, unmotivated and takes advantage of his parents.

All the above take place during the first half of the film.  Then Mitch starts taking action.  He begins taking a stand and protecting himself against his enemy.  Mitch even starts to gain respect from his ex-girlfriend who begins helping gather evidence against Carl.  All this is made more interesting for the fact that Carl turns out to have a few skeletons in the closet.  The two eventually end up in a face off when Carl confronts Mitch in his bedroom and punctures his waterbed as revenge.

Director Atkinson has a keen eye for comedy.  His comedic setups are meticulous and the humour comes across well.  It helps too that his 4 main actors playing Mitch, Carl and the parents are very good.

A little comedy, a little romance, a little message movie – all surprisingly twisted and unexpectedly inventive for a small budget Canadian feature.  Definitely worth a look.

And the climax where everything about Carl is finally revealed is a real hoot! If the climax does not get one laughing aloud, nothing will!

Trailer: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5796156/videoplayer/vi2493626905?ref_=tt_pv_vi_aiv_1

Film Review: JOHNNY ENGLISH STRIKES AGAIN (UK 2018)

festreviews 2018 movies, movie, Movie Review, Uncategorized , , , , , ,
Johnny English Strikes Again Poster
Trailer

After a cyber-attack reveals the identity of all of the active undercover agents in Britain, Johnny English is forced to come out of retirement to find the mastermind hacker.

Director:

David Kerr

Writer:

William Davies (screenplay by)

Stars:

Olga Kurylenko, Rowan Atkinson, Michael Gambon

The third instalment after JOHNNY ENGLISH and JOHNNY ENGLISH REBORN, JOHNNY ENGLISH STRIKES AGAIN sees one again bumbling secret agent (Mr. Bean who can speak) Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson) saving the world, in this case from internet hacking by super villain Jason Volta (Jake Lacy).

When the film opens, English is a retired M17 agent now teaching geography at some boarding school.  When M17 is on the receiving end of a massive cyber attack from an unknown entity, that exposes the identities of all its current field agents, the Prime Minister (Emma Thompson looking more puzzled than anything else probably wondering what she is doing in this dud) instructs M17 to reinstate older, inactive agents like Johnny English to be employed to solve the case.  As a result of accidentally killing off three other older retired agents (cameos by Edward Fox, Michael Gambon and Charles Dance), he is given the job, which he undertakes with the help of his faithful and unfunny assistant, Angus Bough (Ben Miller).

British TV series expanded into feature films often take their characters on holidays (KEVIN AND PERRY GO LARGE, ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS, ON THE BUSES etc. etc) to some foreign country.  This sequel takes the agents to the south of France for their investigation.  Nothing much in terms of comedy improves.

The oddest thing about the film is that the script by William Davies contains no shortage of elaborate comedic set-pieces.  These includes among others these two:

English and Bough dressed up as French waiters devising ways to get close to a suspect dining   in a French posh restaurant with his girlfriend.  This involves a fire resulting from flambé prawns in order to nab a cellphone while eventually setting the entire restaurant ablaze

a Virtual Reality simulation with English taking down a number of innocent strangers in public while imagining he is fighting Volta’s men in his mansion home.  This involves hitting a bakery eatery employee with two baguettes, toppling a tour guide on a double decker bus and pushing an old lady in a wheelchair out of a store.

Yet none of these generate any laughs – I did look around the theatre many times to see if anyone even remotely smiled

A smart idea of self parodying involves a glamorous Russian agent Ophelia Bulletova, played by former 007 James Bong girl, Olga Kurylenko who investigates Volta.  Any segment involving her and English also fail to incite any humour.

On the positive side, the film contains no toilet or barf jokes, though there is a harmless (and again unfunny one) involving the agent caught with his trousers down.

The film has so far grossed, at the time of writing almost $100 million while garnishing generally unfavourable reviews by critics.  The first two made around $160 million each which explains this third outing from Universal Pictures.  At best, what can be said is that younger kids might find this whole espionage exercise entertaining.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qv6p6pTz5I