Aaron Sorkin testifies for civil rights and counterculture for his second stint in the director’s chair. And the verdict? The Trial of the Chicago 7 is far superior to Molly’s Game – Sorken’s first – and, further still, bests all other courtroom dramas of recent years. A lightning sharp blend of on point acting, pitch perfect choreography and simply superb writing hook from the very first shot and very nearly hold their grip till the last. Indeed, bar only a misjudged epilogue, Sorken’s Trial is a triumph.
A couple of things become eminently clear in the first five minutes of Raya and the Last Dragon. The first is that this may well be the crowing visual achievement of Disney’s in house animation team in the post-hand drawn era. It’s gorgeous stuff. Breathtaking. Second, the whole thing is very ‘on-brand’. The twenty-first century Disney Princess owes a lot to the Frozen mould and that’s both a blessing and a curse. When Dwayne Johnson’s Maui cracked the code in Moana – ‘if you wear a dress and have an animal sidekick, you’re a princess’ – that was irony. In Raya, it’s marketable. Take that as you will. Raya doesn’t sing but she doesn’t do much we’ve not seen before either.
Much akin to his relationship of Wimbledon and tennis, this critic’s understanding and knowledge of the horse racing world begins and ends with the Grand National. As such, to my shame, I had never heard of trailblazing Australian jockey Michelle Payne prior to an experience Ride Like a Girl, the new biopic to tell her story. I confess to knowing less still about the sexism still at rage in contemporary equestrian circles. To this end, the film, which has this week made its home cinema debut, proves as educationally notable – if not quite analytical – as it is visually attractive.
The Film Blog 