★★★
From the producers of Finding Your Feet, Fisherman’s Friends tells the quirky true life story of a group of Cornish trawlers who found their voices. It’s also the tale of a slick city executive – the sort in need of a strong word and redemptive arc – and of how small town singers became a viral smash. You know the type of film this is. Throw in a handful of well-liked Brit flick stars for bait and it’s a case of hook, line and feel good sinker.
★★★★
Perhaps the most surprising critical hit of the past decade, The Lego Movie did the impossible in 2014 by disproving the cynical rule that commercial product movies have to be soulless. Sugary to the extreme, the film launched a yellow brick franchise that in just five years transgressed from novel to tired. To this end, Mike Mitchell’s follow up to the original – The Second Part – has some major ground to regain for the sake of the franchise’s ongoing longevity. Oddly – for what is essentially a rehash – he’s managed a very genuine success.
★★★★
In much the same way that Boy Erased curiously paralleled The Miseducation of Cameron Post months later, Ben is Back sees arthouse starlet Lucas Hedges lead a belated companion piece to Felix van Groeningen’s Beautiful Boy. Both features concern the strain of parental connection in the face of a crippling drug addiction. Whereas the latter told the tale of father and son, the former offers the perspective of a mother. It’s moving stuff, very well directed and performed with outstanding nuance by a tremendous cast.
The Film Blog 