★★★★
The title of Sorry to Bother You is a misnomer, slyly pitched by first-time director Boots Riley. Best known for his music, Riley makes no apology for bothering audiences in his absurdist inaugural effort but instead has a riot in doing just so. Whilst the more cinema conventional viewer might find this increasingly unconventional brand of satire hard to take, fans of Michel Gondry, Terry Gilliam and even Yorgos Lanthimos are in for a surreal treat.
★★★
As sequels go, this follow-up to Rich Moore’s Wreck-It-Ralph isn’t bad but never feels necessary. The colours are bright and the jokes ample but, in plumbing a story in the vein of – whisper it – The Emoji Movie, co-writers Phil Johnson and Pamela Ribon have created a genial experience of the sort you’ll quickly forget.
★★★★
Joel and Ethan Coen’s latest film is a brilliantly conceived, smartly written and gorgeously shot – on digital, for their first time – anthology Western. Six vignettes, tied by the framing of an unseen reader flicking through a book of ‘tales of the American frontier’, unfold across the two hour runtime, each showcasing the brothers’ innovative flair and talent for vivid characterisation. With its dark humour and light heart, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a symphonic delight.
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