Film Reviews by Adam Ray Palmer

It’s August! That means Oscar season is just around the corner. They’ll be Venice and London film festivals looming with huge Academy-Award-baiting movies springing up left, right and centre.
But first, we need to deal with three films that certainly pack a punch…
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw
What instalment number is this now? How can these people/cars be so fast and furious still? Surely, they are tired now? Nevertheless, Lawman Luke Hobbs (The Rock) and outcast Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) form an unlikely alliance when a cyber-genetically enhanced villain threatens the future of humanity. If you think Starsky & Hutch, but modern day with supercars, and I think you’re just about there. High-Octane fun with a soundtrack boasting club bangers, what more do you need in early August?
In cinemas: 1st August 2019
The Informer
There’s been a few films like The Informer in recent years, namely the excellent Brawl in Cell Block 99, but very few have had a stellar cast like this picture. The bill boasts Ana de Armas, Joel Kinnaman, Roasmund Pike, Clive Owen and rapper Common. The story follows as ex-convict who ends up working undercover and intentionally gets himself incarcerated again in order to infiltrate the mob at a maximum-security prison. This is writer/director Andrea De Stefano’s second English-language film following his 2014 Escobar with Benicio Del Toro. Andrea clearly has a powerful crime theme with his movies, and The Informer is certainly worth a Saturday night viewing at the pictures.
In cinemas: 30th August 2019
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Oh 2019, how we have waited for a film of the year to arrive… and now… on 14th August… there’s certainly a candidate hitting the big screen. Quentin Tarantino is back after four years out of the limelight. He debuted Once Upon a Time in Hollywood at Cannes in May receiving lots of love for being his most intricate, raw and scene-stealing film since Pulp Fiction back in 1994. The plot follows a faded television actor and his stunt double who strive to achieve fame and success in the film industry during the final years of Hollywood’s Golden Age in 1969 Los Angeles. Sounds simple right? Never in a Tarantino movie! Also, it’s a who’s-who of A-Listers filling the credits in this one with Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Dakota Fanning, Damian Lewis, Al Pacino, Timothy Olyphant and Kurt Russell all on the bill. If you want my opinion… be ready to see this film early, you don’t want any spoilers.
In cinemas: 14th August 2019
Karlovy Vary Film Festival
Last month, I visited the beautiful city of Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic for a film festival and boy was I surprised at how amazing it was. The films were great (see my website to read the reviews), the location was astonishing and the weather was glorious. I’m trying to make it back next year to pack it with interviews so put a note in your diary for 11 months’ time to see who I can chat to. I’ll leave you with the image of inside their premiere cinema, just look at the stars on the ceiling and you just know how awesome the place was…