TMW #25: The Seed of the Sacred Fig and Dog Man reviewed; new F4 and Jurassic World trailers
Reviews of this week's new releases, plus a round-up of the HUGE trailers that have dropped
Hello cine-connoisseurs,
It’s Friday, which means its time for another review-packed edition of The Movie Wingman to steer you through your weekend watching.
This week, we’re not only overloaded with new films to rate - from Oscar nominee The Seed of the Sacred Fig to action-comedy Love Hurts to animated hit Dog Man, plus Bring Them Down, The Fire Inside and Jeanne Dielman - but we’ve also had a deluge of new trailers to check out, thanks no doubt to the incoming Super Bowl. Check out the first looks at The Fantastic 4: First Steps, Jurassic World Rebirth and more below.
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Enjoy the newsletter - we’re back on Tuesday with an exclusive interview with Scott Derrickson (Doctor Strange, The Black Phone) about his mysterious new horror The Gorge. See you then!
In the meantime, we hope you have a five-star weekend (and if you can’t manage that, at least a high four).
Matt (Jordan and Matthew)
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
15, in cinemas now
⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Many things could potentially be off-putting about this International Feature Film Oscar hopeful, from that metaphorical title (referring to the strangling hold of the Iranian regime) to the 167-min running time. But don’t be deterred: this must-watch thriller rattles along at a hell of a clip as it examines a moment of civil unrest from the perspective of one family in Tehran.
Lawyer Iman (Missagh Zareh) lands a job as an investigating judge with the Islamic Revolutionary Court. It’s a move that’ll provide more money and better accommodation for his family: wife Najmeh (Soheila Golestani) and daughters Rezvan (Mahsa Rostami) and Sana (Setareh Maleki). But the positive feelings around the new position are short-lived for all. The emerging protests against the government drive a wedge in the family - the young daughters being much more relaxed in their viewpoints than their more traditional parents. Rezvan’s friend Sadaf (Niousha Akhshi) is injured in protest, which intensifies the pressure-cooker atmosphere in the family home.
Iman’s new role sees him having to sign off death warrants without any scrutiny, while his daughters watch the revolt on the streets via their phones. Much of the film takes place in the family apartment, the tension seeping in rather than being detailed via broader contextual scenes (there are TV news reports here and there, often notably different to what’s been shared on social media). The bellwether is Najmeh, who finds her entrenched allegiances bending as the circumstances progress. Golestani’s is the standout performance: so much of her gradual shift is internal, and there’s a scene of remarkable, restrained grace when she tends to Sadaf’s wounds.
Due to the dangers of his job, Iman is issued with a handgun for his own protection, and the weapon’s disappearance tightens the screw on the family dynamic further. Things escalate from there - perhaps too far, given how believable the domestic drama is for the most part. But even when it becomes heightened, it retains its grip to the end. It certainly doesn’t feel like you’ve been watching for 2h 45m by the time you get a chance to catch your breath. If anything, it could do with a few more scenes of Iman at work. That aspect is kept at such a remove that his arc doesn’t always feel as dimensional as it could.
What does add extra layers of meaning to the film is that writer/director Mohammad Rasoulof had to make the film in secret (stated on a title card before the film begins). Not only does it make the craft seem all the more polished, with no visible signs of compromise, but it adds to the thematic resonance of an already potent film. (Matt Maytum)
IN SHORT: A thriller so taut it feels like it could snap any moment, The Seed of the Sacred Fig illuminates the political via the personal.
STAY FOR THE END CREDITS? There’s not a sting per se, but real protest footage plays as the credits begin.
WHAT DOES IT HAVE IN COMMON WITH DUNE: PART TWO AND ANORA? It made it onto Barack Obama’s ‘Favourite Movies of 2024’ list.
Dog Man
U, in cinemas now
⭐⭐⭐☆☆
Visually, CG animations have become a hell of a lot more interesting in recent years, since they started trending away from realism and dialling up the invention. Dog Man continues the current golden age with a thoroughly delightful graphic style, a chunky sketch-come-to-life look with the elasticity of Looney Toons. The film - adapted from the mega-selling book series by Dav Pilkey - kicks off surprisingly like a canine RoboCop. Officer Knight and his dog Greg are incapacitated in action, with the latter’s smart head grafted onto the former’s formidable shoulders to make the ultimate cop. (Thankfully this moment of potential body horror is glossed over swiftly enough to prevent it becoming too disturbing).
In a slender plot, the non-speaking (save for some barks) Dog Man must stop big bad Petey the cat (voiced by Pete Davidson) and his generally nefarious plans, and there’s a wrinkle in the form of the baddie’s sweet clone/son, Lil Petey (Lucas Hopkins Calderon). It’s funny and frenetic, almost to a fault, as the relentless pace can be exhausting. Lil Petey adds a welcome dash of heart, but Dog Man by his very nature is a bit of blank canvas. Still, there’s an Aardman-evoking surfeit of sight gags, and it’s never less than fetching to look at. (Matt Maytum)
STAY FOR THE END CREDITS? There are some nice sketches, over the credits, but no bonus footage - instead you get a fun new short featuring The Bad Guys before Dog Man starts.
IS THAT…? Yes, Ricky Gervais voices Flippy the telekinetic fish. (Writer/director Peter Hasting provides the title characters ruff-and-ready dialogue).
Love Hurts
15, in cinemas now
⭐⭐⭐☆☆
Ke Huy Quan’s Oscar-winning comeback is one of the most cheering showbiz narratives of recent years. As such, it’s impossible to approach Love Hurts - showcasing the former child star’s first leading role in a Hollywood movie - with anything less than goodwill. And there are times when this action comedy sorely needs it; notably whenever it puts the fighty stuff on hold to add unnecessary convolutions to the plot, which boils down to Quan’s jaunty realtor Marvin confronting his violent past.
Burdened with backstories, double crosses and more quirky hitmen than it really knows what to do with, the storytelling leaves appealing support players like Ariana DeBose and Rhys Darby feeling more like catalysts than characters. There’s more effective use of Quan’s co-worker Lio Tipton and blade-happy ‘poet’ Mustafa Shakir, whose unlikely connection nabs some of the best laughs (and takes better care of the ‘Love’ part of the equation than the tame tension between Marvin and old flame DeBose).
Most effective of all, though, is Quan himself, who hurls himself with bruising abandon into the half-dozen highly stylised set-pieces. His ability to juggle lethal force with sweetly disarming charm - Marvin hands out cookies as well as beatdowns - echoes Quan’s idol, Jackie Chan. The first-time director putting Quan (and his sibling nemesis, played by Daniel Wu) through his paces is Jonathan Eusebio, stunt coordinator on John Wick. Love Hurts isn’t in that series’ league, but it does make a decent case for show homes being the new neon nightclubs when it comes to great venues for creatively choreographed, close-quarter scraps. (Matthew Leyland)
GOONIES NEVER SAY BYE: Love Hurts sees Quan share scenes with Goonies co-star Sean Astin; the reunited pals were visited on set by actor-turned-lawyer Jeff Cohen, aka Chunk.
*More of this week’s reviews and the biggest new trailers can be found below the paywall*
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