Everything That Dies, Some Day Comes Back

This is an engaging coming-of-age comedy drama, written and directed by Richard Ayoade. The central focus of the film is a romance between nerdy and shy Oliver (played by Craig Roberts) and his classmate Jordana. Maybe it's in the writing, or the performance by Yasmin Paige as Jordana, but I couldn't get as  emotionally invested in Oliver's and Jordana's relationship as I should have. Instead I really enjoyed the subplot involving Oliver's rather depressed dad, Lloyd, (played by Noah Taylor),  his mum Jill (Sally Hawkins) and her ex-boyfriend and now new-age guru Graham (Paddy Considine).  All three are great fun to watch here.  There's also a lovely sequence where Oliver is recalling moments of his relationship with Jordana when it seems it's all over between them.  It's beautifully shot and very affecting.  I also liked the general air of melancholy throughout which reminded me a little of Wes Anderson, but thankfully without all the quirky detail that...

This film is another case of me being late to the party.  I was reluctant to watch this critically acclaimed film, directed by Guillermo del Toro, for no good reason other than my aversion to any film (such as 'The Elephant Man') which involves cruelty to someone based on their physical otherness.  And a relationship between a weird sea creature and a mute girl was unappealing.  And an Oscar is no guarantee of quality. Anyhow I have now seen it, and of course the critics were right, it's terrific. I didn't buy the physical relationship between Elisa and The Creature for one moment, but it didn't matter, given the fairy tale quality of the film, created at the start by the voice-over. I loved the visual quality of this film.  It's different from say a film like 'Last Night in Soho' where the colours are vibrant to the point of being garish.  Here they are muted and fuzzy.  And very green.  I'll leave it to cleverer people than me to work out the thema...