Thanks to and , summer blockbuster season has felt like an event for the first time in a few years. Before the heatwaves and souvenir popcorn buckets head off into the distance, however, we have one more big movie to look over, plus a drag extravaganza, and a Green Day-themed comedy.
The End of Oak Street // In cinemas August now
The director of It Follows and Under the Silver Lake, David Robert Mitchell, returns for his first movie in eight years and one of the most surreal blockbusters of the year. Set in the 80s, Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor play parents who must protect themselves and their children when their street is mysteriously transported to prehistoric times.
After clashing with Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada 2, and fighting off a creepy Robert Pattinson in The Odyssey, dinosaurs are the latest obstacle for The Busiest Woman in Hollywood™. She and a mild-mannered McGregor elevate a slightly wobbly script to deliver an old-fashioned creature feature with exceptional action, and high concept treated with respect. Mitchell’s movie brings to mind the classic 80s Amblin features, where suburban life meets supernatural adventure. The family drama would have been stale had the two talented leads not put their heart and soul into making you feel something, while there’s enough grisly deaths to justify the tense build to each action scene.
Racing through a brisk 90 minute running time, it’s a thrilling popcorn movie that feels nostalgic once you’ve stopped biting your nails.
8/10
Stop! That! Train! // In cinemas August 21st
Why exactly has drag mogul RuPaul produced and starred in a spoof disaster movie? Mother only knows, but Stop! That! Train! is a lot more of a laugh than it has any right to be. It follows two train hostesses (Ginger Minj and Jujubee) who lose their jobs on the low budget Stank Rail, only to find last-minute dream jobs aboard the luxury Glamazonian Express. Struggling to win over the snobby staff and clientele, they have to become heroes when the train heads straight for a massive storm, dubbed “Stormaganza”.
Playing out like a modern, camp cousin to the Airplane movies, the film seems determined to prove that Queer cinema doesn’t always have to have a message. Filled with crude jokes and effective running gags (such as a game Sarah Michelle Gellar being repeatedly disrespected by fellow passengers), it’s lowbrow without being tasteless, and too good-natured to dismiss. At a time when LGBTQ+ rights are under daily attack across the world, perhaps the film simply existing joyously is the true message.
6/10
Nimrods // In cinemas now
Legendary punk trio Green Day were never likely to opt for a glossy, corporate biopic, and Nimrods is a celebration of their legacy rather than a cinematic Wikipedia entry. Inspired by the band’s early days, the story follows three teenagers as they travel from Kansas to LA after being tricked by a prank phone call that offers them a spot opening for Green Day on New Year’s Eve.
Co-written by , the film is a tribute to those early days with Green Day being held up as a symbolic end point. While the music is used in the film, the band is less the focus than the belief that drove them to success, and perhaps left many other acts trailing in the dust. The sweet optimism on display, particularly from lead Mason Thames as Tommy, is hard not to root for, even if their path has a lot of predictable stops. It may not be The Time of Your Life, but a couple of hours with these American Idiots certainly won’t feel Redundant (I’ll stop now).
6/10