David R. Walker

Anselm

Director: Wim Wenders

Cast: Anselm Kiefer

Running Time: 1 hour and 33 minutes

Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Language: German with English Subtitles

Festival: Encounters Documentary Film Festival – Johannesburg, Cape Town

Please note this film is a documentary.

Oscar nominated German film maker Wim Wenders who directed the critically acclaimed Buena Vista Social Club in 1999 returns to the documentary format in his new avant-garde film simply titled Anselm focusing in an unusual way on the work of Neo-Expressionist contemporary German artist and sculptor Anselm Kiefer who will not be very well known in the English Speaking world.

Anselm Kiefer was born in 1945 just as the Third Reich came crashing down and grew up in a post war Germany which was divided and mistrusted by the rest of Europe. His fame grew in the art world when he created these massive mixed media paintings featuring oil, lead, woodcut, shellac and other materials with names like The Brandenburg March 1974 and Painting the Burnt Earth also created in 1974. The artist also produced the beautiful wood carving in 1978 entitled The Way of the World’s Wisdom: The Battle of Tuetoburg Forest.

Becoming extremely famous in Germany in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, Anselm Kiefer also represented Germany at the Venice Biennale art fair in 1980 through his Neo-expressionistic works.

What better film director to create a vivid and fascinating documentary about Anselm’s life than Wim Wenders.

Wenders started off his film career making art house classic films like 1984’s Paris, Texas starring Harry Dean Stanton and the fabulous Natassja Kinski and 1987’s Wings of Desire with Bruno Ganz.

After the 1997 film The End of Violence starring Andie Macdowell and Gabriel Byrne, Wenders made the ground breaking Oscar nominated documentary The Buena Vista Social Club and effortlessly switched to documentaries.

In Anselm, Wenders creates a complex portrait of an artist who is now 80 years old and living within his own art installation in Barjac, South of France after initially producing his work in Waldurn in Germany.

Anselm’s preoccupation with Germany’s own post World War II recovery as a country and of restoring a sense of national pride amidst a sense of anger and blame is evident in his conceptually ambitious paintings which all speak to a protest against forgetting. This artist went around Europe and photographed himself doing the Heil Hitler salute in various key European sites. Very brave and contentious.

As a documentary, Anselm is an intriguing post-modern approach to a complicated artist whose life as a young boy, as an emerging artist and now as an established artist is expertly told through the lens of Wim Wenders who creates an elegant tribute to a contemporary German art legend, whose works feature in major galleries around the world from Venice to the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Anselm is a beautiful and thought-provoking documentary which is recommended viewing for contemporary art lovers. Anselm gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10 and is worth seeing although I would suggest that potential viewers read up about this artist’s life and work.

As usual auteur director Wim Wenders never disappoints.

Mission: Impossible Final Reckoning

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Cast: Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Hayley Atwell, Easi Morales, Henry Czerny, Pom Klementieff, Angela Bassett, Ving Rhames, Holt McCallany, Janet McTeer, Nick Offerman, Hannah Waddingham, Tramell Tillman, Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis, Mark Gatiss, Cary Elwes, Pasha D. Lynchnikoff, Vanessa Redgrave, Jon Voight

Running Time: 2 hours and 49 minutes

Film Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Two years after the hugely successful Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning, the final film in the franchise has finally arrived and while the 2023 film was flashier and more glamourous, Mission: Impossible Final Reckoning is grittier and slightly retro in some scenes which director McQuarrie clearly takes inspiration for his film aesthetic from the 1960’s & 1970’s spy films. Think The Spy Who Loved Me and Diamonds are Forever.

Superstar Tom Cruise is back as Ethan Hunt in the final film which director Christopher McQuarrie expertly pays homage to all the previous films in the series especially the original Mission: Impossible directed by legendary auteur Brian de Palma back in 1996.

This film wraps up almost 30 years of possibly one of the most successful spy franchises next to the James Bond series.

Mission: Impossible Final Reckoning sees Ethan and his team including Simon Pegg as Benji and Hayley Atwell (Brideshead Revisited, The Duchess, Captain America: The First Avenger) reprising her role as Grace as they have to race against time, risking the fate of the world to control a megalomaniac artificial intelligence known as the Entity as it seeks quite malevolently to pit all the nuclear nations against each other.

While the plot of the Final Reckoning is quite far-fetched, the stunts are absolutely amazing particularly the claustrophobic diving scene inside a sunken submarine in which Ethan Hunt retrieves a special source code to the incredible vintage plane sequence over jaw dropping African mountains when Ethan and his evil nemesis Gabriel played again by Easi Morales are fighting atop a burning vintage plane.

Oscar nominee Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Whats Love Got to Do With it?) is sensational as the American President Erika Sloane who has the difficult task of protecting America while entrusting Ethan to contain the entity for eternity before there is an international nuclear fallout. Fortunately Bassett has a whole group of co-stars to play to.

There are several really crowded scenes in Mission: Impossible Final Reckoning, almost like chorus scenes in a theatre, which adds to the absolute spectacle of this film. For Mission: Impossible Final Reckoning to be appreciated you have to understand the theatricality of the film, the splendour and the phenomenal stunts. The end sequence is heart warming and suitably appealing with the scriptwriter tying up all the narrative loose ends.

While some of the flashback scenes are a bit excessive, this final outing of Mission: Impossible is amazing and definitely made for the fans. Look out for brief appearances by Vanessa Redgrave and Jon Voight who were in the original 1996 film. Tom Cruise is passionate about big screen spectacle and he achieves this in this worthy conclusion to a stylishly well executed spy franchise, which has seen the films being set all over the world.

Mission: Impossible Final Reckoning is brilliantly choreographed with some unbelievable sets and stunt sequences held together by a bursting cast full of talented actors wanting this beast of a film to be appreciated and supported.

Set in London, Austria, the Bering Sea and South Africa, Mission: Impossible Final Reckoning is pure escapism on a grand scale and gets a film rating of 8.5 out of 10.

Highly recommended viewing for those with a spare three hours to kill. The fate of the cinema world depends on the viewer going to see it. Trust me, the experience is worth it.

The Accountant 2

Director: Gavin O’Connor

Cast: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, J. K. Simmons, Daniella Pineda, Robert Morgan, Andrew Howard, Grant Harvey

Running Time: 2 hours and 12 minutes

Film Rating: 7 out of 10

Warrior director Gavin O’Connor returns to the director’s chair nine years later to helm the sequel to the 2016 film The Accountant simply titled The Accountant 2 assembling much the same cast including Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal and Cynthia Addai-Robinson.

Oscar winner Ben Affleck (Argo, Good Will Hunting) returns to the character of Christian Wolfe the autistic accountant who doubles as money launderer and tough guy who this time teams up with his younger brother Braxton superbly played with just the right amount of annoyance and arrogance by Jon Bernthal (The Wolf of Wall Street). The fraternal relationship between Christian and Braxton is brilliantly played on screen by the two actors who get that brotherly love right, which borders somewhere between affection and irritation with some competitiveness thrown in.

While the storyline by Bill Dubuque in this sequel is slightly confusing initially, he does introduce a more interesting character, that of Anais, an international assassin with a hidden past, whose memories could unlock a ruthless child trafficking ring operating between America and Mexico. Anais is well played by Mexican-American actress Daniella Pineda (Jurassic World: Dominion).

The child trafficking ring is run by the evil Burke, a middle level gangster who feels nothing at ordering the death of children. Burke is played by Robert Morgan with his henchman Cobb played by Grant Harper who was in the excellent TV show Animal Kingdom set in Southern California.

The Accountant 2 starts off with a hectic action scene in which one major character from the first film is eliminated and Cynthia Addai-Robinson who reprises her role as Marybeth Medina is asked to seek the assistance of Christian Wolfe.

Jon Bernthal really saves this sequel from being entirely boring and is excellent as the brash and dangerous Braxton, the antithesis to his older autistic brother Christian well played by Ben Affleck who makes a welcome return to the big screen after a long absence.

Set in locations from Los Angeles to Juarez in Mexico, from Berlin to Prague, The Accountant 2 is an interesting film made livelier by Jon Bernthal who is the most likable character. A third Accountant film is in the works, so let’s hope the finale is a lot flashier and entertaining.

If you enjoy action thrillers with an inventive storyline, then The Accountant 2 is recommended viewing and gets a film rating of 7 out of 10.

Worth seeing just to watch the killer brothers takes down the bad guys.

Die Kwiksilwers

Director: Jordy Sank

Cast: Lida Botha, June van Merch, Susanne Beyers, Jacques Bessenger, Johann Vermaak, Laura-Lee Mostert, Solomon Cupido, Theresa Sedras

Running Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Film Rating: 8 out of 10

Language: Afrikaans with English subtitles

Johannesburg based film director Jordy Sank continues his exploration of the aging demographic as he effortlessly switches from his award winning 2021 documentary film Ella Blumenthal: I am Here to a feature length fiction film in the new hilarious Afrikaans comedy Die Kwiksilwers opening in South African cinemas on Thursday 1^st May 2025.

Die Kwiksilwers features a merry group of elderly ladies lead by Elsabe Marias played by Lida Botha and her friends Anna played by June van Merch, the outrageous Meinke played by Susanne Beyers and Katie played by Theresa Sadras.

The group actually make a perfect bridge four but Elsabe is desperate to escape the confines of her overbearing carer and her son Wikus wonderfully played by Jacques Bessenger. In a bid to recapture the memories of her travels with her late husband Roland in a Ford Granada nicknamed Die Kwiksilwer, Elsabe and her friends decide to go on a vintage road trip to Sutherland in the Northern Cape to watch a meteor shower near the observatory. The only catch is they don’t tell anyone where they are going.

Die Kwiksilwers is a poignant and funny road trip about four elderly ladies that decide to break free and travel across South Africa for an adventure which will get them entangled with the law, some wayward goats and of course a psychedelic festival in the desert which resembles Africa Burn.

While Wikus desperately attempts to track his mother and her friends as they continue to elude him, director Jordy Sank and co-writers Gabriella Blumberg and Marista Van Eeden shine a light on a significant issue: how the younger generation treat elderly people as if they are incapable of being independent. There is a great scene whereby Elsabe and her friends discuss how their children all treat them as invalids as they merrily travel on their great escape.

Die Kwiksilwers shows a humorous side of getting older and not caring about what people think. It’s a light-hearted and hilarious comedy with strong production values which rightfully earned the Audience Favourite Award at the kykNET Silwerskerm Festival in Camps Bay, Cape Town in 2024 https://silwerskermfees.co.za/english/.

Support South African cinema and catch Die Kwiksilwers in cinemas from 1^st May 2025. Director Jordy Sank does a brilliant job of shining a light on the elderly which often appear to be invisible in a youth obsessed culture.

Die Kwiksilwers is an excellent comedy, fun and exhilarating which gets a film rating of 8 out of 10. Highly recommended viewing and definitely worth seeing on the big screen.

Drop

Director: Christopher Landon

Cast: Meghann Fahy, Brandon Sklenar, Violett Beane, Reed Diamond, Ed Weeks, Travis Nelson, Ben Pelletier, Gabrielle Ryan  

Running Time: 1 hour 35 minutes

Film Rating: 7 out of 10

Horror director Christopher Landon who helmed the 2017 film Happy Death Day returns with a more psychological thriller in his new film Drop starring The White Lotus star Meghann Fahy as single mother Violet who decides to step out of her comfort zone and go on a date with the incredibly handsome photographer Henry played by Brandon Sklenar (Midway, It Ends with Us).

Violet leaves her 5 year old son in the capable hands of her sister Jen played by Violett Beane. Violet wears a fabulous red dress and is ready for a night on the town in downtown Chicago at the exclusive restaurant Palette on the 38^th floor of a skyscraper.

As she patiently waits for Henry to arrive, she receives digital drop images which threaten her night out. A cyber stalker starts commanding her to do specific things one of which is to kill her date. If Violet doesn’t comply then the cyber stalker will instruct a professional killer played by Ben Pelletier to kill her son Toby.

From a visual perspective Drop is a fascinating film in which the director and a very creative production designer namely Susie Cullen create a restaurant which becomes a character of its own. Drop makes use of the concept of urban cinema to a maximum.

Palette is the chic downtown restaurant to bring your date to, a sleek 5 star gourmet experience with gorgeous lighting affording an expansive view of Chicago. A place with creepy waiters and lots of single men hanging around using their smartphones. Anyone could be a killer.

As Violet tries to navigate an extremely tricky evening, Henry soon realizes that the first date jitters are far more serious especially when the sleazy piano man Phil played by Ed Weeks suddenly collapses after too many martinis.

Much like director Mark Myclod’s bizarre 2022 thriller The Menu starring Nicholas Hoult and Anya Taylor-Joy, Drop works on multiple levels as a Hitchcockian thriller about a traumatized woman who is desperate to save her son while trying to uncover who is really threatening as well as a tailored narrative about how woman can feel vulnerable in any given situation.

In a pure character switch, the heroine is the one who saves the hero while the villain remains out of sight right until dessert is served.

Drop is captivating, engaging and exciting. A clever psychological thriller whose only downfall was a script that needed some character nourishment in terms of a decent back story. Meghann Fahy and Brandon Sklenar do their best in a psychological thriller about first dates which crash and burn.

If you enjoy a good psychological thriller, then catch Drop in cinemas now. Drop is rated 7 out of 10 and is worth seeing especially for those wanting to dive back into the dating pool.

The Amateur

Director: James Hawes

Cast: Rami Malek, Laurence Fishburne, Jon Bernthal, Rachel Brosnahan, Holt McCallany, Julianne Nicholson, Michael Stuhlbarg, Caitriona Balfe, Danny Sapani, Marc Rissmann, Joseph Millson

Running Time: 2 hours and 3 minutes 

Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Oscar winner Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) made a convincing Bond villain in the 2021 smash hit No Time to Die but as a leading action hero his status is dubious at best.

However, One Life director James Hawes took a chance on Rami Malek as a leading man in the new spy thriller The Amateur which is like a nerd’s guide to the Jason Bourne franchise without the guns, fistfights and car chases.

Malek plays the extremely clever CIA data analyst Charlie Heller whose beautiful wife Sarah played by The Marvellous Mrs Maisel and House of Cards TV star Rachel Brosnahan who gets murdered in a terrorist attack in London while in the British capital on a business trip.

Charlie senses a CIA cover up and ignores orders not to go after the Belarussian terrorists responsible and decides to go rogue with enough hacking skills to break through any firewall.

First Charlie seeks the assistance of tough guy Henderson played with a welcome return to the big screen by Oscar nominee Laurence Fishburne (What’s Love Got to Do With it) who attempts to train him to become a killer. While Charlie doesn’t take to firing guns at bad guys he discovers a penchant for explosives and detonators which can so easily be digitally triggered.

As Charlie seeks creative revenge on the terrorists and their leader Schiller played by Michael Stuhlbarg (The Shape of Water, Call Me by Your Name), he globe trots from London to Paris to Marseilles and eventually to Istanbul where he catches up with a CIA asset the mysterious Inquiline, briefly played by Irish actress Caitriona Balfe (Ford v Ferrari, Belfast, Money Monster).

The Amateur is an enjoyably different spy thriller as Rami Malek makes for a usual spy while all the CIA hotshots played by Holt Callany and Julianne Nicholson are one step behind him.

The cinematography by Martin Ruhe was not good, many scenes appeared extremely dark and badly lit and the scriptwriters Ken Nolan and Gary Spinelli battled to get some character dimension into a rather bland screenplay adapted from the novel by Robert Litell.

Despite these drawbacks, The Amateur is an entertaining if slightly overlong film which is heavy on tech gadgets and light on action. Although there is one brilliant scene when Charlie kills a man in a rooftop swimming pool in a plush Spanish hotel. His creative revenge pays off.

If you enjoy a unique spy revenge thriller then catch The Amateur in cinemas now. The Amateur gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10 and is no Jason Bourne but it just proves that never underestimate the tech guys in the basement level. Recommended viewing.

Rami Malek is excellent in the main role, especially being cast against type.  

A Working Man

Director: David Ayer

Cast: Jason Statham, Jason Flemyng, Maximilian Osinski, Cokey Falkow, Michael Pena, David Harbour, Arianna Rivas, Piotr Witkowski, Greg Kolpakchi

Running Time: 1 hour 56 minutes

Film Rating: 6.5 out of 10

With screenwriters David Ayer and Sylvester Stallone based upon the book by Chuck Dixon called Levon’s Trade, A Working Man perfectly recreates a world of good and evil. In David Ayer’s universe, the evil villains are really bad: diabolical and ruthlessly violent.

A Working Man’s poster shows an image of the action star Jason Statham looking mean with a shotgun and a baseball bat and this tells viewers everything about a violent action film in which Statham’s character Levon Cade is a construction site manager who at the film’s beginning is down and out, sleeping in his car and battling to get custody of his beautiful young daughter.

A Working Man pits the honest hard working fellow against an evil crime syndicate that are involved in human trafficking and the kidnapping of young girls for kinky clients in distant locations on the outskirts of Chicago.

In this case, when the construction boss Joe Garcia played by Michael Pena’s daughter Jenny gets kidnapped on a girl’s night out, Levon is hired by the Garcia’s to find their talented daughter.

Levon with the help of his blind friend Gunny played by David Harbour enters the underworld of Chicago crime syndicates and discovers that the real perpetrators are the evil Russians. In this case these are not the Brighton Beach Russians of director Sean Baker’s Oscar winning film Anora, these are the crazy Russians with links to human trafficking, drugs and illegal gambling.

The Russian crime syndicate is thrown into disarray when the son of a Russian mob boss, Dimi Kosnyk played by Maximilian Osinski (In Time) hires two deadbeats to kidnap Jenny Garcia and then have to face the consequences of their actions when Levon Cade comes after the entire Russian crime family including the crazy twin brothers, dressed in matching haute couture tracksuits, Danya and Vanko played by Greg Kolpakchi and Piotr Witkowski.

The scene in the panel van when Levon takes on the twins is frenetic and then there is the final gruesome showdown in which director David Ayer does really ensure that audiences are taken into the depravity and decadence of the underworld filled with bloodshed and perversion.

One thing David Ayer does brilliantly is creating his evil villains and in A Working Man he does not disappoint.

Cinematographer Shawn White and production designer Nigel Evans do a superb job of creating a contracting aesthetic between the bright innocent world of normal law abiding citizens and the dark nefarious world of organized crime. The contrast is startling and effective.

South African audiences should watch out for a great cameo by SA actor Cokey Falkow (Jurassic World: Dominion) as Dougie a biker enforcer who also gets involved in Levon’s crusade to save the maiden from the underworld.

A Working Man is a violent kidnapping thriller with action man Jason Statham delivering on every level and gets a film rating of 6.5 out of 10. This film is average with parts of the storyline sliding indulgently into excess while generally it maintains an entertaining storyline.

This film is recommended for action fans and lovers of David Ayer films like Fury, Suicide Squad and End of Watch.

Black Bag

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Cast: Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, Tom Burke, Marisa Abela, Rege-Jean Page, Naomie Harris, Gustaf Skarsgaard, Pierce Brosnan

Running Time: 1 hour 33 minutes

Film Rating: 7 out of 10

Contagion and Logan Lucky director Steven Soderbergh is back with a new uber cool spy thriller, slick and dark but unfortunately not very sexy.

Soderbergh’s latest film Black Bag assembles an ensemble cast including Oscar winner Cate Blanchett (The Aviator, Blue Jasmine), Oscar nominee Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave, Steve Jobs) alongside Tom Burke (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga), Marisa Abela (Back to Black), Naomie Harris (Spectre, No Time to Die, Moonlight) Rene-Jean Page and Pierce Brosnan in a film that reads more like a play than a cinematic event.

Naturally Fassbender and Blanchett play the coolest hippest London couple on the planet as elegant spies George Woodhouse and Kathryn St Jean who suspect that their fellow employees of stealing a destructive cyber file called Severus from a secretive intelligence agency known as the National Cyber Security Centre.

The fellow spies are invited for a dinner party at their swish London pad, whereby all the jealousies and treachery emerge as each guest does their best to camouflage their deception. It’s an elegant dinner with traitors in which George Woodhouse, brilliantly played by Fassbender is keen on catching out one of his guests.

The guests include Freddie Smalls played by Tom Burke who could be having an affair with another lady besides his volatile girlfriend Clarissa, played with all the sharp tongued energy portrayed in the hit TV show Industry by Marisa Abela.

Then there is the dashingly handsome Colonel James Stokes played by Rege-Jean Page who is having a sexual relationship with the company psychologist Dr Zoe Vaughan wonderfully played by Naomie Harris.

So three potential couples, a destructive cyber file stolen by the Russians and a mysterious trip to Zurich make up the mysterious thriller Black Bag which is more like a contemporary version of Luigi Pirandello’s play Six Characters in Search of an Author.

Black Bag is well acted but unfortunately the film is too dark and sombre, with a surprising denouement.

The most sophisticated part of the film is the complex marriage between the two main characters both superbly played by Blanchett and Fassbender. The next best scene features a lie detector.  

Black Bag does not feature much action and while each actor do their best with a confusing and obscure script by David Koepp who doesn’t clearly identify who the hero and villain are. But maybe that’s the point.

If audiences are looking for a conventional action film, Black Bag is not it. This film will find it’s audience much like the dinner hosts find out who the traitor is. Pierce Brosnan is excellent in the small part he has.

Black Bag is obscure, fascinating and interesting but it is not a riveting film. This rather strange mystery thriller gets a film rating of 7 out of 10 and will have a unique appeal.

Black Bag is recommended viewing for those that enjoy unconventional spy thrillers with an elegant twist.

Cleaner

Director: Martin Campbell

Cast: Daisy Ridley, Clive Owen, Taz Skylar, Ruth Gemmell, Matthew Tuck, Lee Boardman, Rufus Jones

Running Time: 1 hour 37 minutes

Film Rating: 6 out of 10

There is a mysterious independent film corporation simply called Anton which are releasing new original films. Anton released the creepy psychological suburban thriller Mother’s Instinct with Oscar winners Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables) and Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye). Anton’s corporate website says they have an address in Clerkenwell, London and operate remotely in Los Angeles.

Now Anton has released a distinctly British action film simply called Cleaner starring Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley as a skyscraper window cleaner opposite Oscar nominee Clive Owen (Closer) and British-Arab actor Taz Skylar as the demented environmental activist Noah.

Cleaner takes place entirely in a London skyscraper in Canary Wharf and revolves around Joey, a young woman with military training who has to look after her autistic brother Michael played by Matthew Tuck. Joey’s job is to do window cleaning at a posh skyscraper in the financial district of London. Things go awry when she has to bring her brother to work for the afternoon. Meanwhile high up, a glamourous shareholder’s cocktail party is about to take place for a shady energy company run by the cocaine sniffing Milton brothers Gerald played by Lee Boardman and Geoffrey played by Rufus Jones.

Soon a band of heavily disguised eco-terrorists led by Marcus played by Clive Owen (Children of Men, Gemini Man, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets) take the guests’ hostage and along with the demented Noah, want all these lavish corporate executives to confess to covering up widespread pollution and corporate corruption.

The only person that is not captured is Joey, wonderfully played by Daisy Ridley (Murder on the Orient Express) who has come a long way from the Star Wars franchise which cemented her fame.

Cleaner crisply directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, The Mask of Zorro, The Protégé) makes for a thrilling 93 minutes with lots of action, high stakes treachery and Joey battling the evil climate change terrorists all while trying to save the hostages and protect her brother. Joey is helped by the temperate and sensible DS Hume well played by Ruth Gemmell.

London has never looked this contemporary with beautiful shots of the skyscrapers rising up like towers of progress amidst the fog of the British capital, location shots that are replicated in the brilliant hit series The Day of the Jackal starring Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch.

The storyline is very shaky and unfortunately Clive Owen’s star power is not maximised. His career has never really recovered from the heights of his early films like Gosford Park, Inside Man and Closer.

It’s great to see an action film lead by a formidable female star like Daisy Ridley. Cleaner is pure British action, like a slimmed down version of the Hollywood hit Die Hard without Bruce Willis’s 1980’s charisma.

Cleaner gets a film rating of 6 out of 10 and is no masterpiece, but watchable. This film is recommended viewing for light entertainment as an original British action film which has sufficient plot twists to keep the audience engaged.

97th Academy Awards took place on Sunday 2^nd March 2025 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

Oscar Winners 2025: Full List of Winners

Best Picture: Anora

Best Director: Sean Baker – Anora

Best Actor: Adrien Brody – The Brutalist

Best Actress: Mikey Madison – Anora

Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain

Best Supporting Actress: Zoe Saldana – Emilia Perez

Best Original Screenplay: Sean Baker – Anora

Best Adapted Screenplay: Peter Straughan – Conclave

Best Cinematography: Lol Crawley – The Brutalist

Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell – Wicked

Best Make up & Hairstyling: The Substance

Best Visual Effects: Dune Part II

Best Film Editing: Sean Baker – Anora

Best Sound: Dune Part II

Best Production Design: Wicked

Best Documentary Feature:  No Other Land

Best Documentary Short Subject: The Only Girl in the Orchestra

Best Original Score: Daniel Blumberg – The Brutalist

Best Original Song: Emilia Perez

Best Animated Feature Film: Flow – Latvia

Best Animated Short: In the Shadow of the Cypress.

Best Live Action Short Film: I am not a Robot

Best International Feature Film: I’m Still Here directed by Walter Salles – Brazil