Max Brown

Fans of micro-budgeted British indies will probably love this offbeat semi-romantic drama, but the fact remains that the film is mopey and contrived, with performances that never quite ring true. That said, it's a nicely shot trip around London with a few beautifully artful sequences.

The plot follows two strangers around the city as they get to know each other. Maya (Jourdain) is clearly annoyed by life when she meets a pestering Cuban dancer, Oriel (Vargas). He has recognised that she's a dancer too, so sidles up to get some advice for a big audition he's attending later in the day. But she hasn't danced for three years, and it takes a lot for him to get her out of her shell. Eventually she follows him to Sadler's Wells to watch a performance, then to a dance class he's teaching. And as his audition approaches, she realises that the stakes are especially high for him, because he won't be able to renew his visa without this job.

It's an engaging enough story, especially as this odd couple travels all over London by every conceivable mode of transport - car, bus, train, boat, bicycle. Jourdain and Vargas have plenty of screen presence, with the terrific physicality of trained dancers. But the characters are oddly strained. Maya barely speaks for the first half of the film (for good reason), which requires both actors to express themselves through awkward miming. And writer-director Payne encourages them to go over-the-top, with exaggerated expressions that ring false every time.

Continue reading: Love Tomorrow Review

On a bus heading to a popular tourist town in Brazil, Alex (Josh Duhamel) has been given the charge of looking after his late-teen sister Bea (Olivia Wilde) and her friend Amy (Beau Garrett). When a near-accident sends the bus careening down a mountain and leaves the passengers waiting for another one, Alex, Bea, and Amy hook up with two Brits (Desmond Askew and Max Brown) and Pru (Melissa George), a tanned-up, bilingual woman who catches Alex's eye. They all head down to a beach bar where they proceed to drink themselves silly, grind against one another and practice the ancient art of putting on a bikini without getting naked (admittedly, my technique is lagging). When the sun comes up, the group realizes they have been drugged and that someone has stolen all their belongings, including passports and airplane tickets.

Continue reading: Turistas Review

On a bus heading to a popular tourist town in Brazil, Alex (Josh Duhamel) has been given the charge of looking after his late-teen sister Bea (Olivia Wilde) and her friend Amy (Beau Garrett). When a near-accident sends the bus careening down a mountain and leaves the passengers waiting for another one, Alex, Bea, and Amy hook up with two Brits (Desmond Askew and Max Brown) and Pru (Melissa George), a tanned-up, bilingual woman who catches Alex's eye. They all head down to a beach bar where they proceed to drink themselves silly, grind against one another and practice the ancient art of putting on a bikini without getting naked (admittedly, my technique is lagging). When the sun comes up, the group realizes they have been drugged and that someone has stolen all their belongings, including passports and airplane tickets.

Continue reading: Turistas Review