Another week relying on movies available at home, and, as usual a mixed bag.
Available on all ‘premium rental’ sites, which means that you have to pay an eye watering £15.99 for a 2 to 7 day rental, ‘Military Wives’ was doing good business at the cinemas when they were all closed. It is loosely based on the real story of wives of service men and women forming a choir. It is pretty formulaic stuff, following a well-worn template the director Peter Catteneo helped create with ‘The Full Monty’. Despite that and the rather flat visual style, it is highly affecting and effective. Boosted by Sharon Horgan and Kristin Scott Thomas in the lead roles, it is impossible not to be moved by the climatic performance of the group.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Sky Movies subscribers can watch ‘4 Kids’ and It’ for free currently. The source material ‘5 Children and It’ by E. Nesbit has been adapted many times before and this is an unremarkable but pleasant telling of the story. Michael Caine is fun as the magical creature and Teddie-Rose Malleson-Allen shows great potential in her part. Russell Brand’s role, though, feels like it comes from a different film.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
First of three new offerings on Netflix is the rather bland ‘Uncorked’. A well-worn story of a young man wanting to make his own way in the world rather than follow in his father’s footsteps is competently brought to the screen by writer/director Prentice Penny. Unfortunately, the lead character who has a dream of becoming a sommelier and looks down on his restaurant owner Dad, is a pretty unlikable snob, and most of the supporting characters are under written. Courtney B. Vance is very good as the Dad, though.
Rating: 4.5 out of 10
‘All the Bright Places’ is one of those films featuring teens who are deep and misunderstood and spend their time quoting lines from poems and classic books. It is in the recent tradition of weepies for a younger audience but totally lacked any emotional depth. Elle Fanning is a great talent but she cant lift the film above the mediocre.
Rating: 4 out of 10
Best of the Netflix bunch is ‘The Decline’. A French-Canadian movie about a group of survivalists who gather at a training camp. A tragic incident occurs and triggers a violent reaction. Whilst it is hard to care too much about the bunch of nut jobs that populate the film, this a decent action flick. I liked the snowy wasteland setting, and the final showdown was well staged.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Debuting on Amazon Prime is ‘The Night Clerk’. Tye Sheridan stars as the eponymous character, a young man with Asperger’s who works a night shift at a hotel and witnesses a murder on one of the secret cameras he has placed in the guest rooms. Although, lacking thrills for a thriller and I found Sheridan’s performance a little too mannered, there is much to enjoy. This is a neat twist on a story of a voyeur and the supporting cast that includes Helen Hunt, Ana de Amas and John Leguizamo is particularly strong.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Finally, Curzon Home Cinema is offering ‘The Perfect Candidate’. In modern day Saudi Arabia, a young female doctor is so frustrated that the road in front of her hospital is unpaved she runs for council in order to do something about it. Sincerely made, with outstanding performances from Mila Al Zahrani as the candidate and Dae Al Hilali as her sister, this had the potential to be one of the films of the year. However, not enough attention is given to the political machinations and the endemic prejudice against women. Instead a subplot about the womens’ father’s musical tour is given too much time and the subsequent musical interludes were not necessary.
Rating: 7 out of 10