For a director with a reputation like hers Sofia Coppola’s filmography is pretty weak. Her latest teams her up with the star of comfortably her best film (Lost in Translation), Bill Murray. Murray is easily the best thing about the lightweight On the Rocks. He plays Felix, a carefree playboy guy who is also the father of an author, Laura (Rashida Jones). Laura is struggling with writer’s block and looking after her two young kids. She also suspects her husband is having an affair – with a new work colleague – and her Dad convinces her to follow him to find out.
When Murray is on screen, his easy charm holds the movie together and provides some warmly comic moments. Otherwise, the film is neither dramatic nor funny enough. Flimsy but fun at times. Available only on Apple TV.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
On Netflix, the documentary Dick Johnson is Dead has attracted a lot of praise.
Made with sincerity by Kirsten Johnson, it depicts her father, Dick, as he contemplates the approaching end to his life. Kirsten and Dick seem likeable enough, and their efforts to stage elaborate set ups showing how he could die are unique and quite amusing.
However, the slow motion fantasy sequences that pepper the film are a real misstep, the endless religious talk tiresome and the whole project does smack of both self-indulgence and self-pity.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
One of the big successes post first lockdown was the Russell Crowe thriller Unhinged; sort of a Duel meets Falling Down, that now can be seen on all the usual rental services.
Crowe plays a middle-aged man in a crisis. His marriage has ended in an acrimonious divorce and he has lost his job. Pushed to the brink, he kills his ex-wife and her partner. On the run, he has a confrontation with another motorist, Rachel (Caren Pistorious). That incident sends him further over the edge and he seeks retribution by going after Rachel’s friends and family.
This is truly nuts-and-bolts stuff. Director Derrick Borte gets the action started early and it doesn’t really let up. The effect of modern society on peoples’ mental health is referenced but this really is a silly, and at times, nasty but fun ride.
Extremely implausible, with a heroine who is likeable enough though liable to make bad decisions, but good for a mindless watch at the end of a long week.
Rating: 7 out of 10