So, my last film of this week takes me to 200 releases seen in 2020 !!

13 year old Becky is an angry young girl. She is angry because her mother died if cancer about a year ago. Angry because her father has found someone else. And angry because he has invited his new fiancée and her son to their country house, a place that holds so many good memories for her. She is able to use her anger when the house is invaded by four escaped prisoners…

There is not much more to this film than Becky finding ways to dispatch the bad guys in incredibly gory ways, like a cross between Home Alone and Final Destination. However, it is a lot of fun to watch and Lulu Wilson makes an appealingly feisty heroine. Although Kevin James does not exude enough menace as the neo nazi leading the gang, he does provide probably his funniest ever moment on screen when he injures his eye.

Trashy but a hoot.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10

A few months ago, Lola Petticrew made a big impression in Dating Amber. The young actress stars again in A Bump Along the Way . She plays Allegra, a conscientious student. Her single Mum (Bronagh Gallagher) is much more free spirited until she gets pregnant after a one night stand with a younger man, much to Allegra’s disgust. This is gentle stuff, despite it touching on subjects like unwanted pregnancies and bullying. However, it is very nicely played, especially by Petticrew who is superb once again.
Rating: 7 out of 10

The acting is also the main reason to watch Blackbird. Susan Sarandon stars as a woman with a terminal illness who has decided to let her Doctor husband (Sam Neill) euthanise her. Before taking that final step, she invites her two daughters (Kate Winslet and the fantastic Mia Wasikowska) and their loved ones to stay for the weekend. This starts pretty well, with all the performers doing ably with slightly two dimensional characters and a stately pace. But it the last act, director Roger Michell shows no restraint and his film descends in mawkish tear jerking.
Rating: 6 out of 10

I rented all of the above from Amazon. Prime members can also watch The Dinner Party for free, though I have no idea why you would want to. A playwright (Jeff Duncan) and his girlfriend (Alli Hart) attend a dinner party at a prospective investor’s house. When they turn up, a man answers the door and tells them to “fuck off”. Any sane people would leave, but they try again and are let in to endure an evening from hell. Full of cringe-worthy dialogue that is a stupid person’s idea of how clever people talk and embarrassing performances, this is a total bore. By the time that the blood letting started, I had no patience left.
Rating: 2.5 out of 10

Over on Netflix this week, there is the curious A Nice Girl Like You. When her boyfriend tells her she is inhibited in bed, Lucy (Lucy Hale) draws up a to do list of sexual things to do. I say it is curious because it feels a lot like a mainstream, almost made for TV comedy, where the subject matter is almost exclusively about sex. She goes to a sex shop, and it is a brightly lit, welcoming place. She goes to a strip club and it is pretty much the same! Trying to be wholesome and raunchy, this falls between two stools. Of the cast, only Adhir Kalyan’s friend feels like a recognisable human being.
Rating: 5 out of 10

Finally for this week, a new version of The Boys in the Band is also newly on Netflix. I am sure that the stage play and 1970 movie about a group of gay men, plus one straight guy, holding a party was daring for its time, but it feels very dated now. There are a few chuckles, but it also feels stretched way too long for the material.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10