This week, I am starting off on Netflix with the true crime documentary American Murder: The Family Next Door. In 2018, in Colorado, Shanann Watts and her two daughters suddenly disappear. As the police investigate, suspicion falls on her husband, Chris.
TV is awash with true crime, with a number of channels dedicated to it. This film is a step up on most of the content they show, largely because of the expert way that director Jenny Popplewell weaves together police footage with material from Shannan’s social media. The story is horrific but once the truth about what happened is revealed, the story does lose impetus.
Rating: 7 out of 10
For those looking forward to a family friendly romp, I can recommend Enola Holmes. Sherlock’s 16 year old sister, Enola (Millie Bobby Brown) has been brought up and schooled by her eccentric mother (Helena Bonham Carter). When her mother leaves unexpectedly, Enola’s new guardian, brother Mycroft (Sam Claflin) wants her to attend a finishing school. Enola, though, is determined to find out what has happened to her mother.
I am a big fan of a lot of Sherlock Holmes films, and this is a fresh and fun take on the characters. The plot moves at a swift pace, with the requisite thrills and laughs, and featuring an excellent, knowing, performance from Brown. It is a shame that Sherlock is played by the always wooden Henry Cavill, and Enola does not get enough chances to show off her sleuthing skills properly, but this is still a good time passer.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Also recently released on Netflix are Elsewhere, a surprisingly effective drama from Hernan Jimenez about a man failing to cope with the death of his wife, and the tedious Italian horror, The Binding. Elsewhere benefits from an excellent performance by Parker Posey but The Binding has no real redeeming features or any hint of originality.
Elsewhere: 7 out of 10
The Binding: 3.5 out of 10
Feeling in the mood for a thriller, I rented Bulletproof on Amazon for just 99p. With that price tag and the fact that I hadn’t heard of the film before, my expectations were low. I was very pleasantly surprised by this gritty and well written film. Thomas Jane stars as Ray Mandel, a veteran in the LAPD who goes on a patrol with rookie Nick Holland (Luke Kleintank).
Set just over one eventful night, this is a gripping story with a real air of authenticity. Jane is believable as the cop who has seen it all before and David Krumholtz is fun as a detective who looks like he has walked off the set of Freebie and the Bean! I haven’t enjoyed scenes of two people talking in a car so much since Dragged Across Concrete, so credit needs to go to director Joel Souza’s screenplay. Also, Thomas Scott Stanton shoots the film in a pleasingly crisp way. A surprise film of the week.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Sky Movies shows a premiere almost every day, so it is no surprise that the quality isn’t always, high, as evidenced this week.
The Quarry is a slow moving and frankly dull thriller about a killer who poses as a priest. A wasted the considerable talents of Michael Shannon. 2 Minutes of Fame is a dismally unfunny ‘comedy’ starring the talent-less Jay Pharaoh as an aspiring stand up comedian. The cast list of The Big Ugly forewarns you that it is going to be another tired gangster movie: Vinnie Jones, Ron Perlman, and, as much as I like Malcolm McDowell, he is a man who seemingly has no quality control. It is full of men being men, routine violence and not much else. The best of the bad bunch is Bloodshot, and that is not something I would say often about a film starring Vin Diesel! This science fiction flick about a killed soldier being re-animated eventually wears out its welcome but it is slickly enough made with a decent supporting cast.
The Quarry: 4 out of 10
2 Minutes of Fame: 2.5 out of 10
The Big Ugly: 3.5 out of 10
Bloodshot: 4.5 out of 10