With the end of January approaching, it is time for a round up of new films that I have seen on Netflix this month.

Society of the Snow
This adaptation of Pablo Vierci’s book about the Uruguayan 1972 Andes flight disaster is brought to the screen by director J. A. Bayona. The story has been told before, most famously in 1993’s Alive. That does not lessen the impact, such is the incredible lengths the survivors took to stay alive and this is a heart wrenching telling of the story, majestically shot by Bayona and cinematographer Pedro Luque.

There are some issues though with the script written by Bayona, Bernat Vilaplana, Jaime Marques and Nicolas Casariego. Despite, or maybe because so many people were involved, there are a number of clunky moments.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Lift
Netflix always seems to be on the lookout for a successful franchise, and the ending of Lift certainly indicates that sequels are possible. However, whilst this slick and glossy heist movie has its entertaining moments, it does not offer enough plot twists or interesting characters.

Kevin Hart stars as a master thief who is blackmailed by Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s Interpol agent into stealing gold bars from a plane in order to avert the deaths of thousands of innocent people. It starts well with a heist in Venice and the final set piece is staged nicely enough but it sags in the middle.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Good Grief
In the year, following Marc’s (Daniel Levy) husband’s sudden death, his best friends Sophie (Ruth Negga) and Thomas (Himesh Patel) try to help him through his grief. However, Marc learns that his spouse had met someone else, and that he had secretly been leasing a flat in Paris.

This is very tastefully made but it is quite unengaging as I failed to connect with any of the characters. Sophie is particularly annoying thanks to Ruth Negga’s overly mannered performance.
Rating: 4 out of 10

The Kitchen
In a future London where all social housing has been eliminated, the wealthy live a life of luxury whilst nearby residents of The Kitchen, a community that refuses to abandon their home, scrape an existence. When Izi (Kane Robinson) finds out that ab old friend has died, he takes her son Benji (Jedaiah Bannerman) under his wing. I usually struggle with dystopian dramas like this as I find the world they depict very samey and, in their efforts to portray a desperate existence, they often descend into grim tedium.

However, directors Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya, who co-wrote the screenplay with Joe Murtagh, do a good job of world building, creating a believable future society. It is a shame then that the relationship at the centre of the story could not maintain my interest.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10