Jaadugar
The first line of this film is “…football lives in the heart of every Indian”. No it doesn’t and this lame movie will not convince anyone to the contrary. It desperately tries to be quirky but ends up being painful.
Rating: 2 out of 10

Too Old for Fairytales
A young Polish lad, obsessed with video games, learns some life lessons from his grandmother. I was surprised how likable the characters were and this is decent family friendly stuff.
Rating: 5 out of 10

You Are Not My Mother
15 year old Char (Hazel Doupe) is an outsider at school, bullied and quiet. When her mother goes missing and then returns without an explanation, Char tries to uncover her family’s dark secrets. This is a superior Dublin set folk horror, that relies on a foreboding atmosphere for most of its run time. It is director (and writer) Kate Dolan’s feature length debut and it shows great promise. Doupe is superb in the lead role and amongst a strong supporting cast, Jordanne Jones stands out as the classmate who befriends Char.
Rating: 8 out of 10

Hustle
Adam Sandler once again flips from inane comedies to a more serious drama in Hustle. He plays an NBA scout who discovers a brilliant prospect in Spain but has to try to get him into the league himself when the team he works for does not offer a contract. Despite the story following a typical sports underdog arc and having little interest in basketball, I found this film incredibly effective. Sandler again shows how good an actor he is and Queen Latifah is outstanding as his wife.
Rating: 8 out of 10

Interceptor
I am a big fan of Matthew Reilly’s books. the plots may be fairly preposterous but the action is relentless and they are a great holiday read. Here, he has brought an original story of his to the screen for his directorial debut. Elsa Pataky stars as an army captain who has to defend a military installation almost singlehandedly in order to avoid nuclear annihilation. It is no surprise that the action scenes work the best and Pataky certainly looks more comfortable doing those rather than the expository dialogue sequences. If you can forgive some dodgy CGI and the plot holes, this is fun and taut actioner.
Rating: 7 out of 10

Dangerous Liaisons
Another version of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos celebrated novel is easily the weakest to hit the screen so far. The attempt to bring it up to date fails badly.
Rating: 2.5 out of 10

Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between
A mostly by the book romantic drama that will find its audience with older teenagers. Anyone older may find the characters more annoying than endearing.
Rating: 4 out of 10

A Day to Die
There is still no sign of an end to the releasing of Bruce Willis’ late career output after he announced his retirement. He has a small part as a police chief with the main role given to Kevin Dillon who is trying to get $2 million by any means in order to save his family from a ruthless criminal. Standard stuff but fairly efficiently made and Willis seems more engaged in his part than usual.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10

Incantation
This turgid Taiwanese horror, supposedly based on a true story is more likely to bore you than scare you.
Rating: 2.5 out of 10

My Daughter’s Killer
A shocking true crime documentary about a German doctor evading the law for decades despite committing horrendous crimes and one man’s pursuit of him in order to get justice for his murdered daughter. Eye opening stuff, well-told.
Rating: 7 out of 10

The Girl in the Picture
If My Daughter’s Killer shows how to present a disturbing story, The Girl in the Picture shows how not to do it. A woman is murdered and her son is kidnapped but this dour doc did not make me desperate to find out what happened.
Rating: 4 out of 10

The Sea Beast
A young girl stows away on a ship and becomes involved with the crew’s attempts to catch a sea monster. I am not keen on modern digital animation and the monsters seem particularly badly designed but otherwise this one works reasonably well, with a very good sequence when they first encounter the beast.
Rating: 5 out of 10

Valley of the Dead
Yet another zombie horror movie. This does have a less usual setting of Spain in the second world war but is let down by a low budget – see the same extra killed twice! – and uninteresting characters.
Rating: 4 out of 10

Jewel
A white photographer meets and falls for a black woman in modern day South Africa, but their relationship stirs up some painful memories. Well intentioned but badly scripted, giving it an amateurish feel.
Rating: 3.5 out of 10

For Jojo
When a woman falls for an unsuitable man, her best friend tries to break them up. Everyone on screen is so unlikable, I did not care what happened to them
Rating: 2 out of 10

Under the Amalfi Sun
If you liked Under the Riccione Sun a couple of years ago, you may enjoy this sequel as the same group of lads go on holiday again. Unfortunately, I found the boring adventures of the vapid characters just as tedious as before.
Rating: 2.5 out of 10

Live is Life
Yet another teen coming of age film in a sunny location. Not a shred of originality.
Rating: 3 out of 10

Recurrence
The third film to feature the, now retired, Argentinian detective Manuela Pipa Pelari maintains the standard set by the previous entry in the series, Intuition. This time Pipa becomes involved in the investigation of a death of a young woman when she finds out she was the last person who saw her alive. The plot twists and turns pleasingly and Luisana Lopilato continues to impress in the lead role. I hope there is more to come.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10