It is time for a round up of new films that I have seen on Netflix this month.
Exterritorial
When her son vanishes inside a US consulate in Frankfurt, ex German special forces soldier Sara (Jeanne Goursaud) tries to find him but the authorities claim he was never there. So, we have Flightplan in a building complex rather than a plane, though a similar plot goes back at least as far as Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes. Despite that lack of originality, and yet another veteran applying their special set of skills, Christian Zübert’s action flick races along pleasingly. The confined setting works well and the plot is twisty enough to keep you guessing, although Goursaud is more believable as a frantic mother than in her hand to hand combat scenes.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Shinkansen Daibakuha (Bullet Train Explosion)
Bullet Train was a big Japanese hit during the disaster movie heyday of the mid 1970s. Fifty years later, we a sequel, directed by Shinji Higuchi. It has the same basic plot as the original. Shortly after a train bound from Shin-Aomori to Tokyo departs, an anonymous caller contacts the train company, saying they have planted a bomb on the train that will explode if it slows down below 100 km/hour. There is plenty I liked, including the good mix of characters we are introduced to on the train, and an exciting attempt to transfer the passengers to another train with both travelling at high speed. But the running time is too long with a serious lull once the identity of the bomber is revealed until the climax. Amongst some hammy acting, Machiko Ono as a scandal hit politician stands out.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nonnas
Vince Vaughn stars as Joe who plans to open an Italian restaurant, in tribute to his deceased mother. He employs grandmothers, played by Talia Shire, Lorraine Bracco, Brenda Vaccaro and Susan Sarandon as the chefs. So, yet another film with a group of older actresses designed to appeal to the older, particularly female crowd. It is Sarandon’s second in the genre in a matter of weeks, after The Fabulous Four. Some of the Italian stereotypes grate a little but on the whole this is a sweet and warm hearted true story. Vaughn is an underrated actor and I found myself rooting for his badly organised but thoroughly decent character. Sarandon sparkles, Bracco is great and Linda Cardellini makes the most of the underwritten part of Joe’s tentative love interest.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Last Bullet
After Lost Bullet and Lost Bullet 2, the trilogy ends with Last Bullet. It starts where the last part left off, with the fugitive ex-cop Areski (Nicolas Duvauchelle) running drugs for a German crime boss under an assumed name, unaware that his past is about to catch up with him. I have found this entire series to be competently made but I never cared about Areski. This may be the best of the bunch, with a leaner plot, but it is still far from compelling.
Rating: 4.5 out of 10