It is time for a round up of new films that I have seen on Netflix this month.
The Deliverance
No, this is not a remake of the John Boorman classic. Instead it is a horror feature from director Lee Daniels. A family living in a home in Indiana discover strange, demonic occurrences that convince them and the community that the house is a portal to hell. Daniels is not a film maker I have ever been impressed with and The Deliverance does not change my opinion.
It starts as a study of a struggling black family and the issues of alcohol, drugs and criminality seem all too familiar. In the second half it becomes a standard possession movie, employing most of the usual tropes. An impressive cast that includes Andre Day, Glenn Close, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Omar Epps and Mo’Nique can do little with the shoddy material.
Rating: 4 out of 10
Trigger Warning
Jessica Alba stars as a special forces commando who returns to her hometown when her father dies and uncovers a conspiracy. Director Mouly Surya’s English language debut has been badly received by both critics and the viewing public and the central conceit of an army arms base being easily accessed via old mining tunnels is like something out of the Famous Five.
However, the action scenes are well set up and the crooked cops and politicians rang true for me. Maybe my expectations were low, but I enjoyed it.
Rating: 6 out of 10
The Union
Mark Wahlberg stars as a construction worker who is roped into the espionage world by his former high school girlfriend played by Halle Berry. The stars keep this very predictable action romp ticking over but it lacks any originality.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
Rebel Ridge
Ex-Marine Terry Richmond (Aaron Pierre) arrives in the small town of Shelby Springs to post bail for his cousin. His money is unjustly stolen by the local police led by crooked chief, Sandy Burnne (Don Johnson). Terry tries to recover the cash, help his cousin and get out of town alive with the help of budding lawyer Summer McBride (AnnaSophia Robb).
Rebel Ridge is written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier, who made such an impression with Blue Ruin and Green Room a decade ago but has been largely quiet since. He really bursts back onto the scene with this terrific noirish thriller. The story twists nicely, the atmosphere of an American small town is perfectly captured and all three of the leads are excellent.
Rating: 8 out of 10
New Life
Jessica Murdock (Hayley Erin) goes on the run believing she is wanted for murder, but she is actually carrying the deadly Ebola virus. Elsa Gray (Sonya Walger) is tasked with tracking her down, despite suffering from a chronic disease herself. John Rosman wrote and directed New Life, and he tries something different with this genre. It has some shocking moments and a good performance from Walger but it does not totally work.
Rating: 6 out of 10
His Three Daughters
Azazel Jacobs’ drama has an outstanding cast, with Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne and Elizabeth Olsen playing the titular sisters. Katie, Rachel and Christina respectively. Although they are estranged, they have to come together to care for their sick father in the days before his death. This is a beautifully crafted film with an almost perfect screenplay from Jacobs. The sisters are very different but, as we get to know them more, they are not what they seem on the surface.
It is beautifully paced and Rodrigo Amarante’s sparely used score is lovely. There is one major mis-step though. The father was unseen until the last 15 minutes of the film, when he is brought out of his room and is more lucid and has more energy than we were lead to believe beforehand. It is really just to enable him to give a heartfelt speech but that was totally unnecessary. Thankfully, things get back on track in the last few scenes, and all three leads are brilliant, particularly Lyonne.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10