The highest profile new release in the last few weeks is the Chris Hemsworth action flick, ‘Extraction’. Hemsworth plays Tyler Rake, a mercenary battling with his demons (naturally), who takes a job of rescuing a drug dealer’s son who has been kidnapped by a rival gangster in Afghanistan.
Presumably this would have had something of a cinema release before the current crisis as it would be best seen on a big screen. The action set pieces are superbly well staged by director Sam Hargrave, especially a single take 12 minute sequence that involves 2 car chases, a foot chase, a gunfight and hand to hand combat. The action is pretty relentless and the violence very graphic. However, when the film does pause for breath, its deficiencies become too apparent, with paper thin characterisation and clunky dialogue.
You don’t have too long to dwell on that, though, before the mayhem starts again.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
A film with much more potential is ‘Sergio’, based on the life of UN diplomat Sergio Vieira de Mello (Wagner Moura). With his postings in some of the most troubled places in the world, most notably Iraq after the US invasion, some parts of this film are interesting enough. However, the film’s structure, involving a lot of flash backs and forwards, makes it feel very fragmented and diminishes any tension that could have been built up during Sergio’s final posting.
Also, too much focus is given to his burgeoning relationship with co-worker Carolina (a disappointing Ana de Armas) rather than the politics of his job.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
Do you remember, and miss, the time when a fully functioning human being was in the White House? If so, you should enjoy ‘Becoming’, a documentary showing Michelle Obama on tour promoting her book. Admittedly, a lot of it is pretty lightweight, with the desire to show the ex-first lady as a normal mother. But, there are a number of insights, particularly in the latter stages, that make this worth watching.
For example, in a rare moment of candour, Michelle expresses her disgust around Trump’s election in, in a quite unexpected way.
A nice reminder of better times, politically.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Another new documentary on offer is ‘Murder or Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story’. Cyntoia was a troubled kid who fell into a life of drugs and prostitution culminating in her shooting a man to death when she was just 16. She is sentenced to life in prison. 15 years later, an appeal is lodged for her release. The biggest plus for this film is the amount of footage and access made available to the makers, both during the original arrest period and of the later events. However, it does feel a little one-eyed and skims over the circumstances of the killing.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
If you really want to scrape the bottom of the Netflix barrel, you could try ‘Dangerous Lies’, a thriller that would be a weaker offering on Channel 5 on a weekday afternoon. A hard-up young couple come into am unexpected inheritance but get dragged into murderous events …
Packed full of unlikable people making illogical decisions and with huge plot holes and contrivances, this is dire stuff. Amidst, a plethora of bad performances, Sasha Alexander manages to keep her dignity. The great Elliot Gould, though, looks embarrassed to be there!
Rating: 3.5 out of 10