This is a round up of new, non Christmassy, films seen at home this month on all services other than Netflix.
Starting as usual with Amazon Prime:
Shadow Force
Kyrah Owens (Kerry Washington) and Issac Sarr (Omar Sy) are the leaders of a group called Shadow Force, a CIA assassination unit. When they fall in love and have a baby, Ky (Jahleel Kamara), they went underground to bring their son up in peace. Eight years later, Issac and Ky get accidentally entangled in a bank heist, thus blowing their cover. Not pacey enough to be a good action movie and not clever enough to be a good spy thriller, Shadow Force is pretty ordinary stuff until the last 20 minutes or so when it finally kicks into gear.
Rating: 5 out of 10
She Rides Shotgun
Taron Egerton stars as newly released ex-con Nate. Hunted by his enemies, he must protect his estranged 11 year old daughter, Polly (Ana Sophia Heger) as they go on the run from the bad guys and the cops. Not an original premise but it is very well shot by Nick Rowland with a solid performance by Egerton, though it is young Heger who really shines. The revelation that one of the law enforcement officers looking for Nate felt all too predictable but prior to that, this would a gripping little thriller.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Bride Hard
Maid of honour Sam (Rebel Wilson) organises a bachelorette party in Paris for her childhood best friend Betsy (Anna Camp). Unbeknownst to the others, Sam is a secret agent, having arranged the trip to intercept a rogue bioweapon. Not enough action or comedy and all attempts to make Wilson a leading lady fail.
Rating: 4 out of 10
Belén
Selected as the Argentine entry for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards, Belén stars and is directed by Dolores Fonzi from a screenplay she co-wrote with Laura Paredes, Agustina San Martín and Nicolás Britos. It is based on the non-fiction book Somos Belén by Ana Correa. In Argentina in 2014, young Julieta (Camila Plaate), unaware that she is pregnant, attends a hospital with stomach pains and she is diagnosed with peritonitis. Suffering from increasing pain, she goes to the toilet and has a miscarriage. Shortly after, police arrive and arrest her for murder. She spends two years in prison awaiting trial, which when it happens, is a sham and she is sentenced for a further eight years. Lawyer Soledad Deza (Fonzi) takes up her case that becomes a national campaign and ultimately leads to abortion being legalised. This is a gripping account of a story that I did not know about previously that feels politically timely in the current climate. It also marks out Fonzi as a major talent in all fields and Paredes is great as her right hand woman.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Over on Sky, subscribers can see:
Karate Kid: Legends
In the the sixth film in The Karate Kid franchise, Li (Ben Wang), a kung fu prodigy, moves to New York. When he confronts a local karate champion, he seeks the help from his former master Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) and karate sensei Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio). I was never a fan of the original so the various call backs left me cold. It is all efficiently enough done, though I found Li efforts to fit in in a new city and his burgeoning romance with a classmate Mia, played very well by Sadie Stanley, more interesting than the fights.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
The Wedding Banquet
I was not sure that Ang Lee’s film of the same name from 1993 was crying out for a remake, but director Andrew Ahn has delivered one. Han Gi-Chan stars as a Korean student called Min who is happily living in Seattle with his commitment phobic boyfriend Chris (Bowen Yang) and their neighbours Lee (Lily Gladstone) and Angela (Kelly Marie Tran), who are trying for a baby. Min’s American dream is shaken when his family call him back to work for their big multinational company. Desperate to stay, Min makes a proposal: a green card marriage with Angela in exchange for the expensive IVF treatment. Gladstone is the stand out performer here and is helped by her character the only one I found remotely sympathetic. A tedious waste of time.
Rating: 3 out of 10
The following can be bought or rented on the usual services:
Oh My Goodness!
Three years after its release in France, Laurent Tirad’s comedy was released in cinemas here earlier this year and is now available to watch at home. When the local nursing home finds itself in dire straits, it’s down to Mother Veronique (Valérie Bonneton) and the four eccentric sisters of the convent of St. Benedict to find a way to help. Spotting a poster for a bike race with a €25,000 cash prize, they decide to enter, despite being very poor cyclists. This is a very light hearted and lightweight comedy that breezes by very pleasantly, leading up to the inevitable heart warming ending. Louise Malek is a delight as a hapless apprentice nun.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Good Boy
Todd (Shane Jensen), a young man suffering from a chronic lung disease, relocates from New York to his late grandfather’s rural, uninhabited home in the woods with his beloved dog, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever named Indy. Indy soon starts to sense a supernatural force in the house. A lot has been written about this being filmed from the dog’s point of view. That is not strictly the case all of the time but the film certainly has a novel look. However, the story is really plodding.
Rating: 3.5 out of 10
Young Mothers
Directors Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne return after a three year absence with a new drama that won the Best Screenplay prize at the Cannes film festival. Lucie Laruelle, Babette Verbeek, Elsa Houben, Janaïna Halloy Fokan and Samia Hilmi star as five young mothers, Jessica, Perla, Julie, Naïma and Ariane, who are housed, with their children, in a centre for young mothers. Despite challenges they all strive for a better life. This is typically naturalistic stuff from the brothers. I found the incidental details of the lives of the young women more interesting than their often terrible life choices. Houben is superb as recovering addict, Julie.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Plainclothes
In 1990s New York, a working-class undercover officer is tasked with entrapping and apprehending gay men, only to find himself drawn to one of his targets. The lead performances by Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey are convincing enough but writer/director Carmen Emmi’s story lacks momentum and her use of visual trickery is annoying.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
Ghost Trail
Two years after being released from Syrian jail, Hamid (Adam Bessa) is making ends meet as a construction worker in the French city of Strasbourg. He is apparently, searching for his cousin, but he is actually part of a group tracking down prison employees to tortured inmates. The latest target is the man who tortured him and he is determined to get his revenge. Part thriller and part drama about Hamid trying to overcome his demons, director Jonathan Millet does a good job of slowly increasing the suspense. The stand out scene is when Hamid and the man he suspects, played with a quiet menace by Tawfeek Barhom, have an extended conversation in a café. A lot of the chat seems innocuous but there is an underlying tension that reminded me of the famous scene in Heat. Both of the men are very good, as is Hala Rajab who plays a fellow refugee.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Palestine 36
It is 1936 and villages across Palestine rise against are seeing uprising against the British 30 years of colonial rule. At the same time, increasing antisemitism in Europe has seen an influx of Jewish migrants. All three sides spiral towards inevitable collision in a decisive moment for the British Empire and the future of the entire region. This is a hard hitting film that clearly has a point of view. With one exception, Billy Howle’s thoughtful civil servant, all the British characters are ineffectual at best, such as Jeremy Irons’ high commissioner or downright evil such as Captain Wingate, played by Richard Aramayo in a part that is a polar opposite to his recent starring role in I Swear. The Jews are largely spared the direct blame, but there are also no significant Jewish characters. Having established that, though, this is a shocking, powerful, and, despite the events taking place nearly 90 years ago, timely film. There are a couple of exceptional performances amongst the larger Palestinian cast, from Hiam Abbass as a principled journalist and the remarkable Wardi Eilabouni as a young village girl.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Dracula: A Love Tale
Prince Vladimir of Wallachia (Caleb Landry Jones) renounces God and becomes Dracula after the death of his wife Elisabeta during a battle with the Ottomans. Over the centuries, Dracula attempts to track down the reincarnation of his wife, until four hundred years later, while negotiating a transaction with the Parisian solicitor Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), Dracula discovers that Harker’s fiancée Mina (Zoë Bleu) is the one he seeks. I’ve had issues with Jones in the past but his very mannered style suits this role and this is quite handsomely mounted. But there is a lot of borrowing from other films like Coppola’s 1992 version of the tale and The Devils plus there are some weird choices, such as the count having gargoyles as servants. Also, I am no geography expert but I don’t think France borders Romania!
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
On the BFI player:
Islands
Sam Riley stars as Tom, an ex tennis professional who now works as a coach at a Fuerteventura hotel. He lives an aimless life of drink, drugs and one night stands until he meets British couple, Anne (Stacy Martin) and Dave (Jack Farthing). The main reason for seeing Islands is a terrific central performance by Riley who is at his best since his break out role in Control and Martin, who was so good in a small part in The Brutalist, makes the most of a meatier part. The story itself meanders a little too much and is quite predictable.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Holy Cow
18-year-old Totone spends most of his time drinking beer and partying with his friends in rural France. But when he’s unexpectedly faced with taking care of his young sister and making a living, he decides to enter a competition for the best Comté cheese in the region, hoping to win the 30,000 Euro prize. Holy Cow was a massive hit in France and it has a lot of charm, with decent performances from mostly non professional actors.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Vermiglio
This acclaimed drama from Maura Delpero is set in 1944, in Vermiglio, a remote Italian mountain village. Pietro Riso , a deserter arrives in the village and is taken in by the family of the local teacher. Pietro falls in love with the teacher’s eldest daughter, something that changes the course of everyone’s life. Whilst this is beautifully shot and has an air of authenticity, I struggled to care about any of the characters, so I found it rather dull.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
Little Trouble Girls
Quiet teenager Lucija (Jara Sofija Ostan) joins her Catholic school choir where she becomes friends with popular and popular, confident Ana-Maria (Mins Savjger). On a rehearsal retreat at a nunnery undergoing repairs, the tough choirmaster wants them to concentrate on the music but their attention is gripped by the men working on the building. Well acted but, despite the unusual Slovenian setting, the story felt well worn.
Rating: 5 out of 10
Finally, to Paramount Plus:
Shell
Desperate to reclaim her career, faltering because she is no longer considered young, thin or pretty enough, once beloved actress Samantha Lake (Elisabeth Moss) gets drawn into the glamorous world of wellness mogul Zoe Shannon (Kate Hudson), only to uncover a monstrous truth beneath the seemingly flawless surface. Moss and Hudson give it their all, but this does not have the bite of the similarly themed The Substance.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10