It is time for my monthly round up of new films seen on streaming services other than Netflix, this month.
Starting with Amazon Prime:
Heads of State
UK Prime Minister Sam Clarke (Idris Elba) and US President Will Derringer (John Cena) have a personal animosity that threatens the countries’ “special relationship.” But when they are shot down in Air Force One, Clarke and Derringer are forced to work together as they go on a dangerous, multinational run, with the help of MI6 agent Noel Bisset (Priyanka Chopra Jonas), whilst being pursued by enemies intent on killing them. Ilya Naishuller’s action comedy is knockabout fun. Elba and Cena spark off each other nicely and it is never too long before the next gunfight or chase. Derringer has a couple of clunky speeches about the benefits of NATO, but they have, amusingly outraged some American right wing nutjobs!
Rating: 7 out of 10
Emmanuelle
50 years on from the original erotic drama, that brought adult movies into the mainstream for a brief period, comes this remake. Noémie Merlant stars in the title role, and works as a quality controller for a luxury hotel brand. On a work trip to Hong Kong, she has a number of sexual encounters. The original starred a young Sylvia Kristel, who was not much of an actress but was perfect for the part. Merlant is a great actress but is really miscast. Her character is meant to be enigmatic but instead comes across as bored. The whole film has a numbing listless quality despite sumptuous cinematography by Laurent Tangy. In a word, flaccid!
Rating: 4 out of 10
Tin Soldier
Scott Eastwood stars as Nash Cavanaugh, an ex-special forces operative who seeks revenge against a cult leader, played by Jamie Foxx, who has corrupted his former comrades. This is an utterly ludicrous story made worse by constant time shifts and Brad Furman’s murky direction.
Rating: 2 out of 10
The Mill Killers
Four girls enter an abandoned factory in a small Welsh town to retrieve a box of money that they stole years before. But it seems that they are being stalked by a killer. The first half of writer/director Aled Owen’s feature debut is pretty effective. The tension is maintained as the quartet try to evade the sinister looking man. There is a neat twist about an hour in but that also causes the film to lose its focus somewhat. Catrin Jones and Bethany Williams-Potter are the pick of a largely unknown cast.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Over on Sky, subscribers can see:
William Tell
In 14th Century Switzerland, a once peaceful hunter leads his people in rebellion after his family and country are threatened by a tyrannical Austrian King. It is hard to imagine a worse telling of the story of the mythical Swiss hero. A terrible script full of cringeworthy dialogue, no attempt at period accuracy and hammy acting, most notably by Ben Kingsley, add to a disaster. The scenery is nice though!
Rating: 2.5 out of 10
Sew Torn
Barbara Duggen (Eve Connolly) is a seamstress struggling to keep her fabric shop solvent. When she accidentally stumbles upon a botched drug deal, she is forced to pick between three options: commit the perfect crime, call the police, or drive away. Freddy Macdonald’s crime thriller then plays out showing the repercussions of all three decisions. That sounded like a good set-up, but this is an overly stylised and self consciously quirky effort from Macdonald.
Rating: 3.5 out of 10
I Don’t Understand You
A gay couple on holiday in Italy get lost in a remote rural area and have to cope without transportation or knowledge of the language. You might think that has comic potential and it probably does. Unfortunately, directors David Josoh Craig’s and Brian Crano’s screenplay has zero laughs in it.
Rating: 3 out of 10
The following can be bought or rented on the usual services:
Fear Below
A gold bullion robbery in Australia goes wrong when the van carrying the swag crashes into a river. The thieves hire a three person diving team from the struggling Sea Dog Diving Company to retrieve the bars. There is one problem – a highly-aggressive female bull shark! This has a nice twist on the shark genre as it is a period piece, set in 1946, so the divers’ equipment is pretty rudimentary. It is a cut above most films in this subject that are sent straight to streaming, running at a brisk 86 minutes and boasting good performances by Jake Ryan as the menacing leader of the criminal gang and Hermione Corfield, following her great turn in the similarly aquatic Sea Fever, as a plucky diver.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Julie Keeps Quiet
Julie (Tessa Van Den Broek) is a star player at an elite tennis academy. When a former member takes her own life, her coach, Jeremy (Laurent Caron), falls under investigation and is suddenly suspended. All of the club’s players are encouraged to speak up, but Julie decides to stay quiet. Leonardo Van Dijl’s drama, co written with Ruth Becquart, is a slow burning gem. The accusations against Jeremy are cleverly never spelled out in this study of repression and coercion. Van Den Broek does a brilliant job of internalising her feelings and the tennis scenes are accurately depicted unlike in the overblown and over rated Challengers last year.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Words of War
Maxine Peake stars as journalist Anna Politkovskaya who persisted with reporting on the conflict in Chechnya despite considerable danger to herself and who tried to expose corruption within Russia under the governance of Vladimir Putin. This is a powerful story. Anna was an extremely brave woman, openly condemning Putin, and Peake captures her fearlessness brilliantly. Jason Isaacs is superb as her husband who struggles with her fame, and Ian Hart gives a well nuanced turn as an FSB agent. There are issues, though, with a script that requires characters to spell things out a little too much, and, what should have been an exciting depiction of the Dubrovka theatre siege is a bit of a damp squib.
Rating: 7 out of 10
When Autumn Falls
The great French director François Ozon returns with a new release, set in a small Burgundy village. Retired resident Michelle (Hélène Vincent) is looking forward to spending the summer with her grandson, Lucas, but his stay is cancelled when Michelle accidentally serves his mother poisonous mushrooms. That causes a rift in the family and leads to tragic consequences. Ozon is a master of thoughtful, unhurried dramas and this ranks amongst his finest works. It is a measured take on forgiveness, grief and love that really works because of the deliberate ambiguities that Ozon and co-writer Philippe Piazzo build into the script. All the performances are immaculate, chiefly by Vincent, Ludivine Sagnier as her bitter daughter, Pierre Lottin as Michelle’s best friend’s son and Sophie Guillemin as a suspicious cop.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Finally, on My 5
The Perfect Killer
A teenage girl and her stepmother suspect foul play when the girl’s father is killed after receiving a phone call seemingly from her, but actually a voice cloning scam. They believe that someone close to them is the perpetrator, but it is hard to care. The film is stuffed full of too many unlikeable characters and the plot goes round in circles.
Rating: 3.5 out of 10