Thirteen Lives (Amazon Prime)
A faithful telling of the story of the rescue of the 12 boys and their football coach from a flooded Thai cave in 2018. Director Ron Howard does a tremendous job of making a true story with a known ending very suspenseful, just like he did with Apollo 13. The underwater shooting is brilliantly done and the performances by Colin Farrell, Viggo Mortensen and Joel Edgerton as the divers who comer up with the daring plan to get the boys out are all excellent.
Rating: 9 out of 10
The Good Boss
On the face of it, Blanco seems like a kind and caring boss of his scales making factory. But, in the week when the company is a candidate for a prestigious award, events conspire against him and his true character is revealed. This is a pretty broad and unsubtle satire from writer/director Fernando Leon de Aranoa but it does have some funny scenes and the leonine Javier Bardem is magnificent as Blanco, at times simultaneously sinister and charming.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Bergman Island
Tony (Tim Roth) who is a film director and his screenwriter partner Chris (Vicky Krieps) travel to the island of Faro where Ingmar Bergman lived for a large part of his life. Whilst there, they go on some of the Bergman tourism trips and each work on their latest screenplays. Tony finds the time productive whilst Chris struggles with the outline of her story about an ill-timed love affair; particularly how to end it. As she describes the plot to Tony, we see it acted out by Anders Danielsen Lie and Mia Wasikowska.
But then the boundaries between reality and fiction become blurred. The first part of this film is aimed at Bergman lovers as a lot of reverence is paid to the great director. The pacing is slow but elegant and the characters of Tony and Chris kept me fully engaged. Once again, Roth demonstrates that he is one of the most compelling actors working today. Fortunately, and surprisingly, the story within a story kept me just as intrigued. That is due in no small part to the brilliant Wasikowska.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Joyride
Strangely, this Olivia Colman starrer barely got a release at the cinema and is now available to view at home just a few weeks later. She plays Joy, a single woman who has had a child after an unexpected and unwanted pregnancy. She is on her way to hand the child over to her sister who wants a kid when her taxi is stolen by a young lad. Mully (Charlie Reid), who is running away from his father and does not realise that Joy and her baby are asleep in the back.
So, what we have is a road movie taking place in the Irish countryside. It largely unfolds as you would expect: the pair are initially at loggerheads, before bonding, falling out and ultimately making up, and everything is tied up a bit too neatly at the end. However, it has a real charm thanks to the two lead performances, and it bowls along at a good lick, not outstaying its welcome.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Black Site (Sky Movies)
I had quite high hopes for this action thriller set in a top secret CIA prison, largely because of the cast that includes Michelle Monaghan and Jason Clarke. Monaghan is good but the whole film feels a bit flat. It is not suspenseful enough and the action is pretty routine.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
Stowaway (Sky Movies)
Bella unexpectedly inherits a luxury yacht but it is hijacked by a ruthless group who are after the contents of the safe and who do not know she is on board. Bella is a prefect role for Ruby Rose and she is fine carrying the film. But the action feels quite muted and not enough suspense is generated from a promising premise.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
Last Looks (Sky Movies)
Ex-cop Carlie Waldo (Charlie Hunnam) is persuaded by a PI who he used to date to investigate the murder of an actor’s wife. With its freewheeling story and mysterious subplots, Tim Kirkby’s film is going for an Inherent Vice vibe. It is not in that league but does have its moments. Mel Gibson adds some laughs as the drunken actor.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Sing 2 (Sky Movies)
2016’s Sing definitely exceeded expectations but this sequel feels a bit of a let down. The main cast return but it feels a bit flat, lacking the sparky humour of the original. It is pretty much wall-to-wall average songs with a paperthin plot holding it together.
Rating: 5 out of 10
Monstrous (Sky Movies)
Christina Ricci is excellent as an abused wife who flees her husband with her seven year old son. But the remote house they move to seems to be plagued by a monster. Despite Ricci’s performance, the film is all over the place and does not flow at all.
Rating: 4.5 out of 10
Also on Sky Movies, Murder at Yellowstone City should have been much better. A Western murder mystery with a cast including Gabriel Byrne and Richard Dreyfuss. But from the cliché ridden script, to the unconvincing performances and just how clean everyone and everything is, it just does not ring true. Box office bomb Marry Me certainly lives down to its reputation. The story of a popstar, on the rebound, asking a stranger to marry her is both dumb and unfunny. Jennifer Lopez is horrible in the lead role. Since her outstanding debut feature, A Girl Walks Home at Night, director Ana Lily Armirpour has done nothing and the supernatural fantasy Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon is a new low. Messy, overlong, it is all style and no substance.
Ratings out of 10:
Murder at Yell0wstone City: 4
Marry Me: 2.5
Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon: 2