Time for a round up on new films that I have seen at home this month. Starting with those that can be rented on the usual services:
One Ranger
Thomas Jane stars as a Texas Ranger who is recruited by British intelligence to help them to track down and stop a dangerous terrorist from attacking London. This had real potential to be a good fish out of water, Brannigan style, thriller but writer/director Jesse V. Johnson never makes the most of that scenario, despite some reasonably well staged action sequences.
Dominique Tipper is fine as Jennifer Smith, the MI6 agent and a gruff Jane is perfect for the part but the reason for him being brought on board is not convincing. John Malkovich embarrassingly appears in a few scenes as Smith’s boss. Instead of employing an English accent, he tries to disguise his American accent by talking without breathing, running all his words together!
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
Pretty Red Dress
A South London family is tested to their limit when Travis (Natey Jones) is released from jail and returns to his South London home he shares with his partner Candice (Alexandra Burke) and daughter Kenisha (Temilola Olatunbosun). The depiction of Travis’ struggle to quell his anger issues and his relationship with his family has an air of authenticity. Kenisha’s attempts to fit in at school are also well written by Dionne Edwards, who also directs efficiently enough.
Unfortunately, the main plotline of Travis’ cross-dressing does not ring true at all. It feels like Edwards watched Dana International on Eurovision and her research ended there. The images of a bearded Travis walking down the street in women’s clothes jars with the realism established earlier in the film. Additionally, whilst Burke is excellent but her subplot of auditioning for the role of Tina Turner feels like it is there only to provide Travis with the impulse to put her red dress on.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Now for three British films that promised a lot but did not quite fully deliver:
Love Without Walls
This British drama, from writer/director Jane Gull, centres on a couple, Paul (Niall McNamee) and Sophie (Shana Swash) who are made suddenly homeless. The first two thirds of this film is gut-wrenching and all too believable. We see how easy it could be to become homeless as events spiral out of control for the couple. However, the realism disappears later on, with Paul being held captive and forced to work and fight. The religious overtones of the ending also sit pretty uneasily.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Medusa Deluxe
Medusa Deluxe starts just after one of the contestants is found dead and scalped backstage at a competitive hairdressing contest. From there, we see the other competitors, models and security guards speculate on who the killer is and reveal more about their relationships.
This is made with a real verve by director Thomas Hardiman, often using long, slow takes as we follow one of the characters along the maze of corridors at the venue. Hardiman’s script is not so impressive though, lacking focus with too much time spent on a drug selling subplot and an unsatisfactory ending. Of the ensemble cast, Darrell D’Silva as the event organiser and Harriet Webb as a veteran competitor stand out.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Over on Sky Movies:
Best Man
Mercenaries seize control of a remote resort hotel during a wedding and it’s up to the best man (Brendan Fehr), the groom (Owen Wilson) and their drunken best friend (Dolph Lundgren) to stop the terrorists and save the hostages. This is quite a neat set up and once we get to the action it works well. The build up is a little slow though.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Next Exit
Rose (Katie Parker) and Teddy (Rahul Kohli) are strangers living unfulfilled lives. When they both decide to take part in a medical experiment they find themselves having to share a car in a road trip across the U.S. Parker and Kohli are great together, sparking off each other, delivering some funny dialogue. Unfortunately when it is not just the two of them on screen, the film flags badly.
Rating: 5 out of 10
Wifelike
When artificial human Meredith (Elena Kampouris) is assigned as a companion to grieving widower William (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), she is designed to behave like his late wife. But in the fight to end AI exploitation, an organization attempts to sabotage her programming. I found this tiresome stuff, very bleak looking with uninterested performances and a story that is way too familiar.
Rating: 3 out of 10
Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves
This fantasy heist comedy film, based on the successful role-playing board game, stars Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez. It is directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, who co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Gilio from a story by Chris McKay and Gilio. There are sequences when it seems that the film tries to stick close to the style of the game and those felt rather clunky to me. The comedy moments worked better, especially when Hugh Grant is on screen, and Sophia Lillis adds some heart. However, it is overlong and crammed with way too much plot.
Rating: 4.5 out of 10
Agent Game
The set up for Agent Game seems simple enough: a CIA officer finds himself the target of a rendition operation after being scapegoated for the death of an interrogation subject. However, the story is structured in a needlessly complicated way and a lot of it is shot in darkness, making it a real patience tester. A waste of a talented cast that includes Dermot Mulroney and Jason Isaacs.
Rating: 4 out of 10
The Locksmith
Ryan Phillippe stars as Miller Graham, a thief just out of prison and determined to win back the trust of his ex partner and their daughter. This is strictly by the numbers stuff, with predictable crosses/double crosses and the requisite corrupt cops. It is well enough played to keep it watchable.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
Available on My5:
Memories of Murder
When two young women are attacked while camping, only one makes it out alive. Now, back at her parents’ island estate and suffering from amnesia, she searches for answers about what really happened. This felt very disjointed to begin with and I never became interested in what happened.
Rating: 3.5 out of 10
Who Killed our Father
Leila (Kirsten Comerford) wants to find out the identity of her biological father and sister. After she finds her father, he is killed and she embarks on a journey to find the killer and her sister. I found this supposed thriller extremely tedious, with zero suspense.
Rating: 3 out of 10
Vanished: Searching For My Daughter
Garcelle Beauvais stars as a black mother with two daughters, one of whom goes missing. She finds that the authorities and the media dismiss her child as a runaway while they focus on another missing girl, who just happens to be white. This is a very well plotted thriller until a rushed ending. The racial element adds an interesting layer too.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Finally, on Amazon Prime:
The Son
Florian Zeller directs this version of his own stage play, written by himself and Christopher Hampton. Hugh Jackman stars as Peter who has a busy and seemingly contented life with his partner Beth (Vanessa Kirby) and their baby. That is thrown into disarray when his ex-wife Kate (Laura Dern) turns up to tell him that their teenage son, Nicholas (Zen McGrath) has stopped going to school and is behaving in a distressing way. This is even more grim than Zeller’s previous film, The Father. Aside from one scene, every moment is filled with fraught melodrama. The performances are all good but the more time spent with each character, the less I liked them.
Rating: 5 out of 10
Robots
In 2032 advanced robotics have enabled humanity to use lifelike androids to act as servants and perform manual tasks, Elaine (Shailene Woodley) and Charles (Jake Whitehall) use android doubles of themselves to avoid the time constraints of dating. However, when the imposters realise that they are actually falling in love, they steal the identities of their owners and go on the run. This is uneven stuff. It starts really sluggishly, becomes quite entertaining before fizzling out. What remains constant, though, is another terrific performance by Woodley in what turns out to be a triple role.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
Chantilly Bridge
This is director Linda Yellen’s sequel to her 1993 film Chantilly Lace. Most of the original cast including Talia Shire, Lindsey Crouse, Helen Slater, Jill Eikenberry return to show what has happened to their characters over the last 30 years. Fans of the original will be delighted and all of the cast are pretty good, but I found it overly mawkish.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
Red, White and Royal Blue
When the feud between the son of the American President and Britain’s prince threatens to drive a wedge in U.S./British relations, the two are forced into a staged truce that sparks something deeper. The subject matter could have made for something compelling but this is embarrassing stuff. Cringeworthy dialogue and bad acting abound.
Rating: 1.5 out of 10