IN CINEMAS
SUMMERLAND
Acclaimed playwright Jessica Sawle first collaborated with Gemma Arterton on the stage with “Nell Gwynn”, originally written for the Shakespeare Globe before it transferred to the West End. Sawle now makes a remarkable directorial debut and her sophisticated screenplay provides Arterton with a gift of a part. She plays Alice, an eccentric writer living all alone on a remote cottage by the coastal cliffs of Kent. The time is World War II, but she is too busy researching for her new book on folklore to notice what is going on around her until Frank (Lucas Bond), a London evacuee is brought to her for adoption by the authorities. She reluctantly agrees to look after the boy for only a week until another family takes him. However, the boy’s presence forces her to re-examine her current predicament as well as exorcise demons from her past…
It is a gentle, lovely film exquisitely performed and sensitively directed. Arterton excels and so is Penelope Wilton as her older incarnation in the seventies, supported by the eclectic British cast that includes Tom Courtney and Sian Phillips. Arterton shares a lovely chemistry with Bond and most memorably with Gugu Mbatha-Raw in the graceful flashback sequences. It will warm your heart!
PROXIMA
A sensitive study of a mother/daughter relationship in the most extraordinary of circumstances intelligently directed by Alice Winocour.
Sarah (Eva Green) is a French astronaut chosen to be part of the crew for the “Proxima” year-long space mission but first she must complete a gruelling training in Russia. Inevitably this puts a lot of pressure on her relationship with her daughter Stella (Zelie Boulant)…
Winocour wisely takes her time in establishing the situation and building up her characters which pays dividends, especially in the climactic sequences. The acting is of the highest order – a superb Green strongly supported by the young Boulant and Matt Dillon as the American astronaut.
MAKE UP
Claire Oakley has deservedly won a nomination in the Best First Feature Competition at last year’s London Film Festival. Her remarkable debut is blessed with a luminous performance from Mollie Windsor as Ruth, a shy teenager visiting her childhood sweetheart Tom (Joseph Quinn), in a Cornish holiday camp. She soon begins to suspect that Tom is having an affair with a mysterious red head…
A gripping tale, assuredly directed and cleverly constructed.
100% WOLF
This endearing animation feature from Australia tells the story of Freddie Lupin, a precocious 8-year-old boy looking forward to following his father’s footsteps by becoming a werewolf. But 6 years later at his first “initiation” he is for a big surprise…
An original, unpredictable story told with fun and great energy. It boasts well executed set pieces and its characters are created with affection. Inventively directed by Alks Stadermann, who also provides the voice for the “fierce” dog Cerebrus. Perfect family entertainment!
INFAMOUS
A modern-day Bonnie and Clyde and a strong satire on obsession with fame and social media in this story of Arielle (Bella Thorne), a young woman desperate to leave her job at a diner and her dull life in a small Florida town behind for a better life. She finds the perfect accomplice when she meets Dean (Jake Manley) a recently paroled criminal and together they embark on a dangerous road adventure…
It is a fun ride thanks to its highly watchable leading actors but mysteriously it lacks tension and suspense.
PARASITE
Bong Joon Ho’s modern classic which recently won every award going including 4 Oscars is now back in the cinemas in a Black and White Edition. The first foreign film to win the Best Picture Academy Award is a masterpiece – a dark, social satire that develops into a nail-biting thriller in the best Hitchcock tradition is a must – the way Joon-Ho first envisaged the project. The crisp black and white edition may sound like a gimmick, but it really makes the dark climactic sequence look even creepier and more chilling.
DIGITAL DOWNLOADS & DVD RELEASES
TROLLS WORLD TOUR: Poppie (Anna Kendrick), the happiest Troll ever born is now Queen of Pop in this amicable sequel which brings back its bizarre characters. Poppie opens this musical animation singing her little heart out with her own rendition of “Trolls Just Wanna Have Fun” which highlights their perfect existence until they find out that their serenity is threatened by Barb, the Queen of Hard Rock…Similar to the original, again with vibrant rainbow colours, sugar coated and with a bouncy song in every five minutes which will give much pleasure to smaller children. (Blu-ray and DVD from Universal)
MR VAMPIRE: A wonderful cocktail blend of comedy with horror thrills for this highly influential 1985 adventure from Hong Kong’s Ricky Lau. The story of two students whose task to exhume a corpse for reburial goes disastrously wrong when the old man turns out to be a vampire…Imaginative action sequences beautifully choreographed with high acrobatics executed with humour and style. (Blu ray from Eureka Entertainment)
THE GOOD GIRLS: The ironic title of Alexandra Marquez Abella’s excellent film refers to the cream of Mexican socialites and focuses on a group of wealthy housewives whose husbands are on the verge of bankruptcy. The time is the 80’s, soldier pads are as big as their megalomaniac egos and the fragile façade of Sofia in particular (a terrific Ilse Salas) is about to collapse…Compelling and assuredly made (MUBI)
SPY INTERVENSION: This likable spy comedy tells the story of a top-secret agent who decides to give up his James Bond lifestyle for an ordinary existence and a marriage in suburbia. The odds are that he will be bored withing a year…It is a fun premise and watchable thanks to the attractive presence of its two protagonists but unfortunately the comedy fails to work. (iTunes, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Virgin Media, Sony)
LANDLESS: This significant documentary follows the Landless Workers Movement in Brazil throughout meetings, protests opposing agriculture poisoning and by occupying some land. Their desperation for change reminds THE GRAPES OF WRATH during America’s Great Depression and while the film may be preaching to the converted it is still a great document of Brazil’s current turbulent times. (MUBI)
