Thriller

WELCOME TO CURIOSITY

Cert 15 94mins Stars 1

There’s nothing inviting in this drab, tawdry and all round rubbish low budget British thriller.

Set in the fictional Cornish town of Curiosity, an escaped psychiatric patient and the heist of £6million draws various unconnected characters together with grim violence.

Cardboard characters wander through scenes devoid of visual interest, in a landscape dotted with vague bits of Americana, nods to the original intention to set the film in the US.

Former rapper and now Eastenders regular, Richard Blackwood is wholly unconvincing as a gangster. The rest of the cast such as Jack Ashton and Amrita Acharia will be familiar from Call The Midwife and games of Thrones.

They all deserve better than the lumpen and flavourless dialogue they’re asked to chew on.

The director has swallowed the ideas of far more talented people such as Quentin Tarantino and the Coen brothers and regurgitated them in a messy puddle, sadly with none of the colour or violent surprise this implies.

 

ALLURE

Cert 18 104mins Stars 2

Obsession and abuse leave a lot to be desired in this anguished, unconvincing and unsatisfactory low key thriller.

Intended as a character portrait, this is a kidnap story with more sympathy for the perpetrator than its victim.

Laura is a troubled house-cleaner who pursues a transgressive relationship with the under-age teen daughter of a client.

Most recently seen in TV’s Westworld, Evan Rachel Wood is impressively raw in the central role as the thirtysomething who struggles to control her manipulative and self-destructive impulses, the consequence of a traumatic early life.

However this also has repercussion for the impressionable object of her desires, the waif-like and angst ridden teenager, Eva, played with a tremulous efficiency by Julia Sarah Stone.

For debutant directors Carlos and Jason Sanchez this is an extension of their supposedly subversive and provocative career in fine art. Instead we have overwrought underpowered drama which lacks a moral or political position and I struggled to find anything to love about it.

BREAKING IN

Cert 15 88mins Stars 3

There’s one bad mother on the loose in this brisk and effective home invasion thriller.

When her kids are taken hostage in her own luxurious, remote and hi-tech fortified mansion, an ordinary mum has to break in to try and rescue them.

There aren’t many black female fortysomethings given the opportunity to reinvent themselves as an action star.

Gabrielle Union seizes the moment with two fists, carrying the movie as the resourceful, brave and desperate parent.

Meanwhile the four armed and ruthless criminals inside are seeking the millions in cash they believe is locked in a secret safe.

Intent on squeezing out as much action as possible from the limited location, the script doesn’t dwell on the social commentary inherent in having a black family terrorised by white guys in pursuit of cash.

And although it feels as if some gory elements have been edited out of the more brutal moments, Breaking In will smash and grab your attention.

 

REVENGE

Cert 18 108mins Stars 5

Guns, drugs and sex are a gut wrenching  mix in this visceral rape revenge thriller.

From the blistering opening to the blood drenched finale, it bakes us in the glare of its searing confidence.

Marrakesh landscape is unforgivingly harsh as the action, which is fuelled by the gutsy performance of Matilda Lutz as Jennifer.

As the mistress of a married family man, she experiences the full spectrum of toxic entitlement and misogyny when his two armed assistants unexpectedly turn up at their remote luxury hunting lodge.

Wealthy and handsome, Kevin Janssens is full of physical premier league arrogance as her prime tormentor as Jennifer faces a desperate fight for survival.

With the symbolic  bite of an apple we’re metaphorically moved into the realm of fable. This allows us to forgive the more outlandish plotting and outrageous physical punishment, to embrace its core message of female emancipation. 

This delirious experience is probably the film Quentin Tarantino dreams of making next.

RED SPARROW

Cert 15 139mins Stars 4

Jennifer Lawrence has her wings clipped by spies, seduction and sexual slavery in this hard hitting thriller with a heavy edge of political comment.

As Dominika she’s a former prima ballerina for the Bolshoi ballet who is recruited by the Russian secret service to seduce foreign agents.

Following her role as a persecuted housewife in last years bonkers art-house fantasy, Mother!, this is another punishing role as an abused woman forLawrence.

Reunited with her Hunger Games director, Francis Lawrence, it’s another tale of a young women coerced by a dictatorial state for a nefarious purpose.

Under Charlotte Rampling’s stern tutorship, Dominika is dehumanised, re-educated and programmed to thrill the enemy.

Graduating as a professional seductress, known as Sparrows, she’s sent to Budapest to hook up with a CIA operative in order to identify an American mole in Moscow.

The earnestly dull Joel Edgerton is our man in the CIA, and the always dull Matthias Schoenaerts plays Dominika’s handler. He’s amusingly made up to resemble Vladimir Putin.

Though handsomely staged on location, this dark tale of manipulation, deception and betrayal is an unapologetically arduous experience, smuggled into cinemas disguised as a glossy blockbuster.

Telling the story is told from the Soviet spies’ point of view, this is a highly critical spin on 007’s From Russia With Love. Far from enjoying a swinging satin sheeted romp with Sean Connery, Dominika’s mission involves a more realistic experience of espionage.

She’s humiliated, abused and raped, all at the behest of powerful and much older men, who are her mentors and supposed protectors.

It’s hard not to read this as a damning critique of Hollywood and a metaphor for an actresses life in the sex scandal environment prior to the #metoo campaign.

We’re supposed to find this superbly crafted film an uneasy watch, and it will disappoint anyone looking for a conscience-free fun time.

PHANTOM THREAD

Cert 15 130mins Stars 5

Prepare to be tied up in knots by the exquisite and twisted pleasures of this remarkable period melodrama.

Incurable bachelor Reynolds Woodcock is a 1950’s fashion designer to the super wealthy, who begins a poisonously passionate relationship with his latest young muse, Alma. 

Daniel Day-Lewis and Vicky Krieps are mesmerising, and their on-screen romance is refereed with arch imperiousness by Lesley Manville as Reynolds’ spinster sister. 

She’s deservedly Oscar nominated alongside Day-Lewis, but it’s a staggeringly unfair oversight the equally impressive Krieps hasn’t been recognised by the Academy.

The timing of Day-Lewis’ run to another possible Oscar for best actor, is as immaculate and precise as the fabulous dresses created by his character. It would be a record-breaking fourth victory.

A dapper and cruel monster of seductive grace and charm, Reynolds is capable of making the audience leap from their seats when he barks.

It’s a voice with lisping echoes of James Mason, the Brit actor who played the villain in Hitchcock’s North By North West and a predatory paedophile in Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita. Directors of huge influence here.

Reflecting Day-Lewis’ cadaverous appearance, there is no fat on this lean and sinuous affair which is far removed from cuddly Sunday night TV drama. It’s a shocking and intense tale of obsession, with alarming moments of humour.

Paul Thomas Anderson steered Day-Lewis to Oscar success in 2007’s oil epic, There Will Be Blood. He’s nominated for best director and picture, among six in total for his film.

Moving from the chilly north Yorkshire moors to the hard London interiors, Anderson fashions a world of stylish fetish and embroiders it in the manner of Alfred Hitchcock.

This disguises it’s macabre underpinning which is revealed with an outrageous final flourish.

I take Day-Lewis’ announcement of retirement with a large dose of salt, and as with all great divas he’s left me clamouring for more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

FLATLINERS (2017)

Cert 15 Stars 1

Way back in the summer of 1990 and flush from the mega success of Pretty Woman which made her a global name, Julia Roberts starred in a horror about medical students who experiment in life after death.

This laughably poor and lifeless remake sees Ellen Page struggling to inject some vitality into a brain dead script while everyone tries to keep a straight face.

McMafia star James Norton fronts out his embarrassment at being involved, and Keifer Sutherland has the dubious distinction of appearing in both versions.

This is dead on arrival.

ATTRACTION

Cert 12A 117mins Stars 3

There’s a breathless lack of subtlety in this teen sci-fi romance which sees a high school girl have a close encounter in down town Moscow.

Riffing on Romeo and Juliet, star crossed lovers see their worlds collide when a giant alien spaceship is shot down.

Russian TV star Irina Starshenbaum makes her big screen debut as our heroine Yulia, and Rinal Mukhametov plays the alien object of her affections.

Yulia is sweet, sarcastic and sparky, almost singlehandedly giving life to a startlingly unoriginal script. She’s also considerably sharper than her father, the much put upon colonel in charge of protecting civilians from aliens, and vice versa.

The poor bloke is on much surer ground dealing with the potential destruction of planet Earth than teenage hormones. 

An innovative production method maximises the minimal budget, providing decent CGI for a fraction of the usual Hollywood cost. Along Yulia’s fresh faced energy, they’re the biggest selling point of this big screen attraction.

 

ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD

Cert 15 132mins Stars 5

Director Ridley Scott has made his Citizen Kane with this exceptional real life kidnap thriller.

Orson Welles’ 1941 masterpiece was a scorching evisceration of the soul-rotting nature of obscene wealth. And Scott follows in the maestro’s footsteps with this fascinating and enthralling portrait of oil magnate, J. Paul Getty.

When his grandson is kidnapped in Italy, the wealthiest man in the world refuses to pay the $17m ransom, a staggering sum in 1973. This leaves Getty’s estranged and penniless former daughter-in-law to try and negotiate her son’s release.

Michelle Williams is terrific as Gail and deservedly receives top billing.

Adverse headlines were generated when original star Kevin Spacey became embroiled in the Hollywood sexual assault scandal. Even though filming had finished, his part was hurriedly and successfully reshot with the veteran Christopher Plummer replacing him in the role of Getty.

And it’s impossible to imagine Spacey could have been better than Plummer, who delivers a monstrous and intriguingly sympathetic figure.

It’s also important to not to underestimate the strength of Mark Wahlberg’s performance as a former CIA operative, employed by Getty to assist Gail.

Fittingly there is Rolls Royce craftsmanship in all departments, and we’re swept elegantly along by Scott’s accomplished driving of the story.

He confidently sculpts a typically fabulous visual texture as he moves fluidly from the US to Africa and Europe.

There’s a fist in the mouth ear cutting scene to rival the infamous one from Quentin Tarrantino’s Reservoir Dogs. And Scott has the confidence to slow the pace to create tension as the tock clicks down.

Scott, Plummer and Williams have all received prestigious Golden Globe nominations and a run to the Academy Awards is in their sights. Scott may go one better than Welles and win a long coveted and deserved best director Oscar, and that’s something all the money in the world can’t buy.

 

 

MOLLY’S GAME

Cert 15 140mins Stars 4

Aces actress Jessica Chastain goes all in and comes up trumps in this terrific poker playing biopic.

This is practically Goodfellas for the girls, a super glossy, high tempo character driven drama, stacked with high stakes all-night card games, drugs, alcohol, violence and the Russian mob.

The real life Molly Bloom was an Olympic standard skier who postponed a law degree at Harvard to spend a year relaxing in the Los Angeles sunshine.

Soon she’s running big money card games in LA and New York for the super rich and famous. Always under-estimated by men due to her lip gloss and low cut tops, the knowingly glamorous Molly uses her wits to exploit men’s stupidity and amass a fortune.

But the FBI arrest her and she’s forced to make a choice between integrity and freedom. 

Bang at the centre is yet another terrific performances from the mesmerising star of Miss Sloane, Zero Dark Thirty and more.

Chastain users her ferocious charisma and dynamite talent to deliver a performance of nuclear articulacy. She should just be given this year’s best actress Oscar and be done with it.

The script by director Aaron Sorkin, writer of TV’s The West Wing, provides her with a stream of acidly comic lines which she fires off with self amused detachment. He also directs with dynamism and takes every opportunity to point out how misogyny fixes the odds in powerful mens’ favour.

Just as in Sorkin’s biopic of tech guru Steve Jobs, the emotional weight of the story rests on a parent/child relationship. However it’s disappointing this strong and independent women is defined by a relationship, and not allowed to succeed or fail without reference to a significant other. 

Supporting players Kevin Costner and Idris Elba just about manage to stay in the game, but it’s Chastain who holds all the cards.