The grim family drama, The Humans offers some affecting insights into the human condition but in its attempt to capture the messiness of families, it feels more like a collection of idea fragments than a coherent story. The film sees the Blake family, father Erik (Richard Jenkins), mother Deidre (Jayne Houdyshell), Erik’s wheelchair-bound mother, Momo (June Squibb) who is suffering
Read moreSome might have deduced from the movie poster – which features individual shots of the large, sharply dressed ensemble cast – that quirky murder mystery comedy, See How They Run is a homage to Agatha Christie’s whodunnits. This very likeable, if slightly tepid film is actually based around Christie’s phenomenally long-running play The Mousetrap. Set in London in 1953, the
Read moreBefore it makes a bizarre misstep in its finale, Fall effectively mixes vertiginous Cliff-hanger-like ‘dangling over the edge’ thriller with a ‘young woman exorcising personal demons through physical ordeal’ drama reminiscent of the Reece Witherspoon film Wild and the Blake Lively film The Shallows. In the old ‘establish the emotional baggage’ sequence, our sensitive yet ballsy rock climbing heroine Becky (Grace
Read moreThe inevitable challenge for any film sequel is to live up to the expectations raised by the original. When that sequel arrives many years after the first film, so that the original has come to be seen as a minor classic or at least a childhood favourite, the sequel’s task is that much tougher. This is one of the problems
Read moreBodies, Bodies, Bodies is an occasionally clever but mostly annoying, collision of whodunit thriller and millennial culture making it a cacophony of catchphrases and social media references occasionally interspersed by killings. The film employs the familiar set up of a group of friends – in this case mostly loud, obnoxious, twenty-something rich kids – converging on a sprawling mansion for
Read moreThe sensitive, charming but still gritty Irish film, The Quiet Girl (which is spoken almost entirely in Irish Gaelic) will no doubt prove to be a favourite for some filmgoers this year. It shows that a tearjerker can still be a credible and genuinely affecting drama. In her first film role, 12- year-old Catherine Clinch stars as Cait, the neglected
Read more