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This weekend there are five new films out for you to choose from: action in Suicide Squad, a Welsh thriller in Y Llyfrgell (aka The Suicide Library), French farce in Up For Love, Japanese sweet drama in Sweet Bean, and a heart-warming drama in The Carer.
Suicide Squad is a task force comprised of super villains, created by a secret government agency run by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), named A.R.G.U.S.They are assigned to execute dangerous tasks in exchange for shorter prison sentences.
So, it’s a bit like that series Breakout Kings, which ran for two seasons and ended on a cliffhanger. Because it was cancelled. Because no-one watched it. So you probably haven’t heard of the TV series I’m wishing was still running.
The film stars Jared Leto as The Joker, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, Cara Delevingne (why?) as Enchantress, Ben Affleck as Batman, Will Smith as Deadshot, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flagg, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc, Jay Hernandez as El Diablo, Adam Beach as Slipknot, plus Common and Scott Eastwood, but the dominating force is still Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn.
The film picks up right after Batman V Superman and, thankfully, this film will be an uncut 15-certificate.
The critics haven’t liked this, but the way I see it: Metro didn’t like X-Men Apocalypse. I did. Metro loved Ghostbusters (III). I hated it. So, since they don’t like this….
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Y Llyfrgell (The Suicide Library)
When famous author Elena Wdig commits suicide, her twin daughters, librarians Nan and Ana, are lost without her. Elena’s final words suggest that her biographer, Eben, murdered her. One night, the twins set off to avenge their mother’s death at the National Library of Wales, but are disrupted by night porter Dan, who is unwillingly caught up in the saga.
Directed by award winning, and frequent, Doctor Who helmer Euros Lyn, and based on Fflur Dafydd’s bestselling novel, this offbeat thriller explores the secrets and lies at the heart of storytelling, and asks who has the right to tell the story…
The cast includes Sharon Morgan, Dyfan Dwyfor, Carwyn Glyn, Ryland Teifi and Catrin Stewart as both Ana & Nan, and despite Catrin actually being a twin, she plays both roles of the sisters in this film.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Up For Love is a romantic comedy centred around Diane (Virginie Efira) a well-known lawyer who has been divorced for three years. She loses her mobile telephone and receives a call from the person who finds it. That person is Alexandre (Jean Dujardin), a charming man and the perfect gentleman. They make a connection over the phone and agree to meet up the following day. But when he arrives, there’s a surprise in store when she discovers he is only 4′ 6″ tall. From that moment on, Diane tries to overcome the prejudices of society and her own fears to experience the best time of her life…
Also starring Cédric Kahn and Stéphanie Papanian, Jean Dujardin is normally 6ft tall, so digital trickery has been used to make him shorter and it looks like it could be pretty good.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Sweet Bean (aka An)
The manager of a pancake stall finds himself confronted with an odd but sympathetic elderly woman looking for work. A taste of her homemade bean jelly convinces him to hire her, which starts a relationship that is about much more than just street food.
Starring Kirin Kiki, Masatoshi Nagase and Kyara Uchida, this looks like quite a sweet (pun not intended) tale, so I definitely want to check this out.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
The Carer stars Coco König as Dorottya, a young Hungarian actress with a burning desire: to make it on the English stage. Legendary actor Sir Michael Gifford (Brian Cox) suffers from an incurable disease, and has one desire: be left alone. When Dorottya becomes his carer they both hope their wish will be fulfilled.
Also starring Anna Chancellor, Emilia Fox and Roger Moore as himself, I didn’t think a lot of the premise initially, but then it grew on me as it went on.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.