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This weekend there are six new films out for you to choose from: thriller in Survivor, comedy in Listen Up Philip and Spy, horror in Insidious Chapter 3, drama in Second Coming, and documentary in Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films.
Survivor stars Milla Jovovich as a State Department employee, newly posted to the American embassy in London, who is charged with stopping terrorists from getting into the USA.
That puts her right in the line of fire and she is targeted for death and framed for crimes. Discredited, she is forced to go on the run while she tries to clear her name and stop a large-scale terrorist attack set for New Year’s Eve in Times Square…
With Pierce Brosnan in a rare ‘baddie’ role, plus Emma Thompson, James D’Arcy, Dylan McDermott, Angela Bassett, Roger Rees, and the stunning Sabine Crossen, this looks like a fantastic thriller.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Listen Up Philip is a wonderful new comedy with a great cast including Jason Schwartzman, Elisabeth Moss and one of my all-time favourite actors, Jonathan Pryce.
Anger rages in Philip (Jason Schwartzman) as he awaits the publication of his second novel. He feels pushed out of his adopted home city by the constant crowds and noise, a deteriorating relationship with his photographer girlfriend Ashley (Elisabeth Moss), and his own indifference to promoting the novel. When Philip’s idol Ike Zimmerman (Jonathan Pryce) offers his isolated summer home as a refuge, he finally gets the peace and quiet to focus on his favorite subject: himself.
Also starring Krysten Ritter, Jess Weixler, Kate Lyn Sheil, Dree Hemingway, Joséphine de La Baume and Eric Bogosian, Listen Up Philip is also written and directed by Alex Ross Perry, and hasn’t yet got a release date anywhere but I hope we get it in the UK soon as it looks fantastic.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Spy stars Melissa McCarthy as Susan Cooper, an unassuming, deskbound CIA analyst, and the unsung hero behind the Agency’s most dangerous missions. But when her partner falls off the grid and another top agent is compromised, she volunteers to go deep undercover to infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer, and prevent a global disaster.
The film also stars Jude Law, Allison Janney, Rose Byrne, Jason Statham, Morena Baccarin, Bobby Cannavale, Peter Serafinowicz and 50 Cent, but while the trailer started off well, it soon began to sink when I saw it came from the directorial reins of Paul Feig, responsibile for chick flick comedies Bridesmaids and The Heat, which look appalling and are not my bag at all. And then, to add insult to injury, Miranda Hart popped up. Oh dear…
However, after seeing the trailer a few more times since, in the cinema, this is erring just about on the side of…
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Insidious Chapter 3 is a prequel set before the haunting of the Lambert family that reveals how gifted psychic Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) reluctantly agrees to use her ability to contact the dead in order to help a teenage girl who has been targeted by a dangerous supernatural entity.
Also starring Dermot Mulroney, Stefanie Scott, Angus Sampson and Leigh Whannell, the latter directs this time, having taken over from James Wan, who still retains a role as producer.
Personally, I really enjoyed the first film, and haven’t yet seen No.2, but as this is a prequel, there should hopefully be no spoilers. I guess I should see the second one before this, however.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Second Coming marks the directorial feature-length debut for acclaimed playwright Debbie Tucker Green.
Jackie (Nadine Marshall) is expecting her second child but the maths doesn’t quite add up. It’s been months since she last slept with her husband Mark (Idris Elba), so she knows it can’t be his. But she also knows she hasn’t been with anyone else.
Prior to Jackie’s discovery, she, Mark and son JJ (Kai Francis-Lewis) are a close-knit middle-class family living in London. And then comes Jackie’s seemingly immaculate conception. Afraid of Mark’s reaction, she says nothing. But she knows it’s only a matter of time until she can’t conceal the truth any more.
As the child inside her starts to grow, so does everyone’s concern for her state of mind, until it’s not only the father of the child that is in question, but Jackie’s sanity as well.
Although I wasn’t sure based on the trailer, the film has had good reviews and I am intrigued by it. I’ll be seeing it soon, but in the meantime I’m going to say it’s a….
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
A documentary about Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus – two movie-obsessed cousins whose passion for cinema changed the way movies were made and marketed – and the tale of how this passion ultimately led to the demise of the company they built together.
There’s chat from many big movie names including John G Avildsen, Catherine Mary Stewart, Avi Lerner, Robert Forster, Tobe Hooper, Sylvia Kristel, Michael Winner, Marina Sirtis, Franco Nero, Bo Derek, Elliott Gould, Olivia d’Abo, Charles Bronson, Michael Dudikoff, Chuck Norris, Leonard Maltin, Franco Zeffirelli, Molly Ringwald, Barbet Schroeder, Roger Ebert, Cassandra Peterson and Dolph Lundgren.
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.