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This week, there are SIX new films out for you to choose from: Charlize Theron is a stressed-out mother in Tully, a horror movie outside of the Halloween period (which is becoming a regular thing) in The Strangers: Prey at Night, Studio Ghibli-style animation in Mary and The Witch’s Flower, Amy Schumer declares I Feel Pretty, horse-racing drama in Lean on Pete, and it’s not just how this last film looks, but Modern Life Is Rubbish.
Yes, this is mostly a filler week, inbetween the screens being dominated by Avengers: Infinity War and Deadpool 2.
Tully centres around… not quite Tully, but Marlo (Charlize Theron), a mother of three including a newborn, who is gifted a night nanny by her brother. Hesitant to the extravagance at first, she comes to form a unique bond with the thoughtful, surprising and sometimes challenging young nanny… and that’s where Tully (Mackenzie Davis) comes in.
Anything from director Jason Reitman can be hit or miss, and I wasn’t wowed by either the teaser or trailer.
Pre-order the DVD.
Screenplay: Diablo Cody
Also stars: Ron Livingston, Emily Haine, Marceline Hugot, Elaine Tan, Crystal Lonneberg
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Maybe!
The Strangers: Prey at Night
A family’s road trip takes a dangerous turn when they arrive at a secluded mobile home park to stay with some relatives and find it mysteriously deserted. Under the cover of darkness, three masked psychopaths pay them a visit to test the family’s every limit as they struggle to survive.
This looks pretty cool so I am looking forward to this.
Director: Johannes Roberts
Screenplay: Bryan Bertino, Ben Ketai
Stars: Christina Hendricks, Bailee Madison, Martin Henderson
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Mary and The Witch’s Flower
Pre-order the Blu-ray Steelbook.
Mary is an ordinary young girl stuck in the country with her Great-Aunt Charlotte and seemingly no adventures or friends in sight. She follows a mysterious cat into the nearby forest, where she discovers an old broomstick and the strange Fly-by-Night flower, a rare plant that blossoms only once every seven years and only in that forest. Together the flower and the broomstick whisk Mary above the clouds and far away to Endor College – a school of magic run by headmistress Madam Mumblechook and the brilliant Doctor Dee. But there are terrible things happening at the school, and, when Mary tells a lie, she must risk her life to try to set things right.
Based on Mary Stewart’s 1971 classic children’s book The Little Broomstick, this is an action-packed film full of jaw-dropping imaginative worlds, ingenious characters, and the stirring, heartfelt story of a young girl trying to find a place in the world. Featuring the voices of Ruby Barnhill and Academy Award-winners Kate Winslet and Jim Broadbent.
This isn’t my sort of thing, but if you like the animation of Studio Ghibli, it’s for you.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Miss!
I Feel Pretty sees Amy Schumer doing exactly what you expect Amy Schumer to do, in trying to find a movie style which Melissa McCarthy hasn’t yet attempted.
In this case, despite trying to lose weight at the gym, she falls off an exercise bike, bangs her head, and she believes a spell has suddenly made her gorgeous… except that to everyone else, she looks exactly the same. Because she is. However, her confidence suddenly sees her climbing the ranks at the cosmetics company she works for, getting the respect of her idol and boss, Avery LeClaire (Michelle Williams).
I can see how this will be seen as a positive thing in telling everyone that it’s not how you look that matters, but how confidence is a preference for the habitual voyeur of what is known as… Parklife!
I mean, it’s all about having faith in yourself. I could guess, as the billing states, that she’ll come round by the end, and realise exactly that.
Still, at least everything in the film is in the trailer, so save your money and just watch that! Actually, I’m glad I’ve started with the one I want to get out of the way.
Pre-order the Blu-ray.
Writers/Directors: Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein
Also stars: Emily Ratajkowski, Busy Philipps, Tom Hopper, Lauren Hutton, Aidy Bryant, Naomi Campbell
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Miss!
Lean on Pete
Charlie Plummer stars as a teenager who gets a summer job working for a horse trainer and befriends the fading racehorse, Lean on Pete.
Even with Steve Buscemi, this looks dull as ditchwater. Maybe one for Channel 5 on a Sunday afternoon when nothing else is on….
Pre-order the Blu-ray.
Writer/Director: Andrew Haigh
Novel: Willy Vlautin
Also stars: Travis Fimmel, Steve Zahn, Chloë Sevigny
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Miss!
Modern Life Is Rubbish
Brought together by their shared love of music, ten years on Liam and Natalie are at breaking point. In their case opposites attract but don’t necessarily work long-term. Making the difficult decision to separate, they must split their prized music library. But the sound track that defined their relationship keeps pulling them back together.
The trailer was putting me to sleep with this bog-standard dippy romance, so this film is rubbish…
Buy the DVD.
Director: Daniel Gill
Writer: Philip Gawthorne
Stars: Ian Hart, Daisy Bevan, Jessie Cave,Tom Riley, Sorcha Cusack, Steven Mackintosh, Will Merrick
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Miss!
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.