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This week, there are SEVEN new films out for you to choose from: horror strikes for Liv Tyler in Wildling, Shirley Henderson portrays a mother who struggles with advanced Parkinson’s disease in Never Steady, Never Still, there’s supernatural romance in Every Day, Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland go on an RV adventure in The Leisure Seeker, Juliette Binoche attempts to find love in Let the Sunshine In, Maxine Peake tries stand-up comedy in Funny Cow, and what looks like the worst film of the year with The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
Wildling centres around Anna (Bel Powley – Detour), a teenager who spends her entire childhood under the care of a mysterious man she only knows as Daddy. He keeps her locked in an attic making her fear the Wildling, a child-eating monster that roams the outside.
At age 16, Anna is freed by small-town sheriff Ellen Cooper (Liv Tyler) who helps her start a new life as a normal teenager. But as Anna’s body begins to blossom, her childhood nightmares return with a vengeance, leading to the conclusion of a terrifying secret…
Wilding looks like a decent horror flick and the best of the week’s new releases, although the cinemas are basically filling time between last week’s Rampage and next week’s Avengers: Infinity War.
Director: Fritz Böhm
Writers: Fritz Böhm, Florian Eder
Also stars: Brad Dourif, James Le Gros, Mike Faist, Collin Kelly-Sordelet, Kelly Lamor Wilson
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Never Steady, Never Still
Shirley Henderson portrays a mother who struggles to take control of her life in the face of advanced Parkinson’s disease, while her son battles his sexual and emotional identity amongst the violence of Alberta’s oil field work camps.
In a 2-minute trailer, Ms Henderson manages to get across the extreme pain from the condition of Parkinson’s disease, and this looks like an absolute must-see.
Writer/Director: Kathleen Hepburn
Also stars: Théodore Pellerin, Mary Galloway
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Every Day
Based on David Levithan’s acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Every Day tells the story of Rhiannon (Angourie Rice – The Nice Guys), a 16-year old girl who falls in love with a mysterious soul named “A” who inhabits a different body every day (is this Quantum Leap?!).
Feeling an unmatched connection, Rhiannon and A work each day to find each other, not knowing what or who the next day will bring. The more the two fall in love, the more the realities of loving someone who is a different person every 24 hours takes a toll, leaving Rhiannon and “A” to face the hardest decision either has ever had to make.
I’m in two minds whether this looks like drippy nonsense, or whether there’s a supernatural angle that might just work…
Director: Michael Sucsy
Writers: Jesse Andrews (adaptation), David Levithan (novel)
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Maybe!
The Leisure Seeker
A runaway couple (Helen Mirren, Donald Sutherland) go on an unforgettable journey in the faithful old RV they call The Leisure Seeker, travelling from Boston to The Ernest Hemingway Home in Key West. They recapture their passion for life and their love for each other on a road trip that provides revelation and surprise right up to the very end.
Dealing with Alzheimer’s along the way, this looks to be not a bad little easy-going movie.
Director: Paolo Virzì
Also stars: Christian McKay, Janel Moloney, Dana Ivey
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Maybe!
Let the Sunshine In centres around Isabelle (Juliette Binoche), a Parisian artist, and a divorced mother, who is looking for love… true love at last.
Alas, this looks like a so-so romance, so I will pass.
Director: Claire Denis
Also stars: Xavier Beauvois, Philippe Katerine, Josiane Balasko, Sandrine Dumas, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Alex Descas
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Miss!
Funny Cow comes with the premise: a woman who has a funny bone for a backbone.
Meh. Maxine Peake is a good actress, but I wasn’t wowed by this. Just looked like everyone going throug the motions.
Also stars Stephen Graham, Paddy Considine, Alun Armstrong, Diane Morgan, Christine Bottomley, Adam Gillen, Hannah Walters, John Bishop, Vic Reeves, and the actor Kevin Eldon
Director: Adrian Shergold
Writer: Tony Pitts
Also stars: Stephen Graham, Paddy Considine, Alun Armstrong
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Miss!
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
A correspondence begins between Juliet Ashton (Lily James) and members of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, with them sharing their experiences of Nazi Occupied Guernsey. When an idea for a book catches Juliet she goes to visit the island, making lifelong friends and taking life changing steps along the way. This book is told by way of letters and as the reader, you become enchanted by the writers of them and the love Juliet comes to feel for each of the Islanders; Dawsey, Amelia, Isola, Eben, Kit and Elizabeth. A beautiful story of love, friendship and the sadness of friends lost…. it says here.
From the creators of the Exotic Marigold Hotel movies, to me, this looks dull as ditchwater.
Director: Mike Newell
Also stars: Matthew Goode, Jessica Brown Findlay, Michiel Huisman, Katherine Parkinson, Penelope Wilton, Tom Courtenay
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.