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This time, there are SIX new films out for you to choose from, led by Stan And Ollie. Here are the titles, with more info below:
- Stan And Ollie
The Front Runner
The House By The Sea
Uri: The Surgical Strike
Colette
The Upside
Stan and Ollie is a film with a trailer which almost had me in tears for giving me memories of the late, great Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.
I’ve always loved watching their short films, which generally last around 25 minutes, of which The Piano must rank as one of their all-time best movies. However, it’s been over ten years since the BBC showed them on a regular basis. They could fill afternoon slots quite easily and cheaply, but they choose not to. In addition, if they shoved these on BBC iPlayer, they’d have huge ratings!
Portrayed, respectively, by Steve Coogan (Alan Partridge) and John C Reilly (We Need To Talk About Kevin), this film purports to tell “the untold story” about the pair. It’s no secret that they got on each other’s nerves at times, and that happens with so many double acts.
This film centres around the due as they attempt to reignite their film careers, embarking as they embark on what becomes their swan song – a grueling theatre tour of post-World War II Britain.
With their golden era long behind them, the pair embark on a variety hall tour of Britain and Ireland. Despite the pressures of a hectic schedule, and with the support of their wives Lucille (Shirley Henderson) and Ida (Nina Arianda) – a formidable double act in their own right – the pair’s love of performing, as well as for each other, endures as they secure their place in the hearts of their adoring public.
Between the pair, Reilly has definitely had the latex added to suit as Hardy, but without the hat, Coogan doesn’t quite work as Laurel. Hopefully, it’ll all come together and I am really looking forward to it.
Stan and Ollie is out now and let’s hope it also prompts the BBC to do the decent thing!
Director: Jon S Baird
Writer: Jeff Pope
Also stars: Stephanie Hyam, Danny Huston, Rufus Jones, Susy Kane, Joseph Balderrama, Ella Kenion, Rebecca Yeo, Sanjeev Kohli
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
The Front Runner stars Hugh Jackman as American Senator Gary Hart, whose 1988 presidential campaign was a shoe-in until… he was caught in a scandalous love affair.
Good job that didn’t happen to Bill Clinton, eh?
Although I don’t know a huge amount about the story, since I was only 16 at the time and didn’t much care for Amerian politics back then, and that Hart is just a name from the past, this does look quite fascinating. Sometimes, it’s the stories or documentaries about people you’re not familiar with who end up being the most interesting.
Director: Jason Reitman
Also stars: Vera Farmiga, Sara Paxton, Kaitlyn Dever, Molly Ephraim, JK Simmons, Courtney Ford, Ari Graynor, Kevin Pollak, Bill Burr, Daniel Kang, Jennifer Landon, Chris Coy, Mike Judge, Josh Brener
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
The House by the Sea (aka La villa)
Sixty-year-old Angèle Barberini, an actress, returns to her father’s villa, situated in a beautiful creek near Marseille. She left the place twenty years before following a terrible trauma she experienced there, swearing never to come back. But now Maurice, her genitor, who has just been the victim of a stroke is persistent vegetative, with no hope of recovery and her presence is needed. Her two brothers, Joseph, an embittered retired worker, and Armand, the manager of the local restaurant, welcome her. They must look to the future and decide what measures to take concerning the villa and the restaurant. But the past, on the other hand, has its say.
Watching the trailer for this, part of it works, and part of it doesn’t, so I am split on whether this would be good, so it’s a…
Director: Robert Guédiguian
Writers: Robert Guédiguian, Serge Valletti
Stars: Ariane Ascaride, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Gérard Meylan
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Maybe!
Uri: The Surgical Strike is a film based on the true events of 2016, when Indian Army avenged a deadly terrorist attack by carrying out a surgical strike.
Based on the trailer, again, this is a film which falls between two stools, as it looks like an Americanised view of war, but applied to this Indian setting, so possibly a bit lazy in the making of the film, and one which could run on far too long at 138 minutes… but I could be wrong.
Writer/Director: Aditya Dhar
Stars: Vicky Kaushal, Kirti Kulhari, Yami Gautam
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Maybe!
The Upside tells a comedic look at the relationship between a wealthy paraplegic – Phillip (Bryan Cranston) – and an unemployed man with a criminal record who’s hired to help him, Dell (Kevin Hart).
However, while this is going for a drama style, and since it’s got Kevin Hart, the sheer inclusion of Hart makes me want to run a mile. It also looks like sickly sweet trash. It’s also a remake of the 2011 French film, Untouchable.
The Upside is clearly looking for BAFTA and Oscar nods. I hope it doesn’t get them.
Director: Neil Burger
Writer: Jon Hartmere
Original writer: Éric Toledano
Also stars: Nicole Kidman, Julianna Margulies, Tate Donovan, Golshifteh Farahani, Genevieve Angelson, Aja Naomi King
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Miss!
Colette is a film with a trailer that shows it’s getting a lot of plaudits, but… it looks dull as ditchwater.
After marrying a successful Parisian writer known commonly as “Willy” (Oi! Stop sniggering at the back!), played by Dominic West, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (Keira Knightley) is transplanted from her childhood home in rural France to the intellectual and artistic splendor of Paris. Soon after, Willy convinces Colette to ghostwrite for him.
She writes a semi-autobiographical novel about a witty and brazen country girl named Claudine, sparking a bestseller and a cultural sensation. After its success, Colette and Willy become the talk of Paris and their adventures inspire additional Claudine novels. Colette’s fight over creative ownership and gender roles drives her to overcome societal constraints, revolutionizing literature, fashion and sexual expression.
Director: Wash Westmoreland
Also stars: Eleanor Tomlinson, Fiona Shaw, Ray Panthaki, Aiysha Hart, Denise Gough, Robert Pugh, Masayoshi Haneda, Rebecca RootArabella Weir
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.