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This week, there are TEN new films out for you to choose from: Margot Robbie stars in Terminal – one of those films which looks very weird but amazing, Steve Coogan and Paul Rudd are a gay couple who look to set up an Ideal Home, Natalie Dormer plays a blind musician in In Darkness, prequelitis comes to the cinema with The First Purge, Whitney is the second major documentary in two years to tell the tragic life story of Whitney Houston, Swimming with Men means it’s time for the swimming pool version of The Full Monty, there’s latex and lame jokes in Uncle Drew, the Frankenstein legend is revisited in Mary Shelley, there’s British drama in The More You Ignore Me, and lazy kids CGI in Flying The Nest.
Terminal is set in the dark heart of a sprawling, anonymous city, and follows the twisting tales of two assassins carrying out a sinister mission: a teacher battling a fatal illness, an enigmatic janitor and a curious waitress leading a dangerous double life.
Murderous consequences unravel in the dead of night as their lives all intertwine at the hands of a mysterious criminal mastermind hell-bent on revenge.
Based on the trailers, below, I’m in two minds as to how this film could go, but I’ll certainly be chedking it out. Either way, it has a decent cast, led by Margot Robbie (I, Tonya), backed up by Simon Pegg (Mission Impossible: Fallout, Star Trek Beyond), Max Irons (Tutankhamun, The Riot Club), Dexter Fletcher (Eat Locals, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) and Mike Myers (Austin Powers, Wayne’s World).
Terminal is getting a limited release in cinemas, but will be out on Blu-ray and DVD on August 6th, so you don’t have long to wait.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Ideal Home
Steve Coogan and Paul Rudd star as Erasmus and Paul, a bickering gay couple whose life is turned inside out when a ten-year old boy shows up at their door claiming to be Erasmus’ grandson. Neither Paul, nor Erasmus, are ready to give up their extravagant lifestyles to be parents, but maybe this little kid has a thing or two to teach them about the value of family.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Read the review!
In Darkness centres around blind musician Sofia (Natalie Dormer), who hears a murder committed in the apartment upstairs from her’s, which sends her down a dark path into London’s gritty criminal underworld.
It looks like one of those thrillers which puts style over substance, but then again, it’s like a film where everyone taking part is certainly enjoying themselves making it, especially Neil Maskell, best known for Channel 4’s Utopia, and it also features Emily Ratajkowski best known as one of the models in Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines video.
I’m very much looking forward to checking this out.
Director: Anthony Byrne
Writers: Anthony Byrne, Natalie Dormer
Also stars: Ed Skrein, Joely Richardson, James Cosmo, Kim Adis, Jan Bijvoet, Amber Anderson
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
The First Purge is, as it sounds, a prequel that focuses on the events which lead up to the very first Purge event.
Personally, I’ve only seen the first movie – since this is the fourth, after the 2014 sequel The Purge: Anarchy and 2016’s The Purge: Election Year, but once again, James DeMonacco returns to write the screenplay.
The first one wasn’t great, and I really should catch up with them, but from clips I’ve seen, they all look quite samey. That said, it’s down to the power of marketing, that while only the first saw the light of cinemas beforehand, if you want to get the fourth film in a dying franchise into the cinema, reboot and plug it like hell!
Director: Gerard McMurray
Also stars: Lex Scott Davis , Luna Lauren Velez, Melonie Diaz, Patch Darragh, Mo McRae, Steve Harris
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Maybe!
Whitney is said to be the intimate, definitive account of the superstar’s life and career, authored by renowned Oscar-winning filmmaker Kevin Macdonald. The only film officially supported by the late singer’s estate, it includes previously unreleased recordings, rare never-before-seen footage and live performances recorded by Houston at various stages of her life, as well as original studio recordings and acapellas of some of the late singer’s greatest hits. Because the filmmakers had access to vast archives of the Houston estate, the film also contains personal home movie footage that has never been seen publicly before, offering a rare glimpse of Whitney’s life behind-the-scenes as known only to her closest relatives, friends and collaborators.
I’m really looking forward to this after having also seen Whitney: Can I Be Me?.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Swimming with Men means it’s time for the swimming pool version of The Full Monty, although it’s only a 12A so it’ll be a lot more family-friendly. Judging from the trailer and a clip I’ve seen, this feelgood comedy looks like it could be pretty decent, even if the title does sound more like a gay drama.
Director: Oliver Parker
Stars: Rob Brydon, Charlotte Riley, Rupert Graves, Jim Carter, Daniel Mays, Nathaniel Parker, Thomas Turgoose, Jane Horrocks, Peter Coe, Adfeel Akhtar, Steve Carroll
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Maybe!
Uncle Drew centres around an apparent basketball legend from years gone by, portrayed by NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving who, prior to this, I’d never heard of since it’s not my sport.
After draining his life savings to enter a team in the Rucker Classic street ball tournament in Harlem, Dax (Lil Rel Howery) is dealt a series of unfortunate setbacks, including losing his team to his longtime rival (Nick Kroll). Desperate to win the tournament and the cash prize, Dax stumbles upon the man, the myth, the legend… Uncle Drew, and convinces him to return to the court one more time.
The two men embark on a road trip to round up Drew’s old basketball squad (Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, Nate Robinson, Lisa Leslie) and prove that a group of septuagenarians can still win the big one.
This also follows on from – we’re told – a successful five years as a fan-favourite digital episodic series from Pepsi. Obviouly doing for comedy what Pepsi did for Michael Jackson’s hair, since it feels like it goes for every obvious trick in the book.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Miss!
Mary Shelley (Elle Fanning) wrote the hit horror novel Frankenstein, and this movie tells of the love affair between poet Percy Shelley (Douglas Booth) and 18-year-old Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, which resulted in Ms Shelley writing the story.
However, don’t expect any horror in this as it just looks like a bog-standard period, romantic drama.
Mary Shelley is released in the UK on July 6th.
Director: Haifaa Al-Mansour
Writers: Haifaa Al-Mansour, Emma Jensen
Also stars: Maisie Williams, Joanne Froggatt, Stephen Dillane, Bel Powley, Ben Hardy, Tom Sturridge, Hugh O’Conor
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Miss!
The More You Ignore Me is written by Jo Brand, who mentions she used to be a psychiatric nurse in every single interview she has ever had…
The plot is surmised as: Mental illness, Morrissey and guinea pigs. Sounds just as interesting…
Director: Keith English
Starring: Mark Addy, Sheridan Smith, Sally Phillips, Sheila Hancock, Jo Brand, Tom Davis, Ricky Tomlinson, Tony Way, Clive Mantle, Elizabeth Carling
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Miss!
Flying The Nest
A plover chick has not learned to fly when his family migrates in the fall. He must survive the arctic winter, vicious enemies and himself in order to be reunited with his beloved one next spring.
Despite the cast listed on IMDB, our release has a number of well-known British voices reading the lines. Doesn’t make it any better, though.
Director: Arni Asgeirsson
Starring: Jamie Oram, Harriet Perring, Iain Stuart Robertson, Richard Cotton, Thorunn Erna Clausen, Thomas Arnold
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.