Skip to content
This week, there are FOUR new films out for you to choose from, led by The Current War. Here are the titles, with more info below:The Current War
Horrible Histories: The Movie
Teen Spirit
The Intruder
The Current War is the epic story of the cutthroat competition between the greatest inventors of the industrial age over whose electrical system would power the new century. Backed by JP Morgan, Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) dazzles the world by lighting Manhattan. But George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon), aided by Nikola Tesla (Nicholas Hoult), has seen fatal flaws in Edison’s direct current design.
Igniting a war of currents, Westinghouse and Tesla bet everything on risky and dangerous alternating current…
The Current War is released in the UK on July 26th, but it’s a film which has been knocking around since 2017, ever since it was shown off at a number of festivals, and I can’t see why it’s taking so long to get released since it looks pretty good based on this trailer…. and you can’t beat a bit of BenCum!
Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Writer: Michael Mitnick
Also stars: Tom Holland, Katherine Waterston, Matthew Macfadyen, Tuppence Middleton
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Horrible Histories: The Movie makes its way to the big screen, albeit not for the first time as many of the cast also brought us the very entertaining 2015 Shakespeare comedy Bill, as well as the recent Ghosts on BBC1.
Roman teenager Atti (Sebastian Croft) is forced to join the Roman Army when one of his clever schemes falls foul of Emperor Nero. He is sent to “miserable, cold, wet Britain” where “the natives are revolting, quite literally”. Things go from bad to worse when Atti is captured by Orla (Emilia Jones), a feisty teenage Celt desperate to prove herself as a warrior. After narrowly avoiding a very sticky end in a bog, Atti uses his Roman know-how to help Orla save her grandma who’s been kidnapped by a rival tribe.
Meanwhile, a furious Nero (Craig Roberts) is determined to crush the rebellion, led by Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni (Kate Nash). Atti rejoins his Roman troops and discovers they are preparing for an historic showdown with the Celts at the Battle of Watling Street. Atti’s brains could save the day, but they could also spell disaster for Orla as the two new friends find themselves lined up on opposite sides of the battlefield.
Director: Dominic Brigstocke
Writers: Caroline Norris, Giles Pilbrow, Kevin Cecil, Andy Riley, Jessica Swale
Also stars: Kim Cattrall, Nick Frost, Derek Jacobi, Warwick Davis, Rupert Graves, Tony Way, Alex Macqueen, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Lee Mack, Lucy Montgomery, Tony Gardner, Ella Smith, Dominique Moore, Marek Larwood
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Teen Spirit stars Elle Fanning (Trumbo) as Violet, a shy teenager who dreams of escaping her small town and pursuing her passion to sing.
With the help of an unlikely mentor, she enters a local singing competition that will test her integrity, talent and ambition. Driven by a pop-fueled soundtrack, this (it says here) is a visceral and stylish spin on the Cinderella story.
Although Elle Fanning often does movies which feel a little different, this one feels very generic and substandard as she ends up being a huge pop star, and then realises she can’t handle the fame.
If it sounds like it’s for you, then you’ll see the lady sing songs from the likes of Arianna Grande, No Doubt, Annie Lennox, Alice Deejay and Ellie Goulding. I’m not in a rush.
Writer/Director: Max Minghella
Also stars: Rebecca Hall, Millie Brady, Elizabeth Berrington, Viktorija Faith, Zlatko Buric, Antonia Clarke, Stephen Boxer
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Maybe!
The Intruder is a psychological thriller which has similar echoes to 1990’s rather excellent Pacific Heights, starring Michael Keaton, but can ’90s nostalgia make this genre great again?
It centres around newly-married couple Scott Russell (Michael Ealy) and his wife, Annie (Meagan Good), who buy a beautiful Napa Valley house on several acres of land, only to find that the man they bought it from refuses to let go of the property.
At first seen in the trailer, former owner Charlie Peck (Dennis Quaid) is fine with letting go, but then he’s out mowing the lawn, and then coming back in the middle of the night…
Based on the trailer, this could go either way, so I hope it goes the right way.
I first saw Michael Ealy in the US drama Sleeper Cell, which was a fantastic drama and could really have done with a third season to tie off the loose ends, but it was cancelled and we’ll never see how it should’ve turned out.
The Intruder is released on May 3rd 2019 in the US, but as of yet there’s no UK date.
Director: Deon Taylor
Writer: David Loughery
Also stars: Joseph Sikora, Alvina August, Lili Sepe, Debs Howard, Lee Shorten
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Maybe!
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.