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This week, there are EIGHT new films out for you to choose from: action franchise reboot for Tom Cruise in The Mummy, a superb comedy from Woody Harrelson in Wilson, kidnap drama in Germany in Berlin Syndrome, Richard Gere is Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer, Josh Helman is Lenny McLean in My Name Is Lenny, a number of people can call upon My Cousin Rachel, Sam Worthington is a God-botherer in The Shack, and Marion Cotillard’s From the Land of the Moon was a laughing stock at Cannes.
The Mummy… yes, it doesn’t seem so long since that was last on the big screen but the first of three movies brought cheesy Brendan Fraser to the fore again in 2001, with the brilliant Arnold Vosloo as the baddie. Lately, Tom Cruise must be running out of stories to adapt, so now he’s having a crack at it.
In this tale, an ancient princess whose destiny was unjustly taken from her is awakened in our current day*, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia, and terrors that defy human comprehension…
(*Hey! This sounds like X-Men Apocalypse!)
Directed by Alex Kurtzman, from a script by Christopher McQuarrie (Mission Impossible Rogue Nation) and Jon Spaihts, and also starring Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson, Courtney B Vance and Russell Crowe as Dr. Henry Jekyll, the first response is for everyone to get in an uproar saying, “But Cruise is just remaking Mr Fraser’s movies!”, even though the concept of The Mummy, itself, has been around since time began.
However, this looks like it could make for a reasonable slice of hokum… and it can’t be worse than Jack Reacher: Never Go Back!
Also, it’s a 15-certificate! So, Universal haven’t cut it down to a 12A, like studios usually would – and like the aforementioned 2001 version was.
Oh, and did Tom Cruise perform that plane stunt all by himself? He usually does 😉
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Wilson is Woody Harrelson, portraying a lonely, neurotic and hilariously honest middle-aged man who irritates a lot of people, yet with his heart being in the right place, he reunites with his estranged wife (Laura Dern) after learning he has a teenage daughter (Isabella Amara) whom has never met. In his uniquely outrageous and slightly twisted way, he sets out to connect with her.
Directed by Craig Johnson, from a script by Daniel Clowes, based on his own graphic novel, I loved the look of this and can’t wait to see it.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Berlin Syndrome shows love doesn’t always go to plan since while holidaying in Berlin, Australian photojournalist, Clare (Teresa Palmer – Triple 9) meets Andi (Max Riemelt), a charismatic local man and there is an instant attraction between them. A night of passion ensues, but what initially appears to be the start of a romance suddenly takes an unexpected and sinister turn when Clare wakes the following morning to discover her new man has left for work and locked her in his apartment. An easy mistake to make…? Well, no, since Andi has no intention of letting her go again. Ever.
Directed by Cate Shortland (Lore), based on the novel by Melanie Joosten, the film also stars Lucie Aron, and certainly looks interesting.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Norman, or to give it its full title – Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer – is Norman Oppenheimer (Richard Gere), a small time operator who befriends a young politician at a low point in his life. Three years later, when the politician becomes an influential world leader, Norman’s life dramatically changes for better and worse.
Written and directed by Joseph Cedar (the forthcoming Jerusalem, I Love You) and also starring Michael Sheen, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Dan Stevens, Steve Buscemi and Hank Azaria, this trailer gives a hint of a likeable dodgy character portrayed by Mr Gere, but I can’t see there’s enough in this to make a fully engaging movie.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Maybe!
My Name Is Lenny
The life story of one of Britain’s most notorious bare-knuckle fighters, Lenny McLean (portrayed by Josh Helman), also known as “the Guv’nor.”, and had bit parts in movies including Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
I tried watching the last film about him, The Guvnor – a documentary, and got bored silly. This is a drama, so might be worth a look.
Director: Ron Scalpello
Writers: Paul Van Carter, Martin Askew
Also stars: Michael Bisping, Chanel Cresswell, John Hurt, Nick Moran, Rita Tushingham, Nicola Duffett
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Maybe!
My Cousin Rachel looks like a tedious period drama where a young Englishman plots revenge against his mysterious, beautiful cousin, Rachel (Rachel Weisz), believing that she murdered his guardian. However, his feelings become complicated as he finds himself falling under the beguiling spell of her charms.
Directed by Roger Michell, who also wrote the screenplay based on the novel by Daphne Du Maurier, the film also stars Sam Claflin, Holliday Grainger and Iain Glen.
As for whether you should see this? Well… choose a different relative!
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Miss!
The Shack
After the abduction and presumed death of Mack Phillips’ (Sam Worthington) youngest daughter, Missy, he receives a letter and suspects it is from God, asking him to return to The Shack where Missy may have been murd -ered. After contemplating it, he leaves his home to go to The Shack for the first time since Missy’s abduction and an encounter that will change his life forever.
So, it ain’t The B52’s Love Shack, but a load of God-bothering nonsense.
Director: Stuart Hazeldine
Also stars: Octavia Spencer, Tim McGraw, Radha Mitchell, Alice Braga, Graham Greene
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Miss!
From the Land of the Moon (aka Mal de pierres)
Gabrielle (Marion Cotillard) comes from a small village in the South of France, at a time when her dream of true love is considered scandalous, and even a sign of insanity. Her parents marry her to José (Alex Brendemühl), an honest and loving Spanish farm worker who they think will make a respectable woman of her. Despite José’s devotion to her, Gabrielle vows that she will never love José and lives like a prisoner bound by the constraints of conventional post-World War II society until the day she is sent away to a cure in the Alps to heal her kidney stones.
There she meets André Sauvage (Louis Garrel), a dashing injured veteran of the Indochinese War, who rekindles the passion buried inside her. She promises they will run away together, and André seems to share her desire. Will anyone dare rob her of her right to follow her dreams?
At Cannes, no-one cared either way, as they all laughed at this.
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.