Jack’s back but Tom is denies rift with Will
Jack ReacheR: NeveR Go Back
(Cert 12A; 118mins)
JACK REACHER was a mean, moody thriller released four years ago. It offered little to distinguish it from the crowd and there was no sense that audiences were left begging for more. But that hasn’t stopped Jack Reacher: Never Go Back reaching our screens, a workmanlike sequel in which Tom Cruise returns as Lee Child’s cold-hearted, two-fisted macho man.
When a lone drifter in a diner is surrounded by broken bodies, you just know that a bunch of unfortunates have made the mistake of underestimating our hard-bitten hero. That’s where Never Go Back begins.
Trouble follows Reacher like a homeless dog. He only has to contact Major Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders) and the poor woman is arrested and charged with treason.
It’s the first step in a convoluted conspiracy thriller that has Reacher and Turner dodging bullets as they take flight and try to uncover the truth about dark deeds at the heart of the military and political establishments. Just to complicate matters further, there is also the chance that Reacher might be the father of cynical teenager Samantha (Danika Yarosh).
The possibility of fatherhood softens some of the rougher, tougher edges of the Reacher character and he now balances running for his life and cracking skulls with passing on valuable life lessons to his offspring and playing happy families.
However, Reacher never seemed an especially comfortable fit for Tom Cruise. He has the athletic, gym-honed physical credentials but he also has too much charisma and zeal to lose himself beneath Reacher’s poker-faced demeanour.
Director Ed Zwick doesn’t seem totally happy here either, keeping everything dark and grimy and staging action sequences that seem to belong to the 1980s.
One for diehard fans of Lee Child’s books and Tom Cruise in action man mode. (Cert 15; 100mins) IT IS 50 years since Ken Loach made Cathy Come Home and it feels as if little has changed in Britain. Despite being a prosperous land, it is still home to people who struggle to keep a roof over their head, put food on the table or live life with dignity. There are still governments determined to make life difficult for those who require help.
It would take a heart of stone to be unmoved by I, Daniel Blake, the latest collaboration between Loach and writer Paul Laverty.
Loach’s work is fuelled by anger at the injustices he sees around him and by the belief that there are extraordinary stories to be told about ordinary lives. This is no exception. Daniel, wonderfully played by Dave Johns, is a Newcastle widower on the mend after a heart attack. He is a hard-working joiner and the kind of man who would give you the shirt off his back.
However, doctors advise him not to work while the authorities declare him “fit for work”. He is forced to apply for jobs but when he is finally offered one he has to turn it down for health reasons. So he loses some benefits and the downward spiral continues. It is a nightmare situation that leaves him trying to survive on hope and empty promises.
Daniel has grit and humour to keep him going. Life is even tougher for Katie (Hayley Squires), a single mother from London who has been relocated to Newcastle. She faces the dilemma of whether to spend the little money she has on food or heating and is forced to visit a food bank. She feels like another echo of Cathy from 50 years ago. The unexpected friendship that develops between Daniel and Katie is one of the most heartwarming elements of the film.
I, Daniel Blake initially revolves around a farcical, bureaucratic hell where if you weren’t laughing, you would be in tears. The film becomes darker as life grows more desperate for both Daniel and Katie. You are
made all too aware that this is no laughing matter and that people’s lives are at stake.
There are times when everyone in I, Daniel Blake feels like a mouthpiece for scoring political points and it is definitely not the most subtle of films. However, on an emotional level, as you become deeply caught up in the characters’ lives, it is devastating. Daniel’s anger is something that we can all share. His desire to be seen and heard and treated as a human being makes him a hero for our age.
This great British film is guaranteed to make you think and make you feel.
tROLLS
(Cert U; 92mins) ONCE upon a time, trolls were tiny toys with voluminous vertical hair. Now they are the stars of Trolls, a bouncy, glitter-smeared sugar rush of an animated feature very much in the tradition of Shrek.
The eternally optimistic Trolls have enjoyed 20 years of joy, harmony and group hugs, safe from the clutches of their notoriously miserable enemies the Bergens, who believe that happiness can only be achieved by eating a Troll. All that comes to an end when evil Chef (voiced by Christine Baranski) discovers their secret lair and scoops up a handful of tasty trolls to serve to King Gristle (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). Regal Troll Prince Peppy (Anna Kendrick) sets off in hot pursuit with the reluctant help of Branch (Justin Timberlake), a curmudgeonly killjoy Troll.
This entertaining film offers fizzy family fun with a catchy musical number every few minutes and a strong cast that makes the most of their tailor-made characters.
QUeeN Of KAtWe
(Cert PG; 124mins) QUEEN OF KATWE takes the true story of Ugandan chess prodigy Phiona Mutesi and transforms it into a sentimental salute to the triumph of the underdog.
It follows the classic tearjerking formula of a Rocky film but still emerges as an inspirational, old-fashioned charmer.
The story begins in 2007. Teenager Phiona, brightly played by newcomer Madina Nalwanga, lives with her widowed mother Harriet (Lupita Nyong’o) in the dirt-poor shanty town of Katwe.
Education is a luxury that Phiona has been denied but she and her brother Brian (Martin Kabanza) are drawn to the children’s chess programme run by saintly teacher Robert Katende (David Oyelowo).
Phiona proves to be a naturally gifted player but she will have to fight her own insecurities and the prejudices of others to prove that a girl from the slums can be as good as anyone else in the country.
OUIjA: ORIGIN Of eVIL
(Cert 15; 99mins) IF YOU are looking to get in the Hallowe’en mood, then Ouija: Origin Of Evil provides all the traditional thrills and spills of a scary movie.
This prequel to the unremarkable Ouija is set in 1967, with fake medium Alice Zander (Elizabeth Reaser) providing comfort to the bereaved by channelling communications from the dead.
But her daughter Doris (Lulu Wilson) seems to have a genuine connection to the spirit world that her mother is keen to nurture.
Nicely made, but awfully familiar.
IN PURSUIt Of SILeNCe
(Cert PG; 82mins) IN Pursuit Of Silence explores the value of silent contemplation in a noisy world. Patrick Shen interviews academics, salutes John Cage’s silent composition 4’33” and ventures to a tranquil Japanese tea ceremony, showing the benefits of silence to our wellbeing.