ROYAL FLUSH
Historical movie romp The Favourite
HOLMES & WATSON (15, 89 mins)
ETAN Cohen, director of the 2015 comedy Get Hard, reunites with leading man Will Ferrell for a rumbustious romp based on the characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Sherlock Holmes (Ferrell) is a consulting detective in Victorian London, who tackles the most fiendish cases with the help of trusted companion, Dr John Watson (John C Reilly).
The men’s methods are unconventional to say the least, but somehow they unmask criminal masterminds before Inspector Lestrade (Rob Brydon).
During a visit to Buckingham Palace, Holmes and Watson witness a murder.
A note left at the scene, purportedly from Sherlock’s great rival Professor Moriarty (Ralph Fiennes), challenges the detective and his sidekick to solve the case within four days or Queen Victoria (Pam Ferris) will be next to die.
The clock is ticking as Sherlock and Watson sift through the evidence, buoyed by the support of loyal housekeeper Rose Hudson (Kelly Macdonald) and Sherlock’s brother Mycroft (Hugh Laurie).
THE FAVOURITE
(15, 119 mins)
COURTLY intrigue pits two resourceful women against each other in director Yorgos Lanthimos’ wicked comedy, which is co-written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara.
Queen Anne (Olivia Colman, pictured above,) is somewhat removed from the machinations of the government, allowing her secret lover Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz) to effectively rule 18th-century Britain.
While Sarah has the monarch’s ear, Robert Harley (Nicholas Hoult) challenges her from his seat of power in Westminster, doing everything he can to protect state taxes, which are financing the war effort against France.
In the midst of this battle of wits and words, Sarah’s lowly cousin Abigail Hill (Emma Stone) arrives unceremoniously at court, seeking employment as a scullery maid.
She recognises the key to bettering her positioning is winning the queen’s fickle favour.
Consequently, Abigail launches a charm offensive to catch Anne’s eye and undermine Sarah’s influence.
Once Sarah discovers her cousin’s Machiavellian scheme, she retaliates in venomous kind.
KILL MOBILE (Certificate TBC, 90 mins) YU Miao directs a Chinese remake of the Italian film Perfect Strangers helmed by Paolo Genovese.
Seven friends gather for a cosy dinner and as they prepare the food, it becomes clear that everyone is more interested in their mobile phones than animated conversation.
Xiao Han (Ma Li) suggests they play a game.
Everyone will put their phones in the middle of the dinner table and share any messages or calls that come into the devices during the meal.
Xiaojiang Wu (Qiao Shan) and his partner Nan Li (Huo Siyan), Bo Wen (Tian Yu) and his partner Xuejiao Bai (Ming Xi), and Di Jia (Tong Dawei) and his partner Dai Dai (Dai Lele) all agree to ‘play’ because they are curious about the conversations on their other halves’ phones.
As messages and calls pour in, painful truths are unearthed and confidences broken as the seven pals discover they do not know their dining partners as well as they thought.