YOUR GUIDE TO WHAT’S ON
THE COURIER (M) DANGEROUSLY CARRIED AWAY, UK, 112 MIN
The gripping true story of Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch), an everyday British gent who somehow found himself at the epicentre of the most seismic events of the Cold War in the early 1960s. More a genial salesman than a suave spy, Wynne was never intended to be used in acts of espionage by British and American intelligence agencies. Nevertheless, some of the information he unwittingly acquired during multiple trips to Moscow played a pivotal role in avoiding a global nuclear catastrophe.
FRENCH EXIT (M) ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO A SPEND, US, 105 MIN
A wonderful, audaciously unpredictable movie experience is centred around a careerbest performance from Michelle Pfeiffer. She plays Frances Price, an imposingly imperious New York socialite who has zeroed out her late husband’s bank account. After capriciously converting all of her worldly possessions to cash, Frances hauls a big bag of loot to Paris with every intention of spending the lot. Also along for the ride: her layabout son Malcolm (Lucas Hedges) and a house cat not known for his homely behaviour. Not a word, gesture, glance or sigh from Pfeiffer is out of place here. How the Oscars failed to give her a Best Actress nomination is a staggering oversight.
GODZILLA VS KONG, FIGHTS, BITES, SWINGS AND MISSES, US, 113 MIN
Why the big grudge match? Well, ‘Zilla and the King have known of each other for a long time, and neither have liked what they heard. So with the monstrous, heatbreathing Godzilla possibly about to put a permanent hole in our planet, the giant gorilla Kong is hauled away from his home on Skull Island to do something about it.
THE LAST VERMEER (M) A MAN WITH HIS ART IN THE WRONG PLACE, US-UK, 113 MIN
A bizarre true story that unfolded shortly after World War II. How did a long lost masterpiece by the great painter Vermeer land in the collection of an infamous Nazi leader? The mysterious Dutch gadfly Han van Meegeren (a brilliant Guy Pearce) knows the answer, and when he finally spills the beans in the second of this erratically entertaining affair, you’ll be itching to hit Wikipedia afterwards to double-check all of this actually happened. Pearce might be one of our most under-rated actors, but it is also one of our strongest and slyest in the right situation.
MINARI (PG) A FRESH START SO FAR AWAY FROM HOME, US, 115 MIN
A quiet, understated tale flows beautifully through the middle of the 1980s, where a Korean farming family has moved to rural
Arkansas to pursue their vision of the American Dream. For father Jacob (Steven Yeun), his sensitive wife Monica and their self-sufficient children, the transfer is like moving to another planet. Just as it seems this fragile family unit could showing signs of cracking, a new arrival turns out to be the glue that might hold everything together. The truly universal appeal of this movie can be traced to its illuminating intelligence about what it takes to complete a family circle, delivered with a warmth, calm and emotional honesty that is truly all-embracing. One of the best films of 2021. Highly recommended.
NOBODY (MA15+) NO-ONE GETS SQUARE QUITE LIKE THIS SQUARE, US, 97 MIN
In the grand tradition of a John Wick, a Taken and perhaps even one of those old Death Wish flicks, Nobody is one trashy thriller that is to be truly treasured. Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul) plays Hutch, a doormat of a dad whose failure to rise to the occasion during a burglary of the family home puts him on a collision course with a daunting array of dark forces. A wide veil of secrecy must be draped over the formidable fleet of enemies he will be coming up against. No mention will be made here of how a
seemingly unqualified and under-resourced fella like Hutch could possibly survive the non-stop assembly line of blood-chilling (and blood-spilling) ordeals rolling his way. All you need to know is that one you move past its deceptively drab point of departure, Nobody quickly morphs, and then mutates into one wild and crazy ride.
NOMADLAND (M) A FULL-TIME LIFE OF PART-TIME JOBS, US, 106 MIN
A quiet woman named Fern (Frances McDormand) joins a rapidly swelling class of people in America who live year-round in campervans, travelling to where seasonal work is plentiful enough to draw a basic wage. If this makes Nomadland sound too grey and bleak as a movie experience, you are wrong. The many colours and singular feeling coursing out of Frances McDormand’s commanding portrayal of Fern is acting of the highest order. Particularly once you learn McDormand is (with a minor exception or two) virtually the only actor in the movie. Almost everybody she is interacts in Nomadland is a real-life nomad, and what McDormand draws from these people is something so authentic and true, it is almost has no business being in a movie at all.
PETER RABBIT 2 (G) DISAPPEARING DOWN THE SAME HOLE, US-AUSTRALIA, 93 MIN
Like the first Peter Rabbit, a fairly lamentable kids’ flick that completely misses the timehonoured charm that charged many a joyous book by author Beatrix Potter. The only moderate improvements are a significant change of locale (a peeved Pete runs away from his rural headquarters to chance it in the big smoke) and a better use of minor characters. Stars Rose Byrne, Domhnall Gleeson and the voices of James Corden, Margot Robbie.
TOM & JERRY: THE MOVIE (G) THE RETURN OF THE ORIGINAL ITCHY AND SCRATCHY, US, 101 MIN
Did you know that those great grandaddies of cat-and-mouse cartooning - the incomparable Tom & Jerry - bagged an incredible seven Oscars in their anvildropping, frypan-to-the-face prime? Neither did I. The key fact is that the gold statues were all for shorts that ran five minutes or less. These outings were also very, very violent, and very, very funny. Needless to say, this understandably safe, yet frustratingly bland 21st century version won’t be winning any awards.