RUN ALL NIGHT
When his estranged son (Joel Kinnaman) becomes a mob target, aging hit man Jimmy Conlon (Liam Neeson) must figure out where his loyalties lie and how to save his offspring from a deadly fate.
Just for once please can we see Liam Neeson doing something else rather than an action film which isn’t a slightly different take on the Taken franchise? There is such a thing as doing a tired storyline to death. This leaves no memorable moments to take away with you and leaves you feeling like you’ve seen it all before. Shame in the people who are spending their money on seeing this kind of drivvle as your making Hollywood think they can keep churning out this dull storyline.
See if you liked: Taken and any other over done action with the same storyline.
SUITE FRANCAISE
Set in 1940s France SUITE FRANÇAISE follows the beautiful Lucile Angellier (Michelle Williams) who awaits news from her husband, a prisoner of war whilst leading a stifled existence with her domineering mother-in-law. When Parisian refugees pour into their small town, soon followed by a regiment of German soldiers who take up residence in the villagers’ homes, Lucile’s life is turned upside down. In the Angellier home, Lucile tries to ignore Bruno (Matthias Schoenaerts), the handsome and refined German officer who has been posted to live with them. But soon, a powerful love draws them together and traps them in the tragedy of war.
The script maybe a little wobbly in places but when you have a star cast that includes, Williams, Margot Robbie, Kristin Scott Thomas and the very under rated Matthias Schoenaerts your bound to have a cinematic experience of extreme beauty from performance alone. Ladies get your hankies ready for this one as this tragic dramatic love story will have you sobbing. This is most certainly powerful viewing even the hard hearted amongst us will have trouble in not succumbing to.
See if you liked. Birdsong, Atonement.
X+Y
Nathan (Asa Butterfield) is a young genius but struggles with people, not least his mother, Julie (Sally Hawkins), but finds comfort in numbers. Mentored by unconventional and anarchic teacher Mr Humphreys (Rafe Spall), Nathan’s talents win him a place representing GB at the International Mathematics Olympiad. When the team go to train in Taiwan, headed up by squad leader Richard (Eddie Marsan), Nathan is faced with unexpected challenges – not least his new and unfamiliar feelings for his Chinese counterpart, the beautiful Zhang Mei.
Don’t be fooled by the phrase “Mathmatics Olympiad” this film is not just for the geeks, it’s definitely a coming of age drama with a whole lot of heart, compelling to watch with a script that is sensitively handled but extremely effective. Stand out performance has to Rafe Spall, you’ll find it hard not to fall in love with his quirky and funny character as he takes Nathan under his wing even with difficulties of his own. This is a real charmer of a film that gets under your skin.
See if you liked: Boyhood, Fish Tank
OUR PICK OF THE WEEK: X+Y
