Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Chinonye Chukwu Stars: Danielle Deadwyler, Haley Bennett, Whoopi Goldberg, Frankie Faison, Jalyn Hall, Sean Patrick Thomas, Tosin Cole, John Douglas Thompson Based on a true story, Till is a film full of pain, grief, anger, and it is a powerful howl of outrage against a blatant miscarriage of justice that has never been rectified. In 1955 14-year-old Emmett Till (Jalyn Hall, from tv series All American, etc) was holidaying with his cousins in Mississippi. A native of Chicago Emmett was an outgoing, high spirited, …
CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Marielle Heller Stars: Melissa McCarthy, Richard E Grant, Dolly Wells, Ben Falcone, Jane Curtin, Steven Spinella, Christian Navarro, Anna Deveare Smith. Can You Ever Forgive Me? is based on a true story about a struggling writer who, in the early 90s, forged a number of letters from prominent celebrities. It's a strange story about the creative process and the hardships faced by writers, but it gives Melissa McCarthy, better known for her raucous comedies, a straight dramatic role that has been earning her plenty of praise. Lee …
THE OLD MAN AND THE GUN
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: David Lowery Stars: Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek, Casey Affleck, Danny Glover, Tom Waits, Tika Sumpter, John David Washington, Isiah Whitlock jr. This amiable light comedic caper is supposedly Robert Redford’s last film. At 82 the legendary veteran actor has announced that this would be his last film as he pulls the plug on his stellar 60-year career. And what a way to go out. (Although you might recall that Clint Eastwood said the same thing around the time he made Gran Torino, supposedly his swan song as an actor, but he has …
BEAUTIFUL BOY
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Felix van Groeningen Stars: Steve Carell, Timothee Chalamet, Maura Tierney, Amy Ryan, Kue Lawrence, Jack Dylan Grazer. Sharing the same title as a John Lennon song (which Richard Dreyfuss sang to his hearing impaired son in Mr Holland’s Opus), this is a downbeat and grim, but ultimately inspiring cautionary tale of drug addiction, rehabilitation, relapse, and the huge emotional toll that addiction takes on the family of the victims. We’ve seen a number of films dealing with drug addiction, including Otto Preminger’s 1956 drama The …
A PRAYER BEFORE DAWN
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Jean-Stephane Sauvaire Stars: Joe Cole, Pornchanok Mabklang. This intense brutal prison drama is like Kickboxer meets Midnight Express. This unflinching, hard hitting and gritty and harrowing true story is set inside Thailand’s notorious Bang Kwang Central prison, better known as the infamous Bangkok Hilton. Like Midnight Express, which depicted Billy Hayes’ ordeal after being arrested and imprisoned for smuggling drugs in Turkey, A Prayer Before Dawn is based on the 2014 memoir written by expat Brit Billy Moore (played by Joe Cole, …
ADRIFT
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Baltasar Kormakur Stars: Shailene Woodley, Sam Claflin. There have been many great survival stories told on the screen, many of them set at sea like the recent Colin Firth drama The Mercy. Arguably amongst the best of these are films like Cast Away, with Tom Hanks stranded on a remote island, and J C Chandor’s superb All Is Lost, basically another one-hander with Robert Redford playing a sailor stranded at sea after his yacht was struck by a floating shipping container. Despite the fact that it …
CHAPPAQUIDDICK
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: John Curran Stars: Jason Clarke, Ed Helms, Jim Gaffigan, Bruce Dern, Kate Mara, Clancy Brown, Jim Fiore, Olivia Thirlby. This engaging historical docu-drama is a cynical study of corruption, ambition, power, the power of celebrity, the abuse of power, and family. Chappaquiddick centres around the scandal that surrounded Senator Ted Kennedy and the tragic drowning of political staffer Mary Jo Kopechne in 1969. The incident almost cost Kennedy his political career and certainly derailed his …
STRONGER
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: David Gordon Green Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Tatiana Maslany, Miranda Richardson, Clancy Brown, Lenny Clarke, Danny McCarthy, Patricia O'Neil, Carlos Sanz. Peter Berg’s 2016 drama Patriots Day looked at the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, which killed three people and injured hundreds more, and the massive police manhunt for the terrorists that followed. Berg gave the material an almost documentary-like feel as he explored the stories of many of the people involved. There are probably a lot more unheard …