david-meldrum

Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy are elite soldiers for hire each sent to spend a year in isolation guarding a huge gorge somewhere undisclosed, and forbidden from making contact with each other. Of course, they ignore that because this is a film, and sci-fi-horror shenanigans ensue. Large parts of the film - especially the first act - are dialogue-free, and that in itself makes this bolder than your average sci-fi/action horror film. The hidden truth is only gradually revealed, which is well handled, and the two lead performances are good enough to carry the film. The script sags under the weight of necessary exposition at times, and large parts of the film take place in not very well illuminated darkness, a blight that afflicts too much film and tv at the moment. But it's decently entertaining and despite a 2-hour plus run time, doesn't outstay its welcome.

Kate Winslet directs and stars in this film, written by her son Joe Anders. Helen Mirren is the dying matriarch of a family who enters her final days in the run-up to Christmas, so the family gathers to be with her and in the process, address internicine squabbles and work out how the family will look in her absence. The film takes place almost entirely in a hospital - which is, it has to be said, weirdly quiet for what is clearly a bad winter. It's open to accusations of manipulation and over-egging the emotional pudding, but it's also true that it's hard not to be moved by the film's final act, however convenient or predictable it may seem. It's sensitively directed and beautifully shot; if Netflix promote this properly (a big 'if'), this is a film people will return to Christmas after Christmas, and continue to be moved by.

Clint Eastwood unshowily directs this solidly entertaining legal drama. Nicholas Hoult is a juror in a homicide case who has more information about the case than he lets on; the film spends the bulk of its running time on the jury deliberations. And while it's no 12 Angry Men, it's an intriguing film about a moral and legal dilemma that doesn't offer easy answers. It's elevated by the excellent Hoult and Toni Collette; overall this is a good legal drama that deserved better treatment on release than it got.