FILMS
I USED TO GO HERE (Cert 15, 88 mins, Signature Entertainment, Comedy/Drama/Romance, available from September 14 on Amazon Prime Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services)
AUTHOR Kate Conklin (Gillian Jacobs) learns that sales of her debut novel, Seasons Passed, have been a little disappointing and her publisher is cancelling a promotional tour, barring a glowing review from The New York Times.
It’s a crushing blow, coming soon after her engagement to fiance Michael (Declan Deely) is called off. To rub salt into fresh wounds, Kate’s gal pals, including best friend Laura (Zoe Chau), have fallen pregnant at the same time and are glowing visions of impending motherhood.
Kate is stuck in a rut until she unexpectedly receives a telephone call from her old university professor, David Kirkpatrick (Jemaine Clement). He invites her to take part in a reading of her book at her alma mater, 15 years after she graduated.
Kate travels excitedly to Carbondale, Illinois, to reminisce with David, whose wife Alexis (Kristina Valada-Viars) fails to “connect” with the themes of the book, and befriends student Hugo (Josh Wiggins), who is staying in her old room.
I Used To Go Here is an unevenly paced comedy drama about 30-something ennui, anchored by an endearing lead performance from Jacobs as a woman who has come to the crushing realisation that she squandered her youthful optimism.
Some of the plotting is predictable, and a late-night excursion with perky teaching assistant Elliot (Rammel Chan) strains credibility to breaking point.
Beneath the cartoonish flourishes, including an unnecessary nod to Stifler’s mother from American Pie, there is sufficient sincerity to keep the tone the right side of sappy and sentimental.
THE DEVIL ALL THE TIME (Cert 15, 138 mins, streaming from September 16 exclusively on Netflix, Thriller/Romance)
ANTONIO Campos directs a grimy thriller based on Donald Ray Pollock’s award-winning novel, which unravels over two decades between the Second World War and the Vietnam War.
Arvin Russell (Tom Holland) lives in the peaceful Ohio community of Knockemstiff, where dark forces gather in neighbouring backwoods, threatening the wellbeing of Arvin and his family.
These sinister characters include corrupt sheriff Lee Bodecker (Sebastian Stan), unholy Reverend Preston Teagardin (Robert Pattinson) and sadistic lovebirds Carl (Jason Clarke) and Sandy Henderson (Riley Keough).
As Arvin battles evil on numerous fronts, his strained relationship with his God-fearing father Willard (Bill Skarsgard) reaches a devastating crescendo and the young man adopts the role of fierce protector to orphan Lenora (Eliza Scanlen).
MY REMBRANDT (Cert 12, 97 mins, Dogwoof, available from September 14 on Amazon Prime Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services, also available from September 14 on DVD £15.99/Blu-ray £19.99, Documentary)
FILM-MAKER Oeke Hoogendijk follows her acclaimed 2014 documentary The New Rijksmuseum with another fascinating and immersive portrait of the art world.
This time, she introduces us to a motley crew of people who are fascinated with Dutch master painter Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn and will do anything to own his works.
These interview subjects include avid collectors Eijk and Rose-Marie De Mol van Otterloo, Thomas Kaplan and the Duke of Buccleuch.
Dutch art dealer Jan Six embarks on a deeply personal quest to forge close ties to two “new” Rembrandt paintings but his standing within the art world is threatened when he is accused of violating an agreement with another dealer.
Meanwhile, French baron Eric de Rothschild offers two precious Rembrandts for sale, kindling strong words between the Rijksmuseum and the Louvre about where the canvasses should reside.
BOX SETS
THE THIRD DAY (7 episodes, starts streaming from September 15 exclusively on NOW TV, Thriller/Romance)
BROADCAST in three chapters entitled Summer, Autumn and Winter, The Third Day is a ground-breaking drama starring Paddy Considine, Naomie Harris, Jude Law, Katherine Waterston and Emily Watson broadcast in weekly instalments on Sky Atlantic, which streams exclusively on NOW TV.
In Summer, Sam (Law) is drawn to the mysterious island of Osea, where inhabitants are tightly bound to strange rituals.
He is unable to leave the supposed idyll and confronts dark secrets of the past.
The second chapter, Autumn, conceived by theatrical innovators Punch Drunk, will be broadcast live in a single continuous take on Sky Arts and online, and delves deeper into the troubling mythology of Osea.
Finally, Winter meets spirited outsider Helen (Harris) and her family, who arrive on the island just as battle lines are drawn between the factions.
The newcomers must choose sides, deciding the ultimate fate of the paradise and its feuding denizens.
THE DUCHESS (6 episodes, streaming and available to download from September 11 exclusively on Netflix, Comedy/Drama/Romance)
WOMEN behaving badly intend to get ahead in a semi-autobiographical six-part Netflix comedy written by and starring Katherine Ryan.
She plays working London mother Katherine, who is raising nine-year-old daughter Olive (Kate Byrne) following the implosion of her relationship to former boy band singer Shepherd Knight (Rory Keenan).
The couple plaster on smiles in front of Olive but are openly hostile to one another behind closed doors, which could prove problematic when Katherine yearns for a second child and realises Shep is the only viable sperm donor.
In the midst of hostility, Katherine fans the flames of romance with a nice guy dentist called Evan (Steen Raskopoulos) and she lashes out at busybody mums at the school gates, who question her parenting skills.
CRIMINAL – SEASON 2 (4 episodes, streaming and available to download from September 16 exclusively on Netflix, Thriller/Drama)
THE gripping procedural drama, which divided between France, Germany, Spain and the UK in series one, unveils four new investigations on home shores.
Police officers led by Natalie Hobbs (Katherine Kelly) attempt to extract confessions from prime suspects inside a claustrophobic interview suite.
The team includes Hugo Duffy (Mark Stanley), Tony Myerscough (Lee Ingleby), Paul Ottager (Nicholas Pinnock) and Vanessa Warren (Rochenda Sandall).
They lead tense interrogations while Natalie observes the verbal fireworks behind mirrored glass.
The four special guest stars, who loudly profess their innocence in the second series, are Kit Harington, Sharon Horgan, Kunal Nayyar and Sophie Okonedo.
SUCCESSION – THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON (Cert 15, 601 mins, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, available now on Amazon Prime Video/iTunes/NOW TV and other download and streaming services, available from September 14 on DVD £29.99, Drama/Comedy/Romance)
CREATED by Jesse Armstrong, HBO comedy drama Succession has become an awards magnet for its stellar performances and razor-sharp writing, depicting the inner machinations of one of the biggest media conglomerates in America.
These 10 episodes arrive on a three-disc DVD laden copious behind the scenes featurettes.
Fiery patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox) continues to preside over Waystar/Royco, supported by wife Marcia (Hiam Abbass).
His four children, Connor (Alan Ruck), Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Shiv (Sarah Snook), are determined to become the next chief executive.
They mercilessly exploit each other’s weaknesses including Kendall’s penchant for drugs and Shiva’s affair with colleague and political strategist Nate Sofrelli (Ashley Zukerman).
As the scheming offspring jostle for supremacy, aided by their respective partners, Logan urges them to maintain the status quo for the sake of appearances and avoid a gnarly public relations disaster for the company. His words fall on deaf ears.
