FILM OF THE WEEK
NEWS OF THE WORLD (Cert 12, 118 mins, streaming from February 10 exclusively on Netflix, Western/Drama/Action)
Starring: Tom Hanks, Helena Zengel, Neil Sandilands,Winsome Brown
CAPTAIN Jefferson Kyle Kidd (Tom Hanks) bears the physical and emotional scars of three tours of duty as a Confederate infantryman.
He travels from town to town in 1870 Texas, sharing newspaper stories with hard-working folk who have neither the time nor the energy to pore over pages of printed text in the aftermath of a bitter and bloody civil war.
On a trail leading from Wichita Falls, he stumbles upon a 10-year-old German girl called Johanna Leonberger (Helena Zengel). Documents found nearby reveal that her mother, father and younger sister were killed six years earlier by the Kiowa people, who raised her with a new name, Cicada.
The law dictates that Johanna must be forcibly returned to her biological uncle and aunt (Neil Sandilands and Winsome Brown) in Castroville. Kidd reluctantly agrees to become the girl's temporary custodian.
News Of The World saddles up for a visually arresting tour of familiar narrative paths.
Cinematographer Dariusz Wolski relishes the changing light and earthy colour palette, while composer James Newton Howard's rousing score incorporates piano, banjo and guitar.
Hanks imbues his travelling storyteller with quiet nobility and honour, qualities which are tested to the limit during the perilous 400-mile trek through untamed wilderness. He catalyses winning on-screen chemistry with luminous rising star Zengel, who possess a rare ability to convey inner turmoil without saying a word.
Centrepiece sequences including a mountainside shoot-out are orchestrated with brio by Greengrass, who is well versed in the slam-bang thrills of the Jason Bourne franchise.
This rodeo is a more sedate and contemplative affair, but thoroughly engrossing.
Rating: 7/10
:: ALSO RELEASED
ALL MY LIFE (Cert 12, 91 mins, Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd, Romance/Drama, available from February 12 on Amazon Prime Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services)
Starring: Harry Shum Jr, Jessica Rothe, Kyle Allen, Chrissie Fit, Jay Pharoah, Marielle Scott, Keala Settle.
ASPIRING chef Solomon Chau (Harry Shum Jr) doesn't know the meaning of love until he meets Jenn Carter (Jessica Rothe). The attraction is instant and they move in together.
Solomon orchestrates an elaborate flash mob proposal and Jenn tearfully accepts, to the delight of their inner circle of friends including Amanda (Chrissie Fit), Dave (Jay Pharoah) and Kyle (Kyle Allen).
As the couple plan their dream wedding with Solomon in charge of catering, the groom-to-be suffers crippling stomach pains and is rushed to hospital. A scan reveals that he has advanced liver cancer.
Refusing to give up on their dream of fairytale nuptials before Solomon loses his battle, the couple set up a crowdfunding page in the hope they can raise enough money to bring the wedding date forward.
Based on a heart-breaking true story that demands more than one sniffle into a tissue before the end credits, All My Life hits the requisite emotional beats without straying too far from predictability.
Shum Jr and Rothe are an attractive on-screen pairing and they catalyse winning chemistry in rose-tinted early scenes of a 20-something couple falling head over heels in love and setting up home together.
The latter carries the greatest burden of syrupy dialogue that threatens to nudge Marc Meyer's film into the realms of mawkishness. When reality bites, the teeth marks are barely noticeable in Todd Rosenberg's script but sincerity ultimately trumps elegance.
Rating: 7/10
GREENLAND (Cert 15, 119 mins, streaming from February 5 exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, Action/Thriller/Sci-Fi/Romance)
Starring: Gerard Butler, Morena Baccarin, Roger Dale Floyd, Scott Glenn, David Denman, Hope Davis.
STRUCTURAL engineer John Garrity (Gerard Butler) leaves work early to prepare for a neighbourhood party with his estranged wife Allison (Morena Baccarin) and their young son Nathan (Roger Dale Floyd).
A comet named Clarke is due to pass perilously close to Earth, providing 24-hour TV news channels with an interstellar light show to broadcast live to the jaw-dropped world.
The Garritys and their friends watch in wonderment and then horror as a fragment of Clarke hits Florida, razing miles of heavily populated land.
As the gravity of the situation sinks in – the world is witnessing an extinction-level event – John and his loved ones are selected for immediate evacuation to underground bunkers in Greenland. The family races to make a flight from Warner Robins Air Force Base as the fabric of society unravels at sickening speed around them.
Punctuated by special effects-laden action sequences that reduce capital cities to smouldering rubble, Greenland is an entertaining disaster movie that chooses to glimpse the devastation through the eyes of one desperate family in transit.
Butler broods and swaggers, specifically referencing his Scottish burr in expository dialogue, while Baccarin and young co-star Floyd are put through the emotional wringer in harrowing scenes with two passing Samaritans (David Denman, Hope Davis).
Deviations from plausibility are fleeting to maintain a strong emotional focus on characters and their plight. The darkness coursing beneath the surface of Chris Sparling's muscular script is surprisingly vivid – when the end is nigh, the ugliest facets of the human condition are exposed.
If Clarke doesn't kill us, greed, envy and wrath will.
Rating: 7/10
:: SERIES / BOX SETS
TIN STAR – LIVERPOOL (Cert 15, 270 mins, Dazzler, available now on NOW TV, available from February 15 on DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99, Drama/Thriller/Romance)
THE gripping crime drama created by Rowan Joffe, which screened on Sky Atlantic in December, concludes its nail-biting run on home formats this week.
The first two series unfolded in the breathtaking Rocky Mountains but this final chapter returns chief of police Jim Worth (Tim Roth), wife Angela (Genevieve O'Reilly) and their daughter Anna (Abigail Lawrie) to Merseyside.
On home shores, the Worths face a sinister truth from 20 years ago and revive a historic battle.
The Chief Constable of Merseyside, Catherine McKenzie (Tanya Moodie), has good reason to fear Jim's return to Liverpool.
He poses a serious threat to her elevated position in the police force.
Catherine's efforts to cover sins of the past pique the interest of ambitious Detective Inspector Sarah Lunt (Kerrie Hart).
Meanwhile, local crime boss Michael Ryan (Ian Hart) keeps his bloodline close, regardless of the tragic consequences.
The two-disc DVD and Blu-ray box sets include all six episodes.
DEVILS (10 episodes, starts streaming from February 17 exclusively on NOW TV, Drama/Thriller/Romance)
GREY'S Anatomy pin-up Patrick Dempsey turns to the dark side in a 10-part drama, which begins on Sky Atlantic this week and streams exclusively on NOW TV.
Massimo Ruggeri (Alessandro Borghi) works long hours as head of trading at an investment bank in London, where he speculates for vast profits.
Under the aegis of mentor Dominic Morgan (Dempsey), Massimo is destined to earn promotion to vice-CEO until he is embroiled in a scandal involving his wife.
Dominic withdraws his support for Massimo and awards the promotion instead to rival Edward Stewart (Ben Miles).
A shocking death within the firm's ranks points a finger of suspicion at Massimo, who vows to uncover the uncomfortable truth about his role in a political game that spans the globe.
