FILM OF THE WEEK
THE UNITED STATES VS BILLIE HOLIDAY (Cert 15, 130 mins, Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd, Drama/Romance/Musical, available now on Amazon Prime Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services, available from June 7 on DVD £19.99)
Starring: Andra Day, Trevante Rhodes, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Miss Lawrence, Garrett Hedlund, Rob Morgan, Natasha Lyonne, Leslie Jordan.
A FEROCIOUS, uncompromising lead performance from Golden Globe-winning R&B star Andra Day, making her feature film debut, almost redeems director Lee Daniels' scattershot biopic of trailblazing singer Billie Holiday.
Based on the book Chasing The Scream by journalist Johann Hari, Suzan-Lori Parks' script employs a cumbersome framing device to ricochet through 12 years of emotional upheaval, which culminated in Holiday's arrest for drug possession as she lay dying in the Metropolitan Hospital in New York.
Colour bleeds into monochrome and back again as Daniels incorporates archive footage from the era, which packs a heftier emotional punch than anything he stylishly evokes with production designer Daniel T Dorrance and costume designer Paolo Nieddu.
Indeed, a sobering postscript about the progress of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, given greater impetus by the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement, is an uncomfortable reminder of how little times have changed since Holiday first performed her defiant protest song Strange Fruit in 1939.
Day is a woman possessed, shedding clothes, inhibitions and the tiniest slivers of self-consciousness to explore Holiday's courage under fire and her self-destructive tendencies.
Her renditions of hits are delivered with piercing clarity, soaked in pain and despair.
Conversely, Trevante Rhodes is short-changed as the FBI agent who spies on Holiday then becomes her lover.
The complex psychology of their volatile romance never comes into satisfying focus.
The United States Vs Billie Holiday is a glittering showcase for Day but, as a coherent and compelling portrait of flawed musical genius, Daniels' picture is off-key. (DS)
Rating: 3/5
ALSO RELEASED
FLASHBACK (Cert 15, 97 mins, Vertigo Releasing, Fantasy/Thriller, available from June 4 on Amazon Prime Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services)
Starring: Dylan O'Brien, Maika Monroe, Hannah Gross, Emory Cohen, Keir Gilchrist.
FRED Fitzell (Dylan O'Brien) has a new corporate job, a long-time girlfriend (Hannah Gross) pressuring him to define their future and an ailing mother.
His life changes when a chance encounter with a man from his youth results in terrifying flashbacks that send him on a wild journey into his past.
As Fred attempts to piece together his fragmented recollections about taking an experimental drug called Mercury, his mind begins to unravel.
What is the long-hidden mystery surrounding a missing girl, Cindy (Maika Monroe), and what is the terrifying creature that has been with him every step of the way?
Flashback is an apt title as I was reminded of other films, from the original Jacob's Ladder to cult offerings such as Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain, recent Anthony Mackie drama Synchronic and Ashton Kutcher's The Butterfly Effect.
Fans of Donnie Darko may also spot similarities.
However, Flashback is also very much its own film and there is at least one great idea: fragments of dialogue which make no sense at one time but become more logical when seen in the context of a man who seems to jump from his youth to life as a businessman preparing for an important meeting.
At times, it's a bit too eye-popping and flashy but the fact that Christopher MacBride's film keeps you guessing throughout is testament to some of its success.
Performances are solid and the editing is often very clever.
Perhaps too cerebral to be a mainstream hit, and more humour would have helped, but this is a smart piece of work that almost demands a second watch.
Rating: 3/5
Roger Crow
BOX SETS / SERIES
LOKI (6 episodes, starts streaming from June 9 exclusively on Disney+, Fantasy/Adventure/Sci-Fi/Action)
WITH Marvel's cinematic universe suffering setbacks thanks to Covid, cinema's loss has been TV's gain with assorted Avengers landing their own shows.
While WandaVision was a gloriously meta mix of spoof sitcoms, The Falcon And The Winter Soldier was a hit-and-miss offering bookended by some spectacular action scenes.
Now mischievous demi-god Loki takes centre stage, following his scenery-chewing performances in assorted Thor and Avengers movies.
Tom Hiddleston's charming alter ego should leave millions hooked in the coming weeks.
Michael Waldron, who also worked on Rick And Morty and penned the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel, is one of the brains behind the new saga, and the supporting cast includes Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Luther veteran Wunmi Mosaku.
After stealing the Tesseract in Avengers: Endgame, the eponymous anti-hero is given an ultimatum by Mobius M Mobius (Wilson) and bureaucratic organisation Time Variance Authority (TVA): fix problems in a timeline or be destroyed.
Sophia Di Martino, from the sublime Olivia Colman comedy Flowers, and Richard E Grant are also lined up to appear.
SWEET TOOTH (8 episodes, streaming from June 4 exclusively on Netflix, Fantasy/Adventure)
YOU may never have heard of Jeff Lemire's cult DC comic book Sweet Tooth but that's all about to change as the Netflix adaptation drops this week.
Robert Downey Jr is clearly a fan because he and wife Susan Downey are executive producers of the saga.
The story unfolds a decade after The Great Crumble caused chaos and led to the emergence of hybrid babies – part human, part animal.
Sweet Tooth is set in America but as The Lord Of The Rings and The Chronicles Of Narnia proved, if you want to make a live-action fantasy look good, shoot it in New Zealand.
The locations are stunning.
The series should also turn young actor Christian Convery, aka deer-boy protagonist Gus, into one of the most talked about TV stars of the year.
"That little dude's got hope coming out of every pore," remarks Gus's heroic guardian Tommy Jepperd (Nonso Anozie) in a moment which may leave some a little emotional.
The supporting cast includes Adeel Akhtar, from Killing Eve, and Will Forte, while screen legend James Brolin narrates.
LISEY'S STORY (8 episodes, streaming exclusively from June 4 on Apple TV+, Horror/Thriller/Romance)
TV DRAMAS based on Stephen King tales have been hit and miss over the years, with Mr Mercedes reaching dizzy highs and the recent take on his masterpiece The Stand being a bit of a letdown.
Now comes another drama from the master of horror and suspense, with a cast that includes the always engaging Julianne Moore, Clive Owen, Joan Allen and Dane DeHaan.
Lisey's Story is based on King's 2006 novel and centres on widow Lisey Landon (Moore) and a series of disturbing events which revive memories of her marriage to troubled author Scott (Owen).
"Scott had a history of becoming unstuck… to reality," remarks Lisey. "He called it 'being gone'."
Before long, Lisey wonders whether she has also blurred the lines between fantasy and reality as she is sucked into a mystery involving a scavenger hunt and a lighthouse.
Oscar-nominated cinematographer Darius Khondji conjures a moody atmosphere and the rest of the creative team includes executive producer JJ Abrams (backer of King-inspired TV series Castle Rock) and Jackie director Pablo Larrain.
