No shock, no awe

Shock and Awe (2017)

Directed by star Rob Reiner this film also features Woody Harrelson, James Marseden and Tommy Lee Jones. Journalists at Knight Ridder investigate the Bush administration as it puts together a case for war in Iraq.

Despite having the talent of Rob Reiner at the helm this film falls far short of standards set by a film like All the Presidents Men (1976). Too short and too superficial this film fails to get across it's important subject matter in a compelling way. Unfortunately it is hard to recommend this film on any point.

2/5

Sneezes

Mountain Fever (2017)

Written & directed by Hendrik Faller this film stars Julien Caplan, Anya Korzun and Julien Michel. Trying to escape a fatal flu epidemic a young Englishman becomes trapped in his parent's French holiday home with unwanted visitors.

As post apocalyptic films go this is not a very interesting one, nothing much happens and the script has little to say. Clearly made on a budget the limitations on the film makers are a little too obvious rather than providing the basis for a claustrophobic setting. There is not much to recommend this one on sadly.

2/5

Life goes on

Anything (2017)

Written & directed by Timothy McNeil this film based on a play stars John Carroll Lynch, Matt Bomer and Maura Tierney. Following the death of his wife and a failed suicide attempt a man moves to LA where he begins a relationship with his neighbour who is a transwoman sex worker.

The plot of this film is fairly gentle and while it deals with some major issues it only ever really skims the surface of them. I would have really liked to see a longer and deeper version of this film but as it is it is not a bad watch. Both the performances and direction are decent but not amazing.

3/5

A tourist advert

Waverley Steps: A Visit to Edinburgh (1948)

Directed by John Eldridge this short film is made up of a series of scripted vignettes. We see various people going about their lives in Edinburgh over a 24 hour period.

Well constructed the stories here are not overly interesting but do show a slice of life in a busy city. Working better as a tourist film than a piece of entertainment this is still a decent look at history. Not overly remarkable but watchable.

3/5

Predictable

Beirut (2018)

Directed by Brad Anderson this film also known as The Negotiator stars Jon Hamm, Rosamund Pike and Dean Norris. In 1982 a negotiator returns to Beirut to try and save a former colleague who has been kidnapped.

Decently made but a little on the predictable side this is a pretty average spy thriller. The plot has little special to say about the Middle East but does stay fairly grounded at least. Nothing is overly special about the film but it is not a bad way to kill some time.

3/5

As badly written as the book it focuses on

Book Club (2018)

Directed by Bill Holderman this film stars Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen. Four older women have a book club and sex lives that none of them are satisfied with.

Essentially this is like The Jane Austen Book Club (2007) but with old women and Fifty Shades of Grey instead, so not funny or smart. There are not a lot of geriatric sex comedies out there and even less from the point of view of women but I have to imagine they are all better than this. Not only is this film boring it's pretty dumb too.

2/5

Mississippi problems

The River (1938)

Directed by Pare Lorentz this is a short documentary. We see the great Mississippi river and how it fits into the lives of the people living around it.

Essentially a government information film this film shows how human activity damaged the environment and the plans to fix it. Not very deep but clear and well laid out this is not a bad watch. Very much in the vein of Lorentz's earlier The Plow That Broke the Plains (1936).

3/5