Italy would have been better

Rory's Way (2018)

Directed by Oded Binnun & Mihal Brezis this film also known as “The Etruscan Smile” stars Brian Cox, Thora Birch and JJ Feild. A man from a remote Scottish island with a terminal illness goes to visit his son in San Francisco.

It is fairly easy to see where the plot of this film is going from the off but it is still a decent watch with some charm to it. The novel this film is based on is set in Italy which makes slightly more sense than the transatlantic version here. Despite all the familiar elements this is still a fairly heart warming watch.

3/5

Not so grand

Grand Isle (2019)

Directed by Stephen Campanelli this film stars Nicolas Cage, KaDee Strickland, Luke Benward and Kelsey Grammer. A young man is caught in a game between a husband and wife.

Trying to be a steamy gothic horror this film falls far short of its ambitions. The plot contains a number of familiar elements but stumbles into a disappointing ending. Parts of the film make no sense and this is one of those “out there” Nicolas Cage films that is best forgotten.

2/5

To invent time travel or not to invent time travel, that is the queston

James vs. His Future Self (2019)

Directed by Jeremy Lalonde this film stars Jonas Chernick, Daniel Stern and Cleopatra Coleman. On the verge of discovering time travel a scientist is visited by his future self to warn against pursuing science over his personal life.

Coming with a pretty simple moral to the story this is a decent but not revolutionary watch. I wish they had done a bit of a better job of casting two actors that look more similar to each other but otherwise this is a well made film. For a low budget sci-fi film this is better than expected.

3/5

Return to sender

Jarhead: Law of Return (2019)

Written & directed by Don Michael Paul this fourth film in the franchise stars Amaury Nolasco, Robert Patrick and Yael Eitan. While training in Israel a group of US Marines are sent on a joint rescue mission for a downed Israeli pilot who is the son of a US senator.

I did not know that Jarhead had one sequel let alone three so this film was somewhat of a shock to me and does not seem to be linked to the original film. The script is filled a bunch of fake alpha behaviour and ridiculous action sequences. Not one to seek out, or watch.

2/5

One of the bigger mistakes

Howard the Duck (1986)

Directed by Willard Huyck this comic book adaptation stars Lea Thompson, Jeffery Jones, Tim Robbins and the voice of Chip Zien. An evolved duck is transported from his world to Earth.

This is a hugely confusing movie in that I was never able to work out who the target audience was. The script contains too much adult material for children but the plot is so terrible no one over the age of five could take it seriously. It does not help that the special effects have also aged terrible as has some of the humour.

1/5

Woman in Black

Men in Black: International (2019)

Directed by F. Gary Gary this film stars Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson and Liam Neeson. A new member of the MiB is sent to London on her first assignment.

It seems this film had a troubled production history which might explain the bland effort we are left with. Nothing about the plot or the characters is that memorable but there are enough special effects to gloss over most of the problems with the script. All in all this film limps along rather than revitalising the franchise.

3/5

Finding a back bone

A Good Woman is Hard to Find (2019)

Directed by Abner Pastoll this film stars Sarah Bolger, Andrew Simpson and Edward Hogg. A recently widowed mother of two has a drug dealer on the run force his way into her house.

A fairly enjoyable thriller without much extra weight to it is what we have here. Sarah Bolger gives a decent performance in the lead roll but the script needs a little more meat on its bones in my opinion. A good watch but without much to say.

3/5