What we watched in September

Anna Karenina (7th Sept) 4 stars

Joe Wright’s bold, visually focused re-interpretation of a story that’s been told many, many times before starts off flawlessly, with colourful, slick set pieces and an intimate, theatrical ambiance, combined with a strong lead performance from Wright’s regular collaborator, Keira Knightley in the title role. But it lacks consistency and the emotional impact is severely cut short due to its need to squeeze in as many characters and plot points as possible. Wright however does deserve praise for his ambition, and almost always hitting the mark.

Dredd (7th Sept)3 stars

Don’t be fooled into thinking that this is about officers of the law having to fight their way up a tall building to get to the final bad guy. There is a surprising lack of bullets fired, bones broken, corpses falling, as often the film does too much talking for its own good. Karl Urban tries his best to keep it all together in this futuristic science fiction action that naturally includes some fancy guns and gadgets, but in the end it never adds up to anything significant.

Lawless (7th Sept) 4 stars

Raw, brutal and fearless, John Hillcoat’s Prohibition-era crime drama is certainly not for the faint-hearted and you may be left wanting more depth and clarity from some of its underwritten characters. But the star-studded ensemble comes across wonderfully well, with the always excellent and menacing Tom Hardy once again on top form as the eldest of the Bondurant bootlegger brothers, supplying alcohol and facing bloody consequences from a corrupt law enforcement officer (Guy Pearce, in an over-the-top brilliant performance) as a result.

Hope Springs (14th Sept) 4 stars

It has nothing wise or original to say about long-term relationships or marriages that have lost the passion, and the rushed, feel-good ending that attempts to tie everything up in one clean swoop is truly awful. However, it is anchored by exceptionally balanced performances from Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones as an elderly married couple looking to reignite the heat they once shared. It asks many difficult, uncomfortable questions, mostly of a sexual nature, and their earnest attempts to give everything a try are both hysterical and tender.

Now Is Good (19th Sept)3 stars

Dakota Fanning’s withdrawn, distant performance is one that grows on you as time goes by, but you may have a hard time sympathising with this girl early on, which is not good news, especially since she’s playing a young English girl from Brighton slowly dying of leukaemia. Faring a lot better is Jeremy Irvine as the sweet, doe-eyed love interest, and the older generation of the cast, Paddy Considine and Olivia Williams, playing the girl’s dysfunctional divorced parents. It’s a real tear-jerker, with a suitably beautiful ending.

Hysteria (21st Sept) 4 stars

Thanks to the brilliant mind of a doctor at the end of the 19th Century and his rich best friend, women nowadays get to enjoy vibrators. Despite its subject matter, which could easily be turned into a crass, mocking farce, the direction remains sensitive, taking logical steps to explain the course of events. Hugh Dancy is bright and enthusiastic as the doctor, Rupert Everett is the excellent comic friend, and Maggie Gyllenhaal thrives as a free-thinking, independent woman who gets tangled up in this historic invention.

Killing Them Softly (21st Sept) 5 stars

The narrative’s parallel to the state of world economics, focusing mainly on the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath, can be tough to take in, and this is in no way an easy film to sit through, but with much dense and cleverly written dialogue delivered with such skill and poise by a strong ensemble of actors (Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini, Richard Jenkins, Ben Mendelsohn, Scott McNairy), this also has time for some incredible slow-mo action that proves Andrew Dominik is one of the most fascinating directors around.

Looper (28th Sept)4 stars

Calling this the new Matrix is stretching it a bit, but with an intriguing concept involving time travel, it has a deep emotional back story and takes its time, logically building everything up to its loud finale. In a distant future where criminal organisations send off victims they want dead back into the past, it’s the Looper’s job to take care of it. Things get complicated as Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) comes face to face with his future self (Bruce Willis), who also has an agenda of his own.

Savages (21st Sept)3 stars

It’s overlong, and has an absurd, almost unnecessary narration from the irritating Blake Lively who leads a luxurious, comfortable life shacking up with two successful pot-growers (Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Enter a Mexican drug cartel headed by the excellent Salma Hayek and her sly, not too brainy second-in-command Benicio del Toro, and then we get kidnapping, shoot-outs and some interesting developments. Shame about the convoluted plot that sidetracks one too many times, and an unsatisfactory ending that wraps things up with little consideration for its characters.

Untouchable (21st Sept) 4 stars

The box-office hit that was the cinematic experience to beat in France, (currently the second most successful film ever there) “Les Intouchables” tells the amazingly moving and true story of an unlikely friendship that strikes up between a quadriplegic millionaire and a young man recently out of prison. Despite the familiarity you will notice from its predictable storytelling, it’s no surprise to discover this massive crowd-pleaser was such a success, and it’s largely thanks to the two fantastic leads, Francois Cluzet and Omar Sy.

Resident Evil: Retribution (28th Sept) 2 stars

The fifth entry into this tiresome, repetitive franchise finds no real improvement, with Milla Jovovich dressed up once again in a dominatrix costume, slaying evil zombies, fighting Umbrella Corporation with cool weapons. There are some returning characters, but really, who remembers or cares about any of them. Thankfully the next instalment promises to be the last one, and given the way this one ends, sets up to be an epic finale. But until then, we’ll just have to settle for this mediocre effort.