IN THE TALL GRASS
(Netflix)
This adaptation of a Stephen King and Joe Hill novel oscillates between the ridiculous and the kooky, and is actually all the better for it. The premise: unwitting travellers stop by a field and hear a lost child in the grass, but once inside the field they find they can’t get out. Director Vincenzo Natali does a solid job of making tall grass spooky and not letting the endless green bore visually (though the night-time scenes are blandly directed), but the real value lies in this film’s endless nutty plot twists. Good schlocky fun. ***FT
THE FATE OF LEE KHAN
(Eureka, Blu-ray)
Another sizzling Hong Kong genre film re-packaged by Eureka in glorious Blu-ray. King Hu’s The Fate Of Lee Khan (1973) came hot on the heels of his most well-known work A Touch Of Zen (1971), though it was nowhere near as internationally successful. Yet this is a brilliantly directed, elegant fusion of character and action: there’s more of the former than the latter here, the action arriving in short sharp bursts, with a believably complex villain and a coterie of excellent female roles all married to King Hu’s superb mise-en-scene and narrative control. The transfer looks great, the extras are in-depth and informative. This is the hot stuff. ****FT
EL CAMINO: A BREAKING BAD MOVIE
(Netflix)
Highly anticipated, this follow-up of sorts puts a bit of closure on the final events of Breaking Bad, by showing us the fate of Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul). Tired, traumatised and on the run, we follow him as he sets about trying to force a new life for himself. Although this is a superbly cinematic experience, delivering on the series’ longstanding influences from Westerns, it doesn’t fully do justice to Jesse. A character who has long been all talk and no walk, with an aversion to violence despite his career choice, quickly becomes a hard man once the plot requires him to. ***FT
BAD MOUTH S3
(Netflix)
After two series of absolutely scintillating and incredibly hilarious funnies combined with intriguing and honest conversations about gender/body politics and the frustrations of coming-of-age in the dog-eat-dog world of high school, something is slightly amiss about Series 3 of Big Mouth. There are one or two hugely misjudged moments, whilst the humour, though still gloriously rude and absurd, just lands a little less regularly right now. ***FT
WOUNDS
(Netflix)
Netflix original movies are, I think, fast becoming a graveyard for promising up-and-coming directors making their second or third features. Babak Anvari’s debut, Into The Shadow, remains one of my favourite films of the decade. His followup, starring Armie Hammer, Zazie Beets and Dakota Johnson, looks promising but fails to deliver. The premise is essentially The Ring but with smartphones, and whilst there’s plenty of potential in that, there’s just a crucial lack of fear, build-up and pacing. When you consider everything that made Into The Shadow so flawless – its culturally unique Tehran setting, its inner mythology, and its sheer brilliant directing – this is a big letdown. **FT