SAVE ME
Sky/NOW TV
Finally a fresh, gritty take on the British 9pm drama/thriller, written by and starring The Walking Dead’s Lennie James. The genuinely gripping plot, however, is somewhat dampened by James’ ego-tripping portrayal of lead character Nellie, with his unrealistic street swagger and his non-existent bad boy charm. Powerhouses like Susanne Jones are left with little to do but cry at James and open their bank accounts and their beds to the homeless sex pest the second he starts another bout of emotional mansplaining. Perhaps Lennie James needed a new showreel? ***JS
MOSAIC
Sky/NOW TV
This is the masterclass of film-making you’d expect from Steven Soderbergh, translated neatly onto the small screen and starring a still-intense Sharon Stone. The direction jumps about a bit as the viewer is invited into the psyches of various key characters, but the plot is solid, the performances are strong and the imagery is little short of stunning. The only thing that’s missing (potential spoiler) is a final episode that wraps up the story. ****JS
SEVEN SECONDS
Netflix
High quality television has become a staple of the Netflix menu in recent times (Ozark, The Sinner, Unabomber), and this 10-parter doesn’t disappoint… until it does. The high drama, the what-the-fuck-next plot lines and some excellent performances will have viewers utterly absorbed in Seven Seconds – a gritty portrayal of corrupt police and grieving families after a fictional cop-killing in New Jersey. But like too many other shows hunting for that elusive second season (potential spoiler), it leaves a highly disappointing taste in the mouth as the credits roll for the finale. ***JS
MUTE
Netflix
Don’t let the pretty pictures fool you. This is the most boring film in history made even more sour by the vile attempts to make light of paedophilia. Net the Flix off my screen. *JS
ANNIHILATION
Netflix
A female centric sci-fi blockbuster is exactly what the film industry needed this year! Annihilation, directed by Alex Garland, is a thrilling movie about four accomplished women who embark on an expedition to the daunting Shimmer. With actresses such as Natalie Portman, Gina Rodriquez, and Jennifer Jason Leigh, Annihilation is surely headed straight for success, despite it being rejected from the big screen because of “limited box-office potential.” It’s a film worth watching even without the cinema spoils of surround sound and high definition quality – the underlying theme of horror ensures it’s compelling from the first scene to the credits. ****RdH
IMAGES
DVD/Blu-Ray, Arrow Video
Arrow continue to provide overlooked films with stunning high-quality transfers, and this reissue of a 1972 Robert Altman film is no different. Sandwiched in the middle of career highlights like McCabe And Mrs. Miller and The Long Goodbye, it’s easy to see why it’s a bit overlooked. It’s not quite as brilliant as those two, with some thin dialogue and plotting, but it remains a visually unique psychological thriller with a brilliantly operatic central performance by Susannah York and a strange, oblique score by John Williams before he got stuck in imperial marches. ***FT