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| Rebel Ridge Photo: © 2024 Netflix, Inc |
Rebel Ridge, Netflix, streaming now
I will not be the first, nor the last, to note that if this had been released in cinemas it would be doing healthy box office right now. Instead you can catch the taut thrills of Jeremy Saulnier's upper echelon action movie in the comfort of your own home. In it British actor Aaron Pierre announces himself as a name to look out for as Terry Richmond, a former marine who becomes unwittingly mired in a web of smalltown corruption after encountering the cops as he heads to bail out his cousin. Saulnier, who previously made Blue Ruin and Green Room never just throws away an act of violence - these things count in his world. Terry also doesn't want to get into that but, of course, we see him increasingly pushed to the limit by Don Johnson's shady police chief, especially after a young lawyer (AnnaSophia Robb) who has helped him also finds herself targeted. Full review coming soon.
Monos, 1.40am, Film4, Wednesday, September 11
Jangle your nerves some more with this impressive riff on Lord Of The Flies, which comes loaded with breathtaking, not to mention highly dangerous looking cinematography by Jasper Wolf and a score to die for from Mica Levi. The story of eight child soldiers leading a feral existence with their captive in a remote part of Latin America sees Alejandro Landes generate a nightmarish mood from the start, which feeds off the unpredictability of the youngsters as the group begins to fragment. Landes' film not only has a cow with the wonderfully surreal name of Shakira but also a deliberately chaotic, gripping energy that is well worth staying up late for.
Belle, 11.05pm, BBC2, Thursday, September 12
Jennie Kermode writes: If you think that young mixed-race women struggling to find acceptance in aristocratic circles is a new issues, Amma Asante's handsomely presented 2013 costume drama will set you straight. Asante, who explored related themes in A United Kingdom and Where Hands Touch, By its very existence, Belle points up the glaring absence of black faces in most heritage films and the distorted picture of British history that it represents. The film, which is based on real life events, also explores issues around the ending of the slave trade and the ways in which women engaged with politics before they were able to do so directly. There's a romance at the centre but equally important is the heroine's relationship with her father. Asante's characters are always both politicised and political, vitally connected with a wider world, enabling the director to take on bigger stories through ostensibly simple tales.
Alien, 10.40pm, BBC1, Friday, September 13
The space monster franchise shows little signs of slowing up with Alien: Romulus hitting cinemas last month. The original remains a high water mark and proves that when a jump-scare is a good one, it can still work on repeat viewings.The story of a small crew suddenly faced with an existential threat may sound spare but Scott wrings tension from almost every moment, deftly withholding a full-on glimpse of HR Giger's sinister creature, so that it retains its stuff-of-nightmares quality throughout. The ensemble cast, while a bit thin in terms of characterisation, are also pitch perfect while the spaceship itself has a grimy realism.
Vanishing Point, 12.45am, Talking Pictures TV (Freeview Channel 82), Saturday, September 14
Jennie Kermode writes: There are few films in any genre as enduringly iconic as Vanishing Point. The key is, perhaps, in the simplicity of its premise. Kowalski (Barry Newman) is a former race driver turned delivery driver who picks up a white 1970 Dodge Challenger in Denver, Colorado so he can deliver it to San Francisco, but who subsequently, when buying the drugs that will keep him awake for the ride, makes a bet that he can make the 1,250 mile journey in less than two days. Outrunning the cops he meets along the way, he finds himself making the news, a radio presenter providing the kind of running commentary that suffuses the airwaves today but was new at the time. As Kowalski is transformed from an ordinary man into the last American hero, small details take on powerful symbolic weight and John A Alonzo’s cinematography immerses the viewer in the moment. Kowalski is doomed, of course, with Sixties idealism destined to crash head first into modernity, but along the way there is something transcendent.
Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, 6.30pm, Film4, Saturday, September 14
Various films from this franchise are scattered through the week on Film4, but don't miss this funny, exciting return to form in this third instalment of Steven Spielberg's series after the slight dip of Temple Of Doom. This time around Indy (Harrison Ford) is back battling those troublesome Nazis (arguably more scary than in the first film) in a bid to find the Holy Grail - more importantly, he's brought his dad (Sean Connery) along for the ride. Thanks to Ford and Connery, the film packs double the charisma and the pair have great fun as the sparring dad and son. There's also a lovely little origins story - complete with breakneck chase - to kick the whole thing off, featuring River Phoenix as the young archaeologist.
The Queen, ITVX, streaming now
New on ITV's free streaming service, no doubt to coincide with the two-year anniversary of the monarch's death, this well-appointed drama is well worth a look for Helen Mirren's Oscar-winning turn as Elizabeth. We've all become quite used to the Royal Family's private life getting a workout courtesy of The Crown, but Stephen Frears and Peter Morgan's drama was unusual at the time in digging down into the human, less ceremonial side of things. Set in the wake of the death of Princess Diana, it heads to Balmoral, where Queen Elizabeth is trying to simultaneously navigate her family's grief while still commanding more public affairs of state. Beyond Mirren's excellent embodiment, Michael Sheen is also excellent as Tony Blair.
This weeks's short selection is [film[Stranger At The Gate[/film], regarding a former US marine's terror plot that took an unexpected turn.
