Movie of the week – Valley of Love
Two French acting legends, Isabelle Huppert and Gerard Depardieu, team up for the first time in over three decades for Valley of Love, in which the pair play a divorced French couple who reunite in the American SouthWest to follow a mysterious set of clues left in their son’s suicide note. It’s a spiritual movie, with many Christ allusions, but it never shoves its beliefs down your throat, and the two leads are on top form.
Nerve
Nerve is a prescient tale of a previously timid teen who finds herself swept up in a mysterious online game in which she must complete a series of increasingly dangerous dares. The film never really exploits its premise, and is a little too preachy on the subject of the dangers of online anonymity, but Emma Roberts is impressive in the lead role, and it’s one of the year’s most visually stunning movies.
The Shallows
Blake Lively finds herself stuck on a rock as a hungry great white shark encircles her in The Shallows. It would be foolish to expect another Jaws, but this one doesn’t even work as a popcorn b-movie, failing to effectively deliver suspense or tension.
Ingrid Bergman in Her Own Words
Classic Hollywood fans will want to check out new documentary Ingrid Bergman in Her Own Words, which tells the story of the Swedish star through extracts from her diaries and letters, along with home movies filmed by the actress and her family and friends. At almost two hours, this one outstays its welcome and suffers from a little too much reverence for its subject.
By Eric Hillis of themoviewaffler.com
