Movie of the week – Carrie
Horror fans will be spoilt for choice next week, but if you can’t wait that long you can catch Brian de Palma’s knockout adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie late Friday night at the Lighthouse. Featuring a career defining performance from Sissy Spacek in the title role and virtuoso direction from De Palma, this is essential viewing for this time of year.
The Spiral Staircase
The Irish Film Institute offers more chills with a Sunday afternoon screening of the classic 1945 gothic thriller The Spiral Staircase. Dorothy McGuire is excellent as a young mute woman who finds herself trapped in a house alone with a serial killer and unable to cry or call for help. This one has lost none of its impact.
Queen of Katwe
The highlight of the week’s new releases is Queen of Katwe, the true story of Ugandan teen chess master Phiona Mutesi. While it’s a tad patronising, focussing as it does on Mutesi’s circumstances while largely ignoring her talent, it’s a thoroughly charming and inspiring tale, and a rare positive African story.
I, Daniel Blake
This week we finally get to see this year’s Cannes winner, Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake. You won’t know whether to laugh or cry at this infuriating tale of a carpenter’s attempts to negotiate the red tape of the welfare system following a workplace injury. While it’s initially compelling, Loach ultimately allows his message to smother the story towards the end.
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back sees Tom Cruise ignore such advice and return to the role of the hero of author Lee Child’s prolific series of paperbacks. The first film was an enjoyable thriller but this one plays like a double episode of a second rate TV show, failing to exploit either Cruise’s charisma or his willingness to perform insane stunts.
Ouija: Origin of Evil
Another sequel this week is Ouija: Origin of Evil. Well actually, this one’s a prequel to 2014’s Ouija, and it’s just as generic and formulaic, favouring jump scares over suspense and mood. Oui? Ja? Non. Nein.
Keeping Up With the Joneses
The worst of the week however, and one of the year’s worst movies is laugh free comedy Keeping Up With the Joneses, a painful watch in which a couple discover their new neighbours are spies. How original.
By Eric Hillis of themoviewaffler.com
