Movie of the week – Lady Macbeth
The standout of this week’s releases is Lady Macbeth. If you fall asleep at the thought of a Shakespearian adaptation, fear not – this has nothing to do with the bard. Rather it’s a ravishing thriller that mixes elements of film noir into the British period drama. Rising star Florence Pugh is deliciously wicked as the villainous young wife of a member of the gentry, whose affair with a stablehand has dangerous ramifications for all around her.
Suntan
Greece has become known for producing misanthropic dramas in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, and this continues with Suntan, the story of a doctor on a sunny Greek isle who falls for and is lead astray by a pretty young tourist. It’s well-mounted and impressively played, but the film never really rises above its miserable outlook.
Heal the Living
From France we have Heal the Living, a decidedly odd movie that ultimately plays like a feature length appeal for organ donations. The grief of parents whose son was left brain dead following an accident gives way to a new lease of life for a middle-aged woman requiring a new heart. That’s about as much plot as we get, and the characters feel like shells, but it does feature some visually striking moments.
The Promise
Genocide has never looked so glamorous as portrayed in The Promise, an incredibly misjudged wartime romance set against the backdrop of the notorious Armenian genocide. Casting western stars Oscar Isaac and Charlotte Le Bon doesn’t help things, and the film plays like a mockery of the very subject it’s attempting to spotlight. Ghoulish.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Regular readers will know I struggle with the never-ending Marvel franchise, but Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 really takes the biscuit. A juvenile collection of toilet humour, out-dated pop culture references and mind-numbingly dull action set-pieces, this is a new low for the comic book giants.
By Eric Hillis of themoviewaffler.com
