Hardcore Henry
One of the most novel action movies in recent memory, this adrenalie-and-blood-soaked Russian action thriller that puts the audience in the driver's seat as "Henry"; a man who wakes from a coma with no voice or memory and new cybernetic limbs who is on a quest to find information on his identity.
The plot is pretty basic (Robocop (1987) without the clever satire would be the best explanation) but the film makes no pretension to being anything but a pseudo-experiment in virtual reality. How much you will get out of the film will hinge in how much you can chime with the protagonist's actions. If you can switch your mind off and just enjoy blood and thrills, it's not without charms but the film's rather unnerving issues with women and gay people definitely leave a sour taste in the mouth. The film might also have one of the worst action movie villain to date, looking less like a Bond supervillain and more like a z-grade Dutch house DJ and Tim Roth is rather wasted in a minor role. Still, Sharlto Copley is on occasion entertaining, especially in a completely unexpected standout sequence that will forever tinge your appreciation for the Great American Songbook. Worthwhile for the curious, otherwise just stay at home and play Goldeneye for the N64. It's not that much different.
The Man Who Knew Infinity
Dev Patel stars in this biopic centred on Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan and his work at Cambridge in the shadow of the First World War. Supposedly ten years in the making, The Man Who Knew Infinity may have gotten its green-light off of the recent success of The Theory Of Everything (2014) given its similar backdrops and tone as well as the film doesn't seem quite as polished as it wants to be. That isn't to say that the film isn't enjoyable. Dev Patel plays off of his innate earnest qualities as Ramanujan whilst Jeremy Irons is his enjoyable foil in fellow Cambridge mathematician G.H. Hardy and the film does go some way to convey Ramanujan's fascination and love of numbers even as the film ticks off of all of the expected tropes for this kind of story. Ultimately, the film itself feels a little too ramshackle and a slightly more polished presentation would probably have done it wonders, but it's fine enough stuff with Toby Jones also making a good supporting part and Stephen Fry turns up for a couple of minutes being his always-charming self.
Midnight Special
Having previously given us Mud, Jeff Nicholls brings the same gritty aesthetic of the American south to this Close Encounters-tinged science fiction film about a young boy with strange powers that become of interest to the US government. Whilst elements of the concept are nothing new (aside from Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977), there are strong parallels to E.T. (1982), Starman (1984) and Looper (2012)) the film pulls them into interesting directions but never fully explains them or provide a satisfying resolution to them. Michael Shannon gives a very good performance alongside the film's child star Jaeden Lieberher, but the promising premise is ultimately spread too thin. Also includes Joel Edgerton, Adam Driver, Kirsten Dunst and Sam Shepard. (This Week's Hot Ticket)
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