A Royal Night Out (2015)

We've seen royal daughters or the daughters of American Presidents going incognito to experience 'normal life', from Roman Holiday to Disney's Aladdin, and the twist here is that this movie tells of an actual example from history in which Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret embarked one night out of the palace to celebrate the end of the war, which may well have happened but almost certainly not as it is presented in this easy-enough-to-watch but heavily, heavily fictionalised comedy romance. 

★★★☆☆

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I Came By (2022)

A British Don't Breathe about a graffiti artist who breaks into a former judge's home, this Netflix (not-so-)original thriller completely derails in a middle stretch involving an Iraqi refugee - it is an inconsistent sequence offering rushed exposition - but then gets back on track to deliver some satisfying surprises and daring to go places the viewer will not be expecting.

★★★☆☆

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Murdered By My Boyfriend (2014)

This 2014 drama based on a true four-year-long abusive and controlling relationship that resulted in a young British woman's death is chilling viewing but is important in the way it illuminates the ways abusive men manipulate and lock their victims into no-win situations.

★★★★☆

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The Descent (2005)

If this gungho group of cavers didn't make such amateur mistakes at the outset of their underground expedition, their survival story might have been less irritating but as it is, with left-behind guidebooks and leaders making bad decisions in secret, it is hard to feel sympathy even when the caving drama gives way unexpectedly in its last half to supernatural horror.

★★★☆☆

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