Primal Fear (1996)

No, not a Jurassic Park sequel or a Saw episode but a courtroom drama based on a William Diehl book with a title that bears little relevance to its story of a lawyer who represents an altarboy accused of the stabbing murder of a priest.

★★★☆☆

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEWS

The Dinner (2017)

In a fancy restaurant, a multi-course degustation delivered to tables by convoys of sleek, choreographed waitstaff is this movie's metaphor for a smooth, controlled passage or course through things, from A to B, and the dinner guests at one particular table - a politician, his second wife, his brother and sister-in-law - are the antithesis, an uncooperative, distracted, disparate group gathered to decide on their best course now that their teenaged sons have committed a despicable crime, in this frustrating film which tries to be both profound and farcical while it grapples with themes as wide-ranging as politics, American Civil War history, teenage bullying, adolescent crime, racism, parenting, sibling rivalry, familial secrets, and mental illness, all with a sassy, isn't-this-so-so-clever attitude.

★☆☆☆☆

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEWS

Nocturnal Animals (2016)

After 19 years apart from her first husband, an insomniac and deeply unhappy art dealer receives from him a draft novel, a devastating tale of loss she suspects conceals a sinister meaning, in this slow burn thriller with a, sadly only deceptively, arresting opening scene and first half.

★★★☆☆

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEWS

Love Actually (2003)

This saccharine romantic comedy is replayed on television about three times a week and I've grown to loathe it, but at least on the first occasion it is a pleasure, featuring an ensemble all-star cast in a series of interconnected stories that share the central theme of messy love.

★★★★☆

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEWS

Mr Holmes (2015)

The themes of memory, fact and fiction are explored in this movie that elaborates on the Sherlock Holmes canon, imagining the great detective at 90-odd years of age vexed by an unsolved case, but the movie's three distinct story threads are each so frustratingly thin - and in one important area, so unconvincing - that the impact of the interesting loftier themes is lessened.

★★☆☆☆

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEWS

You Can Count On Me (2000)

This is a heartwarming drama about a brother and sister reunited in adulthood after the deaths of their parents in childhood, starring next gen Marlon Brando and future Bruce Banner, Mark Ruffalo, and Matthew Broderick, a Culkin, and the always enchanting Laura Linney. 

★★★★☆

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEWS