Films: February 20 - 26

Whiplash (2014) / The Producers (1967) / The Dig (2021) / Summerland (2020) / The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society (2018) / Testament Of Youth (2015) / The Invisible Woman (2013) / Their Finest (2016) / Denial (2016) / Operation Finale (2018)

Whiplash (2014) JK Simmons' intense, brutal Svengali-like music teacher and Miles Teller's obsessive, consumed drummer are well matched adversaries and collaborators in a propulsive, dark tale of abuse and art. Meticulously made, an exciting, exhausting tale, as hypnotic as the rhythmic beat.

The Producers (1967) Reveling in its defiant lack of taste, a shaggy, winning string of laugh out loud scenes with its central musical number a cultural and comedic perennial. A sleazy, generous Zero Mostel and needy, emotional Gene Wilder are the desperate duo attempting to make a guaranteed flop.

The Dig (2021) Honest, sensitive performances from Carey Mulligun, Ralph Fiennes and Lily James headline a touching story with more than just archeology on its mind. Handsomely produced, yet stylistically self-conscious and letting shifting points of view confuse the themes and purpose.

Summerland (2020) Gemma Arterton gives an affecting, soulful performance as the initially reclusive and irritable writer who gradually opens up when an evacuee from the Blitz is sent for her care and past secrets and future dreams collide. Immaculately made and quietly moving.

The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society (2018) Though it drags midway, an affectionate look at the importance of books and pain of prejudice, where subsidiary plots and characters are more engaging than the central romance. An open, vulnerable Lily James leads a sympathetic cast.

Testament Of Youth (2015) Poetic and cruel, intimate and sweeping, a moving look at a generation's youth lost physically and emotionally to World War I's ravages. A luminous, truthful Alicia Vikander is the wounded heart of a story that relentlessly piles on tragedy yet maintains a feminist view.

The Invisible Woman (2013) Artful, thoughtful love story, as hopeful actress Felicity Jones loses herself in a 13 year affair with Ralph Fiennes' inquisitive, powerful Charles Dickens. Sumptuous production values create an intoxicating atmosphere. A film of sly looks and subtle moments.

Their Finest (2016) Adeptly made, with a bitter sense of fatality and a committed Gemma Arterton, though the mix of cynical comedy, love story and British perseverance during WW2 doesn't quite jell. Modern stylings prevent a truer sense of period films. The feminist view proves honest.

Denial (2016) A timely if uninspired dramatization of the London court case that argued the truth of the Holocaust against the arrogance and cruelty of deceit. An intelligent David Hare script never fully delivers on the emotions, but the tale is worth telling and the performances are uniformly strong.

Operation Finale (2018) A solid, involving character piece fronted as a thriller as Oscar Isaac's Mossad agent puts together a team to kidnap Ben Kingsley's Nazi war criminal from Argentina and bring him to trial. Characters are smartly drawn, the production unfussy if also rather dry.