Films: June 21 - 27

La Délicatesse (Delicacy) (2011) 
La Religieuse (The Nun) (2013) 
Woman On The Run (1950) 
Annabelle Creation (2017)
Annabelle Comes Home (2019) 
Do Revenge (2022)
Kampen om Narvik (Narvik) (2022) 
The Mother (2023) ///

La Délicatesse (Delicacy) (2011) Whimsical romance sees contrary Audrey Tautou, three years a widow, abruptly fall for shyly awkward François Damiens, both searching for predictable, irresistible resolutions. Charming leads promote a tender innocence, while plain stylings tiptoe across light drama with winning simplicity.

La Religieuse (The Nun) (2013) Conflicted Pauline Étienne is young nun suffering at hands of cruel Louise Bourgoin and frustrated Isabelle Huppert. Despite emotional and physical degradation, personal strength finally builds to relief of bittersweet resolution, images suffused with earthy, natural tones.

Woman On The Run (1950) Briskly paced pursuit through gritty San Francisco sees cynical, mistrusting Ann Sheridan avoiding police to prove husband is innocent witness to mob killing, despite marital conflict. Suspicious reporter Dennis O'Keefe's involvement laces tension with dark humor and visuals until funfair climax.

Annabelle Creation (2017) Polished visuals strand nun and orphans in remote, creaky house where demonic doll waits in the shadows.  Evocatively conceived, style tends to consume character and story though eerie unease of haunted farm is effectively sustained for regular jumps and chills.

Annabelle Comes Home (2019) Handsome design jettisons narrative interest for setup that traps ghost hunters' spiritually receptive daughter Mckenna Grace along with babysitters in house with evil spirit let loose. Effective scares mount without conjuring sense of creeping jeopardy. Lively yet entirely unremarkable.

Do Revenge (2022) Darkly satisfying riff on high school genre builds comic energy against saturated design as unlikely, uncompromising allies Camila Mendes and Maya Hawke devise revenge on wealthy fellow students. Ostentatious cruelty weaves enjoyable revelations despite extended conclusion.


Kampen om Narvik (Narvik) (2022) Produced with expansive vistas and atmospheric visuals, true history background of German invasion and local resistance at start of World War II meets painful social politics yet misses on making felt personal issues of sacrifice and betrayal which ache at the centre of Kristine Hartgen and Carl Martin Eggesbø's story.

The Mother (2023) Anonymously told and quickly stripped of plausible tension, exhausting series of violent action sequences sees hardened assassin Jennifer Lopez out of hiding to rescue daughter Lucy Paez after she's kidnaped by vengeful Joseph Fiennes. Efficiently slick, mother daughter dynamics fail to elevate drama.

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Films: September 23 - 29

Unstoppable  (2010)  Romancing The Stone  (1984) Steirerblut (The Forest Killer) (2013) Landkrimi Tirol: Das Mädchen aus dem Bergsee (Tigh...