Critical Week: Nice kitty

While many critics are darting off to Venice this week for the film festival there, I'm holding the fort in London. I had been hoping things would be a bit quieter here than usual, but that's not the case next week. There were two big last-minute screenings for films opening this week. Austin Butler stars in Darren Aronofsky's entertaining action romp Caught Stealing, which is funny and darkly violent. The acting and storytelling are often exhilarating. Meanwhile, Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch star in Jay Roach's new take on The Roses, which is both more British and less bitter than the 1989 classic adaptation The War of the Roses. But its characters and dialog are sharp and hilarious.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Young Mothers • Big Boys
Caught Stealing • Motel Destino
ALL REVIEWS >

Theodore Pellerin and Archie Madekwe are excellent in Lurker, a riveting dissection of celebrity culture as a young ruy worms his way into the entourage of a rising star musician. It's engaging and utterly riveting. The Japanese drama Happyend, follows a group of teens who are rebelling against both the school and national leaders who are wanting to watch and control them. Huge issues and engaging characters make this well worth a look. And the newly restored 1980 thriller Night of the Juggler is one of the grittiest, most ripping New York action movies I've ever seen. It stars James Brolin and Cliff Gorman and takes no prisoners. I also watched rather a lot of FrightFest movies over the long weekend, reported here in earlier posts.

This coming week I'll be watching Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga in The Conjuring: Last Rites, Denzel Washington in Highest 2 Lowest, Benedict Cumberbatch in The Thing With Feathers, Cooper Hoffman in The Long Walk, dog's-eye-view horror Good Boy and British drama Brides.

On the Road: Going underground

The 33

dir Patricia Riggen; with Antonio Banderas, Rodrigo Santoro, Juliette Binoche 15/Chl ***.Based on the true story of the 2010 Chilean mining disaster that captured the world's attention, this film starts out like a rather standard B-movie, with lots of corny melodrama and characters that have clearly been ramped up for dramatic effect. Then the astonishing events kick into gear and the film becomes startlingly gripping. Which is unexpected since the outcome is so well-known. But director Riggen, while never indulging in anything very flashy or inventive, quietly keeps the film grounded in reality, deepening the characters and situations by showing the side of the story the news media never reported. She also cleverly indulges in lots of religious imagery, while letting her starry cast do their thing to create engaging characters we can't help but root for. Banderas, Binoche and Santoro all get a chance to shine, as does a rather underused Lou Diamond Phillips. So even if it feels rather like a by-the-books TV disaster movie, the film works its way under the skin. And the final scenes (plus a black and white coda) carry a solid emotional kick.