Movie Reviews: Tom Hanks is perfectly cast as Captain Kidd in News of the World
(from left) Johanna Leonberger (Helena Zengel) and Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd (Tom Hanks) in News of the World, co-written and directed by Paul Greengrass.
Set in Texas in the wake of the Civil War, (12A) stars Tom Hanks as Captain Kidd, formerly a Confederate officer and now an itinerant performer who travels from town to town to read out newspaper articles to people starved of national and international news. When Kidd encounters the young Johanna (Helena Zengel) on the road, he discovers that she has been raised by the Kiowa nation ever since they butchered her family six years previously. And so Kidd sets out on an epic trek south to reunite Johanna with her aunt and uncle, only to discover that Johanna is determined to rejoin the Kiowa people she believes are her real family. Adapted by Luke Davies and Paul Greengrass from Paulette Jilesâ novel, with Greengrass directing, News of the World is a neo-Western with a fascinating backdrop: Kidd and Johanna negotiate a poverty-stricken Wild West that simmers with Confederate rage at what they perceive as Yankee occupation; meanwhile, out on the prairies, the last remnants of the Kiowa nation is still at large and preparing to make its final stand against the white invader. Tom Hanks is perfectly cast as the avuncular Kidd, a man who unthinkingly assumes that civilisation (i.e., being reared as an American child) is the best thing for Johanna, and the film functions as a kind of sequel to The Searchers (Paul Greengrass even gives us an homage to the classic shot in which John Wayneâs bigoted Indian-killer Ethan Edwards stands framed in the doorway near the end of that movie), with the hero obliged to rethink his acceptance of cultural norms, and especially those of white supremacy imposed by violence and massacre. Cinematographer Dariusz Wolski makes superb use of the austere, moon-like landscape, Helena Zengel provides terrific support, and â apart from an implausible twist or two in the plot â Greengrass delivers a Western that is gritty, tender and timely. (Netflix)
(PG) opens with teenager Mark (Kyle Allen) going through the motions of his very own Groundhog Day, a seemingly idyllic but pointless existence that is upended on the day that something different finally happens: Margaret (Kathryn Newton) wanders into his life, and reveals that she too is experiencing a âtemporal anomalyâ that âviolates all known science.â Doomed to repeat the same day together, and seeking a purpose in life, the pair set out to make a map of all the tiny perfect things that happen in their little town. But when Mark comes up with a plan that might allow them to escape their existential nightmare, Margaret baulks: why she asks, does he believe that getting old and dying is such a wonderful thing? Adapted by Lev Grossman from his own short story, with Ian Samuels directing, A Map of Tiny Perfect Things has great fun playing with the Groundhog Day blueprint, referencing Doctor Who, Sisyphus, Euclid and Stephen Hawking as Mark and Margaret try to come to terms with their impossible existence. The leading pair donât quite deliver the chemistry we might expect from a quirky romantic yarn, but Kyle Allen is good value as the swaggering, laconic Mark, while Kathryn Newton is equally engaging as the sparky, sardonic Margaret. The story is charming, bittersweet and playful as it delivers a teenagerâs take on the age-old conundrum of free will, even if the more highbrow references raise expectations to a level that the film as a whole doesnât achieve. (Amazon Prime)
Set in the year 2242, Anti-Life (15s) opens in the wake of an apocalyptic plague, with Noah (Cody Kearsley) and Hayley (Kassandra Clementi) scrambling onto the last spaceship scheduled to depart the planet. Bound for New Earth, Hayley goes into suspended animation while Cody, assigned duties as a janitor, comes under the command of veteran space-traveller Clay (Bruce Willis). Tensions run high when Commander Stanley (Timothy V. Murphy) starts to suspect there are saboteurs aboard, but soon the warring factions are forced to unite against a common enemy: the alien invader that has transformed passengers and crew into flesh-devouring zombies. Written by Edward Drake and Corey Large, and directed by John Suits, Anti-Life is a zombie movie thatâs happy to poke fun at the genreâs limitations, with Bruce Willis firing off some of the cheesiest lines of his career (âAnyone for barbecue?â he enquires before blazing away with a makeshift flamethrower). The CGI is rudimentary â the alien creature, when finally revealed, is a throwback to 1958âs The Blob â and the standard of acting isnât much higher, but John Suits keeps everything moving at a cracking pace and provides plenty of targets for Willis & Co to mow down. (internet release)
