Cert – 15, Run-time – 2 hours 18 minutes, Director – Ryan Coogler

With the roaring 20s now faded away, twin brothers Smoke and Stack (both Michael B. Jordan) return to their hometown to open a night time music club and bar, however the opening night is disturbed by vampires seeking something within the music.

If you’ve managed to avoid the trailers for Sinners so far continue to do so. It’s amazing just how much of the film they give away, including key moments in the final 10-15 minutes. For those who have seen the trailers already these points likely won’t be spoilt. In their own moments they have a good deal of punch thanks to the style which writer-director Ryan Coogler brings to them. There’s a cinematic flair upheld by a burning fire, sometimes literally, in the filmmaker’s eye increasing the heat of both the tone and visuals.

Luckily, some of the best moments have been left out of the trailer. As the new nightclub opened by twin brothers Smoke and Stack (both Michael B. Jordan, tracking the film’s changing tones and events from both perspectives with some great details) on their first day back in their hometown gets its opening night into full swing Coogler steps into something entrancingly experimental. Like an out of body experience for the film itself as it takes the viewer with it, the sequence – which should simply be left to be seen – is led by the music, initially played by Miles Caton’s Sammie on guitar, as it weaves like the camera through the moving bodies in the busy club.

It’s a strong opener for the twins as they look to move on from their lives in roaring 20s Chicago. Now in 1932, with everyone back home believing they had gangster connections, they simply want to run a business and enjoy good blues music with friends. However, the night is soon disturbed by the arrival of vampires. Properly arriving almost an hour into the film this almost feels like another point that the trailers could have left out as a tonal surprise, although then there could be a very different film being marketed. That film would possibly be more along the lines of the opening hour which sees Jordan’s characters reconnecting with their roots and the town they left behind, bringing the people in it into their venture. Whether that be performing (Delroy Lindo on excellent form), on the door (Omar Benson Miller) or serving food and drinks (Wunmi Mosaku – whose character Annie previously had a relationship, and child, with Smoke.

There are a good handful of characters dancing, performing and discussing business throughout the night before the vampiric arrival, but the events are well tracked. Partly thanks to the feeling of a solid unit in both the cast and the characters themselves but also thanks to the ways in which Coogler tracks things with the camera and editor Michael P. Shawver. Even some sequences in which there are clear cuts feel as if they have a tracking/ one-shot nature because of the fluid nature in which events are caught. Yes, it might take a little bit of time to get here after the slightly unexpected build-up, which adds depth to the central characters, but once the night begins things move along smoothly and in entertaining style.

There’s something to relish in the tension and yet entertainment factor of the vampires, led by Jack O’Connell, standing at the door to the venue asking to be invited in, although much more sinister compared to how this would be gone about in What We Do In The Shadows. There’s a sense of dread once things start to properly go wrong. You can see the first domino truly fall and before it touches the next you know just how things are going to pan out. At least in terms of the doom that’s to follow, not specifically towards who. There’s still a sense of suspense and a darkness which hangs over the proceedings and the character piece things together and try to figure out how to survive the creatures lilting Irish folk songs outside.

Where Coogler fully flourishes is in his big set pieces. While largely confined to the one area for much of the screen-time there’s a busy feeling to the scenery which helps during more chaotic moments of action. As the climax nears you can almost feel the film clenching its fists, steadying its feet; preparing to make the first swing just before the fire bursts into life. From there you can feel the heat of both the location and the moment itself. The rage and fear which has built up over the last near hour as it unleashes in all directions for a spectacular finale – although make sure to stick around to the end where there’s something more sedate yet still effective – fuelled by the scope of Coogler’s direction and cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw.

If you’ve seen the trailers then there’s still plenty of punch and surprises to be found within Sinners and how it works with its characters, and how they work with each other. If you haven’t seen them then continue to avoid them and enjoy the tonal changes and gradually increasing drops of sinister threat as the integral music guides the events, and at times camera, for something which at times is utterly entrancing.

At times entrancing, at others spectacular, and sometimes both. Sinners builds up the heat and darkness yet remains guided by the central music and established relationships between the ensemble whose night is thrown off course in tense and entertaining fashion.

Cert – 12, Run-time – 2 hours 3 minutes, Director – James Hawes

When his wife (Rachel Brosnahan) is murdered, CIA cryptographer and coder Charlie Heller (Rami Malek) sets out to get revenge on those who killed her, with multiple branches of his employers on his tail.

There’s quite a starry cast amongst the various players in The Amateur, yet with what they’re given to do it feels as if there may be quite a few details of various strands left on the cutting room floor. Not quite a 90s-esque thriller, or even ensemble, there’s quite a mixed bag as we follow the various stages of CIA cryptographer Charlie Heller’s (Rami Malek) revenge journey.

After his wife (Rachel Brosnahan – largely appearing in very brief flashbacks) is killed on a trip to London Charlie seeks training from his employers so he can kill those who murdered her. However, things don’t go well when he’s unable to use a gun or face a direct threat as it towers over him. When a plot to dispose of him after he discovers incriminating information about Holt McCallany’s CIA deputy director fails he goes both on the run from his employers and seeking out those he seeks revenge against using his own set of skills.

It’s at this point that the build-up which has already shifted once or twice shifts again with occasional scenes of Charlie using these skills as he faces those who took his wife away from him. The sequences are tinged with perhaps unintentional humour with the ways in which he tries to find information which will take him to the top of where he needs to go – trapping someone in a box which he’s funnelling pollen into to set off their allergies or depressurising the air between layers of glass in an infinity pool so that it shatters. These moments almost feel as if they’re making up for the lack of this kind of action in Jason Statham’s recent A Working Man, but feel so far apart and lacking a cheesy one-liner to properly give them an entertaining hit beyond mere amusement.

As a whole the film passes by with its various shifts in the narrative, as Charlie’s globetrotting becomes more of a chase with various branches of the CIA sending people after him – including Laurence Fishburne’s Robert Henderson, the man initially set to train Charlie to kill. There are some nice interactions between the two here and there, including one in a dirty Parisian bar, and indeed the chase aspect in general has its moments which help to speed things up and move them along. But it just marks more clearly the various stages of all the build-up, and indeed everything else that’s happening in the film. It’s not that there’s an overstuffed narrative, just that the film quite obviously moves from point to point with a bordering-on-chaptered nature.

Things are generally put together with little trouble and they move along well enough, if not always being thrilling or fully engaging. Malek’s central performance has its moments during quieter scenes, largely not when facing a direct threat in-person, and as a whole the ensemble around him works, even with those who are given very little to do. It feels somewhat of a standard tech thriller. It’s unlikely that much of it will be remembered long after watching, or to some extent shortly after doing so either, but for the time it’s on there’s just about enough within the slightly staggered course of The Amateur to keep it largely afloat.

With a cast and pacing which feels as if quite a bit has been cut out, The Amateur moves along well enough and provides some likable moments once its cat-and-mouse strands break out, but doesn’t quite realise the ridiculousness of some of the revenge aspects it suddenly breaks out into.

Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 35 minutes, Director – Christopher Landon

On her first date in years, widowed mother Violet (Meghann Fahy) is plagued by messages from an unknown phone telling her to kill her date (Brandon Sklenar) or her son (Jacob Robinson) back home dies.

There’s a shift in the final stages of Drop where it turns from a suspenseful thriller into truly daft territory. While there’s dark comedy sprinkled amongst the escalating tension the sudden turn, you’ll know it as soon as you see it, is such a shift that it induces a different kind of laughter simply due to the immediacy of the switch. Yet, maybe because it doesn’t construct an entire third act, and it feels like the film allowing the growing bubble to finally burst as it nears an end, there’s something about this ending which works and doesn’t cause things to entirely swerve off the rails.

For the most part Drop is a well-contained, single-location thriller. Set in a fancy, skyline restaurant widowed mother Violet (Meghann Fahy) is on her first date in years. Leaving her five-year-old son Toby (Jacob Robinson) with her sister (Violett Beane), she’s nervous but just fearing an awkward date. Not to look at her home security cameras and see a gunman lurking in the shadows, ready to attack if she doesn’t follow the instructions being sent to her via an Airdrop-esque app from an unknown phone in the restaurant – not helped by the fact that everyone within the 50 foot radius seems to be cancelled out by an identifiable profile picture.

The instructions sent to Violet constantly increase the stakes for her, and increase the threat of not just her son being killed but also those in the restaurant with her, including her date, Henry (Brandon Sklenar). With each image or message Violet receives, shown in daunting form as large text hangs over her shoulder (and in mirror reflections), the tension ramps up. Director Christopher Landon has great fun with Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach’s screenplay, drawing out various instances and working with the cast to show the various thoughts and doubts running through their minds – whether it be the lives that are on the line, or the date simply not going well.

Every now and then a dash of humour is brought into the proceedings without disturbing the flow and rise of the suspense. Sometimes from the direct situations at hand, other times from the first-shift waiter (Jeffery Self, consistently funny when on-screen) dealing with Violet’s erratic behaviour. Contrast that with references to domestic violence, a factor of Violet’s marriage before the death of her husband, and there’s a number of well-handled details and elements working under the surface of this tight and effectively-told thriller. One which still manages to capturing the core thrilling nature with its deliriously entertaining tension, and to some extent silliness of the final stages.

Tense and darkly comic, even in the silliness of its closing stages, Drop is a tight and brilliantly entertaining thriller effectively confined to one location and really getting across the mixed thoughts and worries of the central date and beyond.

Release Date – 18th April 2025, Cert – 12, Run-time – 1 hour 52 minutes, Director – Peter Cattaneo

1976, with Argentina on the verge of a military coup, English teacher Tom Michell (Steve Coogan) finds his worries are more focused on keeping a penguin which has followed him back to work a secret from the rest of the school.

Marketed as a light comedy about Steve Coogan inadvertently adopting a penguin, The Penguin Lessons is absolutely what you’d expect it to be, even down to the slight swerving of more serious points. Set in 1976 against the backdrop of a military coup in Argentina we see and hear about people disappearing after being arrested in the street and crammed into the back of a car. Much of this is brought more forward in the second half of the film, still put in the background of Coogan’s English teacher bonding with a penguin, eventually named Juan Salvador, which has followed him back after a few days away in Uruguay – having saved it from an oil spill in order to impress a woman (Micaela Breque).

The biggest worries for Tom (Coogan) relate to the penguin and keeping it a secret until he can hand it over to a zoo. With a ban on any pets imposed by the headteacher (Jonathan Pryce, slightly feeling as if he was in the area with a couple of days free), and therefore his job on the line, especially when cleaning staff discover his reluctantly-held pet. A familiar light dramedy plays out with a hint of quirky unlikely duo energy. It’s certainly where the film wants to lean, despite at times feeling as if it wants to get into the more serious elements of drama, but steps away with a fear of losing the seeming silver-screen target audience.

It leads The Penguin Lessons to form a perfectly fine Sunday-afternoon-with-a-cup-of-tea film. There are some occasional chuckles, although they can tend to be sparse, and what’s there is light and engaging enough for the time the film is on. Coogan puts in a good turn which helps to lead the film and make its slower moments more engaging, also helping to lift up the more familiar beats and bring more to the dramas when they play out. There is a slight confliction at times between what the film wants to focus on and where it strays for the sake of keeping an engaged audience, but Coogan generally rides it out well and acts as the main consistent throughout, and there are indeed some nice moments between him and the central penguin.

The Penguin Lessons strays away from its more serious points in favour of the lighter man-and-penguin narrative. While it means the drama doesn’t quite land the right hits Coogan’s performance helps to lift what there is, making for a film that generally works, even if in forgettable fashion.

Cert – PG, Run-time – 1 hour 41 minutes, Director – Jared Hess

A group of strangers (Jason Momoa, Emma Myers, Sebastian Hansen, Danielle Brooks) are transported to a world made of blocks, under threat from a sorceress (Rachel House). To defeat her and get back home they must learn to use their imaginations and the elements of this new world.

A variation of a film based on Minecraft, one of the most successful games of all time, has been in the works for over a decade. Multiple directors and leads have come and gone through both live-action and animated forms, Steve Carell’s name was attached for a number of years, but the base of the game has largely remained the same. It’s summed up in the eventual Minecraft movie’s prologue: an endless sandbox where you can make almost anything using the blocks and elements which construct the world. A world of infinite possibilities, as long as you use your imagination.

While that might be the spirit of the game and its open world it hasn’t translated to the screen or narrative. When not focusing on Jack Black announcing items and figures as if the film expects an recognising round-of-applause the story constantly calls back to better takes on unleashing your creativity – The Lego Movie consistently comes to mind for much of the slow 101-minute run-time.

The narrative itself is light, as a group of near-strangers, each feeling as if they’re stuck at their various points in life, are thrown into the Minecraft world after following a magical orb. However, in order to get back they must restore the cube the orb connects to and defeat piglin sorceress Malgosha (Rachel House); intent on travelling from her dark dimension to the ‘Overworld’ and spreading a destruction which removes creativity. Acting as a guide for Jason Momoa’s former gaming prodigy Garrett ‘The Garbage Man’ Garrison and Sebastian Hansen’s young designer Henry – while older sister Natalie (Emma Myers) and, almost nameless, family friend Dawn (Danielle Brooks – the only person who seems to be aware that the script smacks of having five credited writers) are pushed aside with their own side-strand which involves simply walking around and finding the others – is Black’s Steve, having left Earth in exchange for the freedom of Minecraft many years ago.

For those unfamiliar with the game there’s little to access here. For those familiar with it, get ready for a whistle-stop tour of item namedrops before moving on to the next batch. There’s less a rove through locations and more just a working down the list of key game elements that haven’t been seen or mentioned yet. Thankfully, any fears of an uncanny-valley aspect to the largely-CG visuals are put to rest quite early on. There may be some quite obvious green screen/ lighting clashes here and there, but for the most part the live-action characters blend into the world fairly well, and the likes of animals and villagers are certainly nowhere near as horrifying as the dwarfs in Disney’s recent Snow White remake. One of the best elements of the film involves a Villager travelling to the real world and ending up on a date with a character played by Jennifer Coolidge. Each moment is brief, but they create some light humour with a couple of silly gags. Plus, they act as the best way of telling just how much of the film is left in terms of how far through the date we are.

The humour doesn’t quite spread back into the Minecraft world as the majority of the film lacks laughs and is largely hampered by the biggest issue of the fact that it’s simply quite boring. Again, we’ve seen the overall arc of the narrative done multiple times before, and even more creatively. It feels like someone else showing you their lacklustre builds as you sit behind them, looking over their shoulder, without having been able to see any of the build-up or exploring process which could have maybe at least made them somewhat worthwhile. The film certainly isn’t the wreck that some might have predicted, in fact it’s not really a wreck at all and contains some brief glimmers of amusement, mostly when not bogged down by the Minecraft aspects. Instead, it’s just a rather bland traipse which frequently preaches about imagination but doesn’t display a great deal of it itself.

For a film all about unleashing imagination and creativity, A Minecraft Movie feels heavily familiar to a number of other family films in its vein. There are some light moments of amusement scattered throughout, but they don’t stop the boring feeling of seeing someone else wander through their own uninspired builds.

Release Date – 4th April 2025, Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 47 minutes, Director – Alex Scharfman

After hitting a unicorn on the way to the wealthy Leopold family’s estate, father and daughter Elliot (Paul Rudd) and Ridley (Jenna Ortega) struggle to keep their secret, especially when the creature is revealed to have healing powers.

Death Of A Unicorn feels very much inspired by the works of Ruben Östlund. It particularly feels like a response to his Best Picture-nominated Triangle Of Sadness. However, this film, acting as the feature writing and directorial debut of Alex Scharfman, leans much more into an Americanised satire, with jokes much less drawn out. It also doesn’t realise the slight irony of its eat the rich story led by such a starry cast.

Yet, perhaps the biggest issue when it comes to the humour is the fact that the film itself doesn’t have enough bite. While some of the performances do, Will Poulter as a wealthy CEO’s son truly goes for it and gives the standout turn of the film as the man spoilt by riches his whole life, the screenplay doesn’t quite provide enough satirically to truly provide the right push. Yet, there are still some chuckles to be found here and there, particularly as the Leopold family discover not just the unicorn which has been hidden in the back of father and daughter Elliot (Paul Rudd) and Ridley’s (Jenna Ortega) car, after hitting it on the way to the vast estate, but the fact that it has healing powers. With supplies seeming scarce their decision is to keep the secret to themselves and only tell their wealthiest and most unwell friends.

However, what they don’t expect is for more unicorns to turn up, to find the missing member of their pack. With deadly attacks now unfolding there’s a split between saving lives and coming up with a plan to capture the creatures and use them for further gain. As the third act, where much of this is contained, plays out there’s a successfully growing air of tension as the unicorns are shown much more closely. Yes, sometimes the clearly CG nature gets in the way in some instances, but there’s still some suspense and fear factor to them as they prowl corridors or create havoc in the grounds of the Leopold family. All while Ridley, against the trip in the first place and brought along by her lawyer father who wants to show his good family connections to his potential employers, insists that she and her dad try to escape, as she pieces together just how deadly unicorns can be from an ancient tapestry.

While it might not have quite enough bite in regards to its satire, there’s still a watchable nature to Death Of A Unicorn. It sees itself through relatively well, helped by the performances at the centre and a sense of engagement even if it doesn’t always raise the laughs that it may wish for. In fact, the laughs come through best with the more it leans into a sense of horror and the aforementioned terror. The tones might not quite work hand-in-hand, but they certainly compliment each other well and bring out the sharper edges of the narrative and characters. Perhaps because of in-the-moment decisions the upfront nature of what’s happening to everyone at the same time at these points in the second half.

For the most part, there’s enough within Death Of A Unicorn to see it through, especially once its elements are set up. The performances may be more on the attack than the screenplay, but there’s still a solid debut which manages to engage, and has some good effective moments when it leans into its horror in the second half.

Lacking the same bite or scathing nature as its seeming inspirations, Death Of A Unicorn’s cast feel a step above its screenplay, which creates a couple of chuckles here and there, but largely when working alongside its successful later-stage tension.

Release Date – 4th April 2025, Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 29 minutes, Director – Jed Hart

When Nicky (Lyndsey Marshall) starts to lose sleep with her new neighbour’s nightly parties her attempts to calm things down lead to further torment.

In an age of social horror films Restless may be the most everyday. It’s also one of the most terrifying. As middle-aged nurse Nicky (a stunning Lyndsey Marshall) loses sleep with the noise created by her new neighbour’s nightly parties the torment grows when she tries to find some resolve, with nobody else in the road wanting to get involved.

Every decision leads to a seat-gripping, squirm-inducing sense of panic that the worst is going to happen. When she finally starts to drift off in the middle of the day, the only time it’s quiet, we see Nicky dreaming that young neighbour Deano (Aston McAuley) has crept into her home to stab her. While this moment is fantasy as the situation escalates and both parties grow increasingly heated in their responses to respective actions the threat rapidly increases. After one specific sequence of revenge the consequences see Deano almost breaking down Nicky’s door in a fit of rage, screaming through the letterbox and creating pure terror as Marshall’s character tries to hide.

Writer-director Jed Hart, in his feature debut, keeps everything stripped-back and naturalistic. It heightens the everyday sense of the horror, bringing in an air of familiarity as a story of nightmare neighbours jumps to worst case scenarios while still maintaining a believable atmosphere. Allowing for the tension to be ramped up as Nicky begins to fear for her life, becoming increasingly desperate in a fight she seems to be facing by herself – all while still facing the loss of her mother who used to live next door to her.

Marshall brilliantly captures the stress, panic and rising anger in her character as a war of quiet and noise breaks out with McAuley’s increasing aggression. The way she holds herself brings in the sympathy as you can see the toll the lack of sleep is plaguing on her. Alongside Hart they create the engaging world of realistic horror with great effect, making for a wonderful pay-off which completely flips the coin and is a pure joy to watch unfold.

Yet, we have to go through the relentlessly scary build-up to get there. The confirmation of her worst fears adds an emotional side to what she goes through, segueing from pure suspense into the emotion instead of suddenly just moving on. It helps with the flow and overall engagement to be found within Restless. Packing a lot into the short 89-minute run-time while not breaking or deviating for the horror genre that it sets itself up with.

Throughout I sat physically reacting to the panic and tension drawn out in a number of sequences, fearing the worst for the central character. Almost muttering as I willed her on to just go back and not go ahead with her in-the-moment impulses. I’m sure that this will be one of the scariest films of the year.

Bound to be one of the most terrifying films of the year, Restless is packed with suspense that plays into our own fears of worst case scenarios, wonderfully captured by Lyndsey Marshall’s growing anger and panic.

Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 56 minutes, Director – David Ayer

When his boss’s (Michael Peña) daughter (Arianna Rivas) is kidnapped, construction leader Levon Cade (Jason Statham) brings out his former royal marine skills to find her amongst Chicago’s organised crime scene.

Jason Statham has a pickaxe, and a sack of gravel, and a bucket of nails, and a gun. All of this applies to the first proper scrap in the opening ten minutes of A Working Man, Statham’s second team-up with director David Ayer following last year’s The Beekeeper. Unfortunately, none of it applies to the remaining 106-minutes as any form of creativity when it comes to fights and kills is thrown out of the window in exchange for near-impossible-to-follow punches and shootouts.

Levon Clade (Statham) may seem like a financially-struggling construction leader, however his past lies as a former royal marine. His work is quickly pushed aside, alongside any opportunity it has to add some fun to the action scenes throughout, as his past takes centre stage in the search for the kidnapped daughter (Arianna Rivas) of his bosses (Michael Peña, Noemi Gonzalez). However, in order to find Jenny, Levon must make his way through the shady world of Chicago’s organised crime scene. But why has Jenny been taken, and by who? Was she specifically targeted, mistaken for someone else? Is she going to be trafficked, held for ransom? And who actually wants her? It seems that Ayer’s screenplay, co-written with Sylvester Stallone – there are a number of action scenes and dialogue throughout which clunkily scream later-Stallone, think Rambo: Last Blood, as if the actor was envisioning himself in the lead role at some point or another – doesn’t actually know and is coming up with answers as it goes along.

It makes for a long near-two-hour run-time, which feels closer to three. We jump from location to location, gangster to gangster to mobster without any full idea of what’s going on. Yet, the framework still feels entirely familiar. Of course, Taken and its various copycat flicks come to mind. Yet, A Working Man seems to want to add even more layers to the maze-like hierarchy which Levon has to shoot his way through in order to find Jenny – wanting to keep a family together, whilst we see him early on struggling with custody of his young daughter (Isla Gie) after the death of his wife, with his violent past being used against him. Every times someone who seems like a key figure is taken down, at least two more crop up in their place. It leads to a scramble for screen-time amongst multiple villains without it always being clear how they link together.

It leads to an unnecessarily bulky film which becomes as frantic as the editing itself. The way the action in particular is cut means that almost none of it can be properly seen, so we’re simply watching a series of dimly-lit flashes with a barrage soundtrack of bullets, thuds and glass shattering. Yet, somehow it combines to increase the blandness of the film due to its overfamiliarity. We’ve seen all the characters, not helped here by a series of overexaggerated performances, and situations countless times before.

The entertainment factor of The Beekeeper isn’t present because A Working Man appears to not be aware of the potential it has for some madness, or simply fun. It treats itself with thorough seriousness and a stony-faced expression from start to finish, creating almost a barrier between it and the audience. The film simply forms itself early on as an overfamiliar slog confused as to quite where it stands with its many antagonists and in serious need of some self-awareness and just a simple sense of fun.

There’s little excitement of fun to be found in A Working Man’s too-serious-for-its-own-good demeanour. An overfamiliar slog with far too many antagonists to keep track of it leads to a bland jumble in need of some self-awareness and humour.

Release Date – 28th March 2025, Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 50 minutes, Directors – Robert Olsen, Dan Berk

Assistant bank manger Nathan (Jack Quaid) has a medical condition which means he can’t feel pain, when robbers take the girl he likes (Amber Midthunder) hostage, he goes in pursuit.

The idea of action sequences revolving around the idea that the central character can’t feel pain could easily wear thin. While they play a key part in the bloody fights which happen throughout Novocaine, the main source of humour within them comes more from assistant bank manager Nathan’s (Jack Quaid) constant apologies when he strikes, stabs and slashes his opponent, and at times his own awkwardness. He doesn’t want to fight, or kill, but in order to save himself and the girl he likes he may have to, even if sometimes accidentally.

He’s in pursuit of the people who robbed the bank he works at, but more importantly for him took colleague Sherry (Amber Midthunder) hostage when the police show up early. With back-up ages away, he chooses to take a gun and a police car and chase after the criminals himself, however when they split up he needs to find a way to track them down, and save Sherry. Things move from location to location breezily, with plenty to like about the action and indeed the gags about Nathan’s condition bring about a good few laughs along the way.

Quaid leads with a likable presence, bringing out plenty of amusement in the uncertainty of his character in the frantic search that will hopefully continue the happiness he’s finally found in his life – the one person who brought meaning into it and stopped him from shutting himself away from the world. He leads the film with an energy that matches the overall style of a simply entertaining actioner. One with plenty of impactful punches and splatters, even if the main character can’t feel them.

There’s an energetic flow that connects things without feeling chaptered. Things might start to feel a little bit drawn out in the third acts multiple stages which start to push things with each extension. Particularly as fights get more brutal, and to some extent more unbelievable; even in the confines of a film such as this that leans into comedy and ridiculousness. There’s still an entertainment factor in just how far the film pushes itself, but what it’s missing is the same overall slight-anxious charm of the central character as he becomes more of a straightforward action hero. There’s still an element of Nathan as he was, but not quite to the same comedic extent as in the entertainingly thrilling fights of the bloody, search-based build-up.

A funny, entertaining actioner that wants to be just that, Novocaine is led by a likable central performance by Jack Quaid who brings about a number of laughs in bloody fight sequences which manage to not fall into a set of one-note gags.

Cert – 15, Run-time – 2 hours 3 minutes, Director – Barry Levinson

Childhood friends Frank Costello (Robert De Niro) and Vito Genovese (De Niro) find their relationship growing tense over the decades as their ways of controlling New York City and fellow crime bosses differ.

The comparisons to Goodfellas and crime classics have been many for director Barry Levinson’s latest, The Alto Knights, so far. With writer Nicholas Pileggi behind the screenplay, and indeed Levinson’s past credits such as Bugsy, a throwback to the mafia movies of the 90s seems to have been expected. However, The Alto Knights is something of a quieter affair less about the upfront crime and more about the relationship between two crime bosses in the 50s, both with very different ways of getting things done.

We see much of the film’s events through the eyes of Frank Costello (Robert De Niro), trying to live his life peacefully as he fills the pockets of police and politicians. This is his business and he deals with things in a largely straightforward way. Meanwhile, Vito Genovese’s (also De Niro) business is violence. Often surrounded by gang members and henchmen, the film opens with a hit job he orders against Frank. The two grew up together as childhood friends, however over the decades tensions have grown in their relationship, particularly in a bid for control of New York City, and more importantly other crime families.

De Niro isn’t quite playing two leads, more a lead and key support. We see less of Vito than might be expected, and the two only really appear in two scenes together – handled well without the feeling of a gimmicky push of ‘look, it’s the same actor!’ The actor, who has suggested multiple times in the past that he’s done with crime movies, puts in a pair of good performances which in many ways the film rests on. While there may not be many differences, aside from the fact that Vito often wears a hat and glasses and appears to be inspired by Joe Pesci in Goodfellas, there’s enough to sell these as two separate figures and move the narrative along with them as their lives crossover multiple times, with some cases being more conflicting than others.

As the third act unfolds we see two different perspectives of a journey to a key meet-up, it’s a simple drive, but Levinson brings in a layer of growing tension, particularly for Frank, as the destination gets closer. It’s an extended sequence which while causing the run-time to be felt a little bit, acts as one of the most engaging points of the film. There’s a good deal to like throughout the subdued nature of the narrative, largely in scenes where we see the different behaviours and responses of the two bosses – as Frank testifies to congress Vito watches on TV, shouting at the screen and forming a highlight at the same time. Again, much of The Alto Knights seems to rest on the decision to bring De Niro in to play both roles and his performances, and luckily they’re effective turns which help to move things along and create a rift between the characters which still holds the impression of childhood friends who grew up together.

It doesn’t seem like Levinson is trying to go for Goodfellas, or those other notable throwback titles. Yes, there may be some shared elements and nods here and there, but as a whole this isn’t a film with the same darkness or bite. It has its moments of tension, largely after a good deal of build-up in the relationship and quiet feud between the two De Niro roles, and that feud is the central focus. The ways in which its organised and gone about, and the differences between the two figures responses. There’s an interest to be found in it and while the run-time could do with a slight trim, for the most part there’s an engaging and competently made crime boss drama at play.

Not the throwback to the likes of Goodfellas that some may be expecting, The Alto Knights is a more subdued affair that rests on the shoulders of Robert De Niro’s engaging central performances, making for a well made film with enough interest to see it through.