The Light Between Oceans (12A)
three stars
Dir: Derek Cianfrance
With: Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander
Runtime: 133 minutes
TWO of the biggest talents in modern cinema, Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander, star in this thoroughly old fashioned tale. Based on the novel by ML Stedman, it is the story of a lighthouse keeper and his wife who go to live on an island off the coast of Australia that stands between two oceans, 100 miles from civilisation. The pair have everything going for them, starting with love, but does a happy ever after ending beckon? Derek Cianfrance’s picture ends up overwrought and exhausting, but the performances of Fassbender, Vikander, and Rachel Weisz as the third person in the marriage, raise this handsomely shot picture to above average.
A Street Cat Named Bob (12A)
three stars
Dir: Roger Spottiswoode
With: Luke Treadaway, Joanne Froggatt
Runtime: 103 minutes
BASED on the mega-selling memoir of James Bowen, Roger Spottswoode’s spotty picture will likely leave cat lovers purring with delight and others scratching their heads. Luke Treadaway plays Bowen, a young man struggling to come off drugs, find a home, and a purpose in life. Into his world pads a big ginger cat who was to have a huge impact. Yes, the picture is too cute for its own good - who thought shooting some scenes from the cat’s point of view was a good idea? - and the dialogue is not up to much, but its heart is in the right place and it doesn’t shy away from tougher subject matter.
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