Berberian Sound Studio (15)
HHH
Dir: Peter Strickland
With: Toby Jones, Cosimo Fusco
Runtime: 92 minutes
AFTER the triumph of Katalin Varga, Peter Strickland was marked out as a British director to watch. His second feature, set in the world of a studio providing soundtracks for Italian horror films, is as ambitious as Katalin, if not as much of an end-to-end success. Toby Jones (Tinker Tailor, Infamous) plays a British sound engineer, Gilderoy, who travels to Italy to immerse himself in the world of Giallo, blood-curdling screams, stomach-churning action, and all. The 70s era and the world of Giallo are brought to life in a wonderfully grotesque fashion, but all the sound and fury in the world, and a terrific turn from Cosimo Fusco as the studio's ill-tempered chief, can't make up for a story that doesn't know where to go. As soon as Gilderoy begins to lose the plot the film follows suit, resulting in a grand muddle.
A Few Best Men (15)
H
Dir: Stephan Elliott
With: Kris Marshall, Olivia Newton-John
Running time 96 minutes
RAISE your glasses, ladies and gentlemen, and direct a frown in the direction of one of the worst films of the summer. Directed by Stephan Elliott, who once upon a time had a hit with Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, this Aussie-British co-production tells the story of newlyweds Mia and David and their ker-azee wedding. It's hard to say what is more cringeworthy and depressing: an animal being pressed into comedic larks that would have looked dated in a 1970s sitcom, or the sight of Olivia Newton-John playing a drunken, predatory mother-in-law.
Add in several gormless British actors – including the dad off the old BT ads – and a script that's as funny as cane toad poisoning, and A Few Best Men makes the average bridesmaid's dress look like a triumph of taste.
Avoid like an ex.
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