Lucy Griffiths

Based on a novel by Cally Taylor, this British romantic comedy is so simplistic that it offers very little to anyone who doesn't buy into the trite movie formula. With unlikeable characters and a stilted pace, the film will only appeal to audience members who have an unrealistic view of romance as something from a Hugh Grant movie. While it makes some telling observations along the way, it's simply too belaboured to properly spark any sympathy.

The story is set in Brighton, where Beth (Skins' April Pearson) works in a family-owned cinema that's about to be bought by a national chain and handed over to regional manager Matt (Game of Thrones' Karl Davies). While Beth waits around for her boyfriend Aiden (Matt Beveridge) to tell her he loves her, Matt has just split from his high-maintenance girlfriend (Lucy Griffiths). Shockingly, Aiden asks for some space, and Beth ends up having a drunken moment with Matt. After a dodgy start, they manage to have a few more moments before Matt cools things down, suspicious that Beth is chasing him in order to get a job. So Beth thinks that maybe she'll move to Australia on Christmas Eve with her mum (Pat Garrett) after all.

The plot takes a few unexpected twists while remaining resolutely within the rom-com formula, which makes everything thoroughly predictable from the start. And the title is misleading, as this isn't remotely a Christmas movie except for the date on the calendar. But the real problem is with writer-director Jamie Patterson's pacing: the story lurches through a series of awkwardly staged set-pieces that never add anything to the characters or narrative. With slack editing and hammy performances, it feels like an episode of a daily soap, abandoning the artistic animated flourishes of the opening sequence for dress-up montages and lots of drunken wallowing.

Continue reading: Home For Christmas Review

There's an interesting, timely idea in this espionage thriller, as well as adept leading actors who are able to make the most of the script's dry wit. But the film is ultimately sabotaged by a clearly low budget and lacklustre direction that fails to connect the dots of the story. Even with some clever touches, the plot is resolutely fuzzy, and since it never comes into clear focus it's difficult for us to care what happens.

The title refers to radio stations governments have used for decades to broadcast strings of numbers that are decoded by covert field operatives. One of these agents is Emerson (Cusack), whose job is to clean up messes around America. But after a nasty incident he's having second thoughts about his career, so his boss (Cunningham) reassigns him to a numbers station in rural England, where his task is to keep an eye on civilian cryptologist Katherine (Akerman). Then the station is suddenly compromised, leaving Emerson and Katherine locked inside while a gang of baddies tries to break in.

Director Barfoed gives the movie a nicely haunted quality that builds a strong sense of menace. Cusack adds his trademark cynicism to the mix as a man who resorts to brittle humour to mask his torment over the death of a teen girl on an earlier mission, made worse by the fact that Katherine is now a "loose end" here. And so is he, for that matter. Akerman is a superb foil for him, giving Katherine a spiky braininess that catches Emerson off guard: if he's falling for her, he can't kill her. Can he? These themes are thoroughly involving, even if the script never goes anywhere with them.

Continue reading: The Numbers Station Review