FALL ★★★★☆
Directed by Scott Mann. Starring Grace Caroline Currey, Virginia Gardner, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Mason Gooding. 15A cert, gen release, 107 min
Two women on one insanely high tower. What could possibly go wrong? Everything. In a series of effectively sickening creaks and groans - maximised by nervy close-ups from cinematographer McGregor aka Miguel López Ximénez de Olaso - the ladder the heroes used to get to the summit hurtles to the ground, leaving them with no water, no food and no mobile phone signal. The adrenalin is real. The use of green screen chicanery disappears against dizzying Imax-shot heights and nail-biting genre kicks. Dumb, fun, and definitely not for the acrophobic. See it. Then go argue plot points with people on the internet. TB
THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING ★★★☆☆
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Directed by George Miller. Starring Idris Elba, Tilda Swinton, Nicolas Mouawad, Aamito Lagum, Megan Gale, Zerrin Tekindor, Oğulcan Arman Uslu. 15A cert, gen release, 108 min
A djinn (Elba) spins fantastic yarns to an academic (Swinton) in a Turkish hotel room. We flashback to Queen Solomon and succeeding exotics. Miller, who knows a thing or two about extravagance, is trying to magic us up something rotten, but the supposedly exotic visuals are so familiar - one thinks of a Fry’s Turkish Delight commercial remade with 21st-century CGI - that the yarns ultimately become deadening. The framing story between Elba and Swinton is much more enjoyable, a touching, moving interaction at the heart of flashy chaos. Not quite the brainy epic it thinks itself to be. DC
THE TERRITORY ★★★★☆
Directed by Alex Pritz. Featuring Neidinha Bandeira, Bitaté Uru Eu Wau Wau, Ari Uru Eu Wau Wau. Limited release, 85 min
There’s no doubting who the good guys are in this exemplary documentary account of the violent turf war between the indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau people of the Amazon rainforest and the thuggish invaders who seek to reduce the lush territory to farmland. There are, however, no easy answers or saleable happy endings here. Director Alex Pritz collaborates commendably and sensitively with his subjects. Two tribe members, Tejubi Uru-eu-wau-wau and Tangae Uru-eu-wau-wau, are named as co-executive producers; the latter also served as co-cinematographer. The awful sounds of destruction recall Joseph Conrad’s assessment of Roger Casement’s Amazon Diaries: “He could tell you things! Things I’ve tried to forget.” TB
BLACKBIRD ★☆☆☆☆
Directed by Michael Flatley. Starring Michael Flatley, Nicole Evans, Eric Roberts, Patrick Bergin, Ian Beattie. 15A cert, gen release, 90 min
The Lord of the Dance directs himself in lame thriller about an ageing spy dragged back into action when an old flame turns up at his Caribbean resort. This self-financed project is just about as poor as we had hoped. It may even be bad enough to bear ironic recommendation. But there remains something quaint about Flatley’s decision to fork out so much for an entertainment so rooted in enthusiasms from another era. It could have been even worse (better?). He could have danced the baddies to death while lasers blasted from his Cuban heels. Maybe in the sequel. Full review DC
