Black Widow, Old and Jungle Cruise

 

I seem to have exhausted all the recent dramas at the cinema and here we are in the summer blockbuster season. Of which Black Widow is, for the most part, a superior version. Much to do with Scarlet Johansson in the title role and the excellent Florence Pugh in support. Much more like a James Bond or  Jason Bourne movie than a typical super hero film. All except for the CGI over heavy final part that I found terribly boring. The American producers seem to be running our of British character actors to play the villain as Ray Winston was awful. 

Good to see M. Night Shyamalan back on form with Old, this highly original thriller. It  was well filmed and good to look at, mostly located on a beach in the Dominican Republic. However the dialogue is a little clunky and the editing left a lot to be desired, unless it was meant to feel clunky and uncomfortable. A top quality cast that included Gael Garcia Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Thomasin McKenzie and Rufus Sewell were never quite convinced by their lines, but the sheer novelty of the plot saves the day. 

Yes, it's the school holidays and Jungle Cruise is first up for the kids. This time a cross between Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Caribbean. It was noticeable how much better an actor is Emily Blunt than Dwane Johnson. They should have cut most of his dialogue (a lot was just embarrassing) and left it to the superior Blunt to hold the drama together. Jack Whitehall was also disappointing as the upper class twit and fall guy. Some of the action sequences are well filmed but the chemistry between the two leads is non existent. Bring back Harrison Ford.