The Limehouse Golem (2016)
Genre: Horror
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Starring: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, María Valverde, Eddie Marsan, Douglas Booth, Daniel Mays, Sam Reid
Duration: 109 minutes
Class: 15
KRS Releasing Ltd

Bill Nighy is on the hunt of a serial killer in The Limehouse Golem.Bill Nighy is on the hunt of a serial killer in The Limehouse Golem.

The British horror film is based on Peter Ackroyd’s 1994 murder mystery novel Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem, which featured real historical characters and is set in Victorian London.

The story finds London gripped with fear as a serial killer is on the loose and leaving cryptic messages written in the blood of his victims. With few leads and increasing public pressure, Scotland Yard assigns the case to Inspector John Kildare (Bill Nighy), a seasoned detective who has a sneaking suspicion that he is being set up to fail. Faced with a long list of suspects, Kildare must rely on help from a witness to stop the murders and bring the maniac to justice.

The film, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last week, received mixed reviews.

Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 76% score and the critics’ consensus reads: “The Limehouse Golem offers old-school Hammer-style horror anchored by rich period detail and strong work from a solid cast.”

However, Jonathan Pile of Empire wrote: “A great cast is let down by a script that fails to provide a compelling mystery to solve. Never mind as a big-screen production, this would be disappointing as a BBC mini-series.” And Dennis Harvey of Variety said: “As busy and artificial as Victorian decor at its most excessive, The Limehouse Golem is similarly rather too much of a posh good thing.”

The film was released in the UK on September 1 and garnered $1.2 million since then. It only opened in limited theatres in the US last week.

Ratings
IMDB: 6.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 76%
Empire: 2 stars

Victoria and Abdul (2017)
Genre: Drama
Director: Stephen Frears
Starring: Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Olivia Williams, Michael Gambon, Simon Callow, Eddie Izzard
Duration: 112 minutes
Class: PG
KRS Releasing Ltd

The British-American biopic is a sequel to the 1997 film Mrs Brown and is based on the book of the same name by Shrabani Basu, and on the real-life relationship between Queen Victoria and her Indian servant Abdul Karim.

Karim arrives from India to participate in Queen Victoria's golden jubilee. The young clerk is surprised to find favour with the queen herself. As Victoria questions the constrictions of her long-held position, the two forge an unlikely and devoted alliance that her household and inner circle try to destroy.

Ali Fazal keeps Judi Dench entertained in Victoria and Abdul.Ali Fazal keeps Judi Dench entertained in Victoria and Abdul.

As their friendship deepens, the queen begins to see a changing world through new eyes, joyfully reclaiming her humanity.

The film received positive reviews, with critics showering praise on veteran actress Dench.

Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote: “Dench is 82 now but she remains the world’s most formidable pixie, and in Victoria and Abdul, she’s in her element and in her snappish, showbiz-melancholy prime.”

Dan Jolin of Empire agreed: “The sorta-sequel to Mrs Brown deals effectively with another of Queen Victoria’s unconventional friendships and reprises Judi Dench’s powerful and unparallelled portrayal.”

The film, which premiered at the 74th Venice International Film Festival in July, is opening in theatres worldwide this week.

Ratings
IMDB: 6.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 69%
Empire: 4 stars

The Jungle Bunch (2017)
Genre: Animation
Director: David Alaux
Voices of: Paul Borne, Philippe Bozo, Pascal Casanova, Emmanuel Curtil, Michel Mella
Duration: 97 minutes
Class: PG
KRS Releasing Ltd

The French film follows a penguin named Maurice, who is raised by a tigress and is the clumsiest Kung-Fu master ever.

Along with his friends, the Jungle Bunch, he intends to maintain order and justice in the jungle, as his mother did before him. But Igor, an evil koala, wants to destroy the jungle once and for all, helped by his army of silly baboons.

A slew of outrageous characters inhabit the jungle in The Jungle Bunch.A slew of outrageous characters inhabit the jungle in The Jungle Bunch.

The film did not receive very good reviews.

Helen O’Hara of Time Out magazine described it as a “dated echo of better films like Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda”, while Cath Clarke of The Guardian wrote: “Loud and zappy, The Jungle Bunch trots out predictable be-kind-be-brave platitudes but lacks anything distinctive of its own.”

Jordan Mintzer of the Hollywood Reporter was quite entertained despite the film’s limitations. He said: “The pacing is fast enough to gloss over the film’s rather limited imagination. And although it is not exactly on par with the major studios, the animation work is nonetheless impressive.”

Ratings
IMDB: 6.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 36%
Empire: N/A

American Assassin (2017)
Genre: Action thriller
Director: Michael Cuesta
Starring: Dylan O’Brien, Michael Keaton, Sanaa Lathan, Chris Webster, Jeff Davis, David Suchet
Duration: 112 minutes
Class: 18
KRS Releasing Ltd

Based on the novel by Vince Flynn, the action thriller follows a duo as they try to stop the launching of a nuke in the Middle East. It was partly filmed in Malta, but bullets also fly in Rome, London, Birmingham, Istanbul and Budapest.

When Cold War veteran Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton) takes CIA black ops recruit Mitch Rapp (Dylan O’Brien) under his wing, they receive an assignment to investigate a wave of random attacks on both military and civilian targets.

After discovering a pattern of violence, Hurley and Rapp join forces with a lethal Turkish agent to stop a mysterious operative who wants to start a global war.

Dylan O’Brien is all set to hit his targets in American Assassin.Dylan O’Brien is all set to hit his targets in American Assassin.

The film did not receive very good reviews, partly due to lack of style and interesting plot.

Jonathan Pile of Empire described it as “an uneven thriller that would have been better served aiming for a lighter tone (and a lower age certificate)”.

Jeffrey M. Anderson of Common Sense Media added: “This thriller adds ‘American’ to its title in an effort to sound important or entertaining; it’s not.”

And the critics’ consensus on Rotten Tomatoes reads: “American Assassin hits a few easy targets, but without enough style or wit to truly bring its characters to life – or stand out in a crowded field of more compelling spy thrillers.”

Made on a $33 million production budget, the film has garnered $21 million since its release on September 15.

Ratings
IMDB: 6.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 34%
Empire: 2 stars

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