"It's too nice to be indoors", remarked my mate Simon when I told him I was at the cinema earlier this week. Well, this column would be a bit pointless if I didn't go, plus give me air conditioned audiitoriums over sweltering heat any day!
Super creepy Cobweb follows a lonely eight-year old boy Peter (Woody Norman), who hears mysterious knocking sounds at night from inside his bedroom walls. His icy mum (Lizzy Caplan) and dad (Antony Starr) convince him there's absolutely nothing to worry about, but as school bullies make his life a misery, Peter starts to talk to the voice behind the wall. Will letting it out go well? Come on, have you seen a horror film before?!
This falls nicely into my 'fairly decent films that you can watch in under 90 minutes' file, as whilst it's by no means a classic, it was suitably spooky and chilling. It might have worked better next month as Halloween approaches, and not watching it on a baking hot September day, but never mind. Contains elements from several other horrors, but the final 20 minutes in particular were great fun. A lot like going on the ghost train at an old amusement park...you can guess what's coming, but it's a fun ride. A special mention for Cleopatra Coleman, who I really rated as Miss Devine, the concerned supply teacher who spotted Peter's dark and demonic 'Help Me' drawing and tried to help him. Pulpy but predictable at times, it doesn't take itself too seriously. Having said that, I'd argue The Blackening is a better viewing choice.
The Equalizer 3 is a cracking watch. Reunited with Dakota Fanning almost 20 years after Man On Fire, Denzel Washington once again plays Robert McCall. "Are you a good man or a bad man?", he is asked. "I'm not sure" comes the reply. Spoiler alert - he's definitely good!
As he tries to reconcile his past actions, McCall settles into a quiet community in a beautiful Italian coastal setting, and is slowly accepted by the locals as one of their own. Lovely gestures like an old lady giving him a lemon to go with his cup of tea confirm his part in the community. The Italian mafia have other ideas though, and are determined to drive a wedge through his quiet retirement.
Denzel Washington is as quietly effective as always. A subtle, skilled actor, and you always know you're in safe hands. In fact, Robert McCall would be a very handy man to know if you found yourself in a sticky situation. Yes, it's far-fetched, yes it's eye-wateringly gory, but I liked the storyline and the setting, and this felt as good as 2014's first one. I may well have to revisit that soon. One in the eye for the mafia, as well as a good argument for being kind, without laying it on too thick. Also comes in well under the two hour mark, so resists the pattern of other more bloated sequels (John Wick comes to mind here!). Ace.
