JOYRIDE
(15) 94 minutes
★★ renvers
OLIVIA COLMAN is one of our best actors, that’s a fact.
But I often feel that there are two types: Colman in a performance – the ones that could see her name shortlisted for an award and the others that are, well, a day’s work.
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This wannabe feel-good movie, directed by Emer Reynolds, unfortunately falls into the latter.
The opening scene is promising with 12-year-old Mully (newcomer Charlie Reid) showing endless confidence in a pub by singing to the crowd as he tries to raise money for his late mother’s cancer fund.
However, his two-dimensional, chain-smoking “evil father” (Lochlann O’Mearain) watches with his shadowy eyes, waiting to steal the money to pay off his own debts.
USUAL CONVINCING TEAR WALK
Mully has no intention of letting this happen, so he immediately goes against his “stealing is wrong” morality by robbing a taxi to drive away in.
Inside this cab are Joy (Colman), a drunken Irish lawyer, and her newborn baby that she plans to hand over to her boyfriend for official adoption.
Then her plan is to fly to Lanzarote for a vacation to work through the trauma of handing over a child she pretends she doesn’t care about.
But Mully really put a spanner in the works there. This kicks off a somewhat lackluster road trip adventure around the picturesque Irish county of Kerry, where the odd threesome are fiercely chased by Mully’s father for a bit of charity money.
Predictably, they soon become entangled in a passive-aggressive mother/son bond, with the couple teaching each other a lot about life.
Mully knows exactly how to take care of a baby as he has helped out for many of his various siblings who were dumped with him.
He accompanies the cold Joy in feeding and caring for the toddler, igniting her maternal instinct.
While Colman encourages the film—and her usual convincing teardrops—and Reid gives a sweet performance as the confident but damaged boy, the characters aren’t developed enough.
The supporting cast are just caricatures and there is little depth to the storyline.
It’s all very good-natured, but there’s just not enough joy in this bumpy ride of a movie to keep you strapped in.
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13 LIVES
(12A) 147 minutes
★★★★ ren
BABYboomers think of Happy Days when they see the name Ron Howard.
But the young actor who played Richie alongside the Fonz in the 1970s is now a director who turns real stories into drama.
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His hits Apollo 13, Rush, and Nixon v Frost all tell long-forgotten tales of the boomer era.
But now he has turned his attention to an incident that happened just four years ago.
In June 2018, 12 Thai boy soccer players and their coach got trapped two miles in a flooded cave system, triggering an incredible rescue operation.
In 13 Lives, Viggo Mortensen stars as English cave diver Rick Stanton, who, along with John Volanthen (Colin Farrell) when they join the mass rescuers.
On the mountain of the Sleeping Lady above Tham Luang Caves, thousands of locals, led by a vacation engineer, ensure that billions of gallons of rain pour into the system.
Like Apollo 13, we already know the ending, but the drama as rescuers risk killing the boys to save their lives will have you gasping for breath.
In theaters and on Amazon Prime on August 5.
GO ON THE WAY
(12A) 93 minutes
★★★★ ren
LOST along a rugged landscape somewhere outside of Tehran is where we join middle-aged parents and their two sons on a mysterious journey.
“Seatbelt! Rear-view mirror! Blinker! Onward!” barks the unnamed father (Hasan Majuni) as his calm and troubled eldest son (Amin Simiar) drives off.
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This isn’t a Route 66 ride, but an emotional journey about a family divorcing – but the real reason is reserved for the final miles of the film.
Director Panah Panahi’s clever cinematography captures the claustrophobia of a car ride and moving moments that build tension over the upcoming reveal.
While the pace of the film can sometimes be taken up a notch, it is interrupted by comedic scenes of rambunctious, all-knowing six-year-old (Rayan Sarlak). From the car being defaced with a permanent marker to an unlikely escape from the gang’s dying dog, there are plenty of loving moments.
But don’t think this is like any road trip you’ve taken in the past.
Hold the handlebars tight, as there are several twists and turns ahead.