Flight Risk
A violent and suspenseful action thriller set within the claustrophobic confines of a small one-engine plane, if there's one thing that director Mel Gibson is known for, it's delivering tense and blood-soaked flicks that slap you around a bit and leave you feeling a little bruised.
The last film Gibson directed was the award-winning and brutal (yet thoroughly entertaining) war film Hacksaw Ridge back in 2016, and Mel has obviously been twitching at the prospect of getting back into the director's chair.
Teaming up with his Daddy's Home 2 co-star Mark Wahlberg, Flight Risk is a nifty and inventive little thriller that makes the most of its limited high-flying setting with some ingenious twists and the kind of bone-crunching antics that will keep you entertained throughout.
In a nutshell, the action sees Michele Dockery play FBI agent Madolyn who is tasked with escorting a befuddled witness by the name of Winston to safety after the mob put a pretty hefty price on his head.
Chartering a small plane with the help of chatty pilot Daryl, Winston is swiftly handcuffed to his seat and the plane takes off en route to its top secret destination.
But soon agent Madolyn realises that Daryl is not the friendly pilot she claims to be, and her key witness is in very real trouble, 30,000 feet in the air above the Alaskan wilderness.
To be fair, it's quite clear this isn't Gibson's grandest movie, and I don't think it's meant to be. We're used to seeing Gibson deliver sweeping epics with a touch of realistic violence, as with The Passion of the Christ and Braveheart.
Flight Risk isn't an epic by any stretch of the imagination, it's a tightly contained action flick with minimal characters and delivered with plenty of hammy acting and lots of bloody punch-ups.
By all means give it a go if you're in the mood for a thriller with a neat twist, but don't go expecting the usual grandiose dramatics that Gibson is better known for.
The Brutalist
You can't deny the beauty and artistry behind Brady Corbet's sprawling epic, The Brutalist. Every shot feels meticulously designed, from the small abstract point-of-view details to the grand and sweeping vistas of a post-war America grappling with its industrial might – this is a film that defines the word epic.
It captures the plight, resolve and struggle of every immigrant who has set foot on US soil, and basks in the grotesque heat of capitalist machinery, capturing a vison of the fabled American dream from both sides of the class divide.
Adrien Brody plays László Tóth, Holocaust survivor and immigrant who has just arrived on the shores of the United States in the wake of World War 2.
Taken in by his cousin, László gets to work building a new life for himself and secures a job in a mine.
But László was a renowned architect in his former life before the war, and it's not long until he is discovered by wealthy industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren Sr, who commissions László to design a building that will define an age and secure his benefactor's legacy.
As impressive as The Brutalist is, do prepare yourself for a running time of epic proportions. At three hours and thirty five minutes long, it may be wise to bring a packed lunch and a cushion for your derrière.
Still, directed with the kind of vision that's rarely seen these days, and packed with astonishing performances, most notably Adrien Brody and Guy Pearce, The Brutalist is well worth the bloated running time.
