danieljfarthing

In cold, hard Aussie prison drama "Inside" teenage Vincent Miller ages out of juvie into adult prison, celling respectively with oddball Cosmo Jarvis (doing life for a notorious heinous crime) & grizzled Guy Pearce (nearing parole but with debts to be paid). On his debut, writer / director Charles Williams plays out a gritty tale of trauma, anger, guilt, resignation, & redemption that avoids sensationalism to come across authentic - helped by terrific performances from Miller (also on his movie debut), the top drawer duo of Jarvis & Pearce, and support from the likes of Toby Wallace. It's a tough, bleak watch... but a worthy one, particularly for fans of the prison drama genre.

Gentle Brit-drama "The Salt Path" is the 'true' tale of 50+ Moth & Raynor Winn (Jason Isaacs & Gillian Anderson) who on losing their home embark impoverished on a 630 mile coastal trek... despite him apparently having an incurable, debilitating, & fatal disease. Raynor's book (that Rebecca Lenkiewicz adapted the screenplay from) however allegedly lies about why they lost their home and about Moth's illness. Still, the film's leads are superb (with minor support from the likes of Hermione Norris, James Lance & Angus Wright) and the scenery is beautiful - so true or not, kudos to director Marianne Elliott on her first 'proper' film (after five theatre adaptations). It's a good 'un.

Despite starring Pierce Brosnan & Samuel L Jackson "The Unholy Trinity" is a shockingly cheap & tacky western. When his dad's about to hang in 1888, Brandon Lessard (meh) promises to avenge him in the wild & remote titular town where Brosnan (with dodgy Irish accent) is sheriff and former-slave Jackson (with David Arquette) pulls him into a saga over lost buried gold that rakes up old Trinity wounds which set bullets flying. While far from great Lee Zachariah's debut screenplay isn't terrible - but Richard Gray's soulless direction is, and so are all the performances except Jackson's. Why he or Brosnan got involved in this is a mystery, as it's a stinking turd. Flush it.