FILM OF THE WEEK
ZACK SNYDER'S JUSTICE LEAGUE (Cert 15, 242 mins, Warner Bros Home Entertainment, Fantasy/Action/Adventure, available now on Sky Cinema, available from April 19 on Amazon Prime Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services, available from May 24 on DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £26.99/4K Ultra HD Blu-ray £34.99)
Starring: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Ezra Miller, Ciaran Hinds, Joe Morton, Amy Adams, Henry Cavill, Ray Porter.
AS THE world mourns the death of Superman (Henry Cavill), otherworldly warrior Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds) and an army of flying Parademons arrive on Earth in search of three legendary Mother Boxes.
If these rare artefacts are reunited, Steppenwolf can open a portal to his master Darkseid (Ray Porter) and instigate a full-scale invasion.
Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) enlists the help of Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) to recruit a team of people with special abilities to defeat the new enemy.
They seek out Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and The Flash (Ezra Miller) to swell the ranks, with technical support from Bruce's trusty butler Alfred (Jeremy Irons).
Meanwhile, reporter Lois Lane (Amy Adams) continues to grieve and Cyborg's father Silas (Joe Morton), who is a top scientist at S.T.A.R. Labs, wrestles with the consequences of playing god with his boy's life.
Running two hours longer than the 2017 cut of Justice League which included reshoots overseen by an uncredited Joss Whedon, Zack Snyder's Justice League responds to long-standing fan demand for the full version of the DC Comics smackdown set in the aftermath of Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice.
In every respect, the epic director's cut trumps its emaciated predecessor, fleshing out back stories – particularly Cyborg and The Flash – and enriching characters who were peripheral four years ago.
The buttock-numbing running time is a breeze until a protracted epilogue, cryptically subtitled A Father Twice Over, which takes fan service one step too far.
With its dying breath, Snyder's sprawling vision splutters.
Rating: 4/5
ALSO RELEASED
FEAR OF RAIN (Cert 15, 109 mins, Signature Entertainment, Thriller/Horror/Romance, available from April 26 on Amazon Prime Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services)
Starring: Madison Iseman, Katherine Heigl, Harry Connick Jr, Israel Broussard, Eugenie Bondurant, Enuka Okuma.
HIGH school student Rain Burroughs (Madison Iseman) is rushed to Tampa General Hospital after she comes off prescribed medication for schizophrenia and lashes out, destroying her bedroom and injuring her father John (Harry Connick Jr).
Rain's emotionally unstable mother Michelle (Katherine Heigl) is by her bedside as she regains consciousness.
When she is rested, the student returns to counselling with psychiatrist Dr Ellen Pangloss (Enuka Okuma).
"One more misstep and the state's going to institutionalise you," the shrink warns Rain, who feels zombified on her medication.
Unable to sleep on her latest drug regimen and bombarded with visions and voices, Rain becomes convinced that her next-door neighbour, childless schoolteacher Mrs McConnell (Eugenie Bondurant), is holding a young girl hostage in her attic.
Rain convinces misfit classmate Caleb (Israel Broussard) to help her search for clues.
Fear Of Rain is a pedestrian thriller, which uses schizophrenia as a narrative device to repeatedly blur the lines between fantasy and reality.
Writer-director Castille Landon's treatment of the central character's mental condition is neither sensitive nor subtle.
There are glaring plot holes, including one scene when Rain has a mobile phone to hand and could film what she thinks she sees and then show the footage to someone she knows is real, trimming at least half an hour off the running time.
Iseman delivers a sympathetic and committed performance as a young woman in perpetual fear of her surroundings while Connick Jr and Heigl offer solid yet largely forgettable support.
Rating: 3/5
WRONG TURN (Cert 18, 110 mins, Signature Entertainment, Horror/Thriller/Romance, available from April 26 on Amazon Prime Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services, available from May 3 on DVD £14.99/Blu-ray £19.99)
Starring: Charlotte Vega, Matthew Modine, Bill Sage, Adain Bradley, Emma Dumont, Dylan McTee, Adrian Favela, Vardaan Arora, Amy Warner.
JEN Shaw (Charlotte Vega) and her boyfriend Darius (Adain Bradley) drive to rural Virginia with two other couples, Milla (Emma Dumont) and her fiance Adam (Dylan McTee) and Gary (Vardaan Arora) and his boyfriend Luis (Adrian Favela), to hike the Appalachian Trail.
They stay overnight at an inn and landlady Aileen (Amy Warner) warns Jen: "Keep to the marked trail. The land here can be unforgiving."
The six friends ignore these sage words and head into the undergrowth in search of the ruins of an American Civil War fort.
Instead, Jen and co stumble into the clutches of a brutal, self-sufficient clan called The Foundation, which formed in 1859 in response to the impending conflict between northern and southern states.
Tribe leader Venable (Bill Sage) severely punishes the friends for their transgression.
Meanwhile, Jen's concerned father Scott (Matthew Modine) heads to Virginia to locate his missing daughter and encounters fierce resistance from the terrified townsfolk.
Wrong Turn is a gory reboot of the blood-soaked horror series, which began in 2003.
Original screenwriter Alan B McElroy rarely deviates from a well-trodden path of splatter including a stomach-churning array of blunt force traumas to heads in icky close-up.
Opening scenes in a booby-trapped forest are littered with spikes, snares and pendulous hazards.
Vega's feisty heroine, who can change a tyre and possesses a moral compass that her friends conveniently lack, is generic and she only comes to the fore in a twisted second half that includes a lip-smacking flourish over the end credits.
Rating: 3/5
BOX SETS / SERIES
FATMA (6 episodes, streaming from April 27 exclusively on Netflix, Thriller/Romance)
AN INVISIBLE woman moves through Turkish society, doling out justice, in a gripping drama created by Ozgur Onurme.
Cleaning lady Fatma Yilmaz (Burcu Biricik) glides unseen through homes and offices of wealthy and powerful employers, earning money to support her young son who is on the autistic spectrum.
She is desperate to find her missing husband Zafer.
In the process of locating her spouse, Fatma accidentally commits a murder.
She goes unpunished for her crime and discovers a rare talent for killing and vanishing from crime scenes.
The wife channels her anger at a male-dominated world to become a very different kind of “cleaner” and send shockwaves through the upper echelons of power.
Alas, she cannot remain invisible forever, and eventually Fatma must face the repercussions of her heinous actions.
FOSSE/VERDON (8 episodes, streaming from April 23 exclusively on Disney+, Drama/Romance)
THE lavish eight-part biographical drama, which kindled Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild glory for lead actors Michelle Williams and Sam Rockwell, arrives on Disney+ this week.
The series focuses on the creative and romantic relationship between director and choreographer Bob Fosse (Rockwell) and dancer and actress Gwen Verdon (Williams).
Her four coveted Tony Awards include the prize for Leading Actress In A Musical for Redhead, which marks Fosse’s Broadway debut and earns him the prize for Best Choreography.
The balance of power in the relationship shifts over the years but their respective contributions to the entertainment industry are undimmed.
