FILM
BREAK (Cert 15, 107 mins, Break Films, Drama/Romance, available from August 31 on iTunes/Sky Store/Virgin Media, also available from August 31 on DVD £15.99). Starring: Sam Gittins, David Yip, Luke Mably, Terry Dwyer, Rutger Hauer, Jamie Foreman, Sophie Stevens, Scott Peden, Adam Deacon
PETTY criminal Spencer Pryde (Sam Gittins) discovered a passion for snooker as a boy down the pub with his jailbird father Terry (Luke Mably).
Since the old man went to prison, Spencer has continued to pot black for fun at a local hall owned by Ray (Rutger Hauer) but he makes money by dealing drugs for hammer-wielding thug Ginger (Scott Peden).
When Terry completes his sentence and returns home to wife Cathy (Terry Dwyer), Spencer has the opportunity to realise his sporting dreams under the care of coach Vincent Qiang (David Yip).
He also sparks romance with snooker prodigy Shelley (Sophie Stevens). Unfortunately, Spencer owes Ginger £5,000 and enforcer Weasel (Adam Deacon) intends to collect or break every bone in the young man’s body.
Shot on location in London, Beijing and Sheffield, Break tees up a familiar tale of knife crime and punishment on the streets of the English capital, which comes off second best to Kidulthood, Blue Story and their kin.
Once writer-director Michael Elkin screws back to focus on the strained father-son dynamic between Spencer and Terry, then sets up his sporting underdog narrative with a snooker competition in China as the grand finale, he finds a pleasing rhythm.
Gittins is compelling as a working-class hero, filled with bitterness and regret for his father (“He shouldn’t have been a dad and a villain”).
Yip, Hauer and Jamie Foreman offer eye-catching support, interspersed with cameos from professional snooker players Ken Doherty, Jack Lisowski and Liang Wenbo.
PHINEAS AND FERB THE MOVIE: CANDACE AGAINST THE UNIVERSE (Cert PG, 84 mins, streaming from August 28 exclusively on Disney+, Animation/Sci-Fi/Adventure/Comedy)
A CLOSE encounter of the brotherly kind could heal a family’s divisions in an out-of-this-world animated adventure based on the long-running TV series created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff 'Swampy' Marsh.
In this feature-length instalment directed by Bob Bowen, Candace (voiced by Ashley Tisdale) tires of her irritating stepbrothers Phineas (Vincent Martella) and Ferb (David Errigo Jr).
She is secretly delighted when aliens abduct her and spirit her away to a faraway planet.
Phineas and Ferb give chase, determined to rescue their big sister with debatable help from Perry the Platypus (Dee Bradley Baker) and members of the Danville gang.
UNKNOWN ORIGINS (Cert 15, 96 mins, streaming from August 28 exclusively on Netflix, Thriller)
MISMATCHED detectives enter a world of comic books to solve a tricky case in a Spanish-Argentinian thriller directed by David Galan Galindo.
A serial killer runs amok in 2019 Madrid, killing apparent strangers whose only connection is that they enjoy imitating the appearance of famous superheroes.
Seasoned detective Cosme (Antonio Resines), who is about to retire, is assigned the case along with his young, impetuous replacement David (Javier Rey).
The two men have different approaches to solving crimes but both are ill-prepared to immerse themselves in manga.
They must rely on Cosme’s nerdy son Jorge Elias (Brays Efe), who owns a comic book store, and their boss Norma (Veronica Echegui), who enjoys cosplay in her spare time.
VITALINA VARELA (Cert 12, 125 mins, Second Run, available from August 31 on DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £19.99, Drama)
A WOMAN hallucinates episodes from her past in the throes of grief in an award-winning, contemplative drama directed and co-written by Portuguese film-maker Pedro Costa.
Vitalina Varela (playing herself) is separated from her husband when he travels to Portugal to seek gainful employment.
Years apart become decades and when Vitalina finally makes the journey to Lisbon, it is steeped in sadness.
She discovers that her spouse is dead and his funeral took place three days before she arrived.
Alone in a foreign city, Vitalina becomes a recluse in her husband’s home where she confronts phantasms of the past.
CENTIGRADE (Cert 15, 98 mins, Signature Entertainment, available from August 31 on Amazon Prime Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services, Thriller/Romance)
BASED on chilling true events, Centigrade is an intimate survival thriller directed by Brendan Walsh, which centres on a young American couple visiting Norway.
Matthew (Vincent Piazza) and wife Naomi (Genesis Rodriguez) are expecting their first child – she is eight months pregnant – and are travelling in comfort in an SUV through inhospitable terrain.
They pull over to rest and wake to discover the vehicle has been buried beneath layers of snow and ice.
As the temperature plunges and supplies dwindle, Matthew and Naomi angrily apportion blame for their dire predicament.
They face hypothermia and disorienting hallucinations as they struggle to stay warm.
With time running out before their lungs freeze, Matthew and Naomi must work together to escape from their frozen prison.
BOX SETS
COBRA KAI (20 episodes, streaming from August 28 exclusively on Netflix, Comedy/Drama/Romance)
IN 1984, teenager Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) faced vicious bully Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) at the All-Valley Karate Championships after weeks of expert tuition from maintenance man Mr Miyagi (Pat Morita).
Cobra Kai continues the story of characters from The Karate Kid more than 30 years later as a comedy drama TV series, told from the perspective of Johnny.
He intends to reopen the infamous Cobra Kai dojo and help a new generation to learn the art of karate.
Bitter rivalries of the past flare up between Johnny and Daniel, who runs a car dealership, but this time Mr Miyagi isn’t around to separate them. Twenty episodes from two series are available to stream this week.
THE BLACKLIST – THE COMPLETE SEVENTH SEASON (Cert 15, 811 mins, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, available now on NOW TV, available from August 31 on DVD £29.99, Thriller/Romance)
RAYMOND ‘Red’ Reddington (James Spader) is taken hostage in the gripping crime thriller created by Jon Bokenkamp, which includes animated sequences in the final episode, which could not be completed as a result of the Covid pandemic.
Red’s cunning abductor is Katarina Rostov (Laila Robins), mother of FBI Special Agent Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone), who intends to use Red as bait to forge new connections to her flesh and blood.
Elsewhere, Aram (Amir Arison) becomes concerned that his girlfriend might harbour murderous secrets and Donald (Diego Klattenhoff) discovers how far one member of the team will go to protect his life.
The five-disc DVD box set comprises all 19 episodes.
YOUNG SHELDON – THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON (Cert 15, 394 mins, Warner Bros Home Entertainment, available now on All 4/Amazon Video/iTunes and other download and streaming services, available from August 31 on DVD £24.99, Comedy/Drama/Romance)
MARY Cooper (Zoe Perry) fears for the mental well-being of her mathematics prodigy son Sheldon (Iain Armitage) in the spin-off to hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory, which charts the formative years of the misfit played as an adult by Jim Parsons.
This series, Sheldon’s father George Sr (Lance Barber) accompanies his boy to The California Institute of Technology for a lecture delivered by Stephen Hawking.
Also, Sheldon’s brother Georgie (Montana Jordan) experiences romantic woes with girlfriend Jana (Ava Allan) and love blossoms at speed between Pastor Jeff (Matt Hobby) and police officer Robin (Mary Grill).
The two-disc DVD set includes all 21 episodes plus a behind the scenes featurette.
