FILM OF THE WEEK
SIX MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT (Cert 12, 96 mins, Lionsgate Home Entertainment UK Ltd/Sky Cinema, Thriller/War, available now on NOW TV, available from July 19 on Amazon Prime Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services, available from July 26 on DVD £19.99)
Starring: Eddie Izzard, Dame Judi Dench, Carla Juri, David Schofield, Nigel Lindsay, Maria Dragus, Jim Broadbent, James D'Arcy.
ON AUGUST 15 1939, British spy Mr Wheatley (Nigel Lindsay) realises his cover as an English teacher at Augusta-Victoria College in Bexhill-on-Sea has been blown.
He hastily arranges a rendezvous with his superior, Colonel Smith (David Schofield), but an enemy operative intervenes.
A few days later, headmistress Miss Rocholl (Dame Judi Dench) interviews journeyman teacher Thomas Miller (Eddie Izzard) as a replacement, working alongside assistant Ilse Keller (Carla Juri) to prepare German girls for their introduction to polite British society.
Led by Aryan poster child Astrid (Maria Dragus), the German teenagers greet Mr Miller's arrival with disdain until they discover he speaks German.
Six Minutes To Midnight is a slow-burning espionage thriller based on a real-life finishing school on the south coast of England, which polished German girls between 1932 and 1939.
Director Andy Goddard's fitfully entertaining if occasionally far-fetched yarn engineers dramatic tension with an arbitrary 24-hour countdown to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's declaration of war on Germany.
That invisible ticking clock, replicated in the score of composer Marc Streitenfeld, creates sufficient narrative thrust to carry the plot through some of its least plausible twists.
Izzard isn't wholly convincing as a skilled pawn of the British government and his haphazard course through the film relies more on luck than skill. Dench lends gravitas to her misguided educator, who learns a valuable lesson about trust on the golden sands beyond Pevensey Castle.
A colourful if entirely superfluous supporting performance from Jim Broadbent as a rosy-cheeked bus driver invigorates a chase sequence in the briskly paced second half.
Rating: 3/5
ALSO RELEASED
PETER RABBIT 2 (Cert U, 93 mins, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Adventure/Comedy/Romance, available from July 19 on Amazon Prime Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services, available from August 2 on DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99/4K Ultra HD Blu-ray £36.99)
Starring: Rose Byrne, Domhnall Gleeson, David Oyelowo and the voices of James Corden, Lennie James, Margot Robbie, Elizabeth Debicki, Colin Moody, Aimee Horne.
THOMAS McGregor (Domhnall Gleeson) and neighbour Bea (Rose Byrne) enjoy a storybook wedding with Peter (voiced by James Corden) as their ring-bearer.
The newlyweds illustrate and print a book about the boisterous bunny and are thrilled when publishing heavyweight Nigel Basil-Jones (David Oyelowo) invites them to Gloucester to discuss the possibility of an initial print run of 5,000 copies.
Nigel intends to warp Bea's vision to boost sales by casting Peter as the bad seed of the stories. The bunny is crestfallen and abandons level-headed cousin Benjamin (Colin Moody) and sisters Flopsy (Margot Robbie), Mopsy (Elizabeth Debicki) and Cottontail (Aimee Horne) for a contemplative stroll around the city.
He encounters thieving rabbit Barnabas (Lennie James) and his criminal associates, who are plotting the daredevil heist of dried fruit from the local farmers' market.
Peter Rabbit 2 is more cohesive and emotionally satisfying than the original – by a cat's whisker. Corden repeatedly pokes fun at the sound of his voice as his mischievous mammal learns heavy-handed lessons about the sanctity of the family unit.
Byrne and Gleeson are predominantly bystanders until a cartoonish climax pressgangs them into service as high-speed getaway drivers.
Like its predecessor, Will Gluck's sequel employs slick digital effects to realise the eponymous scamp and his anthropomorphic chums, melding furry and feathered creations with human cast and live-action elements in bucolic harmony.
The freewheeling, self-referential script invites Peter to meta-joke about the unlikeness of this second film. On this patchy evidence, his scepticism is well founded.
Rating: 2/5
TURNER & HOOCH (12 episodes, starts streaming from July 21 exclusively on Disney+, Comedy/Drama/Action/Romance)
IN 1989, Tom Hanks memorably teamed up with a slobbering French mastiff in the buddy cop comedy Turner & Hooch.
This 12-part comedy drama TV series on Disney+, which screens in weekly instalments, updates the tomfoolery on two and four legs to present day California.
US Marshal Scott Turner (Josh Peck), son of Hanks's detective, is desperate to prove himself to his experienced, street-smart partner Jessica Baxter (Carra Patterson) and boss, Chief James Mendez (Anthony Ruivivar).
Between shifts, Scott reluctantly inherits a dog called Hooch from his late father and the US Marshal struggles to control the crazy canine as he pursues criminals.
In desperation, he turns to Erica Mounir (Vanessa Lengies), head of the US Marshals dog training programme, to tame the big unruly dog.
Sparks fly between Scott and Erica thanks to Hooch's erratic behaviour and the young lawmaker discovers that his four-legged sidekick could be the answer to his prayers.
WAR OF THE WORLDS – SEASON 2 (8 episodes, starts streaming from July 16 exclusively on Disney+, Sci-Fi/Thriller/Romance)
TWO years ago, Bafta award winner Howard Overman drew inspiration from the three-part BBC adaptation of HG Wells' nightmarish sci-fi saga to create a modern update set on both sides of the English Channel.
Set six months after the devastating initial attack, the second series beams down to Disney+ this week and follows human survivors as they prepare to take back the planet from the extra-terrestrial aggressors.
Neuroscientist Bill Ward (Gabriel Byrne) unravels more secrets about the aliens and discovers unsettling similarities between humans and the enemy.
Blind teenager Emily Gresham (Daisy Edgar-Jones) possesses a strange connection to the invaders, which could be the key to the resistance's fortunes.
Meanwhile in France, astronomer Catherine Durand (Lea Drucker) and her sister Sophia (Emilie de Preissac) are dealt crushing blows that could swing the balance of power back in favour of the aliens.
FEAR STREET PART 3: 1666 (Cert 15 TBC, 114 mins, streaming from July 16 exclusively on Netflix, Horror/Thriller/Romance)
DIRECTOR Leigh Janiak's horror trilogy, based on the best-selling series penned by RL Stine, reaches its nail-biting conclusion this week.
The final chapter is set in 1666, the year which gave birth to the terrifying legend of witch Sarah Fier (Kiana Madeira).
The story unfolds in all three timelines.
In the 17th century, the origins of Sarah Fier's curse are revealed.
Meanwhile, in 1978, teenagers at Camp Nightwing face a fight for their lives and in 1994, Deena (Kiana Madeira), her girlfriend Sam (Olivia Welch) and her younger brother Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr) attempt to break the curse and stop history repeating in Shadyside.
IN TREATMENT – SEASON 4 (24 episodes, starts streaming from July 19 exclusively on NOW TV, Drama)
MORE than a decade after popular HBO drama In Treatment completed its third series with Gabriel Byrne as the lead character, Uzo Aduba slips into the shoes of therapist Dr Brooke Taylor in a reboot which arrives on Sky Atlantic this week and streams exclusively on NOW TV.
Relocating the action to Los Angeles, the fourth series retains the same format and focuses on one patient each episode to sift through their emotional woes via Dr Taylor's probing questions.
The subjects are home care assistant Eladio (Anthony Ramos), technology guru Colin (John Benjamin Hickey) and wealthy teenager Laila (Quintessa Swindell).
