October 1st 2026

Digger

Verity

Heart of the Beast

The Great Arch

Progressively, it feels as if films are becoming throw-away items. Unlike the "good old days", where maybe one film a week came out, and viewers had time to digest it, savour it, discuss it, now we move quickly to the next. Sometimes they come and go so quickly, one cannot even get to a desired film before it's no longer being screened. Two films this week have big secretive buzz to them: Digger and Verity. One, I believe, will definitely stick around, but who knows? The other two are chalk and cheese - a survival adventure and an architectural/political drama from France. 

Digger

Dir: Alejandro Innaritu

Length: 128 min

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qORTe1wW3Wg

© Universal/Warner Bros - Tom Cruise
undergoes a radical transformation in this 
wildly creative and weird film. 

Digger Rockwell (Tom Cruise) is a wealthy, eccentric oil tycoon. When his drilling operations go awry, a massive ecological disaster is triggered. He, however, thinks he is also the one with enough money and clout to fix it. To say more about the plot of this film is simply not on! There are so many surprises, twists and turns, shocks even, that it is up to viewers to discover them for themselves. This is a weird, wild, whacky and incredibly creative movie, that may divide audiences, especially those who don't go for satire and humour mixing with some very serious political issues. For me the entire thing works a treat. With little clues dropped along the way, and the gradual reveal of "the truth", this film strings you along in the best possible way, until the final shock ending. It's underpinned firstly by a magnificent cast. Cruise really shows his acting chops as way more than an action hero (as good as in 1999's Magnolia), and the supporting cast is magnificent. Riz Ahmed brilliantly embodies Dr Ganesh, environmental expert and assistant to the President of the USA, played in a hilariously over-the-top fashion by John Goodman. Sandra Huller gives an uncharacteristically comedic performance as Digger's sister and business partner. Then we have the incredible production values of this film, along with the carefully chosen color pallettes matching each divergent plot setting. And of course there's the much-talked about transformation of Cruise's looks, with prosthetics that initially took six hours each day to put on! The dialogue is fast and intense, laughs abound, and the US military, with its gung-ho mentality, is firmly in the satirical spotlight. When a major speech given by Digger features, the highly relevant message, along with the entire scene, becomes something to ponder long after the film's dramatic conclusion. I loved it. 

4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended

Verity

Dir: Michael Showalter

Length: 114 min

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdPMKhjMSFs&t=2s

© Amazon MGM - is anyone who they seem
in this erotica/thriller potboiler?

Verity Crawford is a best-selling author of thrillers, featuring murderous central characters. After a car accident leaves Verity catatonic, her publisher decides to bring in another author to complete her half-finished books. Lowan Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson) is co-opted, and heads off to comb through the author's notes, and hopefully complete the novel while staying at the ritzy family home of Verity's husband Jeremy (Josh Hartnett), and son Crew, the surviving twin of a tragic boating accident. Now, I've never read the novel on which this is based, and so can't attest to the film's faithfulness to the source material. Assuming it is fairly true, then the problems with the film no doubt lie in the novel itself, with a number of very confusing plot points and convoluted, unlikely scenarios. The plot plays with the concept of where the truth lies, but I remian unenlightened! The story comes across as a real pot-boiler; an erotic quasi-thriller that nevertheless has its strong points. This is a slickly handsome production, with a cast that is easy on the eye, and who definitely inhabit the roles they are given to work with. There are a number of successfully tense shock moments, and some others that feel almost laughably unbelievable. I definitely think there will be a dedicated audience for this, but, despite being entertained, I'm not it.
2.5 - maybe

Heart of the Beast

Dir: David Ayer

Length: 101 min

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFQcDFhNh4o

© Paramount - a man and his trusty dog
battle to survive

James Belmont (Brad Pitt) is a retired Special Forces veteran. He's off on a camping trip in Alaska with his beloved military combat dog Odin (played by four different German Shepherds). He arrives by self-piloted seaplane, but, on the homeward journey, James suffers a heart attack and the plane ditches into a lake. So begins a harrowing adventure of survival. Despite moments of over-sentimentality in the total devotion between man and dog, this film is so gripping and immersive, it will hold you from go to whoa. As each new threat and challlenge arises, we marvel at the ingenuity of the retired soldier, and the total synergy and understanding between man and beast. Pitt is almost upstaged by his canine co-stars, but he is, as expected, the perfect actor to display courage, perseverance, and physical bravery along with a soft heart, as brought out by his faithful companion. Man and dog feature almost exclusively, except for a couple of scenes, one featuring Watkins (JK Simmons), a retired gold miner who lands up in the same camping spot for a night, and the other Amber (Anna Lambe), who bookends the story.  New Zealand and its majestic beauty is employed as a stand-in for the wilds of Alaska; it's quite stunning. This film is a lovely tribute to the many military dogs so critical in warfare, and it definitely deserves to be seen on the big screen.

4 - highly recommended

The Great Arch

Dir: Stephane Demoustier

Length: 107 min

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx-4zBY6DEA

© Palace - politics, architecture, ambition and money
blend in this incisive French true story.

In 1989, unknown Danish architect Otto von Spreckelsen (Claes Bang) wins a competition held by French president Mitterand (Michel Fau). The brief is to build a grand arch in the industrial part of Paris,  La Defense, the edifice to be a sort of complement to the Arc de Triomphe. Sprecklesen's concept is for a gleaming white cube-like structure made of expensive Italian marble. But, as is often the case, politics, bureaucracy and monetary considerations soon get in the way of a creative person's grand vision. I'm not one for political machinations, (or for architecture) so my personal baggage in a way stopped me from fully engaging with this film. However Bang gives a wonderful performance as the surly, volatile idealistic architect, and is ably supported by Sidse Babet Knudsen as his wife, and Canadian actor Xavier Dolan as Subilon, the project manager of the whole enterprise. The entire sad and sorry story has resonance for the many creative people whose artistic vision falls victim to more pragmatic considerations.
3.5 - well recommended