The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)

 

 

A charismatic surgeon, is forced to make an unthinkable sacrifice after his life starts to fall apart, when the behavior of a teenage boy he has taken under his wing turns sinister. 

Definitely the work of a talented director creating an atmospheric film with excellent photography, good soundtrack and a formidable cast, but the intended horror and its surreal message of redemption seems stilted and pretentious; Funny Games it is not.

 

The Queen's Gambit (2020)

 

Orphaned at 9, prodigious introvert Beth Harmon discovers and masters the game of chess in 1960s USA. But, child stardom comes at a price. 

Top-notch TV production convinces with great period detail and managing to create a compelling story on an unusual topic (chess), but it's mainly Anya Taylor-Joy's compelling performance that made this TV mini-series so successful.

 

Tamara Drewe (2010)

A young newspaper writer returns to her hometown in the English countryside, where her childhood home is being prepped for sale.

Meandering country town satire, only sporadically amusing.

Maltin***: "Constantly surprising lark of a film...Well cast and filmed on a beautiful location."