Film Reviews · Backpex

Title	Overview		Toggle columns Title Overview
The Ritz	On his deathbed Carmine Vespucci's father tells him to "get Proclo". With "the hit" on, Gaetano tells a cab driver to take him where Carmine can't find him. He arrives at the Ritz, a gay bathhouse where he is pursued amorously by "chubby chaser" Paul B. Price and by entertainer Googie Gomez who believes him to be a broadway producer. His guides through the Ritz are gatekeeper Abe, habitue Chris, and bellhop/go-go-boys Tiger and Duff. Squeaky-voiced detective Michael Brick and his employer Carmine do locate Gateano at the Ritz, as does his wife Vivian. Written by Ed Stephan
Strange Cargo	Convicts escaping from Devil's Island come under the influence of a strange Christ-like figure.
1st to Die	A homicide inspector -- Lindsay Boxer -- who teams with three other professional women to catch an ingenious serial killer targeting newlyweds on their wedding nights.
The Movie Out Here	Adam (Robin Nielsen) works as a junior associate for a large Toronto law firm. When a business trip takes him to his hometown of Fernie, he reunites with his old friends, Jason (Viv Leacock) and Theo (James Wallis). Adam gets more than he bargained for when he finds out that, due to a series of terrible business decisions, Theo's ski waxing business "Waxopolis" is in serious financial trouble and at risk of being taken over by an evil developer. The three guys hatch a plan to throw a massive fundraising party to try and save the business. But, with the developer and his son on their back, party permit hassles, and a Sasquatch on the loose, will they be able to pull it off?
Star Trek Beyond	The USS Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a mysterious new enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test.
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest	After taking a bullet to the head, Salander is under close supervision in a hospital and is set to face trial for attempted murder on her eventual release. With the help of journalist Mikael Blomkvist and his researchers at Millennium magazine, Salander must prove her innocence. In doing this she plays against powerful enemies and her own past.
War Book	In a contemporary Commons briefing room, a government minister and several aids enact the ‘war book’ exercise: a protocol written in the 1950s which is periodically played out to test post-nuclear scenarios. Low-budget but high-concept, War Book is a terse drama of interpersonal politics with rat-a-tat-tat dialogue and sharp performances. (12 Angry Men, Sleuth and The Deal all feel like reference points.) Created by some of the UK’s most promising talents in down time between other projects, director/producer Tom Harper (Scouting Book for Boys, Woman in Black 2), screenwriter Jack Thorne (Skins, Scouting Book) and producer Lauren Dark bring together a top notch cast (including Sophie Okonedo, Ben Chaplin and Kerry Fox). Cold war anxiety is given contemporary relevance in this exploration of government arrogance and lack of accountability, and the terrifying fragility of world order when faced with the abyss of mutual destruction.
Nobel Son	Soon after his insufferably arrogant father wins the Nobel Prize for chemistry, Barkley Michaelson is kidnapped by Thaddeus James, a young genius who claims to be Barkley's illegitimate half-brother. Motivated not so much by money as revenge, Thaddeus tries to convince Barkley to help him carry out a multimillion-dollar extortion plot against their patriarch.
12 Paces without a Head	The era of the feared sea pirates Klaus Störtebeker and Gödeke Michels is coming to an end. After a long period with no booty at last a bulging ship appears on the horizon. However, Störtebeker is badly wounded in the attempted capture and the pirates suffer ignominious defeat. Not only their ship is down the drain - Störtebeker himself is suddenly plagued by anxiety and doubt about his very existence as a pirate. He is drawn to the beautiful country girl Bille, while Michels gets rebuffed by the friesian princess Okka. In the very moment that the crew have mutinied and co-captain Michels is literally at the end of his tether, they discover on board their ramshackle old tub a most unique wonder weapon. Glory days are quickly revived - until the mighty Hanse consolidate their power and weaponry and go to war against the pirates. Störtebeker and Michels are forced to decide: To live as a farmer or to die as a pirate.
Gun Shy	Legendary undercover DEA agent Charlie Mayough has suddenly lost his nerves of steel. On the verge of a career-induced mental breakdown, and in complete fear of trigger-happy Mafia leader Fulvio Nesstra, Charlie seeks psychiatric help and finds himself relying on the support of an unstable therapy group and nurse Judy just to get through his work.
Tsatsiki	Little Tsatsiki, son of a single mother in Sweden, has never met his father, a Greek fisherman. Tsatsiki befriends a nice but straight-laced motorcycle policeman renting one of their rooms and decices he is the right guy for his mother, an amateur rock singer in love with her band's bass player.
That Hamilton Woman	Sir William Hamilton, a widower of mature years, is British ambassador to the Court of Naples. Emma who comes for a visit with her mother wouldn't cut the grade with London society but she gets along well with the Queen of Naples. Emma likes being Lady Hamilton and life goes smoothly until Lord Nelson pays a visit. Sir William decides at first to let his young wife have her fling and pretends not to know what is going on. But the real life lovers, whose first screen romance was in "Fire Over England" (1937) have an even more burning passion for each other in this film.
The Case for Christ	Based upon the Gold-Medallion award-winning best-seller, The Case for Christ documents Lee Strobel's journey from atheism to faith through his two-year investigation of the Bible and the life of Jesus Christ.
The Edge of the World	A way of life is dying on a Shetland island fishing port, but some of the inhabitants resist evacuating to the mainland.
Tapia	Albuquerque-born boxer Johnny Tapia's life was a maelstrom of turmoil. The glory of his punishing ring prowess and handful of world titles across three weight classes forever jockeyed with personal demons: his mother's kidnapping and murder when he was 8, drug addiction, mental illness and suicide attempts.

The Ritz

On his deathbed Carmine Vespucci's father tells him to "get Proclo". With "the hit" on, Gaetano tells a cab driver to take him where Carmine can't find him. He arrives at the Ritz, a gay bathhouse where he is pursued amorously by "chubby chaser" Paul B. Price and by entertainer Googie Gomez who believes him to be a broadway producer. His guides through the Ritz are gatekeeper Abe, habitue Chris, and bellhop/go-go-boys Tiger and Duff. Squeaky-voiced detective Michael Brick and his employer Carmine do locate Gateano at the Ritz, as does his wife Vivian. Written by Ed Stephan

Strange Cargo

Convicts escaping from Devil's Island come under the influence of a strange Christ-like figure.

1st to Die

A homicide inspector -- Lindsay Boxer -- who teams with three other professional women to catch an ingenious serial killer targeting newlyweds on their wedding nights.

The Movie Out Here

Adam (Robin Nielsen) works as a junior associate for a large Toronto law firm. When a business trip takes him to his hometown of Fernie, he reunites with his old friends, Jason (Viv Leacock) and Theo (James Wallis). Adam gets more than he bargained for when he finds out that, due to a series of terrible business decisions, Theo's ski waxing business "Waxopolis" is in serious financial trouble and at risk of being taken over by an evil developer. The three guys hatch a plan to throw a massive fundraising party to try and save the business. But, with the developer and his son on their back, party permit hassles, and a Sasquatch on the loose, will they be able to pull it off?

Star Trek Beyond

The USS Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a mysterious new enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

After taking a bullet to the head, Salander is under close supervision in a hospital and is set to face trial for attempted murder on her eventual release. With the help of journalist Mikael Blomkvist and his researchers at Millennium magazine, Salander must prove her innocence. In doing this she plays against powerful enemies and her own past.

War Book

In a contemporary Commons briefing room, a government minister and several aids enact the ‘war book’ exercise: a protocol written in the 1950s which is periodically played out to test post-nuclear scenarios. Low-budget but high-concept, War Book is a terse drama of interpersonal politics with rat-a-tat-tat dialogue and sharp performances. (12 Angry Men, Sleuth and The Deal all feel like reference points.) Created by some of the UK’s most promising talents in down time between other projects, director/producer Tom Harper (Scouting Book for Boys, Woman in Black 2), screenwriter Jack Thorne (Skins, Scouting Book) and producer Lauren Dark bring together a top notch cast (including Sophie Okonedo, Ben Chaplin and Kerry Fox). Cold war anxiety is given contemporary relevance in this exploration of government arrogance and lack of accountability, and the terrifying fragility of world order when faced with the abyss of mutual destruction.

Nobel Son

Soon after his insufferably arrogant father wins the Nobel Prize for chemistry, Barkley Michaelson is kidnapped by Thaddeus James, a young genius who claims to be Barkley's illegitimate half-brother. Motivated not so much by money as revenge, Thaddeus tries to convince Barkley to help him carry out a multimillion-dollar extortion plot against their patriarch.

12 Paces without a Head

The era of the feared sea pirates Klaus Störtebeker and Gödeke Michels is coming to an end. After a long period with no booty at last a bulging ship appears on the horizon. However, Störtebeker is badly wounded in the attempted capture and the pirates suffer ignominious defeat. Not only their ship is down the drain - Störtebeker himself is suddenly plagued by anxiety and doubt about his very existence as a pirate. He is drawn to the beautiful country girl Bille, while Michels gets rebuffed by the friesian princess Okka. In the very moment that the crew have mutinied and co-captain Michels is literally at the end of his tether, they discover on board their ramshackle old tub a most unique wonder weapon. Glory days are quickly revived - until the mighty Hanse consolidate their power and weaponry and go to war against the pirates. Störtebeker and Michels are forced to decide: To live as a farmer or to die as a pirate.

Gun Shy

Legendary undercover DEA agent Charlie Mayough has suddenly lost his nerves of steel. On the verge of a career-induced mental breakdown, and in complete fear of trigger-happy Mafia leader Fulvio Nesstra, Charlie seeks psychiatric help and finds himself relying on the support of an unstable therapy group and nurse Judy just to get through his work.

Tsatsiki

Little Tsatsiki, son of a single mother in Sweden, has never met his father, a Greek fisherman. Tsatsiki befriends a nice but straight-laced motorcycle policeman renting one of their rooms and decices he is the right guy for his mother, an amateur rock singer in love with her band's bass player.

That Hamilton Woman

Sir William Hamilton, a widower of mature years, is British ambassador to the Court of Naples. Emma who comes for a visit with her mother wouldn't cut the grade with London society but she gets along well with the Queen of Naples. Emma likes being Lady Hamilton and life goes smoothly until Lord Nelson pays a visit. Sir William decides at first to let his young wife have her fling and pretends not to know what is going on. But the real life lovers, whose first screen romance was in "Fire Over England" (1937) have an even more burning passion for each other in this film.

The Case for Christ

Based upon the Gold-Medallion award-winning best-seller, The Case for Christ documents Lee Strobel's journey from atheism to faith through his two-year investigation of the Bible and the life of Jesus Christ.

The Edge of the World

A way of life is dying on a Shetland island fishing port, but some of the inhabitants resist evacuating to the mainland.

Tapia

Albuquerque-born boxer Johnny Tapia's life was a maelstrom of turmoil. The glory of his punishing ring prowess and handful of world titles across three weight classes forever jockeyed with personal demons: his mother's kidnapping and murder when he was 8, drug addiction, mental illness and suicide attempts.