BRIAN VINER reviews How To Make A Killing: This remake of the greatest of all Ealing comedies is a deadly dud

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How To Make A Killing (15, 105 mins) 

Verdict: Shoot me now

Reminders Of Him  (12A, 114 mins)

Verdict: One to forget

One Last Deal (18, 89 mins)

Verdict: Not totally Dyer 

The classic 1949 comedy, Kind Hearts and Coronets, is widely considered the best of its kind and deserves to be remembered and enjoyed for years to come.

I was really disappointed with “How To Make A Killing.” They took a classic story and just awkwardly tried to update it, setting it in modern America. Glen Powell plays the villain – he’s a scheming guy who’s set to inherit a huge fortune if he can just eliminate the seven family members who are ahead of him in the will. It just didn’t work for me.

John Patton Ford’s new film is his second feature, following the 2022 thriller Emily the Criminal. That earlier film, starring Aubrey Plaza as a credit card fraudster, quickly established Ford as a promising director.

Despite a good cast, including Powell and Margaret Qualley as a striking femme fatale, this film struggles with a weak and uninspired script. It lacks humor, suspense, and excitement, and ultimately culminates in a rather predictable twist, making it difficult to stay engaged.

The story unfolds as a flashback, beginning with Becket Redfellow (played by Powell) recounting his life to a priest while on Death Row awaiting his execution.

My mentor, Becket, had a really tough start. His mom faced a lot of hardship when she became pregnant – her incredibly wealthy father basically disowned her. She ended up raising him in working-class New Jersey, and she instilled in him this incredible drive, always telling him to keep going, to fight for the life he deserved, and never give up until he got there. It’s a lesson that’s really stuck with me, seeing how he turned out.

Knowing a large inheritance awaited him after the deaths of his relatives, he began a calculated mission to eliminate them, employing various underhanded methods – even resorting to poisoning, like using tainted toothpaste. He anticipated wealth would follow seven funerals at the family tomb.

The classic film Kind Hearts and Coronets famously featured Alec Guinness playing all the relatives, showcasing incredible creativity. How To Make A Killing, however, lacks that spark. It’s difficult to even categorize – is it a comedy, thriller, noir, or melodrama? Let’s just say it doesn’t really work.

Colleen Hoover’s popular 2022 novel, Reminders of Him, has been adapted into a predictably emotional romance film. While it’s sure to make viewers cry, it likely won’t cause a run on tissues.

Kenna (Maika Monroe) has just been released from jail after serving time for a car accident where someone died while she was driving under the influence. She’s now back in her hometown of Wyoming, where her boyfriend, Scotty (Rudy Pankow), tragically passed away.

A few years prior, after a wonderful day of swimming and intimacy outdoors in the mountains, she drove them home unaware she was pregnant. By the time their daughter, Diem, was born, she was in handcuffs and Scotty had tragically died. Now, Scotty’s parents, Bradley Whitford and Lauren Graham, are raising Diem with assistance from Scotty’s close friend, Ledger (Tyriq Withers), who lives nearby.

Kenna is completely unwelcome, but she’s determined to connect with Diem. It’s no surprise that she and Ledger begin to develop feelings for each other, creating a complicated situation. However, Hoover is known for always handling things carefully and ensuring everything is resolved neatly.

Even though a movie is adapted from a book, the characters don’t have to be simple or lack depth. While Ledger’s character is presented as almost perfectly good-looking and heroic, and Kenna is shown as deeply emotional because she writes letters to her deceased dog, both are still more complex than the overly sentimental music. If the music were any more cliché…

I’d feel obliged to warn off the lactose intolerant.

Can you handle Danny Dyer? Once mocked for always playing a tough guy, the former EastEnders star is now being called a true national treasure in a recent Rolling Stone article.

He’s incredibly persuasive in ‘One Last Deal’ as Jimmy Banks, a ruthless and foul-mouthed football agent. Banks is working frantically to secure a profitable new contract for his only remaining client, a star striker in the Premier League. However, there’s a problem: the player is facing a serious sexual assault charge, and the deal depends on him being found not guilty.

Brendan Muldowney’s film centers around a single character, Jimmy, and takes place over a few hours. We see him navigating a hectic day filled with phone calls as he handles problems with his star athlete, a blackmail threat, and other urgent matters. The film also reveals Jimmy’s colorful language – and ‘contract’ isn’t even his most frequently used word beginning with ‘C’.

The story becomes overly dramatic and doesn’t compare to Steven Knight’s excellent 2013 film, Locke, which featured a powerful performance by Tom Hardy. However, despite its flaws, Mark Rylance delivers a truly outstanding performance.

All films are in cinemas now.

 

Also showing… 

A new exhibition at Tate Britain celebrates the work of Britain’s two most famous landscape painters, JMW Turner and John Constable, who were born only a year apart. It runs until April 12th. While I haven’t seen the exhibition myself, the documentary Turner & Constable (rated PG, 93 minutes, four stars) is a fantastic way to learn about these artists. It offers insightful portraits of both men and their lives. Those who saw the 2014 film Mr. Turner will recall their competitive relationship, but the documentary also highlights the similarities they shared, including facing harsh criticism from other artists at the time.

J.M.W. Turner was ridiculed for his frequent use of yellow, and critics even claimed he had a vision problem – ‘jaundice of the retina’ – to explain it. John Constable, meanwhile, was criticized for his loose, sweeping brushwork. It’s remarkable how often innovative artists face negativity.

I also found the film The Tasters (rated 15, running time 123 minutes, three stars) interesting, but I discovered the ‘true story’ it’s based on is controversial. Back in 2012, Margot Wolk, age 95, said she was one of fifteen young women chosen to taste Hitler’s food to ensure it wasn’t poisoned. While some historians question her memories, they’ve inspired books, a play, and now this German film directed by Italian filmmaker Silvio Soldini.

A couple of awkward side plots, including one with a sexual affair involving the Nazi officer, add unnecessary drama instead of genuine tension.

The movie is perfectly fine to watch, but it feels like it’s trying a little too hard to offer a fresh take on World War II.

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2026-03-13 02:05