Aarcflick

 *Fuze* is an incredibly cool movie. It is, in part, an explosive countdown thriller; in part, a heist thriller; and in part, a revenge thriller. Much of its appeal lies in the fluidity with which it transitions between these different genres. Ben Hopkins (*Inside*) has penned a script full of twists, which director David Mackenzie (*Hell or High Water*) brings to the screen with great elegance. The story begins with construction workers discovering what appears to be an unexploded World War II bomb while excavating at a work site. Local residents—including the immigrant Rahim (Elham Ehsas)—are evacuated as Major Will Tranter (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his team arrive on the scene to defuse it. Police Superintendent Zuzana (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) oversees the situation from headquarters. The mission becomes complicated when they discover that the bomb’s timer mechanism has been activated. Meanwhile, criminals Karalis (Theo James), "X" (Sam Worthington), and two other accomplices se...

 Ben Kingsley and Aaron Eckhart pilot a commercial airliner straight into the center of a feeding frenzy in this above-average shark thriller. Renny Harlin’s solid and entertaining film, *Deep Water*, centers on a plane that crashes right in the middle of a massive pack of sharks. And let me tell you: those sharks are absolutely ravenous. Director: Renny Harlin Writers: Pete Bridges, Shayne Armstrong, S.P. Krause Stars: Aaron Eckhart, Ben Kingsley, Angus Sampson One would think that the sound of a 747 (or whatever it is) splitting in two right over their favorite dining spot would scare these mako sharks away; however, these predators—rendered via CGI, though convincingly enough—smell, both literally and figuratively, blood in the water. The wreckage of the plane is still ablaze when they begin devouring the survivors, acting as if they were perfect, God-given jump scares. Even the tiger sharks that devoured so many of Quint’s shipmates—crew members of the USS Indianapolis—in the f...

 Damian McCarthy’s third feature film refines the Irish writer-director’s horror style into something sharp and terrifying. Jump scares often get a bad rap. It is true that they can be a lazy device—a crutch for directors who lack the skill to build tension through more ambitious structural means. But when paired with solid filmmaking, a good jump scare can transform a movie—one that might otherwise be merely good—into a dizzying, thrilling experience that leaves us gasping in awe; and that is exactly what Irish writer-director Damian McCarthy achieves with *Hokum*. Director: Damian Mc Carthy Writer: Damian Mc Carthy Stars: Adam Scott, Peter Coonan, David Wilmot McCarthy’s previous film, *Oddity* (2024), featured the most terrifying scene of that year: a sequence involving a flashlight, a tent, and a thunderous bang on the door of an isolated farmhouse in the dead of night. And while it is barely March, *Hokum* is almost certainly already shaping up to be a strong contender for tha...

Fatih Akin took over the direction of *Amrum* when his friend, the German cult director Hark Bohm, fell ill and was unable to direct it himself. Fatih Akin’s latest film is not, in fact, a typical Fatih Akin film at all. Rather, it is "a Hark Bohm film made by Fatih Akin." By presenting *Amrum* in this way, the opening credits prepare the viewer for a type of story very different from what one might expect if already familiar with Akin’s work. But it also presupposes prior knowledge of Bohm—the cult German author, screenwriter, and film director who originally wrote the screenplay for this film, drawing inspiration from his childhood memories on that small island. Director: Fatih Akin Writers: Fatih Akin, Hark Bohm Stars: Jasper Billerbeck, Laura Tonke, Lisa Hagmeister When Bohm fell ill, Akin stepped in to help co-write the story, before finally agreeing to take on the directing duties as well. The result is a film that the director’s longtime fans might not even recognize a...

 Written and directed by Kevin Interdonato, the action-crime film *Dirty Hands* kicks off in the Chicago underworld when a routine drug deal goes awry for the Denton brothers: Richie and Danny. Sheila, Richie’s girlfriend, finds herself torn between her loyalty to Richie and her loyalty to his boss, while rival leader Rodney and his bloodthirsty gang come hunting for them. With the son of a crime boss dead, the brothers must fight for their lives if they hope to survive the night. The film stars Patrick Muldoon as Richie Denton, Kevin Interdonato as Danny Denton, and Guy Nardulli as Rodney; it also features Denise Richards as Sheila and Michael Beach as Dally. Director: Kevin Interdonato Writer: Kevin Interdonato Stars: Patrick Muldoon, Kevin Interdonato, Denise Richards *Dirty Hands* opens in the Chicago underworld when a routine drug exchange goes wrong for the Denton brothers: Richie (Muldoon) and Danny (Interdonato). Sheila (Richards), Richie’s girlfriend, is caught between her...

A portrait of John Davidson—who campaigned to raise awareness about this condition—forms the basis of a true story that is at times humorous and at others deeply moving; the kind of film the UK used to produce with regularity in the past. Based on the real life of John Davidson—a Tourette syndrome awareness activist who serves here as an executive producer—*I Swear* is a biopic about a man who came of age in 1980s Scotland, during an era when Tourette syndrome was widely misunderstood and barely recognized. This led him to experience a wide range of situations: from difficulties in dating to acts of horrific physical violence. Director: Kirk Jones Writer: Kirk Jones Stars: Robert Aramayo, Maxine Peake, Somerled Campbell The "I" in the title *I Swear* is portrayed by *The Rings of Power* star Robert Aramayo; meanwhile, the second part of the title constitutes a play on words, alluding both to the involuntary outbursts triggered by his character's condition and to an oath w...