Westside in general, and Brindleyplace in particular, have benefitted greatly from new technology and allied building techniques.
Giant ‘rubber bands’ underneath Symphony Hall shield one of the world’s greatest concert halls from the vibrations of trains running underneath, for example.
The West Midlands Metro trams only reach Broad Street thanks to their ability to run off batteries through the main city centre conservation area.
And, of course, most bars, restaurants, nightclubs, family attractions and theatres – as well as our two multiplex cinemas at Cineworld Broad Street and Odeon Luxe Broadway Plaza – can all take bookings and even food and drink orders through apps or websites online.
What might happen were such technology to go ‘rogue’ at home is the subject of this week’s big film release.
AFRAID (15, 84 mins)
In this US sci-fi horror film, written as AfrAId, family members get more than they bargained for when they receive a smart home ‘family assistant’ device called AIA.
By quickly learning behaviours it can anticipate needs.
The 15 certificate was awarded for ‘strong threat’ and ‘sexually abusive behaviour’.
Verdict: **
Directed by Chris Weitz (American Pie / About a Boy), AfrAId has been made by low budget, high returns Blumhouse Productions which has, to date, grossed £4.5 billion from more than 200 movies and TV series, including films like Paranormal Activity, Insidious, The Purge, M3gan and Get Out.
And it stars the charismatic South Korea-born actor John Cho, so good in Searching (2018) and Harold & Kumar Get The Munchies (2004).
The result here is a film which tries hard to capitalise on our fears about everything from data abuse to deepfake videos, pornography, and even a machine detailing its own origins to a child – but is somewhat lacking as a physical horror thrill ride beyond the terror of an armed, home invasion.
Which reminds me, where’s the unseen Macaulay Culkin when you need him? Perhaps he’s Home Aphone!
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO (12A, 178 mins)
This is a beautifully-fresh version of the classic Alexander Dumas story already told multiple times on TV and in cinemas.
Pierre Niney plays Edmond Dantes who, after being arrested on his wedding day and then falsely imprisoned in Marseilles’ Chateau d’If, uses new identities to seek comic book-worthy revenge on three selfish men.
They are Dantes’ best friend but love rival Fernand de Morcef (Bastien Bouillon), jealous shipmate Danglars (Patrick Mille) and corrupt magistrate Gérard de Villefort (Laurent Lafitte).
The directors, Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de la Patellière, previously adapted the two recent and very high-quality Musketeers films.
The verdict: ****
Just when you thought the days of the three-hour movie so beloved by awards seasons and major franchises must surely be behind us, here’s another – albeit one that’s mercifully shorter than the 1,000-plus pages of 19th century source material.
Thankfully this cracking, Mission: Impossible-style thriller is a swashbuckling, properly-French and old-fashioned fantasy adventure save, perhaps, for an overuse of drone footage.
By galloping along for three hours, Monte Cristo does what all movies of this kind should do – and that’s to entertain audiences with a capital E.
Nay, had it been released in the winter months, watching it could have kept pensioners warm and toasty.
PICTURE CREDITS
The Count of Monte Cristo / Entertainment Film Distributors
Afraid / Sony Pictures
