overnight reviews

The Accountant 2 review - belated return of Ben Affleck's lethal bean-counter

★★★ THE ACCOUNTANT 2 Belated return of Ben Affleck's lethal bean-counter

Horror, humour and mind games combine in Gavin O'Connor's sequel

It’s been nine years since Ben Affleck’s original portrayal of Christian Wolff in The Accountant, who’s not only an accountant but also a super-efficient assassin working for the highest bidders. In this follow-up, again directed by Gavin O’Connor and written by Bill Dubuque, Affleck barely seems to have aged, and he's still solitary, anti-social and probably autistic.

The Inseparables, Finborough Theatre review - uneven portrait of a close female friendship

De Beauvoir's novel gets an often charming but undemanding staging

The Finborough has once again performed the miracle of creating a whole world in its intimate space: this time, inter-war France, where two young girls meet and form a strong attachment. The semi-autobiographical story comes from a 1954 Simone de Beauvoir novel, Les inséparables, never published in her lifetime. Some apparently considered it too intimate, and Jean-Paul Sartre disapproved of it.

The Ugly Stepsister review - gleeful Grimm revamp

★★★ THE UGLY STEPSISTER Gleeful Grimm revamp

A cutting Norwegian take on Cinderella and her adversaries

Although both of the Brothers Grimm died around 1860, they still insist on getting dozens of film and TV credits in each decade of our present age. They might be seen, in a sense, as inventing the modern horror movie far more than Poe or Shelley or Stoker – largely because of their stories’ especially swingeing violence.

Flintoff, Disney+ review - tumultuous life and times of the great all-rounder

★★★★ FLINTOFF, DISNEY+ Tumultuous life and times of the great all-rounder

John Dower's documentary is gritty, gruelling and uplifting

Documentaries about sports stars are now a dime a dozen, but you can only be as good as your subject matter. We know Andrew Flintoff (usually known as Freddie) is a larger-than-life character who has had his fair share of both success and failure, but in this new film for Disney+, directed by John Dower, he emerges as a charismatic personality who can inspire undying devotion among friends and teammates while being brutally honest about his own shortcomings.

Personal Values, Hampstead Theatre review - deep grief that's too brief

★★ PERSONAL VALUES, HAMPSTEAD THEATRE New play about two sisters, death and hoarding is well written, but feels incomplete

New play about two sisters, death and hoarding is well written, but feels incomplete

“They fuck you up your Mum and Dad; they may not mean to, but they do.” These lines from Philip Larkin’s 1975 poem, “This Be the Verse”, sum up the emotional fuel of many recent plays by young writers.

Album: Jenny Hval - Iris Silver Mist

★★★ JENNY HVAL - IRIS SILVER MIST A challenging yet rewarding experimental album

A challenging yet rewarding experimental album

Had I read the contextual blurb about Jenny Hval's latest album first, I might have assumed it was a perfume company collaboration. The album is named after a fragrance created by renowned perfumer Maurice Roucel for French house Serge Lutens, a connection that initially seems tenuous.

April review - powerfully acted portrait of a conflicted doctor in eastern Georgia

★★★★ APRIL Powerfully acted portrait of a conflicted doctor in eastern Georgia

Dea Kukumbegashvili's second film is stylistically striking and emotionally raw

It’s easy to see metaphors about the status of modern Georgia, once again threatened by the Russian boot, in its recent artistic output. So while there are no overt political allusions in director Dea Kulumbegashshvili’s April, at its core you sense a tacit and urgent debate about how to square your conscience with the “rules” that govern the country’s conduct.

Greg Davies, Brighton Dome review - chocolate bars and errant bumholes

★★★★ GREG DAVIES, BRIGHTON DOME Taskmaster's first tour in seven years is a joy

Taskmaster's first tour in seven years is a joy

Greg Davies doesn’t spare himself in his new show, Full Fat Legend, his first tour in seven years after having been busy being mean to celebrities on Taskmaster on Channel 4, and showing his acting chops on the BBC’s dark comedy The Cleaner, among other projects. In a busy 90 minutes he talks about his dodgy prostate, pointless masturbation and his errant "bumhole”, among many other unflattering – but very funny – stories.

Bach St John Passion, Academy of Ancient Music, Cummings, Barbican review - conscience against conformism

★★★★ BACH ST JOHN PASSION, ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC, CUMMINGS, BARBICAN In an age of hate-fuelled pile-ons, Bach's gospel tragedy strikes even deeper

In an age of hate-fuelled pile-ons, Bach's gospel tragedy strikes even deeper

In a programme note for the St John Passion at the Barbican, the Academy of Ancient Music’s chief executive called their Easter performances of Bach’s compressed gospel tragedy a “ritual”. You understand why that word claims its place. However, there’s not much consciously liturgical about the AAM’s musical approach.

Music Reissues Weekly: 1001 Est Crémazie

101 EST CREMAZIE Privately pressed Canadian jazz album resurfaces for its 50th anniversary

Privately pressed Canadian jazz album resurfaces for its 50th anniversary

It would have been hard to pick up a copy of the album credited to and titled 1001 Est Crémazie in 1975. Just 500 copies were pressed. It didn’t reach shops but was circulated amongst the musicians playing on it, their friends, families and fellow students at Montréal’s Collège André-Grasset, the school at which those on the album were pupils.