FILM: The Spy Who Dumped Me (dir: Susanna Fogel, 2018)

"I underestimated you."

For an end-of-Summer-dumping-ground release, The Spy Who Dumped Me comes as something of a surprise.  It is a lightweight and insubstantial comedy romp, but within that context it is well-made and plays out rather well on the screen.  As the two best friends who become embroiled in international espionage through an ex-boyfriend, Kunis and McKinnon are utterly reliable performers who have real chemistry and wring every drop out of a script that does its best to keep the momentum going.  The European-capital-hopping is enjoyable, and most surprising is the sharpness and slickness of the action/fight sequences.  This is not an essential movie, but it is much better than you expect it to be.

FILM: The Happytime Murders (dir: Brian Henson, 2018)

"Is Phil in?"

If a film is sold as an outrageous comedy, that is what the audience expects, and here The Happytime Murders sadly does not deliver, and it is certainly nowhere near as funny or subversive as Meet The Feebles or Team America.  Oddly enough, the parts that are played straight in terms of the police procedural and private investigator genres work effectively, with credit to good world-building in which people and puppets co-exist and to the puppeteers and their creations.  Plotting is negligible, and the brief flashes of genuine humour are not sustained.  The Happytime Murders is not wholly successful as either a serious or comedic film, and it thus falls awkwardly and disappointingly between the two.

FILM: Alpha IMAX 3D (dir: Albert Hughes, 2018)

 "Be patient."

Alpha is considerably more interesting and engaging than the trailers would have you believe, which comes a s a pleasant surprise.  One of the selling points is the use of fantastic Koyaanisqatsi-style natural vistas which looked amazing on an IMAX screen in 3D; smaller-screen viewing at home however  will also expose the simple 'journey' story, as a teen is left for dead on his first hunting expedition and tries to make his way back home, befriending an injured wolf along the way.  The rites-of-passage/boy-and-his-dog tropes are all present and correct, and Kodi Smit-McPhee gives a very strong performance in the lead role, but his various trials, the excellent cinematography and well-executed action sequences keep the attention.

VOD: Day Of The Dead - Bloodline (dir: Hector Hernandez Vicens, 2018)

"Just don't ever do that to me again!"

Ten years on from the peculiar reboot/remake/reimagining comes this Bulgarian-shot cheapie follow-up, set five years after the events of that film version.  After a perfunctory set-up establishing of the initiating event, Bloodline plays like a souped-up episode of The Walking Dead, but here Idiot Plot abounds astoundingly as every mistake possible to be made by the secure-bunker-dwelling proto-military crew and survivors unfolds predictably.  Nevertheless, the film is proficiently made and efficient, with suitably over-the-top squelch for gore fans, and there are a couple of interesting twists on the Bub character from Romero's 1985 classic, notably when the character first infiltrates the bunker and poses an Alien-esque lone zombie stalking threat, but making him a romantically-fixated semi-sentient creature really does not bear much scrutiny.  There are worse films out there riding on the end of this era's zombie wave, but revisit the Romero originals - even today they seem fresher and more imaginative than the relentless 'inspired by' films that have followed.

FILM: The Equalizer 2 (dir: Antoine Fuqua, 2018)

"There are two kinds of pain in this world: pain that hurts, pain that alters.  Today, you get to choose."

Like the first film, making it more than just a standard action movie, with proper characters, thoughtful cinematography and consideration of motivations, not only gives The Equalizer 2 a shade more depth than expected but again is also ridiculously drawn out and over-long.  The story takes a little time to settle as acts of random retribution re-establish the protagonist's modus operandi, but after that the central story is effective if a little simplistic.  The action beats are mostly brief and powerful, although the final cat-and-mouse sequence is stretched to the limit.  The ever-watchable Washington delivers again, and there is a very strong performance from Ashton Sanders (Moonlight) as the young neighbour Washington takes under his wing.  This is a decently-made action sequel, but its length and pacing may test the patience of some viewers.

FILM: The Festival (dir: Iain Morris, 2018)

"Glass houses, mate."

Proof that once again creative lightning does not strike twice, The Festival has been heavily touted as being from the creators of The Inbetweeners and whilst it falls very far short of that TV/film franchise's success, it does have its moments and it certainly improves as it goes along.  The film can do little more than deliver more or less exactly what you would expect, Joe Thomas has a slightly different hairstyle, the hair gel gag from There's Something About Mary is given an even grosser spin, there is an excruciating moment involving a nipple ring, and it veers uncontrollably between the almost authentic to the heavily staged.  If you are an undiscerning twelve-year-old boy, this will be the year's funniest and most aspirational movie - otherwise, it delivers the odd laugh but is hardly essential viewing.

FILM: Christopher Robin (dir: Marc Foster, 2018)

"Was it always this gloomy?"

The trailer teased the potentially magical mix of a grown-up Christopher Robin reuniting with his childhood toy pals, which the film offers but rather strangely.  This is a surprisingly dour film, not aided by the slightly washed-out colour palette and autumnal shooting, making the first half oddly lifeless and melancholy (although, one supposes, that is the point), but it perks up to an extent in the second half.  There is some occasional Paddington-style slapstick, and the use of locations and post-1945 settings are well created.   This movie's absolute triumph is the gloriously-rendered CG animals and the excellent voice cast - Jim Cummings reprises his delightful voice work as Pooh, and Brad Garrett's recognisable world-weary tones make for a perfect Eeyore.  McGregor is reliable as ever as Robin, but he feels a little miscast here; he does, however, nail the adult Robin's rediscovery of the joy of play and imagination in a couple of scenes.  Christopher Robin is a well-made film, beautifully shot and scored, but it may prove a bit joyless for nostalgic adults and rather grim for children.

VOD: Meet The Blacks (dir: Deon Taylor, 2016)

"It feels like we're in a goddam horror movie!  OK, now what's the rules?"

This sub-Wayans Brothers parody of The Purge is right down there with the hopeless Meet The Spartans.  Not only is The Purge too niche for a purposeful and recognisable level of material to parody, but also the general hysteria of the performances in this movie fails to cover the weak and repetitive material and profanity replaces anything approaching wit, even when it genuinely tries to approach racial issues.  There is very little in here that is even remotely funny, and it is a real chore to sit through - disappointing.

FILM: The Meg IMAX 3D (dir: Jon Turteltaub, 2018)

REVIEW No. 900!

"None of this was in the job description!"

In spite of the promotion's best efforts to convince us that The Meg would be a lightweight fun confection, the actual movie - for the most part - plays it straight and benefits as a result, even if it gives the whole proceedings a somewhat expected and familiar turn.  (A couple of hokey direct Jaws references do creep in at the start of the third act in particular and seem jarringly out of place - no prizes for guessing the name of the dog featured in the trailer).  It is a clear straightforward three-act film - a rescue mission, team vs Meg, the final showdown - and in its actual release form a disappointingly bloodless affair.  With a big-league budget, the effects are ambitious and polished for a movie of this type, giving the film a scope and level of detail usually reserved for blockbuster sci-fi, and enabling some decent set pieces.  Statham is a good fit for the lead character and he conveys some surprisingly genuine warmth for a typically one-note role.  Enjoyable but forgettable, The Meg feels like a classic compromise: make a relatively toothless PG-13 to aim for a wide market to recoup outlay, and avoid being a full-blooded thriller that would limit but satisfy the older audience and not justify the high budget.

VOD: Extinction (dir: Ben Young, 2018)

"I think you're looking in the wrong direction."

Another major studio movie picked up by Netflix means that this sci-fi-actioner looks CGI-shiny and has a solid lead in Michael Pena. Setting itself up as a played-straight alien invasion movie, with seemingly no other motivation than to destroy Earth's population, the brutality of the initial invasion comes across well, and indeed the action/attack scenes are staged and handled very well.  Pay close attention from the start, however; as the movie progresses there is a clever narrative shift that works very well.  Whilst there is nothing here that has not been done before, it is done effectively here,  the numerous genre influences are not particularly well-hidden but the movie looks good and plays efficiently.

FILM: Teen Titans Go! To The Movies (dirs: Aaron Horvath and Peter Rida Michail, 2018)

"A MOVIE!"

This was my first experience of the Teen Titans, and once you have seen the team riding time tricycles and witnessed a space-dolphin-unicorn, it is difficult to know what to think.  Best described (possibly) as a meta-anime-musical-superhero movie, taking wannabe teenage versions of lesser superheroes and sidekicks and giving it an overtly-knowing spin results in a lot of amusing self-aware banter and ideas on the superhero genre and Hollywood itself, and the lo-fi stylings coupled with off-the-wall moments is bizarrely entertaining.  It is inconsistent, e-numbered-kinetic, completely silly and therefore oddly and curiously enjoyable.

FILM: Hotel Transylvania 3 - A Monster Vacation (dir: Genndy Tartakovsky, 2018)

"Would you like to see my parts?"

This reasonably charming children's animation franchise goes on holiday for its third outing, and thus loses part of the fun of the previous films, i.e. using and skewering genre conventions for a young audience.  It is closer in tone and style to the meandering second film rather than the madcap first movie, but it is nonetheless colourful, occasionally energetic and has some nice moments of oddball humour even if overall it does not always have the momentum hoped for.

FILM: Mission: Impossible - Fallout (dir: Christopher McQuarrie, 2018)

"Hope is not a strategy."
"You must be new!"

Fallout is a direct development from the excellent fifth entry in this maturing franchise, and it is unquestionably a terrific Hollywood blockbuster action-thriller that actually delivers on the action and is genuinely thrilling.  All the expected components work just fine - Cruise's commitment, top-notch death-defying action sequences, strong cast - but for a movie of this type it is also directed and lensed with care and real quality.  With the careful bringing together of elements and characters from the previous movies, there are real choices with consequences on the immediate and world-stage levels, and the stunning set pieces are only hinted at in the already-impressive trailer.  Fallout juggles character, action and intrigue most effectively to create an immensely satisfying and enjoyable action-thriller that is compelling and impressive.

FILM: Ant-Man And The Wasp 3D 4DX (dir: Peyton Reed, 2018)

 "It makes me want to knit you a sweater!"

The first Ant-Man movie was a pleasing, fun movie that was never a top-league Marvel movie, but Ant-Man's stature has grown (literally) in subsequent MCU appearances.  The second outing makes the wise move of promoting The Wasp to shared top billing, but a lot of what made the first film work well is evident here: the comedy smarts, the relationships and a less pompous tone than some Marvel movies.  Evangeline Lilly is the easy stand-out here, giving a really strong performance and establishing the Wasp in her own right, and the rest of the cast works effortlessly.  Here, Marvel's weak-villains curse works in favour of shining the focus more interestingly on the protagonists.  The film's saviour is also, of course, the wonderful FX work, from the whiplash size-changing gags to the seamless integration.  The basic story itself is pitifully thin, but there is a lot of fun to be had along the way.  The film is set before Avengers - Infinity War, but wait for the mid-credits scene that brings it up-to-date very powerfully.