VOD: Overlord (dir: Julius Avery, 2018)

"That's weird."
"Add it to the list."

What starts off as a fairly gripping World War II thriller, with an impressively mounted opening airborne sequence, slowly unfolds its narrative clues and draws in the viewer before going utterly and enjoyably mad in the second half.  Conventions of the target genres are deployed very well, it tells its bizarre story with conviction and real energy, and it certainly does not stint on the violence and gore.  Told through the unfolding experience of a young soldier, Jovan Adepo is clearly an actor to watch for the future judging by this committed performance, but the main reason for watching Overlord is to go along for a bonkers but very well presented thrill ride.

FILM: Wild Rose (dir: Tom Harper, 2019)

"Why Country?"
"Because it's three chords and the truth."

Wild Rose is one of those small-scale domestic Brit dramas that absolutely nails it characters and delivers true heart.  At its centre is a electric performance from Jessie Buckley, a mesmerising raw ball of joy and anger as the young ex-jailbird mother trying to get by, reconnect with her children and follow her dream of being a Country music singer.  As her mother, Julie Walters delivers another finely-observed and well-controlled character piece that juxtaposes well with her more freewheeling daughter.  Treading a very fine line between realism and wish-fulfilment fantasy, Wild Rose is both very entertaining and extremely accomplished in all respects.

FILM: Little (dir: Tina Gordon, 2019)

"What was that?"

The title (it's like BIG! only it's an adult that turns...LITTLE!) suggests the lack of imagination on display here, and the strapline ('from the producers of Girls Trip and Night School) pretty much tells you the rest.  The latest in the mini-trend for age/gender/body-change comedies is a wafer-thin confection that has very little impact or purpose.  Saddled with an internal time-scale that makes little sense and a very talky but empty script, even the enthusiastic and at times well-played lead performances cannot always lift the tedium and lack of material.  It is also questionable that a film that seemingly targets young teenage girls should objectify its male characters so crassly sexually, even if the film thinks it is making a point by doing so.  By the time Little reaches its predictable punch-the-air feel-good ending, the viewer will probably feel like punching something else instead.

FILM: Hellboy (dir: Neil Marshall, 2019)

"You call this refurbished?"

It was always a real shame that we were denied Guillermo del Toro's trilogy- closer, but this 2019 reboot does not make up for it.  This is a noisy, messy and unbalanced film that disappointingly substitutes character dialogue and development with way too much (often repetitive) exposition at every opportunity, narrative is unwieldy at best, and the apocalyptic finale has flashes of Clive Barker-style insanity but is over before you know it.  David Harbour actually makes for a decent Hellboy but is no Ron Perlman, and Marshall is certainly no del Toro here, but there are occasional moments where the cinematography and visual effects are strong.  Overall, though, this latest Hellboy proves to be disappointing, frustrating and underwhelming.

FILM: Missing Link (dir: Chris Butler, 2019)

"Cookie?"

Whilst Missing Link is nowhere near Laika's best, it is still another very entertaining film from the stop-motion specialists.  In the vein of Tad The Explorer and Small Foot, we are presented with a lightweight adventure romp that still manages to pull off enough wry and  subversive moments to appeal to adult viewers, but it lacks the depth of impact of other films by the same studio.  Nevertheless, the voice cast does sterling work and clearly has fun, the animation is beautiful and there is a lot of simple good-natured fun to be found here.

FILM: Wonder Park (dirs: Dylan Brown, Robert Iscove, Clare Kilner, David Feiss, 2019)

"Don't need to do that again."

Wonder Park could never be described as subtle, and its rather conventional themes - separation anxiety, loss of innocence, death of childhood imagination - are all too obvious.  Children will be captivated by the hyper-coloured design, feisty female protagonist and frantic pace, adults may enjoy the voice cast and the high level of detail and lighting in the animation, but overall Wonder Park is pleasant but leaves little lasting impression.

FILM: Pet Sematary (dirs: Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer, 2019)

"It's a good thing you're not a f***ing vet!"

This 2019 version of the well-known Stephen King novel and its 1989 movie counterpart is somewhat slow but adequate, and its effectiveness will clearly depend upon the extent to which the viewer is familiar with those earlier incarnations.  Apart from a couple of scenes with mobile phones, this film could indeed have been from those earlier times, and the emphasis wisely remains on the simple and small-scale storytelling that King mined to good original effect.  There is some atmospheric cinematography and a typically hauntingly lovely Christopher Young score, but overall Pet Sematary 2019 is rarely more than a low-key but acceptable re-telling of a familiar story.

FILM: Shazam! (dir: David F Sandberg, 2019)

"It's fun!"

An April release for a December/Christmas-set movie feels a little incongruous, but it helps to imbue this sweet, funny, dynamic superhero movie with a sense of real warmth. Emotionally, the film feels very contemporary, with a wintry Philadelphia providing an apt backdrop for themes of isolation, bullying and the foster-care system, yet the film also has a genuine Spielberg/Columbus sense of wonder and adventure.    In some ways, yes, it is (knowingly self-aware) BIG with superheroes, but the film balances the comedic and the serious very effectively indeed.  Asher Angel and Zach Dylan Grazer are very engaging as the best friends leads, and Zachary Levi puts his Chuck skills to good purpose here.  Until a surprise at the very end, Shazam! follows Wonder Woman and Aquaman in showing that DC needs to establish characters (and can do so successfully) before trying shared universe ventures.  In this film. storytelling, is careful, deliberate and thus engages throughout, the relationships on-screen feel sincere and thus Shazam! is a charming, very enjoyable and effortless piece of entertainment.