VOD: Train To Busan presents Peninsula (dir: Sang-Ho Yeon, 2020)

"It's unrecognisable now."

Taking the zombie outbreak of the superb Train To Busan forward four years, the canvas here is opened wide to a whole city/port where a mis-matched bunch are charged with recovering a truck-load of money from the heart of zombie territory.  Some of the visual flair and creativity evident in the first film is sometimes on display here, but overall Peninsula is disappointingly generic and more disjointed than the original, and the characters are less engaging.  Nevertheless, the athletic zombie-style used again offers some exciting moments, even if the film as a whole is a little too routinely Resident Evil.
 

VOD: Brahms - The Boy II (dir: William Brent Bell, 2020)

"I told you not to make him mad."

The original film was bonkers but not wholly successful; this sequel works well as a companion piece, but it offers little that is new and feels almost like a subdued 1970s mystery/thriller throwback.  A town-dwelling couple and their young son move to the gatehouse of the original film's manor house following a traumatising burglary-gone-wrong, the son discovers the doll half-buried in the woods and...you can pretty much guess the rest.  Katie Holmes plays it admirably straight as the put-upon mother, Owain Yeoman is earnest if a little underwritten as the father, and young Christopher Convery carries off the creepy-child trope well through conveying the child's trauma and beyond.  Overall, the film is adequate but inessential, and the ending hints at a different if equally-limiting direction for the franchise if it is pursued (think Friday The 13th Part V).
 

VOD: A Christmas Gift From Bob a.k.a A Gift From Bob (dir: Charles Martin Smith, 2020)

"They often happen when you least expect it."

This unexpected sequel to the feel-good story/hit manages to sidestep the security provided by fame and success for the previously homeless guy and his adopted cat by using flashback to an earlier Christmas when times were hard.  The first film was a fully-developed tale of the unfolding relationship between Bob and his owner, whereas this film sidelines the cat a bit too much and offers little of the journey that the original provided.  Indeed, the final twenty minutes come as a genuine heart-warming relief, as most of the film is a downbeat sequence of miserable happenings all at Christmas.  Luke Treadaway is a strong character actor and he again delivers and carries the film effectively, but overall this unexpected sequel perhaps stretches the need for it to exist a bit too much.
 

VOD: Better Watch Out (dir: Chris Peckover, 2016)

"Isn't this...exciting?"

This Christmas-set home-invasion movie isn't all that at first it seems, as a babysitter finds herself having to defend her 12-year-old charge and his best friend,,,but that is only the beginning.  The story unfolds in directions that are certainly not expected, and it maintains interest to the very end.  The film is also enjoyably sweary, violent and occasionally in poor taste, with engaging and energetic performances by Olivia DeJonge as the unfortunate babysitter and Levi Miller as the boy whom she looks after.  To say more would spoil the journey, but the film balances comedy and horror very effectively and is a lot of fun.
 

VOD: Krampus (dir: Michael Dougherty, 2015)

"Lord almighty - it looks like Martha Stewart threw up in here!" 

Having covered Halloween so successfully with Trick 'r Treat, Michael Dougherty's attempt to put the horror into Christmas is nowhere near as stylish or inventive but is still enjoyable nevertheless.  In the style of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, the grosser side of the family descends on a fracturing homestead for the holidays, and the young son's discarding of his letter to Santa causes the arrival of Krampus, the mythical anti-Santa, who inflicts terror upon the entire household (and indeed neighbourhood).  As everything from presents to Christmas lights become agents of malevolence, the nastiness seems more appropriate and natural at Halloween than at Christmas, but the cast give it their all and there is some fun to be had here.

VOD: Summer Of 85 (dir: Francois Ozon, 2020)

"Ordinary....and dead sad...."

Ozon's latest tells the tale of 16-year-old Alexis falling hopelessly in love with the more worldly 18-year-old David during one sunny Summer on the coast.  In this classic tale of innocence and experience, Ozon tells the story simply but effectively, juxtaposing the joys of first love with the inevitable harshness when reality bites and it all falls apart.  The whole film is shot through with interesting melancholy and wistfulness, balanced by a well-chosen 80s soundtrack and held up by two strong performances from its young leads.  Being an Ozon film, melodrama is never far away and there is little sense of reality in play for the most part, but as usual characters are king here.
 

VOD: Deep Blue Sea 3 (dir: John Pogue, 2020)

"We're talking sea-mageddon!"

Now firmly in what used be known as direct-to-video territory, Deep Blue Sea 3 at least bothers to tie in well with the previous two films, and it is certainly more watchable than the second film although nowhere near as entertaining as the original.  This time a research scientist is examining the effect of climate change on the local shark population on a small man-made island construction off the coast of Mozambique,  but soon finds herself not only battling three genetically-modified bull sharks from the previous film's experiments but company bad guys as well.  There are a couple of inventive kills and effective jump-shocks, but again this is one of those franchises in which there is little option for originality on display.
 

VOD: The Christmas Chronicles - Part 2 (dir: Chris Columbus, 2020)

"In a few hours, this entire village will be nothing but a distant memory."

Two years on, this sequel to Netflix's big hit of 2018 proves to be more of the same but bigger.  With a real-world domestic scenario of a family resort holiday only bookending the film, this time the action is centred on Santa's village in the North Pole and a plot to destroy Christmas.  Little can be described as subtle here, Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn are reliable as the Clauses, and Santa gets to duet with Darlene Love in an airport for no apparent reason other than it is Christmas.  Part Two is perhaps a better film overall but less interesting than the original film in offering disposable lightweight festive fare, but little more can be said than that.
 

VOD: A New York Christmas Wedding (dir: Otoja Abit, 2020)

"We can't change yesterday, but today matters."

Don't expect a lot of Christmas cheer in this film, in which a young woman under pressure of her upcoming wedding gets the chance to live out an alternative life in which she had acted upon her feelings for teenage best friend.  Often glum, slow, cheap-looking and simply uninteresting, the film remarkably picks up in the last half-hour as its themes of true love, seizing the day and equal rights for all coalesce quite effectively by the end.
 

VOD: Jingle Jangle - A Christmas Journey (dir: David A. Talbert, 2020)

"Everything we wanted is happening right now."

The touchstones for this festive musical film are clearly Frozen, Hamilton and The Greatest Showman, so you can immediately tell if this is the film for you.  As an ageing toymaker's assistant steals his boss's big idea and becomes a success in a colourful pseudo-Dickensian setting, the film only really hits its rhythm once the focus shifts onto the relationship between the toymaker (wonderfully played by Forest Whitaker) and his estranged grand-daughter who comes to say.  The quality of the songs is certainly variable, but overall this is a lively, enjoyable and heart-felt Christmas romp.

 

VOD: A Babysitter's Guide To Monster-Hunting (dir: Rachel Talalay, 2020)

"Let's face it - monsters aren't real."

Unless you are one of the very young, A Babysitter's Guide... will offer little.  It is a gaudy-neon-coloured nightmare that is something akin to an overdose of Halloween sugary sweets, and the general repetitiveness and tiresome running around makes it difficult to enjoy.  Think of the worst aspects of the Spy Kids movies but dumbed down, and you are pretty much there.  It would probably play well to its target audience, but if that is not you, avoid.

 

VOD: Operation Christmas Drop (dir: Martin Wood, 2020)

"I'm efficient."

Based on the long-established real-life U.S. Air Force's Christmas supplies drops to remote islands, this Netflix seasonal rom-com is generally well-written, effectively played and heart-warming.  It follows an inevitable path as a career-minded congresswoman's aide (Kat Graham) is sent to shut down a base's Christmas drop days before Christmas and is gradually swayed by the easy-going charms of the army captain assigned to look after her (Alexander Ludwig), but the sun-and-sand locations and the even some pertinent political point-making make this film one of the slightly more interesting festive offerings, with the feel-good finale and the real context shown in the credits making it just above average of its type.

 

VOD: Nobody Sleeps In The Woods Tonight (dir: Bartosz M. Kowalski, 2020)

"A week of adventure and awesome fun!"

The USP of this Polish slasher is that a group of tech-addicted 'teenagers' meet up on a no-mobiles camp week, and thus as they find themselves isolated in the woods and at the mercy of unknown killers they have to rely on their wits and on each other.  Beyond that, the film does little that is new, and the film will be either a revelation to non-horror fans or an exercise in predictability for genre aficionados.  Veering alternately between the slasher conventions of the Friday The 13th films (and using some of the same kills) and the OTT comedy of The Evil Dead series, the film is competent, generic and does little to surprise.  
 

VOD: His House (dir: Remi Weekes, 2020)

"I'll protect you."

His House is a deceptive movie, for to label it a haunted house film is to merely scratch the surface of this terrific film.  Sope Dirisu and Wunmi Mosaku are both utterly superb as the Sudanese refugee couple relocated to their own house on a dire English estate, but the ensuing haunting events that cause the couple to unravel pose many questions, especially as to whether they are from within or external forces at work.  The screenplay and direction both show exceptional control by Remi Weekes, and this eerie, distinctive and unsettling movie has real depth and emotional impact in its unflinching exploration of dislocation, alienation, grief, parenthood and culture whilst still delivering in terms of the horror aspects.. 
 

VOD: Hubie Halloween (dir: Steve Brill, 2020)

"We all get scared, but this year you're gonna have to find that bravery that's dep within you.  It's time."

The Adam Sandler rollercoaster continues, and whilst Hubie Halloween does not plumb the depths reached by Jack And Jill, it is still a very weak film to sit through.  Like the Goosebumps movie's Halloween-based sequel, the mise-en-scene is beautifully created but is allied to a weak story, not helped by Sandler's belief that character and humour can be built acceptably upon a speech impediment.  The Sandler-movie comedy formula grew tired a long time ago, and although it still clearly finds its audience, this is another of those movies where you simply have to sit and watch the motions being gone through with little entertainment to be found and then move on. 

 

VOD: Holidate (dir: John Whitesell, 2020)

"I don't do drugs!"
"And you call yourself a professional sportsman?"

Netflix kicks off the holiday season of 2020 with this crass rom-com that sits firmly at the more adult end of the genre.  Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey strain to wring out what they can from the material but ultimately seem oddly mismatched here, as we follow the pair of holiday haters who team up as a couple of convenience from one Christmas to the next as they navigate their burgeoning relationship and their families during the course of the big annual festive events.  Whilst there is some fun to be had watching the couple respond to the various annual celebrations, it is difficult to invest in the characters and the whole things feels a little lacking in charm.

 

VOD: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (dir: Jason Woliner, 2020)

"Fifteen?  You're the oldest unmarried woman in all of Kazakhstan!"

Mercifully, this unexpected and belated Borat movie sequel does not disappoint in the least.  Acknowledging the fame of its central character, Borat is sent on a mission back to the USA, and with his teenage daughter in tow and various disguises employed, the reality aspect that made the character's exploits so successful has been reinvented and deployed very successfully (for me, the debutante ball is the appallingly and outrageously hilarious highlight).  This sequel has the same mix of outright laughs, surprise, sweetness and shock that made the first movie so entertaining.  Baron Cohen remains a master at this type of comedy, and  the addition of the terrific Maria Bakalova as Borat's daughter Tutar is a masterstroke.  This style of humour is not to everyone's taste, but as a guide there are more laughs in the first five minutes of this film than in the whole of most so-called modern comedies. 
 

VOD: Terrifier (dir: Damien Leone, 2018)

"Halloween never disappoints, does it?"

Less a story than a sequence of gory set pieces, Terrifier is a straightforward throwback slasher as a peculiarly and oddly creepy clown figure cuts his way through one Halloween night.  Perhaps refreshingly lacking any kind of origin story to hold up the action, the film delivers on plentiful gloopy physical effects that work very well for its limited budget.  Inevitably, the spirits of Raimi and Carpenter loom large, but this low-budget entry is clearly made by people who know and love horror, right down to the effective synth-driven score.
 

VOD: Nocturne (dir: Zu Quirke, 2020)

"Well guess we all have our vices...."

Nocturne is probably the least interesting of the 2020 Blumhouse/Amazon quartet of low-budget thrillers.  The tale of a young musician whose ambition for success becomes allied with a curse is quite dreary and slow, with its occasional stab at artistic pretensions falling flat.  If you are going to sit through this feeling-long haul, at least there is the music to admire.
 

VOD: Evil Eye (dirs: Elan Dassani and Rajiv Dassani, 2020)

"If you're not careful, bad things could happen."

Evil Eye marks a welcome Indian/Asian-influenced entry into the Blumhouse/Amazon stable of low-budget horrors, as the events of the previous generation come back to haunt the present-day daughter, who goes against the arranged-marriage tradition and falls for a man with a very dark secret.  It is all done passably well, with the unfolding story and the idea of fate maintaining reasonable interest, but it is worth waiting for the brief but full-on final smackdown.

 

VOD: The Lie (dir: Veena Sud, 2020)

"If you do something really bad, how do you undo it?"

Another Blumhouse/Amazon production, The Lie is essentially a simple family drama in which separated parents try to cover up a terrible act done by their teenage daughter, and we watch as the secret becomes steadily unravelled.  The main strength of this very uninventive film is the chillingly-evocative wintry camerawork, which is not reflected in the melodramatic performances.  The inevitable denouement comes as no surprise at all, leaving The Lie barely above mid-afternoon TV fodder.
 

VOD: Black Box (die: Emmanuel Osie-Kuffour, 2020)

"Things are getting mixed up in here."

One of Blumhouse's Amazon Originals for the Halloween season of 2020, Black Box is a magpie of sci-fi/horror staples and fails to really achieve its own identity.  It is well-staged and is driven by a great central performance by Mamoudou Athie as a single father who starts to question his own identity - and, it turns out, with good reason - but the key narrative reveal could do with sharper writing to make sense initially, although the film does recover for a mildly interesting final act.  This is an  underpowered low-budget sci-fi thriller with some strengths that just make it passable.

 

VOD: The Boys In The Band (2020) (dir: Joe Mantello, 2020)

"Your grapes are - how do you say - sour?"

Following the play's successful Broadway revival in 2018, this new filmed version from largely the same team comes an astonishing fifty years after the groundbreaking original movie.  The universally strong performances retain the biting delivery of the sharp dialogue, and only a minor sympathetic expansion of the classic 'birthday party in an apartment' set-up breaks the claustrophobic tension.  Whilst it remains strongly theatrical in its talk-heavy style, this version balances archness with emotion quite effectively.

VOD: One Way To Denmark (dir: Adrian Shergold, 2020)

"I have to do SOMETHING, OK?"

One Way To Denmark in many ways typifies those very British/BBC low-budget human stories in a very positive way.  Rafe Spall is excellent as the downtrodden and despairing divorced unemployed man trapped in an austerity-riven rain-soaked Welsh town, who dares to enact an unexpected way to improve his lot in Denmark.  The first half paints an overwhelmingly miserable picture of this depressed man's everyday life, which makes his escapades in Denmark feel somewhat slight by comparison, but the film is ultimately warm-hearted, the travelogue aspects are pleasantly realised - Spall's reaction to a public urinal is priceless - and the central performance carries the film effectively.
 

VOD: Enola Holmes (dir: Harry Bradbeer, 2020)

 

"She has no GLOVES??!!"

Enola Holmes surprises and delights from the outset.  It employs some of the tropes employed by Guy Ritchie in his Holmes films, but here a much lighter touch is employed, finding a breezy, refreshing and very engaging style, with even Enola's fourth-wall-breaking moments adding to the fun.  The film does not shy away from the issues of patriarchy and female emancipation of its time, but the over-arching story is a worthy mystery and the whole enterprise is propelled by a glorious Daniel Pemberton score, Henry Cavill delivering a Sherlock with its own identity and that showcases the actor unusually well, and a captivating performance by Millie Bobby Brown that shows real potential for the future.

VOD: The Devil All The Time (dir: Antonio Campos, 2020)

 

"Some people were born just so they could be buried."

Deftly adapted from the hit novel, The Devil All The Time presents a profoundly grim and corrupt portrait of 1950s backwoods America.  The clever intersections of a range of well-defined characters make this long film absorbing, with standout performances from Bill Skarsgard and Tom Holland.  The sense of inevitability and repeating patterns is well-handled, and whilst there is little cheer or light on offer here, the film oozes quality in every aspect.

VOD: The Babysitter - Killer Queen (dir: McG, 2020)

"We ARE dead!  Duh!"

McG delivers another fun entry in this burgeoning deliriously daft horror franchise.  Whilst Killer Queen might not be quite as fresh and tightly-delivered as the original, this sequel certainly delivers on the outrageously squelchy gore gags that were a trademark of the first film - the surfboard really hits the mark here - and again the lively cast absolutely nail the tone and give it their all.  It takes a while to get going, and this film might not change the world, but for horror fans and those who enjoyed the original film it certainly entertains.
 

VOD: Justice League Dark - Apokolips War (dirs: Matt Peters and Christina Sotta, 2020)

"We're not here to fight."
"You've come to the wrong place, then."

It is always slightly strange to see TV-level animation production applied to the more grown-up end of the superhero market with attendant violence and swearing, but this is one of the more successful efforts.  Putting Constantine centre-stage, this DC team-up posits a ransacked Earth and a destroyed superhero team that builds itself back up to avenge the apocalyptic events and rescue some of its team-mates.  Whilst almost unthinkable to see these icons succumb to horrible fates in traditional cinematic superhero movies, here all bets are off, which is intriguing to see.  The production design is adequate for its type, but there is an ambition of scale and story that works quite well here.

 

VOD: True History Of The Kelly Gang (dir: Justin Kurzel, 2020)

"That's the business, mate.  That's what we do."

 The oft-told tale of the Kelly Gang here gets a gritty re-telling that strives to be     grounded and honest, and for the most part succeeds.  The relentlessly grim events of Ned Kelly's upbringing and the episodes in his life that shaped his ultimate destiny are laid bare unsparingly, and George MacKay once again delivers a consistently compelling performance in the lead role.  Undoubtedly, the first half is more successful that the second, but this is a well-realised account that does well to convey its times and sense of the real events.

VOD: Emma. (dir: Autumn de Wilde, 2020)

 

"I could not get my bonnet on for trembling!"

Like the recent take on David Copperfield, this latest adaptation of Emma finds the right balance between respectful costume/period drama and a modern-day sensibility and makes for very enjoyable viewing indeed.  Indeed, the strength is in the writing here, and a game cast delivers it with relish.  Not only is the film strewn with entertaining performances, it is to be applauded that such a female-centric enterprise also does very well by its male characters.  If you never thought you would laugh out loud at a costume drama of this type, think again.

VOD: #Alive (dir: Il Cho, 2020)

 

"I'd rather starve to death than end up getting bitten and turn into one of those monsters!"

An unknown dustfall turns ordinary people into voracious insatiable killers (more like the Rage victims of 28 Days Later than typical zombies) - so far, so generic.  What this neat little movie does is keep the locale tight and focus in on one protagonist (initially) to explore not only what it means to survive but also face the practicalities of an ongoing breakdown of society: what happens when utilities fail, when food and water start running out, when you are faced with isolation and loneliness?  With an intriguing air of melancholy and reflection, punctuated by punchy and well-staged action sequences, the ultimate resolution is never obvious, but this timely tale features an engaging and sympathetic central performance with an ending worth waiting for in a well-crafted and enjoyable film.

VOD: Get Duked! (aka Boyz In The Wood) (dir: Ninian Doff, 2020)

 

 "I've never seen a murder before - I'm home-schooled!"

Taking its cue from the infamous field trip/camping finale episodes of The Inbetweeners, three unlikely DofE participants plus token enthusiastic kid get dumped in the wilds of Scotland and grapple with the murderous locals whilst learning inevitably about getting along, teamwork and embracing differences.  The four lads are reasonably engaging, a lot of the comedy does actually land in spit of the hyper-stereotyped silliness, and it is less successful when it falls into the trap of finding drug-culture hilarious in a way that only an undemanding 12-year-old boy would.  Whilst neither particularly original or ground-breaking, Get Duked! has enough energy to pass the time in a mildly entertaining manner.

VOD: Project Power (dirs: Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, 2020)

"You alone?"
"Aren't we all?"

This Netflix blockbuster follows a cop (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, clearly having an infectious whale of a time), who teams up with an ex-soldier (the reliable Jamie Foxx) and a teenage rapper/dealer (Dominique Fishback) to take on the criminal minds behind a mind-altering new drug that gives users (unpredictable, and possibly even fatal) superpowers for five minutes.  This unlikely premise gives opportunities to mash-up genres to mostly good effect, and the unpredictability of the drug also creates tension and a sense of watchability.  The directors show some of the effects-laden visual flair they previously showed in Nerve, but the girl's rapping feels shoehorned in and unnecessarily irritating but will probably play better with younger viewers.  Ultimately, this is middling franchise-baiting fare that is a passable piece of entertainment.

 

VOD: Upgrade (dir: Leigh Whannell, 2018)

"He's got a knife!"
"I can see that.  We've got a knife too."

It is always a joy to see a B-movie punching well above its weight, with Upgrade delivering a lively, well-written, punchy and wry viewing experience.  Following a self-drive car malfunction and accident, technophobe Grey Trace (played with wonderfully gruff relish by Logan Marshall-Green) is left paralysed, but following a secret tech-augmented AI implant that effectively 'drives' his body, he sets out to avenge his wife's murder.  The near-future world is carefully and effectively drawn, Marshall-Green is terrific value in the strong action sequences and in his delivery of great deadpan humour, and the whole film barrels along in a very entertaining way.

 

VOD: Sonic The Hedgehog (dir: Jeff Fowler, 2020)

"To be honest, it feels like I've been running my whole life."

After the incredible internet backlash over the look of the first-release version of the titular character, what emerges is a polished, well-thought out and surprisingly enjoyable movie of its type.  James Marsden revisits Hop territory, playing effectively against a CGI Sonic in a real-world setting with his usual skill and charm, and the playing of Sonic as an enthusiastic and likeable young teenager works very well.  Jim Carrey does his usual panto-villain schtick, which mostly stays just about on the right side of watchable.  Overall, Sonic The Hedgehog is well-made and looks great, unusually has plenty of story for this type of film, the human and CG leads are both very engaging, and it is a lively and enjoyable if disposable watch.
 

VOD: The Lighthouse (dir: Robin Eggers, 2020)

 "Catch your breath, lad."

Like with The Witch, Robin Eggers displays a singular and captivating directorial voice in The Lighthouse that is both demanding and very satisfying for the viewer.  As two very dissimilar men tend to a remote and storm-lashed lighthouse at the end of the 19th Century, the viewer is placed right there with them every step pf the way to witness the players unravel, aided by the stark black-and-white cinematography and the claustrophobically tight screen ration.   Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe both give committed powerhouse performances which are utterly mesmerising, and clever sound design makes the whole experience very immersive.  The Lighthouse displays a very individual but impressive style of film-making that is well worth the effort.

VOD: Incoming (dir: Eric Zaragoza, 2019)

"That'll p**s them off!"

Incoming recalls the glory days of the cheap DTV bargain-bin sci-fi/prison offerings, with its low-rent action star lead, implausible mix of one-note characters, an eclectic international cast of wildly varying quality and low-end sets and effects.  With its limited setting and story options, the film does try its best but is stretched out somewhat repetitively and thinly, although the ticking-clock element of the story is effective.  This is the kind of movie that you come across on streaming service, decide to give it chance and end up wondering why.
 

VOD: Mortal (dir: Andre Ovredal, 2020)

"Maybe we're not meant to understand everything."

From the Troll Hunter director, Mortal is another Norwegian take on its mythology of the Norse Gods, recently also seen in the excellent teenage-led Norwegian TV series Ragnarok.  Here, a tormented young man's uncontrolled emerging powers see him fleeing from potential incarceration along with a sympathetic psychologist who is assigned to his case as his powers continue to grow.  Nat Wolff does well in the lead role, Ovredal directs with an assured hand, the location cinematography is wonderful, and for the budget the effects work delivers appropriately.   The only real jarring note is the speed at which Eric and Christine (his psychologist) fall in love in this situation, but apart from that this serious and grounded take on the concept is delivered reasonably well.

 

VOD: Fantasy Island (dir: Jeff Wadlow, 2020)

"This place ain't what you think it is."

This misguided attempt to turn a barely-remembered lightweight 1970s prime-time TV show into a horror-styled 2020 thriller goes for overcooked melodrama when perhaps slow-burn creepiness would have suited the approach better.  A lot of different stories and elements are seemingly thrown together, and the film makes the mistake of trying to explain everything in a very unconvincing manner.  Possibly trying to deliver psychological thrills, this take on Fantasy Island simply ends up being rather silly.  It is almost worth staying for the final scene/revelation, if only to witness the giving up of all hope (with a meaning that will be completely lost on viewers who do not know the original TV show)! 
 

VOD: Rambo - Last Blood (dir: Adrian Grunberg, 2019)

"You don't need to come back."

As the concept of retiring gracefully passes Stallone by, this final roll of the dice for his Rambo franchise moves into post-Taken territory as a serviceable but generic (and somewhat mean-spirited) actioner.  Stallone allegedly scaled back on the scale of action to make the film more personal and character-driven, which may explain how small the movie feels.   This is a bloody film with a high disposable body-count, but this twilight hurrah of a pop-culture character is ultimately rather mechanical and neither particularly interesting nor necessary.

 

VOD: The Peanut Butter Falcon (dirs: Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz, 2020)

"I want you to know about me."

The Peanut Butter Falcon is one of those small American slice-of-backwater-life dramas that gives a refreshing focus on story, character and relationships and has immense heart.  Zak, a young man with Down syndrome, escapes from his nursing home to find his dream wrestling school and hooks up with a very small-town hoodlum on the run, and their unfolding relationship is an absolute delight to watch, with Zack Gottsagen's lovely on-screen performance and Shia LeBoeuf giving one of his best and most genuine performances.  Cinematography and soundtrack are both beautiful, and the balance between comedy/drama and sentimentality/the real world makes The Peanut Butter Falcon a very appealing movie. 

 

VOD: The Grudge (2020) (dir: Nicolas Pesce, 2020)

"How did something like this ever happen?"

The Grudge franchise always somehow seemed better as a concept rather than the actual movies, but this latest entry is very weak.  With the action transported to the USA, a lot of the cultural interest has been lost and the horror elements never really hit the mark.  There never feels like a real grip on the tone, the pitch of the performances, or the through-line of the time-hopping (unlike the strong TV series Ju-On: Origins from this year also), making the film quite a test of patience to sit through.
 

VOD: Midway (dir: Roland Emmerich, 2019)

"Nobody wants a war."

Roland Emmerich's take on America's World War II is a big, noisy blockbuster that really does deliver in the action stakes and is not too shabby in other areas either.  The compression of the timeline makes for lively and engaging storytelling, as the film starts with the Pearl Harbour attack and keeps going from there.  Indeed, a lot of the visual vocabulary from the Michael Bay movie has become standard and is evident here, but a mostly strong cast humanises the unfolding events well, making Midway solid blockbuster entertainment overall.

 

VOD: The Invisible Man (dir: Leigh Wannell, 2020)

"Where are you?"

So this is how you take a well-worn idea and make it fresh for a modern audience: shift the focus from the titular character to a female protagonist, in this case an abused wife, and explore not only her mental health but the reactions of those around her.  This film is held together by an absolute tour-de-force performance from Elisabeth Moss, but it also hugely engaging in its Hitchcockian story-telling and often inventive direction.  With interesting implementation of the core idea and a couple of decent twists in the final act, The Invisible Man is a worthwhile update/adaptation of a classic story.

VOD: Calm With Horses (dir: Nick Rowland, 2020)

"I don't know why I'm screaming."

Showing the underside of rural Ireland life, this gritty and powerful drama plots the course of a revenge-gone-wrong story through the eyes of a drug-and-booze-fuelled damaged ex-boxer Douglas, played impressively and compellingly by Cosmo Jarvis.  The writing is taut and purposeful, and both the violent main story about two feuding families that sees events spiralling out of control and the quieter domestic drama and relationships between Douglas, his ex (a beautifully-placed performance by Toni O'Rourke) and their autistic son are equally engaging.  Calm With Horses is a strong, thoughtful and very well-crafted movie that has a real emotional hook.

VOD: Onward (dir: Dan Scanlon, 2020)

"... and best of all, there was magic!

Pixar delivers yet again with this bright and breezy romp that falls into the category of the studio's more lightweight entertainments, in spite of still dealing with big emotional themes of family and loss that is their trademark.  Tom Holland and Chris Pratt are perfectly cast as the two brothers on a magic quest to bring back their deceased father to spend one more day with him, with Holland in particular giving his character room to breathe by using thought and restraint in his performance effectively.  The film is well-written, and again the advancement in background detail in the animation is quite astonishing in both rural and urban settings.  Onward is probably not going to stand out as one of Pixar's most memorable films, but it delivers entertainment in every department.

VOD: 1917 (dir: Sam Mendes, 2020)

"Some men just want to fight."

The simplicity of the premise - two young recruits are tasked with delivering a crucial time-limited message on the Western Front in the First World War - is here delivered in an unusual, ambitious and compelling way.  The technical and acting challenges of this near-single-continuous shot experience are met with aplomb, and the technique means that the film engages the viewer relentlessly and gives the film real drive and urgency, even with quieter moments used to reflect on the horrors of the conflict.  Peppered with appearances from top-notch British actors, most credit goes to another excellent and sympathetic performance of impressive depth by George MacKay, with whom the audience shares this entire cinematic journey.  1917 is very much a companion piece to Nolan's Dunkirk as one of the very best and most immersive modern-day cinematic takes on the war movie.

VOD: Moffie (dir: Oliver Hermanus, 2020)

"It's all right."

This festival circuit favourite was an early cinema-release casualty of the pandemic lockdown, telling the tale of a young South African's experience of compulsory miltary service during the time of Apartheid.  As the film tackles a big shopping list of issues such as toxic masculinity, racism, homophobia and bullying, it is always sincere but occasionally uneven, often brutal and confrontational but sometimes twee and predictable.  Kai Luke Brummer does well in his debut central role in a film that perhaps serves best as capturing the attitudes and experiences of the time in which it is set rather than revealing anything new.

VOD: A Shaun The Sheep Movie - Farmageddon (dirs: Will Becher and Richard Phelan, 2019)

"STAY ALERT!"

As a sequel to the delightful 2015 movie, Farmageddon is another hugely entertaining slice of Aardman that delivers what you would expect, playing like a modern-day yet timeless homage to silent comedy, successfully ambitious stop-motion work with genuine heart and character, and a uniquely British daftness that is so appealing to audiences of all ages.  Perhaps the most predictable aspects of this film are the sci-fi genre trappings - you can almost sense the impending references to everything from The X-Files to Explorers to Close Encounters and many more, with the whole movie riffing on E.T. - but it deploys them well and retains the charm and gentle humour required.  As with all Aardman productions, there are many delights in the details (posters on walls, newspapers headlines, etc), but the central character and story are strong enough to sustain this second film.

VOD: Birds Of Prey (dir: Cathy Yan, 2020)

"It's not a party without a little drama - am I right?"

Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn gets her own fully-justified spin-off from Suicide Squad in a movie that is a bit less generic than its originator but still wends its way down a well-trodden path.  This movie is all about the main character and Robbie is never less than captivating, to the extent that no-one else really gets a look-in, and whilst it does not exactly wear out its welcome, the film's one-note tone does become a little numbing for its long running time.  Nevertheless, Birds of Prey is a spirited and worthwhile addition to the emerging DC stand-alone stable.