VOD: 1,000 Miles from Christmas (aka A 1000Km De La Navidad) (dir: Alvaro Fernandez Armero, 2021)

"The only thing worse than Christmas is Christmas movies!" 

This Spanish Netflix Christmas rom-com delivers everything you would want from the genre, as a grumpy Christmas-hating auditor readies himself for his annual escape to Cuba but instead is posted to  to check over the finances of a festive nougat factory in a  remote small town that, of course, loves the festive season and is staging a world-record attempt for the biggest Nativity play.  The feather-light film is breezy, sweet, warm-hearted and gently funny, with some laugh-out-loud slapstick moments and a seemingly self-aware energy that references its American counterparts and has fun with its inherent seasonal silliness - even a game of charades is written and delivered with aplomb ("Moby Dick?!") - making 1,000 Miles From Christmas a very pleasantly enjoyable slice of festive entertainment.

VOD: The Forever Purge (dir: Everardo Gout, 2021)

"One must ask: is the dream still alive?"

In this fifth and apparently final franchise entry, the annual Purge has been reinstated and the story picks up the night before the event, examining attitudes not only about the titular murderous night but also immigration and right-wing politics in its very tonally different Southern (and ultimately daylight) setting.  The stripped back reset of the narrative to its basic format is a plus and the actual Purge night takes up the first half-hour and is very effectively delivered... then all bets are off as end of Purge night is disregarded, making The Forever Purge one of the most interesting entries in the series.  The film embraces the insanity of a world without rules as lawlessness escalates, and this film does not hold back on presenting the very human and emotional cost of racism and violence, well directed and delivered by a credible and committed ensemble cast compared to the weaker series entries.
 

VOD: Black Christmas (2019) (dir; Sofia Takal, 2019)

"Are we supposed to NOT study the classics?"

Blumhouse's take on Bob Clark's seminal 1974 festive slasher has a suitably seasonal setting but otherwise turns out to be a very slow, anaemic and lacklustre take on the material.  Unappealing characters and bland dialogue fail to engage in this 2019 attempt that eschews the gleeful violence of the previous two versions, replacing it with a clumsy attempt to address issues of female consent and patriarchy that is handled bluntly and feels misplaced here. The decision to present a neutered and largely bloodless PG-13 cut that made it into cinemas proves pointless, as the whole point of juxtaposing Christmas with mean-spirited stalk-and-slash kills is lost - mild jump-scares are not enough.  There is a reasonably effective twist about an hour in that raises interest for the final act, but this turns into a staggeringly silly half-hour that absolutely beggars belief - and as for the mid-credits scene...
 

VOD: Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings (dir: Destin Daniel Cretton, 2021)

REVIEW No. 1,250!

"When you have the heart of our dragon, you can do some amazing things."

Just as Spiderman: Far From Home concluded the MCU Phase Three as a light-hearted cool-down after Avengers: Endgame, here we see the proper start of Phase Four following the flashback farewell to Scarlett Johannson and the introduction of Florence Pugh in Black Widow...and what a kick-off Shang-Chi proves to be, if not one of the best Marvel movies so far.  With its mystical storytelling and balletic wire-work fighting in its opening scenes, you almost forget you are watching a Marvel movie, and one of the major strengths of this film is its easy fusion of superhero tropes with Asian tradition and cinematic storytelling.   The set pieces and fight sequences are spectacular, but what really sells the movie is its central breakout star Simu Liu (building on the promise shown in Kim's Convenience but here allying his laid-back comedic charm with excellent fighting physicality) equally matched by Awkwafina in the straight person/sidekick role, together with the rock-solid legends that are Tony Leung and Michelle Yeoh.  Like Black Panther did so well for representation of people of colour in the MCU, Shang-Chi similarly addresses Asian visibilty in the MCU but also does so much more in delivering an impressive, creative and hugely entertaining movie that shows real promise for the next Phase of Marvel. 
 

VOD: The Suicide Squad (dir: James Gunn, 2021)

"Are you having a laugh?"

With David Ayer's (allegedly) compromised and lacklustre 2016 Suicide Squad still within memory, James Gunn's 2021 take on the material sees a director whose wacky freewheeling style feels a much better fit deliver a much more entertaining movie.  It is pretty much what you expect from a James Gunn movie, blending the quirkiness and energy of his early low-budget films with his more recent blockbuster sensibilities to good purpose.  From the lack of preamble at the start which throws the viewer directly into the action and the characters right through to the utterly bizarre yet very effectively-realised final act (which thankfully does not involve a swirly-clouds-in the-sky CGI effect), the film's fast pace, gleefully wicked humour and daftness, endearing characters and sharp wanton violence does justice to the material and makes for a very enjoyable slice of action nonsense.
 

VOD: Candyman (2021) (dir: Nia DaCosta, 2021)

"Candyman is how we deal with the fact that these things happened."

Nearly thirty year's on from the original film, this contemporary sequel/updating is well-mounted if a little dreary.  The events of Bernard Rose's superior classic are woven somewhat clumsily into the lore and history of this modern-day story, which makes its point about the gentrification of neglected housing projects effectively but at the expense of a focus on the titular character, and this film sorely misses the charismatic antagonist of Tony Todd, Candyman here being represented as a more supernatural presence in the horror set-pieces which feel shoehorned in.  The main performers are reasonable, and this 2021 release is certainly much better than the two forgettable sequels, but like the attempted reboot of A Nightmare On Elm Street, this feels like a missed opportunity to really engage with its central villain.
 

VOD: Last Christmas (dir: Paul Feig, 2019)

"Are elves always this cynical?"
"Relentlessly, These are dark times."

Last Christmas is a very odd film indeed.  In spite of the promotion, it is not a George Michael jukebox musical - most songs appear as instrumental incidental cues - and it becomes even more evident that the Michael songbook, excellent thought it may be, is simply not a fit to a Christmas movie or this particular storyline.  Juxtaposing Emilia Clarke's grumpy all-year-Christmas-shop assistant with a festive London makes for an uneven and distancing journey, the blunt politicking jars, and the story of her developing relationship with a handsome stranger who helps her to find her Christmas spirit really is not hard to work out at an early stage, although Henry Golding applies industrial levels of charm to make his role work.  It is to everyone's credit that the ending does manage to have warmth and feel-good impact, but overall as a concept this movie is simply too flawed at its (transplanted) heart.
 

VOD: Single All The Way (dir: Michael Mayer, 2021)

"You have FOMO!"
"I do! I'm a FOMOsexual!"

Once Netflix's LGBTQ Christmas rom-com gets past its brazenly camp opening scenes and starts to concentrate on the core characters and their relationships (both romantic and familial), Single All The Way manages to combine the necessary Christmas movie genre schmaltzy elements with genuine emotion and heart very successfully.  Whilst the actual storyline is very (deliberately?) familiar, the film is well-written, effectively performed and there are many good laugh-out-loud and feel-good moments along the way.  Single All the Way brings its gay characters to the centre, giving visibility in the genre, yet still makes this a story for and about everyone in its heartwarming conclusion.
 

VOD: Father Christmas Is Back (dirs: Mick Davis and Philippe Martinez, 2021)

"That's not very Christmassy..."

With a classic set-up of a frightfully twee upper-class family trudging through the three days before Christmas at a large country house, this unfunny comedy is definitely not the Christmas tonic you might be looking for.  Four stereotypically-different warring sisters come together and grind their way through forced dialogue as the film lurches from desperate mugging to crass farce to attempts at heartfelt drama...and then Kelsey Grammer shows up as their long-estranged father.  Indeed, Grammer does manage to retain some dignity with a relatively grounded performance amongst many over-ripe turns.  The film is not witty enough to skewer is very evident target and not funny enough to entertain.  Regarding the title, this film is about the Christmas family and their long-absent father is...back: that is about as inventive as the film reaches.
 

VOD: tick, tick...BOOM! (dir: Lin-Manuel Miranda, 2021)

"Everything you are about to see is true...except for the parts Jonathan made up."
 

The story of musical theatre writer Jonathan Larson, who died tragically young, is told performance-style through his music in this terrifically entertaining movie.  Lin-Manuel Miranda is a perfect fit for the project, and his directorial debut fizzes with life in its presentation of content, use of camera and editing.  Larson is presented as a larger-than-life bundle of enthusiastic creative energy, charismatically brought to life in a remarkable central performance by the excellent Andrew Garfield.  The winning music is performed powerfully and the emotional beats in the layered story hit home beautifully.  This film manages that rare feat of being both superbly made and hugely entertaining and engaging from start to finish. 

VOD: Jungle Cruise (dir: Jaume Collet-Serra, 2021)

"If I wanted to go to a primitive backwater, where I can't understand a word anyone's saying, I'd visit our relatives in Scotland!"
 

The elevator pitch for this film was probably 'theme park ride + The African Queen + The Mummy/Indiana Jones franchises', and it is essentially a standard CGI-laden formula blockbuster, and as such it is far too long, with a frustrating stop-start narrative that does try to flesh out its very basic characters with annoying flashbacks and exposition.  Emily Blunt is by far and consistently the best aspect of the movie with a solidly engaging take on the material, but Dwayne Johnson is on usual full charm mode with a nicely-played twist to his character that sets up the finale, and Jack Whitehall is effectively irritating as the prissy upper-class stereotype brother.  The film looks great in spite of variable effects and the set pieces are lively enough, but overall Jungle Cruise treads a very familiar path which, at over two hours, gets wearing.

VOD: The Harder They Fall (dir: Jeymes Samuel, 2021)

"Now, let it be known that I don't particularly enjoy violence.  That being said, you are currently in the company of extremely violent individuals."

Pitched somewhere between Spike Lee and Tarantino (but not hitting the heights of either), The Harder They Fall is an interesting film that certainly improves as it goes along.  At first it takes time to get used to the clashing styles of old-school Western genre tropes, blaxploitation and an anachronistically contemporary soundtrack, but what sells this movie is that it is packed with terrific performances.  Weaving a story out of oft-overlooked real people of colour, it tells a full-blooded revenge tale that takes it time but pulls together very well for an engaging third act.  It is well-lensed and the narrative is well-constructed.  The film may do less in conveying black experience in the Wild West than redressing the absence of people of colour in the Western film genre, but it certainly gives an entertaining and well-made twist to a well-worn genre. 
 

VOD: Siren (dir: Gregg Bishop, 2016)

"Well, that's not good..."

Think of The Hangover reimagined as a low-budget horror and you have the set-up for Siren, as a boorish group embark on a stag weekend, are lured to a 'special' nightclub hidden way off the beaten track and... that is where the predictability ends.  Taking in classical female mythology, body horror and Hostel-style torture, Siren may be at times chaotic and seemingly randomly aimless, but it is rarely dull and keeps bowling along with cheerful abandon, bags of energy, some decent effects work and a fair amount of creativity that punches above its weight

 

VOD: Home Sweet Home Alone (dir: Dan Mazer, 2021)

"You can't promise a kid McDonalds and not deliver."

When a character in the movie actually says, "I don't know why they're always trying to remake classics - never as good as the originals," it is hard to tell if it is an act of acute self-awareness or weak self-defence.   What this largely charmless and flat loose remake proves is that the there were two key ingredients that contributed to the long-lasting success of  the original Home Alone that are sorely missing here: the delightfully sweet performance of Macaulay Culkin and the direction of Chris Columbus.  Young Archie Yates - so good in Jojo Rabbit - tries hard but never feels like a comfortable fit here, the attempts at humour frequently fizzle out amongst longer dreary dialogue pieces, and the pranks are largely neutered, presumably in order to appease more PC viewers of today.  Whilst Home Sweet Home Alone does not quite hit the dismal depths of the last couple of TV-level incarnations of the franchise - at least there is a snowy and Christmassy authenticity to the settings here - it will make you more inclined to 'Bah, humbug!' than 'Ho, ho, ho!'
 

VOD: Red Notice (dir: Rawson Marshall Thurber, 2021)

"I'm about to send you to the worst place in the world!"
"Your Instagram account?"

Reportedly costing an eye-wateringly indulgent extravagant $200 million, Red Notice is an unashamed mash-up of the James Bond and Indiana Jones franchises, as an FBI profiler (Dwayne Johnson) and his nemesis, a master art thief (Ryan Reynolds), reluctantly team up to bring down the world's most-wanted art thief (Gal Gadot).  Falling short of the cool style and suave sizzle of a caper such as The Thomas Crown Affair, the film relies heavily on the individual charms of the three leads to carry what feels like a relentlessly adequate enterprise - even the many pop-culture references are delivered with a largely smug indifference.  For a good-looking and moderately entertaining film, a bit more substance and style might have been expected for the price tag.
 

VOD: It Came From The Desert (dir: Marko Mäkilaakso, 2017)

"Trippy!  We just went from Jurassic Park to Aliens, dude!"

It Came From The Desert is an unpretentious and cheesy low-budget update of 1950s-style creature-features, which marries Them! with the joyous silliness of Eight-Legged Freaks and attempts to hit the dry humour of Tremors, as our two lead party dudes stumble into a seemingly long-abandoned test facility and unleash mayhem.  More cheap than cheerful, it takes its very-evident budget limitations and combines them with a recklessly ambitious enthusiasm (and some well-shot drone footage and half-decent CGI effects), making the film an acceptable watch for its presumably undemanding male adolescent target audience.

 

VOD: No-One Gets Out Alive (dir: Santiago Menghini, 2021)

"There's something wrong with this place."

The nicely-presented count-the-conventions pre-titles sequence sets the tone for this slow-burn Mexican horror, which follows the misfortunes of an immigrant worker in Cleveland as she moves into a spooky low-rent apartment.  In spite of a plethora of familiar generic elements in play, including a locked room, visions, lights flickering and dying, an old tape machine, an ancient relic and a scratched-out face on a photo, there is a reasonable balance between set pieces and story/character development.  Although the overall slow pacing of the main story tests patience, and the creepy atmosphere is replaced by more visceral CGI shocks in the final act, Cristina Rodlo does well in the lead role, the story elements pull together quite effectively and there are some well-directed moments on offer.
 

VOD: Falling For Figaro (dir: Ben Lewin, 2021)

"I've always wanted to be an opera singer."
"Wha...? What, you mean, like, in the shower?"

Falling For Figaro is a timid British middle-class rom-com that is typical easy-Sunday-afternoon-viewing fare.  Following the Richard Curtis/fish-out-of-water template, a successful but dissatisfied City fund manager improbably ups sticks to stereotypical rural Scotland in order to train to become and opera singer with a reclusive former diva, alongside developing a romantic interest in her main rival.  It is full of reliable British character actors following predictable story arcs, with Joanna Lumley spitting out her waspish put-downs with gleeful efficiency, Danielle Macdonald proving reasonably charming if often underpowered in the lead role, Gary Lewis giving good value as the dour pub landlord, and the ever-reliable Hugh Skinner giving one of his best, nicely-judged performances here as the failing opera competition rival and love interest.  The film is pleasant and well-executed, but it is so tame that it leaves no real impression, unless you are the type of viewer who finds a creaky old plumbing system to be the height of hilarity.

 

VOD: Nobody Sleeps In The Woods Tonight 2 (dir: Bartosz M. Kowlaski, 2021)

"Do you understand any of this?"

Kowlaski follows up his hit Polish Netflix slasher film with this speedy sequel that very much sticks to the horror genre but veers off into an unexpectedly different direction.  Picking up the morning after the first film's events in a rundown backwater police station where the killers and the Final Girl are locked in the cells... and an unexpected (and inexplicable) initiating event starts another night of carnage. It tries very hard to be cool and funny, but the sequel somewhat lacks the knowing energy of the original film.  The first half-hour is fairly turgid set-up, the second act contains some signature lively gore-gags, but the third act then goes into very unexpected territory that is quite interesting if rather odd.  The uneven script, stop-start pacing and often lacklustre performances mean that Nobody Sleeps...2 is not a wholly successful film by any means, but it does at least try to do something a little different from the generic tropes of the first film.
 

VOD: Fast & Furious 9 (dir: Justin Lin, 2021)

"Well, that was new."

By this point there seems little for a new Fast & Furious film to do other than entertain its fans and deliver on spectacle, and this ninth entry delivers well on both counts.  Drawing on the whole saga for plot points and returning characters (pleasingly, even the unnecessarily-reviled Tokyo Drift!), the film is slick, formulaic and repetitive, even down to the use of camera, but storytelling here is much more coherent and effective than in the previous movie.  The three big set pieces offer breath-holding moments, the outer-space sequence is as daft as it sounded when first rumoured, and notably the women are given a bit more to do this time, with the welcome return of Jordana Brewster to the main action.  The core concept of family is still to the fore, and the addition of John Cena as Toretto's long-lost brother works appropriately (with one great smackdown between the two brothers) although at times he seems a little underpowered as the big threat.  Whilst nowhere neat the best of the series, Fast & Furious 9 is a solid, well-written and fan-pleasing slice of big action entertainment, a welcome return to form after Number 8 and sets up the two-film finale in a positive way.
 

VOD: Pokemon Detective Pikachu (dir: Rob Letterman, 2019)

"All I hear are consonants, and all I see are nipples!"

This bizarre mish-mash actually works fairly well.  By placing the action in a vaguely contemporary live-action setting (with very effective world-building in which Pokemon and humans co-exist), using classic detective/buddy movie tropes to give effective structure and some heft, plus giving Pikachu a very lively and wonderfully snarky characterisation all work together to create an unexpectedly entertaining and off-beat film.  Ryan Reynolds gives a great voice-only performance as the titular Pokemon character, which balances a less-than-convincing performance by Justice Smith as the bereaved son out to find out the truth about what happened to his detective father.  It is well-made and entertaining lightweight nonsense that is far better than would be expected.

 

VOD: The Manor (dir: Axelle Carolyn, 2021)

"Fighting nature always comes at a cost."

Wrapped up in horror film trappings comes this somewhat dreary treatise on how society views and treats its senior citizens.  Without doubt, its highlight is the appearance of the majestic Barbara Hershey as an elderly dancer who finds herself having to move to a creepy residential home.  Playing nicely against a pleasing performance by Nicholas Alexander as her teenage grandson, Hershey dominates the film and elevates the unsurprising material, with an unremarkable and slightly silly not-hard-to-join-the-dots central mystery.  There are some occasionally creepy moments, but the dawdling pace makes the film neither scary enough as a horror nor angry enough about its core subject matter.

 

VOD: Freaky (dir: Christopher Landon, 2021)

"Welcome to Tragic-stan!"

From its red-tinged Universal opening ident, retro horror score and genre-classics riffing (and that's just the opening sequence), the cheeky high-concept premise - Freaky Friday meets Friday The 13th - hits the ground running in terms of establishing a fun and self-aware tone that is a full-blooded and very entertaining ride.  Landon hits the same enjoyable balance of comedy and horror seen in his Happy Death Day films (and especially the first of the two movies), with some sharp writing - there are some very funny gags in here - and clear sense of what works well in the genre.  The film is gifted with two extremely well-played and entertaining performances by Vince Vaughn and Kathryn Newton as the two body-swapped leads, and the subsidiary characters (such as Millie's two best friends and her mother) are unusually well-written.  The comedy and horror genres are notoriously difficult to mix, but Freaky works extremely well and it is good fun to watch,
 

VOD: There's Someone Inside Your House (dir: Patrick Brice, 2021)

"Now I wanna die!"

This film is as generic as its title.  Based upon a YA novel and with some heavyweight horror producers behind it, no cliché is left unturned in this by-the-numbers Netflix slasher, in which a bunch of suspiciously-old-looking teenagers are picked off one-by-one by a killer who reveals their 'secrets' and wears a mask to look like each victim as they are killed.  Enlivened by some surprisingly bloody and mean-spirited kills, the character scenes in between are something of a slow and turgid trudge, and the film does little beyond what is set up in the slickly efficient opening scene.  The themes are simplistic, and the red herring and identity of the killer are hard to miss, making There's Someone Inside Your House a slick if rather unsurprising commercial young-teen horror movie.
 

VOD: Black As Night (dir: Maritte Lee Go, 2021)

"Obviously, it won't ever happen again."

An Amazon Original, this equivalent to an old-style TV movie from Blumhouse's television arm delivers vampires in New Orleans but not very successfully.  Neither the writing nor the performances are particularly strong, with a script often stating the painfully obvious seemingly for people who have never heard of vampires but also throwing in the occasional jarring pop-reference ("I'm not Buffy...!").  It is also concerning and distasteful that a 2021 movie should choose to dress up its young teenage girl protagonists as hookers in order to gain entry to the vampires' lair.  The New Orleans setting is probably the best thing on offer here.  
 

VOD: Nowhere Special (dir: Uberto Pasolini, 2021)

"I will always be with you."

Nowhere Special is something quite special.  It is a very grounded, gentle and charming film that tells the story of a mid-30s single parent who, with only months to live, tries to find a suitable adoptive family for his three-years-old son.  It works  superbly at its most simple in its portrayal of the father-son relationship, such as the scenes of the father showing the world to his little boy, but it always tinged with the sadness of knowing that he will not see his child grow up.  James Norton gives what is easily one of his very best performances showing great sensitivity and attention to detail, and his on-screen relationship with little Daniel Lamont is a delight to watch and feels totally honest.  Emotionally powerful and both uplifting and heartbreaking, Nowhere Special is extremely accomplished, uncluttered in its simplicity and powerful in its realisation and storytelling.

VOD: Free Guy (dir: Shawn Levy, 2021)

"I've got a best friend, I've got a goldfish, and I work at the bank.  What more could a guy want?"

Baudrillard would have a field day with this smart and funny blockbuster.  They Live meets Groundhog Day and The Truman Show in this lively tale of a mild-mannered NPC (Non-Playable Character) who becomes aware that his ordered life is part of a violent videogame.  The film is surprisingly successful on all levels: the in-game world, the real world, the romance and as a metaphor for our everyday humdrum lives.  Ryan Reynolds walks just the right side of his usual quirky/smug line, Jodie Comer is effective in her first major movie role, the Disney buy-up enables a couple of fun surprise gags, and Taika Waititi's energy lights up every scene in which he appears.  Free Guy is well-crafted, energetic and very entertaining.

 

VOD: Monster Hunter (dir: Paul W.S. Anderson, 2021)

"This isn't right - none of it."

For Monster Hunter, director Anderson revisits his love of the Alien and Predator franchises, throws in bits of Pitch Black, Tremors and Starship Troopers, and the result is pretty much what you would expect and little else for a video-game adaptation creature-feature that throws a hardened troop of soldiers into another dimension to face off against huge CGI beasties.  Milla Jojovich swaps Resident Evil zombies for the huge unwordly creatures here with her usual energy and commitment, but apart from the spectacular location shooting, the overall outcome here is very much efficient and mildly engaging.

 

VOD: Infinite (dir: Antoine Fuqua, 2021)

"What does it all add up to?"

This adequate if unremarkable run-of-the-mill sci-fi actioner at best comes across as a cut-price Christopher Nolan, with certain reincarnated people aware of their pasts split into two factions, one group determined to end the world and the other and using their skills and experiences to defeat them.  With a lot of running around and plot silliness, at least there is an effectively dark tone overall with the cast taking it fairly seriously, led by an earnestly reliable Mark Wahlberg.

VOD: The Green Knight (dir: David Lowery, 2021)

"Are you real or are you a spirit?"
"What is the difference?"

The style of the opening sixty seconds will determine whether or not this long-haul film is for you.  The film condenses the medieval epic poem quite effectively and conveys the literal and internal journeys of Sir Gawain to meet his fate at the hands of The Green Knight one year after their initial encounter.   The film  lurches between tone poem, blockbuster-ambition visuals (the short 'giants' sequence is stunning) and stylised artistry, but it maintains a careful and thoughtful feel and pace throughout.  Use of camera is never dull, background action and art direction never fail to interest, and David Lowery has a clear vision of how to tell this story, all held together by another mature and compelling performance from Dev Patel.  The film demands patience but it is quietly rewarding.
 

VOD: The Conjuring 3 - The Devil Made Me Do It (dir: Michael Chaves, 2021)

"Being brave doesn't mean you're not scared."

Starting with the Warrens attending the exorcism of an eight-year-old boy in 1981, the lively opening throws in everything from The Exorcist to The Amityville Horror to Poltergeist.  As the possession passes to the older brother, who is subsequently arrested for a vicious murder, the Warrens are charged with proving that 'the devil made him do it' and subsequently discover the case is not as straightforward as it might seem.  Rooted in true events, this third film in the main series is the lesser of the three, lacking the real rollercoaster jolts of the first film and the artistic chills of the second.  The focus on the Warrens' investigations takes much time away from the potentially-interesting possessed character, and the opening up of the narrative sacrifices the claustrophobic intensity of the first two films.  Wilson and Farmiga are as reliable as ever if a little subdued here, but overall this entry feels somewhat more routine and workaday than the first two Conjuring movies.
 

DVD: Black Widow (dir: Cate Shortland, 2021)

"Your pain surely makes you stronger."

If you are wondering why Marvel chose to kick off Phase Four of the MCU with this belated flashback solo outing for Johannson's Black Widow, you have to wait for a beautiful additional scene at the very end of the credits (which also ties the film in to the newly-minted TV series outings which this film's original 2020 release would have pre-dated), but for the movie itself it surpasses expectations by being very strong indeed.  First, it is a very well-controlled movie to watch, with direction that is evidently confident and creative throughout, and as an action movie it certainly delivers very well in its sharply-delivered set pieces.  Johannson and Florence Pugh make for a great 'sisters' double-act with their spiky love-hate verbal sparring, action-duo fighting and genuine connection on screen, with Pugh often scene-stealing effortlessly which bodes well for her involvement with future MCU stories, and the addition of David Harbour as the ageing Red Guardian is hugely entertaining.  The overall story is disappointingly somewhat thin, and the villain of the piece is very cartoonish, but these blips are more than compensated for by the wonderful dysfunctional family created here and its well-delivered action.
 

VOD: Everybody's Talking About Jamie (dirs: Jonathan Butterell, Dan Gillespie Sells and Tom MacRae, 2021)

"I don't want to be a drag queen.  I have to be one."

From BBC TV documentary to hit stage musical and now film, Everybody's Talking About Jamie makes the musical transition to the big screen in this colourful, featherlight and enjoyable confection.  Juxtaposed with the film's very grounded and very British setting, the slick music and MTV-friendly production numbers sound very much an eye is kept on the American market with its mix of frothy dance-pop and schlock-Broadway.  It is warm, funny and entertaining, but it also conveys a sense of LGBTQ heritage effectively, and the real world only occasionally intrudes into this somewhat romanticised vision of events.  There are some delightful performances to enjoy here, including an effervescent turn from Max Harwood in the central role, Lauren Patel as his best friend, Sarah Lancashire in the best loving-mother mode, Sam Bottomley as Jamie's nemesis and Richard E. Grant as veteran drag queen Hugo who takes Jamie under his wing.  Being a typical film musical, the big goofy feelgood finale delivers, and this film adaptation of Jamie conveys its messages of equality and acceptance in a warm-hearted and engaging manner overall.
 

VOD: Chaos Walking (dir: Doug Liman, 2021)

"I can hear everything you're thinking, you dumb s**t!"

Directed by Doug Liman, co-written by Patrick Ness, based on the hit YA novel and starring Tom Holland - what could possibly go wrong?  Set in 2257AD on a planet colony where the women have been killed by attacking locals/aliens and all internal thoughts can be heard as a running (voiceover) commentary (and indicated by a CGI haze effect around the speaker's head).  The problem when developing the film apparently lay in realising this central conceit on film, and whilst it is a real attempt to achieve it effectively, it makes for an often messy and annoying viewing experience.  The overall story is a fairly straightforward cat-and-mouse hunt, but the world-creating is done reasonably well.  Tom Holland is as energetic, committed and engagingly watchable as ever, wringing the last drop out of whatever scraps are available, but sadly Daisy Ridley almost fails to register in a very underwritten role as the crash-landed female being hunted down by this utterly patriarchal society.  Chaos Walking is not the disaster that some critics have made it out to be, but it is not especially enjoyable or entertaining.
 

VOD: Wrong Turn (2021) (dir: Mike P. Nelson, 2021)

"These are clearly not good people."

In this reboot/reimagining of the relatively recent horror VOD stalwart franchise, Wrong Turn 2021 starts as expected with our six multi-demographic-friendly roadtrippers antagonising some grizzled locals in a bar before venturing into the remotest woods on the Appalacian Trail and, er, taking a wrong turn into a hidden society with appallingly gruesome consequences for all.   At times more restrained and sombre than the old-school thrills of the original, this version nonetheless delivers on some ferocious gore gags and the increasingly claustrophobic camerawork works well.  Here, the film veers into Tucker and Dale vs. Evil territory by questioning who are the real villains in its early stages, but ultimately the viewer is positioned into feeling little sympathy for either the youngsters or the isolated society, and as such it is simply a matter of seeing who remains standing at the (unsurprising) coda.  To its credit, the 2021 movie tries something a bit different within the very basic framework, but really it is just another way of delivering more of the same efficiently.
 

VOD: Mortal Kombat (2021) (dir: Simon McQuoid, 2021)

"I'm not the fighter that I used to be."

With its main aim of delivering a full-blooded cinematic version of the classic videogame franchise, this 2021 movie version certainly delivers on copious digital splatter.  With MMA and superhero elements brought to the fore for the contemporary audience, the mythology of competing dimensions coming together to decide the generations-long battle for control of 'EarthWorld' feels rather simplified and thin, the acting performances will certainly not be troubling any Oscar voters' lists, and the wayward music soundtrack annoys when it suddenly veers too self-consciously into videogame-style.  Nevertheless, there are merits to be found, from the nicely-mounted historical opening sequence to some contained and well-choreographed fight set pieces, sweeping location work and a deliciously freewheeling performance by Josh Lawson as the hilariously direct war-worn mercenary Kano.  This may be another videogame adaptation about which it is easy to say that playing the game is more engaging than watching the film (like the recent film attempts at Tomb Raider and Assassin's Creed), and Mortal Kombat 2021 rarely rises above adequate, but it passes its time in a moderately entertaining manner for its type.
 

VOD: The Voyeurs (dir: Michael Mohan, 2021)

"To wonderful, terrible decisions..."

In what appears to be Amazon Studios' answer to the Netflix hit 365 Days, this equally lurid and silly potboiler may be an example of a new sub-genre, the depressing erotic thriller, and whilst skimpy on the latter two elements, The Voyeurs offers plenty to be glum about.  An unconvincingly chipper young couple move into a Montreal loft-style apartment (no curtains of course) and become fascinated by the sexual antics of the couple in the opposite building, which leads inevitably to their lives intertwining, obsession, jealousy, infidelity and then takes some very dark turns in the second half.  The theme of watching is hammered home bluntly and mercilessly - the naive woman is an ophthalmologist (bizarrely, but crucial to the story) and the predatory young man is a photographer - and even the not-so-surprise big plot twist manages to throw in comment on our careless use of consent in the modern world.  The film is let down by the dull writing and unengaging performances (with only Brit Ben Hardy delivering a convincing character as the photographer), although it is quite well shot, and the melodramatic finale brings this daft and messy story to a suitably eye-rolling conclusion,

 

VOD: A Quiet Place Part II (dir: John Krasinski, 2021)

"It just works."

Following the creative and financial success of A Quiet Place, the prospect of a worthy or even necessary sequel being delivered was a concern, but Part II juggles extremely effectively the demands of balancing the elements that made the original film work and a mild but sympathetic world expansion.  The sequel opens with a blistering flashback to Day 1 - the creatures' arrival - in an energetically dynamic and attention-grabbing showstopper sequence, and then picks up directly the story following on from the first film.  Krasinski proves again to be a bold and brave director which makes this film so engaging, Emily Blunt again immerses herself in the situations and character so effectively, but even more striking in this sequel are the older children played by Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe, who both have to carry some charged and challenging scenes and succeed admirably.  The use of parallel narratives is very well-handled, and not only is the use of sound (or its absence) again so striking and powerful here, Marco Beltrami's glorious and beautifully haunting score is a real pleasure.  The ending may be a bit abrupt and sequel-baiting, but overall A Quiet Place Part II really delivers.
 

VOD: Cruella (dir: Craig Gillespie, 2021)

"Don't cry."
"I'm not."
"You will."

Disney pretty much nailed its sweet live-action 101 Dalmatians films, and whilst this lavish and extravagant (almost to the point of indulgence) prequel is extremely well-made in every respect, it is rather long and perhaps a little unnecessary.  In a riff on The Devil Wears Prada, orphaned and abandoned Estella (excellent work from Emma Stone) falls in with a Disneyesque gang of petty London villains and pursues her dream career in fashion design, falling under the wing of a monstrous but celebrated designer (played with precise relish by Emma Thompson).  The trainee usurps the mistress, family secrets unravel and many twisty plot turns make story dense and engaging, and although this need to explain the character's development and motivations is exhaustive in detail the simplistic time-worn nature vs. nurture debate is never far away, and the criticisms of the portrayal of mental health issues in the film are partly valid if a little overstated.  Cruella is well-written, effectively delivered on all fronts and great to look at, but its existence does not necessarily convince as an artistic extension of the property rather than a cash-grab.
 

VOD: Peter Rabbit 2 (dir: Will Gluck, 2021)

"...and that's why adults shouldn't do kids' stuff!"

Peter Rabbit 2 was one of the first films to open in cinemas following the extended pandemic closure, and it proves to be a very safe bet, as it is simply more of the same formula delivered by the first film, with returning director Gluck and human leads Gleeson and Byrne together with voice lead Corden all returning to familiar territory.  It is gently entertaining, with David Oyelowo providing a suitably pantomimic antagonist as a money-grabbing franchise-building publisher which makes for some mild comment on artistic exploitation, but overall it is all about the cute CGI creatures - again, very well realised and integrated - as they venture into the big city on various Dickensian-style adventures, and on that score the film delivers well for its young target audience.

 

VOD: Promising Young Woman (dir: Emerald Fennell, 2021)

"All right, f**k, I get your f**king point!"

This provocative piece follows Cassie (Carey Mulligan), a thirtysomething medical school dropout who lives with her parents, works in a coffee shop ... and spends evenings playing drunk in clubs in order to be picked up by opportunistic men only to shockingly round on them in a calculating sober way to teach them a lesson.  The film makes its surprisingly narrow and limited point about toxic masculinity very early on and pursues it relentlessly, yet to its credit the film is more expansive and  successful by introducing a possible (genuine?) love interest for Cassie, and as a psychological thriller it creates an intriguing character (with a typically powerhouse and measured performance from Carey Mulligan) that engages all the way through, making Promising Young Woman a robust and thought-provoking film.

 

VOD: Gremlin's Curse (aka Gremlin) (dir: Ryan Bellgardt, 2017)

"It is a curse or something.  I don't understand it."

This cheap but bloody horror throwaway is a bizarre cross between Gremlins and It Follows, in which a murderous creature contained within a box can only be stopped by the owner passing it on to someone else they love.  Undermined by a slow pace, flat dialogue and a string of unconvincing performances that fail to sell the situation effectively, the creature is reasonably effective for low-end CGI and the film delivers quite well on the kills and a couple of jump scares but little else.
 

VOD: Spiral - From The Book Of Saw (dir: Darren Lyn Bousman, 2021)

"If you're gonna throw up, don't do it on the evidence."

Spiral takes it cue from the post-main-series Jigsaw and focuses more on the police procedural elements as a copycat killer targets corruption within a police department.  It is a reasonable reboot, with an acceptable central dramatic performance by Chris Rock, who was the driving force behind this take on the franchise, plotting is sound and the traps are adequate, but whilst there is nothing particularly bad about the film it does not really surprise or rise above adequate very often.  Overall Spiral ends up a solid mid-ranker in the series, much better than the worst entries (4-6) but nowhere near the strongest (1-3). 

 

VOD: Blood Red Sky (dir: Peter Thorwarth, 2021)

"We've got everything under control!  Don't worry!"

Vampires On A Plane?  Not quite, but the high concept premise in this German/international thriller has an odd mother and her son boarding a transatlantic plane to get treatment for her 'condition', only for hijacking terrorists to create mayhem which leads to her true nature coming into play to fight for survival.  Falling somewhere between wanting to be a serious action epic and campy parody and yet failing to be really successful on either terms, the film does contain one bizarre performance that shows no restraint at all and constantly undermines all else on screen.  By turns dour and daft, a rather dull first half-hour does lead to some decent action set pieces once the true story gets going and a fairly lively final act, with some ambitious effects work that looks good, Blood Red Sky frustratingly lacks a cohesive identity.
 

VOD: Boss Level (dir: Joe Carnahan, 2021)

"I smell muffins!  Do you smell muffins?"

Groundhog Day goes to the action movie genre, as a hardened special forces agent relives his demise repeatedly in this hugely entertaining and relentlessly violent slice of nonsense that has all the delirium, inventiveness and energy of the Crank movies.  Relentlessly self-aware and with a wonderful dry sense of humour running through it, the slick and lively direction by Joe Carnahan and a hugely enjoyable wry central performance from the ever-reliable Frank Grillo make Boss Level a very fun watch indeed.
 

VOD: Intit!ation (dir: John Berardo, 2021)

"Is that....blood?"

The film starts off like a Bad Neighbours sequel and sets itself up as a heavily-generic campus slasher flick with all necessary tropes firmly in place...and then it turns into something far more sober and mature whilst still delivering effectively as a horror film.  There is some sly subversion of genre codes at play, in particular with how characters and gender are used with some unusually interesting depth of how the characters respond to the unfolding situation on display, and the story has good momentum and the film is confidently directed and performed.  It is a shame that both the identity of the mirror-masked killer and the motive are evident quite early on, but Init!ation has plenty of ideas and is delivered well as a strong modern take on a well-worn sub-genre.

 

VOD: Misrule (dir: Matthew Goddard, 2017)

"Sometimes it's good to keep something back for when we're desperate....and we are."

This quickly-shot micro-budget British spy thriller tells the story of a maverick lone-wolf secret agent whose career and marriage are both in trouble, who gets teamed up with a new partner, with unexpected romance and tragic consequences ensuing.  Shot in an oddly deserted Plymouth, mostly at night, there is clear ambition to make location work look as visually cinematic as possible, but whilst the film has some interesting ideas it frequently falls short in both the wildly varying performances and writing, rendering the story somewhat unconvincing overall.  
 

VOD: Minari (dir: Lee Isaac Chung, 2020)

"Daddy's going to make a big garden!"

Minari takes us back to the 1980s and follows the fortunes of a Korean-American family moving from California to rural Arkansas in order to create a farm to cater for the Korean market.  The premise is the classic tale of chasing the American Dream and an idyllic pastoral life leading to some predictable narrative beats and visual tropes (although the film is shot beautifully throughout).  Minari, however, elevates the idea through the sheer skill of the writing and performances - it is a film full of small but hugely impactful moments, and the bigger story themes such as faith, isolation and triumph over adversity lead to some interesting and potentially tragic choices.  Steven Yuen and Yeri Han are both superb as the couple whose fragile marriage is pushed quietly to breaking point - there is one particular extraordinary heartbreaking scene late in the movie in which both actors' performances are utterly sublime - and Yuh-Jung Youn is terrific as the divisive elderly-mother figure.  Also noteworthy is Emile Mosseri's evocative music score that supports the film unobtrusively but powerfully.  Minari is a beautiful, simple and sincere film that is a pleasure to enjoy.
 

VOD: Guns Akimbo (dir: Jason Lei Howden, 2019)

"Wanna go viral?"

Real-world and game-world collide in this riotous violent blast of a film that proves to be a highly entertaining ride.  Reminiscent of the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink style of the Crank films, downtrodden Miles (Daniel Radcliffe) makes the mistake of trolling an online live-action game that pits people against each other to the death in the real world, and wakes up to find himself with guns surgically bolted to his hands and pitted against the formidable Nix (Samara Weaving) in a city-wide battle royale.  Amongst the considerable carnage, there is plenty of dark humour, the action is relentless, Radcliffe not only shows off his acting ability but is clearly having a great time and Weaving absolutely eats up her role with great relish.  You may or may not warm to this kind of film, but if you do then Guns Akimbo provides a real adrenalin-fuelled fun rush extremely well.
 

VOD: A Classic Horror Story (dirs: Roberto De Feo and Paolo Strippoli, 2021)

"Don't worry - it's for his Instagram or something."

This Italian horror does exactly what it says in the title, taking a contemporary road trip that goes horribly wrong and executing it in classic Italian horror/giallo style.  Whether referencing the great genre directors of the 1970s/80s or more recent films and tropes - Midsommar and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre loom large here - the film is a reasonably efficient and effective exercise in directing and writing, and whilst the points made about online media are somewhat blunt and unsurprising, as a horror film it stands up fairly well.