VOD: School's Out Forever (dir: Oliver Milburn, 2021)

"Are you...Are you trying to frighten us?"
"A bit."

Set in a presciently pandemic-ravaged England and focusing on a private boys' school, this film surprises from the outset by confounding expectations to a large extent.  Naughty-lad Lee is expelled, but he returns to the school to wait for his mother, reuniting with best-friend Mac and a small band of other pupils and staff as the situation gets more desperate and they find themselves in trouble with surviving locals.  Grief and survival are dealt with head-on and uncompromisingly, often giving the film a similar tone to TV's Survivors, with Oscar Kennedy and Liam Lau Fernandez giving strong and creditable performances as the two young leads.  The film makes points about gender and toxic masculinity but does so as a part of the overall narrative.  Director Milburn handles both the dramatic scenes and action set-pieces extremely effectively, especially the no-hold-barred final stand-off which is very well constructed and really delivers on the action front.  Some viewers have criticised the major lurches in character and the ending itself (which does feature a major shock moment), but in context this story is about "little boys" (as the movie puts it) thrown into impossibly-challenging situations.  Overall, School's Out Forever is not the movie you would probably expect and it is surprisingly effective.  
 

VOD: Palm Springs (dir: Max Barbakow, 2020)

"That's romantic."

This time round it is the low-fi indie rom-com that gets the Groundhog Day treatment - think early Linklater doing a Richard Curtis movie - and with great success.   Andy Samberg finds himself stuck in a time loop at a wedding, only to be joined in it by the dour Cristin Milioti as the maid of honour, and it is the development of their situation and relationship that takes us on a very sharp, funny and warm journey.  There is a world-weary honesty about both characters that gives their reactions to different situations a pleasurably humorous edge, with a terrific Samberg at his sardonic best and Milioti providing a sharp but grounded foil to his performance, plus J.K.Simmons proving to be another comic treat here in this very funny and hugely enjoyable film.  Don't miss the very sweet early-end-credits scene.
 

VOD: Thunder Force (dir: Ben Falcone, 2021)

"They were geneticists."
"Both of them were lady-part doctors?"

This movie presents a female middle-aged superhero duo in what could have been an interesting spin on the current box-office-winning genre, but it seems to be another disappointing victim of the semi-improvised/self-indulgent malaise that besets some modern Hollywood comedies.   Occasionally the material lands, but McCarthy lacks some of her sparkle, Spencer comes across as bored, and Jason Bateman tries his level best to create humour from a man with crab claws instead of hands.  It is drawn out way too thinly overall, jokes are repetitively pummelled to death (which script editing and sharper direction would have remedied easily), and the whole film feels curiously lethargic as a result. 
 

VOD: What Lies Below (dir: Braden R. Duemmler, 2021)

"Who wears a speedo?"

This is a movie that is terminally silly and in which Mena Suvari gives the best performance, which gives you an idea of what to expect.  A teenage girl returns from summer camp to meet up with her mother and the mother's impossibly-attractive yet creepily-inappropriate new partner, and this classic set-up for an exploitationer shows promise in the first half.  It then veers off a cliff into really not-very-well-executed sci-fi potboiler territory that is really quite poor.  Staggeringly daft, What Lies Below could almost become a midnight-movie cult classic but for very patient viewers only.  
 

VOD: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (dir: George C. Wolfe, 2020)

"I got my time comin' to me."

Opened up only very slightly from August Wilson's play and set around an afternoon's music recording session in the 1920s, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is rich in period detail and character.  The fairly straightforward story is propelled by a powerhouse cast, led by two captivating and transformative performances from Chadwick Boseman (in sadly his final role) and Viola Davis, who are both simply stunning on screen here.  There is extra depth given by making the supporting band notably older that their real-life counterparts, and the film conveys a reals sense of style and authenticity that is very  enjoyable to watch.
 

VOD: Malcolm & Marie (dir: Sam Levinson, 2021)

"What's wrong with political films?"
"Political films are exhausting."

Almost feeling like a modern-day take on Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?, this lockdown-made two-hander is inevitably theatrical in feel, but the intimacy and the  claustrophobic shifts in control and power work so well as a result.  A film director and his partner return home from his latest premiere, at which he neglected to thank her in his speech, and from that starting point the long night unravels their flaws and fraying relationship in uncompromising and uncomfortable detail, whilst making more general points on art, race and gender roles.  Director Levinson uses space and camera to great effect, John David Washington is extremely good and Zendaya is spectacular here.  Not exactly a date movie then, but this is a skilful piece of work.  
 

VOD: Possessor (dir: Brandon Cronenberg, 2021)

"Am I losing you?"

This intriguing and very dark sci-fi thriller from Brandon Cronenberg is very cyberpunk in its conceit of jacking other people's minds in order to carry out assassinations, one of which goes horribly wrong for the assassin and the victim.  In spite of the heavy sci-fi element, the focus is very much on the two central characters and what they go through, strongly played by Andrea Riseborough and Christopher Abbott.  Visually interesting, narratively twisty and directed with precision, Possessor is a very well-made, violent and unsettling movie that holds interest right to the end.
 

VOD: Solar Impact - The Destruction Of London (dir: Craig Tudor/Tudley James, 2019)

"I'm not going back in there!"

Mixing the disaster and zombie genres, Solar Impact is a low-budget British film that sees a solar event rain destruction upon London and mutate most of the population into ravenous zombies.  Mixed is the key word here, from the wildly-varying quality of performances, effects and set-pieces to some inherent low-budget problems with lighting and ADR.  The melodramatic American-disaster-movie-style acting sits awkwardly with the realistic small-scale and plain British settings, but there is a real attempt to deliver something big here even if it falls short overall.
 

VOD: The Trial Of the Chicago 7 (dir: Aaron Sorkin, 2020)

"You really think there's gonna be a big audience?"

A true-life courtroom drama written and directed by Aaron Sorkin?  Sold... and what a film this is.  It goes without saying that - being Sorkin - direction is tight and the screenplay is absolute perfection, but this film is easily up there with his best work.  The cast is uniformly exceptional, from the gravitas and intelligent understanding of the role of the unsatisfactory judge (Frank Langella) to the two lawyers pitched into a show-case trial (Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Mark Rylance, both superb here) and the defendants themselves, including a committed Eddie Redmayne in one of his more authentic performances and a genuinely impressive dramatic turn by Sacha Baron Cohen, and even a noteworthy strong cameo by Michael Keaton.  The pace, power and wit of the script and its delivery are both breath-taking and impressive, and the true-events backdrop is conveyed with importance and sincerity.  At times hilarious and shocking, this is an immensely powerful and impressive film.
 

VOD: Made In Italy (dir: James D'Arcy, 2021)

"At least the view is quite good."

Billed as a comedy but stronger on the drama front, Made In Italy's tells the story of an estranged father and son coming together to renovate and sell their abandoned Italian property, with the USP that the leads are played by real-life father and son Liam Neeson and Micheal Richardson.  All the derelict-house-bound comedy moments are trotted out routinely, but two elements really shine in this film: the glorious sunny Tuscany setting, and the pleasure of seeing father and son playing off each other so well, especially in the successful emotionally-cathartic scenes towards the end, which also serve to remind that Neeson can deliver depth when the material demands.  This is an effective directorial feature debut by actor D'Arcy, and the film overall is undemanding but pleasant viewing.

 

VOD: Wonder Woman 1984 aka WW84 (dir: Patty Jenkins, 2020)

"Hold tight!"

As a sequel to one of the successful DC Universe movies of recent times, Wonder Woman 1984 is even better than the first film.  Storytelling takes its time, but this is compensated for by an enjoyably lively, breezy style that is maintained well.  There is an irresistible sense of confidence provided by the success of the first film that is palpable here in the direction, style and tone, conveyed by the meticulously-crafted screenplay, the slick and energetic set pieces and of course the wonderful central performance again by Gal Gadot.  1984 provides a fun 'period' setting with lots of small incidental details to enjoy, and Kristen Wiig and Pedro Pascal deliver acceptable human villains of the piece (even if the former is a bit too CGI-reliant in 'Cheetah' form later in the film), with the almost-plausible return of Chris Pine providing strong comedic relief in the 'fish-out-of-time' role.  This film still does not quite match the best of Marvel, but it certainly shows what DC can do when it gets things right.
 

VOD: Sputnik (dir: Egor Abramenko, 2020)

"I think you will find this case very interesting."

Two astronauts go on a 1980s space mission, but on return to Earth only one survives and harbours something very unexpected in this grim, bleak Russian sci-fi thriller.  Pace and tone are generally relentlessly slow, plotting and motivations can be rather haphazard, yet effects work is deployed sparingly but well and there are occasional lively, interesting and thought-provoking moments.  Sputnik is an occasionally gory but earnest if slightly dull affair overall.
 

VOD: Soul (dirs: Pete Docter and Kemp Powers, 2020)

"You can't crush a soul here.  That's what life on Earth is for."

Another Pixar, another winner.  The story and central character (wonderfully voiced by Jamie Foxx) engages and draws you in right from the start, and it ends up as part body-swap comedy and part-existential meditation in the way only Pixar makes possible.  At times it does feel a little like the director's previous Inside Out, but the design and imagination shown in the pre/after-life sequences are delightful, and the real-world scenes fuse the Pixar style with almost-photoreal backdrops beautifully.  The music is also very successful, juxtaposing the free-flowing jazz elements with an atypical synth score. Although yet again drawing on death as a main character motivator, Soul has sufficient creativity and quality to become a worthy addition to the Pixar canon.
 

VOD: Mulan (2020) (dir: Niki Caro, 2020)

"You're a good man."
 

The latest Disney animation-to-live-action movie is clearly not as slavish to the original as The Lion King, instead going for an epic Crouching Tiger style, big set pieces and sumptuous visuals, all of which it achieves admirably.  The first half is a little leisurely in setting up the tale, but the second half is much livelier and feels more assured.  It is a shame that this was one of the first victims of cinema closures in the pandemic's first lockdown as it is clearly designed to be shown on a big screen, as home viewing exposes just how centred the shots are in general, but the development from the source material makes this a live-action transfer worth making.

VOD: Escape From Pretoria (dir: Francis Annan, 2021)

"Totally pointless?"

Based on the true story of two ANC activists in the 1970s imprisoned and attempting to escape form the bones of this routine prison thriller which - earnest lead performances by Daniel Radcliffe and Daniel Webber aside - offers little that you would not expect from this type of film.  There are some good moments of against-the-clock tension generated and the emerging escape plan is reasonably compelling, but there is certainly little different from standard prison genre fare here.
 

VOD: Max Winslow And The House Of Secrets (dir: Sean Olsen, 2021)

"It doesn't work unless everything works together."

The elevator pitch for this lame teen movie was probably - and bizarrely - Willy Wonka meets Escape Room, as five school student stereotypes are selected to spend a night at a tech billionaire's secret mansion, with the winner claiming the hi-tech house.  Barely above TV-movie level, there is barely any jeopardy to set the pulses racing, the score is not a comfortable fit at times, blindingly obvious life lessons are duly learned, and performance quality varies wildly including a dull lead character.  This film is unlikely to hold the attention of even the most undiscerning youngsters.
 

VOD: Bad Trip (dir: Kitao Sakurai, 2021)

"For real?"

Aiming for a slice of the Borat audience, this Candid Camera/Jackass imitation lacks the childish charm that made those reality-cam products enjoyable, as the shoehorned- in framing road trip is handled inexpertly and does not match with the genuine bystanders' reactions.  Some sequences genuinely land, such as the blender scene and the visit to the country-and-western bar, but as always with such 'loosely scripted' ventures this is definitely not always the case.  Reveals and outtakes play under the end credits, and their good-naturedness redeems some of the goodwill lost throughout the movie itself.