VOD: Luca (dir: Enrico Casarosa, 2021)

 "Do you really believe in sea monsters?"

Pixar really is on another golden streak of top-notch films, with Luca proving to be an utter delight from start to finish (and post-credits short scene!).  Luca is a young 'sea monster' who is a sort of underwater shepherd to a school of fish, living with his strict family but yearning for more to life (like a sea-bound Luke Skywalker?) as he first discovers human artefacts belonging to the 'land monsters' and then gains a new best buddy, who takes Luca on a coming-of-age journey to discover life on dry land, standing up for yourself and others and overcoming prejudice.  The very simple but hugely effective USP here is that the sea monsters take on regular human form once out of the water but revert to their original look when wet, but it more the boys' all-encompassing friendship and the sheer joy of them discovering the quaint, sleepy out-of-time seaside town, their first steps to  independence and yearning for a bit of freedom that their dream of owning a Vespa could give that makes this film such a charming watch.  The film is not over-designed, giving it a timeless and almost old-fashioned quality to the excellent animation, and the music and atmosphere are a joy, and whilst Luca may not have the most instantly obvious classic characters like many Pixar films, the human story at the heart of this lovely film is very pure and engaging.

DVD: Godzilla vs. Kong (dir: Adam Wingard, 2021)

"Do I need to be concerned?"
"Yes."

As daft an idea as Freddy vs Jason, this monster mash-up sees the culmination of this latest underwhelming iteration of the Godzilla and King Kong franchises.  Adam Wingard has proved himself to be a solid director from indie origins, and like the others who helmed the recent films leading to this one, most of his quirky edges have been smoothed off to fit the blockbuster template, but to Wingard's credit he does succeed in making Godzilla and Kong appear to really hate each other on screen in their very lively no-holds-barred smackdowns, and MechaGodzilla is used cleverly and effectively as a story-driver.  The shinily-unreal CG sheen is distancing, and the human characters are even less effectively written than in the preceding movies (if that can be imagined), and there is more than an occasional whiff of Pacific Rim and Independence Day: Resurgence here and there, but Junkie XL/Tom Holkenborg's score feels fresh and contemporary.  The classic enigma code that sells the movie is, of course, 'Who wins?', and that question is handled well for one character at least, but if this latest strand of the monster franchises does continue, getting the human story right would be of benefit.
 

VOD: Here Are The Young Men (dir: Eoin Macken, 2021)

 

"Is this who you want to be?"

The eventful summer for three Dublin lads after leaving school is chronicled in this attention-grabbing Irish movie.  The direction is lively, helping to give the film a genuine energetic buzz, coupled with three strong and noteworthy performances from its young(ish) leads.  With its mix of drug culture and toxic masculinity, the first act almost has the same sad and horribly inescapable inevitability of Blue Story, except that here there is a pivotal tragic event that leads the rest of the film to follow the three friends' very different reactions and its impact upon them.  It is perhaps challenging to see one amoral character being superseded by another's misplaced moral centre, and the media satire sequences are a bit overplayed even if they have a clear purpose, but overall this is a very watchable and thought-provoking small-scale story.

VOD: The Strange House (Das Schaurige Haus) aka The Scary House (dir: Daniel Prochaska, 2021)

"Why am I not surprised?"

Based on a hit YA novel, this Austrian film relocates teenager Hendrik, his little brother and his mother from the city to a sleepy insular lakeside town where he faces not only the challenges of hostile local youths and unreliable wi-fi but also an emerging haunting of their new home from spirits of an event from its tragic past.  The film is capably put together and played, it is not remotely scary (which may explain Netflix's retitling to 'strange') and the scenery is absolutely stunning - just don't expect anything surprising or too thrilling, although the third act brings everything together well.

 

VOD: Raya And The Last Dragon (dirs: Don Hall and Carlos Lopez Estrada, co-dirs: Paul Briggs and John Ripa, 2021)

"Let's show them what clever really looks like!"

Disney's latest animation blockbuster takes us to the Far East with this mythical tale that is an absolute delight.  It is bright, colourful and energetic, but what really impresses is the highly effective dynamic storytelling and complete word-building straight away in the opening scenes as young Raya becomes a Guardian of The Dragon Gem, unwittingly 'breaks the world' and then sets off on a quest to restore order by finding the last dragon in existence.  The eclectic mix of unusual characters that Raya meets along the way provides a lot of fun, the central protagonist/antagonist pairing works well (reminiscent of the Frozen sisters), and the story structure that covers five very different kingdoms offers a diverse set of visual treats.  Indeed, the animation and its use of shading and colour is gorgeous, and the voice cast is top notch, notably Kelly Marie Tran (terrific as Raya), Awkwafina, Gemma Chan, Daniel Dae Kim, Benedict Wong and Sandra Oh.  The expected Disney themes of family, loss, the power of unity and friendship, self-belief and personal growth are all duly trotted out, but here they are given a contemporary feel that is very effectively allied with the powerful traditional mythical elements.  Raya And The Last Dragon is a joyous, lively and very accomplished and enjoyable modern animated film indeed. 
 

VOD: Amityville - No Escape (dir: Henrique Couto, 2016)

"What are you afraid of?"

The long-exhausted Amityville franchise does Paranormal Activity/Blair Witch in this no-budget and lamely generic found-footage 'film'.  The film tells its story via footage from a 1997 VHS tape of messages recorded by a young woman who has moved into (supposedly, but here unconvincingly) the Amityville house, intercut with a group of present-day friends who are 'investigating fear' drawn to the area by the tape.  With minimal production values, very unconvincing performances by an unappealing cast, rudimentary sound work and poor dialogue, even some late badly-executed physical/blood effects and a truly nonsensical ending that attempts to bring the two narrative strands together have no impact.  This is weak and barely-watchable streaming-service filler and no more. 

VOD: Saint Maud (dir: Rose Glass, 2020)

"My little saviour."

This much-lauded festival favourite is a strong debut for director Glass.  It has an effectively unsettling opening, and its interesting and thoughtful choices over use of camera and sound/music are noticeable.  The increasingly obsessive devout belief and overtly-physical divine raptures of nurse/carer Maud (played intriguingly and strongly  by Morfydd Clark) as she becomes consumed with saving the soul of her cancer-stricken new charge, a fading famous choreographer (expertly handled by Jennifer Ehle), gives rise to more extreme and hallucinogenic expression on screen leading to a powerful (if not entirely unexpected) conclusion.  The film does have its lulls and detours - such as the friendship with another nurse sub-plot - but when focused on the committed central character the film is strong and interesting.  Saint Maud is not the great horror movie some of the press have claimed, but as a study of profound religious fervour it is well-executed in all respects and has powerful scenes to experience, especially in its grim final moments.
 

VOD: Zack Snyder's Justice League (dir: Zack Snyder, 2021)

"Undid a mistake.  That's all."

Following director Snyder's withdrawal from then-filming Justice League owing to tragic personal circumstances, the subsequent major re-write/re-shoot by Joss Whedon that was released in cinemas in 2017 was a disappointingly dull and underwhelming affair.  This release of the completed legendary 'Snyder Cut' is a rare example of the studio listening to fans and funding extensive and costly shooting/effects work to complete the director's original vision, and whilst Warner would never have given Snyder a four-hour final cut for the original cinema release, what is undeniable is that this version is so much more interesting and displays much better storytelling than the Whedon/theatrical version.  The basic structure is still there, but this is a very different version and viewer experience, and the splitting into clear 'chapters' works well over its long running time.  A main criticism that Justice League 2017 rushed the introduction of characters before they were introduced in solo movies (that worked so well for the MCU) is eased by more carefully-delivered and organic backstories here, and the previously-underwhelming main antagonist Steppenwolf is made a far more credible threat here when allied with the reinstated Darkseid sub-plot.  The film inevitably still does not match the heft of the final Avengers double-bill, but with strong main players and systematically effective narrative development, Snyder restores a lacklustre theatrical cut into something much more entertaining, enjoyable and effective.

 

VOD: Army Of The Dead (dir: Zack Snyder, 2021)

"This should be a simple in-and-out..."
 

Snyder may have reinvigorated the cinematic zombie genre with his excellent Dawn Of The Dead reimagining, but with this adequate heist/zombies mash-up that veers very close to the storyline of the recent Train To Busan: Peninsula, here it merely demonstrates just how entrenched the tropes have now become.  Occasional set-pieces are executed well, but the film as a whole never quite matches the sharply-edited and ferocious opening montage that shows the fall of Las Vegas that gives rise to the main casino-heist storyline.  Attempts to inject some USPs - a zombie tiger, semi-sentient Alpha zombies - feel inconsequential, and apart from a couple of solid performances (Matthias Schweighofer as the 'comedy' ace safecracker, and Tig Notaro basically replaying her snarky engineer character from Star Trek: Discovery) the cast does not register much beyond being potential zombie-snack-fodder.  Gore fans are rewarded with some suitably squelchy moments, but the decision to give the film a running time of almost two-and-a-half hours is both testing for the viewer and baffling.

VOD: Greenland (dir: Ric Roman Waugh, 2021)

"I don't wanna fly any more!"

Essentially a less glossy and more grounded version of Deep Impact, a fast-approaching meteor signals an ELE apocalypse in this unexpectedly tense, sombre and at times gripping thriller/family-drama.  CGI effects are high-quality and used purposefully, the film is beautifully lensed and David Buckley's excellent score is frequently hauntingly melancholic.  Gerard Butler reminds us of what he can do when not cast as a cartoon action character and carries the film with strength of character, and the excellent Morena Baccarin  absolutely shines as his estranged wife when placed in some emotionally testing situations.  Overall, Greenland rises easily above its genre trappings by balancing the personal and bigger-picture scenarios extremely effectively.