VOD: Greatest Days (dir: Coky Giedroyc, 2023)

"Yeah, to me, it's important!"

Adapted from the stage play The Band, the musical featuring the songs of Take That comes to the silver screen in very British fashion.  Mercifully better than the similar 80s jukebox musical Walking On Sunshine, this movie finds five estranged schoolfriends reuniting as adults for a reunion concert by their favourite band as teenagers.  Mamma Mia! and its sequel are very much (and inevitably) the touchstones here, as the timeshifting device of the latter flits effortlessly between the teen and adult incarnations, the consciously diverse band and group of fans for today's audience focuses more on the youngsters initially until halfway through when the film unashamedly relocates to Greece for no other reason than the reunion gig.  Both groups (of girls/women) have a warm, lively and easy presence on screen, led effectively by Aisling Bea giving her usual focused and grounded style of performance, but the very thin story is stretched to its absolute limits.   What also becomes clear very quickly is that Take That's back catalogue is neither substantial enough nor - like Last Christmas - relevant enough to fit a narrative in a precise and sustained manner, but there are some good moments when the performance/music video recreations collide with real life in the story.  Utter nonsense Greatest Days may be, but astonishingly the ending works well as it moves from the big dramatic/emotional story resolution to a joyful singalong finale that brings everyone together,   
 

VOD: Puss In Boots - The Last Wish (dirs: Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, 2023)

"You're a talking cat?  I'm a talking cat!  Let's talk!"

This belated sequel to the very successful 2011 GC-animated Shrek franchise spin-off has the effective premise that Puss has used up eight of his nine lives and, pursued by both Death and bounty hunters, gives up his swashbuckling persona to live incognito as a rescue cat, but with his adversaries hot on his tail he soon sets off on a new set of adventures, meeting up with companions new and old, to search for the famous Wishing Star to restore his lives.  The film rattles along furiously with devil-may-care abandon, and it is smartly written with many movie references and plenty of entertaining silliness along the way.  Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek make for a great (vocal) double-act, and the depth and detail of the animation impresses, making The Last Wish a watchable and quite entertaining romp.  
 

VOD: Take A Chance (dir: Maria Thulin, 2023)

"...because it's not over..."

Amazon's controversial documentary film about Dutchman Gert van der Graaf, the obsessive stalker who developed some kind of relationship with - and ultimately terrorised - ABBA singer Agnetha Faltskog finally comes to the UK without fanfare and proves to be a chilling watch.  Shot like a classy version of a Channel 5 exploitationer, it charts his unwavering and obsessive determination and attachment for the star (since their Eurovision win when he was eight years old), as the documentary tries to take a sombre and restrained tone that enables the perpetrator to detail precisely the extent of his years-long campaign and demonstrates how a deluded mind can shape the world as they see it.  Faltskog declined to participate, which is unsurprising given the negative impact the stalker had on her which ended in a very public court case in Sweden and his deportation, but it does leave the questions around the extent and nature of their relationship unclear to say the least and leaves his own take on events unchallenged in an uncomfortable way.

VOD: T.I.M. (dir: Spencer Brown, 2023)

"I think we're gonna be very happy here."

In this glossy indie sci-fi drama, a female robotics scientist and her adulterous husband relocate for a new start and her work to a pristine smart-house in the countryside, and they are gifted a humanoid robot by the company to serve their needs.  Set in a similar near-future to TV's Humans, inevitably the robot starts to break programming as it becomes fixated on the woman and manipulates the situation as her trust in her husband starts to erode.  Although competently shot and performed, this rather simple and low-powered story trundles along in a somewhat  listless fashion, livening up a bit in the final act, even if it ends with a generic Final-Girl-on-a-roof sequence and a final shot that will make your eyes roll. 
 

VOD: The Super Mario Bros. Movie (dirs: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic and Pierre Leduc, 2023)

"You can't be scared ALL the time!"
"You'd be surprised!"

Proving the power of the Mario franchise, this unexpectedly runaway hit CG-animation from Illumination quickly dispels memories of the infamous live action film by hitting the ground running with its irreverent silliness and energy that is spot on for its very young target audience, if somewhat trying for older viewers.  Smart games references are utilised well as the brothers get transported from the real world to other dimensions, which enables this film to expand upon different gaming scenarios, characters and mise-en-scene appropriately in vividly-coloured and detailed animation that handles movement extremely well.  Chris Pratt reprises his Lego Movie persona to reasonably entertaining effect and is key to driving the surprisingly packed narrative.  If you are under six years old this film will delight, but to older viewers the film will fly by in a candy-coloured nonsensical blur.  There is even an unnecessary mid-credits scene plus a post-credits sequel set-up, with the follow-up movie surely secured.
 

VOD: Evil Dead Rise (dir: Lee Cronin, 2023)

"What's wrong with you, Mom?"

After a traditional 'cabin in the woods' opener, the action then moves to a very everyday urban L.A. apartment and family (single mother with three kids of varying ages and a rock-chick sister).  When an earthquake reveals an abandoned bank vault in the underground garage, a familiar-looking Book Of the Dead is discovered, alongside an unfortunate old audio recording that gets played, leading to the inevitable unleashing of the evil spirits and ensuing carnage.  The transposing of touchstone Evil Dead  elements to a new and familiar environment and set of character ages and types is handled very effectively from the outset, and the film captures quite a bit of the freewheeling insanity and dark comedy of the first two Raimi entries.  The violence is unforgivingly brutal with some strongly-delivered physical effects.  With a focus on the theme of motherhood and family, Rise is a generally effective and interesting (if not entirely necessary) take on the franchise.  
 

FILM: Blue Beetle (dir: Angel Manuel Soto, 2023)

"All I wanted was a job!"

Blue Beetle is a solid and decent entry of its type, introducing newly-graduated Jaime Reyes as the unwitting recipient of an alien scarab that 'chooses' him, fuses with him symbiotically and imbues him with superpowers.  Whilst it offers nothing new in terms of the superhero/origin genre itself - elements of Iron Man, Spider-Man, Venom, Ant-Man, Green Lantern, etc. drift in and out - the warm and lively Mexican settings and central cast sit very well in counterpoint with the glossy hi-tech trappings.  In particular, Xolo Mariduena is very human and charming in the lead role, and his eclectic family is lively, engaging and very likeable.  Susan Sarandon is thankfully non-pantomime in her villain role here, as the billionaire boss of a hi-tech company attempting to harness the scarab's powers in order to create a Robocop-like army.  The politics are blunt about big corporate industry and America, and whilst the well-worn focus on family may seem over-familiar, here it is used to drive the story very purposefully.  For DC, Blue Beetle sits alongside the first Shazam! for its warmth and energy, but the main action set pieces, particularly the finale, stand up well against bigger-ticket superhero counterpart films. 
 

VOD: The Pope's Exorcist (dir: Julius Avery, 2023)

"Your prayers are worthless here."

Set in 1987 and evidently based on real Vatican files, this demonic-possession movie certainly does what it says on the tin with an everything-including-the-bathroom-sink approach and Russell Crowe at full tilt as the renegade leading Vatican exorcist sent to Spain, where a relocating American family is restoring an inherited derelict abbey and the young son becomes possessed.  Veering between unintentional humour (Crowe on a Vespa!) and unashamed cliché for the most part, the film becomes increasingly noisy and messy as it grinds cheaply through the tropes to reach its anti-climax resolution.

VOD: Red, White & Royal Blue (dir: Matthew Lopez, 2023)

"Did your parents send you to snobby school, or does looking down on people just come naturally to you?"

Based on the best-selling novel, this Amazon presentation pits polar opposites of a young British prince and the U.S. President's son against each other in mutual disdain, until a very public wedding cake debacle and subsequent enforced damage limitation sees them spend together and gradually (and unexpectedly) fall very much in love.  The comedy is breezy, broad and snappy, everyone is clearly having fun on-screen and the two leads (both strong young actors) inject bags of energy into the silly, frothy premise and their initially rather one-note characters (Nicholas Galitzine as the stiff-upper-lip Brit and Taylor Zakhar Perez as the playboy American).  Of note is an hilarious performance by Sarah Shahi as the American's despairing P.A.  Designed effectively for the social media generation (with texts and emails playing an important role on the screen and in the story), the film is an impossibly glossy and attractive, warm and of course totally unrealistic but pleasant rom-com with an unusually issue-led finale that resonates with recent royal stories and current issues that wraps up the journey well.
 

VOD: Unwelcome (dir: Jon Wright, 2023)

"We just came here for some peace!"

Director Jon Wright here returns to the comedy/horror arena of his earlier films Grabbers and Tormented, and Unwelcome has a similar feel to both.  After an unpleasant urban home invasion opening, a young couple (Hannah John-Kamen and Douglas Booth) relocate to the Irish countryside having been bequeathed a rural cottage, but find it is not quite as idyllic as they hoped, thanks to a challenging family of builders they hire to work on their new home and ancient malevolent goblin-like creatures who live in the wood at the bottom of the garden.  John-Kamen and Booth are good value as the besieged couple and have a credible on-screen connection, and  stalwarts including Colm Meaney, Chris Walley and Niamh Cusack give the rural Irish stereotypes some heft and presence, with a particularly nicely-judged performance by Kristian Nairn.  The first half may be too slow-burn, but the full-on finale has a gleeful energy and final descent in madness reminiscent of Ben Wheatley.  Director Wright achieves a good balance of humour and horror similar to his earlier films but here with a much darker edge, making Unwelcome quite...welcome.
 

VOD: How To Blow Up A Pipeline (dir: Daniel Goldhaber, 2022)

"Revolution has collateral damage."
"Yeah, but who's the collateral?"

The premise is simple: seven very different people/eco-activists from various walks of life come together to blow up a major oil distribution pipeline in Texas.  With an almost documentary-style precision combined with a strong electronic thriller score, the film offers an interesting mix of characters and a compelling narrative that drives the viewer to follow their (dangerous) preparations, find out the outcome and indeed consider if their motivations and actions are justified.  The individual backstories and how they all arrived at this point together are recounted through cleverly-used and aptly-positioned flashbacks.  With strong editing and cinematography, this is a well-constructed, straightforward and effective film.

 

VOD: Heart Of Stone (dir: Tom Harper, 2023)

"You know what you signed up for."

The ever-magnetic Gal Gadot here plays a double agent for MI6 and a shadowy group of ex-operatives The Charter on the trail of an elite computer programmer/hacker and a super-sophisticated AI system in this slick and muscular action-thriller.  The film positions itself alongside modern-day genre leaders such as the Mission: Impossible movies and the Bond series (with the great Sophie Okonedo here playing a more frosty world-weary version of Dench's M), its glamorous globetrotting , city-centre car chase and race-against-time finale all comfortably in place.  Whilst hardly ground-breaking, it is well-made, undemanding and entertaining action nonsense with some effective big set pieces.
 

VOD: Phenomena (a.k.a. Fenomenas) (dir: Carlos Theron, 2023)

"You can't waste your life chasing a ghost...!"

Apparently inspired by real events, the elevator pitch for this Spanish Netflix movie would be 'Ghostbusters played seriously', as three 'gifted' women come together to form a paranormal investigation team.  This is a good film if you like to play conventions bingo - lights flicker, cold spots, doors creak open slowly of their own accord, etc. - but suspense is built well and the spirits have a truly malevolent streak amidst the occasional bursts of melodrama and whimsy.  The three lead actresses are clearly enjoying themselves and play off each other well, and in spite of the actual amount of story being rather limited, there is enough of both comedy and thriller elements to give the film some life.

VOD: Fanfic (dir: Marta Karwowska, 2023)

"Sometimes, it's all too much for me..."

At times reminiscent of early Skins (when the TV show was good) and more recently Sex Education, Netflix presents this Polish story of Tosia/Toseik, a gender-transitioning 17-year-old and the developing relationship with new best friend Leon.  With their classmates exploring different aspects of the sexual spectrum, Fanfic fits in well with current teenage-based products, but its subjects are generally nicely played and well handled.  There is a good mix of mostly grounded realism and the occasional sweet artistic flourish, and it conveys different attitudes from both the teenagers and parents quite effectively.  The film has credible central characters - with a couple of glaring stereotypes on the sidelines - and it is well-meaning in its small-scale but purposeful storytelling.
 

VOD: The Inspection (dir: Elegance Bratton, 2022)

"You don't have to do this."

'Inspired by a true story', A24 presents this earnest tale of a gentle young homeless gay black man who, having been rejected and thrown out by his single mother, signs up to become a marine.  The Inspection covers just about every convention of rookie military training movies, even including dialogue, with some violent homophobia added to the mix. The electronic score attempts to give the events a contemporary feel, but whilst the film's sentiments are commendable, and Jeremy Pope's strong central performance carries the character's arc well, the film ultimately retreads familiar cinematic ground.