VOD: Hot Frosty (dir: Jerry Ciccoritti, 2024)

"Well, I was made of snow, and now I'm made of...not snow!"

With even the title inviting cynicism, and the unashamed fusing of elements of Jack Frost, Edward Scissorhands, Starman, The Snowman and George Of The Jungle (!), if taken in the right mood this is one of the more enjoyable recent festive rom-coms by a long way.  Set in the small town of Hope Springs, a down-at-luck diner owner Kathy (Lacey Chabert) is given a 'lucky' scarf which she puts on a muscular snowman in the town square and he subsequently comes to life in human form (Dustin Milligan); Kathy takes in the naïve and childlike Jack Snowman, and the film follows his relationship with her and his effect on the townspeople.  The film benefits from a very self-aware and affectionate script, with tongue-firmly-in-cheek and a nice balance of festive-movie trappings and sincerity.  Like the film itself, Christmas movie veteran Lacey Chabert (Family Guy's original Meg!) knows exactly how to play the humour and the more emotional moments, and Dustin Milligan is absolutely charming as the child-man-snowman (his reaction when Kathy bites the head off a snowman cookie is priceless!), with the whole cast clearly invested in the tone to good effect.   Putting aside the gender politics - suggesting that all women really want is a gym-honed man-child they can mother - the resulting mix gives rise to a good-humoured and utterly silly festive feel-good romp, with plenty of gags (including some unexpected funny daft jokes) and a surprisingly sincere message about making the most of what we are given and the time that we have. Even the bloopers and silly moments that play alongside the end credits are quite good fun.

 

VOD: The Bikeriders (dir: Jeff Nichols, 2024)

"Everyone wants to be part of something."

Inspired by a photographic coffee-table book about a late 60s/early 70s Midwest motorbike 'club', The Vandals, The Bikeriders at times plays like a more adult version of The Outsiders.  The story is told economically in order to focus on the characters, and it mostly looks very stylised and placed in a good way, almost as if every (relentlessly centred) shot could be a good-looking still image (no irony intended) as per the source material.  It explores its biker counterculture and its period setting effectively, from its portrayal of small-town life to the freedom and brotherhood offered by the lifestyle, but the ultimate hook here is the powerplay dynamics between newcomer Benny (Austin Butler), Kathy (Jodie Comer) and the older club leader and family man Johnny (Tom Hardy).  Butler does his soulful pretty-boy Depp-Junior-alike role to good effect, Hardy is a strong brooding senior powerhouse and Comer here is an absolute treat, acting as the viewers' delightfully-chatty entry into this particular world.  The film is a visually good-looking time capsule that is enjoyable to watch, even if ultimately it has little to say.
 

VOD: Kneecap (dir: Rich Peppiatt, 2024)

"The Troubles?  I'VE got f**king troubles!"

This fictionalised account of a pair of Belfast rappers who become the unlikely champions of their native language was a big Sundance audience favourite, and it is easy to see why.  Setting out its stall right at the start to represent Northern Ireland away from its filmic stereotype, it opens with an energetic rave-and-drugs sequence (that is also nicely humorous), which gives way to a  DJ-ing Irish-language teacher placed in the orbit of the hip-hop-loving youngsters, with their collaborations blowing up via gigging and social media and attracting attention both welcome and unwelcome with their pro-drugs/anti-British sentiments.  In spite of heavyweight themes of political freedom, culture under threat, family and disenfranchised youth as well as the divisions that still pervade, the film is warm-hearted, funny, dynamic and well-made and the leads - playing themselves - are immensely engaging.
 

VOD: MaXXXine (dir: Ti West, 2024)

"I would not accept a life I do  not deserve."

The trilogy closer from Ti West (after X and Pearl) sees the action move to 1980s Hollywood where adult star Maxine Minx tries to break into the big-league mainstream with a horror sequel whilst Tinseltown is in the grip of The Night Stalker's murderous spree and her own (family) past starts to catch up with her.  The film revels in recreating its time period and the seamier side of the business and does so to good effect.  It has a fun 80s-throwback score from Tyler Bates alongside a selection of 80s bangers, with context provided by iconic references from video rental stores to the PMRC music battle.  Mia Goth again delivers strong work in creating another character in the series, supported by many recognisable faces.  Made with confidence and clarity, the film may not be as shocking as it might have wanted, and the finale might be somewhat eye-rolling in stretching its links to the other movies, but it is an interesting swansong for a fairly unique series.
 

VOD: The Merry Gentlemen (dir: Peter Sullivan, 2024)

"You need a doctor, because this place is on life support."

Netflix delivers another seasonal rom-com with this tame Magic Mike meets The Fully Monty at Christmas mash-up.  It virtually writes itself, as a young dancer Ashley has to raise $30,000 in ten days to save her family's failing small-town bar/club from closure.  Hitting on the idea of an all-male dance revue in a single spectacularly-contrived scene, with an conveniently instantly-available quartet of ordinary local guys (bartender, diner owner, taxi driver, carpenter) who are buff and can dance, the film soon becomes little more than an excuse for former teen-girl heartthrob Chad Michael Murray as the sensitive handyman to get his shirt off at regular intervals, with Britt Robertson as Ashley powering through the nonsense with reasonable commitment, especially when the romantic sub-plot between the two lead hurtles out of nowhere and the tiny revue becomes inexplicably popular.  Daft and rigidly formulaic, this simple festive rom-com drifts by harmlessly. 

 

VOD: Meet Me Next Christmas (dir: Rusty Cundieff, 2024)

"Let fate decide."
 

Netflix kicks off the 2024 holiday season's movies with this good-looking and affable rom-com.  A charged chance encounter at a snowbound airport lounge on Christmas Eve leads to a promise to meet up one year later at a Pentatonix (American vocal harmony group) concert in a year's time, if fate dictates, giving rise to a story that echoes Serendipity and a trek through Christmassy New York for an elusive ticket to the sold-out gig.  The scenes (adverts?) with the actual band are fairly wince-inducing, but the film is saved by very appealing lead performances from Christina Milian and Devale Ellis, and whilst the film veers wildly between different tones - ranging from tear-jerking to uber-camp to typical rom-com set-ups - the lead characters are perhaps a little more rounded than usual for the genre.  Easy on the eyes and ears (plenty of laid-back Christmas tunes) and easy to watch, if you can tolerate the cheesier and more bizarre moments, the charming leads sell the frothy through-story well, all leading to a heartfelt ending that absolutely delivers.   

VOD: Rebel Ridge (dir: Jeremy Saulnier, 2024)

"One mind, any weapon."

Aaron Pierre stars in this Netflix action-thriller that sees a small town's corrupt local police force seizing former Marine Terry's money for a trumped-up misdemeanour, which would have been used to secure bail for his cousin, leading to a one-man battle against the bad guys.  Essentially an extremely subdued 2024 update of Rambo but with minimal action and violence, the film plods along at its relentlessly steady pace and never really delivers on its premise.  Aaron Pierre is capable both in measured ex-marine and  fighter modes, and Don Johnson is solidly unpleasant as the town's chief of police.  The first extended part is a fairly effective slow-burn thriller set-up, with the second half working out why the town became so corrupt and Terry meting out vengeance, but even a late-in-the-day one man versus the entire town/police force face-off fails to lift the film above sincere but plodding.
 

VOD: Bad Boys Ride Or Die (dirs: Adil el Arbi and Bilall Fallah, 2024)

"It's like redneck Jurassic Park in here!"

Following the surprisingly effective (and belated) third Bad Boys movie, this fourth entry sees Marcus and Mike's deceased police captain framed on corruption charges, internal corruption puts the duo on the run, Mike having to make an impossible choice, Marcus making an amazingly rapid recovery from a serious health scare and the remnants of the trustworthy team facing down the bad guys in an abandoned amusement/water park.  Will Smith mostly plays it straight and delivers effectively, Martin Lawrence - especially in the first part - gets saddled with some excruciating comedy lines, and Jacob Scipio (Mike's estranged son) gets a couple of brief but very well-executed fight scenes.  As usual, this neon-soaked film looks terrific - especially in UHD - and the story has potential although the writing is not as sharp as the previous film.  Perhaps reducing the lame attempts at comedy - we get it, they are older now - including the silly end-credits clip - might have made this a stronger entry in the franchise.
 

VOD: Back To Black (dir: Sam Taylor-Johnson, 2024)

"I ain't no f**king Spice Girl!"

With the rise and horrifying fall of the tragic star still relatively fresh, this Amy Winehouse biopic is respectful enough to the point of merely hinting at the sad depth of her troubles.  An excellent cast does its best with some awkward dialogue, with Jack O'Connell giving the standout performance as her cocky but destructive soulmate Blake - here Danny Dyer via Dermot O'Leary - and Lesley Manville touching as her beloved grandmother, whilst Marisa Abela plays Amy with a largely unexpected softness.  The film positions Winehouse as a mix of child-like waif and an old-out-of-time jazz-loving soul as she starts out, both dismissive of, yet utterly dependent on, the feckless men in her life.  Her songwriting is used a a literal record of her life experiences, and the film does a good job of contextualising some of the key numbers.  Camden is used well as her stamping ground backdrop, but Amy's parents remain oddly shadowy figures.  The Shangri-Las are purposefully referenced as evoking the tragic melodrama that became Winehouse's later life, but what maybe should have been sharp and harrowing to watch plays more like a 2000s re-run of The Rose. 
 

VOD: Time Cut (Hannah Macpherson, 2024)

"We're not altering the future, we're just giving it...a little makeover..."

Bearing some similarities to 2023's Totally Killer but filmed first, a miserable teenager jumps back in time twenty years via a mysterious machine in a barn and tries to prevent her sister's murder at the hands of a masked killer.  Whereas Totally Killer was skewed towards daft comedy-horror, Time Cut goes for the YA teen girl emotional tropes - cue 2003 fashion makeover, bonding with the (teen) sister she never knew, Avril Lavigne on the soundtrack and the hilarity of dial-up internet.  It is all rather insipid and low-powered, leaving little impression and with an ending that abandons its own earlier considerations of timelines and paradoxes.  
 

VOD: MadS (dir: David Moreau, 2024)

"What's happened?  Why are you being all weird?"

A young party guy comes across a mysterious injured hysterical young woman by the roadside, but as he takes her to get help it sets in motion a chain of events that sees him steadily losing grip on reality - drugs-fuelled, or an experimental viral pandemic? - in this semi-experimental French psychological thriller/horror.  The story is told in near real-time, with a freeform use of camera (lots of lengthy shots off-tripod) following the characters to create a sense of intimacy and immediacy.  The experimental style with its hallucinatory and nightmarish use of visuals and sound (including a Pink Floyd-ish score) keeps the film veering between interesting and patience-testing, in what may be seen as a post-pandemic response movie.  Where the film falls down is that it reaches a natural conclusion just over half-way through, the remainder veering into familiar territory that is perhaps less interesting and adds very little.