VOD: Star Trek Section 31 (dir: Olatunde Osunsanmi, 2025)

"Why are you laughing?"
"Because I can't imagine things getting much worse."

Having gone through various story and format permutations - originally conceived as a standard TV series - this character spin-off from Star Trek: Discovery lands as a 'television event movie', in which Emperor Georgiou is tracked down to join The Federation's clandestine operations unit to infiltrate a universe-scale terrorist threat from beyond Federation space.  After a strong and promising flashback opening that reveals Georgiou's early days, the film quickly sets itself up as a noisy, talky, bog-standard Mission: Impossible-styled sci-fi runaround that tries to do something different from the veteran franchise but is quite dull in spite of some whizzy VFX sequences, as the team chases the MacGuffin (here, a Terran biotech weapon) from one location to the next.  Michelle Yeoh, the driving force behind this enterprise, is clearly having fun and plays her familiar character with relish, which the rest of the anonymous Section 31 team makes very little impression, apart from Brit Rob Kazinsky as a gobby cyber-Hicks who does not get enough screen time.  The Star Trek universe has always relied on the interactions and relationships between its characters built up over time, making a one-off such as this difficult with which to fully engage.
 

VOD: Trap (dir: M. Night Shyamalan, 2024)

"Monsters aren't real!"
"Oh, yes, they are."

Shyamalan's latest twisty indie thriller sees caring father/serial killer Cooper (Josh Hartnett) take his teen daughter (Ariel Donoghue) to an arena gig by her music idol, Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan), only to find himself trapped as the FBI close in on the killer.  The situation and writing are of the simple join-the-dots variety and transparently uncomplicated, although the Shyamalans nail the current trend of barely-talented narcissistic young female singers who reel in impressionable young fans with tales of vapid self-confession.  In spite of a fairly spoilerific trailer, Shyamalan delivers the mechanism of the big reveal and subsequent story well, as the film switches smartly from one bottle situation to another halfway through.  Josh Hartnett carries the film extremely well together with Ariel Donoghue as his convincing teen-fan daughter, there is a notable supporting performance from Alison Pill as his wife in the third act, and veteran Hayley Mills is cast oddly as the lead FBI profiler.  Overall, this is a solid if fairly inessential thriller that is delivered slickly - do stay watching for the fun early credits scene. 

 

VOD: Emilia Perez (dir: Jacques Audiard, 2024)

"I have a proposition for you."

This divisive awards-season favourite tells the story of a powerful Mexican drugs boss (Karla Sofia Gascon) who fakes death, transitions and works back into the lives of her family by posing as a long-lost aunt, and a young female lawyer (Zoe Saldana) hired to see through the whole process.  The film's biggest challenge to the viewer is fusing big dramatic themes (Mexican stereotyping, transitioning, 'the disappeared', family) with the musical format, which is successful to a large extent.  While much of the attention has focused on Karla Sofia Gascon, who gives a solid performance here, it is Zoe Saldana who excels right from her difficult opening number, with good back-up from Selena Gomez as the younger wife.  As a musical film, it is very contemporary in style, with effectively-integrated sung moments rather than big Broadway-style blockbuster numbers.  The film sometimes awkwardly lurches between heavy genuine emotion and pure telenovela melodrama at the drop of a hat, especially in the contrived finale.  The film might have benefitted from establishing more of the pre-transition character at the start - this is not a film that delves into the physical and emotional journey, with the actual transitioning being disregarded with an almighty ellipsis - but the arcs of its three lead female characters makes for an unusual if full-on drama to watch.

VOD: Blink Twice (dir: Zoe Kravitz, 2024)

"Success is the best revenge."

This popular glossy psychological thriller sees a tech billionaire (Channing Tatum) invite waitress Frida (Naomi Ackles) and her friend to his private island for a vacation with his friends, where a series of very dark secrets slowly start to be revealed.  The set-up follows the get out pattern, as an alien but seemingly idyllic situation starts dropping clues that all is definitely not as it appears with slowly-unfolding mysteries and smart revelations.  The film plays into current trends of toxic masculinity, privilege, power, wealth and societal obsession with the superficial alongside an effectively structured story.  Naomi Ackles is an engaging protagonist, Channing Tatum gives a strong and thoughtful performance, and there is good supporting character work from Genna Davis, Hayley Joel Osment and Christian Slater.  The final act - when everything falls apart and the true horror is revealed  - is a tough watch thematically, but it is executed well as is the film overall.
 

VOD: Sunflower (dir: Gabriel Carrubba, 2024)

"It gets better, you know."

This somewhat dour Australia coming-of-age drama follows suburban Melbourne teen Leo as he grapples with school, friendships, bullies and sexuality.  It is told in a rather lethargic and moribund manner with no genre cliché left unturned (even an illuminated Ferris Wheel at night makes an appearance).  Performances are solid enough, and after seventy minutes of very restrained and earnest drama, this slight but sincere film ends on a thankfully positive note.
 

VOD: Starve Acre (dir: Daniel Kokotajlo, 2024)

"I don't know why you'd want to come here."

Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark star in this bleak, creepy slow-burn British folk-horror tale as a young couple living in his father's remote house on the moors, kicking off with the young son inexplicably blinding a pony at the village fair, followed by an even bigger tragic event that brings ancient primal forces into their home and their lives, all tied to the land.  Full of desolate landscapes and ominous soundscapes, past and present collide and the couple's life unravels fatefully.  Smith and Clark both give very nicely subdued and controlled performances that makes the couple watchably down-to-earth as they struggle with grief and the supernatural.  The tension between everyday reality and superstition hums uneasily in the background to good effect, and themes of parenthood, loss and belief are explored well.  Starve Acre is a quiet, understated and interesting film, even if it feels as if it never quite edelivers fully. 
 

VOD: Back In Action (dir: Seth Gordon, 2025)

"I think I might be airsick."
"OK - not in the air yet, though..."

Back In Action sees the welcome return of Cameron Diaz after a long break, partnered with Jamie Foxx in another slick cookie-cutter Netflix action-comedy as former CIA couple, now living in suburbia with a couple of teenage kids and forced on the run when their cover is unexpectedly blown and their previous final mission comes back to haunt them.  As is standard for this type of enterprise, the film looks very glossy, has a couple of huge expensive-looking set pieces and some good physical/stunt work, with the rather obvious comedy being mostly based around generation-gap and culture-clash differences (and Jamie Demetriou as an incredibly irritating MI6-wanabee).  The material is elevated considerably by Diaz and Foxx's easy professionalism and energy in both the action and family/comedy elements.  The first half is the more interesting, as the film grinds to a halt halfway through and then limps along to the end with a lot of running around and a reasonable concluding chase along London's South Bank/River Thames (with some attractive night shooting) and a sequel-baiting ending.  The formula may be over-familiar, but Back In Action is pleasant enough if forgettable entertainment. 
 

VOD: The Substance (dir: Coralie Fargeat, 2024)

"This is network TV, not a f**king charity!"

Coralie Fargeat's intriguing and stylish body-horror update of the Dorian Gray story follows the diminishing fortunes of Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore), an ageing actress/TV fitness guru in an age-conscious industry who seeks rejuvenation through a secretive treatment with very disturbing consequences.  Clearly pitched somewhere between David Lynch and 80s David Cronenberg with a bit of Kubrick thrown in for good measure, its shiny sterile design provides an effective backdrop to the unpleasant transformative body-horror that the unwitting protagonist suffers, amplified by unnerving dramatic extreme close ups and an unflinching camera.  Demi Moore truly shines in the lead role with a very open and fearless performance that mines the character's vulnerability and sadness to good effect, Dennis Quaid brings to life the unsavoury sleazy TV executive well and Margaret Qualley handles the character arc of Elisabeth's younger incarnation with great energy.  At its heart the film has a somewhat simple idea, but the film makes salient points effectively regarding the ephemeral nature of the entertainment industry, gender inequality and the fetishistic superficial values of the modern world, provocative in both its exposure of issues and its treatment of the human body. but it also delivers on the squelchy body-horror front as well with a bloody large-scale Grand Guignol finale that would make Brian Yuzna proud, all of which makes The Substance a bold and interesting movie to watch.   
 

VOD: Perfect Days (dir: Wim Wenders, 2024)

"Why can't things just stay the same?"

Originally considered as a documentary, this much-admired Oscar-nominated film is a gentle and perfectly-formed treat that follows the simple and ordered daily life of Hirayama (played superbly Koji Yakusho), a custodian of public toilets in Tokyo, and the things he enjoys - nature, reading, music - with small but significant reveals about his wider life along the way through people he encounters.  Veteran Wim Wenders (who also co-wrote) paints a masterful portrait of an ordinary man who finds fulfilment in a busy and complicated world.  It is beautifully shot, with wonderful use of composition and and eye for finding beauty in the everyday.  The film makes a clear point about living an analogue life - print books, cassette tapes, camera film, but Hirayama does have a mobile phone as a utility) - and like its protagonist, it is a quiet, precise and gentle movie that finds its pleasures in the little details and simple moments in life that everyone can feel.  The restrained and beautiful ending packs a real and unexpected emotional punch to a most positive and life-affirming film.    
 

VOD: Speak No Evil (dir: James Watkins, 2024)

"Our normal isn't their normal.  They're just a bit more - I don't know - unvarnished."

This swift remake of the 2022 Danish thriller relocates the action to England and sees two families strike up a holiday friendship that leads to the London couple being invited to the other couple's isolated rural retreat, where the clashing values and cultures increasingly revealing themselves to unnerving effect and leading to an ultimately devastating situation in this very grim but generally satisfying pulpy movie.  Reminiscent of the stylish 80s/90s psychological thrillers from the likes of Sluizer, Haneke and Osterdahl, the performers are very committed, the claustrophobic situation is delivered effectively and there is a gloriously-handled moment of realisation over the rural son's actual situation. James McAvoy's excellent, unbridled and very physical alpha-male performance dominates the movie, nicely contrasted by Scott McNairy's finely-judged everyman, with Mackenzie Davies and Aisling Franciosi working well with their slowly-developing character arcs as their respective wives.  The final act in particular may feel very familiar, but overall this is a solid take on the genre.