VOD: Superman (dir: James Gunn, 2025)

"Hot damn - it's a flying dog!"
 

 ...and so we get another Superman for another generation, as James Gunn kick-starts the next iteration of the cinematic DC Universe, cleaving very close to comic-book style and delivering a film that is great fun if uneven in some respects and which twelve-year-old boys are going to absolutely love - if you like your Superman Cavill-serious, this will not be much to your liking.  It gets a lot of things right:  David Corenswet's Superman has a pleasing child-like naiveté balancing the considerable power, Nicholas Hoult delivers possibly the best Lex Luthor seen so far with a mean and calculating nastiness, Rachel Brosnaham does Lois Lane via Scream's Gale Weathers, there are great takes on Perry White, Jimmy Olsen and the Kents, and above all Krypto/SuperDog is an instant scene-stealing loveable crazy star.  There are some spectacular and powerful action set-pieces, and the whole affair is infused with Gunn's silly humour - there are plenty of genuine chuckles to be had along the way.  Where it perhaps falters is when it tries to inject anything more heavyweight, noticeable more in the first act, in which an unnecessarily extended 'relationship'/interview scene between Lois and Clark/Superman seems to exist simply to establish that they are adults, as if it were needed.  Many touchstones remain intact: The Fortress Of Solitude looks great, the suit works on screen, and even John Williams's iconic theme gets the Top Gun treatment.  Overall, it does enough to freshen up the property and is a likeable and  entertaining enough spectacle if ultimately rather lightweight and forgettable.  The first of two end-credits scenes sums up the film in a very sweet way indeed.

VOD: We Live In Time (dir: John Crowley, 2024)

"I'm worried that there's a very distinct and real possibility that I am about to fall in love with you."

This sweet but grounded romantic drama follows the relationship between chef  Almut (Florence Pugh) and divorced IT guy Tobias (Andrew Garfield), with all its moments of pure joy and utter heartbreak, from their first pure rom-com chance collision to the profound impact of a cancer diagnosis.  This intimate film is droll, charming and heartwarming, delivered in a consistently gentle and largely credible way, floating along on a gorgeously ethereal soundtrack.  Blessed with two superb lead actors in Pugh and Garfield, their relationship is almost hypnotically engaging through their finely-nuanced and unpretentious performances.  With its non-linear storytelling cleverly adding extra pathos to events, the film is nevertheless simple and clear in its honesty and truthfulness, aided by its single-camera-style shooting.  Quite simply, We Live In Time is a beautiful little slice-of-life film.
 

VOD: The Old Guard 2 (dir: Victoria Mahoney, 2025)

"Time means nothing...until it means everything..."
 

Five years after the original Netflix hit, this sequel finally emerges from its post-production delays and proves to be another watchably silly and spritely action-fest, this time with added Uma Thurman.  It wastes no time getting down to business, with the OG team on a vague mission in sunny Croatia and the First Immortal (Thurman) resurrecting an embittered immortal Quynh from the bottom of the sea and seeking vengeance on former close ally Andy (Charlize Theron) and her gang.  The easy-going banter and camaraderie between the team members is a strength, but the script's boundless need to emphasis just how long these immortals have been around becomes irritating.  The visuals are ultra-glossy, pin-sharp and very attractive to watch, and the refreshingly female-driven fight sequences are snappy and executed well, as the action and plot zip around the globe with carefree abandon.  Henry Golding is a good addition as the library-keeper of ancient immortals texts that enables the mythology to deepen effortlessly, and the sparingly-used Thurman exudes villainous and manipulative cool to good effect.  The Old Guard 2 is well-made, slick, nonsensical, lightweight and forgettable entertainment of the highest order, and it famously ends on a very confident sequel-baiting cliffhanger.

VOD: The Captives (dir: Frankie Chung, 2024)

"Be my slave."

Earth has under attack from increasingly-hostile alien creatures in this lurid Chinese sci-fi actioner, with a search for the mother 'worm' and an ultimate showdown that will decide the fate of humanity.  Akin to a top-end mockbuster from The Asylum, where ambition surpasses execution, talent and budget, there are plenty of fast-scuttling creatures (which look better as the film goes on), viral telepathy/mind control and the usual unashamed nods to Alien, The Matrix and Robocop, accompanied by a bombastic music score and all jammed together in a repetitively episodic and somewhat basic if muddled story.  Biao Diao's intense turn as a human/alien hybrid stands out from a generally unremarkable cast, and there are occasional moments of good visual ideas and reasonable action amongst the weaker elements.  There is a fairly long mid-credits behind-the-scenes sequence. 
 

VOD: Warfare (dirs: Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza, 2025)

"Don't be afraid.  Nothing will happen to you."

A24 presents this story - based closely on real events - of a Navy Seal platoon in Iran, 2006, undertaking a surveillance mission and sniper support for a U.S. Marines operation, but finds itself holed up in a family's home and at the receiving end of a devastating attack, cut off and under siege and facing an agonising wait for extraction.  Effectively a bottle show for most of its runtime, and after a first act that is a deliberately very-low-key waiting game, the action scenes are intense, immediate and brutal, told in almost real-time.  The troop-under-attack element works really well, and it is interesting to follow how the individual soldiers react differently as their situation changes.  The low-key/l-fi approach used here gives the film a visceral feel, and in a solid ensemble stand-outs are perhaps Joseph Quinn, D'Pharoah Woon-A-Tai and the ever-reliable Will Poulter.  The final montage that juxtaposes the actors' photos with their real-life counterparts, including some on-set footage, gives weight to what is a perhaps basic but inevitably impactful movie. 
 

VOD: Ocean With David Attenborough (dirs: Toby Nowlan, Keith Scholey and Colin Butfield, 2025)

"For once you've truly seen the sea, you'll never look at Earth in the same way again."

This feature-length National Geographic documentary was given a brief cinema run, and once it establishes the sheer majesty and sweep of the underwater world, it does not take long for the harsh realities of human behaviour and its effects to be hard-hittingly presented.  The biggest emotional impact of the film lies in revealing the destructive horror of industrial metal bottom-trawlers and huge floating factories, juxtaposing thriving lush ecosystems with scenes of bleak annihilation to devastating effect.  The film relishes in its use of full widescreen and stunning extra long shots in order to convey the scale and beauty of the oceans, which it achieves to great effect, with its focus on discovery, diversity and connections.  Giving the film the gravitas of his own later-life reflections, Attenborough's narration is of course calmly disturbing yet reassuringly positive, but even the third act's demonstration of the positive impact of protected reserves on regenerating ecosystems feels cautious in the face of what has been shown earlier in the film.  The vibrancy of colour and macro-detail, alongside a dreamy and classy music score, makes for a captivating and absorbing viewing experience that makes its message very clear indeed.
 

FILM: Jurassic World Rebirth (dir: Gareth Edwards. 2025)

"No-one's dumb enough to go where we're going!"

Only three years since the second-trilogy closer Dominion, the new (seventh) Jurassic movie moves the timeline along five years in a fairly stand-alone chapter that for the most part frees itself from its overburdened immediate predecessor, but still containing playful nods to the franchise's past.  After a pulpy prologue and a lengthy (and wordy) first act that assembles a group of hire-for-pay mercenaries along with a scientist, a local sailor and an Aliens/Burke-like shady company suit that does a good job of establishing the main characters, the film then sets itself - story and structure - on three missions to collect live DNA from sea/land/air creatures for world-changing medical research and then escape from Ile Saint-Hubert, another long-abandoned Ingen R&D site.  Gareth Edwards wrangles the giant-creature elements with the expected aplomb, with true blockbusterly-spectacular action set-pieces (the highlight being the surprisingly Jaws-like extended seabound section), alongside more interestingly-drawn characters than perhaps usual for this franchise, with an excellent top-line cast of Jonathan Bailey, Mahershala Ali and especially Scarlett Johannson, all of whom bring a brisk but grounded and very watchable humanity to their roles.  Just when you think the film has evaded the franchise's seeming demand for a cute child every time, up pops a random and dull shipwrecked family, whose B-plot journey offers the most uninteresting parts of the movie, bar a tense river escapade.   Although Rebirth looks and feels quite fresh, ultimately it delivers more of the same that has been shown before in the series but bigger or with a slight twist on previously-used scenarios and locations, such as the classic 'kitchen stalking' scene here taking place in a similarly-aisled gas-station shop, as the series at this point can do little but cannibalise itself.  Nevertheless, Rebirth is certainly one of the better entries in the series so far in spite of the lacklustre family strand, with main characters that do not irritate and some genuinely sweeping big-screen visuals.  

 

FILM: 28 Years Later (dir: Danny Boyle, 2025)

"You feel good?"

"I think so."

After nearly two decades, this third film in the cycle was definitely worth the wait.  Opening with a typically brutal attack highlighting (foreshadowing?) the fact that no community is safe in the Rage-virus-ravaged situation, what then unexpectedly emerges is an absorbing and intelligently-written coming-of-age/rites-of-passage tale that follows twelve-year-old Spike, as he makes his first trip from their isolated island community with his father to the unsecure Infected-filled mainland and finds himself facing the nature of mortality and some harsh realities concerning both parents.  The film cleverly places this current tale into the of 28 Days/Weeks world through conversational drop-ins (with the ending of the second film dismissed in a single sentence on the opening title screen), a couple of which very humorously highlight the boy's isolation as the rest of the world has moved on in ways familiar to us today.  It is very, very Danny Boyle, and cinematically uses many signature tricks from multiple and unusually-deployed cameras, near-experimental collisions of visuals and sound, flash-cut action and masterful moments of beautiful visual composition, which might not be to the taste of casual fans of The Walking Dead looking for a straightforward zombie munch-fest (although the film does not stint on that aspect, with brisk attack sequences that are uneasily tense and full-blooded).  The evolution of the Infected gives a new edge, with the pack mentality and the mighty Alphas offering a new threat.  The film also veers off into unexpected and interesting places, notably in the second half and particularly after a pivotal heartbreaking central family scene and a subsequent decision that fuels the rest of the movie, which maintains interest and develops both story and emotional core well.  The lead family trio is nothing short of superb, with utterly captivating performances by Jodie Comer as the ailing mother, Aaron-Taylor Johnson as the gritty practical father and a truly remarkable turn by young Alfie Williams as their son Spike who carries the film so well, and there two very strong character performances from Ralph Fiennes and Edvin Ryding. A couple of seeds are sown as potential for the second film in this proposed new trilogy (with no end-credits scene(s)), including a final scene which has a tonal shift that is somewhat jarring and may suggest a somewhat different film without Danny Boyle in the director's chair.  Nevertheless, 28 Years Later is elevated horror that offers a genuine and absorbing emotional journey and is extremely well made. 

 

VOD: Heart Eyes (dir: Josh Ruben, 2025)

"Hope Cupid shoots you in the d*ck!"
 

Yet another holiday/calendar murderfest sees a bemasked Valentine's Day serial killer (hence the title) of loved-up couples back on the rampage, as thrown-together co-workers Jay and Ally are mistaken for a romantic pair by the Heart Eyes Killer and find themselves a very real target in this fun and self-aware rom-com-horror.  Mason Gooding is on full screen-charm offensive and Olivia Holt giving a likeably confident performance in the lead roles, and indeed the whole cast understands the tone of the film and works well, including the fun casting of Jordana Brewster and Devon Sawa as a pair of unfortunately-named detectives and Gigi Zumbado particularly good as Ally's sassy best friend.  Heart Eyes works mostly because of its effective balance of the serious elements (gruesome horror and police procedural) with breezy and snarky comedy that never cancel out each other, and it has a lively energy that makes it easily watchable.  It knows its genre well - stalwart rampages at a police station and a drive-in movie are handled deftly - right through to the full-tilt Scream-style finale.  Heart Eyes sits at the lightweight but entertaining end of the horror genre spectrum but is well-made, and as such it works very well indeed.  (There is a mid-credits sequence).

VOD: Predator - Killer Of Killers (dirs: Dan Trachtenberg and Josh Wassung, 2025)

"Did you kill the monster?"

Dan Trachtenberg's 'secret' project is this full-blooded animated entry into the Predator universe, taking the anthology-style approach of four episodes, opening by pitting a Predator against a band of vengeful Vikings, before moving to seventeenth-century Japan and then World War II, before cleverly bringing the key fighters from each era together for a full-on finale battle royale.  In its favour, the film establishes and melds the Predator and Viking worlds extremely effectively from the outset through its characters and use of familiar iconography, which is then replicated through the other time periods.  Impressively occupying a space between video-game and photorealism in an interesting painterly style, the whole story is realised very cinematically and the action sequences are effectively dynamic and handled extremely well.  Each episode has enough ideas to make it interesting, with perhaps The Bullet's aerial dogfight against a Predator ship being a real highlight, and whilst the relatively short twenty-minutes segments give little room for full development they are written strongly and the pace is kept brisk, making Killer Of Killers a pleasingly lively lightweight romp.