VOD: I Swear (dir: Kirk Jones, 2025)

"They could deliver it to my house."
"John, it's an M.B.E., not a pizza!"
 

This delightful biopic of Tourette's Syndrome campaigner John Davidson is both educational as well as a profoundly moving personal study, from 1983 and his childhood years in Galashiels as a likeable typical lad (paper round, fishing, football) starting secondary school, developing uncontrollable tics and behaviours that were undiagnosed and recognised at the time which had a profound effect on his family, then jumping forward over a decade to life as a young adult, when he meets two adults who have a profound impact on his life that ultimately leads to him reaching out and helping others with the condition.  As the adult John, Robert Aramayo does a remarkable job, matched by a wonderfully sensitive performance by Scott Ellis Watson as his teenage counterpart, and Maxine Peake (as John's best friend's understanding mother who takes him in) and Peter Mullan (as the caretaker who takes John under his wing) are simply delightful to watch.  The film succeeds not only in showing people's/society's responses and attitudes to Tourette's but also the impact it has on a person having to deal with it personally, mining the real difficulties with warmth and humour but also an unflinching look at the real-life difficulties created by the condition.  Extremely well-crafted, utterly heartwarming and heartbreaking, I Swear is a great addition the canon of exceptional small-scale homegrown British true-life-story movies.

VOD: Sisu - Road To Revenge a.k.a. Sisu 2 (dir: Jalmari Helander, 2025)

"No need to say anything."

This sequel to 2022's unexpected and entertaining Sisu is a solid continuation of Aatami's story (Jorma Tommila), offering more of the same but with a slightly lighter tone that weighs more into the outrageousness of this one-man killing machine as he tries to rebuild after the war ends, going into occupied territory to transport his family home back to Finland, but the release of Dragunov (Stephen Lang in full nemesis mode) - the man who killed Aatami's family - sees Aatami on a revenge vendetta and Druganov tasked with finishing off this unstoppable force of nature.  It does not take long for the familiar mash-up of Western/MacGuyver/Terminator mayhem  kicks in, and the devastating personal and national after-effects of war weigh heavily, with short comic-book-style 'chapters' following Aatami as he tries to get back to Finland through Russian-occupied territory and driving the narrative purposefully.  The lack of dialogue cleverly intensifies the depth of Aatami's feelings, and there is plenty of squelch, explosions and dark humour that would keep Tommy Wirkola and Takashi Miike very happy indeed.  It all leads to an outrageous final face-off and a charmingly moving final pay-off that makes Road To Revenge an effective mix of offering more of the familiar whilst moving forward.

 

VOD: Zootropolis 2 a.k.a. Zootopia 2 (dirs: Jared Bush and Byron Howard, 2025)

"Is there a reason why you don't take anything seriously?"
"Jokes are a classic defence mechanism for someone with a traumatic childhood."
"Would you like a traumatic adulthood?"
"I would not."

Disney's sequel to its massive 2016 animated hit sees Judy (the rabbit) and Nick (the fox) as mismatched rookie cops on the trail of supposed criminal mastermind Gary De'Snake, but they fall foul of corrupt Zootropolis bosses (the lynxes) and find themselves on the run, trying to expose the bad guys and restoring the status of the outcasts.  The film delivers more of the same that made the first film so successful (right down to a final rousing speech and concluding musical number), with a busy and frenetic scattershot energy that mostly lands - the Ratatouille and The Shining gags are particularly fun.  The strong and often recognisable voice cast delivers well, its gorgeously vibrant colours, madcap cartoon energy and appealingly anthropomorphised cute animal characters will appeal hugely to its young target audience, and the insane level of CG-animated detail is impressive.  It may lack the witty freshness of the original, it is a tad overlong and the pacing is a little uneven, but Zootropolis 2 has enough visual and comic inventiveness to stand up as an acceptable first sequel.  A brief post-end-credits scene alludes to an (inevitable) third entry.

 

VOD: War Machine (dir: Patrick Hughes, 2026)

"Who's the full-fledged moron responsible for this clusterf**k?"
"Who's the meathead calling me a moron?"

The elevator pitch for this in-your-face Netflix sci-fi actioner was probably 'It's Predator...but with an extra-terrestrial killing machine!', as a band of trainee elite army rangers at a remote Colorado training camp, led by '81' (the formidable Alan Ritchson), are on a final recon-and-rescue test mission where they unexpectedly find themselves up against a relentless alien murder-bot (think love-child of an AT-AT and ED-209).  With a thunderous soundtrack, training montages and a haunted veteran hero, the first act offers all the military genre conventions it can muster, before turning into a straightforward cat-and-mouse survival thriller.  The scenery/location settings looks spectacular (shot beautifully and used well), the violence is unflinching with well-executed stunt work, and the excellent sparingly-used effects work is integrated into the action well.  Ritchson's committed presence sells the fast-moving story, with the rest of the thinly-drawn troupe likeable if disposable.  War Machine is a familiar and straightforward but slick, well-executed and entertaining enough ride.
 

VOD: Baby (dir: Marcelo Caetano, 2025)

"Have you ever been in love?"
"I think so..."

This acclaimed moody Brazilian drama sees Wellington (Joao Pedro Mariano), a young man newly released from a youth detention centre, abandoned by his parents and trying to carve out an existence on the Sao Paolo streets under the mentorship of a caring older hustler Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro) with whom he forms a turbulent relationship.  Another film looking at the underbelly of the big city, the film has a cool percussion-driven soundtrack, and the use of camera to follow or find Wellington on-screen throughout creates an intimate journey together with the semi-documentary style employed.  Set against the usual harsh elements of street life is a surprisingly tender central relationship, played out with two solid central performances that make Baby a watchable story.
 

VOD: Dead Of Winter (dir: Brian Kirk, 2025)

"You had to pick the middle of nowhere..."

Although filmed in Finland, snowy Minnesota is the setting for this moderate action-adventure, in which stoic Barb (a game Emma Thompson) embarks on a solo fishing trip out in the wilderness, where she manages to stumble across the kidnap of a young woman held in an isolated cabin, attempts to rescue her and puts herself in danger in the process.  The beautifully bleak and stark Finnish winter backdrop and drained colour palette give the film an icy chill, contrasting with happier sunnier flashbacks of good times past which highlight Barb's current and increasingly dangerous predicament.  Emma Thompson invests heavily in her character performance both physically and emotionally which pays off well, ably supported by Judy Greer and Marc Menchaca as the desperate kidnappers with a sinister agenda.  It is a very contained and slow-burn story which is quite straightforward and limited, and Volker Bertelmann's suitably ominous score does of lot of tension heavy lifting alongside occasional moments of violence and Idiot Plot, but Dead Of Winter overall does a reasonable job of engaging the viewer as it twists a tired genre with added emotional depth and a more senior female lead.
 

FILM: Scream 7 (dir: Kevin Williamson, 2026)

"You did theatre?"

"Not since college..."

Following a well-publicised rocky road with production and personnel, Scream 7 arrives as a reasonably slick and entertaining product.  Following the re-energising and subsequent big city relocation of the franchise for Radio Silence's enjoyable V and VI, the return of the very first film's scripter Kevin Williamson doubles down on the nostalgia front and the franchise's female leads.  After a slightly drawn-out signature pre-title sequence, the first act establishes Sidney's quiet life in a small town (rather like Woodsboro) with her sheriff  husband and children (including her fractious relationship with older teen daughter, Tatum) that is soon upended by the appearance of her old nemesis Ghostface, seemingly the deceased Stu from the original movie, and a familiar string of kills and personal threat follows.  The first act is somewhat talky and determined to reference all the the previous movies as much as possible, but it then does not take long for the fast, furious and somewhat mean-spirited murders to decimate Sidney and her daughter's immediate circle, reducing the possible suspects dramatically (with an outcome that is not dissimilar to one of the Friday The 13th films).  As has become typical of recent long-running horror franchises, the focus is on the empowered female leads, and indeed Courtney Cox and the returning Neve Campbell are undoubtedly excellent in these roles, with Isabel May a strong addition as teen daughter Tatum, and the males largely expendable (although Joe McHale gives solid support as a good husband for Sidney, and Asa Germann is good fun as the neighbour's star-struck son).  If there is an issue - and it is for the franchise as a whole rather than singling out this particular film - it is that it again follows the exact same narrative template as its predecessors, so it becomes a case of doing it well (which Scream 7 does by and large, notably in the pacier action moments) rather than creating  something genuinely innovative - one can only imagine what Christopher Landon's take on the material might have been.   There is a lot of fan-pleasing here, from unexpected cameos to almost throwaway references (which will bemuse viewers without much knowledge of the previous films), and Williamson still knows how to deliver some wry grim humour, although there is an annoying over-reliance on isolating characters by responding to unlikely off-scream noises.  There is obviously value in seeing Sidney re-positioned as a middle-aged mother here, and Scream 7 is a solid entry in the franchise, but its over-familiarity and desperate clinging to the past is a tad concerning going forward.  Note: the mid-credits sequence is nothing more than a trio of seemingly inessential improvised outtakes.
 

VOD: Black Phone 2 (dir: Scott Derrickson, 2025)

"Maybe I like weird."

The sequel to Blumhouse's big horror/thriller hit moves the story on to a wintry 1982, with both an older troubled Finn and psychic Gwen clearly still affected by the events of the first film that relocates the action to a winter Christian camp as trainee counsellors where their mother worked, and providing a grim backstory that neatly links the present to past events in 1957, with The Grabber back to avenge his own death.  There is a clear choice made to move the story away from its gritty urban milieu and exploration of the community impact of the first film to more generic horror-fantasy tropes, full of stylised 'dream' imagery and increasingly repetitive and drawn-out scenes which become infused with elements of Elm Street and numerous possession films.  Mason Thames proves to be strong young actor even though here he is not given enough to work with in what is a largely haphazard and lacklustre follow-up that stretches a thin idea to its limits.
 

VOD: Him (dir: Justin Tipping, 2025)

"Sports - theatre with real consequences."

In what is possibly an attempt to create a new cross-genre - the psychological sports horror - the film shows rising star American footballer Cameron Cade (Tyriq Withers) attacked brutally the night before being scouted, resulting in a possibly career-ending brain injury that leads him to an increasingly extreme and unhinged boot camp run by his idol (Marlon Wayans).  It is a flabby, messy, melodramatic and overlong movie but provides a reasonably entertaining genre ride, boosted by another engaging and committed lead performance by Withers and a solid Wayans.  Seemingly a critique of the ruthlessness of the professional game, the film tries hard and does not hold back on violent images but is not sharp enough and too meandering as satire and ultimately falls short. 
 

VOD: Together (dir: Michael Shanks, 2025)

"I don't want to be the dumb city folk who went against nature and lost."

This atmospheric supernatural/body-horror mash-up follows a young couple (Dave Franco and Alison Brie) moving out the the country with some underlying uncertainties in their relationship in tow, where an accidental fall into a strange underground cavern leads them to being brought closer in ways they could never have imagined.  The natural environment is shot vibrantly, and the film boasts an excellently eerie ominous music score/soundscape.  Brie and especially Franco are both underappreciated actors who are very strong here, with Brie's Millie a playful but spiky counterpoint to Franco's Tim, who is more fragile but troubled, their real-life partnership imbuing the on-screen relationship with a painful credibility.  This is a potent mix of camp-fire story and David Cronenberg that is fascinating to watch from both the emotional and physical standpoints, especially in the later more extreme moments, even if the storytelling veers into clunkiness occasionally (including the clumsiest use of Chekhov's Gun quite early on).