FILM: Florence Foster Jenkins (dir: Stephen Frears, 2016)

"No chives!  What next, I wonder?"

Florence Foster Jenkins tells the very specific and unique tale of the 1930s socialite whose genuine love for the arts blinded her to her own performing shortcomings, i.e. a rather unpleasant-sounding singing voice.  Meryl Streep gives another superb character performance in the lead, Hugh Grant absolutely shines as her understanding husband and reminds us what a controlled and sympathetic actor he can be, and Big Bang's Simon Helberg works well as her perplexed accompanist.  Director Frears handles the mix of sadness and exuberance that made up Jenkins' life equally well, providing sufficient dramatic weight to what would otherwise could have been an insubstantial and annoying account.  Whilst a rather slight subject, the period recreations look and sound great, and Florence Foster Jenkins is nevertheless a rather charming, well-mounted feel-good tale that conveys the abundant joy of the unfettered human spirit most enjoyably.

VOD: Stung (dir: Benny Diaz, 2015)

"This party needs an autopsy."

This rather bizarre German/USA co-production gives rise to a very mixed cast of wildly varying quality in a typical cheap creature-feature.  At times Stung goes for some quite effective body-horror in the style of Carpenter's The Thing, but for the most part it is difficult to gauge whether or not the movie is aiming for intentional genre parody or is simply not very good - for example, the first full attack on the dullest garden party imaginable sees most of the guests flailing about with a range of levels of conviction in a vain attempt to interact with the post-added CGI for five minutes rather than running for cover.  In the lead role, Matt O'Leary is worryingly bland for the first act, but improves considerably as the stakes are raised when the giant killer wasps start attacking.  By the time it gets to the end, it goes completely mad and bizarre humour takes over, but Stung really is the kind of bargain-basement fodder we have all sat through before.

VOD: WolfCop (dir: Lowell Dean, 2014)

"What are you up to?"

WolfCop is another example of recent attempts to capture the essence of 80s VHS genre fodder, and to a large extent it succeeds very well.  This lo-fi Canadian production brings together a cult, a solar eclipse, a new moon, a dissolute cop, small town secrets and of course messy (physical) body-horror transformations in a heady genre mix that is particularly enjoyable in the first half, whilst the second half loses a little traction as plot overtakes entertainment.  Leo Fafard makes a job of playing the alcoholic cop/werewolf, mixing humour and drama well, and a lot of 80s genre movie tropes play well.  This is an encouraging attempt that is not always successful, but it has a lot of ideas and honesty in its execution.

VOD: Deathgasm (dir: Jason Lei Howden, 2015)

"I brought about the end of the world.  Biggest d**k move ever."

Recalling the spirit and physical effects of the early Peter Jackson movies, this low-budget New Zealand gorefest offers little that is new, but what it often lacks in quality is more than made up for by its energy and sheer willingness to try.  Apart from being supremely sweary, the adventures of our very-old-looking teenage rebels-without-a-clue are really quite sweet and endearing.  Clearly made with a love of the genre and some wry understanding of the conventions, although the heavy-metal angle gets wearisome at times, the demon-possessed zombie action is good fun and delightfully over-the-top.

FILM: Captain America Civil War IMAX 3D (dirs: Anthony and Joe Russo, 2016)

"I can't go to Germany!"
"Why not?"
"I've got homework!"

Civil War continues down the stylistic path set by The Winter Soldier, which initially is a little worrying, as the first half is a particularly gloomy affair which pays little attention to non-Marvel followers - death is everywhere, the grey/green look is oppressive, and what is presented is a great but rather talky adult thriller (which will probably bore children rigid) punctuated by bouts of frantic but extremely well edited and choreographed fights.  The second half is a different matter altogether - the seemingly disparate narrative ideas pay off superbly in massively enjoyable big-screen entertainment, from the stunning airport superteam smackdown (just wait til you see what Ant-Man can do!) to the brutally painful (emotional and physical) Captain/Bucky/Tony confrontation.  The Russos are now so confident with what they can achieve on screen which is evident throughout, and the speed and quality of the effects work is terrific.  This film is all about making it personal - loss, grief, inner demons, choices, responsibility and accountability - providing some real dramatic meat for the terrific ensemble (just watch Johannson quietly steal the early round-table scene, or the interplay between Evans and Downey Jnr in the 'pen' exchange).   This movie also serves as a surprisingly excellent introduction to Black Panther/Wakanda and the new Spiderman, who are clearly wonderful additions well-served with action (unlike the lip-service introductions to future Justice Leaguers in Batman v Superman).  The laughs are few and far between, but when they come they are very strong indeed.  Civil War delivers many treats, from a terrifying re-activated Bucky/Winter Soldier to a narrative that doesn't always go to where it seems to be leading, and this movie will bear further viewings. 

FILM: Bastille Day (dir: James Watkins, 2016)

"Action, reaction."

Bastille Day is an adequate but solid actioner, that adds very little to what was seen in the trailer but is carried by Idris Elba and Richard Madden clearly having fun in a film that treads that fine line between taking itself seriously and being fully aware of just how generic it all is.  In spite of the uncomfortable mix of terrorism, fascists, demonstrations and corrupt cops, the Paris setting makes for a slight change, the action is reasonably well-handled (but hardly Bourne) and the film is always watchable, even if it only seems a couple of notches above a decent TV drama.

FILM: Friend Request (dir: Simon Verhoeven, 2016)

"It's called cyberstalking for a reason...."

The premise of marrying contemporary social media with ancient witchcraft has some promise, but essentially Friend Request is fairly standard stalk-and-slash, with the usual reliance on VERY loud stings for a couple of jump scares, but also with the occasional visual and editing flourish that shows the film is striving for more.  Apart from some very good work by Connor Paolo as one of the group of friends, the acting offers little of note, and the increasingly wobbly internal logic only adds to the overall sense of unevenness.  By the time it reaches its utterly and almost necessarily predictable final scene, this film demonstrates that you can dress up the genre with contemporary trappings but it still basically remains the same.

FILM: The Jungle Book 3D (dir: Jon Favreau, 2016)

"He's walking on two legs!"
"Don't stare."

Disney really are getting it (mostly) right with their current wave of own live-action remakes, and this version of The Jungle Book is a delight to watch.  Storytelling is strong, and Favreau provides a lot of enjoyably creative direction, making the film an absolute visual treat, with even the more action-styled set-pieces having a contemporary blockbuster sensibility that sits comfortably with the more conventional Disney elements.  The only niggle is the actual use of the classic songs 'I Wanna Be Like You' and 'The Bare Necessities', which feel at odds with the more grounded tone of this film than their animated origins; it works much better when the score and dialogue is used to reference the original, as in the excellent 'Trust In Me' snake sequence.  Nevertheless, The Jungle Book 2016 stands as a strong, effective and well-made film that is easily the definitive live-action version. 

FILM: Hardcore Henry (dir: Ilya Naishuller, 2016)

"Your persistence is unparalleled - and quite exciting!"

It is very easy to see why Bekmambetov put his support behind this project, with its bonkers mix of impossible stunts and visuals coupled with the film's main selling points: uber-violence and the true use of first-person perspective throughout.  Unafraid of using a slew of genre references - Crank, Universal Soldier and Robocop are the main touchstones here - this is a genre movie turned up to the max.  It feels like watching a FPS videogame we have all played, and its relentless (and impressive) action, violence and style makes it curiously all the less emotionally engaging as a result.  Nevertheless, there are some truly insane stunt/parkour sequences on offer to relish, the concept of Copley's 'Jimmy' as a guide works well if you can forgive the broad stereotypes, and sometimes you just need to surrender to the sheer full-on madness of it all.

FILM: Midnight Special (dir: Jeff Nichols, 2016)

"That's impressive."

Midnight Special is in many ways a very straightforward tale, but the enjoyment comes from the (very) slow unfolding of the clues, a couple of strong set-pieces, and very controlled but powerful performances from the leads (Shannon, Edgerton, Dunst and Driver in particular).  The very deliberate and careful pacing may put off some viewers, but patience pays rewards for this simple, well-considered and interesting film.