VOD: Boss Level (dir: Joe Carnahan, 2021)

"I smell muffins!  Do you smell muffins?"

Groundhog Day goes to the action movie genre, as a hardened special forces agent relives his demise repeatedly in this hugely entertaining and relentlessly violent slice of nonsense that has all the delirium, inventiveness and energy of the Crank movies.  Relentlessly self-aware and with a wonderful dry sense of humour running through it, the slick and lively direction by Joe Carnahan and a hugely enjoyable wry central performance from the ever-reliable Frank Grillo make Boss Level a very fun watch indeed.
 

VOD: Intit!ation (dir: John Berardo, 2021)

"Is that....blood?"

The film starts off like a Bad Neighbours sequel and sets itself up as a heavily-generic campus slasher flick with all necessary tropes firmly in place...and then it turns into something far more sober and mature whilst still delivering effectively as a horror film.  There is some sly subversion of genre codes at play, in particular with how characters and gender are used with some unusually interesting depth of how the characters respond to the unfolding situation on display, and the story has good momentum and the film is confidently directed and performed.  It is a shame that both the identity of the mirror-masked killer and the motive are evident quite early on, but Init!ation has plenty of ideas and is delivered well as a strong modern take on a well-worn sub-genre.

 

VOD: Misrule (dir: Matthew Goddard, 2017)

"Sometimes it's good to keep something back for when we're desperate....and we are."

This quickly-shot micro-budget British spy thriller tells the story of a maverick lone-wolf secret agent whose career and marriage are both in trouble, who gets teamed up with a new partner, with unexpected romance and tragic consequences ensuing.  Shot in an oddly deserted Plymouth, mostly at night, there is clear ambition to make location work look as visually cinematic as possible, but whilst the film has some interesting ideas it frequently falls short in both the wildly varying performances and writing, rendering the story somewhat unconvincing overall.  
 

VOD: Minari (dir: Lee Isaac Chung, 2020)

"Daddy's going to make a big garden!"

Minari takes us back to the 1980s and follows the fortunes of a Korean-American family moving from California to rural Arkansas in order to create a farm to cater for the Korean market.  The premise is the classic tale of chasing the American Dream and an idyllic pastoral life leading to some predictable narrative beats and visual tropes (although the film is shot beautifully throughout).  Minari, however, elevates the idea through the sheer skill of the writing and performances - it is a film full of small but hugely impactful moments, and the bigger story themes such as faith, isolation and triumph over adversity lead to some interesting and potentially tragic choices.  Steven Yuen and Yeri Han are both superb as the couple whose fragile marriage is pushed quietly to breaking point - there is one particular extraordinary heartbreaking scene late in the movie in which both actors' performances are utterly sublime - and Yuh-Jung Youn is terrific as the divisive elderly-mother figure.  Also noteworthy is Emile Mosseri's evocative music score that supports the film unobtrusively but powerfully.  Minari is a beautiful, simple and sincere film that is a pleasure to enjoy.
 

VOD: Guns Akimbo (dir: Jason Lei Howden, 2019)

"Wanna go viral?"

Real-world and game-world collide in this riotous violent blast of a film that proves to be a highly entertaining ride.  Reminiscent of the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink style of the Crank films, downtrodden Miles (Daniel Radcliffe) makes the mistake of trolling an online live-action game that pits people against each other to the death in the real world, and wakes up to find himself with guns surgically bolted to his hands and pitted against the formidable Nix (Samara Weaving) in a city-wide battle royale.  Amongst the considerable carnage, there is plenty of dark humour, the action is relentless, Radcliffe not only shows off his acting ability but is clearly having a great time and Weaving absolutely eats up her role with great relish.  You may or may not warm to this kind of film, but if you do then Guns Akimbo provides a real adrenalin-fuelled fun rush extremely well.
 

VOD: A Classic Horror Story (dirs: Roberto De Feo and Paolo Strippoli, 2021)

"Don't worry - it's for his Instagram or something."

This Italian horror does exactly what it says in the title, taking a contemporary road trip that goes horribly wrong and executing it in classic Italian horror/giallo style.  Whether referencing the great genre directors of the 1970s/80s or more recent films and tropes - Midsommar and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre loom large here - the film is a reasonably efficient and effective exercise in directing and writing, and whilst the points made about online media are somewhat blunt and unsurprising, as a horror film it stands up fairly well.
 

VOD: Fear Street 1666 (aka Fear Street Part 3 - 1666) (dir: Leigh Janiak, 2021)

"We need a Plan B right now!"
"No - we just need more Plan A!"

The trilogy-closer of Netflix's brave three-successive-weeks release pattern pays off well, but this final film is very much a game of two halves.  The first half of the film takes us back to the origin of the Shadyside Curse in 1666 and is perhaps less successful, playing like a weak teen drama version of the era, but the rip-roaring finale that brings everything from the three time periods together is a relentless blast of daft slasher fun that just about hangs together in a satisfying way.  This Fear Street trilogy has handled its plotting and the different filmic time settings efficiently overall, and for horror fans it has delivered well on the throwback entertainment front.

 

VOD: Ma (dir: Tate Taylor, 2019)

"It's not the worst."

Ma is a typical Blumhouse potboiler: a thin story with limited scope (i.e. cheap to produce) but it is realised well and storytelling is effectively handled.  The film uses some neat mis-directions as it focuses on the inescapability of small-town life and  follows a relatively straightforward revenge tale of a nastily-pranked shy girl exacting revenge many years later, using a deft mix of well-placed flashbacks and manipulation of the contemporary next generation,  The main selling point here is of course Octavia Spencer, a powerhouse actress whose precision absolutely carries the film, and whilst the younger actors are blandly adequate there is solid work from Luke Shaw, Juliette Lewis and Missy Pyle as the grown-up versions of the high-school antagonists.  Ma is ultimately wafer-thin and forgettable, but it does its job well enough.
 

VOD: The Little Things (dir: John Lee Hancock, 2021)

"I'm kind of a crime buff."

This long-gestating serial killer police drama finally hits the screens and proves to be a rather sombre and almost melancholy affair.  It certainly delivers on the acting front with an excellent lead cast of Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto all delivering terrific character work, and the film is directed and written with a very careful, steady precision that keeps a tight rein over the unfurling story (and back-stories) as Washington's washed-up older officer is sent on a simple evidence run to Los Angeles and becomes caught up in young star detective Malek's hunt for a repeat killer that may have links to Washington's own dark past.  Thomas Newman's haunting score shines, and whilst the film may feel a little underpowered, the quality and polish is very evident.

VOD: How I Became A Super Hero (Comment Je Suis Devenu Super-Heros) (dir: Douglas Attal, 2021)

"Good or bad news?"
"Both."

This adequate French film is an interesting hybrid of superhero and urban police drama, which pairs a lone-wolf detective in Paris with an female rising star officer, who are charged with cracking a breakout of superpower drug-peddling in shadier sectors of Paris.  The characters are reasonably nuanced with decent performances, and there are sufficient twists to fairly standard storylines to create some interest it does fall back on tried and trusted tropes too ofetn (it comes as little surprise that the mismatched cops hate each other at first but you can guess how it ends up), and whilst the film flags occasionally it passes its time satisfactorily overall.