VOD: The First Omen (dir: Arkasha Stevenson, 2024)

 "Hiding won't absolve your sins."

Following the moribund 2006 remake, this prequel to the 1976 horror classic takes us back to Rome five years before the events of the original film, where kindly young American novice Margaret is posted to an orphanage to start her career in service to the church, unwittingly playing her part in a long-planned conspiracy that leads to the birth of the son of the Antichrist.  The film is atmospheric and well-plotted, its retro stylings and sounds adding to the film's place in the timeline well.  Well-played moments foreshadow some of the events in the 1976 film nicely, and the film's slow-burn approach moves effectively from glimpses and suggestions of unpleasantness into more overt terror as the film progresses.  With a strong and compelling performance by Nell Tiger Free in the central role, The First Omen is a surprisingly effective horror/thriller and it is a welcome addition to the presumed-dead franchise.

VOD: Atlas (dir: Brad Peyton, 2024)

"I doubt she can care for a houseplant!"

In this overblown sci-fi actioner, AI bots across the world go on a murderous rampage, led by the world's first AI terrorist, Harlan (Simu Liu).  Twenty-eight years later, gritty and driven AI analyst Atlas (Jennifer Lopez) goes on a mission to a distant planet to which Harlan had absconded, where her team is ambushed, leaving her stranded and reliant on her mech-suit's onboard AI (Sterling K. Brown).  In a heady mix of thunderous music and huge glossy visual effects, the film is based around big action beats of little consequence, and what is effectively the Lopez bottle-show runs out of steam quite quickly.  JLo spits out her dialogue and purses her lips a lot, Mark Strong admirably does his best to keep a straight face as her boss, and Liu and Brown are disappointing wasted here.  The usual influences of genre classics such as Aliens, Pacific Rim, Terminator and others are never far away, and this kind of big brash sci-fi seems an odd fit for a Lopez star vehicle.
 

VOD: Wonka (dir: Paul King, 2023)

"You sure can be silly, Willy!"

This cheery musical/prequel/origin story was the hit of Christmas 2023 and is a perfect fit for the holiday season. Written and directed by Paul King, Wonka mines a similar sense of delight, whimsy and, um, pure imagination as his two Paddington films, as the titular character tries to start out his chocolates business in competition with a trio of established nefarious chocolatiers.  All aspects of design are detailed, lavish and lush, making the film look gorgeous.  The narrative has a consistently engaging momentum, and right from the engagingly sweet opening number Neil Hannon's songs work well, with Divine Comedy signature-style echoes from which the film benefits enormously.  As Wonka, Timothee Chalamet is surprisingly sincere and charming, even if the character here is notably more mainstream than in the previous movie incarnations, ably supported by a wealth of Brit talent, including, notably, Olivia Colman, Paterson Joseph and Jim Carter.  Wonka is not just the prequel we did not know we needed, it is simply a respectful, family-friendly and unexpectedly delightful treat.
 

VOD: Deathclub (dir: Ronnie Nanos, 2023)

"OK.  We've seen it.  Let's head back."

In this minimal lowest-of-budget thrillers, five unlikely and unappealing friends break into an abandoned (but in surprisingly good-looking condition) nightclub, drink, do drugs and one-by-one get to face angry spirits for their individual sins.  Consistently undermined by weak performances and poor dialogue, there are however occasional positive efforts to realise genre conventions and the synth-led score provides fair backing.  The unattractive flashbacks hardly portray the club as a hotbed of hedonism that it seems to wish for, not a lot happens in the first half and the second half is waywardly nonsensical.  That any film is completed and exhibited is always to be commended, but Deathclub is not very watchable or enjoyable.  
 

VOD: The Beatles - Get Back (dir: Peter Jackson, 2021)

"What should we do that's fun?  Besides work?"

Fans of most bands and singers would probably kill for this level of behind-the-scenes access, as Peter Jackson's three feature-length-parts documentary series assembles footage shot over January 1969, with the compelling frame of two weeks' songwriting rehearsals to create a live show (and a new Beatles album) at the end.  The madness of this monumental task by a then-imploding band follows them daily with reasonable openness, as Paul McCartney tries to wrangle some kind of working discipline, George Harrison quits briefly, John Lennon is veering off on his own Yoko path (glued to his side throughout) and Ringo Starr just seems happy to be there, eventually leading to the controversial free concert on the rooftop of their new Apple Studios in London.  Clearly missing their manager Brian Epstein and uncertain of their musical future and direction, this documentary series fascinates not only for the interaction between the band members but also to witness songs emerging through the writing and rehearsal process, such as Get Back, The Long And Winding Road, Carry That Weight and even an early incarnation of Lennon's Jealous Guy.  What emerges is a curiously fascinating and absorbing insight into one of the biggest bands of all-time, lovingly and carefully curated, and what is does best is to show with ease all four of the band members as true musicians.
 

FILM: Furiosa - A Mad Max Saga (dir: George Miller, 2024)

"A lot of stuff.  A lot of good stuff."

Following the incredible Fury Road with almost undue haste for this franchise, Furiosa fills in the backstory of the character for the fifteen years before the preceding film, from when she was snatched as a child by marauders through to vengeful adulthood.  With sparse dialogue and a bit more of a focus on character and spread of story than action this time - although the action sequences are up to standard, even if greenscreen is too obvious at times - this film not only services Furiosa's story in fair detail in five 'chapters', it also fills in more Wasteland mythology effectively.  As the adult Furiosa, Anya Taylor-Joy uses her controlled feral physicality very well indeed, and as her nemesis Dementus, Chris Hemsworth explores uncharted character territory for him (the clue is in the name) to good effect.  Signature elements such as the wacky vehicles, insane stunts and awesome desert vistas are all present and correct, and the ending of the film is bold and interesting, with a final neat tie-in to Fury Road.  Veteran writer/director Miller puts his singular vision of this particular world on screen very well indeed once again, and whilst not up there with Fury Road, the film is both interesting and entertaining, making it a worthy addition to the franchise.

 

FILM: The Fall Guy (dir: David Leitch, 2024)

"I don't WANT real!"

David Leitch delivers yet another pleasantly entertaining slice of action mayhem with The Fall Guy, nominally inspired by the less-than-classic 1980s TV show of the same name.  Here, Ryan Gosling plays the stunt man Colt Seavers, who doubles for an arrogant star (well-played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson); eighteen months after an horrific on-set accident, Seavers is called back into action to Australia by an overbearing producer (a great role for Hannah Waddingham) for his ex-love's directorial debut (Emily Blunt, great in the role), a terrible generic sci-fi actioner, Metalstorm, but when also tasked with tracking down the missing leading man, he gets drawn into the world of this lively mystery and romance thriller.  As a tribute to the 'unsung heroes' - the stuntpeople - the film is affectionate and effective, as is the pulling back of the film-making curtain at times. With a great cast and some lively action mayhem, the film juggles lots of different elements, and whilst it is generally effective and enjoyable - increasingly so as the film progresses - there are times when you wish for more of certain aspects, such as more dialogue between Blunt and Gosling, who are a great romantic pairing and both drive this film really well, more of Taylor-Johnson's obnoxious star, more of Hannah Waddingham's deluded madness, and even more of the gloriously knowing and daft film-within-a-film.  Overall,  The Fall Guy is a solidly entertaining action/thriller/romance/comedy mash-up.  Stay watching the good behind-the-scenes footage that plays alongside most of the end credits, which concludes with a fun additional scene that nods to the original and wraps up the plot.

 

VOD: The Holdovers (dir: Alexander Payne, 2024)

"That boy is too dumb to pour piss out of a boot!"

Alexander Payne's awards-baiting drama firmly places us right from the start back in the early 1970s (with its opening credits/classification screens) and Christmas (choir carol rehearsal), as disliked and aloof private school teacher Mr Hunham (Paul Giamatti) is tasked with supervising five holiday 'orphans' with recently bereaved cook Mary (Da'Vine Joy Randolph), eventually reduced to a single embittered student Angus (Dominic Sessa), and we follow them as their pasts are unfurled and tentative bonds are made.  The film has a very strong (and occasionally wryly amusing) script, buoyed up by a top-quality character performance from Giamatti, the consistently magnificent presence of Da'Vine Joy Randolph and a solid debut from Sessa.  Shots are beautifully composed and the pacing is careful (with steady cross-fades aplenty), making it all come across as very genteel, restrained and well-meaning, and the 70s aesthetic (both filmic and mise-en-scene) is well presented.  It is shot through with a chilly wintry feel and a bleak melancholy that undercuts the festive season, notably from the child abandoned by his parents and the grief of a mother, which make the occasional moments of warmth and connection extremely effective, all leading to an interesting ending for the characters.    
 

VOD: Cold Meat (dir: Sebastien Drouin, 2024)

"In the right circumstances we can all be cruel."

A week before Christmas in a very cold and snowy Colorado and with an approaching storm, Downton's Allen Leech dons an American accent, saves a waitress from her brutal partner at a diner, and gets stuck in the middle of nowhere when his car goes off the road.  With a strong surprise twist early on and an unfortunate accident, for most of the running time this is very much a bottle show based inside the stricken car, but with effective thriller direction and a nicely-controlled performance by Leech in particular, it makes the most of its limited scenario.  There is also an odd plot thread about a local forest spirit alluded to early on that pops up occasionally but relevantly.  Overall, Cold Meat makes for a low-key but atmospheric piece that does maintain interest to find out what will be the (somewhat abrupt) resolution.
 

VOD: Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom (dir: James Wan, 2023)

"You celebrate the wins, you mourn the losses."

At the start of this slightly belated sequel to the surprisingly successful 2018 original, Aquaman is juggling his life as a family man (cute baby alert) and as a somewhat disgruntled and disillusioned King of Atlantis, but with the swift reintroduction of Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as scowling single-minded nemesis Black Manta, Aquaman finds himself having to break out his imprisoned brother and form an uneasy alliance with seemingly everything at stake.  The strengths here remain the same, namely the strong performers, including a well-cast (if slightly ageing) Jason Mamoa, along with Nicole Kidman, Temuera Morrison and Patrick Wilson.  It is noticeable that the female  characters are clearly sidelined, and there is also again a constant distracting tension between the sheer scale and ambition of the visuals and the cartoonish quality of the finish.  The fact that everything seems to be designed to emphasise the overscaled size makes the virtual and physical sets look somewhat empty.  With so many styles being juggled - including domestic comedy, mismatched buddy movie, sci-fi action epic, environmental treatise, etc. - the film never nails a consistent tone, from which it might have benefitted.  The action sequences, however, are lively enough as expected from James Wan, but as a standalone from the rest of the DCU it feels more like wrapping up a bit of unfinished business than a glorious conclusion to Zack Snyder's run of overseeing the DCU.