VOD: Playdate (dir: Luke Greenfield, 2025)

"...and he said there's a tree in his backyard that looks just like Mark Ruffalo!"

MGM/Amazon presents this big daft action comedy in which two binary opposite dads (think Daddy's Home) - put-upon Brian (Kevin James) and powerhouse Jeff (Alan Ritchson) - are thrown together through their son's fast friendship and find themselves on the run from just about everyone including a shady organisation from Jeff's past.  The collision of the action-thriller genre with suburbia  proves fruitful, and the occasional subversion of genre tropes is fun.  It feels episodic with some good set-ups, including a nicely-delivered sequence in which the boys get pumped up on energy drinks and terrorise passers-by.  Kevin James downplays his usual schtick to good comedic and sympathetic effect, but the main saving grace of this whole enterprise is Reacher's Alan Ritchson, who demonstrates a laid-back comedic ease and excellent comedic timing that is consistently very funny, especially in his dour delivery of unexpected comeback lines.  Whilst loosely pondering the themes of fatherhood and family, the film wears a little thin by the halfway mark, but if you are in the mood for weapons-grade silliness, Playdate will prove to be chucklesome fun, otherwise it will come across as disposable nonsense.
 

VOD: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie (dir: Jessica Yu, 2025)

"We are three extremely exhausted dads in our thirties.  How epic could this be?"

Disney+ kicks off their 2025 festive season with this very strange movie that is clearly designed as a gift for the Jonas Brothers' young and devoted fans.  It starts at the end of a long tour at their gig in London (and a cameo from Will Ferrell as an uber-fan) and finds the brothers tired and their differences surfacing, until a magical intervention by 'Santa'  leaves them stranded when their private plane explodes, and trying to get home for the holidays sets them on an improbable trip that takes in Amsterdam and Germany in an attempt to heal the brothers' relationship.  The film trades on the brothers' clearly tight and professional bonhomie and their slickly pleasant throwaway pop stylings, following a familiar semi-musical-film format with a few largely-forgettable songs music-video-style linking some very weird scenarios,  Trapped awkwardly between an examination of the pop/entertainment industry machine, their sibling relationship and a deconstruction of the Christmas movie genre whilst simultaneously trying to deliver a feel-good festive offering (and even KJ Apa pops in to take off his shirt and crash an aeroplane) all makes for a very bizarre and inconsistent mix that makes it hard to comprehend what you have just been watching for a brief eighty minutes.
 

VOD: Frankenstein (2025) (dir: Guillermo del Toro, 2025)

"With a simple step, I entered a different world."

Another of Guillermo del Toro's long-gestating projects finally reaches the screen, and this ambitious take on Mary Shelley's classic novel is both striking and very satisfying.  After a lively and very engaging Prelude, Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) then recounts the events that led to the final tragedy, followed by The Creature's story.  This take on The Creature (Jacob Elordi) shows him as agile and fearsomely strong, with Frankenstein driven but maniacally haunted by what he ultimately has created, the product of privilege and a cruel father (which plays into the Frankenstein/Creature relationship to very good effect).  As a del Toro film, it is of course visually creative and stunningly beautiful right from the start, with a gorgeously elegant Alexandre Desplat score that creates a rich and sumptuous experience both as a period piece and as a sci-fi/horror epic.  The language of del Toro's script is absorbing, Oscar Isaac is great as Frankenstein, Christoph Waltz is strong as his patron, Mia Goth makes Frankenstein's sister-in-law aloofly interesting, and Jacob Elordi fuses the contemporary and classic to strong effect as |The Creature, navigating its brutality and sensitivity very well indeed.  It all leads to a different and unexpected ending that is fitting and devastatingly beautiful.  This is a fine film, and it shows that now is perhaps the time for Netflix to let del Toro have the resources to realise his cherished H.P. Lovecraft project.

 

VOD: Ballad Of A Small Player (dir: Edward Berger, 2025)

"All I need is one big win, Kai, and they'll be throwing limousines at me!"

Colin Farrell takes centre stage as Lord Doyle, a compulsive gambler in Macau with real money problems, a three-day deadline to pay his considerable hotel debts and being pursued by a curious P.I. (Tilda Swinton) to fulfil his UK debts.  Macau is presented as a gorgeously-shot vision of bright and sharp neon juxtaposed with the ancient and tradition in a fascinating fusion, an intoxicating place of anonymity and reinvention.  Farrell is utterly compelling in this bravura character performance, guiding the viewer through his madcap life of mayhem, compulsion and even deeper secrets and a possible shot at redemption, from the relentless brutal close-ups to the already-infamous gluttony scene.  With strong supporting character work from Tilda Swinton and Alex Jennings, Ballad Of A Small Player is an intriguing, exquisite and beautiful film to experience.
 

VOD: A Merry Little Ex-Mas (dir: Steve Carr, 2025)

"Seriously, it's like he grew up in a Yankee Candle!"

Netflix's opening salvo for the 2025 festive family film season follows two divorcing parents (the reliable Alicia Silverstone and Oliver Hudson) as they try to deliver one last family Christmas in snowy Vermont with their grown-up children and new partners.  The film boasts proper picture-postcard snowy small-town scenery, with every setting drenched in as many Christmas lights and decoration as possible.  The film takes a knowing swipe at so-called friendly uncouplings but is also somewhat twee, yet it offers plenty of idiosyncratic characters and comedy of awkward embarrassment.  Silverstone strides through the film with her usual sheer professional force, with the rest of the cast chipping in valiantly.  With a reasonable number of good jokes and set-ups amongst the general seasonal nonsense, A Merry Little Ex-Mas is mildly entertaining seasonal fare.

 

VOD: M3GAN 2.0 (dir: Gerard Johnstone, 2025)

"We don't know how ugly these things are until it is too late."

This messy sequel to the disposable but fun 2023 hit finds aunt Gemma as an AI regulation crusader, sassy young Cady still haunted by the events of the first film and a new rogue killer military robot A.M.E.L.I.A. on the loose, necessitating the rebuilding of a vengeful and upgraded M3GAN to take it down.  In deliberately trying to broaden audience appeal owing to the zeitgeist popularity of the titular character, the violence is largely muted and tepid, disposable characters feel underdeveloped and there is plenty of self-important padding in some unnecessarily long scene.  The first act is largely an odd attempt at being a talky cyber-thriller, the second act is a convoluted introduction of a hidden and even bigger threat alongside the rebuilding of M3GAN, before the film finally evolves into a couple of sub-Mission: Impossible infiltration exercises with surprisingly little interaction between the two starring robots.  With a lacklustre script and lacking the simplicity and knowing cheesiness of the original film, M3GAN 2.0 fails to deliver on both fun and thrills and is largely disappointingly dull.
 

VOD: The Hand That Rocks The Cradle (dir: Michelle Garza Cervera, 2025)

"You think if you try hard enough, you can stop bad things from happening, but you can't.  Nobody can."

This dreary 2025 're-imagining' of a crowd-favourite 90s schlocker seems to be aiming for a more glossy and sophisticated take on the material and falls short of the mark, as it re-tells the story of a young woman (Polly, played by Maika Monroe) who inveigles her way into the home of under-pressure career woman Caitlin (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) as an indispensable home-help/babysitter and manipulates them to her own destructive ends.  Here, the film wastes no time in laying out Polly's deep-rooted problems and malicious intentions from the outset with a complete lack of subtlety.  It feels very one-note, not helped by a constantly whining soundtrack/soundscape that irritates quickly.  Maika Monroe and Mary Elizabeth Winstead are both very strong actresses, but here their range feels mostly (and disappointingly) blunted.  A couple of quite gory deaths seem jarring fail to lift the generally dour approach taken this time.
 

VOD: A House Of Dynamite (dir: Kathryn Bigelow, 2025)

"Give me a shoutout if the world's gonna end!"

The high-concept premise of Kathryn Bigelow's excellent directorial return with Netflix's A House Of Dynamite finds America targeted by an ICBM of unknown origin and follows the responses of the different levels of command, replaying the same tense time frame via differing perspectives from the Alaskan tracking station that first picks up the incoming threat right up to The White House in more-or-less real time.  The high-powered and very capable ensemble cast is a treat to watch in action, notably the magnificent Rebecca Ferguson, Idris Elba (as POTUS) and Jared Harris, and the range of character reactions to the rapidly-developing scenario (ranging from the efficient to emotional to hard-bitten) makes for absorbing viewing and enables the viewer to find their own point of identification.  Bigelow's signature style of naturalistic dialogue delivery and kinetic camerawork are major strengths of the movie, giving it an immediacy and alarming credibility that that is very engaging indeed, with a relentless sense of at-times unbearable tension that is amplified by the seeming real-world plausibility that plays well against the current backdrop of global security uncertainty.   

The notorious ending of the movie may be divisive but it is deliberately challenging and thought-provoking, and in many ways this film fits comfortably amongst other flashy Netflix contemporary political thrillers, but A House Of Dynamite has great writing, a powerhouse cast that delivers, and it is superbly executed with real impact.

 

VOD: The Ballad Of Wallis Island (dir: James Griffiths, 2025)

"You don't love me.  You love the past."

A reclusive and socially-awkward lotter winner hires his favourite folk-music duo to perform on his remote island, but reuniting the former couple reveals insecurities and old wounds re-open in this delightfully sharp, very warm-hearted, joyous and genuinely funny movie.  Its gentle whimsy plays beautifully alongside its heartfelt humanity, with a consistently snappy, well-written and entertaining script, which mines the fine detail of the characters and their relationship(s) extremely well.  Carey Mulligan is fragile and charming, and Tim Key delights as the well-meaning and frequently inappropriate host who is the perfect foil for the talented Tom Basden as the bewildered and committed musician dropped into this bizarre situation, their odd-couple relationship being great fun to watch, as is the difficult and sometimes abrasive relationship between the former singing partners.   The acoustic performances by Basden and Mulligan are rather lovely and authentic, and as a testament to love, creativity and savouring the good times, The Ballad Of Wallis Island is simply an utter joy to watch.
 

VOD: Sinners (dir: Ryan Coogler, 2025)

"You keep dancing with The Devil, one day he's gonna follow you home."

Ryan Coogler reunites with Michael B. Jordan in this period piece set in the fiercely-religious Bible Belt, where griots - African musicians who can bridge the human and spirit worlds - can conjure up spirits past and present and attract both good and evil in this stylish and interesting mystery-thriller that was unexpectedly big at the box-office.  Taking in a heady mix of culture, race, magic, religion, sex and good vs evil, it is a powerful concoction of ideas that challenges and plays with the audience.  It is shot beautifully and luxuriates in its period recreations (notably settings and music), but the shooting style and occasional clever fusion of old/new times infuse the film with a fresh, modern feel.  The formidably talented Michael B. Jordan naturally excels in the dual lead roles of twins Smoke and Stack, who battle against the odds and open an ill-fated blues club, with a very strong supporting cast of richly-drwan characters and strong performers, including a very neat character performance by a near-unrecognisable Jack O'Connell.  Sinners is an impressive  and very entertaining film to experience, even if it plays somwhat like an elevated-horror version of From Dusk Till Dawn.  Note the mid-credits and end-of-credits scenes.