It is time again for a round up of new films seen at home this month, starting, as is tradition, with Amazon Prime:
Pretty Lethal
A dysfunctional ballet troupe is forced to take shelter when their bus breaks down en route to a prestigious competition and must use their training to fight back when a gang of armed men target them. I thought this could be an enjoyable, straightforward slasher but it is, instead, a messy affair. The story veers off in all sorts of directions, none of them satisfying and the gore is gruesome without being inventive.
Rating: 3 out of 10
Balls Up
Peter Farrelly’s solo directorial career has been quite poor so far, so my expectations were low for his latest comedy and, it turns out that I was not disappointed. Mark Wahlberg and Paul Walter Hauser star as a pair of marketing executives who pitch a tie in condom for the 2025 World Cup in Brazil. The eagle eyed amongst you may have spotted that there was no tournament in 2025, so this movie seems to be too tasteless even for FIFA! When the pair attend a crucial game between Brazil and Argentina, they accidentally prevent a goal, causing an international incident. Maybe I am just bored with gross out style comedies, but I found this to be an embarrassing misfire with scenes lasting far too long and becoming less funny as they went on.
Rating: 2 out of 10
Over on Netflix, there are a couple of films that I recommend:
Humint
Writer/director Ryoo Seung-wan made one of my favourite films of 2022, Escape from Mogadishu, so I was eager to see his latest thriller. In Vladivostok, Russia, South Korean National Intelligence Service Manager Zo (Zo In-sung) is assigned to track an international crime syndicate operating near the border. His investigation intersects with Park Geon (Park Jeong-min), a North Korean State Security official sent to investigate a recent security breach. Whilst not of the quality of his previous effort, as the opening stages are a bit muddled, Seung-wan again demonstrates his ability to showcase immaculately choreographed action sequences, and his mastery of spy craft.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Thrash
A hurricane hits a small coastal community, and the handful of residents that did not evacuate find themselves not only battling the weather, but also bull sharks that are roaming the town after it was flooded by a storm surge. Every year, we get numerous shark movies on streaming services or on VOD, but Tommy Wirkola’s hugely enjoyable mash up of disaster movie and creature feature is one of the best in some time. The set up is novel, the effects reasonable and it is always good to see dumb Americans as bait! It also benefits from having actors of the calibre of Phoebe Dynevor, Alyla Browne and Dijmon Hounsu among the soggy cast.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
There are also two that I definitely think you should avoid:
A Line of Fire
After his wife passed, ex FBI Jack Conry (A.R. White) dedicated himself to his two daughters. But when a friend calls for help, he launches back into a dangerous underworld of corruption and intrigue. This is a curious mix of totally derivative action thriller and a religious message movie. Cuba Gooding Jr. is predictably bad but it is the comically stilted Eve Richards who makes a pitch for the year’s worst performance so far.
Rating: 1.5 out of 10
Roommates
When shy college freshman Devon (Sadie Sandler) asks cool-girl Celeste (Chloe East)to be her roommate, a blossoming friendship quickly spirals into a war of passive aggression. Sandler, daughter of Adam, is quite a charming screen presence but the laughs are few and far between.
Rating: 3 out of 10
New to Sky, subscribers to their movies channels can see Flavia.
I do not watch many kids films but a cast that includes Martin Freeman, Toby Jones, Annette Badland and Jonathan Pryce intrigued me enough for me to take a look. But it is Molly Belle Wright who takes the starring role of Flavia de Luce, an 11 year old amateur sleuth. She decides to investigate a murder at her old manor house home when her father comes under suspicion of the crime. This maybe fine for very young kids, but it is too frantic and has too much over acting for grown ups.
Rating: 4 out of 10
On the iPlayer you can watch the second documentary this year about Paul McCartney:
McCartney: The Hunt for the Lost Bass. Director Arthur Cary, tells the true story of the great man’s original Höfner bass guitar, its mysterious disappearance and the fan-powered quest to find it. This is quite a niche subject. A lot of the musos featured were completely invested in finding the guitar, though personally I did not really care! Having said that, they are mostly fun people to spend time with, and, of course, the old clips and music are fantastic.
Rating: 7 out of 10
The following can be bought or rented on the usual services:
Bone Keeper
Six young friends investigate missing persons cases in a remote cave system, unaware they’re being stalked by an ancient creature lurking in the depths. The performances are surprisingly decent in this low budget creature feature, but the CGI is poor and the last 20 minutes very disappointing.
Rating: 5 out of 10
Twinless
Two young men, Roman (Dylan O’Brien) and Dennis (James Sweeney), meet in a twin support group and form an unlikely friendship. Both search for solace and an identity without their other halves and soon become inseparable outside the group. But each man harbours secrets that could unravel everything. James Sweeney’s movie certainly tackles the issue of grief full on and O’Brien is pretty affecting. However, Dennis social awkwardness had me squirming in my seat, and, after a while, I just wanted to slap him and tell him to get over it.
Rating: 4 out of 10
Heavyweight
Debut director Christopher M Anthony’s boxing drama charts, in real time, the build up to a big fight for ‘Diamond’ Derek Douglas (Jordan Bolger) who has been drafted in on a wildcard to fight the current champ. But his preparations are hindered by his former training partner Cain (Osy Ikhile) joining forces with his opponent. There must be more movies about boxing than any other sport, but at least Heavyweight tries something new by having it nearly entirely set in one room before a fight. The novelty does wear off after a while but it is enlivened by a blisteringly foul mouthed cameo by Jason Isaacs as the fight promoter.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
Whistle
A group of high school misfits inadvertently come across an ancient Aztec death whistle. Blowing it summons their future deaths to hunt them down. Despite a good set piece at a creepy fair, a brief appearance from the great Nick Frost, and an intense Dafne Keen delivering on her potential from Logan a few years ago, Corin Hardy’s horror does not really gel. It feels too reliant on ideas from other movies in the genre and does not build up a clear identity of its own.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
Apple TV’s offering this month is Outcome.
Keanu Reeves stars as actor Reef Hawk, He receives a call from his crisis lawyer Ira Slitz (Jonah Hill), who reveals that someone is blackmailing him. Hill also directed and co-wrote this black comedy. He surprised me with the excellent Mid 90’s in 2018, but this is much more what I would expect from Hill. A self indulgent mess that does not seem to know whether it is a comedy or drama. I am not particularly a Reeves fan but he rises above the material. David Spade is impressive but the absolute stand out performance is by Martin Scorsese, who brings genuine pathos to his role as Reef’s ex manager. Hill is a terrible comedy vacuum as his attorney though.
Rating: 3.5 out of 10
I never intended to subscribe to Disney+ but it is currently being included on my Sky subscription so I thought I would take a look at what they have on offer, other than the terrific TV show, High Potential:
In the Blink of an Eye
Andrew Stanton’s ambitious drama depicts human life through three timelines. In the past, a Neanderthal family struggles to survive, in the present, a student embarks on a new relationship and in the future, an astronaut goes on a mission to find a new home for humankind. I don’t think that films that try to tell stories of this scope, such as the poor Cloud Atlas or the terrible Here, ever really work, and In the Blink of an Eye is no exception. The Neanderthal plotline was a complete bore and did not need to be there. The other two parts had germs of a good story but were not afforded the time to explore it. They did each though have impressive performances from Kate McKinnon and Rashida Jones.
Rating: 5 out of 10
Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice
Small time criminal Mike (James Marsden) is told by gangster Nick (Vince Vaughn) to abduct a man from his home. When he gets there, the target turns out to be Nick, who is using a time machine. The first hour of this action packed comedy works pretty well. A lot of the wisecracks work and the fight scenes involving Nick and Nick are well choreographed. It remains watchable after that, but the time travel conceit is not used as well as it could have been and the plot gets bogged down with too many minor characters.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Finally, to Movies 24 where, after a decent start to the year, their normal standards have resumed.
Alison Sweeney stars as Hope Morgan in Romance at Hope Ranch. She sets out to begin a new chapter of her life, by fulfilling her childhood dream of running a ranch in the picturesque town of Ruidoso, New Mexico, and reviving the beloved Giddy Up Gala. I like Sweeney but she cannot do much with this plodding romantic drama.
In The Way to You, Kim Matula and Aaron O’Connell play Emma and Conrad, two strangers in New York City who, after a missed connection on the subway during a blackout, agree to help each other find their intended matches, only to fall for each other instead. Them realising they like each other comes quite late in the run time, but it is not a spoiler as it is blatantly obvious from the moment they meet. That sums up the problem with this hugely predictable romance, as well as Emma’s annoying desperation to find a man. But the two leads partially won me over by the end.
Ratings out of 10:
Romance at Hope Ranch: 3
The Way to You: 4.5