This is a round up of new films seen at home this month, starting as usual with Amazon Prime Video:
The Wrecking Crew
Two half-brothers, a loose cannon cop and a disciplined Navy SEAL played by Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista, must work together to unravel a conspiracy behind their father’s murder in Hawaii. This is an original story and not a remake of the 1968 Matt Helm movie starring Dean Martin. Well, I say ‘original’ but there is nothing new to be seen. A routine plot is interspersed with adequate action sequences and a lot of macho posturing. Bautista proved he could act very well in The Last Showgirl last year but has little to do of worth in this and Momoa is a very limited performer.
Rating: 3.5 out of 10
To coincide with Valentine’s Day, Amazon have added three new romantic dramas and comedies.
In Relationship Goals, Kelly Rowland stars as television producer Leah Caldwell. Her dream of becoming the first woman to run New York’s top morning show is put into jeopardy with the arrival of her ex, Jarrett Roy (Cliff “Method Man” Smith) who wants the same job. This completely derivative plot could have made for passable entertainment if the performances were not so terrible. The worst culprits are Annie Gonzalez and Ryan Jamaal Swain, who both layer on the ham.
F*ck Valentine’s Day is better as it feels a little fresher and has a better cast, including Virginia Gardner as Gina who hates her Valentine’s Day birthday. She travels to Greece to prevent, or at least delay, her boyfriend’s proposal. There are some amusing moments and it benefits from having Marisa Tomei play Gina’s Mum.
In Love Me, Love Me, June (Mia Jenkins) moves to Milan and becomes entangled in a love triangle with Will (Luca Melucci), a perfect student and a troubled MMA fighter, James (Pepe Barroso). I know I am not the target audience but why do all YA romance movies feel like they have been written by AI and populated by people who do not resemble recognisable human beings? Though I was amazed that no one in the love triangle had a terminal illness!
Ratings out of 10:
Relationship Goals: 2
F*ck Valentine’s Day: 5
Love Me Love Me: 2.5
Surprisingly on U&Gold very soon after a cinema run is Becoming Victoria Wood. I was lucky enough to see the great comedian perform live a couple of times and she was taken too soon at the age of 62. This documentary looks at her professional success and touches on her personal life too. Although a fan, I was unaware how long she struggled to establish herself even after a few chances on TV, so that was pretty illuminating. Whilst there are the usual talking heads speaking warmly about her, it is the clips that stand out and show what a talent she was.
Rating: 7 out of 10
On Netflix:
The Swedish Connection
Thérèse Ahlbeck and Marcus Olsson wrote and directed this biographical drama about the Swedish Foreign Ministry bureaucrat Gösta Engzell. He has been largely forgotten even though he helped rescue between 30000 and 40000 Jews during World War 2. It is certainly a story I did not know about, though I was aware of the Swedish government’s collaboration with the Nazis whilst pretending to be neutral. A lot of this film focuses on that, and is mostly about the administrative battle waged by Engzell. Whilst that is interesting, the fact that we do not get to meet any of the refugees reduces the emotional impact. That is also not helped by a playful tone and narration that implies that the events were a bit of a lark, and lessons the complicity of the Swedes. Whilst some of the performances are over the top, Henrik Dorsin is excellent as Engzell and Sissela Benn brings some much needed gravitas as his German Jewish assistant, Rut Vogl.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Firebreak
8 year old Lide (Candela Martinez) disappears in the forest while her family packs up their home. As a fire breaks out, her mother, Mara (Belen Cuesta) must race to reach her before the flames do. Lide was such a little brat that initially I was relieved that she vanished. But thanks to Cuesta’s frantic performance and David Victori’s immersive direction, I was soon quite immersed in the search.
Rating: 6 out of 10
State of Fear
As São Paulo erupts in an unprecedented wave of violence, a lawyer with underworld ties must strike a deal with the police to rescue her kidnapped niece. There is a full throttle action sequence before the opening credits, but the story gets bogged down thereafter in poor characterisation and unconvincing acting.
Rating: 3 out of 10
Over on Sky, subscribers can see Reckless featuring the combined acting talents of Scott Adkins and Vinnie Jones. Five years after a botched robbery, Devon (Adkins) is fresh out on parole, and has one simple goal: get his share of the heist money and disappear. The characters are so clichéd, cockney geezer gangsters and their molls, I wondered if I was watching a parody. But, apart from one chucklesome moment this was not funny and an embarrassment for all concerned.
Rating: 2.5 out of 10
Finally for this month, We Bury the Dead can be bought or rented on the usual services. Ava Newman (Daisy Ridley), a desperate woman, searches for her husband in the aftermath of a catastrophic military experiment. Hoping to find him alive, Ava joins a “body retrieval unit”, but her search takes a chilling turn when the corpses she’s locating start showing signs of life. For a zombie movie, this is more about Ava dealing with her guilt and grief than it is about scares. Ridley is excellent but this sort of thing was done much better by the 28 Years Later films.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10