Time for another quick round up of 2015 releases now available on demand.
Convenience
A nifty low budget British comedy set in a 24 hour convenience store. Two guys trying to rob the store are forced to spend the night there posing as shop workers. A unique situation, some funny lines and decent cast, including Vicky McClure, and Adeel Akhtar make this worth a watch.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
The Interview
All the publicity surrounding this movie overshadowed the fact that it is a painfully unfunny, offensive mess.
Rating: 2 out of 10
The Gambler
Very dreary remake of a 1974 movie about an English professor with a gambling addiction. Usually films about gambling feature some tense scenes, but not this! Mark Wahlberg, an actor I normally like, is completely miscast in the lead role. It is good to see the veteran actor George Kennedy back on the big screen though, and Brie Larson tries her best in an underwritten part.
Rating: 4 out of 10
Into the Woods
Intensely annoying musical lacking any memorable lines and featuring actors half-singing and half-talking their lines. Excruciating stuff, despite the star-studded cast.
Rating: 2.5 out of 10
Barely Lethal
A real oddity. A young orphaned girl, Megan, trained to be an assassin escapes to live a normal life. Aimed squarely at the teen market so the assassins don’t actually kill anyone, and much of the film is taken up with a very standard high school plot, with the rest of the story uncomfortably grafted onto it. Some of the performances rise above the material, Hailee Steinfeld as you would expect is excellent as Megan, well supported by Dove Cameron and Alexandra Krosney. However, Jason Ian Drucker gives one of the most irritating child performances I’ve seen in a while.
Pressure
After last year’s disappointing Black Sea, I was hoping that this underwater thriller would be better. Unfortunately, it is much worse, lacking any likable characters or tension.
Rating: 4 out of 10
Beasts of No Nation
A Netflix production given a simultaneous release at cinemas, mainly because it has one eye on being awards nominated. This story of a young boy becoming part of war lord’s army in an unnamed African country will be best seen, though not easily so because the release is really limited, on the big screen.
The cinematography by Cary Joji Fukunaga, who also writes and directs, is stunning and the sound mixing/editing is excellent. Some really powerful scenes, but the device of seeing this from a child’s point of view is a little clichéd. Idris Elba dominates in a very showy role.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Burying the Ex
An inventive horror comedy about a guy (Max) who’s girlfriend dies in an accident just as he was about to split up with her, only to find that she comes back as a zombie. A neat premise and a charming performance from Alexandra Daddario as Max’s new girlfriend make this a nice little watch.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Howl
I really enjoyed this British horror about a group of late night train passengers being attacked by werewolves. The low budget can sometimes be seen in the effects, bit on the whole this is a thoroughly enjoyable film directed well by Paul Hyett. Sure, the characters make bad choices, but that is an accepted horror movie trope and the performances, especially by Elliot Cowan, Shauna MacDonald, Holly Weston, and Duncan Preston are better than you would expect.
Rating: 7 out of 10