What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

[Markgway]

Brightburn (2018) **
Gormless couple adopt an alien baby and are surprised when he turns out to be an evil little shit.
Some interesting ideas not properly fleshed out.

[Markgway]

Extracurricular (2018) **½
A quartet of high school serial killers (two couples, although one is a secret lesbian) get a sick thrill from the planning and execution of complete strangers; the more isolated and terrified their victims, the better. The filmmakers' exploration of these psychopaths joy of human suffering and the cold-blooded banality of their personas (re-imagine Michael Rooker's Henry as a smart-assed teen) and attitude toward murder is utterly chilling... the plot's perceived cleverness actually detracts form the overall impact and reminds you that this is a movie and nothing like reality, but there's enough here for horror fans to chew over.

[Markgway]

The Dead Don't Die (2019) **½
Out-there, dead-pan zombie comedy from indie darling Jim Jarmusch is actually pretty funny once you get into it's wry, post-modern groove (which not everyone will).

[Markgway]

Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) **½
Contrived sequel only hits its stride when the main players are back on screen, and the actors are obviously having a great time.
Good humour, good fun, suitable for most kids.

[Markgway]

Snowpiercer (2013) **½
A super train hosts all that remains of humanity in a new man-made ice age. A brutally enforced class structure keeps the haves at the front, the have-nots at the back. The have-nots have had enough and plot to take over the engine in a series of bloody showdowns. It's the bullet train sequence from The Hunted for two hours, peppered with Bong Joon-Ho's quirky brand of satire and black humour. The concept is good, the execution problematic. The elements should all work, but everything is over-baked and heavy-handed, and far too many ideas and details simply don't make sense. A stripped down actioner would have been less ambitious, but more satisfying.

[Markgway]

Scribe (2016) ***
Low-key French conspiracy thriller.
Nothing outstanding for the genre, but focused and well-done.

#Horror (2015) *
Anti-bullying message is no excuse for this amateurish nonsense.
#horrible

[HungFist]

Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies (USA, 2020) [VoD] – 3/5
An enjoyable, but a little superficial documentary. The synopsis talks about "examining the changes in morality that led to the use of nudity in films while emphasizing the political, sociological and artistic changes" but this is really only true to the early years. Much of the modern era (from 70s on) is really just scratching the surface with brief film clips followed by brief comments by one, max two people (Pam Grier gets to speak for about 30 seconds). Perhaps they should have posed more academic research questions to explore in detail, instead of trying to include every (American) film with a famous nude scene. It’s still an entertaining doc, but one would prefer a deeper penetration.

[Markgway]

but one would prefer a deeper penetration.

Hey, wouldn't we all...

[Markgway]

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) ***
Absorbing drama, with dark sense of humour; first-rate performances.

[HungFist]

The Mechanic (USA, 2011) [VoD] – 2/5
A pretty bad remake of a pretty good Bronson film. This suffers from the same censorship problem as the original. The relationship between a master killer and a cocky young apprentice doesn’t feel believable (in the slightest) when it’s been stripped of the sexual tension (in the original novel they are lovers). What this new film adds is a load of bad shaky-cam action where you can’t tell what the hell is happening. Still, somehow, the film remains oddly watchable, perhaps thanks to Statham. He’s no Bronson, but he has some charisma.

[Markgway]

Zombieland: Double Tap (2019) **½
Original cast have fun reprising their roles for more comic zombie mayhem.
I fairly enjoyed it.

[Markgway]

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019) **½
Disney sequel is enjoyable... what I could see of it, since half the damn thing was shot in the dark.
What's the point of spending millions on a movie when in the end you can't see shit?

Ready or Not? (2019) **½
Cartoonish black comedy horror moves at a clip, but is too broad to work as satire.
Not sure about that ending either.

[HungFist]

Mechanic: Resurrection (USA, 2016) [VoD] – 3/5
Straightforward, fast-paced sequel with amusingly over-the-top action set pieces. Statham is forced back into action to execute three near-impossible assassinations. Hardly anything exceptional, basically a DTV film made for theatres, but it’s got a sense of fun and doesn’t resort to that shaky-cam nonsense that ruined the first film.

[Markgway]

Suspiria (1977) ***
Synapse's UHD is the definitive presentation.

[HungFist]

Hummingbird (UK, 2013) [VoD] – 3.5/5
An unexpectedly good Jason Statham film about a homeless war vet who steals another man’s identity and finds his way to the underworld. Conscience starts catching up before too soon. This film has been criticized as something that can’t decide between gritty gangster realism and naïve action clichés, but I thought it had a gritty fairytale quality to it. Solid performance by Statham, too, and a nice British vibe all over the film. Very entertaining.

[Markgway]

Alita: Battle Angel (2019) **½
Blockbuster action fantasy is very well done for what it is, though too animated for my own personal taste. Alita is more appealing that you would expect from a CGI creation, and all credit to Rosa Salazar for bringing her to life. I can see why fans enjoyed this.

[Markgway]

The Informer (2019) ***
Good, tense thriller about a family man helplessly caught between the Polish mob and the FBI.

Feedback (2019) *½
Wholly unconvincing thriller in which an opinionated DJ is held hostage by masked assailants with an agenda.

[Markgway]

Event Horizon (1997) **½
Apparently damaged by severe post-production cuts, this is either a trashy A-picture or a classy B-movie.
Hell, maybe it's both...

[Markgway]

American Assassin (2017) **½
Young American witnesses his fiance die in a terrorist attack and becomes intent on wiping out their cell in revenge.
The CIA see a potential new recruit to their elite unit headed by grouchy Michael Keaton.
Decent action thriller, lots of violence; lead Dylan O'Brien maybe too baby-faced to convince as a screen hard man.

The Fan (1981) *½
Poor slasher in which a young, demented Michael Biehn stalks Lauren Bacall's veteran "star of stage and screen".
Maybe Brian DePalma could've done something with this material.
But despite a Pino Donnagio score, and fondness for open razors, this ain't DePalma.

Edge of Winter (2016) **
"Shitty" father Joel Kinnaman takes his two sons on a snowy road trip, discovers their mother is planning to move abroad.
Unwilling to let "his" kids go, he holds them hostage in he middle of nowhere.
Turgid psycho-melodrama fails to generate enough suspense.

[Markgway]

Life (2017) ***
Good Alien-esque horror sees a Martian monster run amok aboard a space craft.

Countdown (2019) **½
Decent gimmick thriller in which an app predicts your exact time of death.

[HungFist]

Homefront (USA, 2013) [VoD] – 3/5
Average Jason Statham actioner originally written by Sylvester Stallone as the 5th Rambo film! Indeed, there’s about 20% First Blood, 50% Last Blood and 30% differing content in the storyline. Statham plays haunted-by-the-past ex-undercover cop who moves into a small town with his daughter, gets harassed by an unfriendly sheriff, and then runs into a narcotics gang who attack his house. Sounds familiar? Not really an accomplished film, but watchable enough to (just) earn a 3 star rating.

American Assassin (2017) **½
Young American witnesses his fiance die in a terrorist attack and becomes intent on wiping out their cell in revenge.
The CIA see a potential new recruit to their elite unit headed by grouchy Michael Keaton.
Decent action thriller, lots of violence; lead Dylan O'Brien maybe too baby-faced to convince as a screen hard man.

I watched this on Prime a few weeks ago. Pretty much agree with you. I thought it worked pretty well for the first 80 min, but got a little weaker towards the end with standard action mayhem and some unnecessarily nasty violence. I liked Keaton, though. 3/5

[Markgway]

I think Homefront is much better than Rambo: Last Blood.

[Markgway]

Blade (1998) **½
Wesley Snipes stars in decent Marvel comic adaptation.

[Markgway]

Late Night (2019) **½
Watchable comedy with Emma Thompson as acerbic talk show host.

The Hitcher (1986) ***
Memorable chiller with a nasty edge.

[Markgway]

Rear Window (1954) ****
Hitchcock classic. 'nuff said.

Vertigo (1958) ****
Hitchcock classic. 'nuff said.

Road Games (2015) **
Not Hitchcock, not a classic. It's not even Richard Franklin.