Steve Stebbing

New Releases:

Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts – Set in the 1990s, this spin-off prequel takes audiences on an action-packed, globetrotting adventure as the Maximals, Predacons, and Terrorcons join the battle between the Autobots and Decepticons on Earth. Noah, a sharp young guy from Brooklyn, and Elena, an ambitious, talented artifact researcher, are swept up in the conflict as Optimus Prime and the Autobots face a terrifying new nemesis bent on their destruction named Scourge.

Expectations: This is one of these franchises that is far from perfect but I still manage to check out every installment on the big screen. Starting from the first Shia Labeouf-led film, none of them were great but they lost me when Mark Wahlberg came in for what I thought were two pretty lacklustre fourth and fifth movies. Those films aside, Bumblebee was great and the infusing of a new director’s style seems to be helping out, I loved Steven Caple’s last film, Creed II, so he already knows how to approach an existing intellectual property with care. This might be a surprise hit, who knows?

Past Lives – Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, they are reunited in New York for one fateful week as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life, in this heartrending modern romance.

Expectations: This is exactly my type of movie, a Before Trilogy-like story that follows a journey of connection between two characters. Yes, this is a piece of cinema I love and the buzz on this film is very high which gets me excited for it. Sadly for me, the film is set to be a pretty limited release so if you’re in a small town you will most likely have to wait for this possibly future Oscar-nominated drama from South Korea.

The Wrath Of Becky – Three years after escaping a violent attack on her family by four Neo-Nazis, Becky and her beloved dog Diego live with a kind elderly woman named Elena Connor to rebuild her life. But when a fascist organization known as the “Noble Men” break into their home, attack both Becky and Elena and kidnap Diego, it’s up to Becky to fight back by returning to her old ways to protect herself and her loved ones, rescue Diego, and uncover the Noble Men’s mastermind plans before it’s too late.

Review: Look, when you cast Kevin James in his first villain role as a neo nazi escaped convict, you have my attention but when you have a young girl dispatch him and his crew in gory fashion, well, you’ve got my fandom. Easy to say, I was psyched for this follow-up and I was satisfied with what I got, an older Becky pushed to the edge by a new group of assholes. Lulu Wilson kicks every ass around her in this hero whose glee for killing may thrust her into the anti-hero category. Even still, I could be totally swayed into watching a third film, hell, make a Becky cinematic universe at this point, I’m game. 

Daliliand – Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Mary Harron (I SHOT ANDY WARHOL, AMERICAN PSYCHO), DALÍLAND stars Sir Ben Kingsley as the titular Salvador Dalí, one of the most world-renowned artists of the 20th century and focuses on the later years of the strange and fascinating marriage between Dalí and his wife, Gala (Barbara Sukowa), as their seemingly unshakable bond begins to stress and fracture. Set in New York and Spain in 1974, the film is told through the eyes of James (Christopher Briney), a young assistant keen to make his name in the art world, who helps the eccentric and mercurial Dalí prepare for a big gallery show.

Review: This movie had all the markings of a hit, Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley playing Dali, directed by the woman who brought American Psycho to the big screen, it all had me very intrigued. Sadly, the execution of the film left me a bit cold as the narrative is muddied and the character that the story is centred around feels really uninteresting and unremarkable, more of a foil for all of the other characters to shine off of. I do like that Suki Waterhouse has a small role in this film, an actress who impresses me every time.

Blu-Ray:

Champions – Woody Harrelson stars in the hilarious and heartwarming story of a former minor-league basketball coach who, after a series of missteps, is ordered by the court to manage a team of players with intellectual disabilities. He soon realizes that despite his doubts, together, this team can go further than they ever imagined.

Review: I will admit, this movie had bad reviews so I went into it with a chip on my shoulder and I ended up really liking it. I’ve been done in by some of the solo work of the Dumb And Dumber and There’s Something About Mary directing duo, the Farrelly brothers, but Woody wins me over in this alongside his very funny team players and a great romantic role for It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’s Kaitlin Olsen who is honestly incapable of phoning it in. Ignore the slights on this one, I had fun with it.

Mafia Mamma – An American mom (Toni Collette) inherits her grandfather’s mafia empire in Italy. Guided by the firm’s consigliere (Monica Bellucci), she hilariously defies everyone’s expectations as the new head of the family business.

Review: The terrible trailers for this movie nearly scared me off completely but the mere fact that it stars Toni Collette, who I would watch in anything, and directed by Thirteen and Lords Of Dogtown director Catherine Hardwicke kept me on board. That said, Collette is the saving grace in a film that is cartoonish and slapstick but oddly charming in the end. If you read elsewhere bout this movie you will see many low scores for this one but I kind of had fun with the movie.

Tulsa King: Season 1 – Follows New York Mafia capo Dwight “The General” Manfredi, just after he is released from prison after 25 years and unceremoniously exiled by his boss to set up shop in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Realizing that his mob family might not have his best interests in mind, Dwight slowly builds a “crew” from a group of unlikely characters, to help him establish a new criminal empire in a place that to him might as well be another planet.

Review: Taylor Sheridan expands his Paramount+ universe further, this time with the giant star of Sylvester Stallone to lead it in his first television series and, like everything the Yellowstone creator does, it is great. Stallone brings a fantastic anti-hero-like energy to Dwight, a man who is a fish out of water in every way, but with his current surroundings but also not being behind bars. This is coupled with the fact that he is smart, devious, always able to sort things out on the fly and, most importantly, blessed with an amazing knockout punch ability, well, it makes him a damn interesting dude to watch. Can’t wait for season two. 

Steve’s Blu-Ray Geekouts:

Border Incident – Illegal Mexican migrant workers paying coyotes for the chance to cross the border and work for unethical American rancher Owen Parkson are ambushed and killed upon their return to Mexico by soulless bandits. To stop the vicious cycle of exploitation and murder, Mexican federal agent Pablo Rodriguez is assigned to infiltrate a group of ‘braceros’ in cooperation with American federal agent Jack Bearnes. Risking their lives to uphold the laws of their respective countries, the success of the operation depends on Pablo and Jack’s ability to outsmart the predators without becoming the prey.

Review: It’s fascinating that a film-noir drama from 1949 about illegal migrant workers in America could be so relevant in 2023 but here we are. Equally intriguing, it’s interesting to know that the production of it was actually pretty progressive at it’s time as well because this is the only time in his career where leading man Ricardo Montalban got to play his own nationality with the Mexican character Pablo Rodriguez. The film was directed by Anthony Mann who later found bigger success with his films El Cid and The Glenn Miller Story which may have been his most widely renowned.

Clash By Night – After ten long years of absence, Mae Doyle returns to her hometown of Monterey, California, disillusioned by the big-city lifestyle of New York. There, unattainable Mae’s air of sophistication and confidence catches the eye of the hard-working, good-natured fisherman, Jerry, and his misogynistic, patronizing, movie projectionist friend, Earl, who begins to court her right from the start. But, Mae has had her share of loser boyfriends, and even though she seems determined to spare an innocent her cynicism, she decides to take a second chance at love and marries Jerry. Now, one year and a baby daughter later, a silent undercurrent of unspoken desires and raw lust threaten Jerry’s happiness. Once, Jerry promised that he would do anything for Mae. Is he prepared to lose everything in the aftermath of love?

Review: Warner Archive is coming through with the film noir gems this week and this romance also boasts a phenomenal cast of the early 1950s elite with Robert Ryan, Barbara Stanwick and Marilyn Monroe. It seems like it would be a dicey set as Stanwick was in the midst of a divorce but it actually helped with the tolerance of Monroe’s inability to remember the lines and the calmness, I say, gets a great performance out of both of them. I think both actresses are the highlight of the movie, for sure.

Fist Of The Condor – Upon the empire’s fall to invading conquistadors, the 16th-century Incas quickly concealed a sacred manual containing the secrets behind their deadly fighting technique. But after centuries of careful safeguarding, the manual is again at risk of falling into the wrong hands, leaving its rightful guardian to battle the world’s greatest assassins to protect the ancient secrets within.

Review: This film was a total surprise for me and I should have known that those genre masters at Well Go USA had a gem in their hands because they always come through with titles I end up loving. The big shock for me in this martial arts film was the country of origin as this action epic actually comes from Chilean writer and director Ernesto Díaz Espinoza, a filmmaker I know only from his segment in the ABCs Of Death anthology film. He crafts a really cool world here and the action scenes feel hard-hitting and exhilarating. It’s also a great platform to show off how awesome lead actor Marko Zaror is, a dude who needs to shoot to the top of the action a-list in my opinion.

Television:

Human Resources: Season 2 (Netflix) – This spin-off pulls back the curtain on the daily lives of the creatures Hormone Monsters, Depression Kitties, Shame Wizards, and many more that help humans navigate through every aspect of life from puberty to childbirth to the twilight years. It quickly becomes clear that though the creatures are the protagonists, they have a lot of humanity themselves.

Review: Just like the show it has spun off from, Big Mouth, this series aims for the same thing, rude and crude sexually explicit comedy almost designed to make you uncomfortable. I do enjoy this and Big Mouth but as much as I do, I’m ready for all of this universe to come to a planned end, I mean, where else can we go but down at this point? Nick Kroll and his friends have had an incredible time grossing us out with our own bodies and urges and I do love Maury and Connie the hormone monsters but, you know, let’s get that Netflix money somewhere else now.

The Idol (Crave) – After a nervous breakdown derailed Jocelyn’s last tour, she’s determined to claim her rightful status as the greatest and sexiest pop star in America. Her passions are reignited by Tedros, a nightclub impresario with a sordid past. Will her romantic awakening take her to glorious new heights or the deepest, darkest, depths of her soul?

Review: This is a series that got people divided right out of the gate. On its surface, it is a series created by Euphoria’s Sam Levinson and megastar and Canadian singer The Weeknd who also stars in the show alongside Lily Rose-Depp. Well, the sleaziness of the storyline did not go over well at the Cannes Film Festival, prompting man walkouts, but I’m intrigued by its unflinching provocativeness, something that is a common theme with me for a long time. I also dig the satire the show is going for and, if the vitriol against it is so bad, I better watch it all now before the eventual cancellation from HBO.

Never Have I Ever: Season 4 (Netflix) – The complicated life of a first-generation Indian-American teenage girl, inspired by Mindy Kaling’s own childhood.

Review: This is a series that I wish Netflix would put their money on because I am definitely not ready to see it go. On the other hand, a show that decides to go out on its own can be much more satisfying and I adore Devi and her friends so much and seeing them get their resolutions is really bittersweet. It’s just a little too much after I just went through The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Barry and Ted Lasso. A guy can only take a certain amount of emotions on the television.

Arnold (Netflix) – Follows the life of Arnold Schwarzenegger, from his days of lifting weights to his successes in Hollywood, his time serving as governor of California, and both the joys and volatility of his family life.

Review: As a guy who has been an Arnie fan since childhood, I was all about this new documentary series that follows the action hero in an unflinching and, at times, remorseful look at his life. To see this legendary performer, former politician and forever advocate for the environment be brutally honest with himself ain front of the audience at home is inspiring and really humanizes a man who I looked at like a cinema god for decades. Even if you aren’t a fan of his, the story he has to tell is really extraordinary and worth a watch.

The Crowded Room (AppleTV+) – Danny Sullivan is arrested following his involvement in a shooting in New York City in 1979. Through a series of interviews with curious interrogator Rya Goodwin, Danny’s life story unfolds, revealing elements of the mysterious past that shaped him, and the twists and turns that will lead him to a life-altering revelation.

Review: Tom Holland is in such a Hollywood limbo situation. In one aspect, he is an international darling, as an endearing actor that has been Spider-Man and video game character Nathan Drake in some pretty solid films, is an endearing young man on the various press circuits and Zendaya has to see something in him, right? The other side of this is the less than stellar other acting projects, the lower of which are both things he has done for AppleTV+, starting with the Russo Brothers film Cherry and now this lacklustre limited series. Holland is good in both things, don’t get me wrong, but he is the only thing that works and in this show, everyone around him, including favourites like Amanda Seyfried and Emmy Rossum, feels like forgettable background noise.