New Releases:
Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny – Experience the return of legendary hero, Indiana Jones, in the fifth installment of this beloved swashbuckling series of films. Finding himself in a new era, approaching retirement, Indy wrestles with fitting into a world that seems to have outgrown him. But as the tentacles of an all-too-familiar evil return in the form of an old rival, Indy must don his hat and pick up his whip once more to make sure an ancient and powerful artifact doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
Expectations: Fifteen years after the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, Harrison is back for a real send-off to one of his all-time greatest characters and it is under the eye of director James Mangold who hasn’t had a theatrical stumble yet. I can’t lie, the de-aged Indy stuff gets me excited as it looks so well done and there’s a quality to these movies that makes me feel like a kid again. I’m so excited for this one and I know I’m not the only one.
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken – Sixteen-year-old Ruby Gillman learns she is in the next legendary line of sea Kraken. Despite her lofty destiny, she is desperate to fit in at Oceanside High. Ruby struggles, even more, to fit in when her mother forbids her from going to the beach. After disobeying her mother’s rules, she discovers that she is descended from the warrior Kraken queens and will ascend to the throne as the Warrior Queen of the Seven Seas, her grandmother. The Krakens are a race sworn to protect the world’s oceans from the vain, power-hungry mermaids by battling with eons. Ruby would need to embrace Chelsea, a mermaid-turned-human who enrolls at Oceanside High School.
Expectations: It looks like Dreamworks is trying to launch a new franchise here and the animation looks fun and colourful which has my kid excited about it. The humour for adults will be present here as well as it comes from writer and director Kirk DeMicco, the mind behind The Croods movies and I contest that those films are hilarious. Featuring the voices of Lana Condor, Jane Fonda, Toni Collette and Will Forte, this movie has the potential to grab a good audience, especially after Disney and Pixar fizzled with Elemental.
Nimona – When Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed), a knight in a futuristic medieval world, is framed for a crime he didn’t commit, the only one who can help him prove his innocence is Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz), a mischievous teen with a taste for mayhem – who also happens to be a shapeshifting creature Ballister has been trained to destroy. But with the entire kingdom out to get him, Nimona’s the best (or technically the only) sidekick Ballister can hope for. And as the lines between heroes, villains, and monsters start to blur, the two of them set out to wreak serious havoc – for Ballister to clear his name once and for all, and for Nimona to…just wreak serious havoc.
Review: Another big studio animated film dumped onto Netflix and, once again, just like The Sea Beast and The Mitchells Vs. The Machines, it is absolutely fantastic. Great chemistry between Ahmed and Moretz in the lead roles, a queer-coded storyline that is sweet and original and eye-popping animation from the guy behind the Will Smith animated flick Spies In Disguise. I had no idea what to expect from this film but it got me chuckling early then I buckled in for the full ride. This is a real hit here.
Blu-Ray:
Evil Dead Rise – In the fifth Evil Dead film, a road-weary Beth pays an overdue visit to her older sister Ellie, who is raising three kids alone in a cramped L.A. apartment. The sisters’ reunion is cut short by the discovery of a mysterious book deep in the bowels of Ellie’s building, giving rise to flesh-possessing demons, and thrusting Beth into a primal battle for survival as she is faced with the most nightmarish version of motherhood imaginable.
Review: With a Twitter handle like Stevil Dead, it is no surprise that these movies are the tops of the genre for me and I love them deeply. That said, none of the films have disappointed me and this film is no different. Director Lee Cronin has gifted us with a glorious and gory entry that keeps you on the edge of your seats and gets in your ear with an incredible sound design that is award-worthy. I also contend that this film has possibly the greatest title card in film history, one of my all-time favourites now.
Television:
Hijack (AppleTV+) – A tense thriller (told in real-time) that follows the journey of a hijacked plane as it makes its way to London over a seven-hour flight, while authorities on the ground scramble for answers. Sam Nelson (Elba) is an accomplished negotiator in the business world, who needs to step up and use all his guile to try and save the lives of the passengers — but, his high-risk strategy could be his undoing.
Review: There’s something weird about the catalogue of shows on AppleTV+ and it is the distinct knowledge that most of the shows were rejected from other networks and streaming services and this one in particular feels very much like a BBC co-productio. This is not necessarily a bad thing because BBC and star Idris Elba combined talents for the fantastic series Luther and anything he does just oozes his charisma so if you are a fan of his, then you have to check this one out. Beyond that, the show doesn’t feel particularly special and maybe a bit formulaic with the big grand arching problem and the potential genius played by Elba to fix it. It feels entertaining on a surface level and the pilot plays out well but can the interest be sustained?
The Witcher: Season 3 Volume 1 (Netflix) – Geralt of Rivia is a witcher, a mutant with special powers who kills monsters for money. The land is in a state of turmoil, due to the empire of Nilfgaard seeking to enlarge its territory. Among the refugees of this struggle is Cirilla, the Princess of Cintra, one of Nilfgaard’s victims. She and Geralt share a destiny. Meanwhile, another figure looms large in Geralt’s adventures: Yennefer, a sorceress.
Review: We now reach the beginning of the end for Henry Cavill as our title character, which is so unfortunate as now the plum role of Superman has also been taken from him since that announcement was made. I guess I’ll savour what I’ve got as I enjoy this series and its lore plus the action scenes are awesome and the progression of the story has been handled very well. I also adore Jaskier, the bard, played brilliantly by Joey Batey. His dialogue is hilarious.
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Season 4 (Prime Video) – When CIA analyst Jack Ryan stumbles upon a suspicious series of bank transfers his search for answers pulls him from the safety of his desk job and catapults him into a deadly game of cat and mouse throughout Europe and the Middle East, with a rising terrorist figurehead preparing for a massive attack against the US and her allies.
Expectations: John Krasinski has done a phenomenal job with this character and given Harrison Ford a run for the best to have played him at this point and it is with that going out on top feeling that he and the creators of this series have decided to bring it to a close with this final group of episodes. Always well told and believable, I think Tom Clancy himself would be proud of what they’ve done with the character and the modernization of the world he faces. It also makes me wonder if we may see some limited movies in the future within this world.
Warrior: Season 3 (Crave) – A crime drama that takes place in the latter half of the 19th century during brutal gang wars in San Francisco’s Chinatown, it follows martial arts prodigy Ah Sahm, a Chinese immigrant who arrives in the City of Lights under mysterious circumstances. Once he proves his prowess as a fighter, Sahm becomes a hitman for one of Chinatown’s most powerful organized crime families. As he is mentored by the son of the crime family’s leader, learning the ins and outs of gang warfare, Al Sahm wins the confidence of brothel madam Ah Toy, eventually revealing to her his true intentions.
Expectations: This is a series that is definitely rough around the edges but the action scenes consistently elevate it and set it apart from other crime shows. In a world where Peaky Blinders, Sons Of Anarchy and Yellowstone have massive popularity, there is definitely a space for an Asian-driven show to be successful and I think this is well worth the time to check out. I wish the script was a bit tighter as it makes some of the acting a bit wooden but the series is so entertaining that I can get over it from time to time.
Steve Stebbing 