Steve Stebbing

New Releases:

Expend4bles – A new generation of stars joins the world’s top action stars for an adrenaline-fueled adventure in Expend4bles. Reuniting as the team of elite mercenaries, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, and Sylvester Stallone are joined for the first time by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Jacob Scipio, Levy Tran, and Andy Garcia. Armed with every weapon they can get their hands on and the skills to use them, The Expendables are the world’s last line of defence and the team that gets called when all other options are off the table. But new team members with new styles and tactics are going to give “new blood” a whole new meaning.

Expectations: “They’ll die when they’re dead” is the tagline for this fourth Expandables film that we never knew was coming, the big team-up of all the greatest action stars. The team is looking a bit thinner these days, without the inclusion of heavyweights like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jet Li or Harrison Ford but there is something fun to these dumb, bombastic and one-liner-filled movies that satisfies the original action kid in me and I expect this to be no different. It is also the first entry in the franchise to be rated R, so that’s fun.

Dumb Money – The ultimate David vs. Goliath tale, based on the insane true story of everyday people who flipped the script on Wall Street and got rich by turning GameStop (yes, the mall videogame store) into the world’s hottest company. In the middle of everything is regular guy Keith Gill (Paul Dano), who starts it all by sinking his life savings into the stock and posting about it. When his social posts start blowing up, so does his life and the lives of everyone following him. As a stock tip becomes a movement, everyone gets rich — until the billionaires fight back, and both sides find their worlds turned upside down.

Expectations: A bizarre story straight out of the pandemic era, I was wondering how quickly the Game Stop stock saga was going to get the film biopic treatment and here it is, helmed by the capable director of I, Tonya, Craig Gillespie. A phenomenal cast led by one of the greatest character actors today, Paul Dano, I have very good thoughts about this movie and have been looking forward to it ever since it’s first trailer. This might be the sleeper hit of this month to alleviate the boredom that has been September.

No One Will Save You – This film introduces Brynn Adams (Kaitlyn Dever), a creative and talented young woman who’s been alienated from her community. Lonely but ever hopeful, Brynn finds solace within the walls of the home where she grew up–until she’s awakened one night by strange noises from decidedly unearthly intruders. What follows is an action-packed face-off between Brynn and a host of extraterrestrial beings who threaten her future while forcing her to deal with her past.

Review: I’ve been a huge fan of Kaitlyn Dever for years and with the release of Booksmart she really started getting some good attention. This kind of film is my total jam, a one-on-one battle for survival between a great character actress and an extraterrestrial force and I loved every second of it. The writer and director Brian Duffield hit another home run, something very common for him after his debut, Spontaneous, as well as his scripts for Love And Monsters and both of the Netflix-made Babysitter movies. The guy rocks and hopefully, this one will grow into a sleeper hit as well.

Barber – Val Barber, a private investigator, is hired by a wealthy widow to find her missing granddaughter Sara. As initial investigations into her disappearance begin to darken, secrets surface in unexpected ways. Before too long, Barber finds himself entangled with powerful men of shady morals determined to thwart his investigations. Has he bitten off more than he can chew?

Review: Anyone who is a fan of The Wire and Game Of Thrones knows how great Aidan Gillen is as an actor and just coming off the newest season of Mayor Of Kingstown, my vigour for the Irish character chameleon’s work is at an all-time high. This film feels like a standard BBC film thriller but the focus here is Gillen’s nuanced work which is evident with every moment of screen time he has. To be honest, if Val Barber’s character were to continue on in another film or series form, I would be on board with that. It reminds me of Idris Elba’s Luther a bit.

Relax, I’m From The Future – A man from the future, now trapped in the past, tries to make a life for himself, oblivious to the consequences he has set in motion.

Review: One of the funniest New Zealanders ever, Rhys Darby, stars in a film set in Toronto with one of Canada’s more niche actors, Julian Richings. That’s all you need to say to sell me and it really works to combine in a dopey low-fi comedy sci-fi that comes through with some mild chuckles. It feels very independent which will hurt it on a financial box office level but fans of Flight Of The Conchords and Our Flag Means Death may discover it and champion it through word of mouth. It may be a Canadian-made international darling.

Cassandro – Saúl Armendáriz, a gay amateur wrestler from El Paso, rises to international stardom after he creates the character Cassandro, the “Liberace of Lucha Libre.” In the process, he upends not just the macho wrestling world, but also his own life.

Expectations: Gael Garcia Bernal stars in this true story pro wrestling biopic so you know I’m on board with it immediately but I also have to note that it co-stars the massive recording star Bad Bunny in the romantic lead, a big acting breakthrough for the Grammy winner. As a fan of the industry, I know a little bit about this story and am excited to see the crossover with the mainstream stuff I know really well but, as a story of the struggle of a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I hope it is handled well and with sensitivity to the real Cassandro. The film is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes so I’m assuming it is well crafted in all aspects.

It Lives Inside – Sam, an Indian-American teen, lives in an idyllic suburb with her conservative mother and her assimilated father. Sam’s cultural insecurities grow due to her estranged friend, Tamira, who mysteriously carries around an empty mason jar all the time. In a moment of anger, Sam breaks Tamira’s jar and unleashes an ancient Indian demonic force that kidnaps Tamira. Sam searches for Tamira, following the trail of a young man who performed a deadly ritual, until the demonic entity starts targeting her, murdering her boyfriend and shattering her reality with terrifying visions. Sam must band together with her parents and a sympathetic teacher to save Tamira and put an end to the terror of the demon.

Expectations: Yes, another horror movie dumped into a month that is filled with productions that studios don’t know what to do with. This one instantly interests me as it is a chilling demonic force story set against a cultural background, exploring the Indian ancestry and the evil that could be contained within. I really enjoy the lead actress in this, Megan Suri, as I enjoyed her a lot in the Netflix series Never Have I Ever and she recently showed up as the main character’s friend in the screen-based thriller Missing, so it’s cool to see her get the big push in this bigger Hollywood horror. This could be really great.

Blu-Ray & DVD:

The Little Mermaid – The youngest of King Triton’s daughters, Ariel is a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure. Longing to learn more about the world beyond the sea, Ariel visits the surface and falls for the dashing Prince Eric. Following her heart, she makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, to experience life on land.

Review: I had a low bar set for this live-action adaptation of a Disney classic, one largely regarded to be the greatest of their library. None of the other big screen versions had been even close to the calibre of the originals and, while this one falls short of that mark as well, it really is a pretty solid film with some really great moments from most of the main cast. Halle Bailey is an instant star in her main role as Ariel and Melissa McCarthy excels in her villain role, something she clearly had a lot of fun with. I was really surprised with how much this film worked for me and I chose to go beyond the faux outrage that many have levelled at it.

Past Lives – In Korea, Na Young, a girl and Hae Sung, a boy are schoolmates and good friends. They often walk back home together after school. Na Young moves to Canada and then to New York with her parents. Hae Sung continues living in Korea, does his engineering course, goes through a short spell of military service and then takes up a job. Both keep in touch periodically through video chats where they talk about their past and general stuff. Meanwhile, in New York, Na has changed her name to Nora, made a name as a playwright and is happily married to Arthur, an American. Hae is keen to meet Nora and visit her in New York, where he spends time with her and Arthur. What has the future in store for Nora and Hae in their relationship?

Review: This film may have snuck in and become my favourite film of 2023, a story full of soul, human connection and also the effect on lives when that is abruptly cut off. This is such a bold debut for writer and director Celine Song who crafts this tale of two fibres connected and severed to be reconnected again in twelve-year intervals. I was engaged from the start as both Greta Lee and Teo Yoo are so brilliant together and when it becomes a trio with John Magaro’s character, the film elevates to perfect levels. This is my recommendation of the year and I am here lobbying for it to be a Criterion Collection entry. It’s that damn good.

Biosphere – In the not-too-distant future, the last two men on earth must adapt and evolve to save humanity.

Review: A simple movie at its core, following two men living in a biosphere, assumedly the last two men on earth, but it’s a premise that could lead to almost anything and the avenue it chooses is one I could never see coming. Written and starring one of my favourite indie filmmakers, Mark Duplass, this movie has commanding performances from him and Sterling K. Brown who is able to take this wild situation and make it so deep and meaningful. I loved this film a lot once I was able to contextualize it afterwards but I can see many people being put off by it.

Bad City – In a city plagued with poverty and crime, a corrupt mafia-connected businessman runs for mayor and starts eliminating his opponents. A former police captain in jail for murder is secretly released and put in charge of a special task force in a desperate, last-ditch effort to take down the corrupt tycoon.

Review: Just tell me a movie is a Yakuza underground crime thriller and I’m more than game to watch your movie but I will say that Takeshi Kitano or Takeshi Miike are kind of the masters of that genre. This story exists in a lower budget and subtler tone but the blood is always flying and the action is pretty fast and furious. I was also surprised by the artfulness of the film for being such a smaller production. They utilized their budget well and some of the set pieces really stand out.

Fire Country: Season 1 – Bode Donovan, a young convict seeking redemption, joins an unconventional prison release firefighting program in Northern California, where he and other inmates are partnered with elite firefighters to extinguish massive, unpredictable wildfires. It’s a high-risk, high-reward assignment, and the heat is turned up when Bode is assigned to the program in his rural hometown, where he was once a golden all-American son until his troubles began. Five years ago, Bode burned down everything in his life, leaving town with a big secret. Now he’s back, with the rap sheet of a criminal and the audacity to believe in a chance for redemption.

Review: Honestly speaking, a series about wildfires and firefighters is a little close to home being a resident of British Columbia or even the Okanagan alone, but this show has some appeal to it that I can get behind. The series is led and co-created by SEAL Team’s Max Theriot, who has become a pretty solid television star through that show’s run and makes Bode a pretty solid character, although with some glaring cliches starting with the hometown mysterious kid storyline. I do really like that it follows a group of inmate firefighting program volunteers, giving it a different edge than you’d see on your standard procedural.

Steve’s Blu-Ray & 4K Geek-Outs:

American Pop – This animated trek across the musical landscape of the 20th century begins with young immigrant Zalmie (Jeffrey Lippa) arriving in New York City. He’s addicted to show business, but an accident ruins his voice. He marries a stripper (Lisa Jane Persky) and their son, Benny (Richard Singer), becomes a jazz pianist. Although Benny is killed in World War II, his son, Tony (Ron Thompson), goes on to great success as a songwriter during the ’60s, as does Tony’s son, Pete (also Thompson), in the ’80s.

Review: As a big fan of Ralph Bakshi’s work for a long time, I love films like Heavy Metal, Fritz The Cat and his unfinished Lord Of The Rings, but this film has always been a blind spot until this Blu-ray release. The film is interesting in its commercial appeal, which only poked up its head in Heavy Metal to my memory, but something rare in the animator’s work. I love that the restoration of the picture for this format makes the rotoscope animation style sort of pop off a good television and to experience something so daring at its time of release in an era that has definitely felt its influence is very cool. A niche film for sure but something worth watching.

The Legend Of Zorro 4K – The legendary Zorro (Antonio Banderas) goes on another adventure to protect the future of California and its citizens. This time, he fights against evil-doers with the help of his beautiful wife, Elena (Catherine Zeta-Jones), and their precocious young son, Joaquin (Adrian Alonso). Don Alejandro de la Vega is torn between two worlds: his life as Zorro, and his life as a family man. After Alejandro once again breaks his promise to stop wearing the mask, Elena leaves him and soon begins seeing Armand (Rufus Sewell), a haughty French Count. But a mysterious explosion in the desert leads Zorro to believe that there’s more to Armand than meets the eye, and our hero is intent on finding out what that is. Little does he know, there are others working to uncover certain truths as well.

Review: Getting a short little franchise around the 2000s, Antoni Banderas was pretty well cast as the title character, ironically enough being cast as Puss In Boots in Shrek 2 the year before this sequel, and Catherine Zeta-Jones was one of the hot A-listers at the time. I remember not enjoying this film as a jaded twenty-something. Still, in this new 4K upgrade I felt the movie was pretty fun and it’s that adventure style that director Martin Campbell excels at, coming from the Bond franchise’s GoldenEye and Casino Royale which he would release the same year. The film also features Rufus Sewell in a villain role which always makes an action adventure come together well.

The Princess Bride 4K – A kindly grandfather sits down with his ill grandson and reads him a story. The story is one that has been passed down from father to son for generations. As the grandfather reads the story, the action comes alive. The story is a classic tale of love and adventure as the beautiful Buttercup, engaged to the odious Prince Humperdinck, is kidnapped and held against her will in order to start a war, It is up to Westley (her childhood beau, now returned as the Dread Pirate Roberts) to save her. On the way, he meets a thief and his hired helpers, an accomplished swordsman and a huge, super-strong giant, both of whom become Westley’s companions in his quest.

Review: Easily one of my favourite films of all time and a movie responsible for my love of filmmaking as a craft, the loving edition that the people at the Criterion Collection have put together is a piece of art within itself. Packaged in something that feels like a real book, this is crammed with special features on the disc and a beautiful book of essays from the cast and those inspired by the film as well as behind-the-scenes photos, a majority taken by star Mandy Patinkin. If you are a fan of this film at all, you really owe it to yourself to go out and get this, the most definitive version you will find of it.

Television:

Sex Education: Season 4 (Netflix) – Socially awkward high school student Otis may not have much experience in the lovemaking department, but he gets good guidance on the topic in his personal sex ed course — living with mom Jean, who is a sex therapist. Being surrounded by manuals, videos and tediously open conversations about sex, Otis has become a reluctant expert on the subject. When his classmates learn about his home life, Otis decides to use his insider knowledge to improve his status at school, so he teams up with whip-smart bad girl Maeve to set up an underground sex therapy clinic to deal with their classmates’ problems. But through his analysis of teenage sexuality, Otis realizes that he may need some therapy of his own.

Expectations: One of the great British Netflix creations draws to a close, a hilarious, thoughtful and, at times, pretty outrageous high school comedy graduate with very high marks. The iconic Gillian Anderson is absolutely perfect as Otis’s sex therapist mom and Asa Butterfield was already a sizeable star in films like Ender’s Game and Hugo but this show also gifted us future stars like Emma Mackey, recently in the box office smash Barbie, and Ncuti Gatwa who is about to kick off a brand new season as the new Doctor Who. I am sad to see this show come to an end, one that rarely disappoints, but I’m glad to see it go out on its own accord, a luxury that a lot of shows don’t get to do.

Still Up (AppleTV+) – Bonded by insomnia, best friends Lisa and Danny stay connected to each other late into the night and find their way through a world of wonderfully weird surprises as their relationship deepens.

Review: Having no knowledge about this series heading in, I was surprised by how likable it was from the get-go. I really enjoyed Antonia Thomas from her time on the Channel 4 series Misfits and Craig Roberts has been on my radar as both an actor and a writer and director for years, a really talented dude. This show has some of the cliche romantic tropes of will they or won’t they get together, but it works mostly because the characters are well-written. It also bums me out as a story because Thomas’s love interest is a former Inbetweener, Blake Harrison. I love that show so much and hold it close to my heart.