Month: July 2022

The 355 (2022, dir. Simon Kinberg)

Five operatives – each female – team up to retrieve a codebreaking device. Uninspired globetrotting spy thriller with a good cast (including Dear Old Jason Flemyng on Brit villain duties) largely wasted. A tickbox script, flaccid direction, and flat action design give producer Chastain and colleagues little to sell. Meh, unfortunately.

Here’s the trailer.

Ambulance (2022, dir. Michael Bay)

Mismatched brothers kidnap a paramedic and her cop patient as part of an LA heist getaway. A superior slice of Bayhem (remaking the 2005 Danish flick of the same name) that’s dumb as rocks, but gleeful and propulsive. An impressive commitment to vehicular destruction, and it looks great throughout. Jake Gyllenhaal clearly has a blast.

Here’s the trailer

Jurassic World: Dominion (2022, dir. Colin Trevorrow)

Dearing and Grady enlist Grant and Sadler to rescue a girl holding the secret to preventing ecological collapse. A loosely-plotted series of chases, escapes, and fan service this time out. Fun while it’s on but doesn’t cohere, lifting bits from across the franchise as well as from Damien: Omen II and sundry Bond flicks.

Here’s the trailer.

Uncharted (2022, dir. Ruben Fleischer)

Treasure hunters team up to find a fabled hoard. Very straightforward series of globetrotting scrapes, heists, and escapes based loosely on the long-running videogame series. Variable production values don’t help. Lead Tom Holland does what he can with the material, but this is tickbox stuff throughout.

Here’s the trailer.

Choose Or Die [AKA Curs>r] (2022, dir. Toby Meakins)

A young programmer finds an old computer cassette: it proves murderous. Awkward cursed game horror flick, with too many ideas iffily handled. Uncovincingly shot in the UK but set in the US. Some good performances and neat moments – plus a Candyman-ish social conscience – underline missed opportunities.

Here’s the trailer.

Come Play (2020, dir. Jacob Chase)

A boy with autism is stalked by a digital demon. Well-sustained low-key horror pic, deliberately mashing up early (CE3K, E.T., Poltergeist) Amblin/Spielberg and the likes of The Babadook. Finds plenty of ways to make phones and TVs menacing without labouring allegories about screen time. Recommended.

Here’s the trailer.

Interceptor (2022, dir. Matthew Reilly)

An officer defends her missile defence control room from nuclear terrorists. Well-contained action flick more than happy to blend Die Hard ripoff and base under siege thrills. Does precisely what it intends with no surprises: a solid job all around.

Here’s the trailer.

The Princess (2022, dir. Le-Van Kiet)

A princess must fight through her castle to save her family and her kingdom. Modest but broadly effective cod-medieval martial arts action comedy, with plenty of Nu Boyana stunt performers getting theirs. Joey King proves versatile in the lead, though the movie needs more Veronica Ngo.

Here’s the trailer:

The Batman (2022, dir. Matt Reeves)

A reclusive vigilante meets his nemesis. Skilful if lengthy revisiting of the caped crusader, here early in his career and focused at least in part on actual detective work. Impressive and never less than proficient throughout in a Seven-ish kinda way, if not exactly necessary. A confident walk down a well-worn path.

Here’s the trailer.

X (2022, dir. Ti West)

A porn shoot in a remote Texas location goes awry. Smart, effective late 70s-set horror that’s playful, gleeful, and respectful of the genre in equal measure. Nods along the way to everything from Psycho to The Shining via Texas Chain Saw Massacre while doing its own thing: X continues West’s mastery of the slow burn.

Here’s the trailer