Cert – 18, Run-time – 1 hour 44 minutes, Director – Ti West

A masked killer terrorises Los Angeles, adult film star Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) is trying to break into Hollywood and a mysterious face (Kevin Bacon) is digging into her past.

There’s no denying that almost immediately after their release both previous instalments of Ti West’s X trilogy became cult hits. It’ll be interesting to see the reception which MaXXXine, a direct sequel to X  while last year’s Pearl acted as a prequel (although each film works as a standalone), receives with its style not being as pushed as the previous two entries.

There’s a more direct nature, a more narratively led feature over focusing on the horror set-up and kills of X – which got caught in its eventually silly basis of ‘old people can’t have sex because of their ailments so young people should die’ – or Pearl’s style over substance. While I’ve thought both films fine I certainly don’t have the fondness for them that many others do. MaXXXine acts as a step up as we see Mia Goth’s adult film star Maxine Minx trying to break into Hollywood.

Satanic panic is rife throughout Los Angeles. Protesters crowd outside studio lots calling for the end to supernatural and cult-themed horror films, picketing Maxine on the way to the set of The Puritan II, her first proper chance to finally be the star she’s long wanted to be. While her career shows signs of taking off a killer known as the Night Stalker terrorises the city, making frequent headlines which potentially get closer to Maxine as those she knows are picked off one by one and branded with satanic symbols.

Goth, once again, gives a top performance full of compelling subtlety leading the film in its lived-in 1985 setting. The odes to classic slasher flicks are all there, without feeling front and centre and, again, allowing the narrative to develop. Kevin Bacon appears as mysterious figure John Labat, claiming to work for someone with information about Maxine’s past, from here the heavier references to X might not always click, particularly in the third act reveals, but there’s still a good deal to like.

The kills throughout are gnarly and earn the film its 18 rating. Not just landing a squirm-inducing hit from the blood but the overall way in which West executes them. They get closer to Maxine each time as the air of mystery around her, and if she’s trying to hide more than we already know to save more than just her hopeful career, grows thicker and more intriguing. 

With Labat and the FBI (Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale) closing in from different directions, Maxine’s violent streak emerges every now and then in highly effective bursts – an early scene in an alleyway shows the central figure going beyond defending herself is a real turning point that’ll having you flinching in your seat long after it’s over. In general the moments of splatter are brief and infrequent but they certainly land a punch when on full-display, spread across the frame and threatening to spill out from it. Even during the events of the third act which while seeming like a detachment from the rest of the film eventually find some form of steady track for the best film in the X trilogy to close off with.

The aesthetics’ still present, although the narrative’s more direct in this latest X instalment. Bringing in mystery around the character details of Mia Goth’s finely performed protagonist alongside some grisly kills for an enjoyable slasher flick.

Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 58 minutes, Director – Mark Molloy

Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is called back to Beverly Hills to investigate a drug case which leads to dangerous criminals following both him and his estranged daughter (Taylour Paige)

It’s been 30 years since we last saw Eddie Murphy’s wisecracking cop Axel Foley, and 40 since his big screen debut. While over the course of ten years his energy and wits worked for the age of the character, three decades later you’d expect there to have been some change in his nature. While the grins and wisecracks are still present there’s certainly a sign that Axel Foley has indeed aged and matured further. It’s a key detail that some comedy legacy sequels of this nature often miss out, with the central characters feeling unchanged, their behaviour no longer fitting of their age, if Foley is near Murphy’s age he’s around the 60 mark now (although certainly doesn’t look it), with all his colleagues, if not already in, then considering retirement.

Foley is brought back from Detroit to Beverly Hills to investigate a drug case which leads him to his estranged daughter, Jane (Taylour Paige) who lives in the city, a lawyer preparing to represent a man who claims to have been framed for murder. The two are quickly reunited and find themselves tracked by the gang they’re trying to investigate. Faces new and old surround Murphy with familiar and likable dynamic styles as the narrative unfolds with no feeling passing on the torch from the former and occasional feelings of ‘we couldn’t not’ or ‘for the fans’ with the latter.

Yet, despite the clichés which it brings up throughout the narrative and general moulding, this fourth entry into the Beverly Hill Cop series isn’t as weighted by convention as it could. Yes, it’s perhaps as good as a straight-to-Netflix sequel of this kind could be, however it has its moments. Working best when allowing Murphy to be free with the comedic beats. There are a good few chuckles to be found throughout, and while not consistently frequent there’s still enough to make this a likable enough comedy that leans into Murphy’s still-present comedic skills while showing a believably aged version of his character – allowing for a bit more interest in his decisions and actions over the course of the run-time.

When it comes to the action on display feature-debut director Mark Molloy brings an 80s style to the proceedings with things taken back to a more simplistic nature. There may still be destruction when it comes to chases but, as the opening stages reintroducing us to the unique workings of the titular cop show, there’s a stripped-back nature to them that doesn’t focus on a grand spectacle and series of explosions and instead brings a faster pace to the moment as tyres screech down the road in the middle of the night with Foley behind the wheel.

Add to that the way in which Beverly Hills is captured and there’s a good deal of consistency between this and the previous three films. Occasional strands might lead the narrative to feel a bit busy, largely as it fits in the thread of Axel bonding with his daughter whilst working around the higher ups in the police and trying to evade the gang that’s after them. While this point is generally worked in well enough it’s one of the more conventional ideas which stands out amongst the rest in terms of just how familiar it feels to many other sequels.

However, for the most part Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F manages to keep its head above water. Eddie Murphy gives a good performance that’s best when really diving into a scene of direct comedy, which is where the film’s strengths lie. While the proceedings may be rooted in convention it doesn’t weigh the film down enough to tip it over, and instead making a likable enough, if potentially forgettable, legacy sequel.

Most enjoyable when leaning into the comedy Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is a conventional legacy sequel that captures the 80s style of the previous films in its narrative and manages to pull enough of its ideas towards the 2-hour mark to make for a likable, if forgettable return for one of Eddie Murphy’s most iconic characters.

Release Date – 9th July 2024, Cert – 12, Run-time – 1 hour 48 minutes, Director – Mike Cheslik

After the destruction of his applejack brewery, Jean Kayak (Ryland Brickson Cole Tews) becomes a fur trapper, however his beaver targets are greater in number, and more difficult to kill, than he thought.

If ever a film were to best represent live-action Looney Tunes Hundreds Of Beavers would be it. The consistent cartoon style breaks out from the animation present in the prologue and spills across the humour which runs throughout the film. Co-writer (alongside director Mike Cheslik) and star Rylan Brickson Cole Tews’ drunken applejack brewer turned fur trapper, after the destruction of his brewery, Jean Kayak stands out amongst his minimal surroundings as often the only none-false thing in frame. Surrounded by false, cartoon-like scenery and visuals, alongside a multitude of towering beavers, rabbits and raccoons – each someone in a costume, a good deal of jokes sprouting from this as they prevent Jean from fulfilling his schemes.

Trying to survive after the loss of his idyllic life the half hour which precedes the opening credits plays out almost as a short film following one man’s struggle for survival in a world where the wind and snow blows in whichever way his fire isn’t covered. From there things escalate and the slapstick nature simply grows and grows. Inspired by the silent comedies of the 20s and 30s, there’s almost no dialogue throughout the black and white proceedings, although plenty of sound effects.

The ultra-low budget nature comes through in the design and feel of the film, and is wound into the world as a whole. Jokes feel, even if unconsciously, more fleshed out because of them – you can see the zippers on the back of the beaver costumes and that somehow just feels natural in the world of the film, especially with how casually our first encounter with an animal is framed.

While only just halfway through 2024, I can confidently say that Hundreds Of Beavers is the maddest film of the year. Something that simply wants to be a very silly film and successfully manages to be just that with a good deal of great gags to go along with it. Jokes which feel quick fire yet have a build-up and occasionally don’t just happen before things move immediately on, particularly in the case of running gags, of which there are a number.

As things reach the hour mark the feeling does arise that some of the jokes we’re seeing begin to feel rather similar in style. The film manages to generally succeed in a feature length where others of this nature may stumble much earlier and be better suited to a short, but the anarchy of Hundreds Of Beavers is enough to see it through the 108-minute run-time, although closer to 90 may be better. Where this is most noticeable is in an extended sequence focusing on Jean’s many attempts to capture a beaver in different locations. While the style of entrapment changes each time the overall basis of the moment doesn’t overly shift and therefore we almost become stuck in a cycle of near-repetition. Where things work best is when the basis of the joke or sequence is switched up.

Luckily, this is the case for much of the final half hour where the madcap ideas truly begin to bounce around again and the beavers become a much bigger problem for the central figure, simply trying to get enough pelts in order to marry the daughter (Olivia Graves) of a disgruntled fur merchant (Doug Mancheski). One chase sequence late in the film in particular has two great visual gags which perfectly fit into the visual style of the film and its silliness and yet still manage to come as something of a surprise in the moment. This is a film where perhaps the best jokes are such gleefully random occurrences.

There are plenty of enjoyable bursts throughout Hundreds Of Beavers and it certainly has lashings of energy to allow it to bounce around the screen like a DVD logo with a dozen energy drinks in its system. While it might dip around the midpoint feeling somewhat static in terms of moving the narrative along or bringing more to it, instead stuck in a cycle of familiar gags, there’s still a good deal of chuckles and giggles to be found. The narrative may be relatively thin, and that’s no problem, but when it’s more linked to the moment at hand there are more laughs to be found as things are on that more quick fire and pacey plain. One thing that remains the case from start to finish is that this is a chaotic comedy that makes the most of its budget. One to be best experienced with an audience, or even just a group of friends.

While there might be a dip around the circling midpoint there’s a good deal of laughs in the moments of Hundreds Of Beavers which help to ever so slightly move things along. An effectively designed visual style helps further bring out the live-action cartoon nature of the slapstick laughs, particularly in the opening and closing stretches.

Cert – 18, Run-time – 2 hours 44 minutes, Director – Yorgos Lanthimos

Three separate stories of relationships being tested and pulled in different directions whilst mysteries as to their true forms unfold

Kinds Of Kindness treads the line of diving into horror in almost every frame. Co-writer (alongside Efthimis Filippou) and director Yorgos Lanthimos could so easily steer back into the excruciatingly tense dead-pan terror of Killing Of A Sacred Deer and yet chooses not to. Instead, his anthology feature stays firmly in the dramatic while tinged with enough horror adjacent ideas so as to bring in the light tension, occasional mystery and hints of Lynchian tonality.

Split into three parts the first story feels like David Cronenberg’s Crash meets The Magic Christian once everyone no longer needs Peter Sellers’ money. Follow that with a tale of a wife (Emma Stone) who returns to her husband (Jesse Plemons) with a number of differences after having gone missing, a la an Invasion Of The Body Snatchers or tale of possession, and a yarn following direct involvement in a cult and there’s a good deal of darkness on display. Much of this is heightened by the ambiguity which remains present throughout. Not as to the link, but simply the fact that not every detail in each story needs, or wants, explanation.

Sometimes characters are trying to work out mysteries for themselves, such as the aforementioned uncertain returning face, others it’s just how certain relationships work. Especially when they seem so friendly in the face of one person seemingly having been distant for quite some time due to having been involved with a cult and being given a casually friendly greeting on the doorstep by husband and daughter.

At no point does Lanthimos interfere with the proceedings. While you can feel him willing characters on or watching with glee in his previous films, such as Poor Things just a few months ago, here the camera sits, watches and follows. Things feel as if they naturally pan out in the manner in which they would in this off-filter world. Fleshing out the small details and the performances which show the confliction, regret and stresses the characters face in the face of their relationships. Willem Dafoe spits away Plemons as he turns away from his former employee, or perhaps puppet or stooge, after he’s failed to appease the man who has helped form his life as it is. Plemons’ Robert begins to struggle and find himself trying to retrace steps with markings no longer present. He becomes an increasingly lost figure who remains fascinating to watch as the darkness of his controlled world and life becomes ever more apparent.

A handful of faces crop up throughout to tell each story. With a cast led by Stone, Plemons, Dafoe and Margaret Qualley all on top form, we also see strong turns from Hong Chau, Mamoudou Athie and a lesser-used Joe Alwyn. Each understanding the slightly twisted world that everything takes place in. Whether it’s the same one or different, if everything is connected by one thing or multiple, or not at all, is down to the viewer. Lanthimos leads a lot open, and not just because of the open mysteries held within each strand with its own core mystery unravelling throughout the 50-minute-or-so narrative.

None of the stories outstay their welcome, and at just under three hours the film as a whole manages to just about hold its run-time, if bordering on feeling overlong. In fact, thanks to the consistent tone and style throughout, although with different styles of threat, slight fear and dysphoria for the characters, the film avoids a potential anthology stumbling block of feeling too distant or segmented for things to properly flow. Instead the overall flow and style works, and there’s a good deal to be invested in within the world and the ways in which it treats the central characters. All with an air of potential rewatchability to find even more fascination in the behaviours and askew meanings and warpings of kindness that are on display.

A set of excellent performances bring out the horror-tinted darkness in the dramas which Lanthimos observes. There’s strong interest as you watch the mysteries and ambiguities pan out in and amongst the off-kilter world and behaviours within it.

Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 40 minutes, Director – Michael Sarnoski

Whilst visiting New York City Sam (Lupita Nyong’o) finds herself fighting for survival alongside stranger Eric (Joseph Quinn) when one of the noisiest cities in the world is plunged into silence after the arrival of deadly aliens with ultrasonic hearing.

A Quiet Place: Day One enhances many of the things that caused an issue for me in the still-effective Part II to the 2018 hit horror. There’s a lot more sound – although less talking – once the world is plunged into silence, and we see a good deal more of the aliens with ultrasonic hearing, including the amount we see racing across and toward the screen. However, here instead of removing something from the tension of the world and silence they add to the film as we see New York City, which we’re informed in the opening text has a noise level on par with a constant scream, plunged into silence on the first day, or rather few days, of the alien residency of Earth.

We follow cancer patient Sam (Lupita Nyong’o) as a day trip from the hospice to the city sees her stay lengthened when destruction runs through the streets which are quickly covered in overturned cars, rubble and dust. The first sequence of alien attacks sees director Michael Sarnoski trade in the stillness of Pig for a much more chaotic set of events. A flurry of distant noise is intensified by the sudden impact and confusion of the moment. Little can be seen amongst the grey cloud of dust, but we know what’s there and how those nearby are likely reacting, and how that will make it all the more worse for the central character.

Wandering the streets, after being saved by criminally underused Djimon Hounsou looking for safety – and, once the bridges out of the city are destroyed, the chance to get what might be the last slice of pizza at her favourite place in Harlem – it’s not long until Sam and her cat are joined by Joseph Quinn’s law student Eric. Whilst we see a number of well-pitched chase scenes, getting across the speed and stature of the aliens in new, close-up detail that brings a new fear factor to them, particularly when directly next the characters as they’re trapped in tight spaces, including another New York subway which was clearly filmed in the London Underground, where any move could make a noise, what soon begins to unfold is a film of joint human survival.

There’s no hint of romance between the pair, or to some extent friendship, instead it’s a sense of companionship and assistance as they both, eventually, try to reach the same destination and find a way out of the city as silently as possible. The tension from previous films comes through in just how loud an often quiet noise can be in a world where silence means survival, however it also comes in the frequent shattering of glass as aliens rain down through a building the pair are trying to escape from. While we see the pair release their worries and pain by shouting during a thunderstorm perhaps the most effective scene of their helping each other is one which feels as if someone has accidentally pressed the mute button in the projection booth. Even the subtle noises feel as if they’re not there, the visuals simply being enough in comparison to how loud everything that has come beforehand must have been.

It’s a moment of comfort and safety in the latter stages where everything outside hasn’t been forgotten, but is put aside for just a few moments while the new rules are still followed. The area is relatively neat compared to the destruction and debris we’ve seen elsewhere and the vibe of the scene could be easily summed up as ‘cosy’. It’s a moment we don’t move on from quickly and is allowed to linger to show just how much the two have relied on each other, and the unspoken emotional help they’ve provided each other, over the previous couple of days, with still plenty of uncertainty in sight for the future.

These points aren’t the core focus of the film, and they don’t entirely feel as if they’re what events are building up towards. But, they do make for a key detail that’s effectively calming to spend time in away from the tension elsewhere. Playing out as a horror although at times more alike to a tense horror-themed drama or thriller with the bursts of panic that it gives us throughout the increasingly empty and broken streets of New York City. Yet, much of this does come down to the way in which we see the characters behave and interact in their panicked settings, helped by two great performances, especially from Nyong’o who once again shows that she’s a force deserving of more leading roles.

Putting us closer than ever to the aliens, and increasing their number, A Quiet Place: Day One places us in the centre of the dizzying, tense action and chaos of the world’s first noisy instincts. Helped by an parallel line of joint help and survival with strong performances from Nyong’o and Quinn.

Release Date – 28th June 2024, Cert – 15, Run-time – 3 hours 1 minute, Director – Kevin Costner

Chronicling the stories of a variety of settlers heading towards a yet-to-be-built settlement, while those nearer face the already-residing Apaches, those with some distance left find themselves caught up in deadly local tyranny.

It’s somewhat difficult to summarise Chapter 1 of Kevin Costner’s self-funded passion project, Horizon due to the fact that it is just one chapter. Half, or perhaps even a quarter of a film (chapter 2 is scheduled for release in August while 3 and 4 are currently in back-to-back production). There’s no major cliffhanger to end on, just a selection of rapidly cut shots from what’s still to come. Packing another near-three hours of story into just a couple of minutes it highlights further the truly slow-burn nature of what has preceded it and promising that things will come together eventually.

Costner certainly takes his time with his return to directing, for the first time in 20+ years, and the western genre. Horizon Chapter 1 is a film that is setting up its pieces, ready to knock down the dominoes at another time. Looking at the expansion of the American western frontier, we follow various groups of settlers as they head towards ready-to-be-built-on land for a future settlement known as Horizon. The journeys we see are very much still in their first act. There’s not quite enough here yet for a TV series, but with how much jumping around we do between three stories, despite feeling like more due to all the characters who play a role throughout, bordering on too much for one film.

Costner takes on the role which the marketing has focused on, horse trader Hayes Ellison. Yet, proving this is far from a vanity project Ellison has very little screen-time, and doesn’t appear until at least an hour in. His strand may be the most compelling and direct, as he falls in, and must quickly escape a stop, with sex worker Marigold (Abbey Lee) after a deadly encounter with local tyrants trying to fix a land deal in their favour. It’s a simpler set of events compared to what else we see, bringing out the tension and drama more effectively during quieter moments of escalating conversational confrontation.

The landscapes and tension during these brief sequences are at their best. Truly capturing the endless landscapes and horizons that surround the characters in each location. There’s some very effective cinematography on display which seems to aim for a natural look, sometimes backfiring in difficult-to-see shots at night or when playing with shadows. ‘Sprawling’ seems to be the word Costner is aiming for, and while that’s the case for the landscapes and indeed the narrative a bit more unity needs to be felt so things don’t feel more like an anthology film over something that’s eventually going to come together.

Costner (alongside co-writer Jon Baird) has made the decision to delve into the characters, their views and interactions with the laws and workings of the west, whilst the Civil War continues in the east. Whether this be through their own personal tragedies – an extended early sequence sees Sienna Miller’s Frances Kittredge become widowed after a brutal Apache attack, left only with daughter Elizabeth (Georgia MacPhail) – or a welcome Luke Wilson trying to keep order in his divided wagon trail. Various figures crop up throughout these arcs with their own personal strands and journeys to get across the idea that this isn’t as much about the characters but a focus on these part of America at this particular time in the 1860s, this film seemingly taking place over just a couple of days.

Yet, while the three-hour run-time is certainly felt there’s no denying that there still lies an interest in the proceedings and the way they pan out. Perhaps this comes from knowing that there’s more to come, or just how much Costner has put into telling this story the way he wants to tell and show it. While chapter 2 will likely be the better taste of what Horizon is, and will be like, this first instalment makes for a set up that has enough interest to keep you in place for the slow-burn run-time, even if you do feel the three hours.

The simpler moments of Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 work best while we wait for the narrative arcs to come together. There’s a lot of characters to keep track of amongst the vast plains and while not all click this is very much a lengthy first act which is establishing the rules of its landscape. Held together by an interest in the settlement end-goal and Costner’s lack of vanity.

Cert – U, Run-time – 1 hour 36 minutes, Director – Kelsey Mann

As Riley (Kensington Tallman) turns 13, new emotions led by Anxiety (Maya Hawke) enter her mind and clash as they try to change her future course, with the original emotion team cast out and needing to get back with her former sense of being.

“I don’t know how to stop Anxiety. Maybe we can’t. Maybe that’s what happens when you grow up” has an extra layer of poignancy when said with an air of unfamiliar hopelessness by Joy (Amy Poehler). As the human she acts as one of the emotions for, Riley (Kensington Tallman), turns 13 the demolition team come in to expand the console in central control so there’s room for new emotions. It’s not long until Anxiety (Maya Hawke) takes the lead in planning for Riley’s future, giving her what will hopefully be the best opportunities over a three day hockey camp before high school, proving she can be good enough to make the team.

Joy has been cast out of Riley’s central control alongside returning emotions Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Tony Hale), Sadness (Phyllis Smith) and Disgust (Liza Lapira). Travelling through the various sections of her mind to retrieve her broken-off sense of self. As with the first film plenty of puns are brought in and expanded beyond a simple joke to make for a number of colourful settings which wonderfully visualise concepts and workings of the mind in simple yet thoughtfully detailed and developed ways. Progressing the narrative and adding to the humour that can found in them at the same time.

Meanwhile, back in central control Anxiety has taken over, alongside other new emotions Embarrassment (an almost silent Paul Walter Hauser), Envy (Ayo Edebiri) and Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos). Chaos begins to erupt, and Riley begins to change into a different person to the frustration of her two best friends, and her original line-up of emotions. As Riley has matured, and indeed the audience who may have seen the first film when released back in 2015, so have the themes of the film.

Inside Out 2 successfully captures the chaotic fluctuations of emotions at 13-years-old. There are a number of moments which bring about a knowing cringe as much as they do a laugh, and there are plenty of laugh out loud funny moments here – especially during one scene which feels inspired by the Lord-and-Miller/ Sony Animation playbook where the central emotions are locked away. Yet, these bigger themes are just as accessible, and beautifully animated, as before. Much of it comes down to the way in which everything is visualised and just how the Pixar team seems to have made some sense of the mind, particularly in a film about how active it can sometimes be.

As Joy, Anger, Disgust, Fear and Sadness attempt to track down the integral sense of self we see ideas of self-acceptance and understanding play out through how much we let anxiety take control of us and consume us in a blur or worry. Like the first film helped many understand emotions, particularly with stories about the film being used in contexts for those with special educational needs, I can’t wait to see the effect that this sequel has in both creating understanding and potentially calm. Certainly in the closing stages, which may not hit the emotional heights of Bing Bong or the family hug from the first film but still get across a handful of personal emotion, I found myself experiencing a rare moment of full calmness, almost in a reassuring way courtesy of the film.

All told amongst a breezy 96-minute run-time which packs plenty in without feeling the need to go bigger and bolder, instead tackle a more mature set of ideas and mould the film and what we see on screen around that. A more-than-worthy continuation of the ideas from the first film without feeling like a repeat, as some might have feared from the suggestions of the trailers, this is a concise and well told story that packs plenty into its narrative and visuals for personal effect and engagement. This is another hit emotion picture.

Tackling more mature ideas Inside Out 2 features plenty more brilliantly realised and animated laughs and creativity, wrapped around the central themes and narrative which act as a strong, concise core for this excellent follow-up.

Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 55 minutes, Director – Richard Linklater

When not playing the part of a university professor, Gary (Glen Powell) works for the police, luring in criminals by pretending to be a hit man, however his worlds begin to collide when he starts a relationship with a woman (Adria Arjona) who tries to hire him.

Amongst his more comedic work Richard Linklater rarely seems to have neared the territory of an out-and-out comedy. He’s long held his humour in a restrained indie vein, School Of Rock aside, coming through in a more natural or dead-pan nature depending on the tone of the film. His latest, Hit Man, which sees Linklater return to Netflix, who let his previous film Apollo 10 1/2 go unseen with no marketing or push whatsoever, frequently feels just a dash of wackiness away from being a broader comedy from the writer-director.

As it is there are a good handful of chuckles throughout the almost 2-hour run-time as the various lives and identities of Gary Johnson (Glen Powell – who serves as co-writer alongside Linklater) begin to clash right in front of him. Yet, as the bird-watching university professor moonlighting as a fake hit man luring in suspects for the police falls in with a woman who tries to hire him, Adria Arjona’s Madison, you can feel the comedy wanting to stretch out more and simply be louder, and perhaps more frequent. Particularly when we see Powell running through the various identities that Gary presumes when working for the police, analysing the Facebook profiles of those who believe they’re hiring him for a hit job and working out which characters would suit them best.

When taking a glimpse at multiple personas the sequences are faster than the otherwise extended conversational scenes set in diners where Gary gains the trust of the soon-to-be-arrested suspect, he just needs them to hand the money over. There’s a good deal to like about these brief montage-like moments, particularly Powell’s performance helping to bring the humour, and occasional satirical edges to the personas Gary puts across, through. Yet, the figure he plays into most is that of suave and romantic Ron, the person Madison believes him to be during their various hook-ups and eventual dates.

While avoiding feeling overstuffed, the general outline of Hit Man is effectively simplistic, there’s no denying that it feels overlong at just under 2 hours. It’s as the relationship arc truly takes form, before more elements from Gary’s worlds truly come crashing in to it and he risks having to tell Madison the truth about who he really is, and not just the fact that he drives an old Honda Civic. When humour does arise from these scenarios it often feels restrained and held back from what it could be, as if the joke could be taken further, despite the strength of Powell’s performance bringing through a good deal in the patches that we do get.

Instead, dialogue to push character and then narrative appears to be the focus, and Linklater certainly provides some wonderfully written scenes here. The opening stages in particular bring forward just how the central character adapts almost immediately to a situation on his first job as we see his first time playing hit man unfold in almost real time when he’s subbed in at the last minute. While not everything quite takes off or has the engaging nature of these more detailed moments for the central character there’s an overall likable nature to the film as a whole, even if you do wish that it would push itself a bit more and play into the laughs a bit more, like it seems to want to do.

While there are some really well written character-based scenes, and Glen Powell helps push the humour with a strong performance for each of the central character’s personas, Hit Man suffers from holding itself back when it comes to the comedy which it feels it wants to have more of, but feels consistently restrained.

Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 42 minutes, Director – Ishana Night Shyamalan

Confined to a small box in the middle of a never-ending forest a group of strangers (Dakota Fanning, Olwen Fouéré, Georgina Campbell, Oliver Finnegan) plan to escape the unseen creatures known only as The Watchers.

It’s difficult to be confined to a small box with a group of unlikable people, with no sign of escape. The Watched deals with two out of three of these ideas, leaving the being stuck with unlikable characters part for the audience to deal with. The main course at hand for the central quartet (Dakota Fanning, Olwen Fouéré, Georgina Campbell and Oliver Finnegan) is escaping the never-ending forest they’ve all been trapped in for an indeterminate amount of time. However, escape is only possible during the day, amongst a seemingly repeating and daze-inducing landscape, or else a group of unseen creatures known as The Watchers will take the lives of those still outside. The only safety is in the almost empty concrete hut known as ‘The Coop’ where the four are watched through a giant two-way mirror each night by the creatures.

Our main introduction is to Fanning’s Mina, spending her evenings pretending to be someone else, her day job is in a pet shop. Sent to take a bird to a zoo, her car breaks down on a long journey and it’s not long until night begins to fall and she’s brought into The Coop for safety. We find out little about the three figures she’s stuck with. While Fouéré’s Madeline has some detail as the rule-enforcer (and frequent breaker in forgetting not to turn her back on The Watchers) who has been trapped the longest, whereas Clara (Campbell) and Daniel (Finnegan) have barely any detail and therefore little to connect with.

It’s difficult to connect with any of the few characters partly down to their initial actions and behaviours which may be in place to create an initial distance between them, but also pushes back the audience as well. However, the lack of detail, and in some ways development, also acts as a key factor in a lack of connection and proper engagement with their attempts to leave.

There may be occasional sparks of hope and interest when hinting at the workings of the forest, however these are rare with focus being more on mystery and just what The Watchers might be. 10 Cloverfield Lane feels like a touchstone, however The Watched lacks that film’s sense of mystery and paranoia. Instead we simply see a cycle of night into day with mentions of previous escape attempts and The Watchers apparently getting angrier before things start to develop more in the second half.

Developments which seem to arrive quickly before revealing a more drawn out set of events as the actual ending. Jumping back in to a more mainstream-leaning feel; just like where things start out before, once in the forest, leaning into a more specific indie vibe. In the end it starts to feel as if there’s a lack of uncertainty as to where to truly pitch the film as it starts to go back and forth between two different styles depending on how much it wants to deal with the, in some places titular, Watchers. Even with this being the case the various elements of the film still feel familiar and as if we’ve seen them done better before; and with more detail.

There’s a chance for interest within the figures of the Watchers, but the expansion and detail that goes into them comes late in the day with little impact. If worked more into the narrative there’s chance for a fantastical horror and a stronger sense of eeriness to the confines which the characters must remain in each night. As it stands, there’s a lack of detail within The Watched, particularly surrounding the difficult-to-connect-with characters and their hostilities, which prevents it from properly exploring its ideas and making for a more fleshed-out and interesting horror which rises above a couple of brief sparks of creepiness.

If The Watched brought its thematic developments in earlier and crafted the narrative around those there might be a more effective horror playing out, however what we get is a film lacking in creeps and detail, unhelped by a set of bland characters.

Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 55 minutes, Directors – Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah

When their former captain (Joe Pantoliano) is accused of assisting the cartel Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) and Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) set out on a trail to clear his name and uncover the real corrupt officials.

Bad Boys is perhaps one of the only 90s-early-2000s franchises where the central characters wouldn’t hold back if told that their humour and attitudes feel outdated. Even Stifler, who remained largely the same in 2012’s American Reunion, would likely be somewhat toned down and told his behaviour needs a shift. When it comes to their humour officers Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) and Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) are very much still in the 90s. The first two instalments of the franchise have had many accusations of misogyny and homophobia, and those elements have certainly been dialled back here as they were in 2020’s tired-feeling Bad Boys For Life.

Yet, the humour of the buddy dynamic – with Smith and Lawrence seemingly in two different films during comedically-focused scenes – frequently feels like it needs a few tweaks just so it feels less stuck in the past, so the characters feel more like their ages. Where the performances flourish and feel more on the same level is during the action and drama based sequences. Moments packed with more energy thanks to the stylish direction of For Life directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (credited as Adil and Bilall). Getting across just how much is happening in the scene by matching the fluid nature of the fights and shootouts by moving the camera through them, avoiding an unfocused feel.

The drama takes over from the initial re-establishing of our now-both-family-men-cops once the titular bad boys discover that their late Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano) has been accused of assisting drug cartels when he was in a position of power. The film leans into the mystery well as the pair set out to clear their former boss’ name and find the real corrupt officials. It’s the initial spark that truly sets things off and brings about an increasingly enjoyable nature to this fourth instalment in now another no-signs-of-slowing-down franchise.

The new burst of style in the ways in which Adil and Bilall capture the proceedings helps to capture the energy that the film needs to truly propel itself. There’s an air of seriousness that the drama needs, while still understanding the entertainment factor needed from a buddy cop movie. This is shown in no better place than the tension of a key set of events set in an abandoned alligator-themed amusement park. A setting that wouldn’t feel out of place in an out-and-out comedy and manages to work here without being questioned once.

Once in the swing of things and bringing in its developments, helped by video clues left by Howard for in the case of his death, it doesn’t take long to fully ease into Bad Boys: Ride Or Die and simply have a good time. Smith and Lawrence, when on the same level, work just as well as you could hope together and really help to push things forward, with help from the supporting cast around them who are put into good effect here. Once away from its struggling opening stages, and brief instances of trying to bring the characters fully up to date with uncertain discussions and experiences of panic attacks, this makes for the best Bad Boys film so far. An enjoyable action flick, with some chuckles in the later stages, where the strengths lie in the consistent action and drama.

While it might struggle on the comedic side, Adil and Bilall bring a new, fluid energy to the action and drama of Bad Boys: Ride Or Die, creating an entertaining action flick with Smith and Lawrence helping to build up the tension and well-handled mystery.