February is a month where cinemas load there schedules with all the award-hopeful films, but that doesn’t come at the expense of the small screen. Take a look at what’s fresh and clean on home release and streaming services.
New to NEON
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
The follow-up to 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy and the 15th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe sees Chris Pratt return to his role as Peter Quill, AKA Star Lord.”Not only does [James] Gunn make the galaxy look like a rainbow exploding in slow motion, his still framing of particular action sequences soak in like a comic panel in motion.” -Liam Maguren, FLICKS
The Fate of the Furious
Vin Diesel returns for the eighth installment of the Fast and Furious series, this time directed by F. Gary Gray (Straight Outta Compton).”Should provide one big, stupid, grin-inducing rush.” -Aaron Yap, FLICKS
Loving
Writer-director Jeff Nichols (Mud) retells the true story of the love between a white man (Joel Edgerton, Bright) and a black woman (Ruth Negga, in an Oscar-nominated performance) who had to fight the court system in 1967 Virginia. “A very light drama with great performances and a gorgeous eye for Southern America that spends two hours saying one simple thing.” -Liam Maguren, FLICKS
Table 19
Anna Kendrick is dumped on the loser table with the other not-that-important people at a wedding in this comedy written by the Duplass brothers (Cyrus).
Mulan
Disney’s 1998 animated adventure set in China during the Han Dynasty and based on the legend of Hua Mulan. Kiwi filmmaker Niki Caro (Whale Rider) is currently directing the live-action remake.
Toy Story 2
The sequel to the landmark 1995 computer-animated blockbuster from Disney and Pixar.
Toy Story 3
The three-quel to the landmark 1995 computer-animated blockbuster from Disney and Pixar.
Kong: Skull Island
Oscar winner Brie Larson, Tom Hiddleston, John Goodman, John C. Reilly and Samuel L. Jackson star in the Vietnam War-set creature feature. “A consistently entertaining hoot throughout.” -Dominic Corry, FLICKS
Pirates: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Johnny Depp returns as bumbling pirate Captain Jack Sparrow in Disney’s latest swashbuckling adventure. “A sad desperation hangs over this final Pirates outing… something like being the guy that’s way too old to go clubbing…” -Daniel Rutledge, FLICKS
New to Netflix
The Ritual
A group of friends find themselves being stalked in the woods in this British horror. “Does a great job of telling predictable horror tropes in a terrifying new way.” -James Croot, STUFF.CO.NZ
Irreplaceable You
Gugu Mbatha-Raw (The Cloverfield Paradox) and Michael Huisman (The Age of Adaline), lead this comedy drama about a couple dealing with a life-changing diagnosis.
Juno
Winner of Best Screenplay at the 2008 Academy Awards, Ellen Page leads this comedy drama as a whip-smart teen confronted by an unplanned pregnancy. “Warm, likable, but not nearly as cool as it imagines itself to be, Juno is nevertheless chock full of good performances.” -Andrew Hedley, FLICKS
Nightcrawler
Jake Gyllenhaal leads this Oscar-nominated thriller as a devilishly persistent creep who, struggling for employment, barges into the underground world of freelance crime journalism. “Gyllenhaal’s Lou Bloom is one hell of a creation; the sort of person you hope doesn’t exist, but probably does.” -Matt Glasby, FLICKS
5harknado: Global Swarming
Yeah, they’re still making these.
CHiPs
Dax Shepard (Idiocracy) writes, directs and stars as Jon Baker in this buddy cop action comedy based on the ’70s T.V. show, co-starring Michael Peña as Ponch. “About as far from the source as the Starsky & Hutch movie.” -Adam Fresco, FLICKS
The Interview
The Seth Rogen and James Franco comedy that really pissed off North Korea. “More tasteless farce than blistering satire, The Interview is a relatively innocuous comedy…” -Tony Stamp, FLICKS
The LEGO Movie
The directors of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and TV’s Robot Chicken bring LEGO to life in this stop-motion-simulating adventure.”So joyously creative, so continuously hilarious and so hyper-aware of what it means to play with LEGO that future product-based movies of its ilk should use it as a template.”
Rush
Ron Howard’s underappreciated Formula One film stars Daniel Brühl (The Zookeeper’s Wife) and Chris Hemsworth (Thor) as real-life racers whose heated rivalry lifted each other’s game. “Hemsworth and Brühl are both terrific, portraying the escalating competitive ribbing between the pair with good humour and genuine passion.” -Aaron Yap, FLICKS
Fullmetal Alchemist
Live-action feature based on the wildly popular anime and manga about two boys who go on a quest to fix their bodies when an attempt to bring their mother back from the dead goes horribly wrong.
Mute
Alexander Skarsgård is a mute searching for his girlfriend on the streets of a future Berlin in this sci-fi thriller from Duncan Jones (Moon).
New to Everything Else
Detroit
Crime drama from Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) set against the backdrop of the 1967 Detroit riots.”It’s a masterful tour de force in high tension filmmaking, anchored by a home-invasion horror style second act that is absolutely excruciating.” -Daniel Rutledge, FLICKS
Ali’s Wedding
When a white lie spirals out of control, a neurotic, naive Muslim cleric’s eldest son must follow through with an arranged marriage in this Aussie rom-com. “I don’t know why the release of this lovely film has been delayed so long but it’s worth the wait.” -David Stratton, THE AUSTRALIAN
Brad’s Status
Ben Stiller begins regretting life decisions while on a trip with his son in this comedy co-starring Martin Sheen and Luke Wilson. “At its best is genuinely thought-provoking.” -NEW YORK TIMES
Bad Moms 2
Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn return along with THEIR mums in this Christmas comedy sequel. “It foolishly tries to be a tear-jerker as well as a knee-slapper.” -Daniel Rutledge, FLICKS
Mountain
A cinematic and musical collaboration between Sherpa filmmaker Jennifer Peedom and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, exploring humankind’s fascination with high places. “Gripping and hypnotic, setting out to be poetic and awe-inducing, and succeeding on both fronts.” -Steve Newall, FLICKS
The Mountain Between Us
Idris Elba and Kate Winslet survive an alpine plane crash in this adaptation of Charles Martin’s novel. “It’s a love story first and foremost, doing a better job serving that crowd than most Nicholas Sparks bollocks adapted to screen.” -Liam Maguren, FLICKS
The Limehouse Golem
Inspector Kildare (Bill Nighy) is tasked with solving a string of grisly murders in Victorian London. Based on Peter Ackroyd’s 1994 novel. “Weird, twisted and deliciously unique, Medina’s horror taps a dynamic vein in feminism and Giallo-esque gore.” -TOTAL FILM
Spice World: 20th Anniversary
Tell us what you want, what you really really want.
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Domhnall Gleeson (Star Wars: The Last Jedi) is author AA Milne in this drama about Milne’s son Christopher Robin and how his birth would lead to the creation of Winnie the Pooh. “If you’re not averse to well-wrought sentimentality, this solidly acted and directed small-scale family relationship melodrama should have you shedding a tear, or three…” -Adam Fresco, FLICKS
Final Portrait
Geoffrey Rush is artist Alberto Giacometti in this comedy about his efforts to paint a portrait of an old friend, played by Armie Hammer. “Probably not enough material here for a feature-length movie.” -Aaron Yap, FLICKS
Professor Marston & the Wonder Women
Biopic on Dr. William Marston, the psychologist, inventor and taboo-buster who created Wonder Woman with his wife and their lover. “Utterly fascinating.” -Paul Casserly, FLICKS
Jigsaw
Directors the Spierig brothers (Winchester: The House That Ghosts Built) helm the Saw franchise’s eighth installment, which picks up over a decade after the Jigsaw Killer’s death. “Disappointingly, most of the traps feel more like remixes of the past than anything drastically new.” -Liam Maguren, FLICKS
Suburbicon
George Clooney directs a crime comedy he co-wrote with the Coen brothers, starring Matt Damon and Julianne Moore in a 1959 suburban community that gets hit with sudden murders. “Clooney raids a leftover script by the Coen brothers that lacks the snap of their more vicious crime comedies.”
Tulip Fever
Oscar winner Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl) leads this costume drama based on Deborah Moggach’s novel, adapted to the screen by Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love). “I found the movie painful at times, seeing the charaters do things that were so obviously going to go bad on them. I couldn’t watch those parts. But the costumes were beautiful!” -Becs Simps, FLICKS USER
Leatherface
Origin prequel to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre trilogy directed by French horror film-making duo Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Mauro.
The Lovers
Rom-com starring Tracy Letts and Debra Winger as a long-married couple whose extra-marital affairs go awry when they unexpectedly fall for each other again. “With its waltz-like score and farcical symmetry, The Lovers is about as full as a movie can be with a premise so thin.” -VULTURE
Boyka: Undisputed
Scott Atkins reprises his role as Boyka for the fourth installment in the Undisputed fighting franchise. This film is fully endorsed by Flicks’ Daniel Rutledge.
