Updated 10:55 AM ET, Mon February 7, 2022
Movie Rental´s archives ↓
A Ghoulish Passenger Bedevils a Driver in Chilling Short Night Bus
Stuck working the midnight shift on the eve of her 30th birthday, London bus driver Natasha (the excellent Susan Wokoma of the late, great Truth Seekers) believes her vehicle is empty—until the bell starts dinging… and a cloaked figure seems to materialize in one of the upper-level rows.
At just 13 minutes, horror short Night Bus builds a ton of atmosphere and instantly makes you root for Natasha, who’s already facing her milestone birthday with considerable dread and disgust even before things at work get weird… and they get extremely weird and terrifying. Watch for yourself, courtesy of Short of the Week:
Night Bus was written by Jade Alexander and is the co-directing debut of siblings Henrietta Ashworth and Jessica Ashworth, who told Short of the Week they filmed over three nights in London and aimed first and foremost to scare the audience. “Our main aim all through this process was to get people screaming,” they said. One of the ways they achieved that was by using the CCTV footage on Natasha’s bus to excellent effect. “It was so pixellated and fragmented, that you didn’t know what the hell you were looking at sometimes—which I think adds to the horror brilliantly—you never want to have to lean into the screen when watching a scary movie, but hopefully, that’s something people were forced to do!”
Read more from io9:
- Shang-Chi’s Bus Fight, as Reviewed by a Bus Driver
- 5 Short Films to Distract You From the Winter Blues
- 5 Sci-Fi and Horror Shorts to Help Fill That No-New-Movies Void
- Give Your Attention Span a Break With These 7 Short Sci-Fi and Horror Movies
- The Creators of Spooky Animated Series The Kirlian Frequency Talk About Their Big Leap to Netflix
- 8 Horror Movies to Watch After You Devour Archive 81
Wondering where our RSS feed went? You can pick the new up one here.
Fill it up in less than 10 minutes
I can’t imagine a world where I actually make use of storage that reads at a whopping 7,500MB/s and writes at 6,850MB/s, but maybe you can.
‘Maanaadu’ movie review: Simbu and SJ Suryah have a go at each other in this smartly-written film
In Maanaadu, the first plot point arrives at the half-hour mark. This is what happens: amidst a sea of party cadres, a civilian takes the gun from his shoulder bag and pulls the trigger, aimed at the Chief Minister of the State. He kills the CM in a single shot from what appears to be a distance of at least 100 metres from the podium.
Let’s assume that the civilian is an unwilling participant and all of this is orchestrated with careful precision by a third party of superior force. Even if we were to go by that logic, the probability of killing the Chief Minister in the first shot is a one in a hundredth scenario. In another film, this probability would have been a worrying factor and probably absurd too. But in Maanaadu, the absurdity of events is the fun; you derive pleasure from the hero Abdul Khaaliq’s (Silambarasan) frustration of being caught in a time-loop, where events go round and characters talk in circles. And the chewable bit for the audience is the lived experience of having sat through the sequences again and again; like a merry-go-round but one manned by someone who seems to know the machine in and out.
It is not fair to call the events in Maanaadu absurd. These are smartly-written and wonderfully put together by editor Praveen KL; it is as much a writer’s film as it is editor’s. But to get to the main ‘plot’, you will have to cross the bridge of fanservice, which, too, gets an updated treatment here. Like for instance, the film inserts the Manmadhan theme at a certain point, perhaps, to massage the late coming fans — but, at the same time, it seems to acknowledge the political incorrectness of that film in the said scene where Seethalakshmi (Kalyani Priyadarshan) suspects Khaaliq of a creepy stalker. There is also a fat joke but on Simbu himself. It begs us to ask this: Is Simbu willing to correct the several wrongs of the past? It’s hard to say. But it sure is a fine step forward.
Abdul Khaaliq finds himself in an infinite loop of time where if he dies, he wakes up and the sequences repeat themselves. Think of Source Code. On paper, Venkat Prabhu seems to have had two issues a) how do you break the complexity of the screenplay in a language understood by the ‘mass’ audience and b) how different should each component of the screenplay be designed, to escape from familiarity. If you are going to present a high concept film without compromise, the conventional audience is going to reject it. So, how do you give them a sweet pill? Venkat Prabhu, who tries to toy within the conventions of genre, like he did in Mass Engira Masilamani of which I’m a fan, does something brilliant.
He takes a mainstream Hollywood trope and converts it into a masala film, thereby making the final product look refined. Full disclosure: I adore filmmakers who are unapologetic for the liking of masala cinema. Part of the reason why Maanaadu is thrilling is because, in essence, it is good masala that hides behind the facade of time-loop.
It’s masala because usually, in a film that deals with time as a concept of subversion or inversion, it is usually the hero who has to triumph and find an exit statement. But here, Venkat Prabhu adds another layer to the loop and we get a Catch Me If You Can kind of a cat-and-mouse game between Simbu and SJ Suryah (the film exploits his over-the-top performance for its own good). Suryah is called Dhanushkodi…it doesn’t seem like a happy coincidence at all. The first half ends on a bang — literally — and I saw myself reading a news report about a possible Bollywood remake already.
Three fourths of Maanaadu is constructed around a political event involving the Chief Minister (SA Chandrasekhar). While the film may not claim to be overtly political, it does not refuse to take a stand either. If you dig its surface deeper, it is about Islamophobia. Some of the (real) events mentioned are reconstructed to deliver a statement about today’s communal politics.
But it does suffer from the trouble of taking WhatsApp forwards seriously, when Seethalakshmi tries to give Khaaliq and audience a plausible explanation for time-loop as a concept. It is as pretentious as Christopher Nolan’s fans claiming Interstellar to be a stellar work of science and fiction. We also get a backstory about Khaaliq’s mother who was rescued by a Hindu family during the communal riots right after the Babri mosque demolition. This is as ‘safe’ as Venkat Prabhu’s short film about the Hindu-Muslim riots.
Maanaadu is the latest addition in a, hopefully, long list of films where the idea of ‘hero’ is changing for the better. Consider this: a Tamil cinema star never dies. This is a given clause even in our masala cinema’s rulebook. But here, we have a star in Simbu willing to let himself die multiple times and in multiple forms for the larger good. Exciting times ahead?
France bans popcorn, snacks in movie theaters due to COVID
There will be no popcorn movies in France for a while – at least not in theaters – due to a rapid surge in the Omicron variant.
Beginning Monday, the country will put a three-week halt on the consumption of the popular snack in cinemas in a ban that will apply to all eating and drinking.
The measures will apply to theaters, sports venues and public transportation.
Cinema owners, who hoped to lure back people who have been watching movies at home during the pandemic, will take a hit by the closed concession stands.
Movie theaters in France sold 96 million tickets in the eight months they have been reopened in 2021, a jump of 47 percent compared to last year — but ticket sales are still down 55 percent compared to 2019, according to the National Center for Film and Moving Images.
Benoit Ciné Distribution, which supplies the snacks to almost three-quarters of France’s cinemas, had expected good sales with “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “Matrix Resurrections” drawing crowds.
“It’s like being told to apply the emergency brake to the high-speed train,” Vincent Meyer, a director at Benoit, told The Associated Press.
Michel Enten, manager of the Le Fontenelle cinema in the town of Marly-le-Roi west of Paris, said he expects the ban to hit larger cinemas particularly hard, though it may even help lure back fans to smaller theaters like his.
“There are lots of people who hate hearing the sounds of popcorn in the auditoriums,” said Enten, who lost about half of his clientele during the pandemic.
“Perhaps we will win over new movie fans, people who were watching Netflix and are saying to themselves, ‘Now there’s no more popcorn, let’s run to the cinema,’” he said.
Some cinemagoers struggled to understand why they won’t be able to chow down on buttery popcorn and other snacks while restaurants are still allowed to serve food and drinks.
“It’s going to be strange to just go to the cinema and do without all these little moments,” Vincent Bourdais said as he lined up in Marly-le-Roi to see “Spiderman.”
“Often, when one imagines the cinema, one thinks of the auditorium, the beautiful posters, the popcorn, the smells,” he added.
With Post wires
The 42 best things to watch on Amazon Prime Video
We know, we know: there’s too much choice these days. You can’t just sit down and watch a movie because there are too many to choose from, so you just spend hours scrolling through potential films and then go to bed.
Not now, you don’t – everything on this list is worth watching. And we know, because we’ve watched them all. The lengths we go to keep you guys happy, eh…
Of course to watch the films and TV shows here you’ll need an Amazon Prime Video subscription. Come on, you didn’t think it was going to be free, did you?
You’re also going to need a player that supports it. Take your pick from any of the following: Roku players, Google Chromecast, Sony PlayStation, Microsoft Xbox and of course Amazon Fire TV and Amazon Fire Stick. Or maybe you have the Prime Video app built into your smart TV.
Got Netflix too? Then you’ll want to check out our 40 best movies and TV shows on Netflix UK and New on Netflix UK lists.
The Silence of the Lambs
The only horror film in history to bag Best Picture at the Oscars, The Silence of the Lambs introduced the wider world to Hannibal Lecter, renowned Baltimore psychiatrist and cannibalistic murderer, played by Anthony Hopkins in a star-making turn. But here’s the thing: Lecter isn’t the film’s true bad guy, but young FBI agent Clarice Starling’s main chance at stopping another serial killer.
While the horror here is usually psychological rather than visceral, there are more than enough shocking moments to keep slasher aficionados sated. And any movie lover will enjoy the craft on show, with fantastic performances from Hopkins and Jodie Foster and a script full of memorable lines. You’ll never think of fava beans and a nice Chianti in the same way again.
Watch The Silence of the Lambs on Prime Video
No Country for Old Men
Cormac McCarthy’s novel gets the Coen brothers treatment – and how. This is truly fantastic stuff, thanks not only to the source material and its sympathetic adaptation by two of America’s finest filmmakers, but the superb performances from Josh Brolin, Kelly Macdonald, Tommy Lee Jones and, most memorably, Javier Bardem as the philosophising, seemingly unstoppable mass murderer Anton Chigurh. If you like your thrillers as contemplative and lyrical as they are nail-biting, look no further.
Watch No Country for Old Men on Prime Video
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
There’s no room for Bond- or Bourne-style heroics in this understated spy drama. Based on the beloved novel by John Le Carré, it populates the world of espionage with damaged, shabby men who play chess with other people’s lives. Gary Oldman’s George Smiley is one such figure, brought out of enforced retirement to track down a Soviet mole in the Circus, Le Carré’s fictionalised British intelligence service. Smiley’s an unobtrusive, unassuming desk jockey in middle age, but every so often we see the merest glimpse of something – steel, cunning, ruthlessness – that suggests that, yes, still waters really do run deep.
Director Tomas Alfredson imbues the 1970s setting with a melancholy air, as his characters trudge through nicotine-stained offices and rain-sodden London streets; there’s no shortage of beige in the film’s palette. Oldman gives a stellar performance opposite a Who’s Who of British thespians, including John Hurt, Colin Firth, Kathy Burke, Mark Strong, Toby Jones, Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hardy.
Watch Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy on Prime Video
The Rock
The words “directed by Michael Bay” may be a signifier for bombastic cinematic mediocrity in the 21st century, but it’s impossible to deny that the man has his moments, particularly in his early career, and for our money The Rock is Bay’s Citizen Kane – if one could say such a thing about a movie in which Nicolas Cage offs an enemy by forcing a globule of nerve gas down his gullet.
When disgruntled army general Ed Harris leads a terrorist attack on Alcatraz, pointing rockets armed with deadly V.X. gas at San Francisco, the U.S. government decides to send in a SEAL team – with Cage’s jittery scientist and Sean Connery’s curmudgeonly British convict (the only man to ever escape from the island) tagging along as advisors. When the SEALs are wiped out, it falls to our odd couple to thwart the terrorist plot and save the day.
Fargo (1996)
Not to be confused with the spin-off TV show of the same name (also well worth a watch, but not a patch on the movie), this multiple Oscar-winning crime thriller stars Frances McDormand as the heavily pregnant police chief of a small Minnesota town where nothing much happens – until it does. When a kidnap plot goes awry and bodies start turning up in the yawning Midwestern snowscape (beautifully filmed by Roger Deakins), McDormand’s no-nonsense approach to law enforcement is put to the test.
Fargo isn’t your typical film noir. Creators the Coen brothers wring something uniquely comic out of each and every one of their characters, from William H. Macy’s wretched car salesman to Steve Buscemi’s ferrety criminal-for-hire. Their keenly observed portrayal of “Minnesota nice” (politeness so extreme it’s almost passive-aggressive) is especially funny, even more so when it’s playing out against the film’s grim backdrop of violence, betrayal and moral turpitude.
RoboCop (1987)
Forget the redundant 2014 reboot. If it’s a RoboCop you’re going to watch, for heaven’s sake make it Paul Verhoeven’s original – a true modern classic and one of the best sci-fi action-thrillers of the 1980s (a decade that wasn’t exactly short on such films).
On the surface level, it’s an ultra-violent futuristic thriller about a cybernetic police officer battling to take down a far-reaching criminal conspiracy. But, in true Verhoeven style, it’s also a biting satire on the corporatisation and militarisation of law enforcement – a theme which is even more relevant today than it was back in 1987. OTT in the best possible way.
Joker
Joaquin Phoenix gives a tour-de-force performance in this Oscar-winning origin story. How did an aspiring stand-up comedian become Gotham City’s greatest villain? Director Todd Phillips crafts a much more nuanced and tragic superhero movie than we’ve seen from recent DC Comics-derived efforts – it’s more Taxi Driver than Man of Steel, and all the better for it.
Watch Joker on Amazon Prime Video
Invincible (S1)
The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman brings another of his cult comic books to the screen. This adult animated series tells the story of a teenage superhero coming to terms with his newfound powers – and dealing with the fact that his father is the most powerful and famous masked crusader on the planet.
If that sounds like something you’ve seen a thousand times before in superhero fiction, we urge you to give it a chance anyway: the show throws a shocking curveball early on that is guaranteed to make you pay attention. Stephen Yuen, J.K. Simmons, Sandra Oh, Mahershala Ali and Mark Hamill are among the star-studded voice cast.
Watch Invincible on Amazon Prime Video
Django Unchained
Quentin Tarantino’s western (or, more accurately “southern”) takes its cinematic cues noth from spaghetti westerns and blaxploitation flicks. Set mostly in the Deep South, Django Unchained pits Jamie Foxx’s former slave against the plantation owners and overseers who’ve separated him from his wife.
He’s joined on his mission by sharpshooting German bounty hunter Dr King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), but Leonardo DiCaprio steals the show as chief villain Calvin Candie, who cloaks the barbarity of his gladiatorial slave fights beneath a veneer of civilisation, and Samuel L Jackson as Candie’s house slave (and éminence grise) Stephen.
Foxx plays Django as a modern Man with No Name – though in his case his silence is more the result of tightly-wound fury than stoicism; when he eventually unleashes vengeance on his oppressors, it’s spectacularly cathartic.
Watch Django Unchained on Amazon Prime Video
Unforgiven
While traditional Westerns celebrated the derring-do of their sixgun-toting, Stetson-wearing heroes, Unforgiven was one of the first to explore darker themes. Its own protagonist, Clint Eastwood’s William Munny, is a former gunslinger with a violent past: “That’s right, I’ve killed women and children. I’ve killed just about everything that walked or crawled at one time or another.”
Munny, now a widowed pig farmer with two young children, is hired by a group of sex workers after one of their number has been disfigured by a pair of cowboys. He and his companions’ job is to dispense Old West-style justice to the miscreants, but there are two obstacles in his way: Munny’s reluctance to return to a life of killing; and local lawman Little Bill Dagget (Gene Hackman), another former gunfighter who takes an extremely dim view of assassins.
Watch Unforgiven on Amazon Prime Video
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE › Smart Money: The Stuff guide to money-saving tech
Fleabag (S1-2)
Phoebe Waller-Bridge writes and stars in this beloved sitcom about a single woman’s attempts to navigate the many pitfalls of modern London life: love, family, work. Even if that sounds like a hackneyed synopsis, or one that could describe something in the region of 10,000 British sitcoms, you should delve into Fleabag anyway; Waller-Bridge’s eyes-open approach – acerbic, unashamed, raw – doesn’t feel unoriginal in the slightest. It’s also extremely funny, which is probably worth mentioning too.
RELATED › New on Netflix UK this month
Hannibal (S1-3)
Mads Mikkelsen is, quite frankly, one of the most interesting and watchable actors of his generation, and never more so than when clad in the perfectly cut suits of this TV incarnation of cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter. As per Thomas Harris’ original books, Lecter is a psychiatrist brought in to assist FBI profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy), but it’s not long before the doctor is manipulating the fragile Graham. This is high-brow stuff by the standards of its genre, chock-full of startling imagery, Lynchian characters and dinner scenes that will make your stomach rumble – a little unsettling once you realise what’s in most of them.
Watch Hannibal on Amazon Prime Video
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead is one of the most iconic and influential horror movies of all time. When an outbreak of the undead ushers in the fall of civilization, a quartet of survivors decamp to an abandoned shopping mall in a bid for safety – only to discover that the shambling brain-chomping hordes have also found themselves drawn to this palace of consumerism.
You’d have to be braindead to miss the satire, sure – but there’s so much else going on here that it hardly matters. Zack Snyder’s 21st-century reimagining isn’t a patch on this for atmosphere, and the practical effects and prog-rock synth score give it an eerie atmosphere you simply don’t get with modern horror flicks.
Watch Dawn of the Dead on Prime Video
The Babadook
This Australian indie horror movie is likely to stick with you for some time. In addition to all the thrills, spills and chills you’d expect from a standard horror flick, The Babadook has something extra hidden in its basement under the stairs: smarts.
Yes, this film will fray your nerves like wool dragged across a barbed wire fence, but it’s also a meditation on loss and trauma. Can widowed mother Amelia finally lay the repressed memory of her husband to rest and save her son Samuel from the malevolent force stalking them in the process? You’ll just have to watch this modern classic to find out.
Watch The Babadook on Amazon Prime Video
Bosch (S1-7)
Based on the novels by James Connelly, Bosch is among Amazon’s most reliable original series. A super-authentic (or at least it feels that way) police procedural set in Los Angeles following the travails of homicide detective Harry Bosch, it’s proof that sometimes sticking to a formula really does work.
Bosch himself sounds like a walking cliché: a grizzled, no-nonsense cop with dark secrets lurking in his past, a love of jazz music and a low tolerance for pen-pushing superiors – but thanks to strong writing and Titus Welliver’s game performance, rooting for him as he navigates political machinations, corrupt colleagues and murderous criminals is never a problem.
Watch Bosch on Amazon Prime Video
What We Do in the Shadows (film)
Taika Waititi’s outstanding mockumentary about a coterie of New Zealand vampires really hits the horror-comedy spot – and doesn’t hang about while doing so. With plenty of laughs mined from the awkwardness of being a neurotic immortal in the modern world, it’s certainly leaning more towards the comic side of the spectrum, but it’s not lacking in genuine moments of creepiness. If you’re a fan of This Is Spinal Tap as well as Interview with the Vampire, this is a perfect movie to sink your teeth into.
Watch What We Do in the Shadows on Amazon Prime
Saint Maud
Writer-director Rose Glass’s startling debut is presented as a psychological horror movie – but might better be viewed as an exploration of loneliness and its dangers.
Young born-again Christian Maud is a private palliative nurse, assigned to a cancer-stricken former dancer after leaving her previous job under a cloud. As she becomes closer to her new charge, she is told her purpose is not only to ease her pain, but save her immortal soul – but are the voices she hears actually God or something more sinister?
Watch Saint Maud on Amazon Prime Video
The Revenant
Emerging from a shallow (and somewhat premature) grave, trapper Hugh Glass sets out on the long, icy journey towards revenge, evading marauding Native Americans, foraging for sustenance and performing gruesome self-surgery in a series of incredible sequences. Alejandro González Iñárritu’s direction and the flawless camera work help the viewer feel every moment of Glass’ struggle to survive.
Despite uttering a mere handful of lines during the film’s nigh-on three hours of running time, DiCaprio bagged his first Best Actor Oscar for The Revenant. Seeing what he goes through here, you can see why the Academy was so impressed. As a pure physical performance, it’s remarkable – and it’s just one notable aspect of a movie packed with them.
Watch The Revenant on Amazon Prime Video
Sound of Metal
Ruben is a noise-metal drummer, endlessly touring tiny venues with his partner Lou in a beaten-up RV, but the couple’s rootless but contented lifestyle comes to a sickening halt when Ruben begins to experience hearing loss. With the realisation that his career as a musician may be over, tempting him back to his old addict’s ways, Ruben checks himself into a rural deaf community – but he remains fiercely driven by a hope of fixing his affliction, getting back on tour and getting back to Lou.
Riz Ahmed is utterly fantastic in the lead role (Oscar-nominated, no less), but everything about Darius Marder’s debut movie works so well: the sound design that puts you in Ruben’s head; the supporting performances of Paul Raci and Olivia Cooke; and the themes of identity, dependence and acceptance that run through it.
Watch Sound of Metal on Amazon Prime Video
RELATED › Netflix vs Amazon Instant Video vs Now TV: the battle of the streaming services
Palm Springs
Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti, strangers who happen to be guests at the same wedding, find themselves stuck in a seemingly infinite time loop in this offbeat romantic comedy. If they fall asleep or die, they simple wake up once again and have to live the entire day through. Trapped together, the pair decide to make the most of their predicament, indulging in wilder and wilder behaviour in the knowledge that, whatever might happen, they’ll be back at square one eventually. Everything, it seems, has become meaningless.
If might sound like something you’ve seen before (“Groundhog Day!” we hear you scream), Palm Springs manages to feel different by dint of focussing on a pair of people rather than just one. The relationship and tensions between the two keep the film nicely involving – and it’s very funny to boot.
Watch Palm Springs on Amazon Prime Video
I Care A Lot
Proof that it’s possible to make an engaging film even when none of the characters are “good”, noble or particularly likeable, I Care A Lot stars Rosamunde Pike as professional legal guardian Marla Grayson – a ruthless predator who makes a handsome living by exploiting the elderly people she’s supposed to be caring for.
Her latest ward (Dianne Wiest – who doesn’t crop up in films that often these days) looks like a potential goldmine but turns out to be a doorway to trouble, thanks to some unlikely connections with the criminal underworld. Peter Dinklage and Eiza González also star in this viciously black but deliciously enjoyable comedy.
Watch I Care a Lot on Amazon Prime Video
Mad Men (S1-7)
On the face of it, Mad Men is a drama series about a group of people who work in advertising in 1960s New York, and it succeeds on that level thanks to a well-drawn cast of characters, an intriguing plot and an almost absurd amount of attention to period detail.
But underneath all that it’s an exploration of 20th century America, identity, consumerism, freedom, family and the concept of happiness. You could probably call it existentialist if you were feeling fancy, and you’d be well within your rights – but despite its lofty preoccupations it’s also devilishly witty, moving and entertaining with it. It may be the most painstakingly crafted television series of all time, and it’s certainly among the finest.
Watch Mad Men on Amazon Prime Video
The Report
The political thriller sees Adam Driver’s character, Daniel Jones, set an assignment by the Senator Diane Feinstein (Annette Bening) to lead an investigation into the CIA’s ‘enhanced interrogation’ methods during the Bush era.
The project engulfs Jones’ life, his relentless determination to complete his report almost jeopardizing his career and sacrificing any social or personal life, but the injustice and corruption at the heart of it are too important to ignore. The Report’s fast-paced narrative and sharp dialogue make it easy enough to follow, but some of the torture-scenes are hard to stomach. The fact it’s based on a true story is frightening.
Watch The Report on Amazon Prime Video
The Shield (S1-7)
In this cop drama the hero isn’t just a somewhat flawed detective (“Oh, he likes a bit of a drink, y’know…”) but an unabashed murderer, racist, womaniser and thief, The Shield pioneered the kind of grey area telly we take for granted today. Yes, Michael Chiklis’ Vic Mackey is a truly nasty individual, possessed of all the worst traits we associate with bent coppers, but he’s feared by criminals and respected by his colleagues (most of whom aren’t upstanding examples of humanity themselves). So is his brand of corrupt law enforcement a necessary evil?
Debuting in 2002, the series does look its age – some of the camerawork and editing in particular is a bit jarring – but once you get over its quirks The Shield’s brisk storylines and moral quandaries swiftly draw you in.
Watch The Shield on Amazon Prime Video
American Gods (S1-3)
Based on the beloved Neil Gaiman novel, American Gods (exclusive to Amazon Prime currently, and available in 4K Ultra HD) weaves together cords of ancient mythology, modern mythology, Americana and pop culture to create a modern fantasy tale – a tale about immigration, above other things.
The cast includes the classy likes of Ian McShane, Peter Stormare and Gillian Anderson, but British viewers will be shocked to see former Hollyoaks hunk Ricky Whittle in the leading role – and doing a very decent job along with it. After a long wait amidst behind-the-camera turmoil, the second season has arrived too.
Watch American Gods on Amazon Prime Instant Video
Bone Tomahawk
Genres get hacked up as much as the unfortunate characters in S. Craig Zahler’s brutal directorial debut. This film starts out in familiar Western territory, but gradually descends into a nightmarish, schlocky horror flick – albeit one with some tension-shattering comedic dialogue and character moments. There’s an old-school video nasty vibe to Bone Tomahawk that you don’t often see in modern movies, not to mention a refreshing tendency to take its time.
Kurt Russell leads the strong cast (familiar faces Richard Jenkins, Matthew Fox and Patrick Wilson also appear) as a stoic small-town sheriff spurred into action when a group of cave-dwelling Native Americans kidnap two of his townspeople. Resolving to rescue the victims and punish the perpetrators, a small posse ventures out into the dry, rocky wilderness, not realising what awaits them.
Watch Bone Tomahawk on Amazon Prime Video
Parasite
Bong Joon-ho’s pitch black comedy won both the Cannes Palm d’Or and Oscar for Best Picture, and while it’s something of an outlier for the latter (the Academy usually prefers feel-good or outwardly worthy films, not to mention those in English), upon watching it it’s easy to see why it’s been so lauded: it’s masterfully crafted, funny, shocking and insightful – not to mention possessed of a genuinely riveting plot.
The film revolves around two Korean families: the poverty-stricken Kims and the wealthy Parks. The Kims concoct a scheme that sees all four of them become well-paid household employees of the trusting Parks, but an unforeseeable revelation makes their triumph short-lived. A scathing examination of wealth, class, inequality and how the modern world makes parasites of us all.
Watch Parasite on Amazon Prime Video
The Boys (S1-2)
What if superheroes were not only real, but as messed up and prone to bad behaviour as the rest of us. That’s the premise behind this superb comic book adaptation, in the world’s most famous costumed crusaders are owned and controlled by Vought, a ruthless corporation that keeps their misdeeds – which range from voyeurism and drug abuse to outright murderous psychopathy – under wraps in order to keep the cash flowing.
When one outrage leaves a young man bereaved and hellbent on revenge, he joins a group of like-minded vigilantes with the aim of bringing down Vought once and for all. Effortlessly blending humour, action and drama, The Boys manages to be Amazon’s best original series in ages.
Watch The Boys on Amazon Prime
The Vast of Night
A New Mexico switchboard operator hears a mysterious sound on her headset, sparking off a series of creepily escalating revelations in this retro sci-fi movie from first-time director Andrew Patterson.
From its late 1950s small town America setting to its sound design and music, The Vast of Night gleefully channels classic mystery shows like The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits and The X-Files, not to mention films like Super 8 and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. But it’s far from derivative, and its snappy dialogue and stylish camerawork give it a singular, stylish air. The plot might be fairly simple, the cast small and unknown, but Patterson makes the most of every cent of his tiny budget.
Watch The Vast of Night on Amazon Prime Video
RELATED › The best 10 TVs you can buy
Justified (S1-6)
Based on a short story by Elmore Leonard, this six-season series stars Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens, a modern-day US Marshal who brings an Old West sensibility to his job. Sent back to his hometown after falling out with his superiors, he’s quickly dragged into a feud with an old friend turned enemy, played with career-defining aplomb by Walton Goggins.
Watch Justified on Amazon Prime Video
Heat
Michael Mann decided to remake his own TV movie LA Takedown into a huge, sprawling star-studded action-thriller – and the result is of the best action-thrillers of the 1990s.
Robert De Niro and Al Pacino grab the limelight as a meticulous bank robber and the obsessive cop driven to hunt him down, but there’s so much more to admire here aside from these titans’ (admittedly excellent) performances: the effortless style with which Mann directs everything from diner table conversations to huge shootouts; the supporting cast, packed with some of Hollywood’s finest character actors; the clarity with which its themes manifest themselves on screen.
Nitpickers will say that Pacino is perhaps a little OTT, or that some of Mann’s many subplots would have been better left on the cutting room floor – but you should ignore them and watch this anyway.
Watch Heat on Amazon Prime Video
Suspiria (2018)
This Amazon-funded reimagining of the Dario Argento classic will divide audiences. Ponderously paced and tottering under the weight of more themes and ideas than it knows what to do with, Suspiria is peak arthouse horror – and many will find the eventual bloodshed too little reward for the investment. Others will appreciate the movie’s strong sense of place (late 1970s Berlin, a city riven with political turmoil) and the way it generates an atmosphere of oppressive discomfort throughout with its use of sound effects, strange camera angles and Thom Yorke’s krautrock-inspired score.
Dakota Johnson stars as an unworldly young dancer joining a prestigious all-female company that just might be a coven of witches, while Tilda Swinton impresses in three separate roles.
Watch Suspiria on Amazon Prime
The Expanse (S1-6)
Amazon Prime recently acquired the first three seasons of this beloved space opera series, in which humanity has colonised the solar system amidst a looming conflict between Earth, Mars and the asteroid belt. It then financed and produced a fourth and fifth, injecting a bunch of cash into the series and giving the production values (already pretty high) a boost. At least one more season is coming too.
But that’s not to say that this is a show that lives and dies on its visuals. The Expanse will likely appeal to anyone who appreciates sprawling, critically-acclaimed and morally complex dramas – it’s like Game of Thrones with rail guns and zero-g instead of dragons and Valyrian steel. Better yet, it’s all available to stream in beautiful 4K UHD – provided you have a TV with the prerequisite number of pixels, natch.
Watch The Expanse on Amazon Prime
The Marvelous Mrs Maisel (S1-3)
Hankering for a grown-up TV show in the vein of Mad Men? One also set in mid-century Manhatten? The Marvelous Mrs Maisel might be the new series for you.
Rachel Brosnahan stars as Miriam “Midge” Maisel, a vivacious, quick-witted upper middle class housewife with what she thought was the perfect 1950s New York lifestyle: husband, kids, beautiful Upper West Side apartment; the works. When things take an unforeseen turn and flip that all upside down, she stumbles into trying out standup comedy – and discovers she has something of a talent for not only making people laugh, but for hitting upon life’s truths and enigmas while doing it.
The first season won three Golden Globes and five Emmys, suggesting this Amazon Original may have an even bigger future ahead than Transparent.
Watch The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon Prime
Manchester by the Sea
If you’re looking for a chucklesome barrel of laughs, we’d suggest you steer well clear of this brilliantly written, impeccably acted but unrelentingly heavy drama, in which sullen, reclusive handyman Lee (Casey Affleck in Oscar-winning form) is called back to his long-abandoned hometown by a death in the family.
Faced with new responsibilities and torn between duty and personal comfort, Lee is forced to confront a past tragedy and its effect on him. If Manchester by the Sea sounds serious and weighty, it is – but it’s also packed with affecting and amusing human moments that make it far more than your average Oscar-baiting gloom-fest.
Watch Manchester by the Sea on Amazon Prime Instant Video
Mr. Robot (S1-4)
An office drone by day, Elliott Alderson (played brilliantly by Rami Malek) is also a morphine-dependent keyboard vigilante who hacks the lives of everyone he meets. That is until he’s lured in by Mr. Robot (Christian Slater) to join the hacktivist group ‘F Society’, whose grand plan is to cancel world debt by attacking ubiquitous conglomerate E Corp (or Evil Corp, as Elliott calls it).
Cue a trip down a rabbit hole that twists through Lynchian dream sequences, episode-long musings about the hackability of human minds, and a mounting sense of paranoia that leaves you suspicious of everything down to Elliott’s malfunctioning radiator.
That Mr. Robot resists Hollywood’s ‘Computers for dummies’ approach to the Internet is just one of the reasons why it’s great. The others are that it’s stylishly shot, unpredictable and offers a new take on cyberpunk, while wearing its influences (The Matrix, Fight Club and American Psycho) as proudly as the badge on its title character’s shirt.
Seasons 1, 2, 3 and 4 are all available for binge-watching right now.
Watch Mr Robot on Amazon Prime Instant Video
Red Oaks (S1-3)
A hidden gem in Amazon’s catalogue, Red Oaks‘ unremarkable premise belies a nuanced show that blends humour and pathos with surprising aplomb.
Set in ’80s New York suburbia, the show (now running to three full seasons) follows the bumbling but tumultuous life of David Myers. From the aloof love interest to parental turmoil at home, all the classic teen drama tropes are covered, with just enough of a twist to sustain your intrigue.
What really elevates this show above the many others that riff off a similar tune is its riotous roster of characters. Sleazy yet feckless tennis coach Nash alone is worth the price of admission.
Watch Red Oaks on Amazon Prime
RELATED › The best TV streaming boxes and sticks – reviewed
The Man in the High Castle (S1-4)
What if the Allies had lost the Second World War, and America was currently ruled by Germany in its eastern half and Japan in its western half? Well, you can find out in this big budget Amazon Prime original series, a thriller which zips around a 1960s North America that’s more “Ja wohl!” than “Aw shucks!”.
Dealing with underground resistance groups, various plots and an alternative Cold War (waged between Imperial Japan and the German Reich, now the world’s only superpowers), it’s the kind of series that’ll appeal to history buffs, sci-fi fans and anyone who’s into high concept, high budget television.
Watch The Man in the High Castle on Amazon Prime Instant Video
L.A. Confidential
This superlative adaptation of James Ellroy’s novel of the same name is a gripping journey into the gloomy, seedy underbelly of 1950s Los Angeles, exploring the spiral of bloody events that occur where Tinseltown, police corruption and the mob crash together.
Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce and Kevin Spacey all deliver fine performances as a trio of LAPD detectives with very different personalities, and L.A. Confidential‘s labyrinthine plot, its beautifully realised recreation of the tarnished dream of post-Golden Age Hollywood, and its sheer attention to detail all work together to make this one of the defining movies of the late 1990s.
Watch L.A. Confidential on Amazon Prime
RELATED › Why it’s time to get pumped about HDR TV
The Walking Dead (S1-9)
The zombie apocalypse scenario has now been covered so many times that when the dead do eventually start clawing their way out of the ground in a shambling tide of brain-hungry violence, it’ll hardly be worth mentioning. That’s not to say that it doesn’t make cracking TV, though, and if you’re one of the few people who hasn’t yet seen The Walking Dead, there are a full nine seasons’ worth of horrific violence, bad decisions, cannibalism, baseball bats wrapped in barbed wire and more to enjoy!
Watch The Walking Dead on Amazon Prime Instant Video
Transparent (S1-5)
Amazon’s been trying to “do a Netflix” by creating its very own blockbusting TV shows for ages now, but this is the first time it’s got it right. For a start, Transparent is really bold – it tells the story of a sixty-something divorcee announcing to his three grown-up kids that he’s always felt different and is now going to live as a woman.
Sounds heavy, and it sort of is, but it’s also darkly funny, with a degree of wit and sharpness that’s still rare even in this golden age of TV. The bickering between the three kids (each of whom is riddled with their own individual problems and peccadillos) is as chucklesome as it is awkward and real. Amazing telly.
Watch Transparent on Amazon Prime Instant Video now
Patriot (S1-2)
This quirky espionage comedy-drama blends deadpan humour, action and a coterie of memorable characters into something that feels truly original. Michael Dorman excels as permanently put-upon CIA operative John Lakeman, who really just wants to be a folk singer – life, needless to say, has other plans for him. The smart plot takes in Iran, nuclear weapons, a single-minded Luxembourger cop and a lot more info about industrial piping than you’d ever need know. Patriot is one of Amazon’s best original series, which is why it’s a true shame that there are (currently) no plans for a third season.
The second Uncharted movie trailer has been released
Sony Interactive Entertainment has released the second official Uncharted movie trailer.
The new two-and-a-half-minute trailer, which you can watch below, follows the release of the first official trailer in October.
Following a six-month delay, the Uncharted movie is scheduled to hit theatres on February 18, 2022.
Rather than following the plot of the PlayStation games, which have sold over 41 million copies, the film tells a prequel story featuring Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) as a young treasure hunter learning from his mentor Victor Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg).
In a blog posted on game developer Naughty Dog’s website in October, film director Ruben Fleischer (Venom, Zombieland) said he “made the movie for both hardcore fans of the game and those who are not yet familiar with the franchise and believe[s] that both will be equally entertained by this incredibly fun and action-packed film”.
The Uncharted movie is the first feature film from PlayStation Productions, a studio formed by Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt its original game properties for film and television in partnership with Sony Pictures.
PlayStation Productions is also working on a The Last of Us HBO TV series, a live-action Ghost of Tsushima movie helmed by John Wick director Chad Stahelski, and a Twisted Metal TV series from Deadpool’s writers, among other projects.
Related
Sony recently announced the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves PS5 release date, alongside details of the collection’s graphics updates, pricing and upgrade options.
Containing remasters of Uncharted 4 and its expansion The Lost Legacy, the PS5 version of Legacy of Thieves will be released on January 28, 2022, with a PC version to follow later in the year.
The PS5 version will be available physically and digitally for $49.99 / £44.99 / €49.99. Uncharted 4, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, or Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End Uncharted: The Lost Legacy Digital Bundle owners will be able to upgrade to the PS5 collection for $10 / £10 / €10 at launch.
Until February 3, 2022, players in the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand who purchase or upgrade to Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection on PS5 via PlayStation Store will receive a voucher code for one standard ticket to see the Uncharted movie in participating cinemas.
Russian Film Crew Will Make First Movie in Space
No media source currently available
A Russian actor and film director left Earth on a spaceship this week to start filming a movie. Russian officials said the movie will shine a light on Russia’s success in space.
Dmitry Peskov is press secretary for President Vladimir Putin.
“We have been pioneers in space and maintained a confident position,” Peskov said, adding that space exploration is great for Russia.
Actor Yulia Peresild and director Klim Shipenko took off from a site in Kazahkstan Tuesday with cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov. They arrived about three hours later at the International Space Station where they will stay for 12 days.
The future film is called Challenge. It tells the story of a doctor who hurries to the space station to help an astronaut with a heart problem.
The passengers had four months to get ready for the space trip.
Peresild said training for the trip was difficult. But, she said, once they reach their goal, “all that will seem not so difficult and we will remember it with a smile.”
Shipenko said he will finish the movie back home after filming in space. Two other Russian cosmonauts already on the space station will also perform in the movie.
Dmitry Rogozin heads the Russian space agency Roscosmos and has been a major force behind the project.
“Space deserves being shown in a more professional, artful way,” he said.
Rogozin said he edited the script himself to correctly represent the realities of space travel. “We describe some real emergencies that may happen out there,” he said.
Oleg Novitskiy is an experienced Russian cosmonaut. He will play the character with the heart problem in the movie. When that is done, he will return to captain’s seat of the Soyuz spacecraft and bring the actor and director back to Earth
I’m Dan Friedell.
Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by The Associated Press. Caty Weaver was the editor.
How do you think the Russian movie will turn out? Tell us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page.
____________________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
pioneer – n. a person who helps create or develop new ideas, methods, etc.
confident – adj. having a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something
script – n. the written form of a play, movie, television show, etc.
January May Be Depressing, But Here Are 34 TV Shows And Movies Coming To The UK To Perk You Up
Sarah and Nick always cross paths every year on New Year’s Eve, but their standard NYE goes left when the Doctor, Dan, and Yaz show up to battle the Daleks.
Starring: Jodie Whittaker, Mandip Gill, John Bishop.
Release date: 1st January.
Where to watch: BBC One/BBC iPlayer.
Watch if you like: Black Mirror, Stranger Things, Sherlock.
Akhanda Movie Review: Strictly for Balakrishna’s fans
Story: Murali Krishna and Akhanda are separated at birth because one of them has a destiny to fulfil and a war to fight. What brings these two together?
Review: After Legend and Simha, director Boyapati Srinu and actor Balakrishna team up for their third film – a mass masala entertainer that relies solely on the lead’s star power. A good story-line is watered down due to a miscalculated screenplay and everyone takes a backseat for NBK (including one of his characters). The end result might make the star’s fans scream ‘Jai Balayya’ almost endlessly but one can’t deny that Boyapati fails to pull off what he promises.
Murali Krishna (Balakrishna) is a people’s man in the faction-ridden Anantapur. He is a farmer who uses his income to build hospitals, throw a punch when needed but also reform factionists to care for nature and give up violence. His character is almost a nod to the new direction Balakrishna is willing to take with his roles. District Collector Saranya (Pragya Jaiswal) is unafraid to hold corrupt police officers accountable and dig deep into misdoings in her district with the help of Principal Secretary of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, Padmavati (Poorna). And while enough time is spent on how Saranya falls for Murali and they both build a life together (after some weird flirting that takes place over seat belts, taati kallu and telugu tanam), this is not their story.
This is the story of Murali’s long-lost twin Akhanda (Balakrishna as an aghora/baba) who is taken away from his family by a Baba (Jagapathi Babu) because he has a destiny to fulfil. It is believed he is born to right the wrongs of Gajendra Sahu (Niitin Mehta), a ruthless man who takes over an ashram and pretends he’s a saint to cover up his crimes. Also in this tale is Varada Rajulu (Srikanth), another ruthless man who takes up illegal uranium mining in Nallamala under the guise of copper mining. When people whose lives Murali vowed to protect are lost and Saranya has to fight to save what’s left of her family, Akhanda heads on a war-path to save the day.
While the basic premise of Akhanda is interesting, especially the way Boyapati sets it up by weaving a mythical story with mass moments in a way only he can, he soon loses the plot (literally) and gets carried away with giving Akhanda and Murali mass moments that are sure to elicit whistles but don’t do anything for the story. He also takes a detour to wax eloquent on everything from nature to the importance of God and temples to how women (like nature) are meant to be protected not ravaged. The irony is lost on no one when the film indulges in double entrendre dialogues, introduction scenes that involve vonis flying and women/girls being used as collaterals of war. None of this adds to the story either. From the minute Akhanda enters the frame, everything and everyone takes a backseat, including Murali. Saranya and Padmavati are turned into damsels-in-distress, Murali is lost in his own guilt and grief, and even the supposedly powerful Gajendra and Varada hold no footing now because Akhanda has the hand of Shiva himself protecting him. Nay, he is even believed to be God himself.
Balakrishna gets the chance to shine because he fills almost every frame of the film either as Murali or Akhanda. He gets to dance and indulge in dialogue-baazi when he’s not showing off his cool new avatar in slow-motion shots that focus on his fake tattoos and piercing eyes. And while that’s initially enough to give you a rush, it soon gets exhausting as the film progresses. Pragya might get an introduction (almost) on par with the hero but she’s lost to the proceedings, despite her giving the character her all. Poorna, Srikanth, Niitin, Jagapathi Babu, Kalakeya Prabhakar, Subbaraju and others have one-tone characters that they breeze through.
Apart from the mass moments and fights (by Stun Shiva) that are fun (but there are too many of them), what works for the film is Thaman’s BGM. His score and Ram Prasad’s cinematography set the tone for the film, even making the proceedings interesting when it’s clear Boyapati is filling runtime with nothing much to say. At the end of it all, the length of the film (2-hours-47-minutes) doesn’t seem justified for the story he wants to tell. You are also left with the feeling that despite Balakrishna’s aghora character Akhanda taking up so much time, Boyapati misses potential there to do more with it.
Akhanda is the kind of entertainer that’ll work strictly for Balakrishna’s fans because anyone looking to just kill time over a tub of popcorn might leave exhausted. Seeing as how it has been long since a star entertainer has hit the screens, time will tell if this is the film that drives back people to the theatres.