More On: brian dennehy
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Oh my VOD! What started out as a trial experiment, with studios dropping major movies directly onto streaming services to soothe our lockdown boredom and (ideally) make a buck, has turned into an avalanche. For the last two months, the film release schedule has been routinely packed with titles — great and horrible — for …
Oh my VOD! What started out as a trial experiment, with studios dropping major movies directly onto streaming services to soothe our lockdown boredom and (ideally) make a buck, has turned into an avalanche.
For the last two months, the film release schedule has been routinely packed with titles — great and horrible — for every taste. But it can be hard to make sense of the madness.
Here, we tell you what to watch, and what to scroll right by.
“Extraction” (See it!)
You gotta hand it to Netflix, the action sequences in Chris Hemsworth’s new rogue badass movie are impressive. Playing an ex-military mercenary, he races through Dhaka, Bangladesh, to rescue a kidnapped teen from a drug lord, driving cars through buildings and killing everyone in sight. The plot is serviceable, but it’s the beatdowns that keep you watching. That’s also why it’s proving to be one of the streaming service’s most popular titles ever. (Netflix)
“Capone” (Skip it!)
British actor Tom Hardy transforming into a well-known historical figure during his final days. “Prestige picture,” you think. Wrong! Hardy plays notorious mobster Al Capone like he’s auditioning for “The Walking Dead,” but doesn’t get the part of Zombie No. 6 because he’s too over the top. Even mafia junkies will think the filmmakers St. Valentine’s Day-massacred this tale. (Amazon, iTunes)
“Abe” (See it!)
An adorable coming-of-age movie set in Brooklyn, “Abe” slid under the radar when it was released in April. The comedy stars Noah Schnapp (“Stranger Things”) as a young aspiring chef pulled in two directions by his Israeli mom and Palestinian pop. Determined and defiant, Abe talks his way into a secret day job with a local Brazilian fusion chef behind his parents’ backs. It’s a sublime, uniquely New York story. (Amazon, iTunes)
“Scoob” (Skip it!)
Scooby Dooby Don’t! This abysmal CGI reboot robs the classic cartoon of all its fun and subversion. Shaggy, Velma, Fred, Daphne and Scooby are now little more than milquetoast action stars trying to save the world — and not the kitschy detectives we love. The only phantasmic element here is the voice actors, such as Zac Efron and Amanda Seyfried, who are ghosts of their live-action selves. (Amazon, iTunes)
“Driveways” (See it!)
If you’ve grown accustomed to the late Brian Dennehy as a brusque cop, or broadly comic sidekick, you’ll be somewhat taken aback by his character Del — a sensitive, widowed Korean War veteran, who forms a bond with an outcast, 8-year-old new neighbor. His performance, and the whole movie, is sweet but never shamelessly sentimental. Dennehy was doing extraordinary acting work, right till the end. (Amazon, iTunes)
“Endings, Beginnings” (Skip it!)
Starring the sexy trio of Shailene Woodley, Sebastian Stan and Jamie Dornan, “Endings, Beginnings” is an insufferable movie about insufferable people. An LA free-spirit woman, who’s making big life changes, decides to date a man and his best friend at the same time without telling either. What could possibly go wrong? Answer: The filmmaking and dialogue. (Amazon, iTunes)
