Netflix And Chill: The Whisper Man (2026)

I get it. I want to start this review by clarifying that I totally get it. A crime thriller that stars Adam Scott and Michelle Monaghan doesn't seem like a great prospect. And when you have credited roles for both Robert De Niro and Michael Keaton, it's safe to assume that neither of those bigger names will be breaking a sweat. Add to that the fact that this was released straight to a streaming platform with little to no fanfare and you may have already decided to give it a miss.

Despite everything going against it, The Whisper Man isn't actually that bad. It's all about a series of child abductions and deaths that replicate the M.O. of the titular killer. The odd thing is that the killer (Michael Keaton) is in prison. He was put there by Peter Willis (De Niro), a retired cop haunted by that case. But Willis ends up back in action when his grandson (Jake, played by Acston Luca Porto) becomes a target. This leads to Willis struggling to repair some broken bridges with his own son, Tom (Scott), as they work hard with the lead officer on the case, Amanda Beck (Monaghan), to find Jake before the clock runs out.

While I haven't read any of his books so far, I am aware of Alex North, the writer of the source material used here. I've also seen a few other things written by Ben Jacoby and Chase Palmer, who have both had varying degrees of success with some big properties. A lot of people celebrated director James Ashcroft for his previous outing (The Rule Of Jenny Pen), although I was a bit cooler on it than most, but he somehow feels like a much better fit this time around. He clearly knows his way around the tropes of the crime thriller, he introduces one or two supernatural elements in a way that doesn't unbalance the whole thing, and he's happy enough to occasionally pay homage to the title that arguably casts the longest shadow over the modern examples of this sub-genre (The Silence Of The Lambs, of course).

Scott and Monaghan both do fine in their roles, but they're both very much a step down from the bigger names they sometimes have to share screentime with. Scott suffers a bit more, considering how this role hews very close to someone he played in a much better movie from earlier this year. Keaton gets to swagger and exude the kind of menace and confidence that he can do so well, and his Whisper Man is an interesting addition to the overstuffed collection of movie serial killers we've had throughout the decades. It's De Niro who proves to be a pleasant surprise though, giving a performance that at least feels as if he's not just sleepwalking through something that has been pinned on the coat-tails of his past glories. He's both vulnerable and determined throughout, and his complicated relationship to the case, and the killer, provides a number of the more interesting moments in the film. Young Porto does well enough, Hamish Linklater gets to overact in a couple of main scenes, and Owen Teague is impressively unnerving when he finally gets to be front and centre in the tense and dark third act.

If you think you might like this then you're probably right. The 111-minute runtime goes by quickly enough, it tries hard to distract you from the more implausible moments, and there's a feeling of real threat to the main characters throughout. This isn't a cosy and slick thriller that you know everyone will survive. It's nothing new, but it does well with the familiar trappings of the sub-genre, and it might even win over those who, like me, skimmed some of the plot and casting details and assumed the worst. 

7/10

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Hokum (2026)

I've been a fan of writer-director Damian McCarthy since I was fortunate enough to see his first short film, "Hatch", screened at a horror movie festival years ago. With this, his third full film, I am delighted to say that he is three for three when it comes to his feature filmography. He also seems to have developed a confidence in his own abilities with each success. That explains why he can stand by a film titled Hokum, considering all of the ways in which the definition of that word could be used against him by those who may not appreciate this as much as I did.

Adam Scott plays Ohm Bauman, a writer struggling with his latest work, and struggling to keep going through life accompanied by what may be some spirit caused by a past tragedy. He heads off to an isolated hotel in Ireland to deal with both of these things at once, soon becoming involved in some unnerving incidents that tie the history of the building to his own mental state. 

At the heart of Hokum is something very traditional and familiar. It's the kind of cosy, supernatural-tinged, mystery that wouldn't feel out of place if seriously edited down and presented on the BBC during the Christmas holiday season. What McCarthy does with the various elements, however, is brilliant and impressive. He takes time to layer everything throughout, leading viewers by the hand to a finale that somehow grows in power and impact as you spend more time thinking about it.

Using the same visual style that he delivered so well in Oddity (which was a slight step away from the way he depicted things in Caveat), McCarthy is happy to keep viewers right alongside his main character as events play out. There are no big twists here, not if you've seen one or two other tales in this vein, but a lot of the enjoyment comes from watching McCarthy work so expertly with the tropes and audience expectations. Then you get the extra reward once you've spent some time noticing how McCarthy dotted every i and crossed every t.

Scott is fantastic in the lead role, happy to portray his figure as someone unbothered by others taking a dislike to him. He's a grump, to put it mildly, but transforms throughout the runtime as viewers learn about the parts of his life that he's tried to keep buried deep within himself for many years. Florence Ordesh is a small ray of light in the role of Fiona, although she's sadly not onscreen for too long, and Peter Coonan, Michael Patric, and Will O'Connell do well as other hotel staff members. There's also a wonderful turn from David Wilmot, playing a man with his own dark past that makes him either very useful or very dangerous. 

I don't want to give in to recency bias, but I am tempted to sit Hokum just slightly above the previous two features from McCarthy. I initially viewed it as simply being on a par with those, another blend of the macabre and the dark comedy that McCarthy handles so well. It just has a bit more to it though, and I think it's a near-perfect slice of horror that has surprising depths of emotion contained within the heart of it. 

9/10

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Madame Web (2024)

This blog is a comfort for me. It helps me put my thoughts together, it contains a path of memories that can help me remember individual movies from the thousands I have watched, and it is sometimes the only thing that helps me endure a film that is mind-bogglingly abominable. As other people have already made clear, Madame Web is mind-bogglingly abominable. As the bad reviews started to pile up, I found myself wondering how bad it could be. It was even worse than I thought.

Okay, let me give a very quick plot summary, because anything more detailed would make me feel as if I did more work in writing this than anyone did on the script. Dakota Johnson is Cassie Webb, a woman who finds out that she has the gift of premonition. Initially assuming that she cannot change the future, a pigeon interfacing with her window helps her to realise that destiny is not set in stone. That puts her on a path to confront a powerful villain, Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim), a man who is determined to kill three young woman (played by Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, and Celeste O’Connor) he had foreseen being the cause of his own death. Emma Roberts is onscreen to play the mother of an un-named child people can figure out will be Peter Parker, Adam Scott is “uncle” Ben Parker, and the whole thing feels like a desperate attempt to profit from the Spider-Man universe without being able to feature Spider-Man in it.

Although it seems difficult to imagine anyone coming out of this well, it’s strange to see almost everyone sleepwalk through something so dire. The messy script, as inane as it is needlessly convoluted, was written by a whole load of people, including director S. J. Clarkson, and it never gathers any momentum. In fact, this is a film in which everyone feels as if they are wading through a pool of dark and thick molasses, either due to the direction or the cast being unable to work up any enthusiasm for it.

Johnson can do good work onscreen. That is not the case here. As bad as the film is, she matches it with a charmless lead performance. Sweeney, Merced, and O’Connor do a little better, although they get even less to work with (seriously, if you can tell me their names after the end credits, or even after any scene in which they have just been featured, then I will give you a chocolate treat). At least Scott and Roberts have enough presence to make their smaller roles feel like sips of water in a scorching desert. As for Rahim, it feels bad to blame someone for a performance that was so obviously reworked and redubbed when the plot was chopped and changed around, so I will just say that he needs to wipe this film from his C.V. and line up numerous future projects that can help us all quickly forget that he is in this.

Almost every main scene has at least one moment vying to be the worst moment of the film. I think a personal favourite of mine was Cassie being told “when you take on the responsibility, great power will come” (yes, really), but an entire book could be written detailing every flaw and misjudgement. If Clarkson has nothing else lined up yet, it may be some time until she gets to helm something of this scale. It may also be some time until she wants to ever try it again.

Memorable for all the wrong reasons, this is a new contender for the dubious honour of worst superhero movie of the 21st century. Someone should have seen that coming.

2/10

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Prime Time: Leap Year (2010)

When I first saw Leap Year, a fair few years ago, I hated it. It was the worst mainstream rom-com I had seen in a long time, hampered by two leads without any chemistry, or even much likability. Revisiting it today, I hoped to enjoy it more. Enough time had passed, I started off my day in a fairly good mood, and I now at least knew who I was watching (because I wasn't that familiar with Amy Adams the first time around).

Anna (played by Adams) is a woman who has her life exactly as she wants it. Her job is setting up homes ready for being shown by realtors, her boyfriend (Jeremy, played by Adam Scott) is a medical professional who seems to share her life goals, and she has just applied to live in an exclusive apartment complex, if she and Jeremy are deemed suitable. But Jeremy seems to be dragging his feet when it comes to proposing marriage. It's been a number of years. So, while he is in Dublin for work, Anna decides to head over there, hopefully in time for February 29th, when tradition states that women can propose to men. The journey doesn't go according to plan, not at all, and she ends up struggling to get to her final destination with the help of cynical Declan (Matthew Goode).

There's still a lot here that annoys me just as much as it did when I first saw it. The script, by Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont, isn't as funny or sweet as it could be, although there are a few nice touches throughout, and it often feels like it's marking off a checklist of rom-com cliches. Adams and Goode play characters who, of course, dislike each other from the very start, only to start warming up to one another as obstacles create more and more delays on their journey. She likes everything planned, he's more easygoing about things. She's romantic, he's cynical. She likes the finer things in life, he's happy with his familiar comforts. You get the idea. It's a shame that nothing feels even slightly fresh, especially when you check the filmography of Kaplan and Elfont and realise that they have written a couple of fun comedies together (to hell with anyone who dislikes Josie And The Pussycats).

Anand Tucker has more variety in his filmography, and it's fair to say that romantic comedies aren't exactly where he shines. He puts everything in place (cast, cameras, score, etc) but doesn't manage to give it any life. This is a bowl full of wax fruit. It will fool most people who walk by it, but heaven help anyone who grabs an apple to take a bite.

Now that I am more familiar with the kind of roles that Adams has played in her career, despite her growing range over the past few years, it's easier to enjoy her in this. Organised, romantic, and optimistic, this is a perfect role for her to play, and it's a shame that they don't add more com in with the clumsy rom. Goode is alright, I suppose, but I prefer him in roles that let him be a bit more intense and/or strange. Despite his good looks, he's not suited to being a romantic lead (although I am sure many women may disagree with me there). Scott is as perfect as he usually is when called upon to play the guy who is nice enough, but also just a bit . . . douchey in one or two main ways. There are others, including Kailtin Olson and John Lithgow in small roles, but the focus is almost always on Adams and Goode, with Scott being shown or heard just often enough to remind us that he's the reason for the misadventures.

Leap Year isn't awful. It's just inferior to hundreds of other rom-coms you could watch instead. And it doesn't even manage to distract you from those better films while it's playing, which is never a good thing.

4/10

The movie can be bought here.
Americans can buy it here.

Fun Mom Dinner (2017)

I am trying to figure out why I disliked Fun Mom Dinner so much. It's not that it isn't funny enough for a comedy, although it isn't. It's not that the cast are largely wasted, although they are. And it's certainly not that the whole thing ambles along towards a hugely predictable third act, although it does. I think it is all of these things and more. Mainly, it feels like someone saw the success of Bad Moms and tried to copy that "formula", and they failed.

The plot revolves around four mothers. They are stuck-in-a-rut Emily (Katie Aselton), single oversharer Jamie (Molly Shannon), grumpy Kate (Toni Collette), and a woman who can be relied on to run everything with military precision when need be, named Melanie (Bridget Everett). They all end up on a big night out while their kids are being looked after, drink flows, weed is smoked, and confessions are delivered in ways that allow the women to view each other in a different light. Basically. There are a few sub-plots (one involving two of the hubbies - Adam Scott and Rob Huebel - who are watching the kids, one involving a barman - Adam Levine - who takes a liking to Emily, and one involving a sweet guy played by Paul Rust) but they all feel clumsily inserted, and all continue to serve the lessons being learned about mothers still being women too.

Director Alethea Jones doesn't really do much wrong here, in terms of the technical stuff. The pacing is fine, the camera points in the right direction, and there are a couple of familiar pop hits in the soundtrack (although one of the better songs is used for a godawful karaoke scene). One of the biggest problems that the film has is the cast.

It's not that Aselton is bad, she's just not a very appealing lead. She is far too bland to bother about, as is the character she plays. Collette deserves much better than the material she's given here, as does the usually wonderful Shannon. Everett gets some of the best moments, and she fares the best out of the central quartet, perhaps because I wasn't familiar with her before this. Strangely, the male cast members fare a lot better, with Scott and Huebel a lot of fun, and Levine and Rust both managing to come across as nice guys with different ways of connecting with the women.

Which brings us to the other big problem here. The script. Written by Julie Rudd (and at least her husband, Paul, stops by to steal one scene), there just isn't enough here that works, largely due to the lack of decent laughs. The rest of the problems would be easier to forgive if the film remembered that it was a comedy. Almost every mainstream comedy has the standard chain of events leading to the group bonding, the pop music to either bring joy to the main characters or accompany a fun montage, and a clash of two very different demographics (as in the scene in which these mothers inadvertently crash a teen party). Those things are all fine and enjoyable enough, if done well.

Sure, if you find this available for free then you may want to give it a watch. But I am willing to bet that by the time the end credits roll you just wish that you'd rewatched Bad Moms. Not that this film was ever aiming to be that film, I can imagine someone telling me, . . . but we all know that it was.

3/10

Here's a disc available in America, if you really want it.

Bachelorette (2012)

Kirsten Dunst plays Regan, a tense, controlling young woman who starts to fret when she finds out that her friend, Becky (Rebel Wilson), is about to get married. Becky wasn't supposed to be the first one of the group to get married, as Regan reminds Gena (Lizzy Caplan) and Katie (Isla Fisher). Things weren't supposed to happen that way. Regardless, the time comes around for the bachelorette party, something that Becky wants to be a quiet affair. It doesn't pan out that way, of course.

Written and directed by Leslye Headland, based on her own play, Bachelorette is saved from being completely unwatchable by Kaplan and Adam Scott (playing Clyde, the ex-boyfriend of Caplan's character). James Marsden also puts in another great performance - the more I think about it, the more I like Marsden - and Rebel Wilson is likable enough in her role. But that's where the good stuff ends.

While I watched this movie I started to suspect that it was from a first-time director. Some of the mistakes here aren't that bad, but then there are glaring flaws that unsettle the whole thing, and ultimately sink it completely.

First of all, most of the characters are loathsome. Movies can feature loathsome characters, but this lot really take the biscuit. And there's no reason to believe that they would be friends. As the old saying goes: "with friends like these, who needs enemies?"

Second, stemming from the first, everything that goes wrong and puts the characters under pressure is caused by the characters themselves. Everything onscreen here could have been easily avoided if the lead characters weren't so selfish/stupid.

None of the drama is effective, none of the comedy is funny, and you may spend most of the movie, as I did, just wishing for it to end. It doesn't help that Dunst and Fisher aren't on good form, although they may have simply been unable to overcome the weak material.

The silver lining for Leslye Headland is that she can only get better from here.

2/10

http://www.amazon.com/Bachelorette-Blu-ray-Wilson/dp/B00B17U2VS/ref=sr_1_3?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1399528406&sr=1-3&keywords=bachelorette

Remember, I watch a lot of films so that you don't have to. YOU can help me feel better about that by spending just a few pounds/dollars/*insert currency here* on TJ's Ramshackle Movie Guide, as every copy of my book sold gets a few pounds in my pocket, and gets you a good read (if I say so myself).

The UK version can be bought here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/TJs-Ramshackle-Movie-Guide-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00J9PLT6Q/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1395945647&sr=1-3&keywords=movie+guide

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As much as I love the rest of the world, I can't keep up with all of the different links in different territories, but trust me when I say that it should be there on your local Amazon.