Netflix And Chill: Lift (2024)

I don't dismiss every movie that debuts on a major streaming service. I believe, at least most of the time, that people keep trying to do their best to make a proper movie, and if their budget for it comes from a major streaming service then so be it. But there are some times when the films feel much more like "content" than actual movies. Lift is content, and it feels as if it has been worked on to cover every possible main demographic quadrant that Netflix wants to lure in.

Kevin Hart stars as Cyrus, a master thief leading a team of talented, but good-hearted (of course), criminals. Cyrus is so good that he is always three steps ahead of everyone, never getting caught with his fingers in the cookie jar, until he's caught with his fingers in the cookie jar. And he's caught just in time to be forced to conduct a major robbery on behalf of a government agency looking to screw up a deal being brokered by a dangerous criminal named Jorgensen (Jean Reno). Looking to get some extra insurance for his team, Cyrus agrees to take on the job as long as they are also joined by Abby (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), an Interpol agent he has some history with. And blah de blah de blah blah blahhhh.

The second film written by Daniel Kunka, who started his film career with the screenplay for the mediocre 12 Rounds (although maybe I will be more favourable to that film if I revisit it one day when in a better mood), this is flat and predictable throughout. Every time some obstacle cropped up to throw off the plan, I was able to figure out how it had already been considered, and incorporated, by our lead, because this is the kind of film in which the main character is always the smartest person in the room and the best person to be beside when the journey gets turbulent AKA the kind of role that Vin Diesel loves to play.

Although slightly better than the awful Heart Of Stone, the fact that F. Gary Gray is the director means that I should warn people that this is even worse than The Italian Job remake from 2023 (a film I know many people actively dislike, although I don't mind it). The action isn't staged well, the massive implausibility of each main sequence is glossed over with the standard editing techniques you'd expect and moments of the characters being cool, and a lot of the comedy falls flat.

Hart can be a lot of fun in movies, but it all depends on who he spends most of his screentime with. Put him alongside Dwayne Johnson and you get some great blockbuster entertainment. Put him in the midst of this motley crew and . . . not so much. Mbatha-Raw is a welcome presence, but saddled with the thankless role of being the authority figure who has a love/hate relationship with our lead. The other women (Úrsula Corberó and Yunjee Kim) are also slightly underused, with better moments written for the likes of Vincent D'Onofrio, Billy Magnussen, and David Proud. Jacob Batalon also does well, thanks more to his sheer force of personality than anything in the screenplay, but Sam Worthington, Jean Reno, Burn Gorman, and Paul Anderson all seem to be present to do nothing more than mess up the robbery in ways that Hart's character has already accounted for.

I'm sure that this will be an easy viewing choice for people who are browsing their many options and looking for something simple, fairly inoffensive, and entertaining. It's certainly simple, but I would argue that it's offensive in how it treats the viewer, and it's sadly not that entertaining. But I'll be generous with my rating, taking into consideration how much I enjoyed some of the smaller moments for the supporting cast members.

4/10

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Prime Time: Miss Sloane (2016)

Although essentially a drama about a very skilled lobbyist being put in a tight corner by people wanting to render her powerless, Miss Sloane could equally be described as a con movie. Then again, maybe that is very much part of the point. Viewers are shown how lobbying is often a con game, and the system is open to equal amounts of abuse from the good and the bad, with both sides often believing that they are on the right side of a worthwhile political cause.

Jessica Chastain is the titular (Miss) Elizabeth Sloane, a successful and shrewd lobbyist who decides to jump ship, heading to join “the other side”, when there’s another bill being proposed to help improve gun control laws. Her passionate opposition to this makes her a target, which leads to her being requested to testify at a congressional hearing about her behaviour, and ethics, throughout her time working in politics. As she seems to make one or two minor mistakes, potentially bringing a house of cards crashing down upon her head, it becomes clear that the hearing is all part of the battle between two teams on opposite sides of the gun control debate.

Although writer Jonathan Perera doesn’t spoonfeed viewers, Miss Sloane just about manages to convey everything it needs to convey in a smart and concise manner. There are other approaches to the material that might have worked equally well, or even better, but Perera relies on getting us to trust a main character that, above all else, seems to be all too aware of the consequences of her actions. When things become a bit too busy or confusing, never mind, we are always right alongside someone who is convinced that they are doing the right thing.

Director John Madden has faith in the script and cast, and rightly so, as well as the patience of viewers. A lot of this movie is made up of people debating in rooms of various sizes, but it’s intelligent and snappy enough to be entertaining without any unnecessary bells and whistles added to it. Every aspect of the production seems to have been handled with care, the camera is set, and the cast get to give their best. Which they certainly do.

I have recently come to appreciate Chastain more and more onscreen, and this is one of her best roles. She is brilliantly relentless and smart, often acting in a way that would turn you off a main character, but helped by the fact that her considerable intellect and determination is aimed squarely at the gun lobby. Mark Strong is his usual dependable excellence, playing a boss who has to trust his new employee as she looks set to head further and further into deep and dangerous waters. John Lithgow is the senator chairing the hearing, and it’s a fine turn from him, while there are equally great roles for Michael Stuhlberg (a standout for him, playing a “shark” on the opposing team), Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Alison Pill, Sam Waterston, and Jake Lacy. Everyone seems to be using others or being used, but it’s something that feels more like acceptable collateral damage in the fight for the greater good.

It isn’t always pleasant to see how often the plans of government are actually crafted by those hidden away behind the main figureheads, but it’s important to remember it. Knowing the system can lead people to more easily hold the system to account, which could, perhaps, improve it. Maybe I am just being far too optimistic there. Regardless, Miss Sloane is a worthwhile watch, both informative and entertaining, and it’s a reminder that politics is like playing chess with a panicking pigeon; sometimes only one person knows the game, but the winner can still end up covered in shit.

8/10

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The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)

It has long been the case that if a movie was released with very little marketing and/or no advance screenings for critics then everyone could safely assume that it wasn't going to be very good. A lot of stinkers have been dumped into cinemas this way, making a cash grab before the word starts to spread on just how bad it is. But the times they are a changing, as a popular song will tell you. And that is how so many people ended up spending their time after the recent Super Bowl watching The Cloverfield Paradox. Very few people knew it was being released so soon, and even less expected the trailer from Netflix advertising it as being available to watch right after the game. Well played, Netflix, well played indeed.

Now let's get to the film itself. Tenuously linked to the previous two films, The Cloverfield Paradox shows us an Earth that is limping through a dire energy crisis, which is the perfect time to develop and build a huge space station thingummybob that will head upwards into the stars and fire a big beam down on our planet with probably no long-lasting negative effects to us or the universe, obviously. The crew are impressively multi-cultural, with Hamilton (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) being the one we are kept alongside the most, and they take turns at working together and fighting one another when things go wrong and Earth seems to disappear. If they can ever make it back there, and if some strange force will actually let them, becomes the focus of the film, with occasional diversions to show us what is going on back on Earth itself (which you should already be aware of if you've seen the previous two films).

You have a few things working very well here. The cast, for one, are a great mix; as well as Mbatha-Raw, there's Daniel Bruhl, Aksel Hennie,  Zhang Ziyi, David Oyelowo, Chris O'Dowd, and more. The production values are good, with some impressive special effects throughout. And fans of the previous movies will enjoy scouring each scene for small connections and references to other events.

Julius Onah directs well enough, showing especially good instincts when it comes to the scares and surprises, which are just a bit too few and far between. One moment features some squirm-inducing eyeball freakery that perked me right up again just as my interest had started to wane.

The biggest problem lies with the script, written by Oren Uziel. Hampered by a lack of logic, even movie-based logic, and possibly also hampered by having to shoehorn in those Cloverfield connections, the script falls completely flat in between the better set-pieces. Worst of all, it undermines the decent acting on display by making most of the characters very hard to care about. There's also no attempt to give us a decent hint at an explanation for certain events. I don't need everything spelled out for me, most people don't, but that doesn't mean a film can just be made up of various moments thrown together with no real idea of the cause and effect. That way lies anarchy and a lack of satisfaction for viewers.

Everything else makes up for the poor script, but only just (and I have already heard from a LOT of people who disagree with me). The weakest of the series so far, I can still see this being a big, even monster, hit for Netflix, thanks to the (lack of) marketing and the curiosity that fans will have. I just hope that whatever we get next is a bit better.

6/10

Get the previous two movies here.
Or, in America, get them here.

Odd Thomas (2013)

Based on a popular book by Dean R. Koontz, Odd Thomas is written and directed by Stephen Sommers, and shows that he's still capable of churning out some fine entertainment. Hey, I'm a fan of Sommers, but even I have to admit that some of his later blockbuster works don't hold a candle to the sheer b-movie fun of Deep Rising.

Anyway, let's get on with the review. Anton Yelchin is the titular character, his name really IS Odd Thomas (due to an error made while he was being registered), and he can see dead people. More than just dead people, he can also see creatures that flock around evil individuals when they know that death and horror could be on the horizon. Those creatures are known as bodachs, and Odd doesn't ever want them to know that he can see them, because if bodachs know that someone can see them then they tend to try to engineer the death of that individual. And, guess what, a whole load of bodachs have just swarmed into town with a man who is obviously planning something big. Odd tries to protect his girlfriend, Stormy (Addison Timlin), while also ensuring that everyone else stays safe. Stormy knows what Odd can see so she's happy to help as he tries to work out just what will be going down, and where. The local police chief (Willem Dafoe) also wants to help, and also knows about Odd's gift, but has to keep it a secret.

I've not read any of the Odd Thomas novels, but I have skimmed through some excerpts while reading some of Koontz's other works and the movie seems to get the tone just right. It's a very quirky piece of work, with a central character - Odd works as a short order cook as a way to enjoy some normality on a day to day basis - as likable as he is troubled. Sommers does a great job in both the scripting and directing departments, keeping everything light and entertaining while also building a sense of real danger as things build towards a finale that looks likely to change the lives of everyone involved.

I'm a big fan of Yelchin, and will happily watch him in anything, and he's great in the lead role here. Odd has some special talents, but he's no superhero, and Yelchin embodies a perfect mix of the main characteristics, in terms of personality, physicality and, yes, quirkiness. Timlin is very sweet and easy to like, a young woman worthy of the love that Odd has for her, and Dafoe is solid, and more reserved than usual, as the man trying to help Odd while also trying to avoid offering others an explanation that will get them all sent for brain scans.

It may fall a bit short for some people - not scary enough for horror fans, too quirky for fans of straight thrillers, not funny enough for fans of horror-tinged comedies - but I thought it managed to weave everything together nicely, creating something that uses a lot of familiar elements and turns them into a final product that's pleasingly, albeit only ever-so-slightly, different from the norm.

7/10

http://www.amazon.com/Odd-Thomas-Blu-ray-Anton-Yelchin/dp/B00HHYF59S/ref=sr_1_3?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1402436452&sr=1-3&keywords=odd+thomas