Written and directed by James Gunn of Guardians of the Galaxy fame we get another attempt at bringing the Suicide Squad to the screen. From the less than loved 2016 attempt, only Margot Robbie returns as Harley Quinn, she is joined by Idris Elba (Bloodsport), John Cena (Peacemaker), David Dastmachlian (Polka Dot), Daniel Malchior (Ratcatcher 2) and Slyvester Stallone (voice of King Shark). The range of bad guys are offered the opportunity to cut time from their sentences by carrying out missions for their handler Amanda Waller (Viola Davies). This squad are put together on a mission to Corto Maltese, where they are to access a former Nazi facility which is now housing Project Starfish, an alien technology, under the control of The Thinker (Peter Capaldi).

You can see Gunns influence throughout this, it’s no Guardians of the Galaxy, but what it is a crazy and wild ride. Unlike many DC films this does not suffer from pacing challenges, this film is full pace from the start. It’s big, loud and brash.

Another challenge I often have with DC films is they like a sense of humour, again not something you can level at this, there are plenty of laugh out loud funny moments, with some fun interplay between all of the characters. Robbie is a joy as ever as Quinn, Idris Elba, John Cena and John Kinnaman (Rick Flag) bounce of each other as the alpha males, well supported by the more insular outsiders Malchior and Polka-Dot.

Alongside the humour is non stop action, some of it fun, although a lot of it surprisingly violent and blood splattery!

But while there is a lot of fun, laughs and endless action, it doesn’t completely work. The story, for what it is, is all over the place, there is no real narrative to keep up with and like so many of these films it runs way too long. I wasn’t overly sure of the films big end battle with the oddest looking of foes.

That said The Suicide Squad does the job it’s meant to. It doesn’t try to be smart or deep with a dark plot. It does what it should, it’s loud, brash, humorous and colourful fun. Not a classic, but decent comic book fun.

In cinemas and on Disney+.

Directed by Questlove this documentary tells the story of the Harlem Music Festival. Staged over five weekends during July 1969 in Mount Morris Park, Harlem. In a world where Woodstock was happening 100 miles away and man would walk on the moon during it, this festival was as culturally significant to those in Harlem. However, while those events have become part of cultural history, this, while filmed for television, was locked away for 50 years until finding its way into the hands of Questlove, who finally tells its story.

A bit like a musical festival itself, this fascinating documentary has some acts and stories that appealed more than others. What it always does however, is provide a gloriously colourful snapshot of black life in 1969 Harlem and the wider United States.

There are a range of intriguing insights and powerful moments, none more so than a section where the Reverand Jesse Jackson talks about culture, black pride and the death of Martin Luther King.

Of course, it’s not a music documentary without the music and there is plenty of that, it is predominantly a music film rather than a focus on talking heads. Stevie Wonder, BB King, Gladys Knight, David Ruffin, Sly and the Family Stone among the better known names, but we also see what, to me at least, is a selection of less familiar names, with different music styles and messages.

Amongst all of this are the vibrant colours and styles of Harlem that provide the backdrop.

What is incredible is that such a story was put in a box and forgotten and that in itself raises questions of how and why as the films subtitle suggests. That said, it’s a joy to see it now.

Summer of Soul is a fascinating snapshot taken at a turning point in recent history. Filled with great music, wonderful colour and interesting insight. All brought to life by this enjoyable documentary.

Written by Jordan Waller and Directed by Jules Williamson is this rather uneven comedy. Three friends (Sally Phillips, Jenny Seagrove, Kelly Preston) are brought back together by the untimely death of their friend Anna, who leaves for them a gift, four European inter-rail tickets, so they could finish the journey they never completed when they were younger. A trip to Majorca to see a once a year natural light show in Palma cathedral. Joining them as they retrace their steps is Anna’s daughter Maddie (Elizabeth Dormer-Phillips).

There is nothing original in the plot, it’s a road trip movie, there’s adventures or mis-adventures, romance, drunken incidents and of course the secrets in the three friends lives that surface throughout the film. As well as the need to deal with unresolved issues in the relationships between the three of them, all loosely accompanied by the music of Blondie, think Mamma Mia with a better soundtrack.

The film is all over the place in reality, the comedy is hugely uneven, with much of it missing the mark, but that’s not to say it’s a complete failure. There plenty of parts in the film that work really well. It has a beautifully done and emotional opening with Judi Dench stealing the scenes as Anna’s bereaved mother and there is a very predictable but still touching ending.

The film does have a good heart and the relationships between the four main characters work well as they mostly balance the comedy and emotion, although not always avoiding the slip into melodrama.

The script and at times direction are very clunky as the film lurches from scene to scene, but the likeable characters keep you onside even when the story doesn’t.

It carries the added poignancy of been the last film of the late Kelly Preston, making some of those emotional moments more touching.

It would be wrong to say this is a good film, but it also isn’t a terrible one, with just enough good things in it to keep it on the rails it often tries to fall off.

Available on Amazon Prime Video.

Directed by Chris McKay, written by Zach Dean is this sci-fi action adventure. Chris Pratt is Dan Forester an army veteran now a frustrated science teacher. In December 2022 the Qatar World Cup final is interrupted when a brigade of soldiers from the future materialise in the middle of the game to share with the global audience that in 2051 humanity is under attack from an alien race and on the verge of extinction. Now they need conscripts from the past to be transported to the future and help save humanity. Dan, desperate for more meaning in his life, takes his conscription call as a chance to do his part to make sure there is a world for his daughter to inherit.

Firstly, I’d be lying to say there isn’t fun to be had here, Chris Pratt is an enjoyable screen presence doing the humorous action hero that he does so well. There’s some especially great scenes with the always fantastic JK Simmons as his estranged father. Sam Richardson (Charlie) and Yvonne Strahovski (Muri) also offer good support.

It also more than delivers on the blockbuster bangy crashy action sequences and some edge of your seat stuff as the small remaining band of humanity try to survive the relentless “white spikes”.

But, when you watch sci-fi, especially with time-travel, you need to be able to suspend your disbelief. To do that it needs the plot holes to be small enough to overlook. Sadly that is not what happened here. This is partly due to its overly long 138 minutes running time. It feels like the writers found a workable end and then decided, “what if we just did this other thing” and it’s that other thing that was just too ridiculous and banging head against wall inducing to ignore.

The Tomorrow War is a big crashy bangy sci-fi blockbuster and there is enjoyment to be had for 2/3rds of it, but the nonsense plot holes in the final act are very hard to ignore and spoilt the enjoyable work that had gone before it. You may enjoy it but beware the holes.

Written and directed by Harry Macqueen is this story of love and fear of loss. Sam (Colin Firth) and Tusker (Stanley Tucci) are a loving couple travelling around England in an old camper van, visiting family and friends and looking to find ways to deal with Tusker’s worsening dementia. Tusker a writer and sanguine about his fate, Sam a pianist trying to come to terms with it and be strong. Their trip an attempt to make the best of the time they have before Tuskers health deteriorates to far.

This is not a film to make you happy, it is dealing with a difficult subject and the impact of a horrible disease that leaves a shadow of the person the sufferer once was. It is patient and thoughtful in its exploration and doesn’t look to grandstand. As Tusker says it’s the little things he finds hard and that subtlety is captured throughout.

Supernova is about Sam and Tusker, while a host of other characters turn up and play a part they are very much secondary to its stars. And that’s OK, because Firth and Tucci are two very fine performers who deliver very fine performances. They portray a loving relationship beautifully through the bickering humour and tenderness of the opening act. But that makes the second half of the film such a tough watch as we see with increasing sadness the realisation of Tuskers fate.

If it has a downside it is its predictability you always know where they are heading but you don’t overly mind as as the characters are a pleasure to spend time with which makes watching their story unfold so much harder.

Supernova is a tender caring look at love and loss, carried by two beautiful central performances. While not the most original film, you enjoy spending time with the characters, caring about them and sharing their pain. And that’s all you ever want from a film, to care, and it gets that right.

The Water Man is David Oyelowo’s directorial debut, written by Emma Needell and also starring Oyelowo.

Gunner Boone (Lonnie Chavis) is a young boy who has just moved to a new town with his father (Oyelowo) and his sick mother Mary (Rosario Dawson). Gunner is smart and creative, his relationship with his father strained, due in no small part to worries over Mary’s health. When Gunner discovers a local legend, the Water Man, a shadowy figure who lives in rhe forest and has supposedly discovered eternal life and the ability to “reanimate” the dead. Gunner thinks if he can find him and learn his secrets he can cure his mother. To help him on his adventure he engages the services of Jo (Amiah Miller) a local girl, living in a tent and claiming to know the Water Man’s location.

The film is heavily influenced by those 1980’s teenage coming of age adventures, The Goonies particularly springs to mind, as Oyelowo uses those influences to deliver an enjoyable adventure. The film uses its forest location well, its density, darkness, mysterious sounds and movements build decent tension and also presents our young adventurers with challenges to keep the audience on edge.

Performances are solid especially the two young leads Chavis and Miller who are watchable and believable. Oyelowo and Dawson support them well as you’d expect.

This is a heartfelt story about family and the hope and belief that you can always be with those you love. But doesn’t shy from the realisation that it doesn’t work that way.

It’s not perfect, the final act feels a bit clunky and some of the dialogue a little on the nose, but that’s only a minor quibble.

The Water Man is an old school adventure, it uses its settings to great effect and has a good hearted story at its core. While it isn’t perfect it is an enjoyable 91 minutes of storytelling and a strong directorial debut.

From Christopher London the writer director behind the Happy Death Day films, we get another entry in the comedy horror genre, Freaky. It’s Thursday 12th in Blissfield a day before homecoming and the town wakes to the shocking news of the murder of four high-school kids, reminiscent of the historic Blissfield Butcher murders. Later that night we find Millie (Kathryn Newton) an unpopular and low on confidence schoolgirl, waiting outside the school football game for her Mum, who is passed out drunk at home. While waiting she encounters the Butcher (Vince Vaughn) after a chase and a run in with a mystic knife, Millie and the Butcher find themselves having swapped bodies and time is short to reverse the change.

The title and the setup tell you all you need to know. It intertwines the Freaky Friday (or more closely Hot Chick) body swap idea with a homage to classic 70’s and 80’s slasher films. What I really enjoyed about this is how it uses, what for me is the inherent silliness of horror and embraces it. Like its predecessors Happy Death Day, Freaky has lots of fun mixing its genres into a horror comedy romp.

All the slasher characters are there, the jocks, the popular bitchy girls, the harsh teacher and new characters the best friends Nyla (Celeste O’Connor) the culturally sensitive “word police” and gay friend Josh (Misha Osherovich). Freaky makes use of them all. There are fun setups as they make decisions that only get made in slasher films leading to a suitable mix of fun and gore in a range of creative murders.

The film thrives on its two leads ability to transform their physical performances so well. Vaughn is well cast as the killer, with his size particularly helpful in channelling classic slashers like Myers and Voorhees, he even has an appropriate mask. While that make him easily believable as a serial killer, he uses it to great effect as he channels the mannerisms and language of a teenage girl. Newton is equally good turning her timid wallflower Millie into a overly confident, seemingly large menacing figure that hides a serial killer.

Freaky is a super balance between comedy and horror, using its premise to great comedic effect while balancing this with an affectionate homage to 1980’s slashers. It’s fun and gory in equal measure and was a fun Friday night cinema treat.

Directed by Cate Shortland is this standalone adventure from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It takes place just after Captain America Civil War and, via a brief flashback introduction to the young Natasha and her early life with her sister Yelena and family, we find Natasha Romanov (Scarlett Johannson) on the run to Norway. When there she is hunted down by mysterious assailant after which she decides it’s time to be reunited with her sister (Florence Pugh) a highly trained assassin who is also on the run after discovering her own dark secret. Together they decide to embark on a sisterly adventure to exploit Yelena’s secret and correct what she has discovered. Hopefully that’s a spoiler free enough synopsis!

Let’s get straight to it, I really enjoyed Black Widow. It works well as a self contained film and delivers the kind of things Marvel get so right, full speed action adventure with enough of a light touch to allow its 2hr15 run time to be pretty much drag free.

It is perhaps more Bond/Bourne than classic Superhero fare, packed full of mystery, breathtaking action set pieces, overly powerful villains and of course globetrotting across dramatic locations. It particularly shines in an almost non stop set of action sequences for the first 40 or so minutes.

Johannsson brings her Black Widow A-game but it’s fair to say she is upstaged on more than one occasion by Pugh who steals much of the movie with her dry wit and putdowns of her sisters Avenger stardom. While David Harbour’s Alexie probably helps to steal the other bits. Alongside that, Rachel Wiesz’s Melina offers the redemption story.

Within all the action there is a story about empowerment of women and their manipulation by those in power, which is done sometimes subtly, sometimes not so much. But this isn’t a film grandstanding a message, it is delivering exactly what is expected from Marvel, a well written, well directed, well performed action film.

Blockbusters are going to be significant in the return of cinema and what we need them to be is an enjoyable spectacle. For me Black Widow hits that mark perfectly and feels like a great sign off for Johannson and hopefully a beginning for Pugh. Because let’s face it Florence Pugh’s Yelena feels like a character we need more of!

New on Netflix.

It’s 4th July in the US so seems appropriate that Netflix release an animated version of the countries founding. Directed by Matt Thompson and written by Dave Callaham, Channing Tatum voices a buffed up super hero sized George Washington, who must avenge the murder of his friend George Washington (Will Forte) betrayed and killed by Benedict Arnold (Andy Samberg) who it seems also happens to be a Werewolf. Encouraged by Martha (Judy Greer) he pulls together his group of avengers including Samuel Adams (Jason Mantzoukas), Thomas Edison (Olivia Nunn) and Paul Revere (Bobby Moynihan) to fight back and overthrow the British rule of Simon Pegg’s James I.

I am neither an American or history scholar, but I think it is fair to say this is not an accurate depiction of American history! What it is, in reality, is an excuse to make an adult cartoon that takes an occasional questioning look at America, its history and the country it has become. But mostly it tells jokes, blows things up and has fun using some subtle and not so subtle, references to other films.

This is a long way from a classic, but there is some fun to be had, the story telling has some very loose historic basis and ticks off the things that a non-American like me understood and I’m sure there are plenty of more “subtle” jokes for its American audience.

Vocal performances are solid, Tatum and Mantzoukas particularly carry it along and Raoul Max Trujillo as an increasingly exasperated Geronimo. The animation is well done and fits the storytelling perfectly. But it also too long and while I did laugh it isn’t quite as funny as it needed to be for 100 minutes.

This is a film that has not been met with critical acclaim, but it would be a lie to say I didn’t find some fun in it. It’s probably in its natural home on Netflix and if you are looking for some crude jokes, explosions (and sometimes you are) and an occasional look at history then this may work.

On Netflix.

Directed by Paul Weitz, Fatherhood stars Kevin Hart as Matt, a new father, grieving the tragic loss of his wife and trying to cope as a single dad to his newborn daughter Maddy. Alone in Boston, away from his Minnesota relatives, Matt has the help of some close Boston friends while trying to balance dealing with grief, raising a new daughter and holding down his job.

The synopsis of the film probably gives you an idea of the story you are getting and it does tick the boxes you may expect. However, if you are expecting a “Daddy Day Care” comedy of fish out of water, men raising kids, you’ll be, hopefully, pleasantly surprised, as Fatherhood is more subtle than that. While there is an element of jokes around baby bathroom trips and dad’s doing girls hair, there is plenty of thoughtful looks at grief, loss and the dilemma of trying to move forward past guilt.

Hart is likebale in the main role, balancing his natural comedic performance with some emotional depth when needed. The always reliable Alfre Woodward supports well as a grieving mother, trying not to hit out at the world and her son-in-law in particular and Melody Hurd as the more grown up Maddy steals the show whenever she is on screen.

As a parent there is lots here to identify with both comedic and emotional.

While it is predictable and won’t be remembered as a classic, it certainly comes from the right place. It is warm and heartfelt staying on the right side of saccharine with a delivery that is more than engaging enough to sweep you a long.