Leigh Paatsch guides you through the best, and worst, of what’s streaming
It’s the kids’ flick that’s on par with Deadpool; enough jokes to keep parents entertained but with a safe PG rating. Leigh Paatsch guides you through what to watch, and avoid, this weekend.
Leigh Paatsch
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There’s a nutty thriller you’ll love to hate, a minimalist action film and a kids’ movie adults will actually like too. Here are seven offerings on your favourite streaming service to cosy up with this weekend.
THE ONE GETTING VERY ANIMATED
TEEN TITANS GO! TO THE MOVIES (PG) ***1/2
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How do you become recognised as a legit superhero when your superpowers are not really, err, all that super? Well, if you’re Robin - you know, the Robin that’s always been the Batman’s sappy sidekick - you get to thinking you might need to be the star of your own superhero movie.
But how to make that happen? This one plot strand alone signals we are not in the usual territory for a kids’ animated movie. And so it proves to be for the big-screen debut of the Teen Titans Go! gang.
This gaggle of B-listers from the DC Comics superhero stable have been fronting a very cool and very funny TV series for a few years now. The feature-length format only serves to make even better use of their plentiful supply of in-jokey banter, out-there sight gags and a welcome disrespect for superhero self-importance that puts them on par with Deadpool. This is the kind of kids’ flick that adults tagging along will not have to suffer through at all (particularly those who enjoyed the whip-smart irreverence of The Lego Batman Movie).
THE ONE YOU CAN LIKE AND LOATHE AT THE SAME TIME
GRETA (MA15+) **1/2
ITUNES
Mmmm. There’s something about the way this odd duck of a thriller waddles all over the shop that keeps it watchable, if only in a guilty-pleasure, did-that-really-just-happen kind of way.
Many of the mixed signals transmitted here emanate from the mismatched combo of an elite actor slumming it (French legend Isabelle Huppert in a rare English-speaking role) and an erratic actor out of her depth (Chloe Grace Moretz, of Carrie and Kick-Ass fame).
Huppert has the title role of an unhinged Frenchwoman living in New York City and stalking young women who remind her of her daughter back home.
Moretz is Frances, the naive waitress who is Greta’s latest fixation.
Frances is not the brightest light bulb in the box, making every mistake in the book when it comes to the deranged threat posed by her kooky older admirer.
Greta’s needy nuttiness manifests itself in ways you’ll never quite believe, but Huppert’s trashy gusto will draw plenty of hearty laughs and good-natured groans.
THE ONE WHERE HOME IS WHERE THE HARD STUFF IS
THE HOLLARS (M) ***
STAN
Light comedies about reluctant visits home during a period of family crisis are a dime a dozen.
This one works up a pleasing pass mark thanks to an eclectic cast responding to the material with infectious energy and commitment.
John Krasinski directs and stars (this was the project that preceded his classic A Quiet Place) as John, a struggling New York illustrator recalled to the family home upcountry to see his gravely ill mother (Margo Martindale).
John arrives to discover the rest of the clan - included his work-obsessed dad (Richard Jenkins) and divorce-distracted brother (Sharlto Copley) - in various states of denial about what is really happening. Co-stars Anna Kendrick, Charlie Day.
THE ONE WHERE THERE’S IFS AND ‘BOTS
I AM MOTHER (M) **1/2
NETFLIX
Manufactured right here in Australia - Adelaide, to be exact - this carefully stylised work of science fiction is sure to attract a select legion of admirers right around the world.
Some of the finest screen design work seen in an Australian feature film (especially those on a small budget) will guarantee this.
That’s the good news on I Am Mother. The bad news? The movie’s plotting is so conventionally and flatly structured that muted indifference is the only feasible response.
Especially once those striking looks lose their lustre. The setting is a post-apocalyptic future where maternally-programmed androids such as Mother (voiced by Rose Byrne) are wired to raise humans from an embryonic state into adulthood.
Curiosity about what is left of the world outside her clinical-facility home puts a young woman known only as Daughter (Clara Rugaard) in a danger she cannot hope to recognise, let alone understand. Co-stars Hilary Swank.
THE ONE WHERE YOU’LL WANNA TURN UP THE HEATER
ARCTIC (M) ****
AMAZON
A minimalist action picture achieving maximum impact thanks to a rugged, yet tender portrayal of a man whose only choice is to chill, or be chilled.
Mads Mikkelsen (of Casino Royale and TV’s Hannibal fame) plays a cargo pilot whose plane has crashed in a region very close to the North Pole.
We are given no details as to how long he has been there, who he is working for, or who might be waiting for him back home. All we know is that supplies are almost gone, and that the possibility of rescue is minimal.
Nevertheless, as we become familiar with Overgard’s daily routine - divided evenly between looking for food and keeping his SOS system intact - we sense something in him that inspires hope.
THE ONE THAT’S A REAL DRAG ... AND A REAL DELIGHT
THE QUEEN OF IRELAND (PG) ***1/2
STAN
As insightful as it is colourful, this lively documentary charts the extraordinary career of Irish performance artist Rory O’Neill.
In the guise of his most famous creation, a no-nonsense, rabble-rousing drag queen named Panti Bliss, O’Neill remains the popular face of a powerful shift in attitude towards the LGBTQ community in his homeland.
Though first and foremost an entertainer, O’Neill’s skills as a clear communicator of complex emotional issues are disarmingly persuasive and effective.
A speech he delivers about how stifling everyday life can be for anyone not readily identifiable as sexually ‘straight’ is potent oratory that breaks hearts, lifts spirits and changes minds.
THE ONE YOU MIGHT WISH TO AVOID
THE PREDATOR (MA15+) **
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An erratic, self-contradictory reboot puts up a good fight (and some great frights) before assuming the form of hot garbage.
Plotting centres on the arrival to Earth of a super-sized Predator - 40% taller and 200% angrier than relatives who have paid us a visit before - and the mouth-breathing caricatures with whom he will be skirmishing for our entertainment (dis)pleasure.
These include a too-cool-for-school sniper (Boyd Holbrook), his too-clever-for-his-age-son (Jacob Tremblay) and a where-the-heck-did-she-suddenly-learn-to-operate-heavy-artillery-like-that? scientist (Olivia Munn).
The pure action sequences do rock, but aside from the occasional hilarious zinger, the rest rarely gets on a roll.
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