Pretty Lethal: Movie Review

Cast: Uma Thurman, Lana Condor, Maddie Ziegler, Millicent Simmonds, Iris Apatow
Director: Vicky Jewson

Sometimes, all a film needs is a killer hook and a simple premise.

The idea of a group of ballerinas forced to fight for their lives in a hotel surrounded by gangsters is one such killer hook, but Pretty Lethal's relative inability to build on this - despite an 82 minute execution -leaves it somewhat floundering.

With action choreographed by unit 87 North, who are known for their work on JohnWick and The Continental TV series, you'd expect something slick and breathtaking - almost balletic given its subject matter.

But while Pretty Lethal does manage to deliver some impressive beatdown moments, its propensity for lack of originality means there's a creeping indifference as it plays out.

When a group of bickering ballerinas' car breaks down en route to a competition in Hungary, they're forced to seek solace in a local tavern run by Uma Thurman's prowling owner. However, after their handler is shockingly executed by mistake in front of them, the group finds themselves in a desperate battle for survival with only their wits and prowess to rely on.

Mixing Hostel, Abigail and also John Wick: The Continental, Pretty Lethal isn't shy in embracing its predecessors, nor does it believe in holding back the action. Yet in between bursts of brutality, there's scant little in this that really ramps up any tension - and even Uma Thurman's character embraces the camp as a former dancer whose leg was destroyed by a gangster, who's she held a grudge against for years.

The end result is that Pretty Lethal is anything but en pointe as it hurtles towards its denouement. As the dancers pirhouette around supposedly seasoned gangsters, they're underestimated fodder as the group's rife for a working together message that can be seen coming a mile off.

Consequently, Pretty Lethal is pretty disappointing in its unoriginality and pretty frustrating, given it looked like it had a shot at doing something different.

What's on DocPlay in April

Here's everything that's streaming on DocPlay in April.

This April, enjoy a diverse slate of programming from across the globe. Festival favourites André is an Idiot and Lowland Kids premiere exclusively on DocPlay; while Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore offers a rousing portrait of the trailblazing Academy Award®-winning Deaf actress. A must-see for cat lovers, The Cats of Gokogu Shrine offers a Wiseman-esque study of a Japanese village’s dozens of feline residents. Plus, discover over 60 design and architecture-themed short-form episodes from local production company Never Too Small, streaming for the first time on the platform.

 9 April

André is an Idiot (Exclusive)

Fun-loving André delayed getting a colonoscopy only to discover that he’s dying. In this Sundance Audience Award-winner, join André on his hilarious and heartfelt journey to the end. 

9 April

Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore (Exclusive)

Marlee Matlin becomes the first Deaf actor to win an Academy Award® for her performance in Children of a Lesser God. Catapulted into the spotlight, she challenges an industry that's unprepared for her immense talent, emerging as a trailblazing actress, author and activist. 

16 April

The Cats of Gokogu Shrine

In the picturesque small coastal town of Ushimado in Japan’s Okayama Prefecture, a Shinto shrine has become home to an ever-growing colony of stray cats. A film festival favourite from Japanese documentarian Kazuhiro Soda.

20 April

Never Too Small

Discover over 60 episodes of this popular premium short-form series, streaming for the first time on DocPlay. Produced by Melbourne-based production company Never Too Small, the architecture-focussed programming features award-winning global designers and their compact apartments, studios and self-contained projects, as well as stories that bring to life a vision of small, sustainable living.

23 April

Seeking Mavis Beacon

The most recognisable woman in technology lives in our collective imagination. Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing taught millions globally, but the software’s Haitian-born cover model vanished decades ago. Two DIY detectives search for the model while posing questions about identity and artificial intelligence. 

30 April

Lowland Kids (Exclusive)

Set on Louisiana’s rapidly vanishing Isle de Jean Charles, this quietly powerful documentary captures the lives of two teenagers and their uncle as they navigate the slow erosion of their home. 

Reanimal: PS5 Review

Developed by Tarsier Studios
Published by THQ Nordiq
Platform: PS5

It opens with small faces peering down a well, the darkness surrounding your view as you look up to the skies.

But where Tarsier Studio's Reanimal goes after that is infinitely darker and much more disturbing.

This latest from the Little Nightmares studio bears all the hallmarks of the darker edges of their prior games, while giving plenty of new fuel for the horrors ahead. As you play on as a little boy figure wearing a mask, you meet up with your lost female friend and the game allows this brother and sister duo to either work via a co-op player or AI while you press on through the world.

It's claustrophobic stuff and while it's fair to say that Reanimal doesn't exactly shake up the formula the studio's made, the subtle changes make this a genuinely disturbing and upsetting game to behold by moving the camera with you, meaning what's out of sight can be a genuine fright when it comes.

Mixing stealth and exploration, the game's keen to keep you guessing, but its absolute commitment to the horrors that unfold on screen are genuinely upsetting.

From blood rain to a man ironing human suits, there's plenty in here that will fuel fears given the game's penchant for spoon-feeding moments that drop clues in their relationship and subtly give away ideas of what's happened. 

It's a game that provides a singular experience, rather than one that has to be played as it were - it's about immersion within and dealing with the world inside makes for another piece of ammunition in the Tarsier Studio collection.

It's worth playing because when it fires up the deepest fears in your imagination, there's just something about Reanimal that gets under your skin and stays there, long after you've turned off the PlayStation and retreated into your own dark.

Reminders of Him: Movie Review

Cast: Maika Monroe, Tyriq Withers, Lainey Wilson, Bradley Whitford, Lauren Graham
Director: Vanessa Caswill

The latest adaptation of author Colleen Hoover's dramas has one secret weapon in its arsenal - that of Longlegs actor Maika Monroe.

She plays Kenna Rowen, who, as screeds of voiceover exposition explains, is heading back to her hometown of Laramie after serving 7 years in jail for the vehicular manslaughter of her boyfriend Scott one fateful night.

Unable to find a job, she longs to get enough financial support so that she can visit her daughter, whom she gave birth to in prison and who's now ensconced with her grandparents (Whitford and Graham), who are violently opposed to her ever having access.

But after forming an initially uneasy with Scott's best friend Ledger (Withers), a former Denver Broncos player who ends up back in Laramie and as a guardian to Kenna's daughter...

Reminders of Him is exactly what you'd expect from a Hoover drama.

But playing in choppy parts and drifting from one flashback to another, via voiceover and the plot device of Kenna reading letters to her dead boyfriend, the film starts to feel its 2 hour length, and with moments that seem to exist purely to end a chapter in a book, rather than service a story on screen.

In amongst it all though is Monroe, who delivers a committed and engaging performance in this perfunctory tale of redemption, motherhood and second chances. There's a spiky vulnerability to Kenna that Monroe embodies and doesn't overplay - consequently, she's engaging throughout, elevating the formulaic and predictable moments the drama has to hit.

Withers, whie seemingly riffing on the quarterback career of Cade in Him (a role he played), is fine, solid enough as a pawn caught in the middle of what's going on, but lacks some of the pull, guilt and emotional turmoil that Ledger needs, given his part in what happened and is happening.

Ultimately, Reminder of Him is perfunctory in many ways, though its episodic structure begins to grate, and the final third of the melodrama doesn't feel like it has enough suspense or tension - an outcome is never in doubt, but thanks to an affable enough lead duo, it's a journey that's bearable enough, but in no way memorable.

No Tears On The Field: Movie Review

Director Lisa Burd turns her lens on the national sport in this amiable albeit slightly undercooked documentary that showcases the heartland and delivers a masterclass in not only grassroots sport, but also homeland philosophy.

Ostensibly looking at a group of female rugby players from Southern and Clifton Rugby Clubs over a season as it unfolds in Taranaki, this genial piece takes a dive into the worlds of women players and their motivations for getting on the field in the first place.

But unlike most sports documentaries, which purposefully become underdog stories, this one follows a clutch of young hopefuls who charge onto the field for a variety of reasons and from a variety of backgrounds.

From one mother of three who was charmed into the game at the prospect of a free creche at the ground to the player who nearly lost her arms in a farm accident when she was younger, each has their own motivation for joining.

And while it’s fair to say that No Tears On The Field doesn’t exactly reveal any new insights into what it takes to play the game, the lack of parity for female rugby players in a male-dominated game, what it does do is shine the spotlight on the very heart and ethos of the sport in a field that’s become dominated by corporate players and big-time deals.

But what’s equally more moving about No Tears On The Field is the exploration of familial relationships. Whether it’s a father motivating and supporting a daughter in her rugby career or remembering a lost mother and being inspired by her, the film explores – and makes a solid case – for the sanctity of the heartland bond. (Time spent with players Kate Thomson, Maddison Davison, Mereana Anderson and Phoenix Fraser is well-utilised, and despite them being part of the backbone, each of them feels fully developed and human throughout.)

It’s here that Burd’s film is more effective, moving away from the usual cliches of life on the field and the competitive nature of sport in general. It’s here that the movie shines the light on the seldom hidden but often overlooked reality of rural life – that it’s the connections and community that invest in people and their dreams – and who celebrate their successes when they come.

But if you're looking for a deep insightful piece, this is not it, as it feels like a Country Calendar episode writ large, no matter how well-intentioned it is.

Pillion: Movie Review

Cast: Alexander Skarsgard, Harry Melling, Lesley Sharp

Director: Harry Lighton

There's an aching sadness which pervades Pillion's central BDSM romance.

In this drama, adapted from Box Hill: A Story of Low Self-Esteem by Adam Mars-Jones, Ray (True Blood's Skarsgard) strikes up a relationship with a quiet ordinary man named Colin (the brilliant Melling).

Colin is a traffic warden, doling out tickets to miscreants who overstay their parking and receiving nothing but abuse back for doing so. Then during his night gig as a singer in a barbershop quartet, he sees a skulking Ray, hiding in the corner. Bumping into each other at the bar, Ray gives Colin a card with a demand to meet him on Christmas Day.

As Colin acquiesces to the mystery ahead, he soon finds himself immersed in the 1970s UK gay biker scene, and part of a submissive in the Dom-Sub relationship. Initially reticent to be part of it, Colin soon gives himself over to the demands of the relationship, much to the horror of his mother Peggy, who believes Ray is a creep because he won't come round for Sunday lunch.

To say more about Pillion is to deprive it of its rhythms. 

There are no seismic revelations here - aside from one sequence at the end, which is utterly tragic - and both Skarsgard and Melling make for committed partners in this piece, which provides different challenges for each. The naivety that Melling plays Colin with makes him an endearing and relatable character, no matter what kind of relationship he's actually in.

And while Skarsgard has the harder part as the silent and dominant one, he makes his Ray an understandable character whose needs are squarely based on what his views of this relationship should be.

A lack of judgement and a touch of restraint from Lighton makes this a compelling watch, one that captures the heartbreak and joy of a relationship - and which shows devotion in its many forms can be utterly devouring - and totally destructive.

How To Make a Killing: Movie Review

Cast: Glen Powell, Jessica Henwick, Margaret Qualley, Ed Harris, Bill Camp, Zach Woods, Topher Grace

Director: John Patton Ford

More half-hearted than horrifically entertaining, not even Glen Powell's star charisma can save the 2026 remake of Kind Hearts and Coronets.

In this, Powell plays shut-out-of-the-family-inheritance Becket Redfellow, who begins the film seemingly on death row, hours from execution and in the mood to make a confession to a priest who's been summoned.

So begins Becket's story - detailing everything from his mother being banished from the Redfellow estate after falling pregnant to a guesting musician to Becket's own rise up through the company, thanks to the kindness of his uncle (Bill Camp).

Deciding on a whim to bump off one of his cousins after the idea's planted in his head by his childhood crush Julia (Qualley, not quite strong enough here to be a femme fatale), Becket begins a plot to take out various members of the family and ascend to take the fortune that he believes he's rightfully due.

How To Make a Killing should be a slam-dunk.

An impressive cast, a killer hook and an "eat the rich" satire promises much - but what director John Patton Ford manages to deliver is something that rises and collapses worse than any cinematic souffle could.

Perhaps the signs are there early on, with the heavy voiceover and exposition killing off the mood at the beginning. There's nowhere to go but up after a limp opening, but How To Make a Killing never really finds its legs.

The deaths which should be gory and glorious are merely full-stops at the end of each portion of the film, with scenes of the coffins being carried off into the family mauseoleum feeling like the cinematic equivalent of a child ending its summer report with the words, "And it was good."

The weaker drama doesn't carry through the film and there's no suspense or tension where there should be. Equally, while there's supposed to be a moment that Becket realises he's content and found happiness when he least expected it in a way he hadn't planned for, the catharsis is weak and unearned, trotted flatly out for the audience, but barely invested in.

There are some performances that shine.

Silicon Valley's Zach Woods amuses as the artist of the family, and the relationship between Powell's Becket and his unexpected love Ruth (Jessica Henwick) feels like it's the only thing with heart in the movie. Though Camp's performance adds depth and nuance where none is written.

Sadly, How To Make a Killing delivers barely any murderous intent during its 105 minutes and audiences are more likely to leave the film, declaring it's guilty of killing off the atmosphere and potential, rather than handing over something that's murderously memorable.