A fistful of films to catch on Neon TV
As the world adapts to coronavirus and the fact cinemas are temporarily closed and a lot of movies that were planned have had release dates changed, there's more of a push for streaming content.
Certainly in New Zealand, where there's a complete lockdown for 4 weeks, viewers are turning to either series to binge or films to watch.
One of those with a plethora of different options is Neon TV.
As we approach the end of March, here is a fistful of movie titles from Neon to take in.
STATE OF PLAY
Based on the BBC series of the same, and starring Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck, Crowe plays the grizzled jaded newspaper journalist who ends up investigating the death of a research assistant of friend and Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck).
But as he digs deeper, he discovers a conspiracy which has implications beyond what he imagined.
This version is equally as compelling, complex, intelligent and thrilling. Crowe's part as the journalist is perfect for him - it really shows him acting his chops off - but Crowe's also smart enough to realize he's part of a great ensemble cast.
And what a cast - from Rachel McAdams' young blogger journalist to Helen Mirren's gruff newspaper editor, no one of them puts a foot wrong. The end result is that the film is deeply compelling and immediately engrossing.
ARCTIC
Mixing elements of All Is Lost, The Revenant, 127 Hours and every other wilderness survival tale you've seen, director Joe Penna's Arctic benefits from a minimalist turn from Mads Mikkelsen and maximum use of the snowy world around him.
We join Mikkelsen's unnamed man Overgard atop a snowy peak, as he appears to be digging a trench.
But as the camera pulls back, the reveal is that of an SOS carved into the ground.
With time spent on there unknown, but with Mikkelsen's Overgard clearly ensconced in the icy peaks for a while, Arctic wastes no time in showcasing the climate and the measured approach of the leading man.
To say little happens in the sparse Arctic is perhaps an understatement.
But with Mikkelsen throwing everything into the performance, and when it becomes clear that it's not just him to consider, Arctic ramps up into a what would you do approach that's as icy as the climate surrounding it.
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER THREE: PARABELLUM
Keanu Reeves is back picking up his besuited assassin John Wick just moments after the end of John Wick 2, where he was declared excommunicado and a multi-million dollar bounty placed on his head.
With everyone apparently after him, Wick has to try and clear his name, and set the record straight as he deals with the consequences to his actions...
For the first half of the film, John Wick: Chapter 3- Parabellum is a taut, inventive brawler that finds new ways to breathe life into the genre.
Its commitment to bone-crunching beat downs delivered with tightly choreographed almost balletic fights are visually and kinetically thrilling.
But when the film tries to incorporate a mystical and mysterious edge, striving to flesh out the nefarious High Table organisation, it wallows in its pomposity.
However, it's still worth it for Reeves - and the mindblowing fact that all of this was shot live-action.
FIRST REFORMED
Taxi Driver director Paul Schrader's return centres around the loss of faith, and the questioning of our place in the world when disillusionment comes knocking.
A rarely better Ethan Hawke plays country priest Reverend Toller, who preaches in the First Reformed church to no more than a handful of parishoners. The church has been largely abandoned in favour of the bigger flashier mega church Abundant Life nearby (headed up by Cedric the Entertainer's pastor).
Deciding to carry out an experiment of writing a diary for a year under the self-examination of
"When writing about one's self, one should show no mercy", (a form of self-flagellation perhaps?) Toller's world changes when new parishoner Mary (Amanda Seyfried) asks him to counsel her despondent-at-the-state-of-the-world husband.
First Reformed's carefully choreographed descent is a compelling and, at times, unsettling and frightening watch.
Subtleties and nuances point to where the intensity of the story is going, but the shocks when it heads that way are none the less impactful for it. The crisis of faith can not only be confined to Toller, but to many in the world we currently inhabit - Schrader's universal worries are unsettling and frighteningly common.
TEEN TITANS GO TO THE MOVIES
Criminally overlooked on its big screen release thanks to brevity and over-stuffing of the box office, Teen Titans Go To The Movies is actually one of the best animated films of 2019.
Bestowed with both meta touches and manic edges, it stars the Teen Titans of the DC Universe, who are spearheaded by Robin.
Angered by the fact all the other superheroes in the world have their own movies, and he does not, despite having a great backstory, Robin decides they need their own film. But a movie director, Jade Wilson, reckons they can't do it without a solid arch-nemesis, and because they're a joke to the rest of the superhero world.
Setting out to right both those wrongs, Robin becomes consumed by his misplaced desires....
Teen Titans Go To The Movies is a blast.
Infused with silliness and also some amusing musical numbers, the animation rattles along, mocking superhero tropes and also the movie world. It may occasionally dwell on scatological humour, but its pace and desire to entertain are never lost in the wash.
Making great fist of mocking the superhero world, and the absurdities of the DC Extended Universe, as well as embracing it all at the same time, Teen Titans Go To The Movies is one movie comic book fans shouldn't miss - and those looking for quality family entertainment.
* A Neon TV review code was provided for the purposes of this article.
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