After a voluntary 10-year hiatus/semi-retirement/long holiday, Cameron Diaz is back on our screens in Back in Action (2025) alongside Jamie Foxx and Glenn Close. Although pretty much a routine spy thriller with a substantial dash of comedy, it is nevertheless a fun movie which has proven more popular with audiences than critics. Sit back, grab a snack and have a good chuckle.
American Primeval (2025) is a 6-part western miniseries set in Utah in 1857 and features numerous historical characters – Jim Bridger, Brigham Young etc – and is obviously at least loosely based on real events. Violent, gritty, brutal and quite dark in parts, I really did enjoy it. Good westerns are few and far between these days. Enjoy.
Ad Vitam (2025), a French action thriller, looked as though it would be just another ‘former elite unit member’ goes on the hunt for revenge and with suitable bodycount. It wasn’t. After an opening bit of action, it was basically an hour of unnecessary, mainly irrelevant and uninteresting backstory which left one wondering if it would ever actually get going at some point. Not the best action film but not entirely a waste of time.
Operation Seawolf (2022) stars Dolph Lundgren and is a real low-budget affair with maritime battle scenes looking like they were filmed from the side of a bathtub with a faulty Gopro using models built in nursery school. The upside? It is only 1 hour 26 mins in length.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024) starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, the latest in the series, is entertaining enough, with plenty of action and humour and well worth a watch.
Carry-On (2024), the plane luggage that is, is the subject of this action thriller. A reasonable plot, high body-count…what more could you ask on a winter’s eve? Not quite Die Hard, but entertaining enough.
Prey (2022) is yet another in the Predator franchise, this time with an early 19th century Native American twist. Whilst not the best in the series, it is most certainly not the worst by any means. Watchable.
Hunting with Tigers (2024) is a French action/thriller (original title Tigres et Hyenes) which has plenty of action as well as a smidgen of mystery.
Violent Night is an altogether different Christmas offering from 2022 as a disillusioned Santa ends up taking on mercenaries and kill squads. Actually quite enjoyable with some amusing Home Alone references and actions.
