BLOODSHOT (15)
WITH CINEMAS CLOSED DUE TO COVID-19, DAMON SMITH CHOOSES SOME MOVIES TO WATCH AT HOME, INCLUDING SHIA LABEOUF’S MESMERISING COMING-OF-AGE TALE, HONEY BOY
HHHHH RUSH-RELEASED into homes in response to Covid-19, Bloodshot is a dull, plodding, action-packed thriller based on the Valiant Comics character of the same name.
Gung-ho Marine Ray Garrison (Vin Diesel, pictured) celebrates the successful extraction of a hostage in Mombasa by spending quality time on the Amalfi coast with his wife Gina (Talulah Riley).
Marital bliss is shattered when terrorist Martin Axe (Toby Kebbell) holds the couple hostage to extract vital intelligence from Ray on the Kenya mission, then executes both prisoners.
The military donates Ray’s body to Dr Emil Harting (Guy Pearce), a pioneering scientist at Rising Spirit Technologies.
He uses cutting-edge nanotechnology to augment the Marine’s strength, agility, speed and healing capabilities with millions of microscopic machines coursing through the bloodstream.
Ray is reborn as Bloodshot, a relentless assassin programmed to undertake secret missions alongside technologically enhanced Navy swimmer KT (Eiza Gonzalez), Army marksman Tibbs (Alex Hernandez) and Navy Seal Jimmy Dalton (Sam Heughan).
■ Available from March 27 on Amazon Video/bt TV Store/itunes/sky Store and other download and streaming services.
FILM star Otis (Lucas Hedges) crashes his car under the influence of alcohol and exchanges harsh words with police attending the scene.
He avoids a prison sentence by agreeing to undergo a prolonged stint in rehab under the care of counsellor Dr Moreno (Laura San Giacomo).
She recognises symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and encourages Otis to seek answers in his past.
Otis is initially reluctant to open deep psychological wounds but he eventually reminisces about formative years as a child star (played by Noah Jupe) and the fractious relationship with father James (Shia Labeouf).
The old man, a former rodeo clown, verbally and physically abuses his boy when he isn’t chaperoning the lad to and from film sets.
By confronting the demons of those early years, Otis edges towards long-overdue healing.
Honey Boy is a mesmerising coming-of-age story, which marks an impressive narrative feature debut of music video director Alma Har’el.
She deftly navigates Otis’s emotional traumas, projected through the lens of actor and writer Labeouf’s turbulent childhood memories.
His script spares the characters few blushes – and none of the blood and bruises – while Labeouf’s portrayal of a single parent, reliant on his child to pay the bills, sears white hot into the memory.
Jupe and Hedges are well matched as two faces of the same damaged coin, who seem destined to inherit the sins of the father.
From the opening frames, we’re heavily invested in Otis’s recovery and survival, aware of the obstacles that lie ahead from the tabloid headlines of Labeouf’s turbulent past.