The Old Guard review - serious silliness

★★★ THE OLD GUARD Serious silliness

Netflix immortality action flick is predictable but pleasurable, thanks to a winning cast

It’s hard to take The Old Guard seriously — it’s an action film about thousand-year-old immortal warriors. Pulpy flashbacks and fake blood abounds. But The Old Guard doesn’t need to be serious or even memorable: it’s a fun, feel-good film, a rare commodity these days.

Homemade review - laughs, loss and madness in lockdown

★★★★ HOMEMADE 17 short films capture the shared experiences of the pandemic

Netflix showcases a collection of 17 short films that capture the isolated, but shared experiences of life during the pandemic

If COVID-19 isn’t the only topic being tackled by creative folk at the moment, it certainly feels like it. That’s perfectly understandable, when the practical and emotional conditions of doing anything at the moment – in lockdown – invariably become, in some way, the subject.

Who knows how many lockdown shorts have been aired on social media? But with Homemade, we have 17 made by a cracking collection of professional filmmakers from around the world. Like any compendium, some are stronger than others, but for the most part it’s a remarkably consistent assembly.

The Woods, Netflix review - missing-person mystery reveals a heart of darkness

★★★ THE WOODS, NETFLIX Missing-person mystery reveals a heart of darkness

Harlan Coben adaptation isn't profound but it keeps viewers hooked

After the success of the sci-fi crime drama 1983 (2018), another Polish original series has landed at Netflix. The Woods, directed by Leszek Dawid and Bartosz Konopka, is a six-part mystery thriller adapted from Harlan Coben’s novel, set in two main time spans: 1994 and 2019.

Da 5 Bloods review - Spike Lee takes on the black GIs' experience in Vietnam

★★★ DA 5 BLOODS Spike Lee takes on the black GIs' experience in Vietnam

Timing is everything; Spike Lee misses out on a cinema release but hits Netflix as Black Lives Matter dominates the news

Spike Lee’s ambitious tale of five American veterans returning to Vietnam to settle unfinished business, should have opened out of competition at Cannes last month. He was set to become the first African American film-maker to head the festival jury. Instead, coronavirus wiped out Da 5 Bloods cinema release and the film debuts on Netflix.

Space Force, Netflix review - fails to launch

★★ SPACE FORCE, NETFLIX Fails to launch

Steve Carell's new sitcom is short on laughs

Since Donald Trump's election as US President in 2016, I imagine satirists have slowly lost the will to live – as nothing they can write can outdo his buffoonery. But when Greg Daniels (creator of the American version of The Office) and Steve Carell (its star) announced they were inspired to write Space Force from one of his ideas, it augured well.

Have a Good Trip, Netflix review - a breezy journey into the mind

★★★ HAVE A GOOD TRIP, NETFLIX A breezy journey into the mind

Netflix doc focuses on the lighter side of psychedelics

Don’t do drugs, kids. For the past 50 years, that’s been the consistent message. But how much of what we know about psychedelics is just fearmongering? Do you really want to jump out of a window? Will you permanently lose your mind?

Jerry Seinfeld, Netflix review - not bad for a swansong

★★★ JERRY SEINFELD, NETFLIX US comic says this may be his last stand-up show

US comic says this may be his last stand-up show

Jerry Seinfeld said in a recent interview that this Netflix special – 23 Hours to Kill – may be his last stand-up show. That's a shame, as there's much to enjoy here, even if he is retreading some old ground.

Much of this material he performed during UK dates last year (and some of it he had also performed when he previously visited the UK, in 2011), but that's OK as far as it goes – he's still a very funny man, and his grouchy, world-weary shtick can bear some repetition.

The Last Kingdom, Season 4, Netflix review - blood, guts and dirty politics

★★★★ THE LAST KINGDOM, SEASON 4, NETFLIX There's no rest for Uhtred in post-King Alfred England

There's no rest for Uhtred in post-King Alfred England

Meanwhile back in the Dark Ages, Uhtred (son of Uhtred) is still seeking to reclaim his ancestral seat of Bebbanburg and manoeuvre through the treacherous currents of Saxon politics. The big question was, how would this fourth season manage in the aftermath of the death of King Alfred?

Dangerous Lies, Netflix review - slick silliness

★★ DANGEROUS LIES, NETFLIX Hoary inheritance hokum is Dickensian in worst way

Hoary hokum about a dodgy inheritance is Dickensian in the worst way

When not dipping into its bottomless debts to write Scorsese blank cheques, Netflix tends to favour old-school TV movie potboilers such as this slick, silly thriller, in which young couple Katie (Camila Mendes) and Adam (Jessie T Usher) have their moral flaws picked apart by financial temptation.