NEON, Netflix, VOD, Blu-ray & DVD releases for feb 2018

February is a month where cinemas load there schedules with all the award-hopeful films, but that doesn’t come at the expense of the small screen. Take a look at what’s fresh and clean on home release and streaming services.


New to NEON

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

The follow-up to 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy and the 15th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe sees Chris Pratt return to his role as Peter Quill, AKA Star Lord.”Not only does [James] Gunn make the galaxy look like a rainbow exploding in slow motion, his still framing of particular action sequences soak in like a comic panel in motion.” -Liam Maguren, FLICKS

Available now

The Fate of the Furious

Vin Diesel returns for the eighth installment of the Fast and Furious series, this time directed by F. Gary Gray (Straight Outta Compton).”Should provide one big, stupid, grin-inducing rush.” -Aaron Yap, FLICKS

Available now

Loving

Writer-director Jeff Nichols (Mud) retells the true story of the love between a white man (Joel Edgerton, Bright) and a black woman (Ruth Negga, in an Oscar-nominated performance) who had to fight the court system in 1967 Virginia. “A very light drama with great performances and a gorgeous eye for Southern America that spends two hours saying one simple thing.” -Liam Maguren, FLICKS

Available now

Table 19

Anna Kendrick is dumped on the loser table with the other not-that-important people at a wedding in this comedy written by the Duplass brothers (Cyrus).

Available now

Mulan

Disney’s 1998 animated adventure set in China during the Han Dynasty and based on the legend of Hua Mulan. Kiwi filmmaker Niki Caro (Whale Rider) is currently directing the live-action remake.

Available from February 18

Toy Story 2

The sequel to the landmark 1995 computer-animated blockbuster from Disney and Pixar.

Available from February 20

Toy Story 3

The three-quel to the landmark 1995 computer-animated blockbuster from Disney and Pixar.

Available from February 20

Kong: Skull Island

Oscar winner Brie Larson, Tom Hiddleston, John Goodman, John C. Reilly and Samuel L. Jackson star in the Vietnam War-set creature feature. “A consistently entertaining hoot throughout.” -Dominic Corry, FLICKS

Available from February 27

Pirates: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Johnny Depp returns as bumbling pirate Captain Jack Sparrow in Disney’s latest swashbuckling adventure. “A sad desperation hangs over this final Pirates outing… something like being the guy that’s way too old to go clubbing…” -Daniel Rutledge, FLICKS

Available from February 28


New to Netflix

The Ritual

A group of friends find themselves being stalked in the woods in this British horror. “Does a great job of telling predictable horror tropes in a terrifying new way.” -James Croot, STUFF.CO.NZ

Available now

Irreplaceable You

Gugu Mbatha-Raw (The Cloverfield Paradox) and Michael Huisman (The Age of Adaline), lead this comedy drama about a couple dealing with a life-changing diagnosis.

Available now

Juno

Winner of Best Screenplay at the 2008 Academy Awards, Ellen Page leads this comedy drama as a whip-smart teen confronted by an unplanned pregnancy. “Warm, likable, but not nearly as cool as it imagines itself to be, Juno is nevertheless chock full of good performances.” -Andrew Hedley, FLICKS

Available now

Nightcrawler

Jake Gyllenhaal leads this Oscar-nominated thriller as a devilishly persistent creep who, struggling for employment, barges into the underground world of freelance crime journalism. “Gyllenhaal’s Lou Bloom is one hell of a creation; the sort of person you hope doesn’t exist, but probably does.” -Matt Glasby, FLICKS

Available now

5harknado: Global Swarming

Yeah, they’re still making these.

Available now

CHiPs

Dax Shepard (Idiocracy) writes, directs and stars as Jon Baker in this buddy cop action comedy based on the ’70s T.V. show, co-starring Michael Peña as Ponch. “About as far from the source as the Starsky & Hutch movie.” -Adam Fresco, FLICKS

Available now

The Interview

The Seth Rogen and James Franco comedy that really pissed off North Korea. “More tasteless farce than blistering satire, The Interview is a relatively innocuous comedy…” -Tony Stamp, FLICKS

Available now

The LEGO Movie

The directors of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and TV’s Robot Chicken bring LEGO to life in this stop-motion-simulating adventure.”So joyously creative, so continuously hilarious and so hyper-aware of what it means to play with LEGO that future product-based movies of its ilk should use it as a template.”

Available now

Rush

Ron Howard’s underappreciated Formula One film stars Daniel Brühl (The Zookeeper’s Wife) and Chris Hemsworth (Thor) as real-life racers whose heated rivalry lifted each other’s game. “Hemsworth and Brühl are both terrific, portraying the escalating competitive ribbing between the pair with good humour and genuine passion.” -Aaron Yap, FLICKS

Available from February 18

Fullmetal Alchemist

Live-action feature based on the wildly popular anime and manga about two boys who go on a quest to fix their bodies when an attempt to bring their mother back from the dead goes horribly wrong.

Available from February 19

Mute

Alexander Skarsgård is a mute searching for his girlfriend on the streets of a future Berlin in this sci-fi thriller from Duncan Jones (Moon).

Available from February 23


New to Everything Else

Detroit

Crime drama from Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) set against the backdrop of the 1967 Detroit riots.”It’s a masterful tour de force in high tension filmmaking, anchored by a home-invasion horror style second act that is absolutely excruciating.” -Daniel Rutledge, FLICKS

Available from February 21

Ali’s Wedding

When a white lie spirals out of control, a neurotic, naive Muslim cleric’s eldest son must follow through with an arranged marriage in this Aussie rom-com. “I don’t know why the release of this lovely film has been delayed so long but it’s worth the wait.” -David Stratton, THE AUSTRALIAN

Available now

Brad’s Status

Ben Stiller begins regretting life decisions while on a trip with his son in this comedy co-starring Martin Sheen and Luke Wilson. “At its best is genuinely thought-provoking.” -NEW YORK TIMES

Available now

Bad Moms 2

Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn return along with THEIR mums in this Christmas comedy sequel. “It foolishly tries to be a tear-jerker as well as a knee-slapper.” -Daniel Rutledge, FLICKS

Available now

Mountain

A cinematic and musical collaboration between Sherpa filmmaker Jennifer Peedom and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, exploring humankind’s fascination with high places. “Gripping and hypnotic, setting out to be poetic and awe-inducing, and succeeding on both fronts.” -Steve Newall, FLICKS

Available now

The Mountain Between Us

Idris Elba and Kate Winslet survive an alpine plane crash in this adaptation of Charles Martin’s novel. “It’s a love story first and foremost, doing a better job serving that crowd than most Nicholas Sparks bollocks adapted to screen.” -Liam Maguren, FLICKS

Available now

The Limehouse Golem

Inspector Kildare (Bill Nighy) is tasked with solving a string of grisly murders in Victorian London. Based on Peter Ackroyd’s 1994 novel. “Weird, twisted and deliciously unique, Medina’s horror taps a dynamic vein in feminism and Giallo-esque gore.” -TOTAL FILM

Available now

Spice World: 20th Anniversary

Tell us what you want, what you really really want.

Available now

Goodbye Christopher Robin

Domhnall Gleeson (Star Wars: The Last Jedi) is author AA Milne in this drama about Milne’s son Christopher Robin and how his birth would lead to the creation of Winnie the Pooh. “If you’re not averse to well-wrought sentimentality, this solidly acted and directed small-scale family relationship melodrama should have you shedding a tear, or three…” -Adam Fresco, FLICKS

Available from February 21

Final Portrait

Geoffrey Rush is artist Alberto Giacometti in this comedy about his efforts to paint a portrait of an old friend, played by Armie Hammer. “Probably not enough material here for a feature-length movie.” -Aaron Yap, FLICKS

Available from February 21

Professor Marston & the Wonder Women

Biopic on Dr. William Marston, the psychologist, inventor and taboo-buster who created Wonder Woman with his wife and their lover. “Utterly fascinating.” -Paul Casserly, FLICKS

Available from February 21

Jigsaw

Directors the Spierig brothers (Winchester: The House That Ghosts Built) helm the Saw franchise’s eighth installment, which picks up over a decade after the Jigsaw Killer’s death. “Disappointingly, most of the traps feel more like remixes of the past than anything drastically new.” -Liam Maguren, FLICKS

Available from February 21

Suburbicon

George Clooney directs a crime comedy he co-wrote with the Coen brothers, starring Matt Damon and Julianne Moore in a 1959 suburban community that gets hit with sudden murders. “Clooney raids a leftover script by the Coen brothers that lacks the snap of their more vicious crime comedies.”

Available from February 21

Tulip Fever

Oscar winner Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl) leads this costume drama based on Deborah Moggach’s novel, adapted to the screen by Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love). “I found the movie painful at times, seeing the charaters do things that were so obviously going to go bad on them. I couldn’t watch those parts. But the costumes were beautiful!” -Becs Simps, FLICKS USER

Available from February 28

Leatherface

Origin prequel to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre trilogy directed by French horror film-making duo Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Mauro.

Available from February 28

The Lovers

Rom-com starring Tracy Letts and Debra Winger as a long-married couple whose extra-marital affairs go awry when they unexpectedly fall for each other again. “With its waltz-like score and farcical symmetry, The Lovers is about as full as a movie can be with a premise so thin.” -VULTURE

Available from February 28

Boyka: Undisputed

Scott Atkins reprises his role as Boyka for the fourth installment in the Undisputed fighting franchise. This film is fully endorsed by Flicks’ Daniel Rutledge.

Available from February 28