80 FOR BRADY (12A)
During an early verbal volley in director Kyle Marvin's amiable, lightweight comedy, Rita Moreno's retirement home escapee observes, "The Super Bowl is no place for four old women".
Millions of American football fans who tune into the sport's glittering final playoff would doubtless disagree with that ageist sentiment.
However, cinemagoers who sit through 80 For Brady will question whether a ramshackle road trip inspired by the true story of the Over 80 For Brady fan club is a fitting vehicle for the combined talents of Moreno, Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda and Sally Field.
Produced by retired quarterback Tom Brady, who appears on screen, Marvin's saccharine ode to sisterly solidarity lacks both the pace and charm of its athletic namesake, orchestrating a series of predictable set-pieces such as a trippy interlude with marijuana-infused gummy bears.
A supporting cast including Harry Hamlin, Bob Balaban and Billy Porter are squandered in throwaway, two-dimensional roles, the latter portraying the ebullient choreographer of Lady Gaga's halftime show whose character name - Gugu - masquerades unconvincingly as a punchline.
The central quartet of Moreno, Tomlin, Fonda and Field work tirelessly to enliven a sluggish script penned by Sarah Haskins and Emily Halpern, which fails to convert a single gag.
In 2001, Lou (Tomlin) is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, supported by gal pals Betty (Field), Maura (Moreno) and Trish (Fonda).
A malfunctioning TV remote control forces the women to watch an American football game between the New York Jets and New England Patriots and the friends are instantly smitten with fresh-faced quarterback Tom Brady wearing the number 12 shirt for the Patriots.
His heroics on the field inspire a nail-biting victory over the Jets and eventually that season, lead to glory at the Super Bowl.
Lou's recovery coincides with Brady's ascent and the clucky quartet become devoted fans of the player, meeting regularly to cheer him on during televised games.
Sixteen years later, the Patriots are bound for another Super Bowl, this time to face the Atlanta Falcons.
A radio show runs a competition with a first prize of four tickets and miraculously, Lou wins, setting in motion an excursion to Houston, Texas, where Betty enters a hot wings eating contest hosted by Guy Fieri (playing himself) and Trish peddles "sexy fan fiction" about Brady's teammate Rob Gronkowski penned under the pseudonym Virginia Ledoux.
80 For Brady shuffles towards its grandstand finish at the NRG Stadium in Houston where the Patriots found themselves down and almost out 3-28 in the dying moments of the third quarter.
The four leads trade heavily on their real-life friendships to catalyse winning on-screen chemistry but they can't spin gold out of thin air.
Without meaningful character development or a steady supply of witty wordplay, they is no chance of a touchdown.
5/10
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 (15)
Keanu Reeves' retired hitman first bruised knuckles in 2015 when a Russian playboy and underlings broke into his home and killed his beloved beagle puppy.
This act of senseless brutality lit the fuse on a lucrative film franchise directed exclusively by Chad Stahelski, with a spin-off TV series entitled The Continental poised to debut later this year.
For the unapologetically violent fourth instalment, Wick lays low in New York City with crime boss the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne), hoping to avoid an early grave at the hands of operatives of the High Table, which controls organised crime across the globe.
One member of the powerful inner circle, the Marquis Vincent de Gramont (Bill Skarsgard), declares war on John and he blackmails blind assassin Caine (Donnie Yen) into doing his bidding.
Bone-crunching action moves from the west coast of America to Osaka, Berlin and Paris and John learns from Winston Scott (Ian McShane) that he can be free of the insidious High Table by challenging the Marquis to a duel.
According to tradition, a challenger must be aligned with one of the High Table's 12 controlling families so John reaffirms his ties to the Ruska Roma through his adoptive sister Katia (Natalia Tena).
INFINITY POOL (18)
Since his debut feature Antiviral in 2012, Canadian writer-director Brandon Cronenberg has demonstrated a similar taste in hallucinogenic sci-fi horror to his father David.
Mind-bending madness percolates in Infinity Pool, set at an isolated island resort with pristine beaches and attentive staff for guests with deep pockets.
Novelist James Foster (Alexander Skarsgard) and his wife Em (Cleopatra Coleman) are staying on the property when they meet one of James's ardent fans, Gabi Bauer (Mia Goth), and her husband Alban (Jalil Lespert).
They persuade the Fosters to break the rules, which stipulate guests must remain on the compound at all times, and join them on an expedition into the surrounding countryside.
This illicit jaunt ends in tragedy and James faces severe punishment for his intoxicated actions.
However, the nation of Li Tolqa operates a unique and twisted system of justice that allows James to leverage his wealth to escape personal responsibility.
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