Get Duked (On Disc/Streaming, Amazon, August 28, 2020)
This satire uses an actual event as inspiration. Ian’s (Samuel Bottomley) hopes of winning the Duke of Edinburgh Award seem unlikely when he is teamed with Glasgow pals Dean, Duncan and DJ Beatroot. Dropped off outside a tiny hamlet, the boys are instructed to navigate their way to the Scottish coast within two days. The Glasgow trio prefer to get high, only to realize they are being stalked by hunters seeking to “cull the herd.” Eddie Izzard, doubling as a producer, appears as the shot-gun wielding “Duke” clad in a disturbing mask. Local cops are caught up pursuing a bread-napper leaving the boys to figure out how to use a powerful hallucinogenic drug to give themselves the edge. Rated 96% fresh and a 7.7/10 on Rotten Tomatoes, this one checks its social commentary boxes several times over.
Hard Kill (Streaming VOD & Digital, Tuesday, August 25)
The fourth collaboration between director Matt Eskandari and actor Bruce Willis parks Willis in a comfy chair while others work up a sweat. The film, shot over 10-days at a Cincinnati warehouse, looks nearly as low-budget as it sounds. Tech CEO Donovan Chalmers (Willis) hires ex-military man Miller (Jesse Metcalfe) and Miller’s band of mercs to protect Chalmer’s breakthrough invention. Naturally, it’s a world-ender in the wrong hands. Those bad hands belong to The Pardoner (Sergio Rizzuto), a terrorist kidnapper of Chalmer’s rebellious, grown-up daughter (Lala Kent). Many a shoot-out occurs within the massive concrete-block rooms of the warehouse, where the paint was, at least, already chipped. For those in a hurry, the film will get a quickie-release at drive-in theaters on the 21st.
Rogue (Streaming August 28, VUDU & FandangoNOW)
Megan Fox tries a new type of role as black ops team leader O’Hara. Sent on a mission to a remote African outpost, the team is to rescue a dignitary’s daughter from kidnappers. They are prepared for shoot outs, but not for predators possessing superior killing skills—yes, CGI lions—oh my, oh my! These scarred hunters have mastered using human structures to bundle speed, agility, teeth and claws against their prey. The problem is that these lions are practically demonic in appearance. The filmmakers forgot that National Geographic lions are scary enough.
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