‘Thrash’
A bit more like “Tremors” than “Jaws,” Tommy Wirkola’s pulpy shark flick “Thrash” takes place in the fictional town of Annieville, S.C., during a hurricane. It follows several characters scattered across town. A pregnant Lisa (Phoebe Dynevor) is pinned in her car by a fallen tree; the agoraphobic Dakota (Whitney Peak) shelters in her home; her uncle Dr. Dale Edwards (Djimon Hounsou), a marine researcher, races to rescue her; three orphans are trapped in their foster parents’ house.
“Thrash” leans on thoughtful editing to seamlessly switch between stories, intermingling rich character moments — like Dakota overcoming her fears to help Lisa — with gory shark attacks. The water and weather effects are equally impressive, allowing for grandiose set pieces whose absurdity gradually increase as the film goes on. A destructive tsunami in the film’s first half gives way to orphans throwing dynamite bombs wrapped in meat during the movies harebrained but delightfully B-movie climax.
‘Ballistic’
Rent or buy on most major platforms.
There’s one important lesson in the director Chad Faust’s taut psychological revenge film: Never cross a military mom. In the movie, that mom is Nance (Lena Headey), who works at a bullet manufacturing company. She’s deeply proud of her job because she believes she’s providing ammunition for her son, Jesse (Jordan Kronis), who’s stationed in Afghanistan. When he dies in action, however, Nance learns that the fatal bullet might have been American made.
Recalling “Born on the Fourth July,” except from the parent’s perspective, “Ballistic” is powered by anger and disillusionment. Taught by Kahlil (Hamza Haq), a military grief counselor who fascinatingly hails from the Middle East, Nance learns how to shoot in hopes of targeting the recruitment office that convinced her son to enlist. Her agitated preparation involves visiting gun ranges and even preparing the trunk of her car as a shooting location. Faust, who also wrote the screenplay, takes aim at the dangers of violent patriotism with incredible precision.
‘Deep Cover’
Stream it on Amazon Prime Video.
In Tom Kingsley’s film, three London-based improv artists — Kat (Bryce Dallas Howard), Marlon (Orlando Bloom) and Hugh (Nick Mohammed) — are recruited by Detective Sergeant Graham Billings (Sean Bean) to go undercover. Billings believes comedians make the best covert agents because they can adjust quickly. The entertainers get more than they bargain for when they infiltrate a drug ring run by Fly (Paddy Considine), whose boss, Metcalfe (Ian McShane), believes there’s a rat in the outfit.
The main draw of this rambunctious action comedy are these hapless characters. Kat’s improv students are getting big parts and leaving her behind; Marlon isn’t treated like a serious actor by casting agents; Hugh works a thankless tech job. Together they form a rousing triple-act as unlikely action stars who beat goons by pure luck, like when a truck accidentally hits an assassin they’re dispatched to shake down. That mixing of heart and physical comedy makes “Deep Cover” an immersive romp.
‘Humint’
Manager Jo (Zo In-sung), an earnest South Korean officer, is dispatched to Vladivostok, Russia to convince Chae Seon-hwa (Shin Sae-kyeong), a worker at a North Korean restaurant with intel about a human trafficking ring, to flip to his side in the writer-director Ryoo Seung-wan’s elusive film. Opposite Chae is her former flame Park Geon (Park Jeong-min), a North Korean officer who, upon learning that his colleagues know about Chae’s subterfuge, works to save her from their wrath. Likewise, Jo, still bitter from the death of his last informant, also tries to help Chae avoid a similar fate.
While the first half of “Humint” spends considerable time laying out the intrigue in these conflicting relationships, the second part of the film is a full-on gunplay blood bath. Both Jo and Park race to free Chae from Russian gangsters holding her on behalf of the North Koreans. They penetrate the Russians’ snowbound fortress, piling up a huge body count with ease, before moving to the parking lot. Here, Ryoo’s nimble camera quietly moves between parked black cars as Jo and Park team together in a well-orchestrated bid for survival.
‘Pretty Lethal’
Stream it on Amazon Prime Video.
While most great action choreography can often be described as balletic, few films are as worthy of that descriptor as Vicky Jewson’s “Pretty Lethal.” The movie follows a Los Angeles-based ballerina troupe bound for a competition in Budapest whose bus breaks down in a Hungarian forest. Consequently, they seek shelter at an inn owned by former danseuse Devora (Uma Thurman). While there, Pasha (Tamas Szabo Sipos), a sleazy gangster, kills the troupe’s coach after she refuses his sexual advances. He also orders his men to hunt the remaining ballerinas.
Initially, these territorial dancers do not move as a team: A jealous Princess (Lana Condor) hates the talented Bones (Maddie Ziegler). Zoe (Iris Apatow) is protective of her deaf sister, Chloe (Millicent Simmonds). Grace (Avantika) is a goody-two-shoes. One finds great pleasure in their banding together, at points becoming one entity through dance choreography that combines blades — often attached to their slippers — for piercing damage against misogynist goons.
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