Old Guy

Action, Comedy

Available on VOD: 1 mei 2025

Director: Simon West

Cast: Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained), Lucy Liu (Kill Bill, Shazam! Fury of the Gods), Cooper Hoffman (Saturday Night)

Aging contract killer Danny Dolinski still believes he’s the best at what he does. Stuck at a dead end but vying for the love of spunky club manager Anata, Danny is thrilled when The Company pulls him back in the field, but only to train Gen Z newcomer Wihlborg, a prodigy assassin with an attitude. The mismatched pair is asked to eliminate a competing crime syndicate, but uncover their employer’s true motive: removing the old guard in a full takeover. The Company didn’t anticipate that Danny's experience coupled with the kid’s brilliance would create such an unlikely bond between the two. With Anata’s crucial help, the duo turns it all back on The Company.

• Thedailybeast.com: The performances from its trio of leads hold enough action-comedy charm to make it worth checking out.
• Latimes.com (Spanish):  Met zijn natuurlijke charisma brengt Waltz een personage tot leven dat de aandacht van de kijker vasthoudt en hem tegelijkertijd vermaakt.
• Assignmentx.com: Waltz gives energy to Danny’s frustration, and Hoffman puts nuance in Wilhborg’s studied calm and increasing exasperation.
• Northshoremovies.wpcomstaging.com: Meets expectations for an action comedy while harkening back to the similarly plotted Burt Reynolds film "Breaking In" (1989). Generational change is a story that will never get old.
• Thirdcoastreview.com: I’m still having a blast watching Hoffman come into his own and test his limits as an actor, while Waltz is the veteran who still knows how to surprise us sometimes.
• Movieweb.com: Waltz can do no wrong with his towering screen presence. A lesser actor wouldn't have been believable as an old-school badass. He's endearing, fun to watch, and anchors Danny's bond between Anata and Wihlborg. That warrants a recommendation for breezy, no-frills entertainment.
• Edwarddouglas.substack.com: I honestly wouldn’t mind seeing more of these characters, since they end up having such strong dynamics, and to me, that’s a testament to a film that works well.
• Cbr.com: One of the few action movies with heart. With that in mind, it may have just as much staying power as some of the films it's looking up to.

Skyfire

Action

Available on VOD: 3 december 2020

Director: Simon West

Cast: Jason Isaacs (The Infiltrator, Fury, The OA, Hotel Mumbai), Hannah Quinlivan (Skyscraper), Alice Rietveld, Xueqi Wang (Iron Man 3)

Tianhuo Island, paradisiac but famous for its active volcano, has been transformed into a thrill-seeking theme park by greedy businessman Jacj Harris (Jason Isaacs). Meng (Hannah Quinlivan), the daughter of the famous geologist Wentao Li (Xueqi Wang), has dedicated her life to develop a brilliant forecasting system that is predicting an imminent and deadly eruption. Despite Meng’s warnings, authorities and businessmen refuse to close the park and evacuate civilians. Raining a storm of deadly fire-bombs and an endless tide of lava upon the island, Wentao Li must run against the clock to save his beloved daughter, the tourists and the rest of the island population from the apocalyptic chaos.

• Asianfilmstrike.com: Wang Xueqi is as commanding a presence as ever, and gives Sly Stallone some competition when it comes to being a believable action hero in his seventies, and Jason Isaacs makes a strong impression. There are a few genuinely nail-biting scenes: a jeep’s mad dash through raining lava right to the edge of a cliff is a showstopper.
• Asianfilmfans.com: This is Skyfire, a modern [English language] Chinese disaster movie – the end of product of what happens when you mix Jurassic World and Dante’s Peak – and oh boy, are you in for a treat.
• Fareastfilms.com: shows the swaggering expertise of Chinese cinema today.
• Screenhkblog.wordpress.com: Simon West's workmanlike direction does deliver some goods here.