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Dean (2016)

Demetri Martin, Kevin Kline, Gillian Jacobs, Mary Steenburgen

Written & Directed by: Demetri Martin (directorial debut)

Platform: NowTV

IMDB: 6.2/10, RT: 61% Fresh

Synopsis: A comedy about loss, grief, and the redemptive power of love. Dean is a NY illustrator who falls hard for an LA woman while trying to prevent his father from selling the family home in the wake of his mother's death.

Verdict: I thought this was a great little indie film, alot of the themes seem familiar and have been done before and probably better but the cast are all likeable and there is enough humour to make it work and seem fresh.

Deadly Impact (2010)

Sean Patrick Flanery, Joe Pantoliano, Carmen Serano, Greg Serano

Directed by: Robert Kurtzman (Wishmaster)

Platform: Netflix 

IMDB: 5.3/10

Synopsis: A police officer with a painful past returns home to help the FBI track down a mastermind assassin.

Verdict: Typical cliched B-Movie, yawn.

Deadly Expose (2017)

Melissa Archer, Brandon Beemer, Marlon Aquino, Lauralee Bell

Directed by: Chris Jaymes

Platform: Netflix 

IMDB: 3.4/10

Synopsis: A detective suspects that a secret dating mobile app is actually connected with the murders that have been happening in her town.

Verdict: For a DTV movie it's actually well acted but it feels too much like an extended episode of CSI, Law & Order or Criminal Minds, pick one.

Dead Man Walking (1995)

Based upon the non-fiction book "Dead Man Walking" (1993) by Sister Helen Prejean

Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn, Robert Prosky, Raymond J. Barry, R.Lee Ermey, Ceila Watson, Lois Smith

Directed by: Tim Robbins

Platform: Netflix 

IMDB: 7.5/10, RT: 95% Fresh

Susan Sarandon won an Oscar for Best Actress

Synopsis: A nun, while comforting a convicted killer on death row, empathizes with both the killer and his victim's families.

Verdict: Very good drama with great performances by Penn & Sarandon.

Dead in a Week (Or Your Money Back) (2018)

Tom Wilkinson, Aneurin Barnard, Marion Bailey, Freya Mavor, Christopher Eccleston

Written & Directed by: Tom Edmunds

Platform: Netflix 

IMDB: 6.2/10, RT: 45% Rotten

Synopsis: After his ninth unsuccessful attempt on his own life, a young man outsources his suicide to an ageing assassin. "If you're serious about ending it, you need professional help"

Verdict: A decent black comedy with a few moments of genuine humour, however thats mostly due to the excellent Tom Wilkinson and when he's not on screen the film loses my interest, the young lead Barnard sleep walks through most of the film. Worth a watch though.

Dazed and Confused (1993)

Jason London, Wiley Wiggins, Matthew Mcconaughey, Rory Cochrane, Joey Lauren Adams, Milla Jovovich, Shawn Andrews, Adam Goldberg, Sasha Jenson, Cole Hauser, Parker Posey, Ben Affleck, Michelle Burke

Written & Directed by: Richard Linklater

Platform: Netflix 

IMDB: 7.6/10, RT: 91% Fresh

Synopsis: It's the last day of school at a high school in a small town in Texas in 1976. The upperclassmen are hazing the incoming freshmen, and everyone is trying to get stoned, drunk, or laid, even the football players that signed a pledge not to.

Verdict: I've always been a big fan of Linklater and this didn't disappoint. A slice of 1970s America seen through the eyes of students, great cast and --script, typical Linklater which I really enjoyed.

Dayveon (2017)

Devin Blackmon, Dontrell Bright, Lachion Buckingham, Kordell Johnson, Marquell Manning, Chasity Moore

Directed by: Amman Abbasi

Platform: Netflix

IMDB: 6.4/10, RT: 71% Fresh

Synopsis: In the wake of his older brother's death, 13-year-old Dayveon spends the sweltering summer days roaming his rural Arkansas town. When he falls in with a local gang, he becomes drawn to the camaraderie and violence of their world.

Verdict: Not a bad indie film, it didn't always hold my interest but its only 1hr 15mins long.

Day of the Dead: Bloodline (2018)

Remake of Day of the Dead (1985)

Sophie Skelton, Johnathon Schaech, Jeff Gum, Marcos Vanco, Lillian Blankenship

Directed by: Hector Hernandez Vicens 

Platform: Netflix

IMDB: 3.4/10, RT: 13% Rotten

Synopsis: A small group of military personnel and survivalists dwell in an underground bunker as they seek to find a cure in a world overrun by zombies.

Verdict: A poor remake of the original.

Daughter of the Wolf (2019)

Gina Carano, Ricard Dreyfuss, Brendan Fehr, Sydelle Noel

Directed by: David Hackl (Saw V)

Platform: NowTV

IMDB: 5.9/10, RT: 22% Rotten

Synopsis: A military veteran hunts the men who kidnapped her son.

Verdict: Typical low budget DTV actioner with a surprisingly decent cast, however the --script is awful and full of cliches.

Darkness Visible (2019)

English language & Hindi (with English subtitles)

Jaz Deol, Salome Gunnarsdottir, Neil Bhoopalam, Seema Biswas & Sayani Gupta

Directed by: Neil Biswas

Platform: NowTV

IMDB: 5.5/10

Synopsis: London-raised Ronnie returns to his home in India to discover his mother Suleka has died in mysterious circumstances. As he uncovers a series of similar past murders, Ronnie's own inner-darkness come to light.

Vertigo: Actually not a bad low key horror, pretty well acted.

The Darkest Dawn (2016)

Bethan Leadley, Cherry Wallis, Jess Cleverly, Sarah Perugia

Directed by: Drew Casson

Platform: Netflix 

IMDB: 4.1/10

Synopsis: The movie that tells the story of two teenage sisters as Britain descends into an alien apocalypse. Told through the eyes of the younger sister, the sisters' descent into a post apocalyptic hell where they must choose between humanity and brutality in the fight for survival.

Verdict: B-Movie British Alien invasion movie, very amateurish!

The Dark Tower (2017)

Based upon and also a kind of sequel to The Dark Tower series of novels by Stephen King 

Idris Elba, Matthew Mcconaughey, Tom Taylor, Denis Haysbert, Claudia Kim & Jackie Earle Haley

Directed by: Nikolaj Arcel

Platform: Netflix

IMDB: 5.6/10, RT: 16% Rotten

Synopsis: A boy haunted by visions of a dark tower from a parallel reality teams up with the tower's disillusioned guardian to stop an evil warlock known as the Man in Black who plans to use the boy to destroy the tower and open the gates of Hell.

Verdict: Being a fan of the overall story and characters (but not all the books) I had been avoiding this film like the plague. Well, I didn't hate it, in fact it was better than I thought and parts of it I really enjoyed. However, it would serve better as a TV series, with a runtime of only 1hr 49mins it's asking a lot to put even the basis of a trilogy of movies into that short of time. Elba is a highlight and his chemistry with Taylor was a great representation of the book, I probably enjoyed it more than most, especially looking at that RT rating!

Dark Minds (2017)

Called "Aardvark" in North America 

Zachary Quinto, Jenny Slate, Sheila Vand, Jon Hamm

Directed by: Brian Shoaf

Platform: NowTV

IMDB: 4.5/10, RT: 12% Rotten

Synopsis: Emily Milburton is a therapist who is struggling with personal problems. Things change when she meets her new patient, Josh Norman, who is mentally ill. Josh starts to develop feelings for Emily but things get interesting when Emily falls for Josh's brother, Craig.

Verdict: I was bored after 20 minutes. 

Dark Shadows (2012)

Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green, Helena Bonham Carter, Jackie Earle Harley, Jonny Lee Miller, Bella Heathcote, Chloe Grace Moretz & Christopher Lee

Directed by: Tim Burton

Platform: Netflix 

IMDB: 6.2/10, RT: 36% Rotten

Synopsis: An imprisoned vampire, Barnabas Collins, is set free and returns to his ancestral home, where his dysfunctional descendants are in need of his protection.

Verdict: Never watched or know anything of the original TV series, it starts off ok and seems typical Burton until you see a vampire redirect a house while the Carpenters are playing. After that I sort of lost interest, I thought Depp was good though.

BlacKkKlansman (2018)

Based upon the true story of Ron Stallworth

John David Washington, Adam Driver, Michael Buscemi, Laura Harrier, Topher Grace & Alec Baldwin

Directed by: Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing, Mo' Better Blues, Jungle Fever, Malcolm X, Summer of Sam, 25th Hour)

Platform: NowTV

IMDB: 7.5/10, RT: 96% Fresh

Synopsis: Ron Stallworth, an African American police officer from Colorado Springs, CO, successfully manages to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan branch with the help of a Jewish surrogate who eventually becomes its leader. Based on actual events.

Verdict: Hilarious with a sucker punch ending, best film I have seen this year!

Aquaman (2018)

Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Nicole Kidman, Dolph Lundgren and Temuera Morrison

Directed by: James Wan (Saw, Insidious, The Conjuring, Furious 7)

Platform: NowTV

IMDB: 7/10, RT: 66% Fresh

Synopsis: Arthur Curry, the human-born heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, goes on a quest to prevent a war between the worlds of ocean and land.

Verdict: Just plain awful.

Danger One (2018)

Tom Everett Scott, James Jurdi, Angelica Celaya, Denis O'Hare, Michael O'Neill

Directed by: Tom Oesch

Platform: NowTV

IMDB: 5.8/10

Synopsis: While transporting a dying man to the hospital, two paramedics find a million dollars in cash sewn into his clothing. When the man dies, they decide to keep it, setting them on a path for a hellish night of violence and mayhem.

Verdict: Didn't hold my interest, acting from the two leads was a bit amateur, gave it 20 minutes.

Dance Flick (2009)

Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Shoshana Bush, Damon Wayans Jr, Chris Elliott, Christina Murphy 

Directed by: Damien Dante Wayans

Platform: Netflix 

IMDB: 3.5/10, RT: 18% Rotten

Synopsis: Street dancer Thomas Uncles is from the wrong side of the tracks, but his bond with the beautiful Megan White might help the duo realize their dreams as they enter in the mother of all dance battles.

Verdict: Another unfunny Wayan brothers parody. Who keeps giving the 25 Wayan brothers money to make this crud?

Damsel (2018)

Robert Pattinson, Mia Wasikowska, David Zellner, Nathan Zellner

Written & Directed by: David & Nathan Zellner

Platform: NowTV

IMDB: 5.6/10, RT: 69% Fresh

Synopsis: It's the Wild West, circa 1870. Samuel Alabaster, an affluent pioneer, ventures across the American frontier to marry the love of his life, Penelope. As his group traverses the west, the once-simple journey grows treacherous, blurring the lines between hero, villain and damsel.

Verdict: A comedy in the vein of Coen Brothers, it has its moments but there are large periods where literally nothing happens, to the point where less patient will turn it off. Pattinson is quite good but I still don't see him as Batman.

The Cured (2017)

Ellen Page, Sam Keeley, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Stuart Graham, Paula Malcomson

Written & Directed by: David Freyne

Platform: Netflix 

IMDB: 5.5/10, RT: 68% Fresh

Synopsis: A disease that turns people into zombies has been cured. The once-infected zombies are discriminated against by society and their own families, which causes social issues to arise. This leads to militant government interference.

Verdict: This is really what "28 Weeks Later" should have been, enjoyable drama.