The Screen Critic: More dragon training, a mature romantic dramedy, a sweet French treat and a disaster explored

Dominating the planet’s multiplexes right now is How to Train Your Dragon, a very faithful live-action remake of the 2010 animated hit about a Viking kid who, after caring for an injured dragon, wants to care for them instead of killing them.

The film is aimed squarely at those who love this modern fairy tale and not, it need be stressed, for anyone looking for anything new who might bemoan the era of repetition we appear to be stuck in.

Still, the core audience of kids won’t know or care as they eat up the meticulously crafted spectacle, which looks all the more dazzling when seen on a giant Imax screen. Unsurprisingly, the sequel is already under way.

How big a part should money play in relationships?

That’s the age-old hot-button theme at the heart of Materialists, a mature-minded romantic comedy-drama about a professional New York matchmaker (Dakota Johnson) who is caught up in a love triangle with a rich new boyfriend (Pedro Pascal) and her money-starved ex (Chris Evans).

Written and very well-directed by Celine Song (Past Lives), the film has some decent doses of humour, mostly to do with cosmetic surgery, yet is more down-to-earth than most rom-coms, especially when confronting the issue of personal compromise.

A very engaging film, with New York looking as attractive as its cast.

Over at the arthouses is Jane Austen’s Wrecked My Life, an adorable French rom-com about Agathe (Camille Rutherford), a struggling author and bookstore clerk who attends a writer’s retreat in the hopes of clearing up her writer’s block.

It’s not her creativity that’s blocked, though, but her romantic confusion over what kind of man she wants to partner up with.

Spoken in French and English, it’s a very easy watch, with Rutherford proving a very pleasant presence. As a bonus feature, documentary lovers will thrill at the presence of legendary 95-year-old documentarian Frederick Wiseman in a quirky supporting role as the film’s resident, bum-bearing eccentric.

Even undemanding horror film fans will be dismayed at the offerings dished up in Dangerous Animals, yet another incoherent Australian movie that doesn’t seem to know which way is up.

In this gory mess, Jai Courtney plays a Queensland tour boat operator who likes slaughtering his female customers by feeding them to the sharks, all without the police – or anybody else, for that matter – suspecting a thing. Avoid.

Now, for a dose of real quality horror buckle up for 28 Years Later, in which director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland return to the infected-world scenario they set up in 2002 with the classic 28 Days Later (followed in 2007 by the superb 28 Weeks Later, which they produced).

This adventure involves a father and son who leave the group of pandemic survivors living on a remote island to venture into the contaminated mainland populated by crazed flesh-eating victims of the 30-year-old virus.

There’s still plenty of blood-splattered action afoot, though the dramatic stakes are higher as a possible cure presents itself amidst all the frantic chasing and dismemberment.

Unlike the previous two films, this one ends with a very strong pointer to an imminent sequel, so look forward soon to 29 Years Later.

Netflix serves up another top-shelf documentary with Titan: The OceanGate Disaster, which details what happened in 2023 and the implosion of the OceanGate submersible vessel as it neared the wreck of the Titanic.

Without sensationalising the event or resorting to graphic animated recreations (YouTube is full of them), the film tracks the ill-fated journey, chronicling the many warning signs that something was about to go very wrong.

It’s a sobering cautionary tale of how ego and ambitious enterprise can cloud common sense, ignoring all the alerts sent by the elaborate safety system specifically created to prevent such disasters from occurring.

The documentary has been a huge hit on Netflix and is strongly recommended, though those who suffer from claustrophobia should take heed. There wasn’t much room to move in that tiny sub.

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