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Hollywood Jive: Not-to-be-missed action thriller movies

It is the most popular genre in motion pictures for ages. Action thrillers keep us at the corner of the seats in theaters or on our couches. Here are some the most enjoyable new movies on Video on Demand that will get your adrenaline pumping.

We have to start with "Uncut Gems" as the style of this thriller is so fresh and new. Adam Sandler nails it with a pathbreaking performance as a gambling diamond dealer Howard who bets everything on one basketball game's outcome with gangster money that he has borrowed. It also has pro-basketball star Kevin Garnett playing himself in a pivotal role. With Howard's marriage and family life also on the brink, the chaotic bravura with which Adam Sandler performs, with his non-stop speaking and unpredictable behaviour, makes you wonder at his comic precision in this crime thriller. Immersive and different, this is a true gem streaming on Netflix.

Another stylised film that touches the different side is the "The Lighthouse". Not purely action, this black and white film with only two actors, Williem Da Foe and Robert Pattinson, is a noir film with an artistic statement that also spooks. The late 1900 period setting and the brooding master-servant chemistry is so well-crafted that it transports you to the eerie island where these two gentlemen are fighting their inner demons on sanity while taking care of the Lighthouse. Their loneliness driving them to the brinks of reality, Robert Pattinson puts in a mesmerising performance that grows on you. Williem as usual is deadly. Catch it on Prime Video.

For the explosions and car chase lovers, "Extraction" delivers the riveting two hours of mayhem where a black market mercenary fights to take back a kidnapped child of an imprisoned international crime lord. The plot is not new but it is very interesting mix of crime, revenge, family and money in today's murky world. Chris Hemsworth is good and acts beyond his Thor avatar. The violence at times is excessive and can be unmemorable, but overall it is a global thriller that keeps the pace as fast as it gets. It is the most watched original film in the history of Netflix, and a sequel is being planned.
 
"Sputnik" is a Russian sci-fi thriller that surprises and gives you the chills similar to "Aliens" and the like. Some have also called it the best sci-fi horror movie to come outside Hollywood. A controversial young doctor reaches a secured research facility to examine an astronaut who has come back to earth with a parasite inside him. The parasite has its own journey and the twists come in at the right time. Even with clever cinematography to shield the unpleasantness, it is clearly not meant for the light hearted, but the film genuinely grips and the acting is as good as Russian heaviness can get. Available on VOD.
Stay tuned for more next week!


Rajeev Kheror is a Dubaian now living in Los Angeles. He has produced movies and series globally and contributes regularly to the international entertainment community.