The Man From Toronto Review: A Durian Goreng Cameo Is Probably The Best Thing In Bland Kevin Hart-Woody Harrelson Buddy Action-Comedy

The Man From Toronto (PG13)

Starring Kevin Hart, Woody Harrelson, Jasmine Matthews, Kaley Cuoco, Ellen Barkin

Directed by Patrick Hughes

The most delicious scene in this otherwise bland buddy-action comedy — from the director of The Hitman’s Bodyguard (ugh) and its pointless sequel (double ugh) — happens early on where Woody Harrelson’s titular contract killer (who dreams of being a chef) makes himself up some durian fritters for breakfast while negotiating his next gig. A durian in a Hollywood movie — do you know how rare that is? (Another durian dessert makes an appearance in the end.) Sadly, it’s all downhill here. Kevin Hart, again playing the annoying, motormouthed doofus, is the failed personal trainer who’s mistaken for the assassin (a role originally meant for Jason Statham) following an Airbnb rental screw-up. The result: a less satisfying Central Intelligence redux. The Hart-Harrelson pairing has its moments but not enough to produce a chain reaction. The action is kinda disappointing, too:  After watching Bill Hader pull off that breathtaking motorcycle chase in a recent episode of Barry, the PG13-certified mayhem here feels shopworn and underpowered. Wouldn’t it be something if the durian was used as a weapon? (2/5 stars) On Netflix

Photos: Sabrina Lantos/Netflix

Elvis (PG13)

Starring Austin Butler, Tom Hanks

Directed by Baz Luhrmann

Bear in mind: this is a movie, not a documentary. So you’ll forgive Baz Luhrmann — the man who puts ‘az’ in razzle-dazzle — for playing fast and loose with Elvis Presley lore. You come for the pageantry and music: Garish and infectious, Elvis is one fever dream of a biopic charting his meteoric rise to fame (and descent into career purgatory) as seen through the eyes of the King’s Svengali-like manager Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks in Fat Bastard get-up). Austin Butler is a revelation; he doesn’t look like Presley but by the end, he becomes him. His transformation is memserising.  (3/5 stars)

Photo: TPG News/Click Photos

What To Do With The Dead Kaiju? (PG13)

Starring Tao Tsuchiya, Joe Odagiri, Ryôsuke Yamada, Toshiyuki Nishida, Rinko Kikuchi

Directed by Satoshi Miki

This isn’t your standard creature feature. For starters, the kaiju (monster) is already dead. Instead, it focuses on the aftermath: how the authorities struggle to dispose of the rotting behemoth before it becomes a health hazard. Much like 2016’s Shin Godzilla, WTDWTDK is less of a skyscrapers-toppling spectacle than a pitch-dark satire on crisis management — or mismanagement, as the case may be. While the top brass is squabbling, it’s the guys on the ground — including Alice in Borderland’s Tao Tsuchiya — who are cleaning up the mess, both their employer’s as well as the carcass. The ending is maddeningly meh, though. (3/5 stars)

Photo: Golden Village Pictures