Space Jam: A New Legacy is so forced that it feels like the only reason the actors turned up is to fulfil an iron-clad contractual obligation — and we’re talking about the Looney Tunes characters. This follow-up to the 1996 Michael Jordan live-action/animated classic pits LeBron James against evil A.I. Al G Rhythm (Don Cheadle, channelling Jim Carrey) who’s trapped the NBA legend and his son in the Warner Bros’ “Server-verse”. And the only way out is a high-stakes basketball match between the James-led Tune Squad and Rhythm’s Goon Squad. Is an A.I. behind the two hours of mind-numbing razzle-dazzle bereft of charm, wit and soul as well? Jam-packed with IP cameos from the Warners archives — from Game of Thrones to Mad Max: Fury Road to, er, A Clockwork Orange (in a family flick, really?) — Space Jam: A New Legacy comes across less as a movie than a corporate showreel for WarnerMedia (or Nike) shareholders. Either that or a theme park promo. Take your pick. (2/5 stars)

Liam Neeson, committed as always, gets to show off another particular set of skill: as a ‘big-rig’ ice road driver leading a Hail Mary pass of a rescue mission over 400km of frozen lakes in Canada to save the diamonds miners trapped underground before their oxygen runs out. Even though time is of the essence (36 hours!), writer-director Jonathan Hensleigh (Armageddon, The Punisher) seems to take his time unspooling the action; a saboteur sub-plot meant to crank up the suspense ends up weighing down the pacing and dampening the excitement instead. In short, the best parts are in the trailer. ​​​​​​​(2.5/5 stars)

Four med students sign up for a sleep-deprivation experiment conducted by a pharmaceutical company. They’re told not to doze off or the microchip implanted in their neck may fry and kill them. As they stay up longer, disorientation and hallucination set in. And that’s that. Five — five?! — directors made this and none of them seem to know what to achieve. Is this supposed to be horror (like Awake)? Instead of delivering high-concept thrills, it gets bogged down in sentimentality and party hijinks. Did Netflix acquire this tripe at a fire sale? Have trouble sleeping? Try watching the first 20 minutes. — (1/5 stars) On Netflix