This week\u2019s low-profile VOD releases feature danger aboard a hot-air balloon and in an LA hipster\u2019s apartment, plus the humble struggles of a single mother, an ex-con, and the Australian rural working class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Turbulence<\/em><\/strong> (VOD and select theaters December 12):<\/strong> Filmmakers must be running low on novel locations for thrillers if they decided to set this uninspired revenge story aboard a hot-air balloon. Corporate executive Zach (Jeremy Irvine) and his wife Emmy (Hera Hilmar) are on a romantic vacation in Italy to revive their marriage, when mysterious stranger Julia (Olga Kurylenko) invades their supposedly private hot-air balloon ride. The extended opening scenes have made Julia\u2019s agenda pretty clear, though, so Turbulence<\/em> doesn\u2019t have much to offer in the way of plot twists. Kelsey Grammer brings some folksy charm to his role as the salty balloon pilot, but he makes a fairly early exit, and eventually only the least interesting characters are left aboard the balloon as it drifts out of control. There are some nice aerial shots, but the special effects falter during the action inside the balloon basket, and director Claudio F\u00e4h struggles to sustain the suspense. A movie with a premise this silly should not be this dull. Grade: C<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hag<\/em><\/strong> (Tubi December 12):<\/strong> If Lifetime made movies about gay men in peril, they might look something like this wan Single White Female<\/em> riff. Heartbroken following the sudden death of his fianc\u00e9, barista and aspiring singer-songwriter Rowan (Ryan de Villiers) runs into Mag (Jane de Wet), a woman he \u201cdated\u201d in middle school before coming out. Mag immediately latches onto Rowan, and soon she\u2019s renting his spare room, commiserating with him over bowls of ice cream, and doing everything she can to ice out his longtime best friend KC (Anja Taljaard). Mag is clearly unhinged and dangerous, and Rowan comes across as hopelessly na\u00efve even as his new roommate is practically carrying a bouquet of red flags. Writer-director Sam Wineman offers occasional moments of campy fun \u2014 including an enjoyably nasty sex act with an electric toothbrush \u2014 but too much of Hag<\/em> is plodding and flat, especially the subplot about a sleazy record executive taking advantage of Rowan. It\u2019s a bit cheekier than the average Lifetime movie, but not by enough. Grade: C+<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Milky Way<\/em><\/strong> (VOD December 16):<\/strong> The \u201cmilk factory\u201d where single mother Tala (Hila Ruach) gets hired at the beginning of this Israeli dramedy looks like something out of dystopian sci-fi, and it has enough potential to carry an entire movie. But writer-director Maya Kenig keeps shifting gears, leaving the factory behind in the second half as Tala makes various attempts to get her life together. Kenig explores the irony of a broke woman selling her breast milk to wealthy mothers, forcing Tala to feed her own baby with a bottle. A series of coincidences connect Tala with one of the factory\u2019s customers, Nili (Hadas Yaron), and they form a bond that can never quite transcend their class differences. At certain moments, The Milky Way<\/em> hints at something more sinister, but it remains low-key and grounded in Tala\u2019s everyday challenges, which she handles with a mix of frustration and grace. Kenig\u2019s plotting is scattered, but her examination of the contradictions of modern motherhood is often affecting. Grade: B-<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n