Back in Action (Netflix, 2025) & The Calendar Killer (Prime Video, 2025)

Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz star in Back in Action, an action comedy about two loving parents who return to the world international espionage when their cover gets blown.

It’s like this: Matt and Emily used to be covert operatives, until they decided they wanted to start a family together. So they dropped out, raised a daughter and a son, rode off into the sunset and lived happily ever after.

Well, until fifteen years later they are tracked down by some former enemies and the only way to survive is to get back into the field.

Much to the surprise of their kids ‘who always knew they were lying about something but never thought they were cool enough to be spies’, or words to that effect.

Back in Action is the kind of High Concept movie that’s so easy to digest there should an extra sugar tax on it. But of course it’s only this week’s Netflix gourmet cheeseburger, so you’re good to go.

It’s kinda fun to see Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz go through the motions of being kick-ass spies, in a story so thin that its almost floating away. In the end they have to travel from the US to London to retrieve a Red Herring which could give a lot of Power to the Villainous People who have it in their possession.

Directed by Seth Gordon, from a script by Brendan O’Brien and Gordon himself, Back in Action never quite dazzles you with its mix of (sometimes) humorous quips and True Lies/Charlie’s Angels-style action scenes, but it does entertain, while also evoking a kind of nostalgia for the nineties blockbusters that were once common practice (and now seem to making a bit of a comeback).

If you ask yourself: why does this movie really exist, I would say just look at the story behind it. It’s the first time in over a decade (since the very bad Annie-remake and a couple of other duds) that Cameron Diaz has made a movie, after she decided to retire in her early fourties and start a family with husband Benji Madden.

But now she’s Back in Action and - frankly Mr. Shankly - these days 52 is a perfect age to start a comeback! All it took was for Jamie Foxx - with whom she made Any Given Sunday and that Annie-movie - to bring her a script in which art (and the world of spycraft) imitated life and she just hopped back on.

So even though this movie is rather generic, I’m happy that Diaz is back, cause she - like Sandra Bullock and Julia Roberts - is a real movie star, and I prefer movie stars to be the basis of movies instead of IP or AI.

I’m sorry if this is bit of a ramble, but there really isn’t all that much to say about the movie, except that Andrew Scott also turns up and that living legend Glenn Close is there as Diaz’ mother. So just go and watch Cameron and Jamie Back in Action if you are in the mood for some dumb/silly/harmless fun.

THE CALENDAR KILLER (Prime Video, 2025)

The Calendar Killer (or: Der Heimweg) is a German serial killer thriller, that is also about domestic violence and sexual abuse.

The movie is based on a book by German bestseller writer Sebastian Fitzek, which was adapted by Susanne Schneider and directed by Adolfo J. Kolmerer (Sløborn).

It’s about a serial killer, who is nicknamed The Calendar Killer, because he announces the imminent death of his victims by writing the date of their demise on the wall of their house of apartment. (If this is the point where you stop reading and go and do something more useful with your day, because it sounds borderline ridiculous, I can’t really blame you. If you do like serial killer thrillers, and not just Seven or The Silence of the Lambs, this is probably your way in.)

In the case of Klara (Luise Heyer), she gets to choose: it’s going to be her, unless her husband is killed… by Klara herself!

Confused and contemplating suicide, Klara calls a helpline, in this case the Walk Me Home line, which is manned by single father Jules (Sabin Tambrea), who lost his wife in an accident, and now takes care of their daughter all by himself.

I was immediately reminded of the Danish thriller Den Skyldige (which was remade in the US as The Guilty) and that was also the moment I realized this is one of those movies where you have to be very careful with giving away spoilers.

Let’s just say that Klara is married to an important official called Martin (Friedrich Mücke), they also have a daughter, but their marriage isn’t a happy one.

There is a flashback scene early on where Klara involuntary accompanies Martin to an orgy party, which of course is reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut (it’s of course a total coincidence that I reviewed Babygirl, which has its own references to Eyes Wide Shut, but here we are, like it’s suddenly en vogue to do this all the time in any movie).

Apart from Jules, Klara and Martin, there is also an older man (Rainer Bock) sniffing around, following Klara on her whereabouts; he could be the killer or a detective trying to crack the case, we’re not sure.

It’s all quite interesting, and the movie looks quite beautiful, in a dark and moody way. It doesn’t have a lot of humor and takes itself quite serious, even if from time to time you may have to suspend your disbelief.

It’s about moral corruption, mental health, revenge, the sometimes hard to tell difference between friends and foes, and as I stated before, violence and abuse. It’s a slow burn, but at just over 90 minutes it doesn’t outstay its welcome.