rcolgan Reviews

Beau Is Afraid (2023)

Beau's Law of Existence

[8/10 · 22 December 2023]

One key thing that you will realise early on in watching Beau is Afraid is that the film operates under Beau's Law of Existence. This states that if Beau exists, the worst thing must happen. If you think something good will happen, you will be wrong. If you think something bad will happen, odds are likely that something worse will happen. It's a similar condition suffered by the main character of Martin Scoresese's After Hours.

For example, if Beau comes home from therapy there must be a deadly venomous spider in his apartment waiting for him. If his apartment is unlocked, a zombie-like mass of people will invade his flat and wreck everything inside. And if he eventually leaves his flat then of course it will be inevitable that he will eventually be stabbed by a naked circumcised serial killer.

Based on Beau's Law of Existence, it appears inevitable that something as straightforward as visiting his mother would quickly devolve into a nightmarish journey with the entire world conspiring to hurt him in any way imaginable. During this journey he is forced to confront dark family secrets, his fears of intimacy and all of the deep-rooted feelings of self-regret that have dominated his entire life.

But how did Beau's life possibly get this way? Well, his first mistake appears to be being born. Through a very rare medical condition, the act of his conception led to the death of his father which his mother has never forgiven him for. Much of his life is therefore dedicated to being one long grovelling apology for something that he had no control over. At the same time it has also led to his mother being overly protective of him and nurturing an instinctual fear of everything.

From there Beau's life has appeared to be one continuous downward spiral. No matter what horrible fears he has in life, the universe will somehow still always find a way to throw something even worse at him justifying every possible fear. Often he will have no way of avoiding these tragedies. Though in the rare occasions when he does have an opportunity to make his own decision, Beau is so fearfully indecisive that he will simply let the universe choose whichever horrible option for him.

Does Beau deserve to experience everything that happens to him? God no, nobody deserves the kind of pain he does! But that's what makes the film so entertaining to watch. Just like Midsommar, Ari Aster's is constatnly treading the delicate balance between tragedy and absurdity that constantly leaves you uncertain on whether you should be laughing hysterically or just genuinely disturbed.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

A Bittersweet Ending to the Trilogy

[8/10 · 8 May 2023]

When the first Guardians of the Galaxy film was announced, people did not know exactly what to make of it. Unlike all of the MCU's other films up to that point therse were characters that most audiences weren't familiar with. And some people thought that the idea of a film starring a sentient tree and a talking raccoon travelling in space to save the universe just sounded bizare. Plus it was being directed and written by James Gunn, whose biggest creddits up to that point were Dawn of the Dead and the Scooby-Doo live action films. But cut to less than a decade later, the Guardians are now some of the MCU's most beloved characters and James Gunn is now one of Hollywood's most in demand filmmakers.

From the start, Vol. 3 takes a more melancholy approach to the previous installements. It opens with Radiohead's Creep playing as Rocket (Bradley Cooper) tours their headquarters on Knowhere. He and the team are trying to function and continue with their lives, but it's clear the loss of Gamora (Zoe Saldana) has taken its toll on their morale. But all the Guardians are forced back into action once again after the artificially created superbeing Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) flies in and singlehandedly pummels all of the Guardians. They are able to force Warlock to retreat, but Rocket is left in a state of near death. Unable to heal him themselves, the Guardians must fly out on a mission to discover more about Rocket's origins so they can stop themselves from losing another friend.

This will lead them to collide against the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), a cruel scientist who has been experimenting on animals in an attempt to create a "utopia". He's another villain with a god complex, but one who is defined by such cruel actions that will make any animal lover demand his execution by the end of the film. His character is also an interesting contradiction. On the one hand he will regularly murder or torture experiments that do not meet his high expectations. But then when an experiment like Rocket does succeed, he becomes so enraged towards them due to their ability to potentially surpass his own intelligence. This unjustified cruelty ends up making him feel somewhere between a vengeful god and a child throwing around his toys in rage.

Alongside this Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) remains depressed over Gamora's (Zoe Saldana) death from Infinity War. Plus almost to twist the knife, their mission puts makes Peter work with the alternate timeline version of Gamora who returned from Endgame. She shares none of his memories of their time together and appears almost like an after image further trapping Peter with his grief to remind him of what he has lost. Since this film is primarily Rocket's story, this is treated as more of a side plot and doesn't really get quite enough time. But the chemistry is still strong and they do still use the opportunity to take their relationship in an interesting direction.

As for the rest of the Guardians, Karen Gillan's Gamora spreads out into a new role filling the void left by Gamora and shows some impressive character growth from when we saw her in the first Guardians of the Galaxy. Dave Bautista and Pom Klementieff continue to regularly steal scenes and deliver on some of the funniest moments of the film. Gunn still has a lot of fun experimenting with Groots different abilities, my personal favourite being "Kaiju mode". Kraglin (Sean Gunn) has a fun little side plot with Cosmo (a telekenetic dog played by Maria Makalova) learning to use his sonic arrow. Will Poulter is also a great new addition as Adam Warlock, though he is underused in a way that makes me hope we see him better utilised in future films. As with any stacked cast some characters do feel like they aren't given anything to do, such as Elizabeth Debecki and Sylvester Stallone. But for the most part Gunn does a great job at giving characters memorable moments even if they do have limited screen time.

The film does lose some of it's emotional momentum towards the final third where most of the story beats are already dealt with or pushed to one side as it focuses on the usual final battle to stop the bad guy. But Gunn still does deliver on enough of his signature style to keep the action entertaining. He also may top Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness with some of the most messed up visuals included in a Marvel movie. And overall it's a strong end to both the Guardians trilogy and a good note for Gunn to finish his involvement in the franchise. It contains some increiblde cast chemistry, great visuals and a tone that's able to alternate between both great comedic beats and emotional gut punches.

Peter Pan & Wendy (2023)

A Dull Reimagining

[5/10 · 29 April 2023]

Currently a lot of Disney's content revolves around producing live action remakes of their animated films, with the studio producing at least one remake every year since Maleficent in 2014. So it was only going to be a matter of time before Peter Pan was going to make it over to the chopping block. Though as much as Disney does like to keep repackaging their well known IP, was anyone asking for another Peter Pan film? Besides the original 1952 version, we have also had Hook in 1991, the 2003 version, the 2015 version, 2020's Wendy, 2022's The Lost Girls and Peter Pan Live. Plus there was Peter Pan's appearance in Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers if we're counting it. So he's hardly a character that audiences are flocking to see again. Which is probably one of the main reasons that Disney decided to release this one directly to streaming instead of pushing for a live action release.

Just like all of these remakes, it's likely you will already know the main story beats. Peter Pan is a boy who refuses to grow up and takes Wendy along with her brothers to fly to Neverland. They then go on an adventure and fight off pirates led by the dastardly Captain Hook. Though around the midway point, the film does take a bit of a shift as it starts exploring Peter and Hook's backstory on how their rivalry began.

This does lead to a bit of an identity crisis for the film, a little similar to the one that Wendy is going through. On the one hand, the film is trying to be a grown up version of the story trying to ground these characters in a more realistic way. On the other hand, it still wants to be a family friendly adventure film for kids. They try to mix these styles together, but it often comes off as tonally incohesive and at times even feels like two entirely different films. One moment we have an emotionally powerful scene where Wendy envisions her entire future and then it will leap right back into the kind of panto style slapstick. Along with this, the film has some serious pacing issues. Some scenes feel cut down and the entire film just feels like it's in a hurry to get itself finished.

As for the cast, they are fairly hit and miss. You have Jude Law going for an enjoyably different and more ruthless version of Hook with a tragic backstory. With very little screen time, Molly Parker also delivers a memorable performance as Mrs Darling and Ever Anderson is also a good Wendy. But unfortunately none of the Lost Boys have any memorable personalities and mostly just blend together over the course of the film. Similarly Yara Shahidi's Tinker Bell lacks her ill-temper that made her memorable in other versions, but doesn't really replace it with anything.

But the main way this version doesn't click is through the bland take on Peter Pan. This isn't necessarily the fault of Alexander Molony, who seems like a talented actor and is able to deliver on the more emotional scenes. But his character feels so sidelined in his own movie. Then when he does get a chance to be adventurous, he only comes off as annoying instead of charming.

This film does at least attempt something different to the original and delivers on a few strong moments to demonstrate that there is some talent working on this film behind the scenes. But it's still a dull, unmemorable experience that doesn't capture the sense of adventure that audiences would expect from a Peter Pan film.

The Amazing Maurice (2022)

A Good Adaptation For All Ages To Enjoy

[7/10 · 24 April 2023]

Despite being one of the best selling and most acclaimed authors, up until now Terry Pratchett has never had any film adaptations. There have been a handful of TV specials (including Hogfather and Colour of Magic) and of course the recent Good Omens adaptation. However the big screen has always eluded the Discworld. This is not due to a lack of trying with both Sam Raimi and Terry Gilliam attempting to adapt his works for the big screen, but no productions have ever moved forwards. In some ways it's not too hard to see why. His Discworld series is so expansive and interconnected that it would be tough to adapt some of his popular stories like Mort for all audiences not familiar with his works. Along with this most stories usually have an impressive scale that would be more difficult to pull off. I mean, where would one even find a turtle suitably large enough to support 4 elephants?

So maybe that is why it makes sense that The Amazing Maurice would be his first to be adapted. It's Pratchett's first story written for children and whilst it takes place in the Discworld, it doesn't connect to the same extent some of his other stories taking place largely in a single town. It's a very loose "retelling" of the Pied Piper tale told by two separate narrators. The first narrator is the Amazing Maurice (Hugh Laure), a talking cat who leads a group of talking rats and a young boy named Keith (Himesh Patel) pretending to be the Pied Piper (the real Pied Piper is obviously a madman living in the middle of nowhere due to having cooked a town full of children). They all travel between towns pretending to infest the town with rats and then luring the "vermin" away. The second narrator is Malicia (Emilia Clarke), the Mayor's daughter who has spent her lifetime obsessing with books and story tropes. When she stumbles across Maurice and his group of talking rats, she sees an opportunity to get her own story moving and forces them to go on an adventure.

In terms of adapting someone like Pratchett who always had fun at prodding and satirising story tropes, Terry Rossio actually seems like he's well qualified for the job. He's got a good history of playing with story conventions in with his previous work on Aladdin, The Road to El Dorado and Shrek. And that talent does shine through with this screenplay. I don't think that it captures everything in Pratchett's writing, there are just too many aspects of Pratchett's style that were unique to the page that don't transfer to a different medium. But it still captures a lot of Pratchett's quick witted style along with a level of fourth wall breaking akin to something like Fleabag with characters regularly having catch up conversations with the audience.

There is also a cast full of charismatic characters being voiced by actors with great comedic timing like Emilia Clarke and David Thewlis. Hugh Laurie is especially good as the titular Maurice switching between a deceitful conman (or concat?) and a reluctant hero delivering some of the best lines of the film. This includes one of my favourite lines when they are discussing the ethics of scamming the towns: "But trickery is what humans are all about! They're so keen on tricking each other they elect governments to do it for them!"

Like a lot of animated films they have tried to emulate the look of a modern Disney film. Given the lower budget that the film was working with, they do a decent job at capturing this style. But because of this approach a lot of the character designs don't really stand out too much. This is with the key exception of the villain the Boss Man. His design stands out as something sinister more akin to characters like No-Face in Spirited Away or the Summerween trickster from Gravity Falls. Plus the animators do include a hdnful of Discworld easter eggs that fans will enjoy.

Overall, there are limitations to what this adaptation is able to accomplish. When you're adapting someone like Pratchett it is a challenge to condense even some of his more straightforward stories into a shorter medium and some elements are lost in the transfer from book to film. But it still captures the charm of his characters, his fun dialogue and still delivers enough strong laughs to make this a worthwhile recommendation.

Babylon (I) (2022)

A Cynical Love Letter to the Golden Age of Hollywood

[7/10 · 30 January 2023]

If there were any doubts about what to expect from Babylon, Chazelle immediately lets audiences know just what kind of film they have sat down for. It opens with three characters having to drive an elephant up a hill in a truck designed to transport horses and resorting to pushing the truck to prevent it from tumbling downhill. But what at first seems like a classic Laurel & Hardy sketch quickly devolves into something more akin to a Farrelly brothers gag with one of the men stuck in the line of fire of a defecating elephant. Following this in the next 30 minutes of the film follows a massive party involving mountains of cocaine, dead hookers and an orgy graphic enough to make the attendees of an Eyes Wide Shut orgy blush. Needless to say, if you feel like you may find this hard to sit through this may not be the film for you.

For those who do stick around, the rest of the film offers a look into the rise and fall of several characters during Hollywoods silent era and its transition into the talkies. The first of these characters is Manny played by Diego Calva. He's a hard working immigrant who wants to be part of something bigger and is willing to do anything asked of him to be a part of the filmmaking process. This includes detaching himself from his foreign roots and 'Americainise' himself as a means to climb Hollywoods social ladder. He quickly grows feelings for Nellie LaRoy, played by Margot Robbie bringing her strong physically comedic charms to the role. Unlike Manny she is not content at playing some small role and instead believes that she was born to be a star and is just waiting for Hollywood to realise.

Alongside this duo we also have Jack Conrad, played by Brad Pitt. He's the aged silent star who is everything that Nelie wants to be. A name that everyone knows and spends his days between film shoots, constant partying and several marriages that often struggle to outlive his film shoots. But just like many other silent stars he inevitably has difficulties adapting to the new challenges of the talkies and being taken seriously by audiences. It's a great comedic but poignent performance that almost feels like we get a glimpse at what would have happened if Brad Pitt had switched roles with Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Time In Hollywood. And there is also Sidney Palmer, a jazz trumpeter played by Jovan Adepo. Out of all the characters he certainly gets the least amount of screen time leaving many of his story beats to feel rushed and many aspects of the difficulties of black performers in that era of filmmaking unexplored. But it does still offer a different perspective on the limited and exploitative of black performers throughout classic Hollywood.

Just like his other ode to a different era of filmmaking with La La Land, it's clear that Damien Chazelle has a strong love-hate relationship with Hollywood. He showcases the true magic of the industry where all the cards align and the crew get to celebrate that final beautiful shot to end the day. But he will also let us know the full extent of pain that everyone had to go through to pull off that shot and that by its constantly evolving nature nobody's role is ever secure.

Another place where the film strives is with its party sequences, which are frantically shot with the same kinetic energy Chazelle always brings to his films. When you combine this with Justin Hurwitz jazz infused score, these sequences are so intoxicating that just like our leads we feel we just want to keep this style of life going forever.

Unfortunately these sequences do eventually end and the film does lose momentum towards the last hour of the film. Especially with the strange detour that the film takes to show us Hollywoods underbelly. In something that feels like a version of Dantes Inferno, Manny is led deeper and deeper into what can only be described as a strange sex dungeon filled with people that would be assembled for a P. T Barnum show. The satire in this segment ends up feeling out of place to the rest of the film and other than a fun performance from Tobey Maguire as a creepy debt collector, a lot of the humour in this segment really falls flat.

On top of this at times the film can feel like a clustered mess of ideas trying to tug our attention in too many ways and sometimes a bad gag just goes on for too long. But when Babylon comes together it can be hilarious, tragic, sentimental, cynical and everything in between. Chazelle spends 3 hours showing us the unbearable pressure that the film industry puts on people behind the scenes, but still somehow showcases a true love of his art that makes it feel like maybe all that blood and sweat may have been worth it.

Fire of Love (2022)

A Tale of Love and Lava

[8/10 · 9 January 2023]

Fire of Love follows the lives and work of Katia and Maurice Kraft, a pair of married scientists who dedicated their lives documenting volcanoes. It gives us a glimpse into their lives from an initial bonding over their shared passion to their journeys over the world teaching, researching and recording erupting volcanoes, work which would eventually lead them dying in an unexpectedly volatile volcanic explosion. It's a mesmerising film that balances its scientific insights with a three way romance between the two scientists and one of the worlds most destructive marvels.

Unlike most documentaries where normally we will see contemporary interviews with other colleagues or experts, the film is instead put together almost entirely through archival material. In large part this is through the footage shot by Katia and Maurice during their time documenting these volcanoes. This helps create a more dream-like structure for the film, like we are sharing a level of intimacy with them and their work by being sealed away from the rest of the film during the films runtime. And ultimately the footage says more than any standard talking head could do. We see their hard work as they go take after take trying to find the best way to frame the scale of the landscape. Their playfulness and wit that almost make them feel like characters from a Wes Anderson film, such as one sequence where Maurice happily states that he would one day like to take a canoe to ride his way down a lava stream. And most importantly the genuine joy and passion that they had for both one another and their work.

On top of this the footage used in the film is in equal parts stunning and terrifying. We see shots ranging from displaying the small details of how volcanoes reshape the land around them with the flow of lava stretching out to the sea forming new plots of land. But then we also see moments where massive clouds of smoke from an erupting volcano engulf an entire landscape along with the after effects of the scorched landscape that can be left in a volcano's path. It's the kind of shot that makes me think that in another lifetime Maurice's flair for the epic could have put him in good standing as a blockbuster action director.

At times the film reminded me of Werner Herzogs 'Grizzly Man', another film following someone who's dangerous passion would one day lead to their passing. Just like that film, we see that they know how great the dangers of their work are and that they were dealing with something so unpredictable by their nature. But we also understand why they are willing to take that risk. We see the importance of their work being used to encourage governments to put in place better response plans for eruptions. Also how their curiocity and awe of these beautifully destructive acts of nature compelled them to dedicate their lives to understanding its mysteries.

Doctor Sleep (2019)

All talk and no scares makes Doctor Sleep a dull film

[5/10 · 4 November 2019]

Stanley Kurbrick's The Shining is my all time favourite horror movie. Through a mixture of Kurbrick's meticulous attention to detail and the films haunting score, it had this feeling of constant dread that loomed over every scene. Across the film it builds up the history and mythology of Overlook hotel in a way that constantly made us raise questions, but without ever offering us any clear answers. Instead it condensed this history into a story of spousal abuse and combined it with some iconic performances from Nicholson and Duvall to achieve the ideal of what all horror films should strive to achieve.

Needless to say this sets a high bar for any film to live up to. But with King himself writing his own sequel novel in 2013 and the current trend for studios to cash in on as many nostalgic properties as they can, it was only a matter of time before Doctor Sleep got made into a film. We now get a loose adaptation of King's novel following a grown up Danny Torrance after the events of the first film (and not the vastly different book) as he attempts to deal with his dark past and the horrors of the supernatural world.

It's a pretty strong setup for a continuation and at first the film seems to do a decent job at exploring this potential. We see a washed up Danny trapped in a bottle and struggling with the ghosts of the Overlook hotel in a precariously similar situation to his own father. This aspect of the film is definitely elevated by McGreggors performance who really channels his own history with alcoholism in a way where you can see how worn down he's become through a constant battle with his inner demons.

But unfortunately we don't get to explore this side of Danny in too much detail, as just when Danny appears to be getting his life back on track a girl who also has the ability to shine named Abra, played by Kyliegh Curran, approaches him. She needs help dealing with a cult known as the true knot. They're an ancient organisation who preys on "gifted" children to absorb their life in an attempt to gain immortality and are led by a woman named Rose, played by Rebecca Ferguson, who takes sinister joy in creating fear and pain for the young children she kidnaps since she says that it makes them taste better.

Though whilst Ferguson's performance is entertaining, the surrounding history doesn't carry the same weight as that of the Overlook hotel. You would expect that the idea of these characters who have lived potentially millenia would carry some interesting backstories, but there's little depth with most members of the group hardly even getting any dialogue.They also end up being taken care off so easily that it left me wondering why they should have ever been considered a threat to begin with. And it's a big problem when the monsters of a horror film are neither scary nor interesting.

Also whilst the idea of Danny mentoring a young girl just like dick Hallorann did for him seems like it could be interesting, they seem to waste this potential since the girl never seems to need his help. Unlike Danny she doesn't seem detached from the world due to her powers and she's already seems more powerful than Danny so we don't see this dynamic explored.

Then of course there's the return of the Overlook hotel which was teased ever since the first teaser. The original Shining didn't try to rely on jump scares alone to create the Overlooks terrifying presence, instead it slowly built up the structure of the hotel through tracking shots and a dreadful sense of complete isolation. Then when it got to the end with all the spirits revealing themselves it's a hectic explosion of chaos delivering on some horrifying imagery. But here the hotel is just treated like a fun house only appearing in the last act of the film and having appearances of all the spirits crammed into the film without ever delivering on any actual scares.

Unfortunately the only element in the film which really comes close The Shining is the films score, which does a decent job of capturing the tone of the original theme. But outside of this the film just ends up feeling too scattered to be effective. There's not enough suspense to make for a good horror and there's not enough depth to provide us with a good character study. And in terms of capturing the spirit of the original film, unfortunately Ready Player One ended up being the more loyal portrayal.

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019)

Jesse Should Have Just Gone To College

[8/10 · 12 October 2019]

Breaking Bad was one of those special shows where everything seemed to come together perfectly. The performances, the monologues, those gorgeous shots of Albuquerque and so much more worked in a way that escalated the series into being one of the greatest shows ever made. So even with the ideal closure that series finale provided, we were all still left wanting more. We got some of that with Better Call Saul, but now El Camino sets out to continue Jesse's story after Breaking Bad and give us some more closure for one of our favourite meth dealers.

It starts off exactly where Breaking Bad left us, with Jesse speeding down an empty road finally free after months of being enslaved and forced to make meth by a group of white supremacists (that's a heck of a strange sentence that only makes sense with a show as insane as Breaking Bad). But with the police on his trail, Jesse needs to find a way to get enough money together to get out of town and start a new life. Plus throughout the film Jesse is suffering with PTSD, being haunted by the ghosts of his past and his own mistakes.

The greatest compliment that I can give the film is that it fits in nicely with the rest of the series and upholds Breaking Bad's legacy. Vince Gilligan brings the same creative energy to this film that he brought to the original series and we get a lot of great moments ranging from nail biting suspense to the kind of dark humour that Breaking Bad always excelled at.

Plus Aaron Paul is on top form as Jesse providing a few moments that are up there with some of his best moments from the show. It's also really interesting seeing him play a younger Jesse during several flashbacks and how easily he can still slip in to the carefree version of him that we knew when the show was only just starting. Then only moments later the film will cut to the current Jesse, with the stark contrast in Paul's performance being a strong reminder of how much the past few years ended up weighing on him.

Outside of Aaron Paul we also get several cameos from some of the shows best characters (none of whom I'll reveal, but the IMDB castlisting could give some surprises away). When we first see some of them it is a bit disjointing given that some of them are 6 years older since we've last seen them, but honestly I got sucked into the scenes so quickly that I quickly forgot about how different they looked. Two of the returning characters are playing substantial roles in the film and end up stealing the scenes that they're in. The other cameos are a lot more limited and some of them were probably just fit in when the actors just had a spare day in their schedule to film their scenes. But they all work well within the context of the film and they all provide some interesting reflections on the morality of the past few years of Jesse's life.

Though the one defining feature that is lacking which the original show excelled at is the character development which was always at its core. Whilst it does provide us with a little more closure for what happened to Jesse, he's still the same person that he was at the end of the show and the film doesn't really tell us anything we didn't already know about him after watching him develop for the past 5 seasons. Also whilst the show does provide a more conclusive ending for Jesse, it doesn't really offer us anything that beats those incredible seconds of relief and pure agony that the show originally left us on.

Ultimately the film is a victory lap for one of the greatest shows of all time. So if you're somebody who's never seen Breaking Bad, you're probably not going to follow much of what's going on here and I seriously recommend either buying the boxset or watching the series on Netflix since you're missing out on some great television ever produced. But if you're a Breaking Bad junkie who's been jonesing for some more awesome moments, this film definitely delivers. And who knows, with so many great characters I'd be open to seeing some more spinoff films in the future. Maybe one day we might even learn whether Huell ever made it out of that room.

Joker (I) (2019)

The Clown Prince of Comedy

[8/10 · 10 October 2019]

When Warner Bros first tried to make their DCEU it got off to a rocky start with some of their films struggling to find their own voice. Mostly since a lot of what they were doing was just trying to copy Marvel, ranging from an attempt at their own Guardians of the Galaxy with Suicide Squad or hiring Avengers scribe Joss Whedon to finish filming of the Justice League. But finally it seems DC has found its footing by focusing less on an extended universe and more on just making good standalone movies with tones playing to the strengths of their characters. We saw it earlier this year with the wholesomely hilarious Shazam and we're definitely seeing it here with a film that completely upends all of our expectations for the comic book genre through Joker, a character drama which completely reinvents of DC's most iconic villains.

Taking place in a 70s version of Gotham (albeit a version of Gotham which looks strikingly similar to a 70s New York) the film follows Arthur Flecks descent into becoming the Joker. When we first meet him he's already in a bad position. He's stuck in a dead end job as a part time clown, caring for his frail mother in a rundown apartment, he's taking seven different drugs to deal with his depression and keeps bursting into uncontrollable fits of laughter to the point where he's in physical pain. Basically he's just one bad day from complete lunacy and it seems that life is constantly beating him down to give him that one last push over the edge.

Even the few lifelines that Arthur does have to his sanity seem to be brutally slashed over the course of the film, with many actions completely outside of Arthur's control such as cuts to social care further isolating him from society. Bus riders treat him with disdain, kids beat him down in the street and we even get an interesting portrayal of Thomas Wayne, who we're so used to seeing from Bruce's idolised perspective that it's a strange turnaround to see him as the snobby rich guy completely detached from the real problems faced by society. Though the way that almost every character in the city is completely unsympathetic is arguably done to a fault, as many characters in the film do end up being one dimensional characters with the sole goal of furthering Arthur's descent.

Though in showing us Arthurs transformation in to the Joker, Joaquin Phoenix delivers one of the greatest performances of the year so far. The Joker has so many great portrayals, ranging from the pure chaos of Heath Ledger to the comically homicidal showmanship of Mark Hamil, but Phoenix has still found his own way to leave a mark on the character by layering him with a sense of tragedy as we see the pain that goes towards creating a maniac. It's one of those incredible performances where the transformation is so fluid, but so monumental that we go from sympathising with a man beaten down by a cruel system to terrified at a madman capable of tearing a city down.

There are so many small touches that really stood out to me like Joaquin's slow transformation from self hatred in to turning his anger on to those around him and that laugh which constantly sounds as if he's about to burst in to tears. Though the part of his performance that struck me the most was the extreme weight loss Joaquin underwent to portray the Joker. Beyond giving us an interesting insight in to his self-harming nature at the start of the film, there's a level of visual discomfort whenever he's on screen in a similar way to Chritian Bale in The Machinist.

Beyond seeing his unnaturally frail boney structure, Joaquin said that the extreme weight loss gave him a sense of fluidity throughout the film which really showed throughout the film as Phoenix always appeared to move with such an unnatural liveliness. Some of the films most striking moments are some dancing sequences scattered throughout the film where the Jokers homicidal nature starts to peak out with as his rhythm begins to match up with the films haunting score.

It's somewhat ironic that the film received so many criticisms for its sympathetic portrayal of a psychopath given that the same criticisms were previously thrown at the films like Fight Club and Taxi Driver that influenced it. It does seem that this film was placed on a higher pedestal due to its use of the Joker for mainstream appeal, especially when you consider how other recent films from Phoenix such as You Were Never Really Here which arguably portrays violence to killers in a far more disturbing light without receiving the same kinds of criticism. Regardless, it's important to realise that at no point does this film ever glorify violence. And the film does get us to empathise with the pain that Arthur goes through during the film, however it never condones his actions.

A lot of credit needs to go to Warner Bros for being willing to provide such free roam to create such a chilling vision of one of their most valuable characters. And even more credit needs to go to Todd Phillips himself, who spent a year campaigning to get his r-rated character study off the ground at a time when action spectacles dominate the screens. Whilst he does cover similar ground to the Scorsese films that inspired him, this isn't just a carbon copy and he really brought a unique vision to the Joker. I just hope that following this films success, Warner Bros continues to experiment with the rest of DC's pantheon .

It Chapter Two (2019)

You'll Float Two

[6/10 · 8 September 2019]

Stephen King films can be difficult to get right. There are some aspects of his writing which are quite hard to put to film, especially when it's a 1,200 page novel that contains a lot of lore that's impossible to condense it to even two movies. But he also has some of the greatest horror movie scenarios ranging from the goofiness of killer cars, the terror of being trapped with your most psychotic fan and of course a killer clown from space taking the form of everyone's worst nightmares.

Whilst chapter 1 of It wasn't able to include some of the more bizarre elements of the novel such as the ancient space turtle who created the universe, it instead focused on the battle for survival between a bunch of outcast kids known as the losers and an alien who wants nothing other than terrifying and eating them. Now chapter 2 takes place 27 years after the events of the first movie and the losers have all grown up and almost all have forgotten the horrors of their childhood. But when Pennywise reawakens, they are all called upon to make good of their promise to defeat the evil creature if It ever came back.

Though the film seems less interested in focusing on any plot and instead plays out more like a horror anthology film. Similar to the last film, the losers are separated through most of the films run time with Pennywise cornering them all by turning in to their own personal nightmares. This ranges from anything between being trapped in a hall of mirrors to encountering an old granny, at times delivering on a level of brutality that most films usually shy away from.

But in spite of the films increased budget, the scares aren't as effective this time around. There's nothing as visceral as the bloody bathroom or as frantic as Pennywise's monstrous form reaching out from a projector. Parly this is because of the absence of cinematographer Chung-hon Chung's who played a massive role in developing the nightmarish visuals of the first film. Also at 2 hours 45 minutes, there is a fair amount of repetition of the standard Pennywise formula. There's only so many times it's entertaining to see the same formula of one of the losers ending up alone, Pennywise jump scare and the loser running away unharmed before things start to get boring.

As for the characters themselves, all the new cast are all individually very entertaining. James McAvoy delivers with both emotional intensity. Jessica Chastain carries all of her characters trauma from the first film. And Bill Hader is an absolute treasure who's able to make anything hilarious. However as a group they don't share the same chemistry as their childhood counterparts, mostly because similar to the original TV miniseries the dynamic of young childhood friends is just more fun to watch.

And at the core of the movie once again is Bill Skarsgård's unhinged Pennywise. He's one of the few recent great movie monsters with an unsettling presence whenever he's onscreen, always moving in an unnatural twitchy way.

It's just a shame that Skarsgård is often only limited to being part of brief jumpscares and isn't given enough time, with the film favouring some more generic CGI monsters instead of just giving Skarsgård more time to deliver on some psychological terror. Overall watching It kind of feels like walking through a haunted house at a carnival. You'll get a few good jump scares and you'll have some good laughs, but not offering anything which is likely to resonate in any meaningful way.

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)

Tarantino's Love Letter to 60's Hollywood

[9/10 · 24 August 2019]

Tarantino is the best kind of filmmaker. He's the kind who has such an appreciation for everything that's come before him, but is always looking for something new. He infuses all of his characters with his own style of catchy dialogue, whilst still ensuring that they all have their own memorable personalities whilst assembling casts who know how to bring these characters to life. At a time when it feels far too many mainstream films have become predictable, you never really know exactly where a Tarantino film is going to take you. One moment you'll be watching a boxer on the run from a crime boss, before all of a sudden those same characters are tied up next to gimp as Comanche starts to play.

It's this same unpredictability that underscores the entirety of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It's similar to Pulp Fiction in the sense that it doesn't really follow any traditional narrative and instead lets the characters drive the story as they go through their daily lives. First there's Leonardo DiCaprio's Rick Dalton. He's a TV actor who's always on the verge of his big break, but the biggest roles are always just out of reach as they always go to other contemporaries like Steve McQueen. He's still doing well in the industry with a recognisable name, a house in Hollywood and receiving offers to star in spaghetti westerns. But in spite of all his success, he feels as though his life stuck in westerns doesn't let him live up to his full potential as an actor, as just like a lot of people at the time he views the spaghetti westerns as a cheap form of entertainment. Similar to how the current age of Hollywood is coming to an end, he fears that he's no longer in his prime.

He's supported by his best pal and close friend Cliff Booth, played by Brad Pitt. Without any stunts to do, he finds himself stuck doing chores for Rick, driving him around wherever he needs to go and picking him up when he gets down. In contrast to Rick who reaps the success of his life in Hollywood, Cliff is both the metaphorical and literal punching bag of the industry, but he's so easy going and care free that he doesn't give a damn. He's just happy to help out his buddy and is described as being "more than a friend and less than a wife."

Finally there's Margot Robbie playing Sharon Tate. Whilst Rick and Cliff are both starting to fall out of the industry, Tate is very much on the rise as the talk of the town as her career is still on the rise and embraces it with a very unselfish sense of joy. One of her best moments is just seeing the genuine pleasure she gets from being in the audience and seeing how much the audience is enjoying her performance.

In the background of all this, Manson and his followers keep popping up throughout the film. On the one hand, their presence creates a creepy atmosphere whenever they're on screen with the film becoming much quieter, especially when Cliff visits the Manson ranch and we see them thriving in the broken set of old western shows watching his every move in complete paranoia. But similar to Stuntman Mike in Death Proof, he shows the pathetic bumbling side of these killers with the script showing nothing but disdain for both their viewpoint and their actions.

Though even with the underlined bleakness present within the setting of a dying age of Hollywood history, just like the fairy tale nature of the title suggests we do get drenched in the culture of late 60's Hollywood. Stars like Steve McQueen and Bruce Lee will randomly pop up. Whenever the characters are driving the background is always filled with billboards and fashion plucked from the era. There's even a series of both real and fake radio ads throughout the film, some of which are even included in the films soundtrack to create a real radio experience.

But more than anything else, Taranino's love of cinema really shines through, with characters going into great detail on how an actor like Rick would operate in this time through guest spots on network shows and the filming techniques employed by spaghetti western filmmakers. It's a true snapshot of life in 60's Hollywood and Tarantino's love letter to the final moments of Hollywood's golden age. It's also filled with so much great comedy, memorable character moments and ends on such a high note that the films 2 hour 41 minute runtime just leaves you wanting more.

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)

I look forward to 2 Hobbs 2 Shawious

[6/10 · 4 August 2019]

Hobbs & Shaw had some of the most notoriously troublesome pre-production drama in recent years. The film began largely due to an on-set dispute which arose between Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson during filming The Fate of the Furious, with Diesel and Johnson refusing to film scenes together, Diesel using his position as producer to cancel some of Johnson's scenes and Johnson creating a long post on Instagram detailing his frictions with his co-stars on set. With this tension making production difficult and Johnson's chemistry with Statham being a notable highlight during filming, studio execs just decided to go ahead and separate them by giving Johnson his own spin off. It's like when two children are bickering over the same toy so their parents just decide to buy a new toy and let them play separately.

Though with each new F&F film, it's strange to think back to 18 years ago when this franchise was just a loose retelling of Point Break following an investigation into some street racers. Now these movies have gotten so big that they're dealing with a virus which threatens the lives of millions and a genetically enhanced supervillain leading an army of terrorists trying to release the virus on to the world. With Shaw's sister in possession of the virus and on the run from the terrorists, Hobbs and Shaw team up to save the world with their seemingly superhuman abilities and constant banter.

It's a ridiculous plot, filled with ridiculous action and ridiculous dialogue. But fortunately the cast knows how ridiculous everything is and are able to thrive in it. Johnson and Statham's chemistry is definitely the main glue which holds the film together and most of the films best moments is just the pair trading insults. They're both able to let their personalities shine through their performances and deliver on the over the top action sequences which play to their strengths, with Statham precisely striking enemies down whilst Johnson smashes through bad guys like a raging Hulk. They're also both willing to share the screen without hogging the spotlight leading to a fun team dynamic.

Vanessa Kirby is also a great addition, with the film never reverting to her being a damsel in distress and letting her hold her own with the rest of the team. Plus Idris Elba seems to be having the time of his life playing a villain so over the top that he literally introduces himself at the start of the film as being the bad guy.

Beyond the characters, this film has everything that fans have enjoyed about the recent Fast & Furious films. Funny action one-liners like Elba calling himself "black superman" or Johnson saying he's about to open "an ice cold can of whoop ass". Action sequences which sees characters perform superhuman feats like Johnson go full Captain America and holding back a helicopter with his bare hands. And the mixture of sprawling settings across the globe and high tech gadgets that give the impression F&F is trying to become an adrenaline filled version of Jame Bond.

But the film still has the same drawbacks of the other F&F films too. Whilst Johnson and Statham are great at sharing the screen, they also have contracts that have been drafted so that they can never be the definitive loser of a fight. This causes a lot of the action to be too one sided with sequences lose any potential tension. I wouldn't be too surprised to learn that the main reason they made Elba a superhuman was just so they would have someone they could both fight against without harming their onscreen reputations.

Also as entertaining as these fight sequences can get, they do often go on too long which makes the film feel bloated. Plus whilst there are a few cool long take sequences from Statham who has been performing great action choreography since his days in the Transporter series, a lot of sequences here suffer from the same problem of a lot of modern action movies with the action being obscured by too many fast cuts and too few wide shots.

Though when it comes down to it, Hobbs and Shaw is in many ways the ideal spin off. It has everything which people enjoy about the F&F franchise, whilst still being independent by setting up it's own story separate to the main franchise. And with several surprise cameos clearly setting up a new crew for future films, it's likely we actually will get 2 Hobbs 2 Shawious sometime soon.

The Lion King (2019)

This new remake of Kimba the White Lion has some issues...

[4/10 · 20 July 2019]

With the success of Faverau's Jungle Book and the leaps forward in CGI technology, it was only going to be so long before a Disney exec thought of doing a remake of their most successful film during the Disney Renaissance. But they were so preoccupied with whether they could recreate the Lion King almost shot for shot that they never stopped to think whether they should. The end result will undoubtedly be a massive money maker for Disney by capitalizing on the success of one of their greatest films, but it's also quite possibly the most creatively bankrupt film to come out this year.

We all know the plot of the first film and this remake follows the original almost verbatim. So much of the dialogue is just taken word for word out of the original and many shots are so identical that I'm convinced that they just used stills from the original as storyboards. Other than one extra scene showing how Nala set off on her journey where she finds Simba and some extended sequences following some random animals unrelated to the plot, including an adept metaphor for the film where we're forced to watch a beetle pushing around a large piece of dung, there's very little here which departs from the original story.

So if this does follow the original so closely then how did it turn out so bad? To start off with, as impressive as some of these photo realistic animations are this style wasn't well suited for the Lion King. Instead of having the expressionistic and lively characters from the original, we get these lions who are unable to emote and deliver on the films emotional moments. It's very difficult to connect with these characters since they just can't convey as much visually as the original was capable of and characters like Mufasa just don't resonate in the same way.

The original animated films more minimalistic style also works to its advantage so that shots flow together smoother and allows for quicker edits because we are capable of reading all the information in a shot in a shorter amount of time. The heightened realism of this remake just isn't capable of doing this as it needs to hold on its shots just so we can absorb all the information on screen. Plus on a more simplistic level, the original animation just looks better. The epic scale of some of the shots in that film feel permanently engraved in my mind, but whilst the remake has me appreciate the effort and time that animators must have put in to these shots it just doesn't deliver on the same sense of awe it attempts to recreate from the original.

Then there's the new cast and in spite of having a lot of great names attached to the film, it ends up feeling as if the characters are going through the motions of the story with little emotional weight. Very few of the performances are able to bounce off one another effectively and feel completely disconnected from their surroundings. This is with the exception of some of the comedic support like Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner and John Oliver who were all entertaining. Though this is partly because these seemed to be the only characters where the actors brought their personalities to the role and felt like they delivered on some funny lines.

But my biggest gripe of this film is it's complete lack of originality. Most of these remakes of Disney animated classics have copied the originals they were based on, but they all added at least something to the story. Even for as much as I disliked the live action Beauty and the Beast, they still made some attempts to improve characters like LeFou and tried to add their own ideas to how the curse works. But here they don't try to add anything substantially different to the characters or story, instead only adding new shots of the surrounding nature to show off the photo-realistic animation and pad out the films run-time.

They even skip over some of the small moments that made the original film so incredible to begin with. One example is how they take out Rafiki's lesson about how the past can hurt and instead just cut to Simba running off to catch up with Nala. This is replaced by a montage of the two Lions running across the wild to a new Beyonce song, which feels completely out of place and was likely just added to the film so they could sell an extra Beyonce song on the films soundtrack.

Ultimately the film just feels like a carbon copy of the original. It's like listening to someone speak the lyrics to a great song, all the words are there but it lacks the same beat which made the song connect with you to begin with. Whilst it's not necessarily the worst film of the year, but it is definitely the most pointless.

Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019)

Spider-man: Into The Marvel-verse

[7/10 · 13 July 2019]

The MCU has now become so interconnected that it seems impossible to talk about it without spoiling the previous films. Heck, even the trailer for Far From Home came with spoiler warnings. So if you're the one person who hasn't got round to watching Endgame yet and you don't want to know any details about the "surprise" villain in Far From Home, spoilers ahead.

Still reeling from the events of Endgame and the massive weight on his shoulders of everyone wanting him to be the next Iron man, Peter is looking forward to the chance to not be Spider-man for a while and hang up his costume to go on vacation with his friends at school. But when elemental monsters appear to be attacking European landmarks, Nick Fury enlists Spider-man to help save the world with the new mysterious hero Mysterio.

But in the most shocking twist since it was revealed in Superman that Clarke Kent wasn't just a mild mannered reporter, it turns out the the famous Spider-man villain Mysterio is actually the antagonist of the film. He's a disgruntled Tony Stark employee who was manipulating Spider-man to obtain a dangerous A.I. designed by Stark which controls orbital weapons. So obviously Spider-man has to find Mysterio and save the day, whilst still trying to have fun on his trip and find a way to confess his feelings to MJ.

As a villain Mysterio is fine. He's not the show stealer like some of the other recent villains like Killmongerer or Thanos have been, but he's not a forgetful dud like Zemo either. Gyllenhall has enough charisma that he can pull off being both a melodramatic perfectionist yelling at his team to get his performance as Mysterio right but still be completely intimidating as a psychopath willing to kill anyone to get what he wants. Plus Mysterio gets a fantastic Arkham Asylum style of nightmare sequence where he forces Spider-man in to one of his illusions. It's full of so much twisted and creative imagery that it rivals Doctor Strange for the trippiest sequence of the MCU.

Though just like Homecoming, most of the films best moments comes from it being less of a superhero movie and more of a high school comedy. There's Ned who's still coming up with increasingly strenuous ways of keeping Spider-man's identity a secret. And Brad the rival to Peter for the affections of MJ who has become far more butch than his classmates since he was one of the survivors of the snap.

But the real stand out of Peter's school group is MJ, with the film cementing Zendaya as being the best on-screen version of Mary Jane. Largely because her nihilistic charm and random irreverent comments make for some of the funniest moments in the film. Plus Zendaya and Tom Holland have a great on-screen chemistry, largely because they genuinely see like awkward teenagers stumbling through their conversations and never sure of what to say to each other.

Though in terms of capturing the character of Peter Parker from the comics, the MCU isn't quite there yet. Tom Holland is definitely the best on-screen version of the web slinger so far capturing both the quick wit of the web slinger and the relatable teenager that Stan Lee had always envisioned him to be. But a core aspect of the character has always been his ability and burden to overcome tragedy. They definitely make an attempt to capture this here with Tony Starks death casting a large shadow over the film, however through the films lighthearted nature it doesn't seem capable of reaching the heights of the franchises most memorable moments like Uncle Ben or Gwen Stacey which were essential building blocks for Spider-man in the comics. Holland has shown that he is capable of bringing dramatic weight to the character where he can, so I hope that the future films will be tonally confident enough to try capturing these moments.

But for anyone who enjoyed Homecoming, Far From Home continues to capture the same humour whilst also upping the scale with some more ambitious sequences. It's a lighthearted epilogue to the epic scale of phase 3 of the MCU and a strong promise of the continued potential for the future of the post-Endgame MCU.

Midsommar (2019)

The Worst Thing to Ever Happen to Swedish Tourism

[8/10 · 6 July 2019]

We're currently entering a new renaissance in horror, one which has largely been brought on by the many great filmmakers bringing their own unique voices to the genre. There's Jordan Peele who infused the genre with his own brand of social commentary in Get Out, Robert Egger's ability to explore the darker sides of human nature in The Witch and Ari Aster using the genre as a pretense to show us a dysfunctional family dynamic in Hereditary. And Aster continues to keep his horror anchored by his characters in his follow up film, Midsommar.

From the start of the film we're instantly thrown into an uncomfortable situation with Dani (Florence Pugh) and Christian (Jack Reynor) clearly living in a broken relationship. Dani fears that she has become too emotional and overbearing to him regularly calling him in tears, whilst he is just trying to find a way to easily end the relationship and is becoming more distant to her. But when she experiences a tragedy he decides that he can't leave yet and at the objections of his friends invites her to come with them on their planned trip to a Sweedish village.

When they arrive they're embraced by the locals who are about to begin a special festival celebrating life and rebirth and enjoy the scenery where there's always light which causes the days to blend in to one another. At first it seems pleasant, but very quickly this constant light switches from being beautiful to unsettling, to the point where we feel as if we're being drowned in light. It also becomes very clear that these pagan rituals are far more sinister and dangerous than they originally thought they would be and every person in the village is part of it. It's an environment similar to the Wicker Man, where there's a feeling that the threat is so encompassing that there's no way that anyone would be able to escape even if they realise they're in danger.

Ari Aster's strong attention to detail is on display throughout the film with each shot constantly conveying information to us. Shots early on are filled with so many hints as to what is to come, including a mosaic at the start of the film which seems to subtly outline the entire plot of the film. He also shows us so much through just the body language of the characters, with Christian constantly looking to the door whenever he's in the room with Dani always looking for a time to escape.

But one of my favourite touches was early on in the film during a strange drug trip a character mentions how he can feel the world around him breathing. Then throughout the rest of the film, there are moments where it feels the world around starts to move unnaturally like a lung inhaling oxygen. At times it was so subtle I wasn't sure whether it was really happening or if my eyes were just playing tricks on me.

Considering the constant sense of horror which looms over the entire film, there's also a surprising amount of humour throughout. A lot of this humour is brought in by Will Poulter, who seems to be one of the actors with an ability to improve every film he's in. Though there's also a lot of moments during the festivities where I was unsure whether it was being unintentionally funny with the film walking across that thin line between awkward humour and abject horror.

Though unlike Hereditary, which was well paced throughout with the story and character dynamics constantly evolving, the last third of this film does seem to stagnate. We already know exactly what's going to happen to these characters, but it's still stretched out by another 30 minutes of slowly going through the motions of these slow rituals. But even in the films slower moments it's still carried by Aster's distinct visual style and a fantastic lead performance from Florence Pugh, whose traumatic screams capture the same sense of complete anguish that Toni Collette did in Hereditary.

Oddly enough the film does technically have very positive undertones being a story about coming to terms with loss, understanding the cycle of life and the importance of having a strong emotional support structure. It's just that these lessons are told to us through creepy rituals and horrific acts of violence. It's a strange and unsettling film which definitely won't be for everyone, but if you're a fan of Hereditary and want another film which leaves you with a sense of dread then you should give this film a chance.

Strange Days (1995)

The Most Undeserving Box Office Bomb of 1995

[8/10 · 29 June 2019]

It's strange to think that there was a time before James Cameron became the multi-billion dollar box office king who made both Titanic and Avatar that it was possible for him to be involved in a box office flop. But back in 1995 he wrote the film Strange Days and gave the directing reigns to his ex-wife and action auteur Kathryn Bigelow and somehow, even with these great talents behind the scenes, the film only made 8 million dollars on a 42 million dollar budget. Which is a shame, as it's probably one of the high points of sci-fi action in the 90s.

Taking place in the "futuristic" world of 1999 on the edge of the new millennium, the city of Los Angeles is on the verge of complete chaos with armed police marching the streets. Cameron took heavy inspiration from the Rodney King riots which helped make the film feel very dystopian, but still feel like a future that wasn't necessarily too far off. And with the racial tensions between police and the African-American community still being very prominent today, the setting of the film remains depressingly relevant.

Though the biggest difference in this world is the implementation of an illegal black market technology known as SQUID. It's the ultimate leap forward in VR technology allowing the users to experience the memories and sensations of others. The technology is sold as the ultimate form of Voyeurism, which Biggelow lets us experience by switching the film to a first person perspective whenever a character experiences these memories. When it was released these sequences seemed to get a lot of criticism as being like an exploitative snuff film, even going as far as to show us brutal rape sequences, but that's kind of the point. The film wants us to see how far morality has decayed in this society by directly confronting these twisted fantasies.

It's our lead Lenny who deals in exploiting these fantasies. He's played by Ralph Fiennes as the ultimate sleazeball, always trying to talk his way out of any situation and dragging others down by trying to push SQUID on to everyone he meets. But he also has a sentimental side, obsessing over SQUID memories of his ex-lover Faith and being seemingly unable to move forward in his life in any real way. It's this sentimental core that keeps us rooting for him even when he making genuinely awful decisions.

But when a close friend becomes involved in something which leads to her being horrifically murdered and he is worried that Faith may be involved, he sets out to find the killer and finds himself in a position where he is unable to turn to the police for help. And with the city more on edge than ever before after the murder of a black political rapper Jeriko One, he starts to find that he's on the verge of the one thing that could push the city in to complete chaos.

He's helped out by his close friend Mace, played by Anjela Bassett, who is one of the most overlooked action heroes of the 90s. She is what Furiosa was to Mad Max Fury Road, being a very genuine moral core of the film and taking centre stage in most of the action sequences. But she isn't just present in the film to support Fiennes, instead she is willing to confront him when she believes he is in the wrong and regularly condemns him for his use of SQUID. This is mixed with the fact that Bassett and Fiennes share some great on-screen chemistry which really sells us the strong history between the two characters. It's just a shame that outside this pairing the rest of the cast either comes off as being tonally bland or miscast for their roles.

But what really makes this stand out to other action movies from this decade was the way in which it tackled some heavy themes like racial relations and police brutality. Unsurprisingly for the director who would later go on to make one of the most disturbing representations of police prejudice in Detroit, Kathryn Bigelow does not hold back when tackling these heavy themes. These themes are such a fixture of the film that it seems like this that they feel present in almost every scene, becoming so routine that the characters have to go on with their days whilst the world is practically erupting around them. She also doesn't try to simplify these issues, showing us how they are systematic that are not just rooted in a few individuals.

Though it's because of Bigelow's directness in tackling these themes that the films original failure at the box office isn't too surprising. It's heavy themes mixed with the fact that there weren't as many shoot outs as other action films from this decade meant that this was always going to be a tough sell to audiences. However it's the way that the film tackles these themes so confidently whilst combining it with a great story and some strong lead performances that I'm surprised that this film hasn't been able to pull off a stronger cult following.

Toy Story 4 (2019)

To infinity...

[9/10 · 22 June 2019]

When Toy Story 4 was first announced many people online seemed very reluctant about the idea of another Toy Story movie. Not because people were bored of the franchise, but because they thought Toy Story 3 provided such an ideal ending that they were concerned any continuation couldn't live up to the ideal legacy the previous three films had created. But once again Pixar outdoes all expectations, making another fine addition to their greatest franchise.

We start more or less where the last film left off, with Woody struggling to adapt to being Bonnie's toy. He's no longer the favourite and he's started to collect dust in a cupboard. But he finds a new meaning for his life when he decides to become a mentor to a new toy named Forky, a toy which Bonnie makes on her first day of school out of a spork. Now you may be wondering to yourself how a spork comes to life and what really makes a toy? I don't know. But whatever brought him to life has also caused him to have an existential crisis where he is forced to be a living toy when all he wants to be is trash.

This crisis leads to Woody and Forky becoming separated from the rest of the gang whilst on a road trip, where they end up bumping into Woody's long lost love, Bo Peep. Whereas Woody lives trying to recapture that special connection he had with Andy, Bo has decided she doesn't want a new kid and lives her life as a lost toy. With Bo and Woody's relationship taking centre stage in the film, Toy Story 4 allows their personalities to lead the direction of the film all culminating in another heart wrenching conclusion to the Toy Story franchise.

As with the other Toy Story films, we also get introduced to some new memorable toys. Beyond the lovably naive (albeit slightly suicidal) Forky, we also have Duke Caboom, a stunt-cyclist toy who suffers from PTSD due to not being able to leap through the air for his previous owner as his toy was originally marketed as. Key and Peele play a pair of carnival fluffies, who's surprisingly sadistic nature ends up being a comedic highlight of the film. And also an old doll named Gabby Gabby, who due to being defective sends her ventriloquist dummies to kidnap Woody to steal his voice box. And yes, her ventriloquist dummies are just as creepy as you're imagining they are.

Another cornerstone of the franchise is that each film always showcases the best animation of the time and Toy Story 4 is no exception. These aren't the most ambitious visual concepts, most of it just takes place in an old antiques store and a moving carnival. But the attention to detail, the colour and the photorealistic lighting ensures that the film is consistently beautiful and that there's never a boring shot in the film. One moment which really stuck with me was an establishing shot of Woody and Bo Peep in the rain, which was so awe inspiring that it's a moment I found myself completely lost in.

Though as entertaining as all of the new characters are, it would have been nice to see some more from the original gang like Hamm, Rex and Jessie. None of them become too involved in the main plot and some are never really given a moment to shine in the film. And with a brief runtime of 100 minutes it's not like they had to be cut out to condense screen time.

Although when my biggest gripe with a film is that I would have liked more of it, the filmmakers have definitely been able to recapture that special Pixar magic. And I have no doubt that kids will remember characters like Forky as fondly as I held Buzz and Woody after growing up with the original Toy Story.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)

A Disappointing End to the X-Men Franchise

[4/10 · 8 June 2019]

Do you know the definition of insanity? It's doing the same thing over and over again expecting something to change. Only 13 years after their first attempt to do a film of the Phoenix saga, Fox hired Simon Kinberg, the same writer who previously adapted the story for X-men Last Stand, to do another take on the story and also that he should helm the film in his directorial debut. Unsurprisingly, we've gotten another failed attempt at doing the story justice and an unsatisfying conclusion to a franchise which has been evolving for 19 years.

The X-men franchise has never been the best at maintaining a clear continuity, but this time it feels like we've missed entire films that would be required to fill the gaps in between this and Apocalypse. There's almost a 30 year gap between this film and First Class, but our leads haven't even aged a decade. Jean and Cyclops went from getting to know each other in the previous film to being in love at the start of the film. Magneto has apparently been forgiven for nearly killing everyone (several times), has given up on his grudge against humanity and set up the island of Genosha as a safe haven for mutants. And at some point Xavier has pretty much ended the prejudice towards mutants and his X-men, being in direct communication with the President and being sent out to complete missions as a sign of the newfound peace between humanity and mutants.

Whilst they're out on one of these missions, Jean comes into contact with a mysterious alien force giving her the powers of the Phoenix. You may be wondering how this connects with the previous film where she's shown briefly wielding these powers, but just like the Mister Sinister tease at the end of Apocalypse this is never explained.

After taking on these powers, Jean begins to become corrupted by her power and losing control putting all those around her in great danger. This is certainly an improvement over Last Stand, with the inclusion of the alien presence being a somewhat more loyal take on the source material and a strong performance from Turner showing us Jeans inner conflict battling her increasing insanity caused by the powers of the Phoenix.

But even with this focus on Jean, we never get the emotional resonance the story requires, in large part due to the lack of build up to such a major story line in the previous films. The original Phoenix story from the comics was so effective was because the characters were developed across years of storytelling. But we've only known this version of Jean from one other movie where she was only ever a supporting character. Just like Last Stand before it, the film is rushing to these massive story moments without ever laying down the groundwork for us to feel connected to Jean to begin with.

Everyone else in the film just feels like they're all on autopilot, just going through the motions of the story and not offering anything interesting or that we haven't seen before from previous films. Though this is not tho the fault of the actors, who mostly do the best with the material given. Instead it's more due to the screenplay, which is more focused on moving the story forwards and never spends enough time allowing the characters to react to everything happening on screen. We never even get another creative bullet-time set piece from Quicksilver, in spite of these being high points of the previous two films. Instead he gets sidelined along with Storm and Nightcrawler who are never really given anything to do.

Though the films greatest mistake is simply how boring it is. Last Stand was a cluttered mess, but at least it had memorable moments such as Magneto moving the Golden Gate Bridge, Wolverines final confrontation with Jean and the film still felt conclusive. In contrast this film has no re-watch value and never feels climactic. Instead it just feels like a tacked on attempt Fox made to add a last film to the franchise before being absorbed by Disney to join the MCU. At least we still have Logan to provide us with some real closure for this franchise.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)

Just Take Ken Watanabe's Advice and Let Them Fight!

[5/10 · 2 June 2019]

Following on from Gareth Edwards Godzilla, King of the Monsters sees the emergence of a range of Titans across the globe due to the actions of a new eco-terrorist organisation. This leads to a battle royale scenario where in order to survive, mankind must work with Godzilla to defeat this threat and bring back a natural order to the world.

This time around, they seemed to take on board some of the criticism from the previous movie about not using more of the classic monsters Godzilla used to fight in the Toho franchise, so this time they unleash far more titans on to the world. On one side we have Godzilla's partner the great benevolent Mothra showing off her gorgeous wing span and giving us a lot of moments to just be in awe of her beauty. Then on the other we have the destructive King Ghidorah, with his monstrous scale towering over cities raining down destruction from the skies. And when these monster clash it does have some of those epic destructive moments that fans have been asking for and that raise the bar for when Godzilla v Kong comes out in 2020.

But unfortunately it retains the rest of the problems from the previous two films in Legendary's Monsterverse, with these remaining problems being magnified this time around. The new cast is led by married couple Mark and Emma Russell, played by Kyle Chandler and Vera Farmiga, along with their daughter Madison played by Millie Bobby Brown. Normally in a film like this you'd see parents at least try to take their child away from danger, but here Madison's mother has no qualms with letting her child run around with her on battlefield. At the beginning of the film she even brings her to a secret facility containing one of the Kaiju for seemingly no reason.

The rest of the overcrowded supporting cast is rounded up by Zhang Ziyi playing a researcher of ancient myths relating to the creatures, some more supporting scientists for comedic relief and a bunch of forgettable soldiers. There's also the leader of the villainous eco-terrorists Charles Dance, who's so badly defined we don't really get a justification for how he got to his position other than he used to be a soldier and therefore hates humanity now.

In previous films we had enough human characters like Bryan Cranston, John C Reilly and Samuel L Jackson so the human portions of the movie had at least something to support them. But the only good human character in this film is Ken Watanabe, who has a few good lines scattered throughout the film, but is not given enough prominence in the film to make the human drama work. And when a majority of the film is focused on these human characters, this is a big problem. Especially when there are monsters having an epic battle in the background and instead we're forced to spend our time with these bland personalities we don't actually care about.

There's also a lot of logical oversights throughout the film, with the film ignoring anything it needs to in order for our characters to get where they need to get to in the story. Every character seems to inherit the fast travel ability from the last two seasons of Game of Thrones, with characters having the ability to travel across the globe in a matter of minutes to show up wherever they need to, even if the monsters should have been travelling faster than they do. Characters will also change their motivation to suit the needs of the film, going from wanting every Kaiju dead to deciding to work with Godzilla over the course of a scene.

But if you're a fan of the old Toho monster movies and want to see what kind of chaos these titans can cause on a 200 million dollar budget, this film definitely has a lot of great moments showing us that. But at the same time this film doesn't offer anything on par with the moment we first see Godzilla use his atomic breath in the previous movie and takes us on a bland ride with these human characters to get to these moments.

Aladdin (2019)

A Whole New(ish) World

[6/10 · 28 May 2019]

A remake done right can be a great thing. Sometimes it can take an already great film like Infernal Affairs and expand on the concepts to make a classic like The Departed. Other times it will only take the base elements in a complete reimagining like John Carpenters The Thing. But any good remake relies on originality, otherwise you just end up with the Psycho remake, where nobody's really sure what point of making it is. But recently Disney has been attempting to copy some of their classics, using our nostalgia for the originals to make millions at the box office.

This brings us to their most recent remake, Aladdin. Odds are you'll be familiar with the story: a thief falls in love with a princess, finds a genie and wishes to become a prince to win the princesses love. Just like the other recent Disney remakes, there's not much new here by way of stories or songs and the focus is more on reliving the highlights we loved from the original classic, whilst adding just enough to the film to keep it technically original.

For the most part, the film is well made on a technical level. There's some great sweeping shots of Agrabah, including a great introductory shot which swoops over the city to provide an introduction to all the main characters in a single take. It's the kind of creative filmmaking that Ritchie has always excelled at, even if he can't always quite find the substance to support his style. And unlike the recent Beauty and the Beast remake the music sequences felt surprisingly lifeless, Aladdin has much more creative movement on screen. Through a mixture of creative camerawork and big dancing set pieces, we're provided with enough visual eye candy to live up to some of Aladdin's most memorable songs.

As for the songs themselves, these are done with varying degrees of success. Will Smith's version of Friend Like Me is able to leave it's own mark with an energised sequence and is quite possibly the highlight of the film. Plus the Arabian Nights intro is redone with some incredible backing music in a way that even surpasses the original film. But other tracks like Prince Ali just lack that same energy and the new tracks feel out of place or completely forgettable.

The rest of the new additions to the film work pretty well, with some extra scenes between Aladdin and Jasmine which helps to give them a more natural on screen chemistry and they give Naomi Scotts Jasmine a far more engaging personality, actually showing her going out of her way to do right for her kingdom and playing a much more active role in the story. Though the best addition ends up being Dalia, Jasmine's handmaiden, who ends up stealing some of the films funniest scenes.

In contrast the rest of the supporting cast like Iago, Carpet and Abu are all entertaining, but never live up to their charming personalities from the original. But the only character who was done poorly was Jafar. The original Jafar is arguably one of the best Disney villains, striking the right balance between being goofy whilst still maintaining a creepy and intimidating presence. In contrast this version of Jafar has neither of these personality traits and is not given anything to replace them either. You know the filmmakers messed up when a rug has a more interesting personality than your main villain.

But the most challenging part of an Aladdin remake was always going to be the Genie. So much of Robin Williams personality was infused into the role that it seemed like it would be impossible for anybody to recreate it. Even Dan Castellaneta, arguably one of the best voice actors working today, couldn't capture the unique spark of lightning Robin brought to the role. But they took the best approach they could have in readapting the character, building the character around Will Smith in the same way that the original film was built around Williams. And in his own rights Will Smith is able to deliver a fantastic performance. He brings the same level of charm he brings to all of his memorable roles and combines it with some solid comedic timing to become the highlight of the film. Smith is not able to live up to Robin, but given that Robin's Genie is an icon of cinema that's probably an impossible feat to pass.

But that's ultimately the main failing point of most of these recent Disney remakes. They rely so much on the ideas created by the originals that they're never able to escape the shadow of the originals. Which is a shame, because with the effort that was clearly put into this film along with the small sparks of originality scattered throughout the film makes me think that if Guy Ritchie and this crew were to have been given more freedom without being restricted by the original Aladdin, we could have had a very memorable film. But instead the film is so restricted by copying the beats of the original that it fails to find its own voice.

Rocketman (I) (2019)

Sex, Drugs and Elton John

[8/10 · 26 May 2019]

When watching Rocketman I couldn't help but compare the film to last years Bohemian Rhapsody, especially since director Dexter Fletcher ended up taking up the reigns to finish the chaotic production of Bohemian Rhapsody following Singers departure. Whereas Bohemian Rhapsody shied away from showing some of the more controversial moments in Mercury's life and seemed unable to live up to the larger than life presence of the band, Rocketman doesn't try to back away from Elton's R rated life and is infused with the kind of energy which an Elton John movie deserves.

The story is the same kind of music bopic you've probably seen before in something like Ray, Walk the Line or Hard Walk: The Dewey Cox Story. Following a difficult childhood, an artist becomes one of the biggest stars in the world. However the stresses of fame mixed with their own personal problems leads them in to a life of addiction and push away all those they care about. This forces them to fight their own demons to overcome their struggles and find happiness in their life. I don't know whether I should criticise Hollywood for not greenlighting more original biopics or music prodigies for living such similar lives.

Though what differentiates this story from a standard music biopic is Elton as a character. Whilst there's always a slight concern when the subject of a biopic plays a role as the producer of his own movie, since they may attempt to force a romanticised version of themselves to the screen, it's clear that Elton doesn't have a problem in showing the painful moments of his life or the darker side of his personality. Instead he embraces his pasts mistakes and own them as part of how he became who he is today.

Another major part of bringing Elton's personality to life on screen is that Edgerton may have been the best choice they could have made for playing him. Beyond nailing his look, he seemed able to switch between the emotional wreck that he was in his personal life in to the hypnotic on stage charisma so naturally. In one of the films best moments we see him broken down and exhausted about to step on stage, before breaking in to a smile and a happy march the moment that spotlight hits him. With this and the comedic skills he shows off in the Kingsman series, he's definitely an actor who I'm curious to see where their career is going to go.

But you couldn't have an Elton John movie without an Elton John Wardrobe and the movie does not disappoint. From the moment he steps on screen dressed as a sparkling devil, with wings so large you'll wonder how made it through doors, to the hundred other costumes we see Edgerton wearing throughout, the film this ends up being a greatest hits compilation of both Elton's music and his outfits.

Unlike some other music biopics, this movie doesn't try to just copy Elton's musical performances. The filmmakers are smart enough to know that no matter how good Edgerton is, there's no way they could just use Elton's songs as it would never live up to just watching a concert film of Elton performing. Instead they claim their own versions of these songs, blending Edgerton's great voice with a style more similar to a stage musical to give them a separate identity to Elton's. Combine this with the impressively executed dance sequences, which similar to La La Land feel like modern day versions of a classic Hollywood musical, these sequences stand apart from Elton's as their own entertaining versions.

The film mixes these great sequences with a constant kinetic energy which flows through every scene, moving song to song and blending scenes together seamlessly. Especially later on in the film, where Elton's drugged out state leads scenes to transition into one another at times like a dream and at other times like a nightmare. Though at times the film carries this momentum to a fault, with scenes moving so quickly that we hardly get a chance to breath before the films already moved on to the next song.

We do also get a slightly rushed ending, with all the loose emotional plot threads in his life being tied together in a single scene and leaving us with a brief Animal House style of cliff notes for how the rest of Elton's life went instead of something more creative like a montage showing us the rest of Elton's life. But even with this, Rocketman is both one of the best music biopics and a thoughtful look on the self-destructive effects of addiction. I just hope that every future music biopic is given the same amount of care and thought as this film has been given.

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)

All this because of one little dog...

[8/10 · 19 May 2019]

Back when the original John Wick's trailer came out most people expected that it would just be your run of the mill revenge movie starring Keanu Reeves, just with a dog. But then it ended up being one of the best action movies of the past decade, showing us great fight sequences in film at a time when Liam Neeson was still learning how to jump over a fence in less than 15 different cuts. Then John Wick: Chapter 2 came out, further raising the bar with even more ambitious fight choreography and expanding on the world of assassins. Now John Wick 3 cements the franchise as one of the most consistently entertaining action trilogies.

Starting less than an hour after the previous film, John Wick is on the run after after being given a 14 million dollar bounty on his head for killing one of the leaders of the assassins organisation, which every assassin wants a piece of. And it turns out there are a lot of assassins in the world, as no matter where Wick goes he's swarmed by opponents at every turn, including armored SWAT teams, the villains from the raid movies and the host of Iron Chef.

In a film that's mostly non-stop action, it never gets dull or repetitive. In large part, this is because the filmmakers have a strong understanding on how to incorporate their surroundings into the film to add variety to these sequences. Largely this is because John Wick is able to improvise with using anything as a weapon, with John using knives, guns, motorbikes, dogs, books, his belt, horses and his own fists to keep each fight unique. Other times it's just a strong understanding of how to shoot the sequence to keep the sequences kinetic and visually interesting.

At the centre of this is Keanu Reeves himself, who put months of training to pull off some of these unbelievable sequences. Though a lot of credit also has to go to everyone behind the scenes for pulling off so many ambitious sequences. Especially for one sequence which takes place in a room made almost entirely from glass which had me genuinely wondering how they were able to perform these sequences without anyone getting seriously injured.

As with the previous two films, these brutally fight sequences are often contrasted with just how insane this world of assassins are. Just like the previous films, there aren't any expository information dumps and instead we just get to see how this world operates and understand the characters history through the way they interact with one another. This time we get to see how the chain of leadership works and how separate factions have developed amongst these assassins.

A big part of building up this world comes from the supporting cast being filled with memorable personalities. The villains aren't just one note psychotic villains, but instead they have a genuine admiration for John Wick and even end up fanboying when they get the chance to fight him. Even smaller roles like Jason Mantzoukas as the Tick Tock Man leave a memorable impression with relatively little screen time.

Though the best addition is definitely Halle Berry. She's essentially playing the female version of John, having also escaped the life of an assassin and who also has a keen fondness for dogs. She apparently did several months of both combat training and dog training, which she's able to show off throughout her scenes in a big way.

Also this film franchise has convinced me that at least a tenth of the population in these films must be a part of this organisation since that's the only way this world could function as it does in the film, which just makes it all the more entertaining. The world itself is so well developed that I'd even be open to seeing some spin-off movies following other assassins like Halle Berry for future films. Though I'm still hoping to see more from Keanu in these films since it does seem like his ideal role and if these films continue the way that they're going, I expect that John Wick Chapter 4 will end up containing the most ambitious sequences yet.

Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019)

Probably the Best Movie Based on a Video Game (By Default)

[6/10 · 11 May 2019]

When they first announced a live action Pokemon movie, there was instantly a concern that the film could end up being a disaster. Largely because it seems like such a difficult thing to translate all of their 2d designs into a 3d environment without having them end up looking incredibly creepy. Just look at the goombas in the Super Mario Bros. or whatever that blue thing was in the trailer for the Sonic the Hedgehog movie and you'll see how bad these kind of adaptations can go. But here, the VFX team and conceptual designers behind this movie nailed every one of these designs, bringing these Pokemon in to a live action world without losing any of the charm of the original designs.

Beyond the visual aesthetic, they do a fantastic job at establishing all of the Pokemon's personalities. There are so many little touches that show a real appreciation for the franchises lore, like Charizard's weakness being his tail or mentioning Cubone wears his mother's skull. Plus there are so many great gags and moments through seeing the Pokemon interact with the world, like Machop organising traffic around a napping snorlax or a team of squirtles working for the fire department. Seeing the way they adapt their world around these Pokemon is sure to satisfy any long time fan of the franchise.

But for people who didn't grow up with the games, there's probably not going to be much here. Unlike something like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, where even without all the animated characters there's still a cool noir inspired mystery, the rest of Detective Pikachu doesn't really hold up. We have a basic setup where after a detective goes missing, the detective's son arrives in the city to find out what happened. Whilst there he bumps into a Pikachu who is a detective and sets out to help him find out what happened to his father. They quickly uncover your typical conspiracy and realise that they need to save the city.

There's a lot of inconsistencies throughout the film that don't really add up and you'll probably be able to guess most of the plot within the first 20 minutes of the film. Although there is one goofy twist with one Pokemon which I won't spoil but did get a few great chuckles out of me.

As much as I'm still hoping for a Danny Devito dub of the film, Reynolds did a pretty great job as Detective Pikachu. He infuses a lot of his own personality in to the role, but still keeps it distinct enough so it doesn't just feel like another Deadpool. But whilst all the Pokemon characters are all colourful and memorable, all the humans are just very bland by comparison. Kathryn Newton was pretty funny early on, playing her role as ridiculously over the top as a live action anime character should be, but it felt like her role simmered out as the film went on. Then the rest of the human felt like they were only there to move the story along and didn't have enough of a personality to leave any real impression.

This film is probably going to split audiences into two categories. If you're a fan of the franchise, there's enough comedy and fan service that you'll probably have a good time. But if Pokemon's never been your thing, this isn't the film that's going to change your mind. I guess it may technically be the best movie based on a video game. But when the competition includes the likes of Uwe Boll movies, Max Payne and Assassins Creed, that's not really much of a compliment.

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Fan Service: The Movie

[8/10 · 28 April 2019]

It sounds like a cliche, but the hype for Avengers Endgame was unprecedented. After 22 movies, a cliffhanger which saw half the universe destroyed and one of the best marketing campaigns of all time, which told us nothing about what to expect from the film (which made it impossible to write a review without spoilers), this really was a cinematic event.

Picking up from the apocalyptic finale of Infinity War, it begins with the remaining Avengers still reeling from the loss of half their friends. Some like Natasha and Steve try are doing all they can to keep things afloat and maintain order in a world in disarray following the snap. Others like Stark try to build a new life from the ashes. But they are unable to escape their own feelings of failure and the film does not avoid showing how much their loss has weighed upon each of them. Especially in early scenes where we see Stark have a complete psychotic breakdown in some of the franchises most powerful scenes. Thus when Scott Lang returns with a plan to go back in time to bring everyone back, they are all willing to do whatever it takes to undo the snap.

Whilst Infinity War was Thanos' movie, he doesn't get as much prominence this time around only appearing briefly in the first 20 minutes of the film and not really re-entering the film until the climax. Instead this time our focus is almost entirely on the remaining Avengers and their attempts to bring the other half of humanity back from annihilation by travelling back in time to past movies to retrieve the infinity stones and undo the snap.

We get some truly satisfying conclusions to the stories of some of Marvel's biggest characters. Stark finally concludes his journey from being a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist to being the one to make the sacrifice play to protect those he cares about. Plus we finally get to see Rogers learn to live for himself in a bittersweet ending that sees him finally grow old with his true love. It's strange to see two of the most beloved heroes leaving the series, but at the same time with the massive roster of heroes this series has built there will be a lot of great potential in future films to fill their shoes.

Although even with its three hour runtime, Endgame contains too many characters to do all of them justice. The main casualty of this being the Hulk. The previous films suggested that we would be seeing more of Banner's Jekyll and Hyde tale, but when we're reintroduced to him here, he's learned to come to terms with the Hulk whilst off-screen and now has the intellect of Banner whilst maintaining the power of the Hulk. Whilst the Banner/Hulk hybrid does have a lot of funny moments, its disappointing that we never see how Banner finally comes to terms with being the Hulk. Instead it seems like this iteration of the Hulk will never reach the full potential of the character.

But having a few characters being underutilised is almost a certainty in a film where the main cast includes 54 names. And the film is still able to have a lot of satisfying cameos from fan favourites like Korg to moments with genuine emotional resonance like Stark being able to see his father again and tell him about the granddaughter he could never meet. Even characters that I didn't think I cared about seeing again like the Ancient One end up getting some scene stealing moments.

With so many names in one film, we were all waiting in anticipation of the reveal following the second snap and the film did not disappoint. Just like that original shot in the battle of New York where we finally see the Avengers all together for the first time, the moment where all the Avengers assembled (we finally got the line!) to take down Thanos together is the kind of thing that will go down as one of those great cinematic moments. And it really shows just how far this cinematic universe has gone that something as ridiculous as an army of wizards, Asgardians, space bandits and tribal warriors wielding spears, can all arrive to battle a purple alien hell bent on destroying the universe somehow makes perfect sense.

Though the actual climax itself felt somewhat mixed overall. There are some great moments like Captain America finally wielding Mljonir and Thanos completely wrecking every member of the Avengers he comes across. But a lot of the confrontations with Thanos' army are fairly underwhelming and there's nothing that lives up to the battle against Thanos on Titan. Plus there is one moment where the film seems to stop to have all its female heroes in one shot. This felt like an attempt to hit back criticisms of their lack of female heroes, when in reality it only highlights that the problem by reminding us of how only one of these characters got their own film. It's not as great as the seeing the time heists that came before it, but this final battle still provides satisfying conclusion.

This is definitely a film that is truly made for the fans who have been following this universe grow over the past decade filled with call backs to some of the franchises best moments. At times Avengers Endgame feels like the entire MCU is doing it's own victory lap and after 22 films it's well earned. Now the only lingering question is what's next? Following Disney's acquisition of Fox perhaps we should expect the X-Men and the Fantastic Four joining the MCU in the near future. But whatever they do, it seems unlikely that Marvels dominance is going to come to an end anytime soon.

The Interview (1998)

Hugo Weaving Engages In Psychological Warfare

[8/10 · 14 April 2019]

Shortly before bursting to stardom with his roles in the Matrix and Lord of the Rings, Hugo Weaving starred in the small Australian film The Interview. The film didn't receive much attention when it was first released and has mostly flown under the radar, but it's a great thriller that could quite possibly contain Weavings best performance.

Weaving stars as Eddie Gleming, an unemployed man on benefits who's put under police questioning under suspicion of stealing a car. We're thrown in to the film with police immediately charging into his apartment and ripping him from his home with barely enough time for him to get dressed. It starts so chaotically that from the beginning we never really know what to think, forcing us to try to piece together whether there is any weight to the accusations as the film goes along.

A majority of the film takes place within the interrogation room. It's a horrible little room that feels as if it gets more claustrophobic as the film goes along. Also similar to the uncomfortable industrial noises throughout Lynch's Eraserhead, there's a horrible motor sound running in the background. Because of this we feel Weaving's increased discomfort over the course of several interview sessions, where it becomes quickly apparent that there are more serious accusations are far more serious than just a car theft.

There is further uncertainty due to the way the investigators carry out their questioning as anyone who has ever watched any police procedural show will quickly realise that they are not complying with the basic rules and practices required for conducting an interview. These include not supplying food when requested, not being clear the crimes they are investigating and the investigators outwardly aggressive style. With breaches so serious that it creates doubt as to whether it would even be possible to convict even if they are able to obtain a confession due to the possibility that he could be viewed as having been coerced in to confessing.

Though the true core of the movie is definitely Weaving. We're constantly watching his performance, looking out for some kind of giveaway of whether this man is guilty or if he's just cracking under the pressure of a relentless interview. His entire demeanour is constantly developing over the course of the interview, at times appearing laid back and engaging while at other times seems to aggressively avoid every question which is thrown at him.

It raises many questions as to whether Weaving is truly innocent and what are appropriate measures in a criminal investigations, but without ever giving us any clear answers. Instead the films leads it to the viewer to decide whether this is an innocent man being put through undue hardship or a criminal doing his best to evade justice. Though whatever conclusion the viewer makes, the film will keep them locked in suspense as the psychological battle between investigators and suspect rages on.