For It Is Man's Number: June 2024

Thursday 20 June 2024

The First Omen (2024)

When I first heard about them making a prequel to The Omen I was as sceptical as most people. While I love the original trio of main films, and the first is the absolute highlight, there have been unsuccessful attempts to move beyond that, with the TV movie that was the fourth film in the series and a competent, but comparatively weak, remake. Sometimes it is best to just let things be.

But then I started to hear some good things about it. Horror fans seemed to be pleased, and even fans of The Omen claimed that this was a surprisingly decent prequel that put all of the pieces in place to lead nicely into the events of that landmark 1976 horror. I strongly disagree with those people.

Nell Tiger Free is Margaret, a young American who ends up in Rome to serve alongside other nuns helping to support young mothers, and expectant mothers. There’s something afoot though, something that starts to affect the mental state of Margaret. Her suspicions about things are confirmed when she is approached by Father Brennan (Ralph Ineson), a man on a quest to get proof of grave misdeeds committed in the name of the church.

The feature debut of director Arkasha Stevenson, who also worked on the screenplay with Tim Smith and Keith Thomas, this is a film that does itself no favours by calling to mind a number of much better features. It obviously cannot avoid the fact that viewers will think of The Omen, but inserting a sequence that references an iconic moment from Possession is a sign of hugely misplaced confidence, at best. Fair play to the lead actress for giving it a go, but few people could deliver anything that compares favourably to that amazing turn from Isabelle Adjani.

While Stevenson doesn’t do that bad a job in the director’s chair, especially with the lighting levels and the overall look and feel of 1970s Rome shown onscreen, she is sorely let down by the screenplay. The best moments are the ones that try to put a twist on classic deaths from the series, but the rest of the film is just a tiresome and overcooked descent into paranoia and potential madness, with a couple of key scenes that should have horror movie fans thinking “wait a minute, why are they sometimes trying to link to the original movie while changing or removing others details that connect to iconic moments?”

Free is decent in the lead role, although she fails to add any real depth or warmth to a character who is there to be nervous and frail for most of the runtime. Ineson is great, albeit undermined by a crucial change to his character that is never addressed, and therefore never integrated well into the messy “pick ‘n’ mix” continuity. Bill Nighy has fun in a main supporting role, Sônia Braga likewise, and there is solid work from Maria Caballero, playing the only other character I was actually interested in.

I kept forgetting to write this full review, having seen the film some time ago, but was reminded to get it done when I mentioned my dislike for this film during my review of Tarot. That film is a tame teen horror that won’t please many genre fans, but actually plays out well enough, for the most part, in the way it is intended. The First Omen doesn’t actually work how it should, with the exception of moments that remind you of the superior source material. It is decent, on a technical level, but it is never truly effective, never feels worthy of the IP it is warping, and sorely lacks any real imagination and creativity. So I stand by my negative opinion of it, although I suspect it will work much better for those who haven’t watched The Omen as many times as I have.

Oh, and Immaculate is a much better wander through similar territory.

4/10

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Wednesday 19 June 2024

Prime Time: Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)

This is it, finally. This is the epic musical biopic that we were all promised over a decade ago in an amusing short (that time with Aaron Paul in a main role). It’s the life of Al Yankovic, warts and all, and those who are fans of the entertainer should have a lot of fun with this.

Starring Daniel Radcliffe in the titular role, this is essentially a one-joke movie, but that one joke is very funny. Basically, what if the parody songs and polka-playing of Weird Al was viewed with the same reverence as some of the greatest music of our time. What if Al was all of The Beatles rolled into one, plus some Queen and Michael Jackson in there, plus a helping of enough rockstar godliness that he would end up in a harmful relationship with Madonna (Evan Rachel Wood)? What if?

Directed by Eric Appel, who also co-wrote the movie with Yankovic (who is used to great effect onscreen as a doubtful music exec), this is everything you want it to be, even if you don’t know that until the tone of the film is set during the early scenes. It highlights some hits from Weird Al, showing a hilariously exaggerated creative process for one or two of them, and truly celebrates an iconic musical entertainer in a way that feels both fitting and in line with the perfect blend of smart and silly that has been a staple of Al’s work throughout his decades in showbusiness.

Radcliffe is fantastic in the lead role, unafraid to go broad and big with his performance. Okay, a lot of work is done by the wig and facial hair, but it’s still brilliant to see him so committed to such a whacky turn. Wood has a lot of fun portraying a fictional version of Madonna, and she is styled with the perfect look for the role, and the other highlights are Rainn Wilson (as Dr. Demento), Toby Huss and Julianne Nicholson (playing the confused parents of our musical genius), and Jack Black being an amazing Wolfman Jack in a party sequence that is stuffed with brilliant, and hilarious, cameos. That’s just the tip of the iceberg though, and everyone is having so much fun that it really feels infectious.

I enjoyed this as I was watching it, and there are some obvious treats scattered throughout the soundtrack, but I wasn’t sure if I loved it once it all ended. Did I fully buy into the conceit, and did that conceit do enough to make up for the fairly straightforward presentation from a director making his feature debut, despite the many short segments and TV episodes under his belt? Well . . . it turns out that I did fully buy into it. Writing about it here has had me smiling again, and I would happily rewatch it right now. I imagine that most Weird Wl fans will feel the same way.

8/10

Tuesday 18 June 2024

Tarot (2024)

I think I need to clarify something at the very start of this review. I didn’t like Tarot. Not only did I dislike it, it is one of those slick and tame horror movies that embodies the worst of modern horror. There’s even a moment that makes use of my favourite trope to laugh at (the train that can quietly sneak up on someone while going along at great speed). But, and this is a big but (because I often like big buts and I cannot lie), there were elements here that I appreciated, and would have loved to see incorporated in a better film.

The plot could be written on the back of a matchbox. Some youngsters find a deck of tarot cards, one reads the fortune for each of the friends, and then they start dying in ways that seem linked to those readings. That is it. There’s then a race against time to figure things out, and figure out a way to prevent any further deaths.

Adapted from a book, “Horrorscope” by Nicholas Adams, this lazy mess was both co-written and co-directed by Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg, both seemingly unable to do more than the bare minimum for the material. The dialogue is often inane, the plotting doesn’t have enough distractions around a few decent set-pieces, and the screen is often darker than my soul, which is a shame when you actually get a chance to enjoy some of the production design.

The cast are almost all eminently forgettable, this is unlikely to be a big break for any of them, with the only two standouts being Jacob Batalon and Avantika, only because I have been familiar with them in other film roles. If Batalon’s character was played by anyone else then he could have easily been far too annoying, and he comes close as it is. Harriet Slater and Adain Bradley get most of the screentime, compared to everyone else in their core group, but viewers will just want them to get out of the way while they try to get a better view of the tarot card characters.

Those characters are a big plus for the film, with the design of them making up for the poor editing choices and inconsistency of their methodology. It wouldn’t have taken much to turn this into something decent, either showcasing the characters in a better way or, alternatively, hiding them away to make the set-pieces more in line with some Final Destination moments. Cohen and Halberg go for the easiest and laziest options though, and the end result is a missed opportunity that never gives you anything to fully appreciate.

And yet . . . I STILL preferred this to The First Omen. Which probably says enough to make people completely ignore my opinions on recent horror movies.

4/10

Monday 17 June 2024

Mubi Monday: The Dreamers (2003)

I don’t know how I could have ever forgotten that Bernardo Bertolucci once directed a movie that starred Michael Pitt, Louis Garrel, and Eva Green, but I did. Rummaging around in the depths of my own memory banks, I vaguely remember it being released before I was more aware of Bertolucci’s films (aside from his most notorious title), and it was certainly before I would have been won over by the cast. So it came and it went without making any lasting impression on me.

Set in a turbulent Paris of the 1960s, this is the tale of a young American (Matthew, played by Pitt) who ends up befriending a pair of intriguing, but also potentially dangerous, twin siblings (Isabelle and Theo, played by Green and Garrel). They are safe, and largely sheltered, when spending time indoors sharing a love of cinema, indulging in games that lead to erotic forfeits, or engaging in philosophical discussions, but the outside world cannot be avoided forever.

While I have enjoyed, and loved, some of his work, I have never been as big a fan of Bertolucci as some people. Last Tango In Paris is a cold and clumsy movie that remains notorious for one horrible scene, and it was a mistake to start with that major touchstone when I started broadening my cinematic horizons. But for anyone else who feels the same way, I highly recommend checking out The Sheltering Sky and, his masterpiece, The Last Emperor. And this. Yes, this is an erotically-charged look at human connection and development that works far better than the film that many others view as the standout from his filmography.

Adapted from his own novel into screenplay for my Gilbert Adair, there’s a constant feeling of worlds pressing against one another here, be they worlds of flesh and bone or worlds of political and philosophical division. While one character is shown to be an outsider, it could be argued that all three of our leads remains outsiders for the majority of the runtime, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing when viewers are reminded of the environments that they are keeping themselves away from.

The direction from Bertolucci is superb, allowing us to move around, and in between, the three leads as they spend their time playing, fighting, and generally intertwining themselves into one big mix of limbs and genitalia.

As for the performances, everyone is impressively fearless when it comes to delivering the material. I couldn’t pick any one over the other, and am happy to say that this remains a highlight in the film careers of all three main players (which is a particular compliment to both Green and Garrel, who have gone on to display their talents in numerous other projects, while Pitt seems to have been intent on scuppering his own progress throughout the past couple of decades). There are also a couple of scenes that allow Anna Chancellor and Robin Renucci to play the parents of our hedonistic twins, and those moments show a nice understanding between different generations, even with the obvious division still there.

With a selection of great songs on the soundtrack, as well as numerous film references and clips interspersed throughout, there is plenty of sugar coated around the bitterness at the heart of it, and I appreciate both Adair and Bertolucci avoiding the many very dark paths this could have taken. It is called The Dreamers, after all, so a sudden nightmare wouldn’t be out of place, but the real horrors are outside the bubble of irresponsibility that our leads reside in. Even if we know that they will have to fully wake up and leave that bubble one day.

8/10

Sunday 16 June 2024

Netflix And Chill: Hit Man (2024)

Directed by Richard Linklater, and co-written between himself and his star, Glen Powell, Hit Man is another film that originated with Skip Hollandsworth (who worked with Linklater on Bernie). It's also another film that allows Powell to shine brightly as his star continues to ascend.

Powell plays a fairly meek and unmemorable university professor named Gary Johnson, albeit one who still looks a fair bit like Glenn Powell. He also works undercover with a local police department, helping them with surveillance equipment that is used when they have an officer posing as a fake hitman to deal with the kind of people who are dangerous/desperate enough to pay for someone to be murdered. Circumstances change during one such sting operation, resulting in Gary taking on the role of the hitman. He shows quite an aptitude for playing that role, and playing a variety of roles, but things become complicated when he encounters Madison (Adria Arjona), a woman suffering at the hands of an abusive husband.

Maybe a bit unsatisfying, and tonally uneven throughout most of the runtime (it cannot decide what kind of humour it prefers, it keeps things too light for any real tension, and there's the big hurdle of Glen Powell being cast as someone who we're supposed to believe isn't exuding charisma from every pore), Hit Man is nonetheless a good time for those who are happy to go along for the ride. Plenty of liberties have been taken with the true story it is based on, but the central idea remains gripping because it is tethered strongly enough to our reality.

While this is absolutely a star vehicle for Powell (who makes the most of a role that allows him to adopt many different personas, from a timid starting point to the cool Roy, his most popular hitman identity, and plenty of other memorable "cameos", including an uncanny facsimile of Patrick Bateman), he's helped enormously by Arjona, who creates complications while also providing some extra heat as the chemistry between herself and Powell fizzes and crackles from their very first encounter. Retta and Sanjay Rao are amusing enough as two dependable police department colleagues, Austin Amelio is much less dependable, but also part of the police department, and there are enjoyable turns from a wide mix of supporting players. I won't try to recall them all now though, especially when viewers are constantly reminded that every main plot point revolves around our two leads.

It's a shame that neither Linklater nor Powell really have the confidence to lean into the comedy or darkness of the premise, especially when they seem so confident in their working relationship, but there's still a lot to enjoy here, and it's obvious that choices were made to keep this firmly in the realm of easygoing comedy drama. It works in that way. I just wish that everyone involved had taken one or two more risks with the material.

It may not be a direct hit, but it's very far from a miss.

7/10

Saturday 15 June 2024

Shudder Saturday: Dr. Caligari (1989)

If you're going to make a film connected in some way to one of the greats of horror cinema, and one of the landmarks of German expressionism, then you'd better be prepared to take some chances. It would be futile to simply try emulating the original classic. Which is why I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that Dr. Caligari was a strange and surreal horror comedy that also mixed in a large helping of erotic experimentation.

Madeleine Reynal plays Dr. Caligari, the granddaughter of the famous Dr. Caligari we saw onscreen many decades ago. She uses her patients to perform numerous experiments, allegedly attempting to cure people with some extreme methods that force them to act out of character in a way that will reshape their unbalanced minds. A few people try to put a stop to these dubious practices, but that outs them in danger of having their own minds changed by the doctor.

Directed by Stephen Sayadian, who also co-wrote the film with Jerry Stahl (the two having previously worked together on both Nightdreams and Café Flesh), I can at least say that this was an interesting viewing experience for me. While it wasn't something I fully enjoyed, I could appreciate the commitment to the core ideas, and it was good to watch a cult film that didn't felt as if it truly earned that label, as opposed to those that feel designed, and forced, that way.

The relatively low budget is turned into a plus on many occasions, with the "cardboard and sticky tape" production design coloured and lit up in a way that makes it feel like a natural environment for these bizarre characters, and Sayadian handles the material with a fantastic ability to maintain a sense of danger and threat in between moments of silliness and surrealism.

It helps that the cast are unafraid to lean in to the absurdity of everything, delivering their dialogue with perfect amounts of arched eyebrows and camp. Reynal is amusingly devious as our titular character, David Parry and Jennifer Balgobin are two individuals leading the campaign to fight back against her dangerous medical practices, and there are a number of amusing moments for Fox Harris, Laura Albert, Gene Zerna, and John Durbin, all caught up in the unfolding medical mayhem.

I never want to rewatch this, and I won't ever say I'm a fan, but I admire the atmosphere throughout. It's a lust-filled trip through a wonderland of super-charged libidos and mad science, where nobody seems to find a comfortable middle ground between being completely out of control and being completely repressed. You can sense the breath on your skin, you can feel the air warming up around you, and it does well to maintain control of a narrative strand that winds from one odd minor set-piece to the next. That's more than I expected when it started.

5/10

Friday 14 June 2024

Godzilla × Kong: The New Empire (2024)

While I may have been thinking about it a lot during the movie, I will not be reviewing Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire in direct comparison to every other Godzilla movie that we've seen in recent years. That wouldn't be fair, especially in the wake of the superb Godzilla: Minus One, and it's fair to say that, whether you like or dislike this movie, it feels like an attempt to stay true to the featured big beasties while taking the movie series into even wilder and more fantastical territory.

Kong is lonely. That's pretty much what the movie starts with. He also has a toothache. So he moves from the Hollow Earth back to the surface of our planet, where he can receive some dentistry from a brave specialist vet, Trapper (Dan Stevens). Meanwhile, Godzilla is on the move, and there are signs that things are changing down in Hollow Earth. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) heads there, accompanied by her adopted daughter, Jia (Kaylee Hottle), a returning Bernie Hayes (podcaster and social media ägitator", played by Brian Tyree Henry), Trapper, and Mikael (Alex Ferns). It doesn't take long to start figuring out what kind of new problem they have on their hands, but can they figure out a solution before Kong is badly affected by it. And will Godzilla be of any help to them?

With so many people returning to roles both behind and in front of the camera, this could have easily been an easy continuation of the storyline that proved to be so much fun in Godzilla Vs. Kong. Adam Wingard is back at the helm, having helped to develop the story for this with Terry Rossio and Simon Barrett, assisted by Jeremy Slater when moving from story to screenplay form. They do try to stick to the rules that were put in place in the last movie, but they also try to keep moving faster in between the set-pieces to avoid giving viewers enough time to pick apart the many plot holes.

The cast all seem to know that they're very much playing second fiddle to the headlining creatures, and that's fine. Both Hall and Henry try their best with some weak dialogue, Hottle remains as cute and vulnerable as she was in the previous film, and everyone watching can breathe a sigh of relief whenever Stevens is onscreen, because he actually knows how to lean into the silliness of everything and have fun with his role.

A blockbuster movie doesn't need to make great use of the human cast, and nor does it need a script that would win any literary awards. Sometimes just being fun and spectacular is enough, and any film with both Godzilla and King Kong in it should deliver on that front. Welllllllll . . . I don't think this does. There a few great visual moments here and there, especially when Godzilla in being shown travelling around the planet, but most of this film is an ugly mess, with an overuse of CGI that varies wildly in quality, a lack of decent reference points to keep track of locations and scale, and a disappointing lack of weight (sometimes literally). There are also scenes of mass destruction that focus on buildings and cityscapes being reduced to rubble without maintaining any interest in the human cost. But that’s all meant to be ignored because there are occasional moments that make good use of neon.

I wanted to have fun with this, but it never once hooked me in. There is a nice extra “cameo” later in the movie that I enjoyed, but the film needed to do more elsewhere. A better script, a better main villain, better visual effects, and generally something that makes it easier to ignore the inherent silliness of it all and just enjoy the monster mash moments.

4/10

Thursday 13 June 2024

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)

Ghostbusters is forty years old now. Forty years old. It is, in my view, an enduring classic, and one of my favourite blockbuster comedies. And yet . . . the fact that it IS now forty years old makes it all the stranger to see how much of it is repeated and/or repurposed in this latest release, officially the fifth movie in a franchise that has maintained a presence in our pop culture thanks to the various movies, videogames, toys, cartoons, etc.

FIRE STATION!

There is probably a right way and a wrong way to write a proper review of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, but I hope doing things in the wrong way will highlight how the film itself was so mishandled.

SLIMER!

Some time has passed since the events of the last movie. Our main characters (played by Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Paul Rudd, and Carrie Coon) are now based in New York, much to the chagrin of the current mayor (played by William Atherton, reprising the character of Walter Peck, of course). But the containment system is perilously close to being overloaded, a big new threat is looming, and the character played by Grace ends up spending a lot of her time with a friendly ghost (Melody, played by Emily Alyn Lind).

LIBRARY GHOST!

Co-written once again by Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman, with the former also being allowed to direct this time around, it’s easy to see why certain choices were made here, and just as easy to see how this film could have been greatly improved. It’s too busy creating moments that will remind you of the first movie that it forgets to make good use of most of the main characters, and the decent finale is a case of too little too late when viewers have slogged through the mess preceding it.

DAN AYKROYD!

There’s some good stuff here, much better than the return of a familiar villain we got in the last movie. The opening sequence is great, everything looks set to be spectacular and thrilling, and then it is all largely abandoned in favour of callbacks and cameos, which is all the more frustrating when you get a treat like the new character, Lars, played by James Acaster with a hairstyle not entirely dissimilar to the one sported by Egon Spengler in The Real Ghostbusters. I also have to say that Lind is fantastic as the forlorn and regret-filled Melody.

STAY-PUFT MARSHMALLOW MAN!

It is hard to give my opinion on a cast who are so often wasted in their roles. Grace remains a very watchable talent, but her sub-plot here ensures that her character is unwisely kept moody and lonely until the third act. Acaster is a fantastic addition, it’s nice to see some more of Ernie Hudson, Patton Oswalt comes along to be Mr. Exposition, and Kumail Nanjiani isn’t given a chance to be as funny as we all know he can be. As for the other familiar faces, they are all pretty unnecessary.

BILL MURRAY!

This is a series that seems intent on restricting itself to tales that are now just frames to hang a load of nostalgia on. It’s not a good approach, and this review emulated the structure of the film. You have everything punctuated by a cameo that is supposed to bring some extra happiness to the viewers, but it doesn’t work when there is no other reason for those cameos to happen. It’s the equivalent of some SNL sketch being hate-crashed by a celebrity who just comments on their own celebrity and their bemusement at being on SNL. That could be amusing, but you would soon tire of it if it was every SNL sketch. And you will soon tire of it here.

BILL MURRAY AGAIN!

Each time I think this movie series cannot get any worse I end up being proven wrong. It has become a depressing cycle of ever-diminishing returns now, and I am always sucked in by the trailer and the optimistic idea that “maybe this time they will get it right”. This is the worst yet, and actually feels embarrassingly desperate at times.

I will still watch another one, but you may as well search for my spark of hope in the ecto-containment unit, because that is well and truly dead after watching this.

3/10

Wednesday 12 June 2024

Prime Time: The Voyeurs (2021)

We seem to be moving more and more towards disappointingly tame and sexless entertainment nowadays. Let's face it, there's no room for a new Shannon Tweed to come on the scene and make her mark, and the heyday of the raunchy erotic thrillers continues to get smaller and smaller in our rear-view mirrors. Some people still try to spice things up though, and congratulations are due to writer-director Michael Mohan for giving us some entertaining sexy shenanigans presented with a pleasing lack of haughtiness.

Sydney Sweeney and Justice Smith are Pippa and Thomas, respectively. They are young and in love, and making their new life together in their new home. There’s a surprising special feature of their new home though, which is a front row seat to the lusty couple who live over the street from them. One is a photographer (Seb, played by Ben Hardy). His partner (Julia, played by Natasha Liu Bordizzo) seems very supportive, but is perhaps unaware of how many people he is having sex with behind her back. Pippa and Thomas become more and more engrossed in the unfolding drama, even figuring out a way to eavesdrop of various conversations, and it soon becomes clear that the situation is quite unhealthy. But will it ruin the relationship between them?

I am not going to spend time trying to convince people that this is great. There are some already determined to avoid it simply because of it being an erotic thriller. Thankfully, it’s a very good erotic thriller, and a decent way to spend just under two hours of your time (which is still a bit too long, but the pacing helps it feel like a shorter movie). It doesn’t rank alongside the greats of the sub-genre, and there’s still a reticence to really wallow in the flesh in a way akin to movies from decades ago, but it does a decent job of delivering decent characters, some fun twists, a handful of scenes featuring some nudity, and just enough details to make the ridiculousness of the third act feel grounded in some kind of reality. Mohan knows what he is doing, and he is helped by the central cast.

Both Hardy and Bordizzo are cool and beautiful people, and they both emanate an aura that you can understand would make them intriguing to spy on. Smith and Sweeney, on the other hand, do a good job of being quite a normal couple who find themselves exploring brand new territory together. Sweeney also ends up baring a bit more than her onscreen partner, which she does while keeping her character appropriately wavering between being nervous and being thrilled. There are one or two other cast members, but the focus remains on the central quartet, and everyone treats the material with an enjoyable earnestness that works in its favour.

I have heard other people praise this, which means I am certainly not in a group all on my own again, and the recent ascension of Sydney Sweeney will no doubt have more people finding out about it, but I am happy that I can, for what it’s worth, add my own endorsement. The fact that I could see where things were going once the final scenes began to play out just added to the fun of the batty conclusion, and I hope others enjoy it as much as I did.

7/10

Tuesday 11 June 2024

Bad Boys: Ride Or Die (2024)

Most people who know me, and know my approach to viewing movies, may already know me as Kevin 7, a nickname given to me because of how often I tend to rate movies 7/10. I don't see anything wrong with that, as I have said on many occasions. I always want to enjoy every movie I watch, and few of them are truly great, so a 7/10 is a decent rating that many movies achieve if they throw in enough ingredients that I enjoy. The Bad Boys movies, now up to four in total, work hard to remain the most consistently Kevin 7 action comedy movie series I can think of, thanks mainly to the cool visuals and, most importantly, the interplay between stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.

While I always try my best to avoid spoilers, this review will feature details of the previous movie in this series. It picks up some time after those events, but there is a consistency and use of important details to move things along (e.g. Captain Howard has not been miraculously resurrected, and Mike Lowery still has an incarcerated son who might one day be able to help with some major investigation).

Things all start with smooth bachelor boy Mike Lowery (Smith) finally tying the knot to a woman named Christine (Melanie Liburd). All is well and good until Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) has a heart attack. Things have to change, and stress should be avoided. Which makes it bad timing when news is leaked about the deceased Captain Howard having been a dirty cop for years. Unwilling to believe that nonsense, Lowery and Burnett end up conducting their own investigation, with a little help from beyond the grave, and they soon find themselves being framed by some powerful villains, ending up on the run with Mike’s son, Armando (Jacob Scipio).

One or two changes aside (like Tasha Smith now taking over the role played by Theresa Randle in the first three movies), this is exactly what you expect from a Bad Boys movie. The plot zips from one enjoyable action set-piece to the next, the warmth and humour between the two leads has stayed the same since the first movie, and it’s all about the mix of humour and extremely loud gunfights. And there’s something about it not changing too much that adds to the appeal. The formula was perfectly set in the mid-1990s and seeing it play out in the same way is strangely refreshing. Maybe it’s the nostalgia factor, but maybe it’s just good to see something that isn’t trying to round off every sharp edge in an attempt to appeal to every single viewer demographic. This is aiming to please one demographic, fans of the Bad Boys movies.

Directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are as arguably more confident behind the camera this time around, livening up numerous scenes with brilliantly inventive camerawork and set-ups. The script, written by Chris Bremner (returning from the last film) and Will Beall, is largely nonsense, especially when it comes to some new characters who have journeys that you can predict from their very first scenes, but it’s highly entertaining nonsense. Could more have been done with the idea that Marcus thinks himself invincible after leaving hospital? Yes. Could some non-twists have been played better? Yes. But the stars shine, and there’s one sequence focusing on a relatively minor character that feels like one of the best overdue, and unexpected, payoffs in any film series that has endured for almost thirty years already.

Smith and Lawrence could play these roles in their sleep, so it’s great to see them stay so lively and fun, both having a noticeable twinkle in their eyes as they continue their cinematic bromance through more pain, flames, and bullets. Scipio gets to do more this time around, and turns into someone who feels worthy of the arc given to him here. Eric Dane is an impressive main villain, helped by a script that makes him ridiculously well-informed and powerful until the grand finale, and there are numerous henchmen who look very capable of handling themselves in a fight until they are overpowered by our heroes. It’s good to have some screentime again for Paula Núñez, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, and Dennis McDonald (AKA Reggie), and there are fun moments for Tiffany Haddish, DJ Khaled and John Salley (both returning), and Enoch King (as a scene-stealing shop clerk). Other people are sadly wasted, including Liburd, Smith, Ioan Gruffudd, and, worst of all, the great Rhea Seehorn.

I have seen many headlines weighing up what the success or failure of this film would mean for the career of Smith. I never thought about that once while the film was playing. I thought about how much fun it was to be back in the saddle alongside Marcus and Mike, and how great it was to watch something so intent on delivering great stunts and pyrotechnics without having to layer in any meta commentary or feel as if it was apologizing for existing. None of these films are absolute classics, but they are all very rewatchable, and a very easygoing Kevin 7.

7/10

Monday 10 June 2024

Mubi Monday: You And The Night (2013)

It's always hard to schedule a theme month here on my daily blog. I sometimes do a month of animated fare, and I often try to do all horror throughout October (AKA Halloween month to us horror fans), a whole heap of noir in November (AKA Noirvember), and plenty of sweet and snow-covered goodness throughout December. So I did contemplate whether or not to focus on plenty of LGBTQ+ cinema throughout June for Pride, but I decided against it. Mainly because I watch and review so many films throughout the year that could come under that rainbow-coloured umbrella that I knew I would still find a decent selection to discuss throughout the month. You could say the same about horror movies, of course, but horror has been my life-long obsession, which makes October my time for complete self-indulgence.

Speaking of self-indulgence, writer-director Yann Gonzalez, with help from Rebecca Zlotowski consulting, has crafted a film here that allows the main characters to be as self-indulgent as they like, yet still allows them to navigate the rapid waters of consent, kink, and momentary connections that light up brightly before jumping to someone else, like a fast and ever-moving synapse.

The main premise is very simple. A trio awaits the arrival of the guests due to join them in a happy orgy. That's it. The guests feel as if they have been deliberately chosen to mark off a checklist of sexual preference archetpyes. You have the stallion (Eric Cantona), the youth (Alain-Fabien Delon), the older nymphomaniac (Fabienne Babe), and the young (Julie Brémond). They will all reveal more about themselves as they join in with the evening planned by Ali (Kate Moran), Matthias (Niels Schneider), and their cross-dressing companion, Udo (Nicolas Maury), three hosts who have a hell of a tale to tell about their own journey to this point.

There are a couple of other films that this feels closely related to, but to mention them would spoil some of the enjoyable plot details that are revealed as the full truth unfolds. Let’s just say that this manages to feel both intimate and grandiose, punctuating the moments of frank sexuality with moments describing an enduring love.

The cast all do very well in their roles, although they are all working within the boundaries of their various archetypal roles. Nobody stands out, this is one undulating mass of flesh and erogenous zones, but they all help the film enormously by delivering, and reacting to, dialogue that could have been laughably bad if it was sorely mishandled.

Gonzalez has improved a bit since this impressive feature debut, becoming more daring and confidently transgressive while also delivering some gorgeous visuals, but you can already see his considerable talent here. He makes use of a great ensemble cast to serve up some fantastical fiction that continually dances around moments of unflinching honesty. It’s equally intriguing and endearing.

7/10

Sunday 9 June 2024

Netflix And Chill: Godzilla Minus One (2023)

Look, I think we can all agree that, whether you love them or not, the American Godzilla movies have greatly improved since the debacle that was served up to us in 1998. There's a sense of overdue atonement, even if purists might still balk at them. There's also a sense, however, that the Japanese can keep coming along every now and again to remind us of how to REALLY do Godzilla movies. They did it back in 2016, and they've done it again now. This is a very strong contender for the greatest Godzilla movie of all time, although the first film is still a tough one to beat.

Ryunosuke Kamiki plays Koichi Shikishima, a "failed" kamikaze pilot who has to deal with his personal shame while those around him deal with the after-effects of being on the losing side of a world war. Shikishima has also survived an encounter with Godzilla, but that seems less likely to be a constant worry in his life as more time passes. Making a home with a young woman, Noriko Oishi (played by Minami Hamabe), who needed help after the war, Shikishima takes a job on a boat that is helping to clear some of the many sea mines floating around off the coast of Japan. And that's when Godzilla reappears. While Shikishima is terrified by this gargantuan monster, he also knows that this could be his shot at redemption. If he can help to destroy the beast before it destroys more of Japan then maybe he can feel as if his life has had purpose. Even if it means a death that he considers overdue.

Written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki, this is absolutely brilliant stuff from start to finish. Unlike so many other kaiju movies, there are a number of human characters that you get to know and like, with a complex and sympathetic lead character who maintains a bigger interest in the whole situation than anyone else. Much has been made of the relatively low budget already, so all I will say is that you cannot guess at that from the quality of the special effects onscreen, whether it's the destroyed and rubble-strewn landscapes or Godzilla itself. Everything looks and feels as realistic as you could hope. It's helped by cinematography from Kôzô Shibasaki and music by Naoki Satô (you know the theme by now, and it's used here, of course), as well as excellent production design, set decoration, and on and on the list goes. I'd love to name every single person who helped to put this together, but I only have so much time and space.

I don't normally set aside much space to praise the acting from the people in Godzilla movies, because they all tend to be present mainly to witness the glorious and fearsome beast, but there are performances here worth praising. Everyone here does fantastic work, with Kamiki and Hamabe a wonderfully sympathetic couple at the heart of everything, making a home for themselves (as well as an orphaned child rescued by Hamabe's character near the start of the movie) while struggling to figure out exactly what they should or shouldn't be doing for the sake of post-war recovery and developing their potential relationship. Sakura Ando is also great, playing a resentful neighbour who dislikes the fact that Shikishima didn't carry out his main objective, but soon starts to help out when she sees them struggling with a baby. Hidetaka Yoshioka, Munetaka Aoki, Kuranosuke Sasaki, and Yuki Yamada all end up helping to battle Big G, but all of them also help our leading man to find his way through a dark part of his life until he can finally see the smallest dot of light at the end of a very long tunnel.

The human moments are still interrupted by Godzilla carnage though, and Yamazaki handles both elements equally well. In fact, more so than any other movie I can think of, this film makes Godzilla genuinely terrifying. The first appearance is intense, despite the fact that Godzilla isn't yet at full size, and every subsequent appearance brings a real sensation of dread, with a major sequence set on the sea just about as perfect a homage to Jaws as you could hope for. Whenever Godzilla decides to attack the tiny figures and fragile environment around it, there's often nothing to do but run, hoping that you're getting away from stomping feat and the range of the atomic breath.

You've already heard all of the praise for this. I am just adding my own tiny portion to the huge pile. The first film deserves to maintain a spot at, or near, the top of any ranked list of kaiju movies. I say that this one just edges ahead of it though. It's perfect, and I was delighted to FINALLY get the chance to see it.

10/10

Saturday 8 June 2024

Shudder Saturday: Stopmotion (2023)

If you're a fan of Robert Morgan then you will probably have a good idea of what to expect from his first feature film, especially with it being titled with his favoured form of animation. It's interesting to see Morgan prove himself as a feature director though, and this is a debut that perfectly blends elements of his brilliant shorts with the added luxury of a runtime that allows him to nurture a growing atmosphere of unease and dread.

Aisling Franciosi plays Ella Blake, a woman who is often shouted at and belittled while working on the stop-motion animation being filmed by her mother, Suzanne (Stella Gonet). Things change when Suzanne is suddenly indisposed, leaving Ella to carry out the work all on her own. Leaving Ella with some creations that she start to invade her subconscious. Does Ella have a problem, or are things around her getting very weird?

Co-written by Morgan and Robin King, who has worn many hats throughout his own career, and is certainly no stranger to dark animation, this is a fairly obvious and standard bit of psychological horror that is elevated by those horribly off-kilter and downright queasy creations that Morgan puts onscreen. While it would make an interesting companion piece to something like Censor, I much preferred this. The big difference being that an artist is at the heart of this particular journey through a landscape blurring reality and unreality, whereas Censor was about a poor . . . censor (yes, I am still side-eyeing all of you who absolutely and unreservedly loved it, and probably will forever, but I know I am almost alone in just liking it).

I loved Franciosi in the lead role here. While I don’t think I have personally seen her in any of her orbiter features, she gives the kind of brilliant and confident performance that assures you that she has been honing her craft for some time. Gonet is impressively mean and callous, which she does well enough to immediately make you stay on the side of our put-upon lead, and both Tom York and Therica Wilson-Read do a very good job as people who think they know what it takes to make such impressive art, but really REALLY don’t. The great James Swanton (if you don’t know his name then I implore you to seek out some of his work) makes an impact with his character, and, last hut not least, young Caoilinn Springall is an extra window into this world, and an extra person who may be in danger, as a curious little girl just credited as Little Girl.

Fans of Morgan have been waiting for him to deliver a feature for some time, which saddles this with some extra weight of expectation. Try to leave that aside once you start watching this though. The film itself is nicely in line with what should be expected from Morgan, even if it feels a bit light and tame when placed alongside his memorable shorts. Morgan knows what he is doing, and he knows the pros and cons of different formats and runtimes. Put a bit of faith in him and you should be duly rewarded. This was great. It wasn’t really like his short films, but then . . . what is?

8/10

Friday 7 June 2024

The Fall Guy (2024)

While I found enough in The Fall Guy to enjoy, and the metatextual layering should be especially delightful for fans of cinema and stunt work, it's easy to see why it didn't exactly set the box office alight. I was depressed by the amount of people reviewing this who felt the need to mention that they were unaware of the original TV show, a favourite in my household when I was a young boy, but failing to have enough "brand recognition" is really the least of this movie's problems.

Ryan Gosling plays Colt Seavers, a talented stunt performer who ends up leaving the business for some time to recuperate after one stunt went horribly wrong, seriously injuring him. He hides away from everyone, including the woman he was growing close to (Judy Moreno, played by Emily Blunt). Hollywood calls him back, however, when producer Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham) tells him that Judy wants his help in her feature directorial debut. He could also help her by locating her AWOL leading man (Tom Ryder, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson).

Directed by David Leitch, and written by Drew Pearce, this is a film that feels as if it has been crafted around three or four major set-pieces. There’s an impressive opening, a decent car stunt that shows our lead character fully back into the stunt life, a few enjoyable fight sequences, and a finale that almost works as a classic stunt checklist. It works well as a star vehicle that also serves to celebrate the stunt performers who are responsible for some of the great cinema spectacles.

Sadly, it doesn’t work well as an action romantic comedy, mainly because it doesn’t allow enough time for Gosling and Blunt to be onscreen together, but also because it is too cutesy in a way that I thought was a bit smug and irritating (prime example = a scene in which the leads are on the phone discussing the pros and cons of split-screen sequences . . . displayed via a split-screen sequence). It is also annoying to have the title be made so literal in at least two different ways, which makes a couple of the plot points more predictable and tiresome than they might otherwise have been.

Gosling is great in the lead role, but he is at his best when his character is quickly reacting to a dangerous situation whirling around him. He really shines in the second half, which is coincidentally when the action and daring nature of the stunts really appear to ramp up, but his presence is a boost for the whole film. Blunt, on the other hand, doesn’t fare so well. I like her as a performer, but she lacks whatever quality is needed to make her the best choice here. Maybe she’s just made to play things too cool. It’s a shame. Taylor-Johnson is fun, and hilarious when delivering his “film within the film” performance in a great Matthew McConaughey style, Waddingham does fine with a character who steers everything in a very obvious direction, and Winston Duke does well as a stunt co-ordinator and good friend to our reluctant hero. There are also small roles for Teresa Palmer and Stephanie Hsu, both completely wasted, and I am not sure why their characters were even kept in the film.

The pacing is helped by the building momentum, there’s a great soundtrack and score that is boosted by repeated riffs from “I Was Made For Lovin’ You”, and fans of stunt-work should love seeing how the staples of that discipline are constantly reworked and refreshed throughout this. It just doesn’t quite make one completely satisfying bit of blockbuster entertainment, despite being enjoyable enough. I would definitely rewatch it though, and a rewatch might get me to like it even more, especially when I consider how the small treats at the very end of the film kept me smiling as the long list of credits rolled.

6/10

Thursday 6 June 2024

Sting (2024)

The main creature at the centre of Sting may actually be a small alien, but it looks like a spider, makes webbing, and generally triggers my arachnophobia, so I will be referring to it as another spider horror flick, coming along relatively hot on the heels of Infested.

Annoyingly starting with a sequence that shows some peril and the apparent fates of one or two characters, we then move back a few days to see how we got to that point. We got there thanks to a young girl named Charlotte (Alyla Browne). Charlotte finds a spider and decides to keep it as a pet. She feeds it, she learns that it can mimic certain sounds it hears, and she watches it get bigger in the jar. Things soon get out of control though, and when Sting, because that is what she has named it, is free and roaming around the building, Charlotte can’t imagine just how big and mean it is going to get.

Writer-director Kiah Roache-Turner has a lot of fun here. I have been a big fan of pretty much everything I have seen from him, and this is another success, albeit a low-key one. It’s not as effective as it could be, often missing major opportunities to make viewers skittish and uncomfortable, and it’s disappointingly tame for most of the runtime, but works brilliantly when it sets everything up to maximize the fun of the concept.

Roache-Turner knows exactly what he wants to do, and he starts the film off by filling up scenes with Chekhov’s Everything. The character details, the quirks of the building, the behaviour of the spider, viewers used to this kind of movie will know that almost everything is a set-up to some kind of pay-off, big or small, further down the line. And once everything is in place, it’s just a waiting game to see how much pain and death can be caused by the central creature.

Browne is a solid lead, likable enough to compensate for the stupidity of keeping a strange, potentially deadly, spider in a jar in her bedroom. Penelope Mitchell and Ryan Corr play her mother and step-father, respectively, with the latter more involved in the central storyline the tension in their relationship, and in the household. There are other people who may or may not end up in grave danger (played by Silvia Colloca, Noni Hazlehurst, Danny Kim, and Robyn Nevin), but the one who gets to make the most impact is Jermaine Fowler, playing a pest control guy about to be in way over his head. Fowler is fun, and it is obvious what film Roache-Turner is trying to emulate with his scenes, but his energy and humour would work better if the rest of the film was a bit darker and sharper.

I can understand people not liking this. It certainly isn’t great, and it’s generally far too predictable. I enjoyed it though. It did what I wanted it to do, even if I would have preferred some more blood and gore, and the pacing and set-pieces all show that it was made by someone with a real knowledge of, and love for, creature features. There’s still an even better modern spider horror to be made, in my opinion, but this is the better of the two recent ones, although most people seem to think otherwise.

7/10

Wednesday 5 June 2024

Prime Time: The Idea Of You (2024)

A rom-com with emphasis on the rom ahead of the com, which is a bit of a surprise coming from director Michael Showalter (who has previously either been balanced towards much more com, or has maintained a very even rom-com equilibrium), The Idea Of You is a fun premise that is lifted by the performances of the two leads, one I am very familiar with already and one relative newcomer who seems to be making hay while he has a couple of years with the sun shining brightly upon him.

Anne Hathaway plays Soléne, a divorced mother who ends up travelling with her daughter, Izzy (Ella Rubin), to a concert featuring THE hot boyband of the moment. Before seeing them onstage, Soléne bumps into Hayes (Nicholas Galitzine), one of the band members. The two get on well, which leads to fun and complications when Hayes decides that he'd like to try and have a relationship with Soléne. Battling against those who are protective of their pop idol, as well as those who think the age gap is ridiculous, our two main characters look to have the odds stacked against them as they try to move towards a happy ending.

Based on a novel by Robinne Lee, adapted into screenplay form by Showalter and Jennifer Westfeldt, this is a film that may well surprise people with the little moments that make it worthwhile. Yes, it's a bit of romantic nonsense at heart, but it's also interesting to watch things play out in a way that highlights the everyday sexism inherent in how things are viewed here, compared to how they could be viewed, both in movies and reality, if the central relationship was a young woman and an older man. Okay, things are a bit undermined by the fact that we're supposed to buy into the idea of Hathaway being viewed as "old, tired, and unattractive", but it's easier to accept those insults being thrown around during the scenes that show the reactions of angry and immature fans.

Hathaway is as likable as ever here, and she tries her best to portray the tiredness and anxiety of her character when pressures are piling up on her shoulders, but she feels cast more for her name than her suitability to the role. I'm in my late forties and Hathaway, despite being at the start of that same decade in her own age, looks about two decades younger than me. That's good for her, but not so good for this specific role. Galitzine, on the other hand, is helped by his useful appearance, looking a bit younger than his actual age. I thought I might find his character a bit annoying, but he has such good chemistry with Hathaway that it was never a problem. Rubin is very good as the understanding teen who eventually struggles to deal with the reality of the situation, and Reid Scott is good at being the selfish, and eventually a bit jealous (of course), ex-husband.

It's fluff, and the very end scenes help to turn it into the fluffiest of fluff, but it's also very enjoyable. There is enough attention to detail to keep the ridiculousness feeling grounded in some kind of reality, the stars deliver star turns, and there are a few moments that will give great satisfaction to anyone who has ever had any kind of dream or fantasy about the situation at the heart of it.

7/10

Tuesday 4 June 2024

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)

It may seem like a long time since we had Mad Max: Fury Road, but at least we have known that this movie was coming along at some point. There was a time when we didn't expect to spend more time in this world after Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. But the most important thing to remember before sitting down to watch Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is that this isn’t Mad Max: Fury Road. Every Mad Max movie has been surprisingly different from the one preceding it, with the action and characters allowing George Miller to continue his exploration of heroes, storytelling, and how reality is hammered into shape by those living in it long enough. This film has some great action, but it’s mostly concerned with showing us a world in which a good person is forced to become stronger and smarter as they are passed from one villain to another.

We first meet Furiosa as a child here, played brilliantly by Alyla Browne. She is snatched by bad men, ending up in the care of Dementus (Chris Hemsworth). Dementus thinks he is a grand warlord, but his perspective is changed when he comes face to face with Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme) and his dedicated army of warboys. Furiosa is handed over to Joe, Dementus becomes the ruler of Gastown, and time ticks merrily along for all involved. Eventually getting herself a job working alongside a talented “road warrior” named Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke), Furiosa (played as an adult by Anya Taylor-Joy) develops instincts and skills that will make her a valuable asset when Dementus decides that he wants to rule over more than just the denizens of Gastown. There could be a war brewing, but Furiosa still has a personal score to settle anyway.

With Miller comfortably in the director’s chair yet again, having also co-written the script with Nick Lathouris, this is a film that fans of the franchise should be happy to support. Few people are as good at somehow both meeting and subverting expectations as Miller, and he does exactly that once again. I would say there are three action sequences here that are astonishingly good, up there with the best you will ever see on the big screen, but they are deliberately couched within a movie that spends most of the runtime showing us the harsh and crazy world that leads to the creation of such harsh and crazy characters. It laughs at the people unprepared to do whatever needs to be done for the sake of survival and prosperity, and then shows how painful the process of adaption and transition can be. What is the point of being a big fish in a small pond when that small pond is actually a barren desert?

The more I think about Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga the more I am inclined to absolutely love it. I think a rewatch or two will see me bump up my rating slightly, but it’s hard to be so unreservedly effusive about it right now. First, it does inevitably suffer slightly when compared to the non-stop juggernaut of the film that preceded it. Second, there’s so much to take in, in terms of the detailing of the world and the connective tissue throughout the franchise, that one viewing just isn’t enough to fully appreciate it. I would advise everyone, if possible, to see it on the big screen though. This is cinema.

The cast are generally great. Alyla Browne is absolutely superb as the young Furiosa, a ball of resentment and unnerving patience. As much as I like Taylor-Joy, she is the one slightly weak link here. Not bad, and she certainly doesn’t unbalance the film, but her performance just feels slightly less convincing when she isn’t ensconced within the supporting armour of a powerful vehicle. Thankfully, she is surrounded by some other people on top form. Hemsworth steals the show, the facial prosthetics somehow helping to define his character as equal parts braggart warrior and sniveling politician, and Hulme takes on the role of Joe (previously played by the late Hugh Keays-Burn) with an admirable dedication to the physicality and eye-acting required. As for Burke, he proves himself to be a surprisingly great fit for this kind of gruff hero role, and I could easily imagine a spin-off movie showing us his adventures (Praetorian Jack: A Furiosa Saga From A Mad Max Saga, or something like that). There are others worth mentioning, but I would worry about starting a list of names that would go on and on for ages. Needless to say, almost every supporting cast member does a brilliant job of playing someone who feels like a part of this world.

Despite the CGI here, despite the prosthetics, and despite the confident plotting, the major achievement here is the consistent continuation of Miller’s vision that has spanned almost five decades now. This is more than just a movie. You will feel the dry heat, smell the engines, and tense up as vehicles cause the expected amounts of carnage. This is the closest you will get to a full immersive experience without adding any gimmickry to the process. It’s long, it can be a bit tiring by the time you get to the end credits, but it’s definitely worth it. There’s a point in this film when Hemsworth asks “do you have it in you to make it epic?” I would argue that Miller can’t give us Mad Max movies any other way. And we should all be thankful for that.

9/10

Monday 3 June 2024

Mubi Monday: Gasoline Rainbow (2023)

Part documentary, part loose narrative feature, this film from directors Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross, who also helped to write out the plot with Davey Ramsey, is a surprising gem. I started to suspect that I would really dislike it as things started to play out in the first 10 minutes or so, but I was eventually won over by the tenderness of the material and the poetic beauty of many of the visuals.

The main story is simple. 5 teenagers decide to go on a road trip. High school has ended, this could be their last chance for a big adventure together, and they eventually get themselves inited to a big beach party. They just have to travel many more miles to get there, something which becomes much more difficult when they have . . . transport issues.

The main cast members here are Makai Garza, Micah Bunch, Tony Aburto, Nichole Dukes, and Nathaly Garcia, all of them using their real names as they spend their time onscreen acting as natural and authentic as possible (and it's impossible to tell how much of it really IS acting, but all of them certainly get a chance to shine as they interact with the group and other wandering souls they encounter on their journey). The great thing about this movie, the luckiest thing, is that they all come across as decent and lovely individuals. They may be a bit too naïve at times, and it would be all too easy to dismiss their behaviour as a bit silly and entitled, but there is an earnestness to them that others seem to respond to. They are mirrors that somehow show people the reflection they always want to see when they get up every day to voyage once again through the real world.

Without wanting to sound too ridiculous, this is a brilliantly successful reinterpretation of the road movie. It sets it all up as a vibe piece, the music and imagery becoming more and more important as our leads try to ensure that this journey holds up as a life experience they will be able to cherish, and use as a life-jacket, for many years to come.

Most, if not all, road movies ultimately show a journey that is more important than a destination. The same applies here, and it doesn’t just apply to those onscreen. The world around us is burning, and those flames are fanned by the kind of people who would never take this kind of break from their path through life. The golden rule remains that those who have the gold set the rules. So it’s a joy to watch people being rewarded for rule-breaking. This reminds us all of how many constructs are jostling around us at any one time - family, society, financial - and shows that they don’t need to be insurmountable barriers to reshaping the world in whatever way you prefer.

I wasn’t sure that I would be able to tolerate these teens for the duration of the movie as I watched those first scenes. I was sad to be saying goodbye to them by the time the end credits rolled. And I felt grateful to have been allowed alongside them for such a rewarding journey.

8/10

Sunday 2 June 2024

Netflix And Chill: Atlas (2024)

It would be nice to have a week when some movies don't feel all about A.I. They're either using A.I. as a threat (existential, physical, or both) or they are put together in a way that has people being far too quick to accuse the film-makers of using A.I. to bash together their slick, but ultimately empty, feature. Atlas falls into both of these camps, from the online discourse I have seen about it. I actually think it's a decent little sci-fi action movie, however, and those looking to insult and dismiss it are being a bit harsh. I may well forget all about it within the next six months, but I don't regret having watched it just now.

Simu Liu plays the big baddie here, an A.I. being named Harlan Shepherd who sees the end of humanity as the solution to all of life's major problems. He may not be completely wrong, but plenty people want to stop him. Heading to the planet where he has based himself after fleeing Earth, Atlas Shepherd (Jennifer Lopez) is the one person who has been trying to warn everyone around her of just how dangerous Harlan is. Whatever attacks are planned, Harlan will always be a step or two ahead. Unwilling to use tech that can be all-too-easily hacked, Atlas is forced into a difficult situation when the soldiers around her are quickly taken out of action. Yes, she has to clamber into a mecha-suit that has a built-in A.I. core. Can Atlas trust the tech around her? Can the tech adapt well enough to the situation to truly help our leading lady? It's not hard to see where things will go, but it's a pleasant enough journey as we head to the predictable third act.

Written by Leo Sardarian and Aron Eli Coleite, this checks every box that you expect to be checked. Thankfully, it has a cast that are all capable of carrying viewers through the weaker moments, has an impressive visual palette throughout, and Lopez has enough screen presence to hold your attention while she spends a lot of time panicking while confined in an unwieldy mecha-suit. Liu is an impressive and plausible villain, Abraham Popoola is a decent secondary villain, and Gregory James Cohan is a good choice for the voice of the suit. While both Sterling K. Brown and Mark Strong are always welcome, both are largely wasted in their supporting roles.

Director Brad Peyton can do well with silly and spectacular entertainment, as he has shown with the likes of San Andreas and Rampage, and a few other less successful outings, but this shows that he can handle more serious fare equally well. The premise is still quite silly, at the heart of it, but it's all crafted with enough seriousness and attention to detail to draw viewers into the world and keep them invested in the plot. The script sets everything up with an impressive economy, and Peyton uses the framework to deliver a satisfying smorgasbord of fireworks and meditative moments.

I am once again in the minority here, a lot of people have rushed to declare this as yet another stinker from the Netflix movie stable, but there's nothing here that made me angry, and I was never bored. Compared to the last Netflix movie I watched with J-Lo in the lead role (The Mother), this was a pleasant surprise. It didn't stop me from wishing for the day when we'll stop having so many movies focused on the looming threat of A.I., but it entertained me well enough for most of the 118-minute runtime.

7/10

Saturday 1 June 2024

Shudder Saturday: LandLocked (2021)

Considering the landscape of modern popular entertainment, where nostalgia seems to be the main motivator for so many, LandLocked couldn't really be more timely. Because it's all about nostalgia, all about the allure, and danger, of past memories. It's a lo-fi, low-budget film made by a family who all play various roles both behind and in front of the camera, and it's quietly brilliant in how it does so much with so little.

Mason (Mason Owens) is visiting his childhood home before it is due to be demolished. It is a place full of many wonderful memories, but it's also the place where his father died. Looking around the place, Mason soon finds an old video camera that doesn't appear to show him what should be visible in the viewfinder. It is showing him the past, and the past is a land that Mason starts to enjoy exploring. In fact, he may even prefer the past to the present.

There's not too much to say about LandLocked, not on the surface anyway. It clocks in at an economical 75-minute runtime, the acting from Mason Owens is pretty good, but not great, and the slight premise makes the whole thing very much a love or hate experience. I would also advise anyone seeking this out as a decent horror choice that it's not really a horror, although there is a kind of existential dread creeping throughout a lot of the runtime.

Where LandLocked impresses most, however, is just beyond the edges of the frame. It's almost in line with any traditional time travel movie that forces viewers to question what they would do if they had the power to go back and try to change key events in their own lifetime. Almost. It's definitely a warning though, a call to those who stop themselves moving forward because of being far too hung up on their past. Okay, we don't all see those memories play out as literally as this main character does, but the end result can be the same.

I am not sure if we will see many more features from writer-director Paul Owens (although he has been involved with a number of TV and documentary projects over the past 15+ years), but if he can come up with another way to use his family and resources this well then I will be keen to see it. While this will be a bit too quiet and technically crude for many people, those who can see beyond the limitations may end up loving it as much as I did. That's a match of content and form that feels seriously ironic in a way that isn't lost upon me, considering how the enjoyment and satisfaction from it derives from looking beyond the relatively small boundary of whatever screen you end up seeing this on.

Incredibly memorable for all the right reasons, I implore patient and adventurous viewers to give a bit of their time to this. And please let me know if you end up agreeing with my appreciation of it.

8/10