Netflix And Chill: Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023)

Making a sequel to Chicken Run seemed like a bad idea. While it may not quite hit the heights of the wonderful Wallace & Gromit movie, the first film remains quite a beloved animated feature. What could be gained in revisiting that world, especially when someone felt that both lead voices needed recast? Thankfully, Chicken Run: Dawn Of The Nugget proves a worthy successor to the original film. It's not quite as good, but it's another fantastic adventure that's crammed full of fowl humour.

Some time has passed since the events of the first film. The characters are living happily in their own little free-range paradise. Ginger (now voiced by Thandiwe Newton) and Rocky (now voiced by Zachary Levi) have had a child, Molly (Bella Ramsey). Both parents are, understandably, a bit over-protective, but Molly ends up wandering out of the accepted safety zone, befriending another chicken (Frizzle, voiced by Josie Sedgwick-Davies) and being too curious for her own good. Molly and Frizzle end up in Fun-Land Farms, a place depicted as a delightful playground for chickens. But Fun-Land Farms has a dark and disturbing secret, and Ginger and Rocky have to assemble a team to break in and rescue their daughter, and a whole new group of chickens.

Directed by Sam Fell, who has previous credits that include the equally-excellent, but very different, ParaNorman and Flushed Away, and written by Karey Kirkpartrick, John O'Farrell, and Rachel Tunnard (as well as numerous other contributors, ensuring a great big sachet of flavouring spices sprinkled all over the film), this is an impressively fresh and funny adventure that manages to craft another worthwhile escapade for some recognisable characters. It may not seem as cine-literate as the first film, but it continues to throw around a lot of fun gags and great ideas, and impressively avoids changing the personalities of the main characters to fit into this new scenario.

All of the new voices work well enough in their feather-covered roles (even if I agree with the many others who questioned exactly why Sawalha wasn't asked to voice Ginger once more), and Ramsey is a perfect fit for the young and impulsive Molly. David Bradley feels like a great replacement for the late Benjamin Whitrow, voicing Fowler, and it's great to have Lynn Ferguson, Jane Horrocks, and Imelda Staunton back for their respective characters. Sedgwick-Davies also does well, and both Romesh Ranganathan and Daniel Mays effortlessly take over the voices of two helpful rats, Nick and Fletcher. Elsewhere, but just as important for this kind of thing, the vocal talents of Peter Serafinowicz, Nick Mohammed, and Miranda Richardson (another returning cast member) are put to great use as the looming threats to our plucky cluckers.

I'm generally an easy mark for any Aardman Animation projects, and I went into this with a sense of optimism after enjoying the trailer for it. Despite the gap of time in between the two films, this is an excellent sequel to a modern classic. The fact that it isn't quite as good isn't surprising, considering the greatness of the first film. The fact that it's as good as it is, well, that's the surprise. And I hope others enjoy it as much as I did. We now have two features that can be paired together for an eggs-ellent double-bill. You knew that pun was going to appear here at least once.

8/10

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Mubi Monday: Southland Tales (2006)

The second full feature from writer-director Richard Kelly (a talent who illustrates someone flying high and then crashing and burning hard more than any other 21st-century success I can think of), Southland Tales is a sprawling mess of a film, once again mixing some heady ideas and timey wimey trickery with some individual moments of greatness. A couple of scenes still stand out as favourites of mine, but they're often overlooked by film fans because of being contained within such an uneven feature.

I don't even know where to begin when it comes to describing the plot. It's set in America, but an America that has endured two nuclear attacks. There's a war on, both abroad and at home, a war against terror. A company named US-IDent tries to keep all citizens under surveillance, and various people want to strike against them. The main characters we end up keeping track of are an action film start with a case of amnesia (Boxer Santaros, played by Dwayne Johnson), an ex-porn star who believes that she can predict future events (Krysta Now, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar), a scarred Iraq War veteran (Abilene, played by Justin Timberlake), and two identical characters named Roland and Ronald Taverner (played by Seann William Scott).

If you want something that seems to make complete sense, maintains a consistent tone throughout, and doesn't cast people in roles that are completely atypical for them then look elsewhere. Southland Tales is the film you stick on when you want something hugely, almost ridiculously, ambitious and self-indulgent. When you want to see Jon Lovitz as a blonde cop all too quick to reach for his gun and shoot people trying to protest against the current system, or see Kevin Smith give his best performance in a small, heavily made up, role, Southland Tales will scratch that itch.

As well as those already mentioned, who are all doing some of their best work (another reason to give this film a watch if you have yet to do so), the strong supporting cast includes wonderful performances from Nora Dunn, Wallace Shawn, John Larroquette, Bai Ling, Mandy Moore, Zelda Rubinstein, and Miranda Richardson. AND you get to see Eli Roth in a satisfying, and very brief, cameo for those who both like and dislike him.

There's also a superb soundtrack (with The Killers being the best choice for one particular sequence), a fine line in sly humour running through everything, and the general feeling that Kelly had been handed resources he never thought would be at his disposal, and decided to use everything offered to him. The third act may be even messier than everything that precedes it, as hard as that is to believe while you are watching the rest play out, but it's also hugely satisfying. Kelly probably remains very disappointed by the lukewarm, at best, reaction to this. Some will view it as a bad film. I view it as a noble, flawed, attempt to deliver an impressive piece of cinema.

8/10

I think there's a better release coming, but here's a DVD just now.
Americans can get a little bargain here. Or the blu.

Yule Love It: Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988)

A twist on the classic Dickensian tale that features a fine British comedy creation, Blackadder's Christmas Carol is a wonderful standalone tale that features plenty of seasonal trimmings alongside the expected insults and wordplay.

I would say that even those new to the character could easily watch this and enjoy it, but it's more accurate to say that you should go into this at least knowing that Blackadder is a sneaky, self-centred, manipulator who often finds his plans undone by either his gormless assistant, Baldrick, or the actions of others around him who somehow always manage to get the upper hand. Once you know that much then you're all set.

Contrary to every other portrayal of the character, and why it is so important to know him before watching this special, things start with us being introduced to an uncharacteristically kind and pleasant Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson in what is, in my view anyway, his finest role). He intends to spend Christmas with his assistant (yes, Baldrick is still as dim-witted as ever, and played by Tony Robinson, as ever). When a spirit (Robbie Coltrane) accidentally enters his home, Blackadder asks to see visions of his past and future, leading to a revelation that turns the classic morality of the tale on its head.

Director Richard Boden had some experience of directing TV shows before this, and would go on to direct Blackadder Goes Forth, as well as many other shows afterward. He does fine here, although this is a fairly thankless task when the focus is always on the script and performances, and obviously proved himself good enough to oversee what would be the final season.

Written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, Blackadder easily sits higher up in the echelons of British comedy. Many people point to the final episode of Blackadder Goes Forth as one of the greatest moments in any sitcom, and rightly so, as it moved from the comedy to a poignant statement on the horror of war, and every season had many highlights (even the first season that had the main character not yet turned into the wonderful monstrosity he would become). This special episode was aired in between the third and the fourth season, which means it could easily have been a filler without as much care being given to it. Instead, Curtis and Elton clearly revel in the opportunity to rework the beloved Christmas classic, finding their way into the narrative by twisting everything to great comedic effect and then lacing each scene with the usual selection of hilarious dialogue.

Atkinson has never been better than when acting in this role (and, yes, I know that's saying something  when you think of his brilliant comedic turns), Robinson is a perfect foil to him, and the supporting cast, from Coltrane to Hugh Laurie, Vanessa Richardson to Stephen Fry, and Jim Broadbent and Miriam Margolyes, are all perfect. Many of them are reprising roles they played over the previous seasons of the show, relaxing back into them like a comfortable piece of favourite clothing.

If you have time during the holiday season, please do watch every episode ever of Blackadder. But if you can only watch one then give this a watch. It's a classic. Well, it's at least some kind of classic.

9/10

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iBoy (2017)

Simple, silly, moderately entertaining for most of its runtime, iBoy is a film that somehow feels both over the top and never able to fully realise the potential of the central gimmick. It doesn't seem to know where it wants to go in terms of grit and tone, leaving it disappointing to those hoping for some kind of urban revenge tale with a twist and equally disappointing to those seeking pure escapism.

Bill Milner plays young Tom, a boy who runs into a vicious gang incident and is shot in the head while trying to call for help as he flees. When he comes out of a coma, Tom is informed that bits of his smart phone are now stuck inside his head. It soon becomes clear that this freak accident allows Tom to access the internet, and thus any other gadgetry, with the upgraded power of his mind, and he doesn't waste any time setting about to deal with the general crime problem in his neighbourhood, and the specific gang members who changed his life.

Although Milner isn't asked to do any more than wear a hoodie and look sullen for many parts of the movie, he's good enough in the lead role. Maisie Williams also does okay, as Lucy, the object of Tom's unvoiced affection, although it's an underwritten role that seems to have been offered to her in order to use her name as a selling point. Jordan Bolger is also good as Danny, a friend of Tom who starts to wonder about the changes in him, and both Miranda Richardson and Rory Kinnear do good work, with the latter coming in to steal the movie in the last few scenes. The rest of the cast consists of young rent-a-thugs who simply hang around onscreen until our hero can deal with them.

Based on a novel by Kevin Brooks, the screenplay, written by Joe Barton, Mark Denton, and Jonny Stockwood, is busy moving from one nonsensical tech-reliant set-piece to the next (seeing how Tom views the world and makes his connections to the devices around him) without any real attempt to actually flesh out the rest of the characters beyond the level of inferior teen drama (think of a cross between Grange Hill and Hollyoaks, but with some added gang presence).

Director Adam Randall doesn't do enough to make up for the script problems, although it's hard to fault him for his basic approach to the material, especially when considering the fact that the budget must have come in at the lower end of the spectrum, and the entire movie ends up playing out on one standard level of engagement when it really should have been a mix of satisfying highs and temporary setbacks for our hero.

Like a lot of the other Netflix-branded content, this is something that isn't awful and isn't great. It's just there, available to you as you lounge on your sofa and push the button for it (either accidentally or on purpose). Nobody involved will hold it up as the shining star on their CV but it's not the worst way to spend 90 minutes.

4/10

iBoy isn't on shiny disc yet, so why not buy Johnny Mnemonic instead.
Americans can get Johnny Mnemonic here.