Netflix And Chill: Back In Action (2025)

A Netflix action comedy that stars Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz, the latter coaxed back out of retirement for it, Back In Action is the kind of glossy entertainment that seems designed to upset cinephiles while entertaining many who just want an easy option to start watching on a Saturday night. While it is silly, and very slick, it's also quite a bit better than the trailer would have you think, thanks to some fun casting and enjoyable running gags.

Foxx and Diaz play Matt and Emily, a couple of talented spies who end up in a relationship. Their latest mission goes spectacularly awry just after Emily tells Matt that she is pregnant. They decide to get out of the spying game, knowing that both could be assumed dead anyway, and start over for the sake of a calm and normal family life. Fifteen years later, that seems to be happening. They have two children, Alice (McKenna Roberts) and Leo (Rylan Jackson), and no worries, aside from how their kids view them. Alice is in a bit of a rebellious teen phase. Leo enjoys his videogames and just embracing his nerdiness. Then there's an incident, and Matt and Emily end up being shown around the internet, which brings trouble to their doorstep. 

There are certain things that you can expect from this type of fare nowadays. It's very easy to spot who the villain is. There will always be someone shown in a bad light who has something in their history that puts a different spin on things. At least one big stunt sequence will make use of technology that can make it seem as if our main stars are actually in the thick of the action (I miss the days when you could point out the huge differences between actors and the stunt performers who would take over for the more dangerous moments). Oh, and everything set up in the opening sequence will be brought back into the plot for the third act.

Considering that standard checklist, Seth Gordon and Brendan O'Brien do a decent job on this screenplay. Gordon is also the director, another role he handles well, and this is a huge step up from his last feature, Baywatch (not counting the TV movie he did back in 2018, Dan The Weatherman). It's often generally amusing, if rarely outright hilarious, and the action beats are surprisingly well-done and satisfying, if a bit prone to repeating one particular tag-team move that the main characters enjoy utilising.

Foxx and Diaz have a great rapport together, and they feel equally suited to the spy action as they do to the moments of being fretting parents. They're so good together that it almost makes you forget the fact that, once again, they can never share an onscreen kiss (because this is mainstream movie entertainment, and the USA would still be shocked to see a loving relationship that has a black man and a white woman kissing one another - sad, but true). Roberts and Jackson both do well as the children who end up majorly surprised by the skills of their parents, although the latter has a ridiculous sub-plot that makes no sense, unfairly positions him as being superior to his sister in one important way, and ultimately goes nowhere. Kyle Chandler is someone I enjoy seeing in movies, and he's fine here as the "handler" named Chuck, Andrew Scott is a British agent who is in pursuit of our leads, but also has a bit of an obsession with Diaz's character, and there are a few scenes stolen by Glenn Close and Jamie Demetriou. I'm going to mention Demetriou again because he's the person who provides most of the biggest laughs in the movie.

There are some decent tunes throughout the soundtrack, as well as a suitable score from Christopher Lennertz, and the mix of action and humour remains consistently distracting enough to help you avoid picking at any plot holes, including a huge misunderstanding of just what the Thames Barrier is used for. I had a lot of fun with this while it was on. I'm unlikely to ever rewatch it, but at least it meets that bar set for undemanding Saturday night entertainment featuring stars being stars.

7/10

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Shudder Saturday: Hypochondriac (2022)

Look, I try to stay open-minded and ready to expect the unexpected when I watch any movie that comes on to my viewing schedule, but films like Hypochondriac are a good argument against genre labels. There's some good stuff here, although it's not all good, but none of that will be appreciated by people who have seen this labelled as a horror and will, understandably, sit waiting for some actual horror. There's a kind of horror running through this, the fear of illness being passed between generations, as well as a bit of body horror, but it's not packaged in a way that will please most. 

Zach Villa plays Will, a man who is struggling with some recent physical symptoms that correlate to extra stress in his life. He's in a fairly new relationship with Luke (Devon Graye), but his behaviour, and what may be hypochondria, is already putting a strain on things. Will has issues stemming from childhood trauma, which leads to him having visions of a wolf-like figure appearing during times of mental and/or emotional overload.

Villa is decent in the main role, if a bit reserved, and smoothly transitions between depressed stillness and manic agitation as the mindset of his character demands. Graye is also very good, going through an understandably difficult time as he tries to figure out a way to be supportive to someone who may not have a path towards any improvement to their situation. Although a few more characters come in and out of the narrative, it's only really Marlene Forte and Chris Doubek who make a strong impression, rather appropriate considering the fact that they play Will's parents.

Writer-director Addison Heimann doesn't do bad with his debut feature, on a technical level anyway. He has assembled a small cast of talented performers, helped himself a lot by hiring Dustin Supenchek to deliver some lovely cinematography, and ensures that every scene has a consistent level of quality that seems to exceed the limitations of the relatively low budget. There are one or two good ideas here, especially in the opening third, but it all starts to sag and fall apart once Heimann gets bogged down trying to disguise some of the more familiar elements with a couple of twists and some ambiguity. Those tactics don't serve the material well, and they don't even actually help to disguise anything.

Perhaps Heimann cannot bring himself to take the lead character far enough into a really pit of dark nightmares, or perhaps he thinks that what is shown here already is enough to keep things intriguing and impactful enough. He's incorrect, sadly, and this needed to depict some moments in the present that were more clearly hurting and scarring than what we saw, forming a stronger bond with the obviously upsetting past that is revealed as everything unfolds.

It's a tough one to figure out, in hindsight. Maybe Heimann was trying to be a bit too ambitious, but maybe he wasn't being ambitious enough. I really can't decide. A few moments of memorable imagery don't do enough to make up for the mis-steps elsewhere. Either way, he's tried to deliver something thought-provoking that will speak to those who have spent their lives rubbing nervously at scars they hope others don't notice. I don't think he succeeds, but I respect his intentions, and I hope to see him improve as his film career continues.

5/10

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Nightbitch (2024)

After being intrigued by whatever Nightbitch might be when I first heard about it (and I really didn't know exactly what it was, other than Amy Adams being a mother who seems to take a turn for the feral), I was dissuaded from making it a priority by the middling-to-poor reviews it got from many people I often feel in sync with. So it was a pleasant surprise to find out that it was actually really good.

Amy Adams plays a mother who starts to get a bit fed up of being in the box simply labelled "mother". This puts her at odds with her husband (Scoot McNairy), and it also causes some raised eyebrows from other mothers. But it also causes some envy, because a lot of women want the chance to remind themselves of who they once were, to celebrate themselves completely, and to admit the oft-unspoken truth that, as much as a mother loves her child, motherhood can also often suck.

Adapting the novel by Rachel Yoder, what you get here is a sharp and smart film from writer-director Marielle Heller that, much like the character at the heart of it, fights against being pigeonholed, and it feels as if that is part of the problem for many who watched it. The easiest way to describe it is as a comedy, but it's a very dark and wonderfully strange comedy. It's also a comedy that many will refuse to even smile at, considering what it says about the messy nature of parenting life and the many small (and large) ways in which women lose their own identity as they take on the roles of wife, mother, and basically whatever else fits around men who don't suffer from that same loss of identity.

Adams is fantastic in the lead role, really sinking her teeth (pun intended) into something that is far removed from the kind of thing shown onscreen in mainstream fare. Credited simply as "Mother", she's happy to show herself hitting a real low point before digging deep within herself to find a way back to the surface. She's generally always great, but this feels like something very different from any other performance she has given in the last couple of decades. McNairy also does a great job as the husband (credited as "Husband"), handling himself with good grace in the role that could have easily been performed as the main villain of the piece. Jessica Harper has a small, but important, role, and Zoë Chao, Mary Holland, Archana Rajan, and one or two others help to move along the conversation about the toll of motherhood and the ways in which society enables the constant erosion of women in service of the care of loved ones.

Don't take note of the people who are disappointed by this not being something that it never intended to be. It has also been marketed as a bit of a horror movie (something I would argue against, although there's an element of body horror running throughout it, which is in line with the equation of motherhood/marriage putting someone in a relationship with a parasitic entity they also end up in love with). Enjoy it for what it is, which is something quite unique and brilliantly scathing, and don't worry about what it isn't. I suspect that too many people have already done the latter.

Oh, and bonus points for use of "Dare To Be Stupid" on the soundtrack.

8/10

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Gladiator II (2024)

While it's true that it may seem a bit too little too late when considering a sequel nowadays to Gladiator, there were a number of factors that could allow viewers some small sense of optimism. Ridley Scott back at the helm, and a cast including some hot stars of the moment, and a couple of people returning from the first film.

I couldn't really say whether or not that optimism ends up misplaced. Gladiator II is decent enough, there are some fun set-pieces and the focus is much more on the political scheming of one main character, but it pales in comparison to the 2000 movie that it is following. Maybe my opinion was tinged by watching both one after another, but what was I supposed to do when I wanted an excuse to work out my sound system while wearing a home-made toga (aka knotted bedsheet)?

Paul Mescal plays our hero this time around, a young man thrown into bloody battles after he has been enslaved during a Roman conquest of his home, in a sequence that shows him yearning for revenge after the death of someone very close to him. Pedro Pascal is General Acacius, the man who was at the head of that Roman horde, although we soon learn that he is weary of doing the bidding of Emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), two twisted souls who seem to be leading Rome further and further way from the glory of what it once was. Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) is still trying to stay safe while positioned very close to the rulers, and there's a man named Macrinus (Denzel Washington) who will twist and turn around everyone I have just mentioned as he figures out a way to get himself into a position of great power.

Springboarding directly from the original movie, David Scarpa's screenplay does everything that everyone involved must have decided it needed. That's a bit sad, because what it apparently needed was plenty of callbacks to the first film, some unnecessary ret-conning that paints one or two people in an annoyingly different light, and fights that are all about entertainment and spectacle ahead of any sense of plausibility. Fair play though, the fights worked for me, but I can see why some would hate one or two of them.

As much as I like Mescal, and as good as he is here, he isn't quite good enough. There's some steely core missing, and he's not helped by the fact that the script doesn't give him much to work with. The same can be said about Pascal, another actor I tend to really like in the right roles. Washington gets much more to say and do, which at least makes everything easier to accept and enjoy as he steals scene after scene, and both Quinn and Hechinger are a lot of fun delivering a double dose of oddness (even if it feels a bit like someone went "Gladiator had one evil Emperor so we'll be twice as good because we'll have TWO!"). As for Nielsen. She's arguably more wasted than both of her male co-stars, and her journey, still intertwined with that of Gracchus (played again by Derek Jacobi), feels almost laughably overstuffed with coincidence and misfortune. 

None of the dialogue stands out this time around, apart from the lines that will make you either groan or laugh, the main arc for our hero feels more like a clumsy scribble than a satisfying straight line, and a bit too much obvious CGI gives it that problem that many other modern blockbusters have: a feeling of weightlessness and everything being of less consequence because so much of it is made up of computer programming. Sorry to sound needlessly snippy, but even the score from Harry Gregson-Williams fails to come close to the soaring Hans Zimmer music from the first film. 

Did I enjoy this while it was on? Yes. Did I feel the 148-minute runtime? Also yes. Will I rewatch this? Probably. Will I rewatch the original film ahead of this? Absolutely. That remains a bit of a modern classic. This is mildly diverting fun that may well be forgotten in a year or two (much like that sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon . . . remember when that happened?)

6/10

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Prime Time: Gladiator (2000)

It all seems so obviously destined for success now. An action epic directed by Ridley Scott. A lead role for Russell Crowe. Joaquin Phoenix as the second main character. Support from the likes of Connie Nielsen, Djimon Hounsou, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, and Derek Jacobi, as well as numerous other familiar faces. Fantastic practical effects enhanced by some top-notch CGI. Gladiator was a huge success when it was released, but it's worth remembering that it was actually considered quite a gamble, especially because the "sword and sandals" movie seemed to be a thing of the past (or, more accurately, a thing now just used to fill up the schedule on the SyFy Channel).

But it's hard to find people who hate it, and, while it may not be a film that many have rushed to revisit in recent years, it's been able to retain a place in our collective consciousness thanks to some memorable lines of dialogue and a rich and full-bodied Hans Zimmer score.

Crowe is Maximus, a successful military man who does his best in the service of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), but his situation changes drastically when the Emperor dies, to be succeeded by his son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). His life ruined, although somehow not ended, Maximus ends up enslaved, which leads him to be pitted against others in fighting competitions. Showing a knack for combat tactics, as well as self-preservation, Maximus is soon on his way to becoming a bit of a celebrity on the gladiator world, a violent system that could lead to his freedom. Maybe he doesn't need his freedom though. Maybe he just wants another chance to be within sword-slashing distance of Commodus.

Starting with a grand battle scene before moving into a series of more personal fights, Gladiator is a genuine crowd-pleaser that works all the better for having no trace of concern about the whole thing being a mish-mash of familiar elements and top-quality ham. The fact is that everyone commits to their roles, as well as to the tone of the material, and they enjoy the ham with such lip-smacking relish that it becomes absolutely glorious. The script, written by David Franzoni, John Logan, and William Nicholson, helps with a good selection of great lines of dialogue, and Scott does all he can to ensure that the 155-minute runtime practically passes by like a light breeze through the fields of Elysium.

Crowe has rarely been better, giving a performance that puts his character in strong contention for a place in the cinematic heroes hall of fame, and I would say something similar about Phoenix, especially when we all know that a good hero needs a good villain to make the whole thing worthwhile. Harris is effective in his brief supporting turn, Oliver Reed livens up a character, a trader/gladiator trainer named Proximo, that could easily have been left to fade into the background, and Djimon Hounsou is one of two other main gladiators onscreen that we get to stay invested in throughout. Connie Nielsen has to repeat lines about living in fear a bit too often, but she also does well enough to be memorable in her role (Lucilla, sister of Commodus), and Derek Jacobi, David Schofield, John Shrapnel, Tomas Arana, David Hemmings, and Tommy Flanagan are all uniformly excellent in their respective roles.

Brilliantly bombastic, full of spectacle without feeling overstuffed or overdone, and reworking the essence of classic epics into something that somehow feels both comfortingly old-fashioned and enjoyably updated, Gladiator is superior blockbuster fare. And if you are watching it with anyone who hasn't seen it before then you get the added pleasure of jumping up while the end credits roll and shouting "are you not entertained?"

9/10

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A Real Pain (2024)

Written by, directed by, and starring Jesse Eisenberg, A Real Pain is the kind of film that feels as if it could only be made by someone who decided that they had to make it. It covers subject matter that many will be able to identify with, but also feels like a personal journey for someone processing some of their own feelings in film form.

Eisenberg is David Kaplan, a slightly awkward and reserved young man now a million miles from how Eisenberg appears to be in real life. He joins his cousin, Benji (Kieran Culkin), to go on a tour through Poland, hoping to ultimately end up at the old house of their deceased grandmother. Benji is much quicker to express and discuss his emotions, and much quicker to be blatantly honest, which may make others uncomfortable as they explore a painful past, including wartime genocide and a concentration camp.

Although a low-key affair, and although not entirely unique, A Real Pain works, thanks in no small part to the juxtaposition of Eisenberg and Culkin. Both actors do very good work, although neither seems to be stretching themselves, and they're ably assisted by a supporting cast that includes Jennifer Grey, Will Sharpe, Ellora Torchia, Kurt Egyiawan, Daniel Oreskes, and Liza Sadovy. Grey, Egyiawan, and Sharpe are the highlights, the latter trying hard to deliver a tour that is respectful and informative, but everyone has at least one memorable moment around our main characters.

There's a tightrope being walked here, and some may view the film as a failure. Both David and Benji have their failings, and the latter will certainly be a bit too irritating for some people, but they are rendered rather insignificant by the weight of the history around them anyway. This isn't really about the main characters. It's about pain, as the title says. There's internal pain that doesn't always need an external factor, there's pain that comes through connection to loved ones and the times when those connections are severed, and there's pain that reverberates throughout generations, a scar on our world that some people feel more keenly than others.

I liked this a lot, and I responded to what was being presented at the very heart of it. It's not a great film though, in many ways, and some of the awards buzz it has been garnering may set people up for disappointment. People shouldn't flock to this to marvel at the writing or directorial skill of Eisenberg, and they may not even appreciate the performances as much as I did. I would hope that they find something worthwhile though. Something appreciably human. Sometimes all you need is the vague feeling that someone making art has even the smallest idea of your own journey running alongside their own. A Real Pain gives you that.

7/10

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Mubi Monday: The Man In The White Suit (1951)

There are certain breakthroughs that you suspect just wouldn't be allowed to happen. Society runs in a certain way, capitalism needs continuous meat put into the machine to make the sausages, and contentment and sustainability often get in the way of that. It's why there's so much money to be made in medicine, why so many struggle to get paid a living wage, and why, as The Man In The White Suit tells us, nobody wants a fabric that is indestructible and never needs cleaned.

Alec Guinness plays Sidney Stratton, a determined young scientist who keeps trying a variety of experiments and formulae in his quest to create a brand new fabric. Some view him as a liability, especially when his presence in any workplace increases the chance of a random explosion, but some see him as a brilliantly progressive thinker who just needs some time and space to turn his theories into a reality. The closer he gets, however, the more people start to think of him as a serious threat to the status quo. Because dirty and damage clothing ensures that people are repeat customers, not to mention the laundry and repair services that rely on such wear and tear.

Another Ealing comedy from director Alexander Mackendrick, who also worked on the screenplay with John Dighton and Roger MacDougall (creator of the original play), this is a slightly lesser, but no less enjoyable, title that often feels unfairly forgotten in the shadow of some films that have retained their status as being some of the very best of British cinema. There's less focus on quirky characters here, although our lead is amusingly nervy and naive throughout, and more time spent hammering home a commentary on the battle between scientific progress and ongoing business interests.

Guinness delivers another effortlessly wonderful performance, doing enough to hold your attention at all times as he turns from a minor inconvenience to a much sought after commodity. Joan Greenwood is a delight as the young woman who takes an interest in him, although her character also happens to be the daughter of a powerful factory owner (played by Cecil Parker), and both Michael Gough and Vida Hope stand out as two individuals on either side of the employer/employee divide.

Although it will be 75 years old next year, it's sad to think of just how insightful this remains. We just need to look around us to see how many of the super-rich are desperate to stop people from latching on to an idea that will save them both money and resources, from sustainable fashion items to methods of generating electricity, to name just a couple of main examples. The Man In The White Suit remains slightly far-fetched when it comes to the central invention, but it remains all too realistic and depressing when it comes to how the rich and the powerful would want to handle such a thing.

8/10

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Netflix And Chill: The Water Horse (2007)

Directed by Jay Russell, who doesnt have too many titles standing out from his filmography, and written by Robert Nelson Jacobs, who has a similarly thin selection of memorable features under his belt, The Water Horse is perhaps best sold on the name of the author of the book it is adapted from, Dick King-Smith. King-Smith was a prolific and successful writer of children's books, and gave us the source material for what would become the wonderful Babe.

There is another major selling point here though, the gorgeous scenery of Scotland, but maybe that's my own bias showing through. I don't know though, it's hard to think of anyone looking out over Loch Ness and not being at least slightly awe-struck.

Yes, this is a Loch Ness story, and the titular creature is the Loch Ness "monster". The year is 1942, and a young boy named Angus MacMorrow (Alex Etel) is struggling with the fact that his father doesn't seem to be returning from the war. Angus lives in a large house with his mother (Anne, played by Emily Watson) and sister (Kirstie, played by Priyanka Xi), and they are soon joined by a large number of soldiers who have been allowed the use of the house by the Lord who owns it. They're also joined by a new handyman on the estate, Lewis (Ben Chaplin). All of this makes things more difficult for Angus as he tries to keep secret the fact that he is looking after a creature that hatched from a large egg he found on the shore of the loch. The creature, named Crusoe, grows at a rapid rate, meaning Angus soon enlists both Kirstie and Lewis to help him, and the sneaking around soon arouses the suspicion of Captain Thomas Hamilton (David Morrissey).

Cute and sweet would be the two words I would use to describe this movie. Framed by a sequence in which a twinkly-eyed Brian Cox relates the tale to a couple of tourists visiting Scotland, it's perfect family entertainment that aims for satisfaction and some tugging on the heartstrings. There are no surprises here, but most viewers won't want any. This is all about a magical feeling, and watching one young boy outwit most of the adults around him as he shows a degree of compassion and belief that many of them lack.

The screenplay by Jacobs is decent enough, and fairly straightforward, but the direction from Russell is complemented by some excellent special effects (both practical and digital), a lovely score by James Newton Howard, and acting from a selection of performers who all pitch things perfectly as they deliver something that manages to be quite innocent and moving without ever feeling too pandering.

Etel is easily able to carry the film on his young shoulders, helped by the fact that he has a number of scenes in which his energy is matched by Crusoe, and not only does everyone else do excellent work, but a number of the main co-stars (Mortimer, Chaplin, and Xi) do well enough at delivering their dialogue in a Scottish accent that didn't hurt my ears or have me wondering if they'd even heard of Scotland before taking on their roles. Morrissey is as good as ever, and becomes more stern and menacing as things come to a head in a finale that will force people to choose where they want to stand in relation to the sense of hope offered by some magic or the cynicism of the ongoing wartime conditions.

Although slightly held back by the lack of any real edge or risk, that also helps to make it the sweet treat that it is. It's not one to recommend as an essential viewing, but I cannot imagine many people checking it out and being disappointed that they gave it 112 minutes of their time. A perfect choice if you're stuck indoors with kids on a dreary day.

7/10

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Shudder Saturday: Invoking Yell (2024)

Sometimes I watch a film and wonder what I missed as the end credits roll. That can be due to others giving it praise or criticism for aspects I have viewed differently, but it can also be due to simply processing something that left me feeling nothing more than the urge to shrug.

Invoking Yell is a film that fell into the latter category. Directed by Patricio Valladares, who also co-wrote the thing with Barry Keating, it's a horror film with very little horror in it, as well as being a film about black metal and the use of darkness and the paranormal for marketing purposes that ultimately has nothing to really say on the topic.

Macarena Carrere, María Jesús Marcone, and Andrea Ozuljevich are Tania, Andrea, and Ruth, respectively. They are recording as they decide to visit some creepy woods, with the ultimate aim being a finished demo tape. They will create more mystique by trying to pick up EVPs, detailing some of the dark history of the area, and even taking part in one or two black magic rituals.

The fact that this was shot in three days should be of no surprise to anyone who watches the finished product, and I would suggest that almost anyone could deliver something similar in such a short space of time. This is one of many "found footage" movies made with the emphasis on being cheap and careless ahead of being any good. The characters aren't interesting enough, there's no real building up of atmosphere, and the third act is tedious when it should be tense. If you can shoot a film in three days then maybe plan things better to give yourself a week or two instead. 

I don't blame Carrere, Marcone, or Ozuljevich for their work here. They just don't get anything to do. Show me them in a group photo right now and I couldn't tell you who was who, their personalities are so thinly-sketched as they move around simply being part of a trio that is destined to be separated and endangered. 

Despite it having a very particular aesthetic, the black metal aspect doesn't feel as if it matters. The fact that it is set in the late '90s doesn't matter either. The location is similarly unimportant. Nothing here matters, although I am sure that those who live in, or have an affinity for, Chile may at least appreciate the fact that this is from that neck of the woods.

I have already given this film more time and space than it deserves. It's crap. What's more, it's cynical and lazy crap. Described as "a love letter to both black metal and found footage", I would label it more as a love letter to belated cash-ins made with the least possible effort.

3/10

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Heretic (2024)

There's been an interesting trend in recent years for some horror movies to base themselves around the idea of social awkwardness/embarrassment. Maybe it was always there, to some degree anyway, but we've had recent films giving us horror that stems from two separate people accidentally being booked in to the same Airbnb, holiday friends who astoundingly take up the offer of an invite to spend more time together when the reality should have been to immediately lose contact once they were back in their respective homes, and now, and maybe worst of all, answering your door to people who are aiming to educate you on their religion.

Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East are, respectively, Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton, two young Mormon  women who end up knocking on the door of Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant). Mr. Reed welcomes them inside and is delighted to have a conversation with them, but it's not long until the women suspect that all is not quite right. They want to leave as soon as possible, which goes against their usual mindset. Mr. Reed has plenty that he wants to discuss though, and maybe even one or two sights to show them.

Co-written and co-directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, Heretic was one of a number of horror movies to receive no small amount of praise from people in 2024. While I'm happy to see it so praised, and while a number of aspects deserve it, I have to say that I'm a bit puzzled by the amount of people who seemed to recommend it without a couple of important caveats.

So here are a couple of important caveats. Heretic really has to work hard to maintain any sense of plausibility as the central characters remain in one location for most of the runtime. It doesn't quite succeed, but that only becomes a problem until things take a more serious, arguably more genre-leaning, turn. Then everything gets quite interesting and fun again, right up until we have to endure a final 10 minutes that almost undoes all of the previous good work. Almost.

When it comes to the conversation between the three main characters in the first half of the movie, this is fantastic. Grant gets to relish every sentence and carefully-chosen word, moving from harmless and lonely old man to someone who seems more dangerous and predatory with every subsequent chess move against people who believe they are playing chequers, and both Thatcher and East eventually work hard on their rebuttals to the arguments that he makes. Then comes the motivation though, which is where the film falls down, and then you have to watch one apparently far-fetched incident after another, with writers Beck and Woods happy to throw in coincidences and ridiculousness in whatever way best serves themselves in their directorial capacity.

The performances are the saving grace. Thatcher and East do really well in their roles, fighting hard to present themselves as more than just paper-thin caricatures. Grant is given the best seat at the table though, and starts chomping his way through every scene as if he's just been served a huge platter of all of his favourite foods. I have always been a big fan of Grant, even when he was making his millions as the floppy-haired rom-com charmer, but it's undeniable that he's been doing some great work, and clearly having much more fun, in the past decade than when he first shot to stardom. His turn here is another in a steady stream of absolutely brilliant and entertaining performances that have made him a scene-stealing highlight in the films that have made use of him lately. There aren't really any other people worth mentioning, aside from Topher Grace (who has just one or two minutes of screentime), but that's no big loss when the three leads are so good.

I really enjoyed Heretic, despite what my criticisms here may have led you to believe, but I really enjoyed it because of the first half and the work of the leads. I was disappointed by the ending, but at least it tried to do something interesting. I'd still highly recommend the whole thing though, but with caveats.

7/10

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The Wild Robot (2024)

I wasn't sure why I wasn't keen to make time for The Wild Robot, but the opening titles reminded me of my reasoning. This was a Dreamworks animation. As much as I enjoy a lot of their work, and I really love some of their stuff, they often feel like the kind of thing I have to be in the mood to watch. I assume that there will be lots of good gags, a certain visual style, and characters that will sell bucket-loads of merchandise for them. When I think of Dreamworks I think of Shrek, Madagascar, and Kung Fu Panda. They're all fun, and that doesn't begin to cover the range of Dreanworks Animation productions that you can, and should, check out, but I tend to know what I am going to get from them. I figured The Wild Robot would be the same, but then I started hearing more and more praise being heaped upon it. This is definitely not the same as many other films from Dreamworks, and I am already sorry that I didn't get to it even sooner.

A robot lands on a planet uninhabited by humans. That's how The Wild Robot begins. Wanting to be assigned a task, the robot (a ROZZUM Unit 7134, AKA Roz) tries to communicate with the many animals nearby, all of whom seem afraid of the thing that looks like it's been sent to kill them. Roz goes into a low power mode, listening to the many sounds around her and learning the languages of the many different animal species. Those language skills come in very handy when she ends up destroying a nest and then being imprinted on by a very cute, but also very vulnerable, little gosling. Roz gets advice from a fox, although whether or not she can trust this advice is another matter, and she ends up helping a lot of the animals around her as she aims to get her surrogate child ready to fly away before the weather becomes too inhospitable for the goose population. At least she won't have those pesky human feelings of loss and regret when her "child" leaves. Hmmmmmmm.

Based on a book by Peter Brown, this is written and directed by Chris Sanders, a man also responsible for helping to serve up three other animated movies I have loved (Lilo & Stitch, How To Train Your Dragon, and The Croods). If I had put two and two together sooner, and had a better memory for names, I would have had another bit of motivation to get to this before now. I really need to see his live-action feature, The Call Of The Wild, because Sanders is on 100% success rate with me so far.

The voice cast is worth mentioning now, before I get myself distracted by discussing the visual style, the music, and the ability this film has to reduce me to a blubbering wreck. Lupita Nyong'o is a fantastic fit for Roz, keeping her tone well-moderated throughout, with only the slightest inflections hinting at any possible changes in the way Roz views the world. Kit Connor is the goose who grows from the gosling, Brightbill, Pedro Pascal is the aptly-named Fink, the fox, and there is also some great additional work from Bill Nighy, Catherine O'Hara, Mark Hamill, Ving Rhames, Matt Berry, and Stephanie Hsu, as well as many others who aren't immediately familiar to me. 

Now I can once again allow myself to go on about the lovely visual style of the whole thing, the beautiful score from Kris Bowers, and the knack that Sanders has for pushing a button that seems to be directly attached to some tiny being that lives in my chest and is subsequently ordered to pluck my heartstrings like an expert harpist. I expect such emotional manipulation by the third act of many family films, but I was unprepared to be so fragile even before the halfway point. And once I'd been turned into a leaky-faced wreck, well, it was difficult to get through the rest of the runtime without at least feeling my lower lip quivering as I tried to keep myself composed.

I've used a lot of words here to praise this, and I am happy that I've now managed to compose my thoughts in a way that should be calm and understandable for all. This is beautiful, sweet, moving, and an essential new favourite for those seeking an evergreen family viewing choice. It's one of my favourites from 2024, and one of my new favourite animated movies of all time.

9/10

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Prime Time: My Old Ass (2024)

Here's the thing about My Old Ass, and I'll refrain from making any jokes that confuse the title with what I view as my actual old ass. It's a cute film. There's some nice comedy. There's also some decent emotional weight throughout. It's good stuff. But writer-director Megan Park set herself a very high bar with her debut feature, The Fallout. I would recommend My Old Ass to people after an enjoyable distraction for an hour and a half, but I would recommend The Fallout to anyone wanting to explore strong and intelligent cinema that ranks up there with the best films from the last decade.

Maisy Stella plays Elliott, a young woman looking forward to the time when she can soon leave home and start what her adult life. Before that time comes, however, she decides to have some fun time with her friends (Ruthie, played by Maddie Ziegler, and Ro, played by Kerrice Brooks) and has some magic mushrooms. That doesn't just lead to the usual strange and trippy experience. It leads to Elliott having a meeting with her older self (Aubrey Plaza). Older Elliott tries to get her younger self to start appreciating the time with her family more, and also warns her against spending time with a young man named Chad. That's okay, Elliott doesn't know anyone named Chad. And then, inevitably, Elliott meets Chad (Percy Hynes White).

It's worth noting here that Megan Park is 38 years old. So she may have been a bit younger than that when she wrote this screenplay, and she was even younger when she gave us The Fallout. You wouldn't know that from the final product though, with both films displaying a maturity and thoughtfulness that make both much better than they otherwise would have been. The fact that My Old Ass wasn't more focused on the potential comedy of the premise was a pleasant surprise to me, as was a finale that had equal respect for the wisdom that comes with older age and the fearlessness that can often be found in the young.

Stella, making her feature acting debut, is excellent in the lead role, just the right amount of energy and carefree spirit tempered with a good nature that stops her from being irritating. Plaza works well as her older incarnation, and she gives another solid turn, another in a growing list of performances that allows her to move a step away from the eye-rolling and morbid snark that looked in danger of becoming her entire range for a few years. White is very sweet, although viewers are wary of him throughout most of the runtime, simply due to him being named Chad, and Ziegler and Brooks are well-cast as the friends, with the latter having a bit more screentime, and always brightening up the screen whenever she's around. Elliott's family are played by Maria Dizzia (mother), Alain Goulem (father), Seth Isaac Johnson (brother), and Carter Trozzolo (younger brother), and all four do well as they loiter at the edge of the central narrative, eventually moving more towards the centre as our lead starts to appreciate them more and consider how she can still value what is around her while looking forward to her future.

There's nothing here that really stands out. The technique on display, the look and sound of everything, it's all just perfectly fine, working in service of a script that uses a cute idea at the heart of it without making things extra complicated. But Park writes with a great knack of being able to blend emotion and intelligence in a way that is satisfying for film fans without ever feeling too patronising. She also brings great performances out of her leads, perhaps due to her own time spent in front of the camera for projects that range from a Romero zombie movie to standard Christmas TV movie fluff. Cinema can take us to previously-unimagined worlds and show us great marvels, but it's equally enjoyable when it gives people a group of actors all working with quality writing. Park is two for two when it comes to features that she has directed. I hope she soon makes it three for three, whether staying in this kind of film or taking us on a tour of some more fantastical sights.

7/10

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Venom: The Last Dance (2024)

I sometimes forget how much fun I had with the first two Venom movies, considering how low my expectations were for either of them. Both are an enjoyably refreshing mix of anti-hero shenanigans and superhero-type stuff, and Hardy has loads of fun in the central role. It's a shame that this is the final outing for the character in this iteration, but it's also definitely time to call it a day. This is the weakest of the three movies, and it's even messier than anything else we've seen so far, but at least it feels like a proper ending (in as much as these kinds of movies can ever feel like they have a proper ending nowadays).

Eddie Brock is back in our world, with everything established in early scenes that may confuse anyone who had forgotten about the multiverse shenanigans teasing treats in the previous movie. He and Venom continue to have a pretty good relationship nowadays, always finding the best lowlife criminals to enjoy as a tasty snack, but trouble is coming their way. The fact that they are such a successful fusion makes them valuable to a major villain who sends the alien equivalent of sniffer dogs to find them, and there's also a determined military man, Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who believes that Venom needs to be destroyed. Dr. Teddy Paine (Juno Temple) thinks otherwise.

It's no surprise to see that writer Kelly Marcel has finally been rewarded for her contribution to the series with a directorial gig here, and it's also no surprise that this is her directorial debut. Having worked with Hardy on the story idea, Marcel is also responsible for the screenplay. That makes it easier to know who to blame for this whole mess, although I think Hardy has broad enough shoulders, and enough invested in the series, to share the burden. There are individual moments of fun, but the third act is particularly painful to the eyes, as well as being hard to stay patient with while you wait for all of the characters to figure out how to make use of Chekhov's . . . well . . . something that was surrounded by neon signs and arrows pointing at it as soon as it was first shown onscreen.

Hardy is still good in the main role, although always more fun when he is free and loose to avoid acting heroic, and he deserves to be given this vehicle to bid a fond farewell to a movie series that seemed to succeed more due to his sheer willpower than anything else. Ejiofor brings his usual excellence to his role, despite the fact that he is just there to be the human-shaped threat in amongst all of the alien monsters and, to use the technical term, squiggly-wiggly CGI. Temple connects various plot points and provides extra exposition, and there's some comedy provided by Rhys Ifans, playing a believer in aliens leading his family on what will end up being a very eye-opening road trip. Stephen Graham and Peggy Lu both return, and both are given far less screentime than they deserve, and it's strange that the latter is involved with a scene that seems to directly reference a heavily-derided sequence from Spider-Man 3.

Fans of more variety in their symbiotes will find plenty to enjoy in the third act, there are set-pieces that at least maintain the mix of action and humour that has been a positive aspect of the trilogy, and you get more amusing exchanges between Eddie and Venom as the two discuss their plans and the path that they cannot seem to avoid hurtling along. I still have to end this review by reiterating that the whole thing is a big mess, but it's an intermittently entertaining big mess, helped by a 110-minute runtime that allows it to feel a step removed from the longer and more bloated blockbusters we've become used to in recent years.

6/10

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Mubi Monday: Bird (2024)

I've seen all but one of the shorts and features directed by Andrea Arnold, although she has yet to helm anything better than her bleak and brutal feature debut, Red Road. There's never a guarantee that I will enjoy her work, but I am always hoping for something else that will blow me away. Maybe that's just the effect of those childhood years when I had a crush on her roller-skating persona of Dawn Lodge on the children's TV programme called No. 73.

Bird is a good film, anchored by a flawless performance from young newcomer Nykika Adams, but it's also one that has forced me to consider what exactly Arnold wants people to take from her films, and what exactly her motivation is. Because Arnold seems to write and direct characters that she doesn't fully understand.

Bailey (Adams) is not having the best time. Her father, Bug (Barry Keoghan), is too busy trying to plan his upcoming marriage to Kayleigh (Frankie Box). Her mother (Peyton, played by Jasmine Jobson) has ended up in a relationship with the violent Skate (James Nelson-Joyce). Bailey doesn't seem able to control anything around her, even her older brother (Hunter, played by another newcomer, Jason Buda) has a change in his circumstances that may grow the distance between them, but she might end up being able to help a man she encounters who says his name is Bird (Franz Rogowski). Bird is looking for his childhood home, hoping to find out some information about his mother and father.

Before I say anything critical here, I think it's important to praise those in front of the camera who deserve praise. Adams is the star, and she surely has a great career ahead of her, but both Keoghan and Rogowski are actors who rarely put a foot wrong, both doing more good work here, while Jobson, Box, Nelson-Joyce, and Buda all do exceedingly well to even just hold their own alongside such talented performers. There's nobody here I can complain about, which helps to make up for the strange and weak script from Arnold, who I'm not sure understands her own characters in the way that she should.

Bailey is great, and her character and actions seem nicely consistent with who we learn she is, at her core, as the film unfolds. I'd also say that Kayleigh is just as good, and perhaps this shows Arnold having a natural instinct towards writing her female characters so much better than the males. Peyton is a bit confused, but she still feels like someone who is a natural part of the world we're being shown. The men, on the other hand, all have big problems. Bug has some daydream about using slime from a toad to make enough money to pay for his upcoming marriage, which is a plot point apparently dropped in favour of a third act that just expects everyone to stop being invested in the outcome, and he's also interested in impressing his bride with the kind of song and dance number that feels absolutely pulled from some other movie. Maybe I have just never met enough people like Bug, but I've met a few in my lifetime, and none of the men cut from that particular cloth would even think of trying out the singing and the moves that Keoghan's character works on. Bird isn't as bad, helped by Rogowski being an even better fit for his role, but he's also the typical quirky interloper who brings about some education and change in the life of our lead. He feels quirky for the sake of being quirky, and I'd once again say that the central friendship between Bailey and Bird wouldn't be allowed to last longer than an afternoon once people around her saw the age difference and started to ask questions. As for Skate, he's a panto villain from his very first scene. He's believable though, scarily so, but his placement within the film doesn't really deliver the satisfying journey for anyone that Arnold must have been aiming for.

There are moments here that impress, and I enjoyed one turn in the third act that many others may find completely off-putting, but they never feel part of a satisfyingly cohesive work. Perhaps Arnold would have been better taking various characters and strands to weave into an anthology format, or perhaps spread everything over the kind of runtime afforded by a limited series. She opted to helm another feature film though, and it's her most disappointing work since her adaptation of Wuthering Heights.

6/10

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Netflix And Chill: Emilia Pérez (2024)

I assure you that I had this scheduled for a viewing for some time before it came away as the big winner at the 2025 Golden Globes ceremony. Emilia Pérez ended up on my radar when it started to garner praise in the second half of last year, but I wasn't sure when I would get a chance to finally see it. That chance came around when it dropped on Netflix, but I ended up waiting a while as other feature films from 2024 continued to vie for my attention.

This is the story of the titular Emilia Pérez (Karla Sofía Gascón), who starts the movie as a cartel kingpin known as Manitas. Manitas wants to disappear, wants a whole new life, and wants their family to be safe. They enlist the help of a lawyer named Rita (Zoe Saldaña), and everything soon falls into place. Years pass, and Rita ends up working for her former employer once more, this time ensuring that her wife (Jessi, played by Selene Gomez) and children move in with her, offering the explanation that Emilia is a caring cousin of the apparently-dead Manitas. Emilia also looks to use her ill-gotten money to start helping those who have had their lives destroyed by crime and cartels, but things grow more complicated as she watches Jessi start moving on with her own life in a way that could lead to the family moving away.

There are a number of different elements here that are worthy of consideration. First of all, writer-director Jacques Audiard (although there are a number of other names involved here throughout the writing process) is someone who hasn't really made a bad movie yet, from the seven or eight that I have seen by now. Secondly, this is a musical. Third, and arguably the most important, is . . . well, I think I should use a whole new paragraph to discuss that.

As women try to make progress in Hollywood, and as other people start to push for representation in films and on TV, there's a reasonable argument made about leaving room for them to make mistakes. Equality will only be real when all film-makers have the same time and space as white male film-makers, who all tend to get another chance after delivering something that either under-performs or outright stinks. I would say that this also applies to the LGBTQ+ community, in general, and, to get to my point as it relates to this film, the portrayal of transgender characters. I wasn't really sure if Emilia Pérez really was about a trans woman, or whether it was about a criminal going to extreme lengths to move on from an old life. Both of those things could be true, or neither. Either way, Emilia Pérez isn't actually, from my own limited perspective, a film featuring a transgender lead character that stays focused on the transgender experience. It's actually very familiar territory, but that territory looks different with this main character at the heart of it. I would also say that it's not really that great a film, but I hope that it becomes one of many such films that keep pushing for equality and representation of those who would have previously not been so celebrated for their involvement, on either side of the camera, with these kinds of stories.

I cannot fault the cast, and particular praise should go to both Gascón and Saldaña. The former does a great job of showing how her new life provides a real mix of regret and relief, the latter goes through a very similarly turbulent journey for very different reasons. Gomez is also very good, but fares better when her character isn't as central to things as she becomes in the third act. Adriana Paz is the last person I have to mention, making a strong impression with her few scenes, showing a brilliant mix of vulnerability and self-protection that Emilia admires, and is moved by, and there's also a role for Édgar Ramírez that doesn't really let him do much.

The pacing works quite well for the 132-minute runtime, and the performances ensure that every scene has something compelling in it, but the songs never feel strong enough, moments of real creativity and visual flair are few and far between, and anyone who has seen more than a handful of films will know where things are going by the time we get to the halfway point (if not before).

Maybe that's why Emilia Pérez is worth celebrating though. Maybe it's a film with a transgender character at the heart of it that is happy to not be any kind of super-sharp and super-smart modern classic. Maybe it's progress to have a film like this that is just okay. Or maybe I'll need to revisit it one day, and perhaps see something more worthwhile in it.

6/10

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Shudder Saturday: Mind Body Spirit (2024)

Another horror movie presented in something close to the "found footage" style, and another horror movie joining the growing field of films about people trying to make it as an influencer, it's easy to see why many might take a dislike to Mind Body Spirit, a film that shows what can happen when your yoga goes so wrong that you end up more of a chakra can't than a chakra can. I ended up really liking it though, although there are some issues with the presentation.

Sarah J. Bartholomew plays Anya, a young woman who wants to succeed as an online yoga instructor/influencer. She doesn't seem to have any grand plan though, apart from asking for some collaborations with the savvy Kenzi (Madi Bready). Things change when Anya finds some interesting rituals that were written down by her estranged grandmother, leading her to embrace what she views as part of her Russian heritage and try out some peculiar practices that she thinks should win over people looking for something a bit different from the usual downward dogs and warrior poses.

Co-directed and co-written by Alex Henes and Matthew Merenda, with a story credit for Topher Hendriks, this is a feature debut made by people who know how to work well within certain limitations. It's all mostly set in one space, which is a good way to save on the budgets, and has a very small cast. They throw in a couple of fun clips to break up the potential monotony though, reinforcing the competitive and profitable world that our leading lady is trying to break into. 

Despite moments that feel like minor mis-steps, this generally gets things right when it comes to the general aesthetic and vibe that you'd expect from this world. Characters are, for the most part, careful to remain pleasant and positive at all times, using the right words and trying to give off the right air of confidence and authority that will allow them to "fake it until they make it". Anya may make the mistake of showing a bit too much of her learning process, but that feels in line with someone who isn't really cut out for the fakery and almost inhuman self-control that people often seem to convey when they achieve a state of internet celebrity/guruship.

The whole film depends on the performance from Bartholomew, and she is more than up to the task of carrying everything on her shoulders. Emotionally and physically, Bartholomew convinces at depicting every step of her journey, whether she's being insecure and stumbling or more assertive and determined due to growing (misplaced?) confidence. It's yet another one of those performances that would be given much more praise if seen by more viewers than just us horror fans. The few other cast members also do good work, with Bready enjoyably convincing as the established online yoga pro, and Anna Knigge doing very good work with the little time she gets portraying Anya's mother, Lenka.

While it makes use of a certain style for most of the runtime, Mind Body Spirit never really commits to something that could completely restrict the film-makers. I wouldn't be happy about this if it seemed to be trying to selling itself as something it isn't, but the format makes sense in showing the box that Anya wants to place herself in, and the elements that work outwith the expected boundaries allow things to move in and out of the featured space, as if watching a subject that is being expertly moved in and out of focus while being examined under a microscope.

There's some crisp cinematography from Blake Horn, a nice selection of music from Sean Thatcher Hubrich, and some impressive makeup and effects work, some subtle and some not-so-subtle. There are many who will hate something so slight and relatively tame, but it's all constructed with great care. And the few proper scares delivered are delivered with aplomb. Namaste.

8/10

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Blink Twice (2024)

Some may roll their eyes at Blink Twice starting with a pretty serious trigger warning, but I don't have a problem with it. The subject matter here is something that needs to be carefully navigated, and if any film warrants a trigger warning at the start of it then it's this one.

Naomi Ackie plays Frida, a young woman who cannot believe her luck when she and a friend (Jess, played by Alia Shawkat) end up blagging themselves into the exclusive company of super-rich Slater (Channing Tatum) and his friends. When I say super-rich, I mean that he has the kind of money that allows him to have his own private island, and that is where everyone goes. It's a remote paradise, with everyone enjoying plenty of food, drink, and a variety of illicit substances. But Frida starts to worry when she realises that she has lost track of time, and she has no idea when, or how, she will get home.

This is an impressively bold feature directorial debut from Zoë Kravitz, who also co-wrote the film with E. T. Feigenbaum, but I have already had conversations with people who really disliked what she ended up delivering. I think, personally, that there's an important balance here between things we know to align very closely to real people and events and things that work as a bit of cinematic wish-fulfilment. If you've been reading some of the dark and depressing news headlines of the past decade then you will know who is being (not so) loosely represented onscreen, and the whole film serves as a reminder that justice still needs to be served, as well as being a conversation-starter about the behaviour, entitlement, and different perceptions of abusers and victims.

Although it feels best to start with the female cast members here, for obvious reasons, I am going to praise Tatum for his willingness to take on a role that paints him in such a bad light. He's still charming enough for most of the runtime, which helps a lot in showing the women being seduced by the combination of the setting and the company. Alongside Tatum, making up his inner circle, are Christian Slater, Haley Joel Osment, Simon Rex, and Levon Hawke, and they all do well as fellow party-goers who spend a lot of their time making sure that everyone else remains smiling and blissfully ignorant of any dark undercurrent. Geena Davis also deserves to be highlighted, with her character easily as important as either of our leads, in terms of her part in the proceedings and how she creates another big part of the post-film conversation. Ackie is the real star though, and a great lead to stick close to. She's absolutely brilliant, and the script allows her to enjoy herself for a long time before cracks start to show in the idyllic environment around her, but it helps that she's supported by Shawkat, as great as usual with her portrayal of the ride or die bestie that every woman wants in her life. Adria Arjona also does great work, and actually gets some of the best development of any of the characters, and both Liz Caribel and Trew Mullen do well to avoid getting lost in the busy mix as the party slides towards a close. 

The more carefree moments are soundtracked by the kind of tracks that go with that cool party vibe, but there's also a superb score from Chanda Dancy running throughout the whole thing, and Adam Newport-Berra keeps the visuals light and vibrant until that glow of contentment starts to disappear. I thought this worked on a couple of different levels, and Kravitz has surrounded herself with people who are able to help her walk a very tricky tightrope (including editor Kathryn J. Schubert, and all of those responsible for the whole look and feel of the luxurious playground where we spend most of our time). I know that others disagree, but that disagreement is almost as valuable as agreement with something like this. It's all about the conversation, and keeping that conversation going is one way to stop people from forgetting how these horrors keep being perpetuated.

8/10

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Smile 2 (2024)

Despite the fact that one of the best scare moments was unwisely shown in the trailer for the movie, Smile was a horror movie that I quite enjoyed when it was released a couple of years ago. I haven't ever revisited it, and I didn't think it needed a sequel, but I was more than happy to get to Smile 2 whenever the opportunity arose. It took a while, but the opportunity finally arose.

Naomi Scott plays Skye Riley, a pop star about to embark on a major world tour after some time spent recovering from some major troubles (including a car crash that left her scarred, but lucky to be alive). Things start to get tricky when she ends up as the next in a chain of people who have all been targeted by the demonic entity that drives people insane as they see sinister smiles everywhere.

With Parker Finn back for the writing and directing duties, and making use of one main character from the last film to create a solid continuity leading into this story, this should have been a way to take things in some interesting and creative directions. Sadly, Finn seems more interested in ensuring that there's a bottle of Voss water visible in every main sequence. I wish I was joking. Take a shot of your preferred strong spirit of choice every time someone grabs or drinks a Voss and you will be lapsing into unconsciousness by the halfway point, easily. Are there some good moments here? Yes, but there aren't enough of them to warrant the lengthy runtime, considering how many other moments are disappointingly predictable and staid.

A couple of impressive death scenes will make most viewers jump and wince, and there's a sequence that has a large group of people performing an evil and twisted riff on a dance routine shown much earlier in the movie, but this thing clocks in at 127-minutes. That's too long, especially when the third act feels far too close to the third act of the first film.

Scott makes it watchable though. She's absolutely fantastic for every minute of her screentime, convincing as a pop superstar, and just as convincing when offstage and struggling to keep her celebrity responsibilities at bay as she becomes more vulnerable and scared. Rosemarie DeWitt is also very good, playing her mother/manager, and there are solid performances from Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Lukas Gage, Dylan Gelula, and Peter Jacobson.

This should have been something special. It should have been wild, it should have been a big step up from the original, and it should have left you feeling that Finn had a clear reason, aside from money, to revisit this territory. Sadly, it's just toothless. And that's not usually a good thing for any smile.

4/10

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Prime Time: The Sword And The Sorcerer (1982)

I have fond memories of The Sword And The Sorcerer, all based on one time I probably saw about half of the film and was impressed by both of the titular elements. In fact, let me rephrase that slightly. I HAD fond memories of The Sword And The Sorcerer. I was so convinced that it was a minor classic that I recently purchased a shiny new physical disc release it received from 101 Films, and then I saw that it was also tucked away on Prime Video. Fate was ensuring that I get around to it ASAP.

I'm not going to describe most of the plot, but things start with Cromwell (Richard Lynch) being assisted by a resurrected sorcerer (played by Richard Moll) as he violently places himself at the head of a kingdom. He then betrays the sorcerer, but may wish to have his power helping him once more when a skilled warrior (Talon, played by Lee Horsley) looks to change the status quo. 

Directed by Albert Pyun (who also co-wrote the screenplay with Tom Karnowski and John Stuckmeyer), this is enjoyable enough fantasy fare, and it certainly delivers on what the title is selling. It doesn't hold up as well as numerous other beloved (well . . . beloved by some) barbarian films from this time though, and struggles to hold interest throughout the first half.

Pyun can do a hell of a lot with very little, but he's not a miracle worker. The action here is about as good as you can expect from something relatively low-budget (about $4M, apparently) that presents such a great bit of practical FX and makeup work in the early scenes that showcase the sorcerer. The sets and production design feel like a mix of inventive crew members and camerawork that can recycle the same backdrops with a variety of angle changes and crop off all of the sawdust and plywood just on the edge of each frame. And the acting is based almost as much on who can look muscular and capable in the costumes as it is based on those who can actually act (although, to be clear, Lynch and Moll are definitely in the latter category).

Horsley, in his first feature role, comes close to being a decent lead, but doesn't quite manage it. He's just missing that indefinable star quality, leaving him to undermine a script that tries to give him the perfect recipe of charm, toughness, and wit. Lynch is much more watchable, as he so often is when onscreen with anyone, and he's a very entertaining main villain. Although sidelined for most of the movie, Moll makes one hell of an impression whenever he gets the chance, helped by the people behind the camera who transformed him into such an impressively imposing (even more so than usual) character. Kathleen Beller makes for a fine damsel in distress in the role of Princess Alana, George Maharis is enjoyably scheming and untrustworthy in the role of Count Machelli, and I'll avoid saying anything too negative about Simon MacCorkindal, Anthony De Longis, Robert Terrier, Anna Bjorn, and anyone else joining in the fun. They more or less do what is asked of them, and the sense of enthusiasm and proper fun makes up for the lack of polish.

There's also decent music from David Whitaker, fun (if ridiculous) design work on a couple of featured swords, and pacing that tries to keep viewers interested with either some fighting or gratuitous nudity every 10-15 minutes. The script may struggle to clarify how individuals are related to the central battle for the throne, but the other distractions help you to forget bothering about the minor details. It's easy to see why this has remained a bit of a nostalgic favourite amongst those who first saw it back when it was in cinemas and on VHS. Even as I write about it now, I am smiling and wondering when I will revisit it. Which wasn't the frame of mind I was in when I started this review.

7/10

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