Ick (2024)

I think it's safe to say that Joseph Kahn is quite a divisive director. He certainly has a unique style, one that has been suited better to some films (Bodied) than others (Detention). And he also gave us Torque, which is a whole separate issue. Here he is now with Ick, co-written by Kahn, Dan Koontz, and Samuel Laskey, a sci-fi horror comedy that makes use of 2000s nostalgia and modern-day CGI.

Brandon Routh plays Hank, a man who hasn't had his life turn out the way he hoped it would. An American Football star for a while, injury on the field put a stop to his big dreams. He ends up as a science teacher, stuck in the small town that he hoped to eventually see dwindling in the rear-view mirror. There are regrets, particularly over how things went wrong with his high school sweetheart (Staci, played by Mena Suvari). There's also the Ick, a strange plant-like thing that landed in town years ago, but is now entering a new growth stage, allowing it to infect and use humans in zombiefied and mutated form.

There's fun to be had here, and some of the main sequences are filled with great inventiveness and spectacle, but the main thing working against Ick is the lack of any real horror or tension underpinning things. The leads are shown to be pretty impervious quite early on, especially while running through scenes that show the Ick grabbing and destroying others around them with speed and ease. This isn't a film to keep you on edge, but nor is it fun enough to rely on the gags being good enough for most viewers.

Routh is great in the lead role, and I was very happy to see him do something that made such good use of him, and his young co-stars (Malina Weissman, Taia Sophia, Zeke Jones, and Harrison Cone) all do well to match him. Weissman is a strong co-lead, and Cone deserves extra praise for being such an enjoyable and hateable "faux sensitive" dudebro. Suvari and Peter Wong do well in their supporting roles, the former helping to boost the nostalgia factor, and the other main star is the Ick itself, well-realised by a whole team of workers.

Sadly, the film doesn't ever feel truly deserving of the cast. It's paradoxical that Khan and co. are so interested in hurtling along from start to finish that what could have been energetic and exciting ends up feeling like a bit of a slog instead. I enjoyed individual moments, especially when certain people would meet a sticky end, but once you've seen one Ick attack you've pretty much seen them all. Perhaps if the premise had made more use of the zombiefication, as it does when our hero is hounded by two local cops, then it could have been a better film, but it doesn't.

Still, it's slick stuff, helped along by a soundtrack full of firm favourites from the turn of the century. I will recommend it to those that want something disposable and, well, a bit icky in between some more worthwhile horror movie viewings, but it's a shame that the end result isn't better. It really should have been. 

5/10

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Mubi Monday: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (2010)

Note - this review originally appeared over on Flickfeast.co.uk.

Edgar Wright returned to the director’s chair with his first big American picture and produced another hugely entertaining modern classic that put him at three for three.

Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is a twenty-something slacker dating a high schooler (Knives Chau, played by Ellen Wong) and playing in a band, Sex Bob-Omb. When he falls in love with the beautiful and aloof Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) it certainly looks like things are on the up and up, especially with Sex Bob-Omb finally moving from playing in a living room to taking part in a local battle of the bands. Things get complicated, however, when it transpires that Ramona has seven evil exes and Scott has to fight each one of them if he wants to keep her in his life.

Although it’s based on a series of graphic novels, Edgar Wright has here shown how to make the very best videogame movie possible. The structure, at heart, is the standard “beat each successively harder end-of-level boss” and the movie is full of great videogame references and audio and visual gags. Basically, Wright does for videogames with this movie what he did for action flicks in Hot Fuzz and zombie movies in Shaun Of The Dead.

The script, based on the original work by Brian Lee O’Malley and co-written by Michael Bacall and Wright himself, is chock full of great lines and you’re never more than mere seconds away from a great gag.

The direction, as fans such as myself would expect, is superb. With the design and look of the thing inspired both by the graphic novels and numerous videogames everything is eye-catching and every frame is full of little details for you to catch up with on repeat viewings (as was also the case with Wright’s previous two movies). The execution of the comedy is something completely unsurprising but what IS an eye-opener is the choreography and shooting style of each of the big fight sequences. Wright uses visual FX and editing to add energy and impact but he also takes time to showcase some great physical action, providing us with some of the best mainstream kick-ass fun since . . . . . . . . . . . well, I don’t know when. The Expendables, The A-Team, and The Losers were the more straightforward, and hugely enjoyable, action movies of 2010 but Scott Pilgrim, uber-geek that he is, fights his way up to earn a deserved spot right beside them.

As for the cast, there is nobody here who disappoints and it’s a testament to the quality from beginning to end that I can’t write this review without wanting to mention some highlight relating to every single main character onscreen. Michael Cera’s effortless geek persona fits perfectly with his character, Mary Elizabeth Winstead is cool and sexy and Ellen Wong is just as cute as a button. Kieran Culkin puts yet another great, fun role in his growing catalogue of great, fun roles and Anna Kendrick cements her reputation as someone to keep an eye on. The band members (Mark Webber, Alison Pill and Johnny Simmons) are a great bunch with Alison Pill providing the most entertainment as feisty girl drummer, Kim. And then we have the numerous evil exes – Satya Bhabha, Chris Evans, Brandon Routh, Mae Whitman, Keita Saitou and Shota Saito and last, but by no means least, Jason Schwartzman – each one with their own quirky style and each one necessitating a special, super duper finishing move. Chris Evans and Brandon Routh stand out as major highlights but that’s not really a fair statement because every major character and set-piece brings something memorable to the proceedings.

I feel like I’ve missed something out now, some great comment on the superb dialogue or some praise for one of the actors or even talk about the soundtrack (which I actually DID forget to mention despite how energetic and great it is), but that’s just because Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is so good that you want to praise every aspect of it. It just falls short of being perfect but it’s easily one of the very best, and most entertaining, films of 2010.

9/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy the movie here.

The Nine Lives Of Christmas (2014)

Sometimes I watch so many cheesy Christmas movies at this time of year that I start to wonder if it affects my judgment. Are some of the films better than others, or am I just so relieved when one is less painful that it gets bumped up a few points in my mind? I like to think the former, but bear that in mind whenever you check out reviews that I wrote up throughout December.

The Nine Lives Of Christmas is based on a book by Sheila Roberts. Nope, I'd never heard of it either. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that Nancey Silvers adapted it into a screenplay, and Mark Jean was allowed to direct it. And the two of them don't seem to do a bad job.

Taking place in the kind of picture-perfect American small town that now only seems to exist in the world of TV movies, this is the tale of a kind, handsome fireman (Zachary, played by Brandon Routh), a kind and attractive young woman (Marilee, played by Kimberly Sustad), and the cat that brings them together. Unfortunately, Zachary is afraid of commitment, which may hamper any potential progress for the attraction that the two clearly have for one another.

I really expected to have to endure this film, as I endure many other seasonal outings (so that you all don't have to), but I have to say that this was a pleasant surprise. Still not quite good enough to be classed as GOOD, it at least has some amusing moments that will raise a genuine smile and benefits from two leads who are very easy to like.

Routh deserves to be a much bigger star, and I run the risk of saying that every time I watch a movie that he's in. The guy is a decent actor, even if he's not among the very best, and he has the looks and good humour to make a role like this a bit better than it could have been. Sustad is a nice match for him, in terms of the tale being told here, and the two never feel too annoying or sickly in any of their scenes together. Chelsea Hobbs is okay as the woman who most people know isn't really nice enough to be with Routh's character, while Stephanie Bennett, Gregory Harrison, Sean Tyson and Dalias Blake all offer solid support.

As previously mentioned, script and direction aren't too bad either. You're never likely to get any major lesson in cinematic techniques when watching these festive TV movies, but this never feels like some of the worst examples - the ones with stationary cameras and sets that look paper-thin. No, this feels like events are taking place in a real environment. There's movement, and there are a variety of nice sets/locations used.

And there's some fun to be had. Especially if you're looking for something that's both romantic and also tolerable.

5/10

http://www.amazon.com/Hallmark-Lives-Christmas-Family-Romance/dp/B00PTGRZJE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417266259&sr=8-1&keywords=the+nine+lives+of+christmas+dvd