For It Is Man's Number: chris pratt

Showing posts with label chris pratt. Show all posts

Friday, 5 June 2026

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026)

Considering how little I cared for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, although I didn't outright hate it, I knew that I wouldn't be in the target demographic for this sequel. There's an extra Princess (Rosalina, voiced by Brie Larson, alongside Princess Peach), an extra baddie (Bowser Junior, voiced by Benny Safdie), and even an appearance from another Nintendo hero, Fox McCloud (voiced by Glen Powell). A lot of people will love it. I am not one of those people, but I will start this review by saying that I slightly preferred it to the first film. Maybe I was in a better mood. Or maybe it's actually a better film.

There's no reason to fully summarise the plot. Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are living their best life. Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) is also happy enough, as are both Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) and a cute little newcomer going by the name of Yoshi (Donald Glover). Bowser (Jack Black) has been kept in a shrunken and harmless form, working through his anger management issues, but he may be the one character able to help everyone when Bowser Junior starts kidnapping royalty and developing a ginormous super-weapon.

It's a good sign, in general, when everyone returns to their main roles for any sequel. As well as the extensive voice cast, writer Matthew Fogel is back for this adventure, as are directors and co-directors Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Pierre Leduc, and Pabien Polack. They may not be making a film aimed specifically at me, but they certainly know how to make a cute and colourful film that should keep Mario fans amused and entertained throughout. Every scene is bright and busy, but somehow avoids being too much of either, and the score from Brian Tyler, also returning, continues to blend in plenty of reworked game themes and fun audio cues.

Pratt and Day are fine in their roles, but nobody feels like a full-on lead here. This is a sprawling ensemble piece, with plenty of time given to fun moments featuring the other characters. Black is a bit more restrained this time around, but actually works better for it, Safdie is very entertaining, and both Taylor-Joy and Brie are the most excellent princesses since the two excellent princesses won over by the charms of Bill & Ted. As well as Glover and Key, who both work well for their characters, there are enjoyable small roles for Roxana Ortega, Luis Guzmán, Issa Rae, as well as the star cameo from Powell.

If you liked the first movie then you're sure to like this one. Even if you didn't really like the first movie, but didn't hate it either, this might just win you over. Despite cramming in more references for fans of the game series, it somehow feels more free. There's no need to pretend that we need any more "tutorial guide" moments, nor any complicated origin tales, when we can just get to Mario and Luigi wandering around various environments, bashing bricks, being helped by Yoshi, and finding a variety of timely power-ups. I may even end up rewatching the first film, and perhaps warming to it, after enjoying this one so much more.

7/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

Wednesday, 15 April 2026

Prime Time: Mercy (2026)

The film may be called Mercy, but the easiest way to let you know my opinion on it is to clarify that no mercy is shown to any viewers who manage to sit through this absolute dross. I've seen some movie mis-steps, and I've already sat through more films trying to make AI a main plot element than I ever wanted to, but this is easily one of the worst star vehicles I've seen in quite some time.

Set in the near future, Chris Raven (Chris Pratt) wakes up to find himself in the Mercy court. He's a detective, but he's accused of murdering his wife. All of the evidence points to him doing it, but the AI Judge Maddox (Rebecca Ferguson) still allows him 90 minutes "trial" to attempt to prove enough reasonable doubt. The clock is ticking. Chris cannot move, but he can access all of the phones and recordings available to the AI system, and he can try to maintain communication with his partner (Kali Reis), his sponsor (Chris Sullivan), and his daughter (Kylie Rogers) while following the slimmest of leads that he hopes will lead to proving his innocence.

It looks as if director Timur Bekmambetov, once an interesting and impressive talent, has been seduced by the dark side. Translation = he seems to have become obsessed with films about tech or plots that can be played out in the "screenlife" form. I won't blame him entirely for this mess though. The majority of the blame needs to be put at the feet of writer Marco van Belle. This is only his second produced screenplay, the first belonging to a film that he also directed back in 2015, but I already believe that people should do their utmost to stop him from writing a third.

It would be bad enough if it just went through the standard motions of an unimaginative thriller, lacking any proper tension and almost entirely predictable from the first minute to the last. It gets so much worse though. Van Belle seems to have lost focus of his own writing, and instead decided to throw in awful dialogue and clichés that make no sense in the context established onscreen. That's the only explanation I can think of for a film that turns a knowledgeable and smart AI entity into something more akin to an alien or clumsy robot learning about the human race. I wasn't exactly invested in the thing at any point, but I struggled to keep myself from checking out entirely when Pratt says that he's working on a hunch and Ferguson has to keep a straight face while asking "what is a hunch?". I can neither confirm nor deny the rumour that I stood up and yelled "you're an AI entity, you can just find out the definition of what a hunch is in a fraction of a second!" before slamming my face repeatedly into the nearest wall. And that's before the unfeeling and impartial judge starts becoming surprisingly . . . partial, working hard to help our hero get the answers that he needs before the timer runs out/film ends.

It was always going to be difficult to impress people with a film that required Pratt to be the emotional character and Ferguson to be an impassive avatar, and the end result plays out as expected. Both are miscast, and both suffer, but it's Pratt who does more to unbalance the whole film, unconvincing for almost every minute that he's onscreen (and, sadly, he's onscreen for the majority of the runtime). A few supporting cast members do better, but that's not hard.

I'm not sure how much it cost to make Mercy, online sources put it at about $60M, but I can guarantee you that giving that money to ten different film-makers could have given us ten much more interesting slices of science fiction. And any of them might have featured a leading man capable of some proper emoting.

2/10

Sunday, 23 March 2025

Netflix And Chill: The Electric State (2025)

Based on a book by Simon Stålenhag, and directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, The Electric State is a sci-fi drama that packs every scene with numerous robots that seem to exist for no other reason than to justify the ridiculously bloated budget (which I've seen in the range of $275M-$320M). It's horribly empty stuff, not helped by two leads who aren't able to distract from the weaker elements.

In an alternate timeline, robots tried to demand more rights, which started a war between them and the humans. Robots are now held in an exclusion zone, and humans are kept docile and "safe" by wearing headsets that keep them connected to an online world overseen by tech mogul Ethan Skate (Stanley Tucci). Millie Bobby Brown plays Michelle, a young woman who had her life ruined by the death of her parents and brother, and she ends up heading on a perilous journey when approached by a robot that claims to actually BE her brother. Her chances of success in getting into the exclusion zone will depend on enlisting the help of a scavenger named Keats (Chris Pratt), but there's a determined soldier (Giancarlo Esposito) using his remote robot body to hunt them down.

Re-uniting once again with writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the Russos show a level of incompetence here that is bewildering to those who know how well they can do with big-budget spectacle. Despite keeping everything busy and overstuffed, nothing here has any impact. It's mind-numbingly predictable, none of the attempted small emotional beats work, and it should be a crime for any film-makers to manage to waste both Tucci and Esposito in such thankless roles.

Both Brown and Pratt can be very good in the right roles. These are not the right roles for them. That would be easier to accept if the robot cast was a better mix of fun designs and canny voice casting, but the voice cast ends up being as wasted as every one of the visible performers. Woody Harrelson is fun, overall, but Anthony Mackie, Brian Cox, Hank Azaria, Jenny Slate, and Alan Tudyk never get to be as good as they can be. As well as Tucci and Esposito, Ke Huy Quan is also left floundering with the poor screenplay, and both Holly Hunter and Jason Alexander are given far too little screentime.

A film of many paradoxes, this is an epic tale on a grand scale that never really feels as if we are really seeing a big picture. It's a film about technology that rarely feels relevant, but it's also looking at humanity without managing to find the warmth and emotion needed (particularly in the third act). It throws money around in a way that doesn't translate onscreen, completely fails to entertain at the simplest level, and seems to consistently and determinedly dull the potential shine of the stars at the heart of it.

I would compliment the soundtrack, if stretching for something nice to say, but even that is marred by a moment that has a melancholy piano version of Wonderwall on it. I'm sure everyone tried their best, from the production designers to the cinematographer, but it's all mashed together with a laziness and cynicism that easily makes it a contender for one of the worst modern blockbusters I have seen in the past few years (and, yes, that includes every non-Spidey-but-Spideyverse film from Sony).

2/10

Monday, 10 July 2023

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

It took a while, a span of time that saw writer-director James Gunn move from Marvel to DC and then back again, and then back AGAIN to accept a very senior role at DC, but we got there eventually. The third, and final (at least in this incarnation), adventure for the Guardians Of The Galaxy. A lot of people are happy, most seem to think that Gunn managed to stick the landing. I am not in agreement with those people.

Our main group aren’t in a great place when the film starts, with Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) spending time drunk and sad while the others are unable to snap him out of his funk. Everything gets much worse when Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) turns up, picks a fight with our gang, and then leaves after being seriously wounded. He isn’t the only casualty though. Rocket (Bradley Cooper) ends up in critical condition, and the fact that he has some kind of killswitch inside him makes it impossible to immediately heal him. The guardians have to figure out how to bypass the killswitch, which means they have to find out more about Rocket’s past, putting them on a headlong path towards someone known as The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji). Well, we find out about Rocket’s past as we see many flashbacks showing us everything that the Guardians may or may not find out about at a later stage.

While I am not going to say that this is the worst Marvel movie since Thor: Love And Thunder, there are a lot of the same problems dragging this down from the great ending it could have been. Much like Waititi being encouraged to further indulge himself with his second Thor movie, Gunn seems to have been given free rein to cut loose and go crazy for the final instalment of this trilogy. With the exception of The High Evolutionary, who is a fantastic main villain, almost everyone now speaks in banter and gags. There are very few instances without an abundance of jokes. I get that these movies have been full of humour throughout the previous instalments, but it’s all overdone here in a way that jars with the more serious moments. And, hooo boy, are there some serious moments here. The whole backstory for Rocket is an upsetting and emotional look at animal vivisection, and the third act feels even more callous than some of the other Marvel movies, when you fully consider the impact of the large-scale destruction. So I can see that Gunn would have wanted plenty of humour to offset these moments, but it just doesn’t work well enough, mainly due to him twisting other characters too far away from how they used to be. Even a surprising Groot (still voiced by Vin Diesel) moment feels a bit disappointing and at odds with the charm of his essence.

The production design is wild throughout, and that also feels as if it has gone too far. Gunn wants every scene crammed full of alien species and strange environments, but too much of everything just has you wishing for a moment or two of something refreshingly normal. And then there’s the soundtrack, which people have once again marked as a highlight. No. This is a selection of obtrusive needle-drops that simply don’t work as well as by soundtrack choices from the first two movies. I love most of the songs used here, but they rarely felt like a natural fit for the scenes they were shoehorned into.

The cast generally do a good job, working well with what they are given. If you enjoyed Pratt, Cooper, Diesel, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, Karen Gillan, Zoe Saldana, and Sean Gunn in the previous movies then you should enjoy them here. Poulter is sadly wasted in his role, as is Elizabeth Debicki (playing his “mother”), Maria Bakalova provides the voice of Cosmo, another fairly wasted character, and I am sure fans of Gunn’s work will enjoy seeing a small role for Nathan Fillion. Iwuji would steal the film though, were it not for the fact that many of his scenes involve him interacting with a super-cute, younger version of Rocket. His genuinely threatening and cruel villain is good enough to lift the whole film up a notch or two.

It’s hard to stay angry or disappointed with Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 though, knowing that everyone involved really wanted to come back and do their best to ensure a fitting end to this particular chapter in their cinematic incarnation, but it’s not one I will be revisiting, as opposed to the previous two adventures. Not only is the main storyline surprisingly predictable, it’s also surprisingly unsatisfying. One moment near the very end had me thinking that Gunn was actually committed to making the most of this opportunity to provide a properly emotional ending for this ragtag bunch of reluctant heroes, but it was soon undercut by one of the many easier options available in his storytelling toolbox. And it's also worth noting the most egregious and unnecessary "f-bomb" I can think of, seemingly just to take full advantage of the 12A rating here in the UK.

There are still moments here to enjoy, and many other people found less to be critical of than I did, but I was disappointed, and it feels like yet more proof that Marvel will struggle to get back to the consistent greatness they made seem so effortless as they built everything towards the cinematic conclusion of the Infinity Saga.

5/10

Thursday, 1 June 2023

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

Look, whether we want to or not, we can all remember the last time that The Super Mario Bros. were presented in movie form. It wasn’t exactly great, and it wasn’t exactly embraced by audiences. So trying again, but this time in animated form, isn’t a bad thing. And my opinion on this is already fairly redundant, considering the amount of money that this has taken at the global box office. But here it is anyway.

The plot is quite simple. Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are two New York plumbers who end up heading down a pipe that takes them through to a whole new world. Luigi lands in the Dark Lands and is almost immediately imprisoned by goons working for the warmongering Bowser (Jack Black). Mario, having landed in a much nicer area, the Mushroom Kingdom, befriends Toad (Keegan-Michael Key), who ends up taking him to Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), the person who may be best-equipped to help him reunite with his brother. Meanwhile, a major battle is looming. The odds for our heroes might be boosted if they can enlist the help of Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen).

Although there’s only one man responsible for the script here, Matthew Fogel, due credit should go to everyone who has every helped develop any of the multitude of Mario videogames. While squarely aimed at a very young audience, with the animation style, bright colours, and cute characters, a lot of little references are sprinkled throughout every scene to appeal to those well-versed with the history of the most famous adventuring plumber in the world. The plot is simple though, as simple as most of the games, and really just feels like an excuse to put together some moments that feel like sizzle reels or adverts for the latest instalments in the series (watch Mario attempt an obstacle course run, watch Mario jump up various platforms and use pipes to get quickly to the top of a new area, watch vehicles drive along in a Mario Kart section).

It’s surprising that four people are named as directors and co-directors on this. Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic have some fun Teen Titans Go! in their recent past, and Pierre Leduc and Fabien Polack seem to be loyal Illumination staff being rewarded for their work on other projects. All they really have to do is cut and paste things together, or so it would seem, and the real highlights come from the times when the score references some videogame music cues (any time Bowser is at the piano is a real treat).

Pratt and Day are fine in their roles, I guess, but they’re certainly not overflowing with authenticity, from the accents to the shoehorned-in catchphrases. It could have been anyone in these roles, which makes it irritating that Pratt and Day landed them, however you feel about both movie stars. Things are better elsewhere though, with Key and Taylor-Joy feeling much better suited to the characters they are voicing. Black is the star though, so much fun as Bowser, in terms of both the dialogue he gets and how he delivers it, that it’s enough to make up for Seth Rogen playing Donkey Kong as Seth Rogen. You may already have heard the song about Princess Peach, but it’s the best part of the film, and one I could happily watch repeated on a loop without having to revisit anything else here.

I can see why this has done so well, and there are a few wonderful supporting characters that I have failed to mention (including one hilariously nihilistic, but cute, prisoner held in a cage alongside Luigi), but this just felt too bland and uninventive to me. As flawed as the live action movie is, and I would never make a case for it being any kind of misunderstood classic, it at least had people working on it who didn’t just throw together a “greatest hits” selection of gaming moments. And I will remember the weirdness in that film more often than I will remember anything from this.

5/10

Tuesday, 12 July 2022

Jurassic World Dominion (2022)

I had heard a variety of opinions on Jurassic World Dominion before I finally got around to seeing it, which meant I was perhaps better prepared for it than I otherwise might have been. I heard that Chris Pratt tries to defuse every dinosaur encounter by doing that hand gesture he does (true). I heard that some of the connective tissue to the first film was very tenuous (also true). I heard that there was a disappointing lack of actual dinosaurs, with them being pushed aside in favour of a plot about dangerous bugs (tosh and piffle).

Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Owen (Chris Pratt) live in a cabin in the woods, being parental figures to Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon). They try to stress to Isabella how important it is that she stays hidden away, due to the value of her DNA, but that doesn’t work. In a double-whammy of villainy, both Maisie and a new baby raptor (Blue’s baby, no less) are kidnapped and taken away to the main villain of the piece. I won’t name them, but it is obvious from the very start. Meanwhile, Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) is investigating the source of some dangerous new species of locust, which leads to her dragging Alan Grant (Sam Neill) along to the HQ of a company called Biosyn, headed up by Lewis Dodgson (Campbell Scott). Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) works at Biosyn, but he would like someone to get proof of what he suspects are misdeeds.

With director Colin Trevorrow returning to direct this instalment of the franchise, continuing the story he worked out with Derek Connolly, shaped into a finalised screenplay by himself and Emily Carmichael, this feels like exactly what it is, a film that is part standard blockbuster spectacle and part celebration of an enduring modern franchise. I wasn’t too impressed by the first Jurassic World movie, and I initially felt the same about Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (a film I have subsequently viewed in a more favourable light), but maybe I have been too harsh, perhaps because I have always been hoping to experience the thrill of that Spielberg original all over again.

This is a really solid slice of dino-filled action. It may have a lengthy runtime, but it doesn’t feel overlong. Set-pieces and exciting moments are sprinkled throughout, with the sequence set in Malts being one of the most entertaining blockbuster moments I have seen in some time, the locust sub-plot adds some more tension (and, more importantly, provides a good reason for everyone ending up together in the same place), and there’s a feeling of plausibility in this world that now has dinosaurs free to roam certain areas of our planet.

Dern, Neill, and Goldblum are very welcome in their reprised roles, all three settling into a comfortable rapport with one another, and also working well when they eventually encounter the new characters. Pratt and Howard are just fine, although they have never been as good in the lead roles as other options we could have had, and Scott has fun as the typical rich guy who wants to play god in ways that might have unforeseen consequences. There are also enjoyable performances from DeWanda Wise (playing Kayla, a pilot who ends up helping our main characters) and Mamoudou Athie (as Ramsay, the nervous young man tasked with showing Sattler and Grant around Biosyn). The one sour note is, unfortunately, Sermon. As decent as she was in the last film, she feels completely out of place and unconvincing here. Perhaps the writing also works against her, or maybe her performance just feels more full of affectation now she is a bit older and a bit more self-conscious.

The other main performances come from the dinosaurs, of course, and they are as good as ever. You get another enjoyable variety of creatures, with some of them being VERY cute (baby triceratops WILL make you go “awwwwww”), and the blending of animatronics and CGI is pretty flawless throughout.

What more could you want? The score brings in the obvious cues when expected, there are some fun lines of dialogue that work on a meta level without stopping everything to wink at the audience, and it once again allows our old pal, the t-rex, to steal a couple of scenes and remind everyone of how much we all love to gape at a t-rex.

8/10

Wednesday, 7 July 2021

Prime Time: The Tomorrow War (2021)

Here’s an idea. A race of aliens invade our planet, seemingly unstoppable, and the population of Earth manage to create two time portals, one in “the present” and one in the midst of the war against the aliens. The people of the future then come to our present, telling everyone that they need to enlist citizens for army duty. Chris Pratt plays Dan Forester, an ex-soldier who is now focused a science teacher, as well as a loving husband and father. When he is called up for duty, the aliens won’t know what is in store for them. Or maybe they will. Maybe the war is futile, unless Muri Forester (Yvonne Strahovski, playing the adult version of Dan’s daughter) can come up with a way to change the past.

Director Chris McKay has delivered some very enjoyable entertainment with his past few movies. The Tomorrow War wouldn’t make you remember that. It is, at best, competent. But, at worst, it drops every interesting idea in favour of brainless sequences that have Chris Pratt, sometimes teamed up with J. K. Simmons (playing Pratt’s father), fighting vicious aliens. Those sequences are perfectly fine, the action is done well enough and the CGI maintains a high standard, but they’re not good enough to remind you of the stuff not being explored.

I’m not sure if the fault lies with McKay, or with writer Zach Dean. Knowing that an alien race are about to devastate the planet and kill us all, people start to riot and act as if nothing really matters. Because nothing really matters. An interesting part of the film, dropped after being shown for about ten seconds. The whole third act, unable to avoid a major paradox, decides to just hurtle towards the end credits and hope you don’t realise how poorly plotted it is. You do, however, realise how poorly plotted it is, and not just with the time travel element.

Pratt is decent enough in his lead role, although he is much more comfortable in action man mode than he is in any of the family scenes (acting opposite Betty Gilpin, playing his wife, and/or Strahovski and Ryan Kiera Armstrong, both playing Muri at different points in her life). He does better with Simmons, but that’s mainly due to the two of them having a fractious relationship for most of the runtime. Sam Richardson and Edwin Hodge are good, playing people with two very different skill levels in the heat of battle. And you get a smattering of other supporting players who all do decent work.

If you want a sci-fi action movie that entertains then this does fit the bill. The first extended fight sequence against the aliens (weird spider-squid hybrid creatures) alone makes it worthwhile. Just be prepared to ignore anything that even hints at being thought-provoking, because it really doesn’t want viewers to think.

6/10

Friday, 29 May 2020

Onward (2020)

Here's the starting point for this review. Onward is a disappointing film from Pixar. The fact that it IS from Pixar means there is still a lot here to enjoy, but it's disappointing, even if the message about sibling love/care feels like a slight improvement on the neverending stream of movies aimed at kids with a message all about how the people who created them during the act of sex are the best, and most important, people in the universe, and to be loved by them is the cure for everything ever.

I admit . . . that has been a bugbear of mine for many years. I have my reasons.

Tom Holland voices Ian Lightfoot, the younger brother of Barley Lightfoot (Chris Pratt). The brothers live in a magical world that has left a lot of the old ways behind, for more convenient methods. They live with their mother, Laurel (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and the shadow cast by the death of their father. So it becomes an urgent matter when the brothers are given a gift from their late father, a magical staff and instructions on how to bring him back for one extra day with them. So begins a quest that will involve some erratic driving, some angry pixies, a number of death-defying moments, a manticore, and lessons about the people in your life who help bring out the best in you.

Visually, Onward is lovely. The quality of the animation is as you would expect from Pixar, although it's a shame that every scene isn't packed out with the usual selection of details and small gags that we've come to expect from them. Maybe they are now a victim of their own success, and there are certainly plenty of lovely touches to pick up on repeat viewings (while occasionally pausing the movie), but it definitely feels like this movie is set in a universe that was not as fully-formed as the environments in so many other Pixar movies.

Holland and Pratt are decent leads, and their vocal performances somehow emanate a nice helping of brotherly love, but the rest of the cast feels a bit . . . lacking. Louis-Dreyfus is a fine mom character, Octavia Spencer is wonderful as the Manticore, but they're the only ones who stand out. Mel Rodriguez gets a number of good lines, playing Colt Bronco, a centaur police officer dating Mrs Lightfoot (and let's not even start considering the ramifications of THAT relationship), but it would have been nice to have a more familiar voice in that role.

Director Dan Scanlon also co-created the story and screenplay with Keith Bunin and Jason Headley, and this feels like a film that may have been better handed over to someone a step removed from the story. Everyone involved treats it as something a bit too precious, which is why the better moments (the angry pixies being a highlight) are so few and far between. As sweet and predictable as the ending is, it also feels like the safest and dullest way to tie everything up in time for the pending end credits.

As mentioned at the very start of this review, however, there is still plenty to enjoy here. It's not as bad as The Good Dinosaur (which remains the worst of the many Pixar movies I have seen so far, although I have yet to watch the Cars movies, despite owning them). It's just not half as good as it could have been. It's Onward, but no step upward.

6/10

https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

Sunday, 11 August 2019

Netflix And Chill: Wanted (2008)

James McAvoy plays Wesley, a frustrated loser stuck in an office job he hates, living with a girlfriend who is cheating on him (with his "friend", Barry, played by Chris Pratt), and generally feeling as if his life has amounted to absolutely nothing. That all changes one day when he is caught up in a shoot-out involving a woman (Angelina Jolie) who can perform a number of seemingly-impossible acts. She is part of a team of assassins, a team that wants Wesley to join, because they know he has the skills required. Led by Sloan (Morgan Freeman), this team is tasked with eliminating people who are picked by a fate-deciding loom. If you think that is silly, just wait until you see the rest of this film.

Based on a comic book series by Mark Millar and J. G. Jones, Wanted is absolutely ridiculous from start to finish. The characters are superhuman, every major set-piece has at least one stunt too many added to it, and the ending is laughably demented. And I love it. The screenplay, written by Michael Brandt, Derek Haas, and Chris Morgan, is juvenile stuff, complete wish-fulfilment for young men who sit around and daydream of being someone important and brave, but the energy and flair ensure that you'll have a hell of a good time, as long as you don't overthink things.

Director Timur Bekmambetov is at ease with the kind of action on display here (having previously delivered wonderfully imaginative, and memorable, moments in the Night Watch and Day Watch movies) and he keeps the tone consistent throughout. If you're wanting something with any hint of realism then look elsewhere.

McAvoy has a blast in the main role, especially when he first transitions from mild-mannered cuckold to badass who realises he can shed his old life. Jolie is in her top badass phase, which gave us films as varied as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, this, and Salt (to name a few), and she's about as cool as they come. And then you have Freeman, once again playing god, in a way, and doing well in his supporting role. There are also decent turns from Terence Stamp (in a cameo role), Thomas Kretschmann, Common (if you have a script about assassins then send it to him, because he seems to love 'em), Marc Warren, David O'Hara, Konstantin Khabenskiy, as well as that amusing turn from Pratt, playing the disloyal friend.

This is a film that wants you to believe that the rules of the physical world around us are more flexible than we have been led to believe. It tries hard to ground the main premise in a theory that seems possible, but utterly fails to do so. The whole thing, from the superpowers to the grand design of it all, is just far too outlandish. So the best thing to do is relax and enjoy the action without overthinking things. And then enjoy the grand finale, which I absolutely love (although I can see why some will find it a step too far). Basically, if you've gone along with the film up to that point then you should find the ending as wonderful and hilarious as I do. If you've not been able to get on board with the film at all then, well, I guess you may not even make it to the end.

7/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share

Sunday, 10 March 2019

Netflix And Chill: The Five-Year Engagement (2012)

Another offbeat rom-com from Nicholas Stoller (director and co-writer) and Jason Segel (star and co-writer), The Five-Year Engagement is a lot more fun, and a lot sweeter, than I expected it to be (considering the mixed opinions I had heard on it). The biggest problem it has, like so many other comedies from recent years, is a lengthy runtime. Having said that, I am not sure what I would cut out of it to slim it down. I just know that I was waiting for a suitable final act about thirty minutes before it was due to be delivered.

Segel and Emily Blunt play Tom and Violet, a couple who are very much in love, and so get engaged. As the title may suggest, things keep cropping up that extend their engagement again and again. They end up living in Michigan, which Tom resents, while others start to race forward with their own life plans (mainly Violet's sister, Suzie, and Tom's best friend, Alex). Nothing seems to get easier, which puts more and more strain on their relationship. Can they get through this problematic stage, or does such a lengthy engagement mean that it's just not meant to be?

The middle section of The Five-Year Engagement is the weakest part, as the film seems to relish piling on the misery for the two main characters and becoming far too sour for a rom-com (even for an anti-rom-com, which this seems to be for a while, before making amends in the final stages). There are still a lot of funny lines and moments, but everything is tinged with sadness, doubly so for viewers who like both of the leads (and I do).

Stoller directs capably enough. You get plenty of obvious, amusing, transitions, the soundtrack has some jangly guitar tunes on there, and he allows the cast to interact with one another in a way that feels natural without feeling like the extended improvisations you would get in a Judd Apatow film. But that's definitely the biggest problem here, the Apatow effect. There's just no need for a film like this to be over two hours long.

It's a good job that the cast are so enjoyable, making it easier to accept the inflated runtime. Segel and Blunt are fantastic in the lead roles, and you really root for them to stay together, and a lot of laughs come from Alison Brie and Chris Pratt, playing Suzie and Tom. Rhys Ifans is also good fun, playing a professor who supports Violet in a way that may creep beyond professional interest, and others joining in with the fun include Brian Posehn, Dakota Johnson, Mindy Kaling, Randall Park, Kevin Hart, Jacki Weaver, and more.

This is a fun film. It has enough laughs to be a good comedy. It has enough sweetness to be a good romance. It's a fantastic ninety minutes. Stretched to over two hours.

7/10

Pick it up here.
Americans can go buy it here.

Friday, 1 August 2014

Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)

Guardians Of The Galaxy is a rare thing indeed. A blockbuster that exceeds expectations, a slick slice of comic-book entertainment that perfectly blends heart, humour, thrills, and action (and some great songs). It's like a flipped upside-down version of The Avengers, while also serving as a perfect companion piece to that ensemble piece. So let me get the plot description out of the way, and then I can start the drooling words of praise.

Chris Pratt (having a great year, thanks to both this and The Lego Movie) stars as Peter Quill. Well, he'd prefer everyone to call him Star Lord, but that doesn't seem to be happening. Peter gets himself in some trouble when he tries to steal a mysterious orb. It's wanted by a big baddie named Ronan (Lee Pace), who is working for the evil Thanos (Josh Brolin). That's why a deadly assassin named Gamora (Zoe Saldana) is sent to deal with Peter. And that's why there's a bounty on his head, that ends up interesting Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel). There's a big fight which lands the four individuals in prison, where they meet the vengeance-seeking Drax (Dave Bautista). Unbeknownst to them, they are about to work together as a team on an adventure that will start off with them looking for riches, or vengeance, in the case of Drax, and end up with them finding . . . . . . . . . . . . . well, something else.

Worthy of the name Star Lord?

There's SO much in this movie that's just pretty perfect, it will have many viewers with a big grin on their face as the end credits roll, and repeat viewings won't dampen its appeal. It may run for about 120 minutes, but that just flies by. Very few scenes are completely extraneous, with almost every line of dialogue and every action fleshing out the motley team onscreen, showing their motivation, their fears, their courage, their humour, their very entitlement to be main characters in this big-budget film.

The script, co-written by director James Gunn and Nicole Perlman, deftly balances everything that I've already mentioned. The action beats aren't ever forgotten, but the real draw here is the fact that we can spend time with such great characters, and see them grow into their roles. And, yes, the fact that Groot basically says nothing but "I am Groot" makes for both a nice running joke and also a surprisingly effective way of establishing his closeness with Rocket, a raccoon with a sharp mind, smart mouth, and penchant for building potent weaponry at short notice.

Gunn takes the script and overlays it with assured, slick direction. He may have already gotten used to the big chair, with the likes of Slither and Super, but this is a massive step up, and viewers never once see any signs of nerves or insecurity. Which is as it should be. Gunn's instincts have been steering him right for years (yes, yes I do also love Tromeo & Juliet - his first movie as a writer - so sue me) and it seems that audiences might finally be completely receptive to his output. Okay, it's the Marvel name being sold, but it's Gunn who takes this gamble and makes it into an outright winner.

He's helped immensely by a cast full of people all on top form. Pratt, as mentioned above, is due to make 2014 HIS year. His performance here is wonderful, and I've no doubt that he'll win over lots of new fans with this role. Saldana gets another chance to be tough and sexy, and she can do that with ease, even with green skin. Cooper and Diesel may be providing voices only, and the latter may only be mostly saddled with the one sentence, but don't underestimate the great work that they do. And Dave Bautista is surprisingly good as the angry brute who has a habit of taking figures of speech literally. Pace is good enough, yet his character is a bit weak, especially when compared to other villains from the Marvel universe,and ESPECIALLY compared to big bad Thanos. I shouldn't have to check the name of the villain at IMDb while writing this review, but that's what I had to do.

"I am Groot"

The other bonus here is the supporting cast, with Gunn giving viewers an embarrassment of riches in that department. Michael Rooker is blue-skinned Yondu, the man who took Peter away from Earth when he was just a young boy, Karen Gillan is blue, bald Nebula, a woman who wants to help Ronan cause some major destruction, Benicio Del Toro is The Collector, and there are worthwhile moments for Djimon Hounsou, Glenn Close, John C. Reilly, Peter Serafinowicz, Gregg Henry, and Ophelia Lovibond. It's easy to spot the Stan Lee cameo, and there's also the usual Lloyd Kaufman cameo that we've come to expect from Mr. Gunn.

Oh, and there's that soundtrack. If you've seen any of the trailers for this movie then you'll already suspect that it has a few good tunes on the soundtrack. It does. More than that, however, is the way in which the soundtrack is almost a character in its own right. The songs are a link to the past for Peter Quill, and his precious Walkman and mix tape both hold just as much importance as the orb that so many people want to get their hands on.

I could go on and on: about how surprisingly tight the structuring is, about how many moments managed to sneak up on me and make me unexpectedly emotional (including a moment with a raccoon - yes, the damn raccoon almost gave me a lump in my throat), about the flawless visual effects throughout, about the one great gag that will fly over the heads of kids while parents laugh their asses off, about the post-credits surprise.

This is a film full of many surprising delights, with one of the best being just how many people have decided to go with the flow and help it achieve some stellar results at the box office.

9/10

Trust me, you'll want to buy this - http://www.amazon.com/Guardians-Galaxy-Blu-ray-Chris-Pratt/dp/B009NNM95Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1406851090&sr=1-1&keywords=guardians+of+the+galaxy&dpPl=1