Captain America: Brave New World (2025)

I don't know why, but I felt as if Captain America: Brave New World was going to be the fresh start that we needed for the MCU. It didn't have to be weighed down with the baggage of a whole load of other movies. It didn't have to necessarily be setting up numerous future adventures. It could simply . . . be, allowing fans to appreciate what they got onscreen while still remaining calm and unfazed about whatever was coming along next.

It almost worked.

Anthony Mackie is Sam Wilson, now Captain America, having been bequeathed the iconic shield some time ago. He has a few extra gadgets to help him, but no super-serum. Harrison Ford is President Thaddeus Ross, a powerful man who may be ready to empathise and compromise with superheroes who are now necessary to keep countries, and even the world, safe. Things might work out well, but not if the likes of Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) and Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito) have their way.

There's enough to enjoy here. Mackie is excellent as a leading man, Ford is a great addition to the MCU, and there are some very enjoyable supporting characters. Danny Ramirez is likable enough as Joaquin Torres, someone who wants to be the next Falcon, Carl Lumbly is very good as Isaiah Bradley, a previous Captain America, and Shira Haas is certainly memorable as a leading security advisor to the POTUS. Nelson is also great, and benefits enormously from receiving more time and attention than Esposito, who is sadly wasted (and this is the second of the 2025 movies I have seen that sadly wastes Esposito).

Director Julius Onah, who also worked on the screenplay with four other writers, doesn't embarrass himself. He delivers some good images, keeps the tone impressively serious without being too sombre and gloomy throughout, for the most part, and handles the action well when we get some action. That is arguably the biggest problem with this though, a disappointing lack of action. It feels caught between two places, with some of the paranoid political thriller vibes of the excellent second Captain America film and then some belated crash bang wallop moments to keep fans happy just before the credits roll (and, yes, we’re back to waiting around to see what a post-credits scene will hint at).

It may be a return to form, certainly in terms of the overall look and feel, and there may be a focus that seemed to be lacking from the MCU during the past couple of “wilderness years”, but there’s nothing that makes it feel as entertaining, bombastic, or just outright fun as the better movies under the Marvel umbrella. Much like the titular hero, however, it does give some hope for the future.

7/10

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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

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MaXXXine (2024)

X was first, and then it was equalled by Pearl. Now we have MaXXXine, the final instalment of what could be, if handled well, the most consistently brilliant horror trilogy of the past quarter of a century. No pressure then.

Mia Goth returns, of course, in the role of Maxine Minx, an adult film star we first met in X. Minx has achieved the first part of her plan to be a great success, but now comes the tricky time when she hopes to transition into more mainstream fare. She knows she has what it takes, but she just has to hope that the horror movie she is due to star in will be good enough to match her talent. Meanwhile, a killer is cutting his way through the young women who work in the parts of Hollywood not covered in glitter and stardust.

Whatever you think of this trilogy, you have to admire the fact that Ti West, as well as collaborating creative/lead Goth, has delivered three slasher movies that feel very different yet also feel brilliantly in conversation with one another as they waltz around one another on their way to a looming door with a neon "EXIT" sign flashing above it. It also helps that West has done such a great job of evoking three unique eras in a way that allows for a change in aesthetics while also feeding into everything that is being explored in the central character (whether that is Maxine or Pearl).

Before people start to get the wrong impression here, perhaps thinking that I am going to rank this film as an equal alongside the two that preceded it, I should say that this doesn't quite stick the landing. The third act of the third film is where West stumbles, which is a great shame. That will allow many viewers to come away from this and think of nothing more than that one aspect, but a moment to remember the whole trilogy, and what was achieved overall, should be enough to make you give this film a bit more goodwill. It also helps that it shows so much love for the history of the horror genre, and the history of movie-making, as the other instalments, and does so once again without bringing everything to a complete halt in order to nod and wink at the audience.

Goth deserves some kind of special award for her work in this trilogy, and her performance here is as faultless as anything else that she's done recently. There is no trilogy without her astonishing work at the heart of it, which is another big plus. There are some other big names alongside her, but results vary. Michelle Monaghan and Bobby Cannavale are pretty wasted as two detectives trying to catch a killer, and Kevin Bacon is having a bit too much fun as a slezay private investigator who feels like he should be in a different movie, but Giancarlo Esposito, Moses Sumney, and Lily Collins do very good work, Simon Prast somehow pitches the tone of his performance just right, and Elizabeth Debicki does so well that she comes closest to stealing a scene or two from Goth. She doesn't succeed, but she comes close.

I started this review with some hesitation. I wanted to praise the film, but also wanted to explain my disappointment with the mis-steps. In the process of writing it, however, I have actually managed to convince myself that the mis-steps aren't that important. This has a number of people working at what seems to be the height of their powers, a great soundtrack (and the music from Tyler Bates is also wonderful), and some gory moments of violence on the way to an ending that serves as a near-perfect way to say goodbye to this mesmerising and challenging character. It may not equal the other two films in the trilogy, but it doesn't miss by much.

8/10

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Prime Time: Money Monster (2016)

While I like all three main cast members here (George Clooney, Julia Roberts, and Jack O’Connell), I had spent a long time delaying a viewing of Money Monster. I suspected I would enjoy it, but was never in just the right mood for it. And if there is one typical viewer who doesn’t need reminded of the evils of what many perceive as an unfair stock market system, it’s me.

Clooney plays Lee Gates, the smarmy and self-centres host of a TV show that offers advice to people looking play the stock market game. His producer, Patty Fenn (Roberts), knows exactly how to work with her onscreen star, allowing him to go off on occasional tangents before pulling him back to whatever should be the focus of the show. Both of these people are about to be put in a terrifying situation by Kyle Budwell (O’Connell), a young man who lost his stash of savings in an anomalous stock crash that he suspects was engineered without any consideration for those unable to afford such a dip in their fortunes. Kyle has a gun, a jacket packed with explosives, and a very strong desire to keep the cameras on him and have everything playing out live as he gets to the truth of what may be a financial scandal.

Written by Alan Difiore, Jim Kouf, and Jamie Linden, who have all worked on a wide variety of projects that I have enjoyed to varying degrees, this is a smart and tense thriller that provides a fantasy scenario in which an enraged failed “everyman” has a go at smashing at least one small part of the giant machinery of capitalism responsible for widening the chasm of social inequality. It’s easy to stay alongside Kyle, thanks to the script and O’Connell’s performance, and viewers will want an ending that provides some kind of the justice he is seeking.

As well as the famous faces front and centre, there is also an extra famous face behind the camera, this being another feature directed by the talented Jodie Foster. Not only does she do well with the material, probably well aware that the script is full of tasty little moments for the actors to sink their teeth into, but she shows admirable restraint by not casting herself in the role given to Roberts, a role that I could easily imagine her excelling in.

Not that Roberts is a lesser choice. She exudes the will and savvy of someone more than capable of keeping a cool head in such a crazy situation. Clooney uses his showbiz charm to deliver his smarmy host, but also enjoys allowing that facade to start crumbling as things look to get worse and worse for him. Then you have O’Connell, playing his desperate man almost like a confused child who had just learned of a terrible secret. He’s a sad figure, but also senses something that others should have already cottoned on to, and one scenes at about the mid-point, where police have his partner communicating with him, underlines just how much he has lost. Elsewhere, Dominic West is as watchable as ever, even as a slick businessman trying to stay on his plane long enough for everything to blow over, and Catriona Baife is very good as his strained assistant, trying to maintain the company line until she also starts questioning just how the financial “glitch” occurred. 

Probably not a film anyone would consider essential viewing, and there are a couple of different elements mixed in that distract slightly from that great central idea, but Money Monster is old-fashioned entertainment with a bit of modern pizzazz added to it. You have great actors working with a solid script, and a commentary at the heart of it that has sadly featured in a number of other movies in recent years without any major change in sight. It may prove a bit frustrating, but it is also a perfectly enjoyable way to spend just under 100 minutes.

7/10

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Netflix And Chill: Last Holiday (2006)

The only reason that I hadn't watched Last Holiday (a remake of a 1950 film of the same name) before now is that, well, I just hadn't. But finding out that it was set during the Christmas season gave me the nudge I needed to finally get around to it. I like Queen Latifah as a screen presence, I knew that the plot would be predictable, and somewhat comforting, and I hoped for some gentle humour throughout. 

Latifa plays Georgia Byrd, a hard-working woman who has let life pass her by. She enjoys cooking, does well in a job role under a boss who has kept her underpaid and under-appreciated for far too long. After bumping her head at work, Georgia ends up with a medical diagnosis that spells doom and gloom. She doesn't have long to live. It's a matter of days. Armed with this information, Georgia decides to head off on a dream holiday, spending all of her savings on a gorgeous suite, eating the best food, and just having the best time possible. She doesn't care what anyone thinks, exuding a confidence and honesty that impresses the likes of Chef Didier (Gérard Depardieu) and a holidaying politician (Giancarlo Esposito) while very much NOT impressing Matthew Kragen (Timothy Hutton), a business owner oblivious to the fact that Georgia actually worked in one of his department stores. There's also room in the plot for Sean Williams (LL Cool J), a colleague/potential love interest, and Ms. Burns (Alicia Witt), the young woman "accompanying" Mr. Kragen on his business trip/holiday. I think you can all start planning out how this ends already.

Written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, and directed by Wayne Wang, this is about as formulaic as movies get. The blending of those writers with that director though, just check out the filmographies of them to see the wildly different movies they have separately been involved with, leads to something that is full of wonderful little moments on the way to an ending that has to tie everything up in a neat little bow. There's fun poked at the difference between those seeking to try great cooking and those ordering items from the menu with a multitude of personal requests that undermine the essence of every dish, there's a ridiculous, but amusing, bit of accidental extreme snowboarding, and, despite acting like a high-roller for the little time she has left, Georgia is quick to remind everyone around her to treat all workers with dignity and respect. It's all generally in line with plenty other rom-coms (and, as easy as it is to forget at times, there is a good dash of rom with the com), but it somehow feels a bit quirkier and more spirited than a lot of them.

Queen Latifah (real name Dana Elaine Owens, fact fans) is the main reason for that. As much as I have always enjoyed her acting, she helps herself when being cast in a role that allows her to shine as brightly as possible, and she absolutely shines in this role. Everyone in the supporting cast seems to respond well to her star power, doing some wonderful work in roles that could have easily just been viewed as a quick payday. Hutton is a fun potential villain, Witt gets an enjoyable journey alongside him, and Cool J is a very sweet man viewers will want to see make that proper connection with our lead. Both Depardieu and Esposito enjoy themselves in atypical roles, and there are fun moments for Susan Kellerman (a hotel employee named Gunther), Matt Ross (an awful store manager), and Ranjit Chowdhry (playing the doctor who has to deliver the dire diagnosis to Latifah’s character).

Despite the abundance of snow and cold temperatures, things could have been made a bit more Christmassy, but that’s my only main criticism. The soundtrack could have been a bit better, and the plotting just a bit tighter, but this is a way to spend just under two hours with someone who is absolutely delightful company. And that is enough.

7/10

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