The Amateur (2025)

There's a fairly decent idea at the heart of The Amateur, I guess, but it's weakened by some casting and the pacing of the whole thing. At least one character turn doesn't seem to make any sense, there are a few too many coincidences for something revolving around someone trying to out-think others, and you're likely to forget all about it within a week or two.

Rami Malek plays Heller, an employee of the CIA who seeks revenge after the death of his wife (Sarah, played by Rachel Brosnahan). There are some problems with his plan though. One, he's a tech guy, and not really any use out in the field. Two, the people responsible for the death of his wife are people that the CIA don't necessarily want taken out of action immediately. Three, putting himself in the field might be a very easy way for the CIA to ensure that he isn't able to bother them again.

Based on a novel by Robert Littell, The Amateur has been turned into a movie by writers Ken Nolan and Gary Spinelli. Those two writers don't have many real highlights in their pasts, which would explain the flat end result here, and director James Hawes, while a very competent film-maker, doesn't have the imagination or flair to liven things up. I will happily give Hawes a pass, considering the fact that he sat in the director's chair for the first season of the superb Slow Horses, but it soon becomes clear that this is an action thriller made by people who aren't quite attuned to the rhythms and requirements of blockbuster entertainment.

And, as much as I enjoyed his fine work in Mr. Robot, one of the main requirements of blockbuster entertainment would seem to be avoiding the casting of Rami Malek in a central role. He was the weakest part of the excellent No Time To Die, he was outshone by a cast of more memorable supporting players in the Night At The Museum movies, he's attached his name to Need For Speed, Battleship, and Dolittle, and I'll only give him credit for Bohemian Rhapsody because that felt like the one role he was actually perfect for. It's all well and good to have him supported by people like Rachel Brosnahan, Jon Bernthal, Adrian Martinez, Laurence Fishburne, Holt McCallany, Julianne Nicholson, and Michael Stuhlbarg, but not very satisfying when almost all of them are sorely underused. 

It's easy to see the appeal of this. Make an action thriller hero who has to keep using his brain instead of brawn and/or firepower. It needed something else though. Either some shinier star power, some more inventive set-pieces, or a plot with many more interesting twists and turns. It's decent, staying pretty easily watchable for most of the runtime (which clocks in at about the 2 hour mark), but you may get to the end credits and decide that you could have picked a far better viewing option. I know I did. 

5/10

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 

Netflix And Chill: Blonde (2022)

Based on the biographical fiction novel by Joyce Carol Oates, although many moments feel close to some kind of a reality that we've all since become aware of, Blonde is a look at the wild and tragic life of Marilyn Monroe. Director Andrew Dominik also took on the job of adapting from the page to the screen, and there are plenty of choices made here that suggest he may not be a fan of the woman at the heart of the story.

Ana de Armas takes on the main role of Norma Jeane AKA Marilyn Monroe. She's first shown as a child (played by Lily Fisher), dragged through a number of painful and tragic moments by her ill mother (Julianne Nicholson). These moments will resonate through her entire life, as will the objectification and abuse that occurs on her journey to becoming one of the most iconic movie stars on the planet. There are various sexual encounters, there are horrible procedures based on the decisions of others treating her body as her only commodity, and there are two very famous marriages depicted (one to Joe DiMaggio, played here by Bobby Cannavale, and one to Arthur Miller, played by Adrien Brody).

I have really enjoyed a number of features from Andrew Dominik. His films generally range from the good to the great (Chopper), and he has made at least one modern masterpiece in the form of The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford. I took my time getting around to Blonde because I heard a lot of negative opinion about it when it first appeared, but I knew I would get around to it one day. After all, it's often important to check out something fully to form your own opinion on it. Well . . . the majority who spoke out against this were correct. It's pretty bad.

De Armas is superb though, and I am surprised that she didn't get even more praised heaped upon her for this performance. She doesn't quite nail the accent, but she mostly delivers an interpretation of Marilyn that is uncannily close to the real person. There are also great performances from Cannavale, Brody, and Toby Huss (playing a friend/enabler as Marilyn starts to spiral into ever-bleaker depressive episodes). Some of the visuals are also worthy of praise, especially during many of the sequences shown in black and white, as are the moments that blur fiction and reality by making use of famous moments from Monroe's filmography. Those are all the compliments I have though.

In a problem similar to the overuse of CGI in modern cinema, or in the way Jurassic Park was created, there are things shown here that feel as if nobody stopped to question them. Dominik was too busy realising what he could do that he didn't wonder about whether or not he SHOULD. The prime example of this is a POV shot from inside our main character's cervix. Yes, you read that right.

I understand wanting to do something that shows the ongoing battle between the beloved figure of Marilyn Monroe and the insecure and sad reality of Norma Jeane Mortenson, and there are things that became known to people only after her tragic death in the early 1960s, but both the icon and the real woman overshadowed by the stardust deserve better than this. A couple of moments come close to making a great point (particularly a sequence showing the famous subway grate updraft in The Seven Year Itch), but things inevitably keep returning to a narrative that makes our central figure an abuse victim with serious daddy issues. That may or may not be an accurate portrayal, and there's certainly truths scattered throughout this, but deciding to show her character as defined ONLY by these elements, and doing that for over two and a half hours, feels unfair and simply malicious.

I'm still glad that I finally watched this for myself, if only for that astonishing turn from De Armas. I'll never watch it again though, and I would actively discourage anyone else watching it if they lack either my compulsive viewing schedule or patience.

3/10

 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, and ALL of the links you need are here - https://linktr.ee/raidersofthepodcast
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

Prime Time: Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)

This is it, finally. This is the epic musical biopic that we were all promised over a decade ago in an amusing short (that time with Aaron Paul in a main role). It’s the life of Al Yankovic, warts and all, and those who are fans of the entertainer should have a lot of fun with this.

Starring Daniel Radcliffe in the titular role, this is essentially a one-joke movie, but that one joke is very funny. Basically, what if the parody songs and polka-playing of Weird Al was viewed with the same reverence as some of the greatest music of our time. What if Al was all of The Beatles rolled into one, plus some Queen and Michael Jackson in there, plus a helping of enough rockstar godliness that he would end up in a harmful relationship with Madonna (Evan Rachel Wood)? What if?

Directed by Eric Appel, who also co-wrote the movie with Yankovic (who is used to great effect onscreen as a doubtful music exec), this is everything you want it to be, even if you don’t know that until the tone of the film is set during the early scenes. It highlights some hits from Weird Al, showing a hilariously exaggerated creative process for one or two of them, and truly celebrates an iconic musical entertainer in a way that feels both fitting and in line with the perfect blend of smart and silly that has been a staple of Al’s work throughout his decades in showbusiness.

Radcliffe is fantastic in the lead role, unafraid to go broad and big with his performance. Okay, a lot of work is done by the wig and facial hair, but it’s still brilliant to see him so committed to such a whacky turn. Wood has a lot of fun portraying a fictional version of Madonna, and she is styled with the perfect look for the role, and the other highlights are Rainn Wilson (as Dr. Demento), Toby Huss and Julianne Nicholson (playing the confused parents of our musical genius), and Jack Black being an amazing Wolfman Jack in a party sequence that is stuffed with brilliant, and hilarious, cameos. That’s just the tip of the iceberg though, and everyone is having so much fun that it really feels infectious.

I enjoyed this as I was watching it, and there are some obvious treats scattered throughout the soundtrack, but I wasn’t sure if I loved it once it all ended. Did I fully buy into the conceit, and did that conceit do enough to make up for the fairly straightforward presentation from a director making his feature debut, despite the many short segments and TV episodes under his belt? Well . . . it turns out that I did fully buy into it. Writing about it here has had me smiling again, and I would happily rewatch it right now. I imagine that most Weird Wl fans will feel the same way.

8/10

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

Dream Scenario (2023)

Nicolas Cage plays Paul Matthews, a fairly bland and passive professor who hasn’t ever pushed himself out of his comfort zone. His career path seems steady, his home life likewise, if a bit tired, and he tends to see others making progress while he stays in the same spot. This all changes when he starts to appear in the dreams of other people. He doesn’t do anything in these dreams, not initially anyway, but he becomes a presence in the nocturnal slumberland of many people, giving him a strange kind of celebrity. That is all well and good while the dreams are pleasant enough, but it’s not so good when things turn darker. 

Although it makes great use of dream logic and enjoyably cinematic vignettes, Dream Scenario is a very clever way of exploring the modern problem of “going viral”. If everyone views you in a certain context then they start to think they know you, and anything changing their perception of you, real or imagined, can lead to a real backlash. Keep being successful and many people will want to watch you fail. Make one mistake and many people will rush to judgement, a whole tide of opinion turning against you quicker than you can send out a carefully-worded video apology.

Writer-director Kristoffer Borgli has crafted one of the best movies of 2023 here, a clever and pointed exploration of our modern society that has us all putting ourselves into the lives of others, eager for connections and validations that can appear or disappear with one keystroke or touch of a phone screen.

Borgli is helped by another fantastic Nicolas Cage performance, once again performing the kind of schlub he has shown us in one or two of his other films. Cage perfectly embodies the full journey of his character, from curiosity to cockiness, from nervousness to narcissism, and the various dream incarnations of his character allow him to consider his waking life in ways he would never have done before. Julianne Nicholson and Lily Bird are very good as the affected family members, wife and daughter respectively, and there is an excellent supporting cast that includes Kate Berlant, Tim Meadows, Michael Cera, and Dylan Baker, but the film rests on the shoulders of Cage, and he admirably carries it with ease.

I thought I was going to like Dream Scenario since I heard of the concept. The trailer just made me even more keen to see it. It absolutely surpassed my expectations, and is a perfect blend of humour, drama, commentary, and movie magic. I would hope that people are now well aware of how great Cage can be onscreen (he is enjoying a recent renaissance, but I have been a fan of him for decades, regardless of the times when the bad movies far outweighed the bad). If you somehow still doubt his talent, this may very well convert you.

9/10

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