EXMas (2023)

It’s always difficult to adjust back to single life after a painful relationship break-up. Some people try to keep doing the kind of things they did before. Some people try to change everything about their daily and weekly schedules. And some people throw themselves into their work. Graham Stroop (Robbie Amell) ends up in the latter group, although he was always a bit of a workaholic anyway. But his work is due to stop him from visiting his family for Christmas this year. Until it doesn’t. Graham decides to surprise his family, but the surprise is on him when he finds out that they’re all spending Christmas in the company of his ex (Ali, played by Leighton Meester).

That is all you need to know about EXMas, a fun Christmas rom-com that feels more spiky and slightly bawdy in comparison to the usual festive fare we get at this time of year. While it still stays within certain parameters, and some of the plotting seems to make no sense (although that isn’t unusual for this kind of thing), it’s a very enjoyable way to pass some time this month.

Both Amell and Meester are very good in their main roles, and they have the most fun when striving to compete against one another for the affection of the surrounding family members. There are also plenty of enjoyable supporting players, including Kathryn Greenwood and Michael Hitchcock as the mother and father, Veronika Slowikowska as the sister, and Donna Benedicto and Thomas Cadrot as potential love interests/complications.

Although I am unfamiliar with director Jonah Feingold and writer Dan Steele, both acquit themselves admirably here. Unlike numerous other Christmas movies at this level, there are actually a couple of set-pieces here that stand out (the best involving a large crowd and a goat), and a couple of running gags that become more enjoyable as they keep recurring. This is enough to help compensate for the muddled character development, even if things momentarily come to a screeching halt in the third act with a major incident that almost unbalances everything. Overall, fun is the main aim here and fun is delivered.

While it doesn’t do enough to break out of the tinsel-adorned confines of the Christmas movie box, EXMas stands above many others jostling alongside it. You can enjoy the festivities, as per usual, but you can also enjoy some proper laughs. I would happily rewatch this, and it’s highly recommended to those who don’t mind their seasonal treats having a teaspoon of spice to offset all that sugary sweetness.

7/10

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Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City (2021)

Despite my inherent awfulness when it comes to playing videogames, and I know I have said this before, Resident Evil has been my all-time favourite gaming series since I first started battling zombies and solving puzzles when I first got a PSOne. I have enjoyed the games on various consoles since then (mainly different Playstations, but I also had a Nintendo Gamecube for a while) and have also taken some pleasure from the main live-action movie series, most often kept in the hands of Paul W. S. Anderson. The animated movies haven't been quite as good, but I can't deny finding enough in each one to ensure I have had to own them all, at least in digital form.

This, however, is a film that finally feels like the games (well, the first 2 anyway). That's not to simply dismiss all of the other movies now, not at all, but this is arguably the definitive cinematic interpretation of so much of what players love about the Resident Evil game series. And I am happy that we can enjoy both the other movies, often full of bombastic slo-mo and CGI-laden silliness, and this movie.

Written and directed by Johannes Roberts, although most of the events depicted here were already written for the videogames, what you get here is an adventure that throws together Claire Redfield (Kaya Scodelario), Chris Redfield (Robbie Amell), Jill Valentine (Hanna John-Kamen), Leon Kennedy (Avan Jogia), a young girl named Sherry Birkin (Holly de Barros), and Dr William Birkin (Neal McDonough). Raccoon City is about to become a very dangerous place to stay, full of infected people, dangerous dogs, and other mutated dangers, and not even the Police Station can offer safety for long. That's before we even  get to the reported disturbance at the Spencer Mansion.

While none of the cast may be causing Oscar-winners to start looking over their shoulders, they all do an excellent job with the material. Scodelario, Amell, John-Kamen, and Jogia show a variety of skills, and they seem to enjoy portraying the nominal heroes, while McDonough is an enjoyably untrustworthy potential villain. Tom Hopper makes for a good Albert Wesker, and it's nice to have a small role for the likeable Donal Logue, playing a Police Chief who knows that everyone should get the hell out of the city while they can.

It's the attention to detail here that really impresses. This is not really a great movie, but it IS a great Resident Evil movie. The characters all feel very much in line with their videogame origins (okay, Leon Kennedy may be overdone slightly, but his first adventure did have him as someone pretty heartbroken and hungover who just happened to be in the right place at the wrong time when the zombie nightmare began), the creature design is on point, making me wish we could see more of the monsters that cropped up in the games (please give me a giant snake or sharks in the next movie, and definitely a Plant 42), and the environment often feels as if it has been surgically transplanted from a console directly into the movie.

There's a good score by Mark Corven, great work done by the costume and makeup department, and everyone generally works in service to a script that allows viewers to feel a sense of familiarity without the potential accompanying boredom. Changes that are made are ones that make sense, cinematically, (the main one being how a character named Lisa Trevor is used, which is very clever) and I can't imagine any fans of the series thinking that any character or element has been done a major disservice. Even the relatively small amount of screentime for Ada Wong (played by Lily Gao) feels in line with her impactful involvement in the RE 2 game.

Roberts has a varied filmography, in terms of quality, but his best horror work is well worth your time. This is up easily there with his best. I really hope that it has done well enough to kick-start a whole new movie series in this vein. I'll still revisit all of the other movies available, but I already know that this is the one I will go back to most often. At least until I need my next fix of watching Milla Jovovich kick ass.

8/10

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Netflix And Chill: The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020)

Everyone was surprised by just how good The Babysitter was. Despite my own ability to tolerate his work, even I could see why McG had become so hated by film fans. Perhaps now is the time for some to realise he's actually never been THAT bad. Although it doesn't change the fact that he credits himself as McG.

Anyway, this sequel to The Babysitter brings back all of the main players. That may surprise people who remember the events of the first film, but the trailer gives you all the info you need. There's a deal with the devil that allows the dangerous youngsters from the first film to return for one night and once again terrorise Cole (Judah Lewis). There are also some new extra characters involved in the madness this time, including an attractive and resourceful young woman named Phoebe (Jenna Ortega).

The approach may not work for everyone, but The Babysitter: Killer Queen has a lot of fun trying to cram in as much fun, and as many movie references as possible, into every scene. Whether it's a running comment about the very few sequels that surpass the originals, the use of "Apache" in one key scene, or the evocative score from Risky Business underpinning some scenes in which we see Cole both afraid and yet also enjoying his time with Phoebe.

Brian Duffield may not have returned to the writing duties, but Dan Lagana, Brad Morris, Jimmy Warden, and also McG himself, do well by all of the central characters, maintaining the tone of the first film, peppering everything with a mix of new gags and fun callbacks. This may not be better than the original, but it comes close enough to be rated on a par with it. It's just a shame that the excellent Samara Weaving has a lot less screentime this time around, understandably so.

The direction is as lively and irreverent as it was in the first film, with the subtitles returning when a point is being made, and some quick flashbacks for most of the main characters. It's not quite as successful this time, simply due to the familiarity with the form, but McG definitely seems to be having fun, which is passed on to viewers.

Lewis and Ortega are a decent pair of leads, with the former having the added characterisation now of working through the PTSD of a traumatic incident that so many people don't believe. Emily Alyn Lind is a lot of fun as Melanie, another girl that our lead character likes, even if his chances of anything actually happening with her look slim to none, and it's hard to pick a favourite from Robbie Amell, Hana Mae Lee, Bella Thorne, and Andrew Bachelor, who are all generally involved in some fun and gory death scenes. It's also worth mentioning the increased screentime for Ken Marino and Leslie Bibb, with the former managing to deliver many more laughs with his wonderful narrative strand.

It's not better than the first film, but if you liked that then you're bound to enjoy this. And patience is rewarded whenever Weaving appears. Her shadow falls over the whole movie, but it moves up a notch whenever she's there in person. I am glad we got a second outing for these characters. I hope they don't try to stretch things for a third outing though.

8/10

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When We First Met (2018)

Noah (Adam Devine) falls in love with Avery (Alexandra Daddario), but  has to resign himself to the fact that although they had a great first date together, it ended with a hug and nothing else happened between them. She then met, and fell in love with, the perfect Ethan (Robbie Amell). It's been three years since that fateful time, and Avery and Ethan are getting engaged, which leads Noah to get horribly drunk and then encounter a magical photobooth that he once used with Avery, which takes him back to his first time meeting her. Can he change the outcome, and will he like what happens?

Having seen many people mention that this is a romcom riff on Groundhog Day, I can tell you that it's not. Not really. It's a romcom riff on The Butterfly Effect. There's a difference between the two. And that difference is big when it comes to how the film plays out, because When We First Met could have been a lot better than it is, and a lot funnier, if it was hewing closer to the former than the latter.

The cast don't help. As much as I like Devine, I don't think of him as the best choice for a rom-com lead, although he doesn't do too bad here. Daddario is also fine, but she's the sort of actress I can always imagine being bumped for any number of better actresses. Amell does well with his fairly limited role, and Shelley Hennig is decent enough as Carrie, Avery's roommate. It's just a shame that her character is twisted to put together a third act that doesn't feel in line with the rest of the film. Andrew Bachelor fairs a bit better, playing Noah's best friend, Max.

The script by John Whittington doesn't have much going for it beyond the potential fun of the central premise, which is squandered at almost every opportunity. This could have crammed in so many fun failures as Noah tried to change his life. We instead just get a few specific scenarios as Noah is rushed to his big life lesson. Director Ari Sandel doesn't do anything to improve upon the script, relying on the talents of his leads, which again makes it easier to reach the conclusion that there were probably better options than Devine and Daddario to put in the lead roles.

Despite the problems, When We First Met isn't actually a bad film. It's just an average film. There aren't enough laughs, you don't REALLY care that much about the characters, the time travel is fun but not used as well as it should be, and it's passable entertainment when it could have been something much more enjoyable.

5/10

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Arq (2016)

I do like a good bit of time trickery in movies. Time travel and timeloops usually do enough to keep me thinking and entertained throughout, which is why I knew it was only a matter of time (no pun intended) until I gave ARQ a watch.

Robbie Amell and Rachael Taylor play Renton and Hannah, two people who wake up just as their house is being invaded by people. We quickly learn that the invaders are after "scrips", and maybe some food, but Renton suspects that they're after something else, a machine that will benefit a company he doesn't want to get their hands on it. And that same machine ends up causing a time loop, which is very handy when Renton is killed . . . and then wakes up again just as the house is being invaded. Certain things play out the same way while certain other things start to be changed by the actions of the characters. Sometimes they remember how everything plays out, sometimes they don't.

It's a decent enough premise at the heart of the movie, and I would say the same about most films featuring a timeloop, but writer-director Tony Elliott fumbles things when it comes to the bigger picture. Each iteration is freshened up by twists and developments, including just how many people start to remember what has happened to them before, but he throws too much in the mix when trying to complicate the character motivations and also hint at the bigger picture of the world outside the house.

Amell and Taylor are decent enough leads, and they do what they can to carry the film. They can't do enough, however, when weighed down by the vagueness of the script, which only starts to nail down some of the finer details in the second half, and the nondescript nature of most of the supporting cast members. Shaun Benson, Adam Butcher, Gray Powell, and Jacob Neayem do what they're asked to do, which makes it more frustrating that they're not given decent material to work with.

Elliott does well when you consider how he tried to best utilise the budget to match the scope of his vision. It's a shame that he doesn't do as well when keeping the events and characters in order for viewers to keep track of. Not that the film is incoherent. It just doesn't have enough indicators that most films of this type usually use to help viewers track any locked events and any changes.

There's still enough here to make this an enjoyable sci-fi thriller, especially if you like time trickery in your movies as much as I do. It's just a shame that it isn't a bit better, in terms of the characterisations and plotting. Not the worst way to spend 90 minutes but, unlike the main characters, I won't be repeating the experience.

6/10

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Nine Lives (2016)

Here's the thing. I don't tend to always plan this blog. Don't get me wrong, I have moments of clarity in which I remember how much easier I can make my life if I plan more than a day ahead. That means I will start to watch Christmas movies early and plan reviews for December. I will also try to schedule reviews of new releases to coincide with cinema or disc releases, when I remember. But my default approach to blogging movie reviews is to keep watching lots and lots of films and then deciding what reviews I want to write, and when I want to schedule their appearances. Which is why I didn't expect to resurrect this blog and have two Kevin Spacey movies making an appearance in the first week. Feel free to skip over this if you like, but I have already clarified my position at the start of my review for Baby Driver.

There are five writers credited here, and Barry Sonnenfeld is the director, for this very simple story of a businessman (Kevin Spacey) who is so busy with all of his dealings that he is neglecting his family (mainly his wife, played by Jennifer Garner, and daughter, played by Malina Weissman, but he has also failed to appreciate the qualities of his eldest son, Robbie Amell, who works for him). One cat-purchasing encounter with Christopher Walken later, a terrible accident, and Spacey finds himself in the body of the feline that he just bought for his daughter's birthday. Will he learn valuable lessons? Will he be able to ever return to his own body, currently comatose? Will the CGI continue to look worse than most of the scenes in Cats & Dogs (which was over fifteen years ago)?

The cast all seem strangely unembarrassed to be in this, which I have to put down to some very good performances. Spacey only has to give a vocal performance, for the most part, so gets off easier than some of the others, Garner is once again wasted in a role undeserving of the talent that can be drawn out of her, Weissman is very good in the role of the young daughter who still dotes on her absent father, and Amell is just fine. Walken has fun in his small role, Mark Consuelos is the ambitious businessman below Spacey, and there's also a cat, of course, which is cute enough when not being made to look odd with "amusing" FX work to keep it acting and reacting more like a man stuck as a cat, as opposed to a normal cat just being itself.

I could name the five writers here, but their names aren't familiar to me and this hasn't encouraged me to check out anything else they may have been, or will be, involved with. This is bland entertainment seemingly created by throwing words and scenes into a hat, drawing out pairs that are matched up, and then ensuring that all potential fun or excitement is drained from every scenario. And I have no idea how Barry Sonnenfeld ended up directing this, and how he could put this out to viewers as a final product. Everything looks incredibly cheap, making me think that most of the budget went on the cast before anyone realised how much would be needed to get everything to a minimal cinematic standard.

I wasn't expecting this to be the cat's whiskers, nobody seeing the trailer would, but I didn't expect such a stinky hairball.

3/10

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