Dashcam (2021)

There is no point in me trying to act coy here. I hated Dashcam. Absolutely hated it. And I hated it all the more due to the fact that the main creative people involved, director Rob Savage and co., gave us one of the best horror movies that made innovative use of the global pandemic restrictions, Host.

Dashcam is, despite the title, a mix of dashcam footage and footage filmed through a couple of different phones. I guess “Whateverisclosesttohandcam” was judged to be far too wieldy a title. It shows Annie Hardy, playing Annie Hardy, having a very rough evening, and there is fun to be had, I think, from seeing bad things happen to a bad person (Hardy is an obnoxiously aggressive anti-vaxxer, anti-masker, MAGA-hat-wearing type). That is the aim anyway. I didn’t have fun. At all. I spent the runtime of the movie stuck with someone I hated, having her tiresome presence punctuated by tiresome jump scares and a LOT of awful camerawork (because it is “found footage” so it doesn’t matter that you cannot make out what is going on . . . obviously).

Look, from what I have heard recently, there are people who believe that Hardy is playing someone onscreen not a million miles removed from her real persona. I am willing to consider that she may have spent the past year or so performing an extended piece of Kaufman-esque performance art though. Unfortunately, any other aspect of her character fails to make up for the overwhelming unpleasantness. It is mind-boggling to think of anyone putting up with her crap (co-star Amar Chadha-Patel is an absolute saint at times) and she doesn’t even convince as a talented musician, considering she is preoccupied with creating rhymes that revolve around variations of the words “penis” and “ass”. Hardy, onscreen anyway, is a foot-stamping child. Movie characters do not have to be likeable, but having even one small saving grace, be it humour, skill, or a bit of charm, can really help make a movie much easier to endure.

And this is an endurance test. From the horrible camerawork throughout to the “amusing” rants and lyrics delivered by Hardy, from the nonsensical set up of everything to a set-piece that creates tension from someone, ummmm, feeling the need to rescue a small keyboard that then makes a loud noise at an inconvenient time. Almost every minute of Dashcam is excruciating, and nothing on the shocks and scares front does enough to outweigh the multitude of negatives.

You could be forgiven for thinking that Savage, alongside Gemma Hurley and Jed Shepherd, who showed such inventiveness and skill in their previous feature, has been replaced by some talentless clone behind the camera here. Where there was once an ability to create real tension and entertainment there now just seems to be a void, both technically and artistically.

There’s no reason to think that those involved didn’t realise what they were doing. There is little middle ground here, Savage has served up something that viewers will either love or hate. I hated it, thanks, and I doubt I will see a worse studio film this year.

2/10

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

Prime Time: Share Or Die (2021)

In the grand scheme of things, as tempted as you might be to label it as such, Share Or Die is far from the worst low-budget horror movie you could watch. It’s not good, but it’s not good in a few ways that will work well for those seeking something to mock. Plus it has two decent death scenes (although I know that some people find one of those scenes far too silly, but I appreciated that it was at least being entertaining and inventive).

The plot is simple. People receive a message on their phones. They then have a minute to share that message with someone or they will die. Not wanting to give anyone else a potential death sentence? No problem. As specified in the text, you can also break the chain, and avoid death, if you instead share a secret that you have never previously told anyone. Which means it COULD be quite easy to avoid death, but the need to keep the characters here in peril means that very few people get their shit together quickly enough in the minute allotted to them.

To be fair, I wouldn’t share some message that said I had a minute to do something or I would suddenly die. I am that person on social media you can rely on to never be one of the people sharing your copied and pasted message of an emotionally manipulative substitute for real character and/or action. So I would be dead, no doubt about it.

Writer-directors Joseph Mazzaferro and Joseph Daniel Thomas sometimes try to do their best with limited resources (one scene featuring mouth trauma really made me wince, my other favourite moment was a fun use of a camera filter), but they also end up padding the slight runtime with far too many tiresome conversations, mistaking boring and meaningless chat with a representation of normality. They should have remembered the famous saying that cinema is life with all of the boring bits removed. This is split almost exactly 50/50 between passable fun, if not always for the right reasons, and stuff that will make viewers yawn.

The cast don’t really help,  although I didn’t mind Lauren Crandall as the nominal lead, Becka. Everyone is hampered by the weak script, with the only real standout performances coming from people who somehow manage to covey a sense of fun while they are delivering their awful dialogue (Callie Grayson and Allison Young being the best, I think, due to them calling to mind the two gal pals from Final Destination 3).

There are a number of social media horrors to choose ahead of this, easily. The Unfriended movies, Friend Request, Countdown, even something like Hellphone (2007). Watch any of them ahead of this, but you won’t end up being as tortured as expected if you end up watching this one. Even if it abruptly ends with the most misplaced blooper reel I have ever seen.

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.
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

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

As much about Tom Cruise as it is about fast planes, and as much about the joy of old-fashioned blockbuster entertainment as it is about either of those things, Top Gun: Maverick may well be the proof that everyone just needs a bit of escapist fun now, more than ever. The praise for it isn’t entirely undeserved, and the great impact it is making on the 2022 box office total is something that has surely allowed fans of the cinema experience to breathe a sigh of relief at the fact that blockbusters on the big screen still very much have a place in our world, but I keep wondering whether this film is gloriously lacking in self-awareness or, as I suspect, absolutely self-aware throughout while just trying to pretend otherwise.

Tom Cruise is Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell, still one of the top pilots in the Naval Air Force, but never destined to climb the ranks higher because of his attitude. After one more anti-authoritarian escapade, Maverick is given a new assignment, and it may be his last assignment. He has to train some younger hotshots to ready them for a bombing mission that will require a lot of low-level flying, numerous tight manoeuvres, and a generally unsafe amount of time trying to fly through an extensive . . . danger zone. One of the pilots being trained for the mission is Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw aka the son of ‘Goose’, which allows for two men to tackle their histories, both separately and together.

Directed by Joseph Kosinski, who previously directed Cruise in the enjoyable sci-fi flick Oblivion, this makes clear from the very beginning just what it wants to be. You love Top Gun? You’re going to love this. Don’t love Top Gun? You’re still going to love this, but the person you are seeing it with (who probably loves Top Gun) is going to love it even more. Aside from anything else I am about to mention, the flight sequences are incredible, with thrilling action moments that seemingly place viewers right in the cockpit with the actors. It’s even better than anything done in the first movie, but that is me just talking about the action. Just now.

The script, written by Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, and Christopher McQuarrie, walks a fine line between groan-inducing cheese and fan-pleasing nods and winks. The fact that it succeeds throughout is astonishing, but the intertwining of the new main plot strand with the history attached to the first film is well-handled, even if it is overdone numerous times. The humour works, a lovely cameo hits the right buttons, and the pacing makes it easier to go along with the ridiculousness of it all. Taken individually, however, there are plenty of lines that are so cheesy that you might think the script was dropped in a fondue set.

The cast is a mixed bag. Cruise is great in his return to  what could easily be referred to as the iconic role of his career, and Miles Teller, despite rocking the silliest moustache since Michael Cera in Youth In Revolt, is very good as Rooster, helped by the fact that he looks as if he could be the offspring of Anthony Edwards and Meg Ryan. Jennifer Connelly is a welcome addition, although her role is no more than the typical love interest/pep talk giver you’d expect in this type of film. Other standouts are Jon Hamm, playing the latest in a long line of military commanders having problems with Maverick, Monica Barbaro as ‘Phoenix’, Lewis Pullman as ‘Bob’ (yes, that is his callsign), and the super-charismatic Glen Powell as ‘Hangman’. There are also solid performances from Ed Harris, onscreen for only a couple of minutes, but his scenes are brilliant, Lyliana Wray, playing the daughter of Connelly’s character, and Bashir Salahuddin, an ally to our hero because he knows Maverick is, well, a maverick, but dammit he gets results.

There are no real risks taken here, even though simply making the film is a big risk in itself. You could write the plot beats out on a napkin before you start watching this and you would probably get everything spot on. Even when it looks like it’s going to make a bold move, the next moment will have you smiling in disbelief at your own cynicism.

I guess that is the biggest strength of the film, and something others may view as a weakness. It is completely uncynical, in terms of the surface-level onscreen content. Another time may have seen this as an object of ridicule, but the here and now positions it perfectly for people who perhaps want a break away from cynicism.

Oh, and you get “Danger Zone” on the soundtrack, great work from Harold Faltermeyer and Hans Zimmer, a belter of a song from Lady Gaga, AND another sequence showing off the characters as they play some beach games. What more do you want? Especially if you can’t help yourself from completing the phrase whenever anyone says “I feel the need . . .”

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

Mubi Monday: The Walker (2007)

Although this might seem to be a bit different from other movies we've had from writer-director Paul Schrader, The Walker is ultimately very much in his wheelhouse. It might wear some smarter clothes, and there may be a greater age range in his main cast, but it certainly looks at things through that Schrader lens.

Woody Harrelson plays Carter, a "safe" gay man who works as an escort to some well-to-do ladies in Washington D.C.  He accompanies them to various events, making himself the walker of the title, and also enjoys often playing cards with them. He is a trusted figure, which is why Lynn Lockner (Kristin Scott Thomas) turns to him when she discovers the corpse of a murdered man. Not just any murdered man, but someone she was close to. To save her from any potential embarrassment, tricky questions that could cause problems for her husband, Larry Lockner (Willem Dafoe), Carter decides to claim that he found the body. This makes things problematic when the investigation quickly turns more serious, and Carter realises he may have got himself mixed up in something quite dangerous.

A murder mystery where viewers won't really care about the mystery element, this is a film that I hadn't previously heard of, unusual for me when it comes to the filmography of Schrader. By the time the end credits rolled, I could understand why. There's nothing here that stands out, nothing here to make this memorable in any way. And the sad thing is that a SUPERB cast is largely wasted.

Harrelson is good fun in the lead role, better in the few quieter moments that he has, as opposed to the scenes with him being relentlessly cheery to those around him, and Thomas is effectively vulnerable and quiet during the times when events threaten to overwhelm her. Having kickstarted the chain of events for Carter, her character soon disappears for a while, but her presence continues to overshadow everything. The other main women are played by Lauren Bacall, Lily Tomlin, and Mary Beth Hurt, all giving great performances, and all sorely underused. Dafoe is underused, Ned Beatty has a small role (underused), William Hope has a main scene or two (guess what . . . underused), and there's a solid turn from Geff Francis, playing a detective, that surprisingly gives him just enough screentime to make the best impact. Moritz Bleibtreu also gets a fair few scenes, but his character, and the performance, just doesn't work as well as the other people who should have been allowed to shine a bit brighter.

You should like The Walker, but only because it doesn't have much to actively dislike. There's enough here to enjoy, but it feels like a tray of samples, as opposed to a full, satisfying, meal. Schrader being a bit more restrained than usual ends up working against himself, especially when he is still keen to dissect guilt, the masks that people wear, and just how often no good deed goes unpunished. 

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: RRR (2022)

Beloved by many, and some seeming to view it as the greatest cinematic spectacle ever made, it would be a hard-hearted viewer indeed who was impervious to the charms of RRR, an epic piece of Indian cinema that teaches Hollywood a lesson in how to stage large-scale action sequences.

Set in India in 1920, a chain of events is started when a British governor (Ray Stevenson) and his wife (Alison Doody) decide to take a young girl, Malli (Twinkle Sharma), away from her mother (Ahmareen Anjum). They can do what they please, and don't care for the lives of the local people around them, as evidenced by the orders given to a soldier who is told to deal with the distraught mother. Bheem (N. T. Rama Rao Jr.) is the protector of the tribe, and he vows to rescue Malli. He heads to the city, where he eventually meets, and becomes firm friends with, Raju (Ram Charan). Bheem is unaware that Raju is actually an officer looking to protect the British officials, and Raju is unaware that Bheem is the main man he needs to track down and arrest. Those secrets, once revealed, are really going to complicate their friendship, and there is one other big secret that will change the lives of everyone involved.

Written and directed by S. S. Rajamouli, RRR is, let's face it, a superhero movie with a different set of clothes on. Both Bheem and Raju are super-skilled, super-strong, and survive injuries and incidents that would have killed off other people. They are gods amongst men, with their biggest super-powers being friendship and hating the loathsome Brits.  They can also sing and dance way better than I ever could, although I could say the same about most stars of Indian cinema. Because, yes, you get a few well-choreographed numbers here, although not many. The 3+ hour runtime flies by, and the musical numbers help with that, working like an extra set-piece in between the superb action beats.

Both Rao Jr. and Charan are excellent in their roles, practically overflowing with charisma and talent for every minute of their screentime, and I look forward to checking out more of their filmographies. In fact, it's worth noting here than I haven't seen anywhere close to as many movies from India as I would like to (and others who are more well-versed in the output from their still hold this in very high regard). RRR is a film that should work well as a gateway for anyone who is at least willing to expand their cinematic horizons, being such a solid crowd-pleaser for so much of the runtime. Stevenson is an excellent villain, Edward Sonnenblick is equally despicable in his role (a douchebag named . . . Edward), and both Alia Bhatt and Olivia Morris and very good as the respective love interests of Raju and Bheem. There's also a supporting role for Alison Doody, playing the nasty wife of Stevenson's character, and enjoyable turns from Ajay Devgn, Rahul Ramakrishna, Chatrapathi Sekhar, and others.

There is a wealth of impressive CGI on display, although some of it works better than others, and the emphasis is always on the epic. Every stunt takes things a step further than you might expect, the odds are always overwhelming, the feeling persists throughout that our leads are not just against one main villain, but all he represents with his attitude, and even just his presence in such a position of power in their country.

The hefty runtime, the songs that crop up to underline all of the emotions and details of certain events, the sheer, unabashed, joy of the main stars being showcased as absolute stars, RRR has plenty here to mark off any checklist of "things you expect to feature in Indian cinema". It's also a whole load of fun, unforgettable, and may well encourage people to start exploring more world cinema. I just didn't find it to be quite the masterpiece that so many others have labelled it.

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

Shudder Saturday: Warning: Do Not Play (2019)

The tale of a young woman, a film director trying to get a fantastic horror movie made, who hears all about a film that was apparently haunted, Warning: Do Not Play is a film full of familiar moments, but very few of them are any good. It's arguably just as bad as something like Don't Look Up, but I've seen very few people be as critical of it.

Writer-director Kim Jin-won seems to think that he has a good enough idea here to make a cracking horror movie. Mi-Jung (Yea-ji) is the young woman who hears about the infamous horror movie, while interviewing a group of students about urban legend/horror stories they have heard about, a la Candyman. This takes her on a quest to seek out the movie, which has her eventually being contacted by the director, Kim Jae-hyun (Jin Seon-kyu). She is warned away from anything to do with the movie, it's a cursed and evil piece of work, but that just makes her more determined to find out more about it, and to view it with her own eyes. Which really doesn't seem like a smart plan.

This is a difficult film to talk about, mainly because it comes together to be much less than the sum of its parts. Individual elements are perfectly fine, from one or two of the main scares to the special effects, but the script is a bit too slippery, and full of bits that were done better in other movies, to allow viewers to appreciate how things are playing out. The fault must lie squarely at the feet of Jin-won, although he has at least gone for something very different from his debut feature, the strange and wild bit of extreme cinema titled The Butcher (2007).

Yea-ji and Seon-kyu both do decent work in their roles, but they can't quite manage to do enough to carry the whole film on their shoulders, as they must. Although there are also performances from Kim Bo-ra, Cha Yup, Ji Yoon-ho, and others, the film stays focused on the two main characters who can somehow see through the dark enchantment that emanates from the film and affects so many other people, both on and off the screen.

If you're new to the world of South Korean cinema then I recommend you check out a good twenty or thirty films ahead of this one, and many of those would also belong to the horror genre (let's be honest, there's no way anyone should see this before having seen a classic such as A Tale Of Two Sisters, for example). Making use of the sheer wealth of cinema available from everywhere around the globe, there's actually no need for you to ever get to this. I guess it is maybe ironic that I am ending this review with what basically amounts to a warning against pressing play on this. But that's what I'm doing.

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.
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

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore (2022)

Okay, this is a bit better than the last movie in this dire series (yes, I'd love to just not watch them, but I feel compelled to remain a movie completist whenever possible), but that's a very low bar to surpass. Every attempt to wring more money from this world of magic just seems to dilute what made the original stories so great in the first place. The magic no longer feels impressive, it's tiresome. The same goes for the many characters and creatures onscreen. And the plot feels even more like tiresome padding than some very famous prequels I could mention. It doesn't help that Eddie Redmayne plays the main character, Newt Scamander, as if he is trying to hold in a bout of explosive diarrhea. He also has no warmth or charisma, I'm sorry to say, making him the least likeable person in a movie series that is supposed to have him at the front and centre.

The plot is more of the same. Gellert Grindelwald (this time played by Mads Mikkelsen) is making his move to reach a position of great power and start a war between the wizarding world and the muggles. Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) has assembled a group of people to help throw a spanner in the works. He cannot act himself, mainly due to a blood pact (aka blood troth) the two men made, Dumbledore having acted a bit unwisely because he was in love with Grindelwald. And so it falls to Newt, his brother, Theseus (Callum Turner), 'Lally' Hicks (Jessica Williams), Bunty Broadacre (Newt's assistant, played by Victoria Yeates), Yusuf Kama (William Nadylam), and the brave and loyal, but dragged into the whole situation against his will, Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) to hopefully put a stop to Grindelwald's scheme. Alongside him, Grindelwald is helped by Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol), Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), and Vinda Rosier (Poppy Corby Tuech), as well as a number of others.

Director David Yates just cannot do enough to bring this series back on track, although he tries his best with the material he's given, written by J. K. Rowling, with Steve Kloves also helping to adapt the storyline into screenplay form. There are certainly some more highlights here than we got in the last film, including a suitcase-utilising, magical, equivalent of "the shell game", a foiled assassination attempt, and even the main plot strand showing Grindelwald putting things and people in place to apparently assure his rise to power. But the stuff that doesn't work feels so much worse because it all feels like padding, and because viewers are saddled with a blockbuster lead character who is possibly the very worst blockbuster lead character in modern cinema. It doesn't help that these films never feel as if they can ever end in a satisfying manner, always just being one chapter in a story that some would prefer was all over by now.

This isn't the "let's bash Eddie Redmayne again and again" hour so I am not going to say any more about him. I think I've made my feelings clear. The rest of the cast generally do good work, especially Mikkelsen, Tuech, and Miller, who are all impressive baddies. Fogler is once again a real highlight, especially when thrown into the middle of magical sequences that have him bravely looking to face off against people who could make him vanish with the flick of a wand, and having him paired up with Williams for what turns out to be the best scene in the film is a great move, especially with Williams also doing such great work. Everyone else is fine, although I do wonder how people were tracking Jude Law's accent, especially as he moves from sounding British to sounding American, and then to sounding like he's just departed from a job gigging with The Wurzels.

What else is there to say? Nothing, not really. The score is enjoyable enough, and full of familiar refrains, the action has plenty of fireworks in almost every scene, there's still not enough balance between the serious tone and the presentation of the material as family entertainment, but it's such a step up from the last instalment that I ended up pleasantly surprised. I won't revisit it, and am not keen to revisit any of these films, but I was actually entertained while it was on. Which is more than I can say about the previous film.

6/10

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

Firestarter (2022)

As much as I have enjoyed his work over the years, Stephen King is very hit and miss when it comes to his work. Anyone so prolific is going to be. And filmed adaptations of his work have been even more hit and miss. Yes, we got The Shining, Carrie, and the likes of Stand By Me. But we also got The Mangler and The Langoliers (which I mention here as an oft-cited example, despite my own affection for it). Firestarter was originally adapted for the screen back in 1984, and most people would agree that it was an imperfect little film, at best. Drew Barrymore did well in the lead role, David Keith was great, but it couldn't do justice to a story that wasn't the strongest in the first place. And George C. Scott is, well, interesting to watch. This is all my way of saying that, yes, Firestarter was something that was arguably worth having another shot at. I'm not sure this end result was really the way to go though, especially as it is hampered while trying to stick so closely to the source material.

Directed by Keith Thomas, who made a strong impression on many people with his horror feature debut, The Vigil, this casts Ryan Kiera Armstrong in the important central role, the pyrokinetic Charlie McGee, and Zac Efron and Sydney Lemmon as her parents, both trying to protect Charlie from anyone taking an interest in her powers while also trying to protect themselves from any temperature-raising accidents. There's definitely interest from a Captain Hollister (Gloria Reuben), who has permitted an "agent" named Rainbird (Michael Greyeyes) to hunt down the family and take possession of Charlie.

Written by Scott Teems, Firestarter is a film that is completely competent, and improves on the original in a couple of ways (not least of which is replacing Scott with Greyeyes). It somehow lacks part of the goofy charm of the original though, which also had room in the cast for Heather Locklear, Martin Sheen, Louise Fletcher, and Art Carney (his role played in this adaptation by the excellent John Beasley). Maybe it’s because it cannot replicate just that image of Barrymore looking moody as her hair is blown around and flames start to develop, an image so brilliantly spoofed by Barrymore herself in a wonderfully memorable SNL skit. Or maybe it is because Teems was so set on a faithful adaptation that he didn’t feel as if he could try anything that might improve things further. This is a safe horror movie. I cannot think of anyone who would outright hate it, but I also cannot think of anyone who might end up loving it. The opening third has all of the best moments, and then it just slides down and down from there.

Armstrong is good in the role of Charlie, and she does well with the necessary “look sternly at things until it starts to heat up” expressions. Efron also does well, and gets to have a couple of good moments using his own skill to "push" people, something that is inevitably causing him a bit more damage every time he does it. Lemmon isn't necessarily bad, but she's given the least to do from the main cast members. Greyeyes is a formidable hunter, Reuben does well as the standard head of operations who gravely underestimates the situation, Kurtwood Smith is as good as ever in his small role, and I've already intimated how good Beasley is.

I'll be very surprised if many people can remember this film once the end credits have rolled. Thomas directs in line with the script, safely and competently, and nobody involved gets to put any strong fingerprints on the material, including King. Anyone somehow unaware of the original, novel or film, would probably watch this and think of it as a pale imitation of something that King would come up with. There's no energy to it, no real feeling of people living their lives in this world. No . . . spark.

Maybe someone else will have a go at this material in 30-40 years. Meanwhile, there are many other movies riffing on this kind of thing that are easier to recommend than this, and I would suggest films as varied as Brightburn, Freaks, and Looper for starters.

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

Prime Time: Landmine Goes Click (2015)

I'll admit it, I thought that Landmine Goes Click was a movie with a title referring to some major metaphor, a situation ready to explode once people placed themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nope, my bad, it's a film in which someone actually steps on a landmine, and that is a pivotal part of the plot.

Sterling Knight plays Chris, a young man travelling with Alicia (Spencer Locke) and her boyfriend, Daniel (Dean Geyer), through some isolated countryside. Unfortunately for Chris and Alicia, Daniel knows that the two of them have slept together. So he arranges for Chris to step on a landmine. He then leaves Chris and Alicia alone, helpless, and waiting for what seems like an inevitable, deadly, explosion. Things start to look up when a figure, Ilya (Kote Tolordava), appears, but it soon becomes apparent that Ilya may not be interested in helping them.

With a screenplay by Adrian Colussi, who worked on the story with Lloyd S. Wagner and director Levan Bakhia, this is a dark and twisted revenge thriller that gets things wrong from the very start, makes things worse through the middle section, and somehow ends just as badly as it all begins. 

Mired in misogyny and pointlessness, a criticism that you could level at other (but often much better) films like this, Landmine Goes Click could have been better if anyone took a moment to somehow reframe the main plot points. Either underlining how disproportionate the reaction from Daniel is, making Ilya a more mysterious figure, or leaving more space for the third act to feel more organic and well-developed, any of these three things could have improved the movie, and all three together could have REALLY improved things.

It doesn’t help that the cast aren’t strong enough to help detract from the problems in the script. Tolordava is the worst, and I cannot figure out whether or not his performance could have been helped by better dialogue. Locke has the most thankless of the three roles, which is a shame because she is the best of the three leads. As for Knight, nothing he does ever feels quite right, whether he is being cheery and friendly, angry, shocked, or quite unhinged. Again, however, it is difficult to tell just how much these actors are hampered by the awful script.

Aside from the poor script and performances, it’s worth mentioning that nothing else manages to stand out in a positive way. From the direction and editing to the cinematography and pacing, mediocrity is the best you can hope for to distract you from the awfulness. So your best bet is, like any area where landmines are set, to stay as far away from this as possible.

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.
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

Chip 'n' Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022)

I was really happy when I saw the trailer for Chip 'n' Dale: Rescue Rangers. It looked like a hell of a lot of fun. Finding out that it was being delivered by a couple of the main figures behind Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping just made me even more keen to see it. Then I started watching it, the smile fading from my face quicker with each passing minute. You can find a lot of people around who really liked this movie. I'm not one of them. There are some good gags, but I'll attempt to highlight some of the biggest problems I had with the film here.

Having gone on separate career paths over the years, Chip (John Mulaney) and Dale (Andy Samberg) are reunited by a worrying phonecall from their friend, Monterey Jack (Eric Bana). Jack's addiction to stinky cheese has landed him in trouble with the wrong people, and he fears that he will soon be kidnapped, altered slightly, and trafficked to somewhere overseas that has characters creating bootleg versions of their works in perpetuity. Chip and Dale have to get back into old habits, hoping to crack the case in time to save their friend. They end up dealing with the police, in the form of Captain Putty (J. K. Simmons) and Officer Ellie Steckler (KiKi Layne), a variety of twisted cartoon creations, and a big baddie who goes by the name of Sweet Pete (Will Arnett).

When you look at the separate elements here, this is hard to view as anything other than an easy win. Chip ‘n’ Dale have always been my favourite animated chipmunks, nostalgia is arguably one of the most profitable filmic commodities right now, and the direction from Akiva Schaffer is decent throughout. There are also some fun gags in the script, written by Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, who also wrote the very enjoyable, although formulaic, Magic Camp and the less enjoyable Dolittle. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough good gags, especially when you have scenes too busy cramming in familiar personalities and entertainment archetypes. And those gags feel harder to laugh at when you realise the dark truth being reconfigured as something of an extended punchline throughout the second half of the film. I am willing to give both Gregor and Mand the benefit of the doubt, willing to believe that they were trying to pin the comedy on one serious point, on one subversive critique of the Disney studio system (of old?), but it doesn’t work. It rankles as much as that book by O. J. Simpson called “If I Did It: Confessions Of The Killer”. I would never want to read that book, and I never want to revisit this movie.

Another big problem that the movie has, and I know this will sound like a very silly complaint, is a lack of any rhyme or reason to the different types of characters. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is the nearest touchstone for this, underlined in a scene that actually has a cameo from the man himself, but that had clearly defined populations of people and toons. This doesn’t. You get some people living their lives, some cartoon characters everywhere, some cgi creations, muppety puppets, even the difference between Chip and Dale feels very random (one traditionally animated and one fleshed out into a CGI animated character). I know there is a reason for it, but the reason feels a bit arbitrary. 

Mulaney and Samberg are a great fit in the lead voice roles, Simmons is equally enjoyable, and there are entertaining turns from Arnett, Seth Rogen, Eric Bana, Tim Robinson (in the absolutely brilliant role of Ugly Sonic), and many others. Layne also does well, playing one of the few actual humans onscreen, and there’s no faulting the mix of live-action and animation throughout.

There are jokes that work, and some scenes are very funny. References to the uncanny valley are a lot of fun, as is a special appearance from Post Malone, and the meta commentary of older properties being freshened up for a new audience is surprisingly effective, acknowledging that all of these things are just as formulaic as standard sequels or remakes. This is fairly easy to like and enjoy, and many people have done just that. I just couldn’t manage it, especially when I kept circling back to the backstory of the villain (not to mention the way in which it attempts to put a darkly comic spin on people trafficking, which is equally misguided). So I guess I will just wait to see if the inevitable Roger Rabbit sequel will work better. There’s going to be a Roger Rabbit sequel now, right? Right??

4/10

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

Mubi Monday: My Brother The Devil (2012)

A superb feature debut from writer-director Sally El Hosaini, this is a film that looks at brotherly love and idolatry, family units, prejudice, and the difficulty of finding yourself becoming a very different person to the one who was living your life 24/7 for so many years.

Fady Elsayed is Mo, a young man who greatly admires his older brother, Rashid (James Krishna Floyd). Rashid is a core member of a gang, which means he also has a mortal enemy (Demon, played by Leemore Marrett Jr.), and that means that he is much more aware of the dangers around him than Mo, who seems so naïve and vulnerable that you can understand why his older brother is trying to keep him away from the gang life. One major incident changes everything for the brothers, and Mo grows more confused as he sees Rashid distance himself from his old life and start off on a new path that those around him may find much harder to accept.

Although it starts in a way that recalls so many other British movies from the past couple of decades, My Brother The Devil soon starts to show viewers that it aims to be a very different look at this particular aspect of British culture (and it is worth noting that the young lead characters are also sometimes trying to incorporate and/or process their Egyptian heritage as they figure out how they want to define their lives). El Hosaini has clearly written about something that she can at least partially identify with, being of British Egyptian parentage herself, and having spent the first few years of her life in Cairo, and she gives her film a clear identity, ironic when you think of the main characters being so unsure of how they want to identify. The writing and direction here give no hint of someone working on their first feature, I can only guess that El Hosaini really honed her craft in her first couple of shorts, which I need to remember to check out at some point.

Both Elsayed and Floyd are fantastic in their roles, natural and believable as brothers. Floyd is clearly the more capable of the two, but he spends a lot of the runtime trying to get his bearings as circumstances around him force him into some surprising and profound self-realisations. Anthony Welsh does great work in his small, but pivotal, role, as does Saïd Taghmaoui, and Elarica Johnson deserves to be singled out for making her character, Vanessa, a standout from the few female characters who get some screentime.

A film about love, while having almost every scene pulsating with an undercurrent of violence and danger, My Brother The Devil is powerful stuff that takes viewers from despair to sweet jubilation. It is El Hosaini’s only feature, to date, and I really hope we get something else from her soon.

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

Netflix And Chill: The Departed (2006)

Although I had seen The Departed before, and I watched it more than once (between a cinema visit and viewings when I picked it up to add to my movie collection), I realised that my last viewing of it was over a decade ago. So now was as good a time as any to give it a revisit, and once the end credits rolled I knew that I wouldn't leave it over a decade until my next viewing. Because The Departed is an absolute triumph for everyone involved, and serves as another reminder that not all remakes are inherently bad (although I also need to rewatch Infernal Affairs soon, which I've ALSO not seen for well over a decade).

Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon play Billy Costigan and Colin Sullivan, respectively. Both are cops, but both are very different, and they don't know one another (which is very important for the plot). Costigan is judged to have the right background and character to be used as an undercover agent, tasked with the job of getting close to a criminal kingpin named Costello (Jack Nicholson). That's difficult enough, but Costello also has a cop who helps to keep him one step ahead of most investigations. And that cop is Sullivan. As things start to heat up for Costello, everything gets much more dangerous and intense for Costigan and Sullivan, and it looks likely that things will end up with even more names being added to the list of the recently departed. 

Director Martin Scorsese has good form when it comes to picking material to remake, having also done an absolutely stellar job with his version of Cape Fear. He arguably has stronger material to work with here, and an even more impressive roster throughout the cast (not to cast any aspersions on those he cast in Cape Fear at all, this just has more roles available due to the bigger canvas being painted on), and the script by William Monahan adapts the 2002 original with skill and care for each member of the cast being able to shine in their role. I'd still recommend that anyone watching, and enjoying, this film should check out the original, but this is so well reshaped towards the Boston setting and cast that I feel it's actually the superior telling of the tale (only just though). And it's worth noting that I have yet to watch the other two movies in the Infernal Affairs trilogy, despite owning the boxset for a number of years.

Nicholson may be a bit daffy, perhaps giving off an air of someone having too much fun in a very dangerous situation, but I think his performance works very well. He is a thug who at times tries to wear a cloak of civility, and he is always uncomfortable doing so, making him almost desperate for his own reign to come to an end. Damon is excellent, a really sneaky sonofabitch who you want to see get his comeuppance, but also end up thrilled by as he constantly pulls out audacious moves to keep his role a secret from those around him. DiCaprio owns the movie though, playing someone who is both tough and brave without ever taking anything for granted. You somehow never forget that he is the good guy, even during the scenes that have him participating in some awful criminal activities. Elsewhere, Vera Farmiga is superb as a police psychologist who becomes strongly attached to both men, all while remaining oblivious to them actually working on opposite sides of the law, Ray Winstone is once again a very convincing tough guy, and both Anthony Anderson and James Badge Dale are a couple of cops who may end up being played like pawns by those who know much more than they do. Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen, and Mark Wahlberg are cast appropriately, playing characters who know more than the young leads, and both Baldwin and Wahlberg (always a main choice for any Boston cop role) bring a lot of humour to the film, trading insults, riling people up, and happy to physically assault anyone they think isn't taking any of their major investigations as seriously as they should. There are also great supporting turns from David O'Hara, Mark Rolston, Kevin Corrigan, and Kristen Dalton.

As with pretty much every Scorsese movie, another main character is the soundtrack, with "Gimme Shelter" and "I'm Shipping Up To Boston" being the two to make the biggest impact. You also get the expected directorial flourishes, a load of profanity, and outbursts of violence that will make you wince. The final 20-30 minutes is an extended bloodbath, with every loose end being tied up by a number of fatal shootings and sudden deaths, and even those used to movie violence may be taken aback by scenes that seemingly dance from one major death to another.

Once again, I want to make one final clarification that I think the original film is superb. I NEED to revisit it. I used to have some problems with The Departed, mainly with the tone of a couple of the performances (Nicholson and Wahlberg sometimes seeming a bit out of place with the outbursts that made me laugh). I no longer have those problems. It all just works for me. While I expect few people to rate this as highly as I do, most should really like it, especially if you're already a fan of the director and/or stars. I now view it as a modern masterpiece. It's perfect, and I could happily rewatch it again right now.

10/10

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 

Shudder Saturday: A Banquet (2010)

There’s a lot in A Banquet to enjoy, from the central idea to the main performances, so it’s a bit of a shame that it feels very similar to the other excellent Saint Maud. People may watch this and start to think of that film, but that’s a bit unfair. Because there are also a couple of key differences that make this equally worthy of your time, mainly with the central mother-daughter relationship at the heart of things.

It all starts with Holly (Sienna Guillory) being shocked by the suicide of her seriously ill husband. This leaves Holly to bring up their two daughters, Betsey (Jessica Alexander) and the slightly younger Isabelle (Ruby Stokes), on her own, with occasional visits from their gran, June (Lindsay Duncan). Things become strained when Betsey falls ill, losing her appetite and quickly becoming convinced that her deteriorated state is being caused by something more than just a medical issue.

The first feature directed by Ruth Paxton, and also the first feature written by her long-time collaborator Justin Bull, A Banquet is a slow burn of a film that paces things perfectly with the help of some key scenes that are densely packed with disturbing imagery and complexity that separates it from more standard horror fare. As well as the central idea, someone feeling that their body no longer belongs to themselves, there are moments that will be identifiable to anyone who has tried to help a loved one in any kind of major difficulty, from illness to addiction, from problems with bullying to mental health issues. Things will resonate a lot more with those who have unwillingly engaged in a battle of wills with their children, especially with one character pushing away others during a major change of their personality, but it applies to any major relationship, be it between family or good friends.

Alexander is up to the task of delivering the strong performance that needs to be at the heart of the film, she does a pretty flawless job that marks her out as someone to keep an eye out for in other works, and Guillory matches her with her very believable turn as the concerned and loving mother. Stokes doesn't have to deal with quite as many of the truly heavy moments, but she also does good work, and Duncan is used well, playing a character who details some nightmare imagery that feeds into one or two scenes further down the line.

As redundant a phrase as it is, this is a film that isn't for everyone (no film is for everyone, I know, I know). I do think, however, that patient horror movie viewers will get a lot out of this. As much as it is about the pain of the people caught up in the situation, it's equally about the need for people to seek out answers, reassurances, and any small comfort that can support their ideas about what the giant and turbulent cosmos has in store for them.

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

Licorice Pizza (2021)

I am usually an easy mark for Paul Thomas Anderson movies. He makes amazing movies that I tend to love, thanks to his technique often being accompanied by great performances from the people he casts in main roles. Licorice Pizza still has his technique on display, but the strangely unsatisfying script isn’t helped by young leads who aren’t up to the usual high standard of acting seen in other Anderson works. Also, to be flippant, this feels like a Richard Linklater film directed by a stand-in.

Cooper Hoffman plays Gary, a child actor who is struggling to find the right roles now he is an older teen. He can no longer get away with the cheeky antics he used to, he can no longer get by on cute and adorable, but he cannot just go back to a normal life. So he spends his time being an entrepreneurial businessman, looking to profit from whatever the latest fad might be, from water beds to videogames and pinball. Gary also, from the very start of the film, falls for the older Alana (played by Alana Haim). In her mid-20s, Alana scoffs at the idea of a relationship with Gary, but he’s certainly interesting and charismatic enough to make her interested in his life. And so begins a friendship that may or may not develop into something more.

Part period piece, part ode to the bittersweet intensity of that first BIG crush, Licorice Pizza isn’t a film to dismiss. I don’t think I would ever say that about any film from Anderson. It is, however, his least interesting and least successful work to date (in terms of translating ideas from script to screen). 

Taking on his usual writer-director role, Anderson can at least be thankful for the talented people he works with. The production design here is wonderful, as expected. The wardrobe and make up departments do equally good work. The biggest problems here stem from the script and the casting.

Hoffman is great in his role, giving a performance that shows him as an actor who could easily follow in the daunting footsteps of his late father. Haim isn’t so good. I am not sure how much of that is down to her and how much of that is down to the script, with that age gap making things inherently a bit odd and icky, so I won’t spend too much time complaining about her. Bradley Cooper and Sean Penn, on the other hand, can both take some extra criticism. They clearly saw that they could have some fun with their roles, but both of them quickly teeter too far over into performances that are too silly. This may have been in service to the material, but neither of their performances fit well in a movie that otherwise wrings humour from a nice selection of references, time stamps, and winks to viewers, although let’s just not mention the scenes featuring John Michael Higgins. Mainly because I cannot decide on whether they are awful or amazing. The other person worth mentioning is Mary Elizabeth Ellis, very good in her small amount of screentime as the mother of Gary.

I have seen a lot of love for this, and some fans of Anderson rank it just as highly as some of his other works (and, in my view, he has delivered more than one cinematic masterpiece already, with a number of other movies from him coming very close to that status). It just didn’t work for me.  Many of the performances worked against the better elements, and the better elements felt like moments I could find in other, more enjoyable, movies. This isn’t one I think I will ever want to revisit, which is the first time I have said that about any Paul Thomas Anderson movie.

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

Morbius (2022)

Here we have a film in which Jared Leto has to play a privileged guy who gets himself into a position where he can abuse the trust of people around him and be creepy and menacing to anyone he decides to target. No, it’s not Jared: A True Story. It is Morbius, another superhero film given some new clothes to wear, and also another film trying to forge connections to the Spider-Man movies.

Leto plays Dr. Michael Morbius, a great scientist who has spent years trying to cure the debilitating disease that has afflicted him. If he does find a cure then he can also help his good friend, Milo (Matt Smith). As his disease is blood-related, Morbius ends up trying some radical work with vampire bats. And he gets a successful result. Unfortunately, it also turns him into a blood-craving man-bat. That is all well and good when it comes to his strength, athleticism, speed, and a new sense of echo location. It isn’t so good when he needs to feed. Maybe synthetic blood will help him, for a while anyway, but it isn’t long until exsanguinated bodies start showing up. And Morbius becomes public enemy number one, despite him doubting that he did anything wrong.

For the basics of this kind of movie, Morbius is perfectly fine. The origin story is enjoyable enough, there are decent effects dotted throughout, and a couple of action sequences work well. Leto works well in a main role that seems to fit him very well, and there are even a couple of moments that tap into the potential for some horror movie moments.

The script, written by Matt Sazama and Burt Sharpless, is decent, if fairly predictable, and I have to admit to enjoying the films, like this and the Venom movies, that have recently packaged darker and deadlier characters into movies that remain available to a surprisingly wide viewer demographic. I know that a lot of people disagree, and I also wouldn’t mind seeing darker riffs on this material, but the compromises often seem to give these films a sense of fun that they would otherwise be lacking. Morbius is actually fun at times, especially when Matt Smith gets to cut loose, and I never thought I would say that.

Director Daniel Espinosa spoils things though, deciding to overload some sequences with details and CGI that don’t really make sense. Scenes have colour added to them, but it soon feels like you’re watching the afterglow of someone drawing an image with a sparkler in a dark room. Although I did say that a couple of the action sequences work well, others don’t. You get no true feeling of danger, and there are a couple of occasions that have things happening that are only explained after you have tried to figure out what is going on (which is fine for plotting, not so good with action beats).

I have already said that Leto works well in the main role, but it feels like such a good fit for him that I would be astonished if he failed. Maybe he was just happy to have a vehicle that didn’t have him portraying the worst onscreen Joker ever, or maybe he just managed to find his character very easily. Smith is solid, although his character arc could not be any more obvious. The second half allows him to shine, but I wish he could have been allowed to do even more. Adria Arjona is a good female lead, a colleague/friend of Morbius, and Tyrese Gibson does just fine as a cop one step behind the unfolding danger. There’s also a cameo at the end that is well worth sticking around for, although I had been hoping another character might be introduced here (someone who would make complete sense in this storyline).

Although not great, and I don’t know anyone who expected this to be great, Morbius is enjoyable and entertaining for most of its runtime, and the fact that the runtime is also about 104 minutes is also a plus.

6/10

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

Prime Time: The Trust (2016)

Part dark comedy, part crime thriller, The Trust is a very odd film that deserves to be seen by more people. The fact that it gives another starring role to Nicolas Cage may have put some people off, this was released before his latest renaissance (although *cough* some people have always enjoyed Cage onscreen, no matter the majority opinion), and maybe the fact that it's a hard film to pin down, tonally.

Cage plays Stone, a cop who comes up with what he thinks is a great plan to deliver a huge payday for himself and Waters, a friend and colleague (played by Elijah Wood). Stone has figured out the location of what could very well be an overflowing safe, one that has been filled up with profits from criminal activity. If Stone and Waters can break into it then it's a win-win, because they end up rich and the only immediate victims are the crooks. But it doesn't take long for things to start going . . . a bit wrong.

Directed by Alex and Benjamin Brewer, the latter also having co-written the script with Adam Hirsch, The Trust is an enjoyably slippery film, moving from something close to a buddy cop film to a riff on the “heist gone wrong” movie. The central characters are easy to like, even as circumstances start to push them to act more unpleasantly, and the third act is an enjoyable storm of bad luck and confusion.

Cage and Wood are both very enjoyable in the lead roles. Cage plays his character in a very controlled, and slowly deliberate, manner. Wood, on the other hand, is a bit more antsy, and his character is really only willing to go along with everything if he can keep convincing himself that it is risk-free. There are a few other supporting cast members, including Sky Ferreira, Ethan Suplee, Steven Williams, and Jerry Lewis (given a cameo that pops up at just the right time to remind viewers to keep paying attention).

Although everything is well put together, the easy rapport between Cage and Wood is the main reason to watch this, and your opinion of the film will depend on how you feel about the two stars. They are bad cops, but good bad cops, if you know what I mean, and it is fun to see them put more energy and effort into their plans for robbery than they put into their standard workdays. There’s also a very enjoyable score from Reza Safinia, which I have to mention here because of the feeling I had that I’d heard it elsewhere (it turns out that parts of it were reminding me of the remix of “Radioactivity” by Fatboy Slim).

Maybe a difficult one to recommend, the comedy is very dark and the crime/thriller side of things is played lightly in between sudden bursts of violence, but I will recommend it anyway. It’s good to watch something occasionally that is quite hard to place neatly in any pigeonhole.

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

Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)

I hope you have already heard from other people raving about just how good Everything Everywhere All At Once is. That will make up for my own poor attempt to convince you to see it. Because it is an easier film to experience than to discuss, but it is a strong contender for film of the year (and, arguably, a strong contender already for film of the decade). It isn’t for the faint of heart though, and I am sure that many casual film fans will be put off by the unrelenting craziness of it all.

Michelle Yeoh stars as Evelyn Wang, a woman who is at a low ebb. She runs a launderette with her husband (Waymond, played by Ke Huy Quan), and both a full tax audit and possible divorce looms on her horizon. She also struggles to find a strong connection with her daughter (Joy, played by Stephanie Hsu), and uses her critical father (James Hong) as an excuse to avoid non-judgemental acceptance of Joy’s lesbianism. Evelyn doesn’t mean to be hurtful, she is just projecting from her own life experience. And here’s where things get complicated. It turns out that there are an infinite number of multiverses, and Evelyn is suddenly asked to harness the power of various incarnations of herself in order to protect them. This is done by acting in the most illogical way, allowing the “jump” to the access point, and absorbing the skillset from the person in the alternative timeline. Why is Evelyn required to do this? Someone is out to destroy every timeline, and Evelyn may be the only one able to stop them.

I know, trust me, that the paragraph above is a bit dense and odd. It’s also a decent enough summary of the opening 15-20 minutes of this movie. All you need to know is delivered in one main info-dump, spoken by Ke Huy Quan, and other details are noted as everything becomes more action-packed.

Written and directed by Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), this is a tour de force of consistently inventive and astonishing film-making. The editing alone is an absolute masterclass (I don’t often namecheck editors, just because I focus on the “front of house team” most of the time, but Paul Rogers definitely warrants a mention here), but the script and direction lead to an end product so brilliant that it will be hard for Daniels to top this. In fact, it could be argued that it will be hard for anyone to top this. 

They help themselves greatly with the casting. Yeoh is someone who film fans should have been in love with for years already. If that isn’t the case, change it now. She has always been a massive talent and this gives her the role(s) of her life. Showing so much range, in terms of the characters portrayed and her ability to move from comedy to action to heartfelt emotional moments, Yeoh is one important chamber of the heart of the movie. Quan is another important chamber, and I cannot think of a recent movie moment that has made me happier than the sequence in which he beats up some security guards with a small fanny pack. He makes for a sad, tired, figure in many other scenes, but he also provides a reserve of strength that others use, and it is all conveyed with a quiet, unassuming, performance that is absolutely pitch perfect. Hsu is yet another chamber, and she gets to move between massive highs and massive lows with her character. She is dreadfully unhappy in a way that feels like every “lost” teen ever, but also symbolises unfulfilled potential and dashed hopes just as much as anyone else onscreen. The fourth chamber, ensuring the strong heartbeat that powers the whole film, is made up of both Hong and Jamie Lee Curtis, the former playing the formidable tax auditor. Both are painted as villains at different times, both are much more than that, and both do their bit to ensure that there is not one weak link in the lead acting chain. In an ideal world this would lead to every award everywhere all at once. Maybe in another universe.

There are great action scenes, great moments of absurd humour (highlights include googly eyes, a riff on Ratatouille, and a universe in which people have somehow evolved to have hotdogs for fingers), and simply great moments that will have you grinning from ear to ear. Did I keep track of the timelines and the science? Not quite. Do I think it all fits perfectly together? Not quite. But it is, like a number of other movies, something so magnificent that one or two minor quibbles don’t stop it from feeling perfect. And it is worth noting that, aside from the fighting and silliness, pushing the brain-melting science out of the way, this is a film about love and support. It is important that you have people who give you that love and support, and it is equally important that you pass that same love and support along to those you care about.

Although I know many people who would absolutely hate this, I consider it unmissable. And those who cannot enjoy the full experience it delivers are, quite frankly, missing out.

10/10

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

Mubi Monday: Burn Burn Burn (2015)

The first feature directed by Chanya Button, as well as the first feature written by Charlie Covell, Burn Burn Burn is an enjoyable enough comedy drama that also feels a bit like a film made by committee. It is the kind of low-budget indie that makes good use of some familiar faces in canny cameos, forces main characters to “pick at scabs”, and ends with only a passing nod to something that feels like proper resolution. Because life is never properly resolved, of course.

Laura Carmichael and Chloe Pirrie play Seph and Alex, two friends who have been tasked with scattering the ashes of another friend, Dan (Jack Farthing). This involves a road trip, ashes contained in a tupperware box, and various video clips that Dan has recorded to be played at the various locations. Those video clips, and the travel, all prompt Seph and Alex to be more honest with one another, and more honest with themselves.

This is enjoyable enough, and Carmichael and Pirrie are decent leads, but it’s also very similar to approximately one thousand other movies I could direct you to, whether they are quirky road movies or quirky comedy dramas about dealing with the loss of a loved one. Or even quirky movies about the ups and downs you go through in a close friendship. 

Button directs competently, making good use of the few main locations and managing to avoid the car scenes feeling too claustrophobic. Nothing can really lift Covell’s script, which will give even most casual film fans a feeling of deja vu, but there are enough distractions scattered here and there to try and make things more entertaining.

Alice Lowe is one winning distraction, stealing the film with her minute or two of screentime. Julian Rhind-Tutt is another, delivering a performance that is a perfect combination of creepy and, well . . . also creepy, but with the same creepy vibe as the sideways-staring cuddly toy you used to have as a bedside companion when you were a child. It was always there for you, and the real creepiness only becomes more obvious when you take a step back from it. 

There’s nothing here to make anyone very angry, but there’s also nothing here to make anyone truly delighted. It is all decidedly okay, but decidedly okay just isn’t good enough when you have so many other films available to choose from, and I suspect that this is destined to be forgotten (if anyone still remembers it today).

4/10

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

Netflix And Chill: 21 Bridges (2019)

I'm slightly annoyed that it took me this long to finally watch 21 Bridges, mainly because it finally showed me a performance from the late Chadwick Boseman that really showed him delivering fantastic work. I enjoyed his Marvel turn, pretty much everyone knows that he played Black Panther in a number of movies (including, of course, Black Panther), but I didn't really see anything else from him that made me take notice of his acting chops. 21 Bridges, as mired in predictability and cliché as it is, is lifted by Boseman's performance, especially in a couple of scenes that have him sparring with the equally great J. K. Simmons.

Boseman plays a New York detective named Andre Davis. Following in the footsteps of his father (who died when he was a child), Davis strives to be a good cop. Even while being investigated for a shooting, he stands firm on his record. He has had to shoot people when there was no other choice, but he insists that every one was justified, a "good" shooting. When a big theft goes wrong, two drug thieves kill a number of cops, and Davis is put on the case. He wants to bring the two to justice, but there are others, including Captain McKenna (Simmons) who would much prefer the two to be shot on sight, sparing the relatives of the dead cops a long and painful trial. Davis doesn't work that way though, and he's even less inclined to shoot first and ask questions later as details of the case start to add up to more than just a robbery gone awry. The routes in and out of Manhattan are blocked, and the clock is counting down fast for the robbers, who won't know that Davis is their best chance at making it through the night alive.

Written by Adam Mervis and Matthew Michael (brother of Joe) Carnahan, this is a very enjoyable, standard, thriller. The pacing is perfect, with the robbery and some subsequent gun battles punctuating the ongoing detective work being carried out by Davis, and there are plenty of opportunities throughout the film for the viewer to get one step ahead of the main characters. This is arguably a big weakness within the script, but it still delivers a bit of tension, albeit in a different way. Anyone watching this is just wondering how long it will take certain characters to realise certain truths, and what confrontations will stem from those realisations.

Director Brian Kirk doesn't really elevate the material, relying on his cast to deliver some of the better lines from the script. He also doesn't mess things up, however, and that can be just as important when helming something as entrenched in crime movie tropes as this is. Kirk has faith in his cast, but it's a shame that he didn't get some better people to fill out some of the smaller supporting roles. Seeing some more faces like Keith David (who plays a Deputy Chief) would have helped enormously, even if they were just in for one small scene.

The leads more than make up for any weaker elements though. Boseman is believable, matching the tough attitude of his character with an intelligence and diplomacy that makes Andre Davis the one cop you would want alongside you if things were going from bad to worse at great speed. Sienna Miller plays Frankie Burns, partnered alongside Davis for the night, and she is very good in her role, playing someone who is looking to both crack the case and help get the suspects an immediate death sentence. Simmons has given many great performances in his career. This may not be up there with his very best, but it's much better than you might expect for the type of character he's portraying, arguably more effective in the more placatory moments that he has in between shouting at people. Stephan James and Taylor Kitsch play the two thieves, with James by far the better of the two, possibly as much to do with the script as it is to do with his performance, and there are a few other players who do decent work while they get caught in the crossfire (including Alexander Siddig, Louis Cancelmi, and Gary Carr).

Distinctly average in terms of the plotting, 21 Bridges is treated like so much more than that by everyone else involved, both behind and in front of the camera, and Boseman and co. turn it into a surprisingly riveting viewing experience.

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

Shudder Saturday: Becky (2020)

Co-directed by Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion, Becky is the film arguably best known to many for being the one that has Kevin "King Of Queens" James playing a Neo-Nazi criminal. It has also been referred to as a twisted riff on Home Alone, and I am sure that people have already heaped some praise on the young actress, Lulu Wilson, who portrays the titular character.

The plot is deceptively simple. Becky is taken away by her father (Jeff, played by Joel McHale) to spend some time back at the lakeside home that contains many memories of her deceased mother. It's not going to be an easy time for them though, as Jeff is informing Becky that he wants to marry his girlfriend, Kayla (Amanda Brugel), who has joined them at the house, accompanied by her young son, Ty (Isaiah Rockcliffe). Becky leaves the house, wanting some time to herself, wanting to be alone with her rage. And that is when Dominick (James) and co. enter. They want something that has been hidden away on the property, and they don't mind killing to get it. It turns out that Becky won't necessarily mind killing people either, and she has the advantage while the criminals take time to fully realise the situation.

There are a lot of people involved in this that I've been aware of before now, but not particularly impressed by. A lot of people enjoyed both Cooties and Bushwick, also from Milott and Murnion, but I wasn't a big fan of either. Cooties was average, at best, and Bushwick was a slight improvement. Becky shows that they have kept moving in the right direction though, and this is their best work yet. The script, written by Ruckus Skye, Lane Skye, and Nick Morris, is enjoyably effective when it comes to shaping the central characters and placing them in every main sequence. The crux of the relationship between Becky and her father is nailed down within their first few scenes together, their big problem stemming from a reaction from a young girl that is as hurtful to her father as it is understandable, and all we need to know about the bad guys is that they are generally very bad indeed. It also helps that there's a great little speech delivered by James that is supposedly about a dog, but very quickly and obviously shows that it encompasses his horrendous world view, and isn't really just about a dog at all.

Wilson is excellent in the main role. She's believable throughout, even as she grows tougher and more determined to cause pain and death to others. Her skill and strength seems to grow with each cathartic moment, and she always seems to be thinking one step ahead of those around her. I have seen Wilson in a few other films, but this is her standout role, for obvious reasons. James is also excellent, delivering a menacing and unpleasant character with a performance that could easily be described as revelatory. Okay, he's helped by the script and the fact that it is so far removed from his usual fare, but he still deserves a good bit of praise for taking on the role. McHale and Brugel are both very good as the adults who end up pinning their hopes on a young girl to help them get out of a very dangerous situation, and Robert Maillet is a highlight in the role of Apex, a large and intimidating criminal who actually wants things to stop before more people lose their lives.

While it avoids some common pitfalls (it doesn't try to make things overly cool, it doesn't often play things for laughs), Becky becomes slightly unstuck in the more violent moments. It becomes a bit ridiculous, whether in terms of showing what Becky can do or in terms of the damage caused to people. Watching someone cut off their own dangling eyeball is fine for causing a wince, a gut reaction, but it's also something that feels a bit preposterous. The same can be said of some other gory moments. It's not enough to completely unbalance, or ruin, the film. It's enough to knock a point or two off it though.

Nicely bookended by a couple of scenes that will prompt a wry smile from viewers, this is a thriller that I highly recommend to anyone looking for something just a little bit different. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it puts a funky new hubcap on it.

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