Tag Archives: Action

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim – Movie Review

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TL;DR – It is not a perfect film, but goodness, it was a joy to jump back into this world with all its horns blaring.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Héra befriends an eagle.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Review –

Few things get me excited as hearing the words ‘there is a new Lord of the Rings film about to be realised’. It is a world that brings me back to my childhood, back to reading The Hobbit and seeing those Lord of the Rings films for the first time. Well, today, I get to capture that joy because while I might not hold space for Defying Gravity, I do keep a place in my heart for The Ride of the Rohirrim.

So, to set the scene, there are many stories in Middle Earth about wizards and dragons or great wars and clashes of good and evil. But as Éowyn (Miranda Otto) explains, many stories are just as important and don’t get told made into songs but get talked about around the campfire. Almost 200 years before the War of the Ring, on the plans of Rohan lived Héra (Gaia Wise), the only daughter of Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox), ruler of all the Rohirrim. She rode a horse like it was an extension of her wild fury, charming the people and frustrating her father in equal measure, those secretly he delighted in her wildness. But when of the Lords, Freca (Shaun Dooley) demands a meeting of the Lords of Rohan and tries to position his son Wulf (Luke Pasqualino) as the rightful husband for Héra. Helm would hear nothing of it and strikes Freca down with a single blow and chases Wulf away. He did not mean to kill Freca, but sometimes unexpected actions create unexpected outcomes.

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Citadel Honey Bunny – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is the first Citadel show that I think captured what set out to do with this series.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this series.

Doing a motorbike stunt.

Citadel: Honey Bunny Review –

We are now three seasons deep into this grand Citadel experiment from Amazon Prime. The first season was a complete mess, but that might have been more about behind-the-scenes issues than anything else. On the second outing, Diana jumped over to Italy and was an improvement on the formula. But today, it is India’s turn to show what they can do, and spoiler for the review: what they can do is quite a bit.   

So, to set the scene, we are in Nainital in the year 2000, and Hanimandakini “Honey” Raj (Samantha Ruth Prabhu) is dropping her daughter Nadia (Kashvi Majmundar) off at school and building up a café. However, things take a turn when Honey notices that she is being followed in the market. She dodges her pursuer, sends a coded message of alarm to her daughter Nadia (Kashvi Majmundar), and almost gets a surprise attack, but she misses the second tail. For you see, back in 1992 in Bombay, while Bunny was trying to make it in the acting world, she met Raahi “Bunny” Gambhir (Varun Dhawan), who was on the stunt team. But when Honey struggles to get work and is in desperate need of a job, she discovers that stunts are not all that Bunny does for money. On the side, he and his group Chacko (Shivankit Parihar) and Ludo (Soham Majumdar) also engage in a little corporate espionage. We will be looking at the season as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Gladiator II – Movie Review

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TL;DR – It has a strong cast, all the bombast you need, and a solid narrative. It is just frustrating that it has these creative choices throughout that just rip you out of the film.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film

The Battle of Numidia.

Gladiator II Review –

Well, 2024 has been the year of the legacy sequel, with Alien: Romulus, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,  Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and Twisters all trying their hands on it to a mixed success. The next cab off the rank might have the most significant legacy of them all, or at least the most attempts in the past to make a sequel because there have been many. But it has been 24 years since our last outing of Gladiator, and we have to ask, was this the film we needed, or should it have stayed contained in the past?

So, to set the scene, it has been 20 years since the death of Marcus Aurelius, and Maximus Decimus Meridius’s slaying of Commodus did not bring about the grand return of the Republic. Instead, it drove it deeper into tyranny. Rome is now ruled by the Twin Emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), who care more for blood and entertainment than the people’s health and happiness. Looking to secure their reign, they lashed out at any place defying the Empire using their dutiful general Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal). The last free city on the Mediterranean was in Numidia, where a young man (Paul Mescal) and his wife, Arishat (Yuval Gonen), live. It is a pitched battle, but the Romans win, and the young man who is versed in Roman poetry is carted off to die in the games after watching his wife fall to an arrow. But he stubbornly refuses to die in the arena, which brings the attention of Macrinus (Denzel Washington), who has the want to change his position, and now he has the means.

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Gladiator (2000) Review – Exploring the Past

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TL;DR –. When the bombast hits, you still feel what made it a special film all those years ago.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ service that viewed this film.

A hand in the wheat fields.

Gladiator Review –

In this day and age, companies are trying to find a way to get people back into the cinemas, and the current plan has a lot to do with bringing back classic films with sequels decades later. That means this week we get a new Gladiator film, which I am honestly looking forward to. But as I was sitting there, I realised it had been a decade since I had watched the first film, and that is something that I had to fix, and there is no better time than the present.

So, to set the scene, it is at the height of the Roman Empire, and the Romans controlled everything from Britain to the Deserts of Africa and Arabia. In the north, Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) was fighting a campaign against the tribes of Germania, led by his one trusted general, Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe). But when Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), the son of the emperor, discovers that his father wants to restore the Republic, he kills him. He has Maximus arrested when he won’t declare loyalty to the new emperor. Maximus escapes, but before he can get home, his family is murdered, and slave traders capture him. Now, he has but one choice: die in the arena or win and get revenge for his fallen.

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Venom: The Last Dance – Movie Review

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TL;DR – The Venom films have always had a tension between wanting to be fun character works and needing to fit into this weird franchise they are building. This is the first time that I think the franchise won.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid and post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film

Venom.

Venom: The Last Dance Review –

I know when people think about film franchises, the ‘Sony Spider-Man Universe’ that can’t use Spider-Man is kind of a joke. They have not really helped themselves anyway with entries like Morbius and Madame Web. However, I have always had a bit of a soft spot for the Venom films Venom & Venom: Let There Be Carnage. If for no other reason than it was fun to watch Tom Hardy play off himself in the two roles. But I think we might be at the end of that road today.

So, to set the scene, Eddie Brock / Venom (Tom Hardy) is currently hiding out in Mexico after getting blamed for the deaths in the last film. They make a plan to sneak back into America and head to New York, where Eddie knows a judge that they can bribe to make this all go away. However, while they make their plans, little do they know that out in the universe, Knull (Andy Serkis) is posturing from his jail cell and may have found the way out of his eternal damnation. Oh, and the military wants them too.

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Officer Black Belt (Mudosilmugwan/무도실무관) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While the action scenes hit, unfortunately, we get a tonally confused film that never quite finds its feet.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Police Car in the rain.

Officer Black Belt Review –

Today, we are looking at a fascinating film that, for all its strengths, never quite came together. Conceptionally, you have an interesting story, the scenario is solid, your leading man is charismatic, and you are exploring an essential area in society. However, even with that strong foundation, what happens when you don’t land the tone? Well, that is what we will explore today.

So, to set the scene, Lee Jung-do (Kim Woo-Bin), who loves the competition that comes with sporting achievement, will try every martial art, race to deliver food orders, even dabble in some esports, anything he can find ‘fun’. He works so hard at this that he has multiple black belts across numerous disciplines. When Jung-do saves a police officer from being attacked by a former prisoner, he is propositioned by Kim Sun-Min (Kim Sung-Kyun) in the Seoul Probation Office to become a Martial Arts Officer to help monitor released felons and intervene if they re-offend. It is a job where you sit around, not doing much, interspersed with high action.

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Rebel Ridge – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A fascinating exploration of how easy it is to twist and abuse power when no one is willing to stand up to it.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

Terry is thrown onto the road.

Rebel Ridge Review –

My professional background is in International Relations, and at the core of much of that is the idea of power. How do you keep power? How do you use power? How can you counter those with power? This can often be found in the exploration of the Melian Dialogue, where “the strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must”. A touchstone for our setting today. However, what happens if someone comes in to mess with that power?    

So, to set the scene, Terry Richmond (Aaron Pierre) was riding his bike one day with his music blaring when, unbeknownst to him, the police were tailing him. One sideswipe later, and being pushed to the ground while injured, Terry is arrested, and the money he was bringing to bail out his cousin was ‘confiscated’ by the police. Civil forfeiture: All the police need to do is have a suspicion that the money is an illegal gain, and they can take it, and the Shelby Springs Police Department did just that. Now Terry is on a ticking clock because if his cousin gets sent to state prison, he will be killed.    

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Jackpot! – Movie Review

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TL;DR – This is a fun film, anchored by a charismatic cast, but you could also feel it was a bit of missed opportunity.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There are mid-credit scenes and end credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this film.

Katie win the Lotto.

Jackpot! Review –

There are a lot of ways you can anchor a film, and one of those ways is through an interesting narrative hook. Today we wonder: what would happen if a government authorised a state-wide Hunger Games that was completely opt-in? When you have a good premise, its very existence invokes questions that you want answered, which is what we will do today.


So to set the scene, during the Great Depression of 2026, governments were desperately looking for a way to make money. Enter The California Grand Lottery©. You can be the winner of the jackpot, that is if you can survive until sundown. Until then, you are free game from anyone, and if they kill you, they take your winnings. Just no guns. It is Los Angeles in 2030, and a winner just got taken out by a grandma. But as the jackpot hits $3.6 Billion, child actor Katie (Awkwafina) has just arrived back in town on Lottery Day to try and get back into the business. But when Katie accidentally touches a lottery ticket and wins, then all of Los Angeles turns against her, bar maybe Noel (John Cena) who is protecting her … for money.

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The Union – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While it is a perfectly okay spy film, all it does is remind me of better films.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

Shooting targets.

The Union Review –

Today, we look at a film that should have everything going for it. Big names to anchor the proceedings, big action scenes, car chases, hopping across the world. Everything that you would want from a Spy Film. However, while watching it, I just kept thinking the whole time that I have seen this done better elsewhere.  

So, to set the scene, Agent Hall (Halle Berry) is working on what should have been a simple extraction of an asset from a hotel Trieste. However, just as they are about to leave, things start falling apart as the team is picked off one by one. Soon, all but Hall are dead, and the hard drive is taken. Meanwhile, in New Jersey, Mike McKenna (Mark Wahlberg) is living his life, working on bridges, being a good friend, and living paycheck to paycheck. When Roxanne Hall, his old high school flame, walks into the same bar. It is time to reconnect, time to get knocked out, and time to get kidnapped by the not-CIA spy agency, The Union. Because they need skills, only Mike has: a nobody with no history.

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Borderlands – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While I will give it points for getting some of the visual style right, and something must have gotten that cast to sign up. But the final product was a soulless mess of nothingness.

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene that you don’t need to stay for.

Warning – There is strobing effects.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Space Station around Pandora.

Borderlands Review –

For a long time, there has been a question about whether you can write an engaging video game adaptation? They have been hit and miss, and many were just made for tax write-offs [allegedly]. However, in recent years, we have found that you can make that translation on both TV and in the cinema, which makes it even more frustrating that we take a return to the past with today’s entry.  

So, to set the scene, we open around the planet of Pandora, where a secret vault containing alien information has drawn vault hunters for generations, leaving the planet trashed and strewn with violent gangs. One man who is after that power is Atlas (Edgar Ramírez), which makes it concerning when one of his own soldiers, Roland (Kevin Hart), kidnaps his daughter Tina (Ariana Greenblatt) and takes her into the quagmire. It has been months, and no one has been able to find her, which is when he goes to Lilith (Cate Blanchett), the one bounty hunter that can take on the planet because she used to live there.

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