Tag Archives: American Cinema

Soul – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A perfectly fine film, with great animation, but it felt like it was missing something.   

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a post-credit scene (sort of)

Awards –

Nominated: Creative Animation & Exquisite Musical Score

Soul. Image Credit: Disney.

Soul Review –

Well, it has been a long, and let’s call it, interesting year, but today brings to a close our last reviewed of a film from 2020. To round out the year, it is time to look at Pixar’s next entry, and given we already had a strong movie in Onward this year. I came into Soul with some reasonably high expectations.   

So to set the scene, Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx) is a high school music teacher, but his real passion is performing jazz. This puts him in conflict with his mother Libba (Phylicia Rashad) who wants him to have a stable job. Well, those two worlds are about to collide when he is offered a full-time position teaching while also getting the chance to perform with the famous Dorothea Williams (Angela Bassett). This would be a big decision for Joe if he didn’t then fall through an open manhole and wake up on the escalator to the other side.

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Palm Springs – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A film about broken people reliving their broken lives, day after day after day after …   

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene

Palm Springs. Image Credit: Amazon Prime.

Palm Springs Review –

There have been many media properties that have attempted to recapture the joy that was the time loop in Groundhog Day. I mean even Stargate SG1 gave it a shot. However, no one has quite gotten there. Well, today we might have a contender with Palm Springs. 

So to set the scene, we open in on the day of a wedding between Tala (Camila Mendes) and Abe (Tyler Hoechlin), but our focus is not with them. Instead, it is with Nyles (Andy Samberg) the boyfriend of Misty (Meredith Hagner) one of the bridesmaids. Nyles is the type of guy that will wear a Hawaiian shirt and swim pants to distinctly not beachside wedding. But still, he saves the day when Sarah (Cristin Milioti) the Maid of Honour has to make a surprise wedding speech, and she has had too much wine. It is all going swimmingly, with Nyles and Sarah about to hook up when an arrow comes out of nowhere and a masked man Joe (J.K. Simmons) starts hunting Nyles for sport. Wounded Nyles crawls into a glowing cave, and even though he asks Sarah not to follow she does, and then they both wake up at the start yesterday again.  

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Sound of Metal – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A profoundly moving and confronting film that explores a man’s life after it has been ripped asunder    

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Awards –

Nominated: Fascinating Worldbuilding.
Winner: Fascinating Worldbuilding.

Sound of Metal. Image Credit: Amazon Studios.

Sound of Metal Review –

There are times when you have seen an actor nail every role that you have seen them in, but they have only been in supporting roles. So you can’t wait to see someone take a chance and cast them in the lead. One of those actors is Riz Ahmed, and I am glad that I get to see that happen today with Sound of Metal.

So to set the scene, Ruben Stone (Riz Ahmed) is a musician, specifically a drummer, who is on tour with his partner Lou (Olivia Cooke). One night when he is performing a ringing starts in his ears, but it goes away. However, it continues to relapse till he has only 20% hearing in both his ears. Ruben is told that he has to stop drumming or he could lose all his hearing. He ignores the doctor and goes back to drumming until it is all gone. In a moment of despair, he starts to backslide after being clean for four years. Lou calls his sponsor, and they are able to find a place that can help him with both his addiction and help him work through his loss of hearing. The head of the facility, Joe (Paul Raci) needs Ruben to cut himself off from the world for this to work, which is a difficult transition.

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Mulan (2020) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A film that is desperately trying to differentiate itself from the past while still hitting all the same story points.     

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Mulan. Image Credit: Disney.

Mulan Review –

When I was growing up, I was at the perfect age for the original animated Mulan. It was this joyous riot of humour with music that I can still repeat verbatim today. However, it is also one of those films that as you grow up and the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia start to fade you begin to see it is not a film without its issues. With that in mind, this was one of the only Disney remakes that I was interested to see remade in live-action, but I am not sure it got to where it wanted to go.

So to set the scene, along the Northern Silk Road, a witch Xianniang (Gong Li) is helping a Rouran warlord Böri Khan (Jason Scott Lee) attack garrisons of the Imperial Chinese Empire. To respond to this threat, the Emperor (Jet Li) signs an edict that one man from each household must be conscripted into the army to fight the menace. This is a dilemma for one family because the only man is Hua Zhou (Tzi Ma) who badly injured his leg in the last war and has only daughters. Being called up to the army would be a death sentence for him, something his wife Hua Li (Rosalind Chao) sees. Seeing the inevitable outcome, Zhou’s daughter Mulan (Yifei Liu) takes his place even though it would mean her death if she is found out.

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Extraction – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A solid action film from start to finish   

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Awards –

Nominated: Explosive Action
Winner: Explosive Action

Extraction. Image Credit: Netflix.

Extraction Review –

Today I begin my power shot through the films that I missed this year, these will be shorter reviews than usual, as I have a lot to get through in preparation for my best-of list. We begin with an action film that is both very old fashioned but also refreshing in some way.

So to set the scene, In Delhi Ovi Mahajan (Rudhraksh Jaiswal) is being a usual teenager going out with friends and visiting clubs right up until police officer kills his friend and takes him hostage. Ovi’s father is Ovi Mahajan Sr (Pankaj Tripathi) a major drug lord in India and is currently incarcerated. The boy was kidnapped by Amir Asif (Priyanshu Painyuli) a competitor from Dhaka, Bangladesh. With time being short, the boy’s family hires extraction expert Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) to save his life and well things don’t go to plan.

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We Can Be Heroes – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A charming family film created in a style I have not seen in an age, but it just works   

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
We Can Be Heroes. Image Credit: Netflix.

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

We Can Be Heroes Review –

When I was growing up, this delightful film series called Spy Kids used a very particular style and tone and made a film that worked for all ages. However, since then, I have yet to see a film nail that same thematic direction, well, that is until today.

So to set the scene, it is just a typical day for the Heroes of this world as Miracle Guy (Boyd Holbrook) and Tech-No (Christian Slater) team up to fix a damaged satellite. However, when Miracle Guy goes up into space, he finds an alien armada waiting for him. Seeing the coming wrath, all the active heroes including Lavagirl (Taylor Dooley), Sharkboy (JJ Dashnaw), and Marcus Moreno (Pedro Pascal) are mobilised. As a precaution, the Heroics Program rounds up all the heroes’ children to keep them safe much to Missy Moreno’s (YaYa Gosselin) annoyance as she does not have any powers. However, when all the heroes are captured, the kids may be the only ones who can save them and the planet.

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Wonder Woman 1984 – Movie Review

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TL;DR – In many respects, this is a messy film, but it is also engaging and entertaining from start to finish   

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene

Wonder Woman 1984. Image Credit: Warner Brothers.

Wonder Woman 1984 Review –

Of all the film franchises that have had a rough go of it in recent years, the top of that list would have to be the DC Extended Universe. For a long time, it felt like it was trying to find an identity after the first attempt fell flat and it kept swinging wildly trying to compensate. The first Wonder Women film came out, and for the first time in the franchise’s history, it actually stuck the landing. The question then becomes ‘can they do it again?’ and the answer is apparently yes, yes they can.

So to set the scene, we open back on Themyscira when Diana (Lilly Aspell) was a young girl. It is a festival day where the warriors of the land compete in a grand obstacle course, and of course, Diana wants to join in. It is here where she learns the important lesson that there are no shortcuts in life. As time goes on, we see little snippets of Diana’s (Gal Gadot) life as she hides among the humans but every now and again she dons the mantle of Wonder Women to fight some crime. What she didn’t expect is this crime would unearth something that should have stayed buried.

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Ava – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A lacklustre film from start to finish   

Rating: 1 out of 5.

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

Ava. Image Credit: Vertical Entertainment.

Ava Review –

When you see a film with an extraordinary cast that has been amazing in similar movies and with a strong premise, you expect a lot when you click play. Well, you at least expect something. However, today we are looking at a film that takes all that potential and does precisely nothing with it.

So to set the scene, we own with “Brandy” (Jessica Chastain) picking a British businessman Peter Hamilton (Ioan Gruffudd) from the Paris Airport. But as we soon see, Brandy is not just your average Uber Driver doing some flirting on the side. For Brandy is actually called Ava, a hired killer and Peter is about to have a horrible day. After the mission, Ava returns home to Boston, but all is not well as Management is now having her watched. Now before we dive into the film proper, it needs to be said that this was a film that was written by and originally meant to be directed by someone who has plead guilty to common assault with regards to his then partner.                           

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The Croods: A New Age (The Croods 2) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A blast from start to finish     

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a post-credit scene, but not one you need to stay back for

Awards –

Nominated: Creative Animation, Most Fun & Fascinating Worldbuilding

The Croods: A New Age. Image Credit: Universal Pictures.

The Croods: A New Age Full Review –

There is this common misconception that animated films are somehow an inferior form of cinema, especially those slated for a younger demographic. However, this is simply just not the case, and several animated films over the last few years have proved that point. This week we get to see another movie enter that frame with the follow up to The Croods. 

So to set the scene, we begin with a tragedy as Guy’s (Ryan Reynolds) parents get caught in a tar pit and force Guy to move on without him hoping to return to a mystical place known as tomorrow. Fast forward and a lot of time marching he runs into the Crood Family, father Grug (Nicolas Cage), mother Ugga (Catherine Keener), daughter Eep (Emma Stone), son Thunk (Clark Duke), baby Sandy (Kailey Crawford), and grandma Gran (Cloris Leachman). They live a simple life of foraging for food and trying not to get eaten, but romance blossoms between Guy and Eep, much to Grug’s consignation. But everything changes when they find a big wall in the middle of the wilderness hiding mountains of food behind. 

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Ever After: A Cinderella Story is the best Cinderella (1998) – Exploring the Past

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TL;DR – A joy to watch from start to finish, where you will wish someone would make you wings. 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Ever After: A Cinderella Story. Image Credit: 20th Century Studios.

Ever After Review –

There are a lot of films that landing when you were growing up, that no matter what, will always charm and excite. For a child of the 1990s, it is those films like 10 Things I Hate About You that hit you in your core no matter how many times you have watched them. Well, today we get to look at one of those films that does it better than many others, which can take you back in time with a single first trumpet swell.

So to set the scene, we open in the 19th century, when the Grande Dame (Jeanne Moreau) invited The Brother’s Grim to her bedside. She loves their collection of folk tales … well all that is bar one, The Little Cinder Girl. Noticing a painting on the wall, one of the brothers asks about its providence, which lets the Grande Dame tell the story of her great-great-grandmother Danielle de Barbarac (Drew Barrymore). As a young girl Danielle (Anna Maguire) lived in a grand manor house her father Auguste (Jeroen Krabbé). One day in his travels he brings home a new wife the Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent (Anjelica Huston) and her two daughters. It is another happy time, until when leaving on a trip to Avignon, Auguste has a heart attack at the gates of the property, leaving Danielle very much alone. 

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