Tag Archives: Bill Murray

The Phoenician Scheme – Movie Review

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TL;DR – Weird and wonderful in equal measure.

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

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

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

Zsa-zsa looks up at you from a bath.

The Phoenician Scheme Review –

Today, we are going to experience a touch of tonal whiplash when it comes to our film reviews. Because we are going from Fountain of Youth, where I could not tell was directed by Guy Ritchie as all his signature stull was sandblasted out of the film, and in the days since I am still wondering if he actually directed that film. But now we are hard cutting to the opposite side of that spectrum with the most stylistic director working in the field today. A man with a stylistic pallet that is oft copied but never replicated. I was first introduced to Wes Anderson’s work through Isle of Dogs and Asteroid City and was delighted by his reinterpretations of Roald Dahl’s short stories like Poison a couple of years ago. This means I came into this with somewhat high expectations, and I think they met them and more.  

So, to set the scene, in 1950, Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro) is flying above the Balkin mountains when an explosion rips apart his plane, yet miraculously, he survives, for this is not the first assassination attempt on his life. He feels like his life work might get cut off by influential players seeking to ruin him and realises that his legacy is not going to be passed down to his ten other sons. Zsa-zsa calls upon his one and only daughter, Sister Liesl (Mia Threapleton), who is about to take her nun oaths. However, he offers her a deal, well, a trial run, at being his sole heir to his fortune, as long as he can fill in the gap in this funding that the shadowy powers just forced upon him. Oh, and stop all the many, many, many people trying to kill him.

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Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire – Movie Review

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TL;DR – There are some interesting moments here, and the cast is having fun, but the story feels more contrived than anything else.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

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

A storm approaches New York.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Review –

The Ghostbusters Franchise has taken some turns in the last 40-odd years. In many ways, it has shifted from being at the forefront of the genre to being utterly indicative of their time. The question I have is if this new entry will tread along the same tired lines or try to do something new.

So, to set the scene, back in 1904, firefighters in New York stumbled across a peculiar scene when investigating a fire, where the room was frozen and not burnt. In the present, Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd), Callie Spengler (Carrie Coon), Trevor Spengler (Finn Wolfhard), and Phoebe Spengler (Mckenna Grace) are trying to hunt down the Hell’s Kitchen Sewer Dragon. But when Nadeem Razmaadi (Kumail Nanjiani) brings an old Mesopotamian ghost trap to Dr. Raymond “Ray” Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), little does he know what he just unleashed on the world.

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Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While individual elements work, when you combine them with a story that feels kitbashed together from other/better narratives, you get a bit of a disappointment.     

Rating: 2 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to see this film

Kang shows his full power.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Review –

Sigh … okay, let’s do this. I feel before I go on that, somehow, I need to build a touch of credibility on the topic of Ant-Man. I don’t know why, but let’s just go with it. I unashamedly love Ant-Man, as well as, Ant-Man and the Wasp. The first Ant-Man was a perfect coda to Phase 2, a surprisingly fun romp through San Francisco and size. The second was a breath of fresh air in-between the dourness that was the two Avengers. I loved that we were getting a third, but something in the marketing campaign made me pause … I think I should have listened to that part of myself.

So to set the scene, after helping to save the world in Avengers Endgame, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) has tried to be a better father to Cassie (Kathryn Newton) who he has years of catching up to do, and a better boyfriend to Hope (Evangeline Lilly). All while writing a best-selling book. However, that ball of calm is crushed when Cassie is arrested at a protest, and her grandparents Hank (Michael Douglas) and Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) might have been supporting her more rebellious side. But it is Cassie’s work in trying to chart the Quantum Realm that brings everything unstuck. Because as they knock at the door of the realm, something knocks back and sucks them all in. Now it is time for Janet’s past to catch up to her in the future.

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Ghostbusters: Afterlife – Movie Review

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TL;DR –  It unravelled a bit at the end, but I enjoyed the ride up till then.   

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

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

The family sit on a broken car.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife Review –

With our next catch-up film, we get to go back to a movie released on New Year’s Day in 2022. I had meant to watch this well before this, but there was a lot of toxicity around the film building up to release, which put me off a bit, and it never worked into the schedule until now. But what failed at Halloween is now ready at Christmas, and it is time to dive in.  

So to set the scene, on a stormy night at Shandor Mining Co., a man leads an invisible entity back to his farm. He tries to catch it, but the power fails, and the creature attacks before he can recover. With his death, his farm in Summerville, Oklahoma, reverts to his estranged daughter Callie Spengler (Carrie Coon), who is in financial struggle and moves out there with her daughter Phoebe Spengler (Mckenna Grace) and son Trevor Spengler (Finn Wolfhard). They were hoping to be able to sell the place, but nothing is straightforward, and they have to stay for a while. Things are going okay, but for the daily earthquakes with no source. That is until Phoebe finds her grandfather’s old ghost trap, and she, her friend Podcast (Logan Kim), and teacher Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd) open it up and let out a coming doom.  

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Space Jam (1996) – Exploring the Past

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TL;DR – A blast from the past that has unfortunately lost a bit of its sheen. 

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is an End Credit scene

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

Space Jam. Image Credit: Warner Brothers.

Space Jam Review –

When Space Jam first came out in cinemas, I was in primary school, and I can remember that it was a film that teachers would put on when they needed a break from us but not that much more. It has been over a decade since I have seen the film, and besides the occasional look at the old website, I hadn’t thought about it much. However, then they went and made a sequel. I felt I had to give it another watch for due diligence to see just what it was that captured people all those years ago.

So to set the scene, in 1973, a young Michal Jordan (Brandon Hammond) is practising at his home well after midnight. When talking to his dad, the one thing he wants to be is a champion and play on a championship team. One montage of Jordan’s career later, and a now champion Michael Jordan (Michael Jordan) is retiring from basketball to join baseball. But on a planet in deep space, a theme park boss is Swackhammer (Danny DeVito), is trying to find a new attraction, and he decides to steal all the Looney Tunes. But instead of being captured, Bugs Bunny (Billy West) cons them into playing a basketball game for their freedom.   

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Movie Review – Isle of Dogs

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TL;DR – There are some aspects, like the animation which are superb, but also some things like some of the story aspects that leave you wondering why did they make that choice.

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

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

Isle of Dogs

Review –

Hmmm, this is a difficult film to review because as much as it is unique work of art celebrating a form of animation that you don’t see much these days. It is also a deeply problematic story with regards to some aspects of its narrative and characterisation, and as such, it is hard to rectify these two halves. Well, it might be difficult, but then that is what we are here to do today so it is time to rise to the occasion and dive into the world of dogs.

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