Movie Review – Deadpool 2

TL;DR – Takes everything that worked in the first film turns it up to 11 and then gives it real emotional stakes.

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – there are two mid-credit scenes

Deadpool 2

Review

Back in 2016, there was this little film that could that exploded out into the zeitgeist of the film world. The first Deadpool (see review) was a passion project for all involved because it took years to get it greenlit, indeed, it took test footage being leaked to finally convince the studio to start it, and even then they cut the budget drastically before shooting because they had fears about what an American R-rated film would make at the box office. Well as we know it make bank at the box office and now we get to see the fruits of that decision with Deadpool 2, well also it probably helped convince 20th Century Fox to finally let them do Logan (see review) as they really wanted, so thanks for that too. So today we are going to look at the follow up to the merc with the mouth, can they capture that same feeling that exploded out on screen both literally and metaphorically, well let’s dive in and see.

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Movie Review – Super Troopers 2

TL;DR – Canadian jokes, American Jokes, and an absurd set up that somehow still works by letting all the characters shine in the absurdness of it all, oh my.

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

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

Super Troopers 2

Review
When a cult classic has a sequel, especially a sequel after a long time, there are the usual questions as to can it strike lightning again? Now, this is always an unfair question because if they just do the same thing as before you get hit for not innovating, and if you change it up you get hit for not respecting the original. So how do you approach a sequel with this minefield ahead of you, well the first thing is you engage with the fans from the start, which a well-crafted Indiegogo campaign clearly did, but also it is to know your strengths and play with them and Super Troopers 2 is a great example of this. Also releasing on the 4th of April, I see what you did there Super Troopers.

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Exploring the Past – Super Troopers (2001)

TL;DR – A combination of off-brand Afghani animation, smugglers on the border, and all the shenanigans.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

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

Super Troopers banner

Review
Super Troopers is one of those little films that could. Fighting hard to get it financed and being turned down at every point and then finally getting it greenlit but you only have $1.2 million to put your passion project together. Well after many years a sequel is about to be released so I thought it would be good prep to take a look down memory lane at a world full of shenanigans, so, many, shenanigans.

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Movie Review – Blockers

TL;DR – Despite the fact that none of this should work, it is surprisingly touching and quite funny

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is a Mid-Credit scene

Blockers

Review
This is a film that shouldn’t really work at all. It is smashing storylines of what feels like two completely different films from different genres together and it should be an unmitigated mess, yet somehow it all kind of works. So today we will take a look at what makes Blockers work when it really shouldn’t.

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TV Review – Safe House: How Brooklyn Nine-Nine is Finding New Heights in Season 5

TL;DR Safe House shows that five seasons in Brooklyn Nine-Nine is getting better and better, blending humour and emotion into an amazing episode.

Score – 5 out of 5 stars

Brooklyn Nine-Nine banner

 

Review

Now, I have to say that Brooklyn Nine-Nine might be one of the best gems out there on TV at the moment, and one of the few shows that I actively seek out these days. It is created by Dan Goor & Michael Schur who have been the creative minds behind The Daily Show, Saturday Night Live, Parks and Recreation, The Good Place, and more. So right from the start, you have an amazing creative team that extends out to all the writing staff. As well as this, you have an amazing and diverse cast that is committed to working together as a team. They all have an amazing rapport with each other, which feels effortless. It is from this platform that they keep getting better each season.

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Movie Review – Game Night

TL;DR – There are some interesting character and filmmaking choices, but none of that really helps this film do anything more than mediocre-ing its way through to its ending.

Score – 2.5 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit sequence and an end credit stinger

Game Night banner

Review

Game Night is really an odd duck of a film, it has some good character moments, and it is clear that the directors know what they are doing. However, as I walked out of the cinemas I kind of felt it was all a bit meh. So today we are going to unpack what happened by looking at the characters and the story.

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Movie Review – Hibiscus and Ruthless

TL;DR – A beautiful, funny film of charting family expectations

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit sequence as the credits roll

Hibiscus & Ruthless. Image Credit: M2S1 Films.

Review

Families are complicated’, I think that is a phrase that just about anyone in the world can relate to. There is pressure to conform to your parents wants, and there is pressure to try and help the next generation succeed more than you did, and sometimes those two drives crash into each other in explosive fashion. Today we will be looking at a film that deals with just this very issue, as we explore this fascinating film from New Zealand from the same creative team behind Three Wise Cousins. There will be laughter, there will be tears, and there will be bread rolls on people’s heads for some reason.

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Movie Review – Pitch Perfect 3

TL;DR – To be honest this film feels like some fan fiction that came to life, good fan fiction, silly but in a fun kind of way.

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is a sort of mid-credit sequence

Pitch Perfect 3

Review

As a series I’ve really liked each of the Pitch Perfect films, they blend humour with fun characters, and great musical performances. So walking into the third and potentially final film, if its promotion can be believed, there was a bit of trepidation on my part. Cinema is full of movies that can’t stick the landing on the trilogy, and have instead gone out on a fizzle rather than a bang. Well, I am happy to say that Pitch Perfect 3 is not one of those films and hell you even get the bang in the first five minutes. So let’s dive in and look at our first film review of 2018.

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Movie Review – Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

TL;DR – This film is an hour and a half of pure fun, and probably the first video game film to work in a very long time, and some of the best casting I have seen in a while

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle. Image Credit: Sony.

Review

So to be honest right from the start this was a bit of a surprise. It has not been a good year for remakes in 2017, for example, The Mummy (see review) or the Ghost in the Shell (see review) all fell a bit flat on release. Add to this, it has been over twenty years since the first film, and all the information in the lead up to its release did not display Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle in a flattering light at all. Indeed, it felt like this was going to be another case of reheating an old franchise rather than trying to do something new, and we are getting a bit tired of this. However, none of this came to pass, instead what we got was a fun romp through the jungle, with superb casting, and sense of knowing exactly what it wanted to do and succeeding in it.

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Movie Review – Thor: Ragnarok

TL;DR – A visual extravaganza, Taika Waititi with the cast and crew gave their all to this film, and it amazing to watch.

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

P.S. – There is a Mid and End Credit Scene

Thor: Ragnarok. Image Credit: Marvel/Disney

Review

Wow, what an amazing end to a film trilogy, and one of the strongest so far for Marvel. I’ve always had a kind of indecisive feeling towards the Thor films so far. They have been a case of fantastic casting matched with just ok storylines. Now when you have Anthony Hopkins going gangbusters, then even a bad script will look good, but overall I just thought the Thor films were ok and nothing more. To be fair, I think it was a testament to the quality of Marvel’s films that while Thor might have been my least favourite Marvel films it was because they were only ok, not fantastic. However, I was honestly wondering with everyone doing their big Cinematic Universes now if superhero fatigue would set in given my relationship with the films so far, but nope this film was a riot from start to end and I highly recommend it. So today we will set the scene, and then have a look at all the factors that went into making the film work. However because of the nature of Thor Ragnarok and its story, we are going to hit spoilers much earlier than we would normally do, so to be on the safe side I am implementing a [SPOILER] warning from this point onwards.

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