As things have been going, I think it has been safe to say that the DC expanded Universe has been made up of more misses than hits. However, in recent times that trend has started to change with Aquaman being a fun little film and Shazam! finding some real heart, showing that the studio can make it work on something other than Wonder Woman. However, coming into Birds of Prey, I was a little hesitant given what came before, but thankfully I had nothing to worry about.
So to set the scene, in the time since Suicide Squad ended, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) broke up with The Joker and it was entirely amicable … okay maybe not. However, everyone thinks she’ll get back together with him, it’s only a matter of time. Well, that’s not what Harley thinks and to prove it to everyone she blows up the symbol of their love the chemical factory which does not quite go to plan. Meanwhile, Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) is trying to find out who is going around crossbowing local goons and a young pickpocketer Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco) is about to pick the wrong pocket potentially shifting the balance of all of Gotham City.
TL;DR – A hollow film trying to say something but knowing it actually has nothing to say and hoping you will be distracted by Phoenix’s performance not to notice.
Score – 2.5 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
It has been a couple of days since I watched Joker and instead of writing the review right away I needed to let
this film sit a percolate in my brain for a bit before I started writing. Part
of that is because I have talked to a lot of people because there are a lot of different experiences with the
film, so I wanted to make sure I knew the different perspectives before I dived
in. But also because there are aspects of the film I quite like and those that
I really don’t and I needed to work through that juxtaposition.
So to set the scene, in the 1980s Gotham City is beset by a garbage strike and
tempers are starting to flare as the piles of rubbish start to accumulate. On
the outskirts of the city lives Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) who works as a
clown during the day and looks after his housebound mother Penny (Frances
Conroy) in the evenings. Which would be difficult enough for any person but
Arthur suffers from a neurological condition that required multiple types of
medication and still causes spontaneous uncontrollable laughter. Things are
manageable for Arthur but as his life starts to unravel so does he.
TL;DR – As the swan song for the Phase 3 it delivers of nearly every front but mostly in heaping amounts of charm
Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid and post-credit scene (you 100% need to stay for the mid-credit at least)
Review –
To be a bit honest I had some concerns about this film before I walked into the
cinemas. I quite liked the first Spider-Man
and the films since has showed that Tom Holland was one of Marvel’s best
casting choices. However, this film was coming off the double whammy of being
the follow up to both Endgame
and also the first film since the revolutionary Into
the Spider-Verse, and they are tough acts to follow. However, literally
five minutes into the movie I knew I was in for a good time, but I didn’t know
was how much of an impact this film would have on the greater landscape.
So to set the scene, we open with a quick recap of everyone who dies in Endgame, so if you have not seen it yet
get ready for that band aid to get ripped off real quick. It also gives a
little perspective as to how the world adapted to what they now call the blip
with half of the people disappearing then reappearing 5 years later. It looks
like most of Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) friends got snapped and have to
suffer through doing the school year all over again. Well after all the stress
of Endgame, Peter is happy that he is able to take a break because he and his friends
MJ (Zendaya), Jacob (Jacob Batalon), Betty (Angourie Rice) and unfortunately Flash
(Tony Revolori) are going to Europe on a school trip. However, before he leaves
Happy (Jon Favreau) arrives at his aunt May’s (Marisa Tomei) charity dinner to let
Peter know that Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is looking for him and Peter does
the only normal thing and ghosts Nick Fury. Well you can guess how well that
went.
TL;DR – In what might be the last major release of a Fox X-Men film, instead of going out with a bang, it goes out with a meh.
Score – 2.5 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
With Fox being bought by Disney we know that the current X-Men film franchise is going to be reaching its end sooner rather than later, and with the New Mutants film having a difficult production, there is a chance that this is the last time we will see these characters on the big screen. With that in mind, there are many words I have used to describe the X-Men films in the past. There have been the highs of X-2, Deadpool, and Logan. There have been the lows of X-Men Origins:Wolverine, The Last Stand, and Apocalypse. However, today I have a new descriptor for an X-men film, and unfortunately, that word is dull.
So to set the scene, we open with a young Jean Grey (Summer Fontana) back in the 1970s driving with her parents when tragedy strikes and she becomes an orphan. Back in the present day of 1992, the Space Shuttle Endeavour has been hit by a solar flare and the president (Brian d’Arcy James) has only one team he can call. Since the time of Apocalypse, mutants have come out of hiding and the X-Men have become almost celebrities, using their powers, to help save the day. While in space, they discover that it was not a solar flare, but some kind of entity. While Jean (Sophie Turner) is trying to keep the shuttle together, the entity attacks and is absorbed by her. Back on Earth, she seems fine, but slowly they find out that this is not the case because Charles (James McAvoy) did something to her back in the day and that secret just burst forth.
TL;DR – Today with the next
Avengers release imminent we take a look
at where on Earth we have visited during all of Phase One, Phase Two, and Phase
Three
Article –
Today Avengers:
Endgame was released in cinemas, and well since I like maps and I like
the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I thought it would be interesting to update our
map out where the MCU has visited during its three phases from Iron Man in 2008 to Endgame in 2019. This means that there are some slight spoilers for
Endgame here, but only their locations which don’t really give anything away,
but if you are super cautious please be aware.
Back in 2018 we had a look at ranking all the current Marvel Cinematic Universe films from best to last. We at least, what ranking they were for me. Well I have just walked out of Endgame and as there are no more films (that we know of) left for 2019 it is time to revisit the list.
With these lists, I don’t rank them 1-10 as I feel that does not adequately reflect my feeling about each of the films and where they fit in relation to each other. As you can see in our X-Men countdown (see here) what we do is the group the films into categories Fantastic, GreatGood, Ok, and Trash.
Fantastic are those films which get as close to perfect as we can on this side of Heaven, with compelling characters stories and visuals. Great are those films which I thoroughly enjoyed but they did not move me emotionally. Good are solid films that while they have some issues they still work and are still enjoyable. Ok are films that work, they have some good moments, but you can start to see some of the flaws that almost scuttle the film. Trash are those films which just don’t work, whether it is the story, the characters, the visuals, or a combination of all three, they are simply letdowns.
Also within those categories, I have listed the films not in a ranked order but in chronological order of when they were released.
So let’s dive into a world of gritty spy thrillers, fun heist films, moral tales on not watching your AI experiments as you steal alien technology, high school drama, a Technicolour Dreamcoat, and the greatest collection of Chris’ since the invention of the word Chris.
Also be warned, at the time of writing two of these films are still in cinemas, so be careful with [SPOILERS].
TL;DR – Now all together “Baaaaaaaar bar bar bup barrrrr, barr barrr, barrrrr bup bup barrr baaar bomp barrrrrrr, Baaaaaaaar bar bar bup barrrrr, barr barrr, ba dum, ba dum, ba dum, ba dum, Baaaaaaaar”
Score – 4.5 out of 5 Stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit sequence and a hint at the end
Review –
Wow and here we are. Honestly, when I sat down to watch Iron Man in cinemas all the way back in 2008 I don’t think I really
comprehended just what it was that I was watching. I didn’t know it would spawn
a 20+ movie franchise that would take us into the past, into the deep reaches
of space, and create one of the biggest events in movie history. In many
respects, it feels like this is my generation’s Star Wars moment, and I have not seen queues like this to go see a
film in a long time. Well, today we take the plunge and see if they can work
out one of the biggest cliff-hangers in movie history and can this be a film
that gives closure to the films that came before it.
So to set the scene, at the end of Infinity
War the one thing they were trying to stop happening actually
happened, as Thanos (Josh Brolin) obtained all the infinity stones after
ripping the mind stone out of Vision’s (Paul Bettany) head and snapped his
fingers. All at once across the galaxy, 50% of everything turned to dust and we
had that gut-wrenching moment as everything literally fell apart in people’s
hands. Indeed Peter (Tom Holland) looking desperately at Tony (Robert Downey Jr)
pleading that ‘I don’t want to go” is
one of those moments that just stays with you and it stays with the cast.
Because as we start everything is in a bad place. Tony is trapped with Nebula (Karen
Gillan) on a ship running out of fuel, air, and food, and those Avengers that
survived are counting the losses on Earth where no one has been left
unaffected. However, one should never give up all hope, because you never know
when deliverance will come from an unlikely place, and then hope is lost again.
Now with today’s review, we will be doing something a little different. In this
review, we will be looking at all of the film so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead. This is for people
that have already seen the film and want to explore the ending of Endgame. If
you have not seen the film and would like to see a no spoiler discussion Endgame you can go HERE.
Also if you have already read the no spoiler review and want to skip to the discussion
on the ending, it is the chapter starting with the big [SPOILER WARNING] below.
Before we dive into the story and character aspects of the film, I want to
first take a moment to talk about the production side of things. In this film,
they have left nothing on the table when it comes to the lighting, production
design, and effects. That opening scene as Tony is sitting in the ship waiting
to die while bathed in a light blue light from the nearby stars was one of the
most beautiful lighting techniques I have seen in quite a while. This extends
throughout the entire film, with harsh contrasts at times, natural light in
places, relentless oppression in other places. Every part of the film is well
designed, even when they are using sets from the previous film, it has been
amended to make it feel right in the new context.
TL;DR – Now all together “Baaaaaaaar bar bar bup barrrrr, barr barrr, barrrrr bup bup barrr baaar bomp barrrrrrr, Baaaaaaaar bar bar bup barrrrr, barr barrr, ba dum, ba dum, ba dum, ba dum, Baaaaaaaar”
Score – 4.5 out of 5 Stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit sequence and a hint at the end
Review –
Wow and here we are. Honestly, when I sat down to watch Iron Man in cinemas all the way back in 2008 I don’t think I really comprehended just what it was that I was watching. I didn’t know it would spawn a 20+ movie franchise that would take us into the past, into the deep reaches of space, and create one of the biggest events in movie history. In many respects, it feels like this is my generation’s Star Wars moment, and I have not seen queues like this to go see a film in a long time. Well, today we take the plunge and see if they can work out one of the biggest cliff-hangers in movie history and can this be a film that gives closure to the films that came before it.
So to set the scene, at the end of Infinity War the one thing they were trying to stop happening actually happened, as Thanos (Josh Brolin) obtained all the infinity stones after ripping the mind stone out of Vision’s (Paul Bettany) head and snapped his fingers. All at once across the galaxy, 50% of everything turned to dust and we had that gut-wrenching moment as everything literally fell apart in people’s hands. Indeed Peter (Tom Holland) looking desperately at Tony (Robert Downey Jr) pleading that ‘I don’t want to go” is one of those moments that just stays with you and it stays with the cast. Because as we start everything is in a bad place. Tony is trapped with Nebula (Karen Gillan) on a ship running out of fuel, air, and food, and those Avengers that survived are counting the losses on Earth where no one has been left unaffected. However, one should never give up all hope, because you never know when deliverance will come from an unlikely place, and then hope is lost again. Now with today’s review, we will be doing something a little different. In this review there will be no spoilers, you will get my general impressions of how it all worked, however, I won’t mention any plot details that happen after the first act. Also, if you really want to be spoiler free, don’t examine the credits below. If you have seen the film and would like to see a full spoiler discussion of the ending you can go HERE.
TL;DR – By finding a focus, Shazam! shows that DC can really make great films when they focus on something, in this case, the role of family.
Score – 4 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid and post-credit scene
Review –
By now, I am sure you have heard about the issues with the DC Extended Universe,
in the race to get that big multi-film spanning Cinema Empire they jumped the
gun too early and rushed forward before finding out if people wanted what they
were giving. During its First Run,
there was only one film that was both a critical and commercial success, Wonder
Woman, this was because it had its own heart and was not just here to
push a cinematic universe, and it has something to say. Since then we have had Aquaman
that while not perfect was at least trying to do something interesting, and
today we get a look at the next film that found that fun is fine, but heart is more important.
So to set the scene, we open as a young Thad (Ethan Pugiotto) is on a car trip
with his unpleasant family in the 1970s when he is sucked into another realm
run by Shazam (Djimon Hounsou) the last of the council of wizards left. He is
trying to find someone pure of heart to be his successor, but alas Thad is not
the one. Fast forward to December 2018 when we find Billy Batson (Asher Angel)
helping the police out, but it a ruse to get into their computer because he is
trying to find his mum that he lost as a child. Well,
it didn’t work out and Billy is put with new foster parents Victor (Cooper
Andrews) and Rosa (Marta Milans), not that he plans to stay long. However,
everything changes when a subway trip leads him to a dark cave and he yells out
the word Shazam becoming someone completely else (Zachary Levi).
TL;DR – This is a film filled with wonderful characters, fantastic action, and some of the best banter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid and post-credit scene
Disclosure – I paid to see this film.
Review –
It feels like it has been an eternity since Thanos snapped his fingers and
destroyed the world in Infinity
War. Since then we have been wondering wanting to know what happened,
however, in the closing seconds of the film Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) pulled out
a pager and sent out a signal calling
someone to help. Well, today we get to
see just who had that pager, and just who is behind the red and blue.
So to set the scene, we open with Vers (Brie Larson) asleep on the Kree homeworld. She rarely has a restful night’s
sleep because her dreams are punctuated with wars she cannot remember. Well, there is one way to get over a lack of
sleep and that is to wake up your commanding officer Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) and
have a good old-fashioned sparing session. Well as old fashioned as one can be
when you are on an alien planet, have no memories from before six years ago,
and oh you can shoot fire out of your hands. The
Kree are fighting a losing war against the Skrull, a race that can mimic anyone
down to their DNA, who infiltrate worlds and work their way up until they can
take them over from the inside out. After training,
she is finally brought to the Supreme Intelligence (Annette Bening) the AI that
runs the Kree Empire and given her first mission. With the rest of the
Starforce including Yon-Rogg, Korath (Djimon Hounsou) and Minn-Erva (Gemma Chan) they are to infiltrate a
planet that has just fallen to the Skrulls to extract an undercover agent as
Ronan (Lee Pace) provides cover fire with an orbital bombardment. Well, that’s the plan but plans rarely quite work out as nicely as we would like.
TL;DR Movie Reviews and Analysis 