Tag Archives: Film

Movie Review – Godzilla: King of the Monsters (Godzilla II: King of the Monsters) (2019)

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TL;DR – The action in the third act is some of the best monster action I have ever seen, however, the story is so incredibly dull that it is a slog to get to it.

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

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

Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Image Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures.

Review –

It is odd to see a film that has two such disparate parts that are almost in conflict with each other. Where one part of a film is so amazing that you feel it could be a game changer for the industry. However, there is another part of the film that works so poorly that you wonder how it made it off the drawing board. This is something that actually makes reviewing this film quite difficult because you have to ask how much you should let the story side just because the visuals were so good. Well, today we will try an unpack this all, as we explore Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

So to set the scene, we open the film on the attack in San Francisco in the first Godzilla as we see Dr Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler) and Dr Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) desperately look for their son amount the rubble of their house. In the years that passed since it is clear that the tragedy irreparably damaged their relationship as Mark is now charting wolves in Colorado and Emma is working for Monarch in China with her daughter Madison (Millie Bobby Brown). Emma is working on ORCA an interface that uses biodata to communicate with the Titans. The first trial of the device works as they can control a newly born Mothra caterpillar. However, just when they think it is all going well eco-terrorist Alan Jonah (Charles Dance) attacks the lab killing everyone and taking Emma, Madison, and the ORCA. Which is a problem because if the ORCA can control the Titans, what damage can it unleash?

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Movie Review – The Meg (2018)

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TL;DR –  A film that knows how to be a bit silly while still playing it mostly straight about a shark that suddenly not extinct.   

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

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

The Meg. Image Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures.

Review –

Last year there was a film that came out about a killer shark destroying the world, and not just a shark but a megalodon. I wanted to go see it, but the timing never worked out and I think I was going through Jurassic World fatigue at the same time. Well, this week with the release of Godzilla and after playing Sea of Thieves I had been interested to give it a look and what would you know the very day I was pondering The Meg popped up on Netflix. Well never one to look a gift horse in the mouth I knew now was the best time to check it out and wow, it did not disappoint.

So to set the scene, off the shore of China a billionaire Morris (Rainn Wilson) has built Mana One a purpose built deep ocean observatory. Its goal is to study the life in the oceans around the Mariana Trench but to also investigate a theory of chief scientist Zhang (Winston Chao). He believes that the trench is actually deeper and there is a layer of cold water creating a thermocline (barrier) protecting an undisturbed ecosystem underneath. So they send down Lori (Jessica McNamee), Toshi (Masi Oka), and The Wall (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson) in a submarine and lo and behold Zhang was right. However, just as they start to explore this new region they are attacked by something large and fast, sending them crashing into the ocean floor. With time being on the line and few people qualified they call in Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) a rescue diver who is now out of the game after a rescue went wrong and people blamed him for the deaths of his team.

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Movie Review – Rocketman

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TL;DR – It is a film of great character moments, wonderful music, and an interesting story of someone going from low to high to low and then back again. 

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

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

Rocketman. Image Credit: Paramount Pictures.

Review –


It looks like it is going to be the decade of cinematic superheroes and also of the musical biopic. Especially a musical biopic of a seminal rock superstar from England that took the globe by storm only to discover a world full of drugs and dodgy management. Given they have been so far Oscar gold and have made bank at the box office we are sure to get a couple of these and today we look at one that is taking the standard biopic and twisting it up.

So to set the scene, we open with Elton John (Taron Egerton) exploding through a door in full orange sequined devil glory. You expect him to be doing a grand entrance into a stadium, but instead we soon find out that he is at group theory session when the first question was asked “what was your childhood like?” and we drop through the floor back to the 1950s when a young Reggie (Matthew Illesley) lived with his mother Sheila (Bryce Dallas Howard), grandmother Ivy (Gemma Jones) and occasionally his father Stanley (Steven Mackintosh) when he comes back from the army. Elton says he had a happy childhood, but we soon find out there is a difference between what Elton says and reality.

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Movie Review – Loners

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TL;DR – This is a film that was on the cusp of being something really interesting but just held back by an inconsistent tone    

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

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

Loners. Image Credit: Indie Rights .

Review –

Sometimes I wonder if this political science adjacent degree I studied for will be any good in my future and then a political satire falls in my lap. I have a certain weakness for political worldbuilding and counterfactuals and today we have an interesting one to explore.

So to set the scene, in the not too distant future in an attempt to clamp down on the number of gun massacres. The government has created a system where introverts and loners are forced to wear an “L” Band across their heads that monitors them and helps them be better members of society. On top of this, once a week they have to meet for a group therapy session called “Lone-Anon”. Which is where we meet Lincoln (Brian Letscher), Tanner (Tyson Turrou), Ed (David Christian Welborn), Franny (Brenda Davidson), Jeremy (Khary Payton), Dabney (Neil McGowan), and Clara (Denise Dowse). After suffering through group theory sessions led by Mike (Keith Stevenson) they all got back to Clara’s house because they worked out that two hours of close proximity with six people is enough to get the authorities off their backs for the rest of the week. That is until Clara gets grabbed by the feds and Senise (Melissa Paladino) is brought in to join the group and things start not adding up.

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Movie Review – Rim of the World

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TL;DR –  This is fun adventure flick in the tradition of saving the world being thrust upon young people. A fun cast, a good set up, and a good use of world building.   

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

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

Rim of the World. Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –

If you have read this site before you will know I am a fan of the alien invasion genre, indeed Independence Day is one of my top ten films of all time. So I am always interested to see different takes on the genre, to see where they can take the formula. Today we are looking at the newest Netflix film based around this very scenario, but also more than many films I have seen this year, Rim of the World both knows what it is and what it wants to do, and at all times it succeeds in these core drives.

So to set the scene, we open on the first day of summer camp as kids from around Los Angeles and further come together to have a fun time away. Alex (Jack Gore) is a space enthusiast who likes to live in his world of screens, but there is a reason for his isolation. Zhen Zhen (Miya Cech) has secretly flown across the Pacific to attend the camp in an attempt to overcome her disappointed father. Dariush (Benjamin Flores Jr.) is full of bluster, the rich kid that has it all, and cares more about his sneakers than other humans, but then it is all a shield. There is also Gabriel (Alessio Scalzotto) who no one quite knows why he is here. Rim of the World adventure camp is full of zip lines, canoe rides, and camp counsellors that may have needed more of a background check before starting work, so your usual summer camp. However, while all that is happening the International Space Station is being destroyed because entering high orbit is an alien mothership and as people will find out as the sky explodes, they are not here to make new friends.

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Movie Review – Aladdin (2019)

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TL;DR – It is a good, sometimes great film, but it does fall into some of the same traps as other Disney classic remakes of recent years.    

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is midish-credit dance number scene

Aladdin (2019). Image Credit: Disney.

Review –

I’m not sure if I have ever been so apprehensive walking into a film before. For me, the original Aladdin holds a special place in my heart and without a doubt, it is my favourite from the entirety of the Disney Renaissance. However, this more than any of the recent remakes have had a very rocky history with its promotion misfires on top of the simple worries of how does an Aladdin film without Robin Williams? Well, some of those fears were put aside in the first couple of minutes of the films, others not so much.

So to set the scene, we open in on Aladdin (Mena Massoud) who is walking through the streets of Agrabah with his monkey companion Apu (Frank Welker). He is an orphan, or street urchin, or as the guards call him a street rat. He lives by stealing from others and then surviving off the small returns. But this is not your every day, because someone new is in the markets, someone who clearly does not belong, Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott) in disguise. One musical number later and all is right in the world, however, The Sultan’s (Navid Negahban) Grand Vizier (Marwan Kenzari) has other plans, for he is searching for the ‘diamond in the rough’ and his macaw Iago (Alan Tudyk) might have just found it.

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Movie Review – John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (John Wick: Chapter 3, John Wick: Parabellum, John Wick 3)

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TL;DR – It takes everything that worked in the last two films and took it up to 11 

 Score – 5 out of 5 stars

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

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. Image Credit: Lionsgate.

Review –

One of the first reviews we ever wrote back in the day was for the first John Wick film and since then we have really had a love affair in this world of under the table dealings, societies in this world but out of this world, visual storytelling, and neon rock operas. This is a world that is told in part by creative directing, interesting stories, and also the sheer determined strength of character that is Keanu Reeves and everyone in the whole cast and crew that make the character of John Wick shine. Today we get to look at the third film in the series that has John at his lowest and discovering there are more places to fall.

So to set the scene, at the end of John Wick Chapter 2, John found himself in a very precarious position. Someone had Marker on John (Keanu Reeves) forcing him to do his bidding (killing his sister) and then turned on John putting a contract out on his life for the before mentioned killing of his sister. After fighting his way through New York he arrived back at The Continental Hotel and though warned by the Manager Winston (Ian McShane) John killed the man on hotel grounds one of the few unbreakable rules in their universe. Winston gives John one hour of life before he is excommunicated from the organisation and this is where we open. John is running through the streets of New York as the skies bucket down because the Gods are at war. He is trying to get to the New York Public Library but as one of the Bowery King’s (Laurence Fishburne) henchmen calls out tick tock, tick tock John.

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Movie Review – Chase

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TL;DR – It explores what happens when a hitman’s work and life collide    

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

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

Chase. Image Credit: Vertical Entertainment.

Review –

The hitman is a character that has been around as long as cinema has been a medium. Sometimes they are the bogeyman lurking in the shadows, sometimes they are a threat to contend with in running gun battles, and sometimes you kill the wrong person’s dog and you forfeit your life. One area that does not get as explored as much as it should is what happens when the hitman goes home and how does that affect their lives. How can you kill people by day and go home to your family at night and what happens if those worlds collide together? Well, today we look at a film that explores this intersection with Chase.  

So to set the scene, we open in as Chase (Damien Puckler) and his best friend who is also his sort of boss Miles (Aries Spears). Chase and Miles have been inseparable since they were 15 and ran off from foster care together. Miles is the boss and always seems to be in the position to manipulate the people around him and Chase is his best hitman. Chase has a simple system, he has a flat rate, double for women, and triple for kids and his only rules that he is paid in full up front, he not a repeat service so you will never see him again, and that he does not leave orphans. Chase has been living that life for a long time but in recent years he has found two attachments, his girlfriend Blair (Jessica Morris) and their child Micah (Eli Michael Kaplan). However, while Chase is good at compartmentalising, Miles thinks he is going soft and well as you can imagine this is a recipe for disaster.

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Movie Review – Zilla and Zoe

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TL;DR – While there are some good ideas here, what we have is a film of two halves that don’t quite work well with each other.    

 Score – 2.5 out of 5 stars

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

Zilla and Zoe. Image Credit: Indican Pictures.

Review –

Today I have an interesting task in reviewing someone’s first ever feature film which actually puts me in an odd position. That is because while there are some really good ideas here in places and the core concepts are sound, a lot of this film does not quite come together. We need more creatives taking those first new steps because that is where all of our greatest filmmakers started. With that in mind explore the world of a horror aficionado and the chaos they leave in their wake.

So to set the scene, we open in on Zoe (Aida Valentine) as she is preparing for her last day at school for the term and by preparing I mean setting up a horror scene of a wedding, including an exploding bride. This is a frustration to her father Sal (Greg James) who is trying to raise her and run a business as a single dad. All of this comes to a head when Zoe’s older sister Zilla (Sam Kamerman) returns home to announce that she is getting married, oh married to a women Lu (Mia Allen), oh and all of Lu’s family have made the trip from New York to Portland to come over for dinner, oh they are all super conservative, and oh the wedding is in a couple of weeks.

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Movie Review – Wine Country

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TL;DR – It is a film with one of the best comedic casts in the industry, but it just meanders a bit too much.     

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

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

Wine Country. Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –

Turning 50 is one of those big moments in your life that makes you think back at everything that has led you to this point. The friends you made, the choices you made or didn’t make, how your bodies do or don’t hold up. It is a time of friendship, reflection, and a lot of wine, like a serious copious amount of wine.

So to set the scene, a long time ago in a pizza joint in Chicago a group of friends came together. Since then Abby (Amy Poehler), Naomi (Maya Rudolph), Rebecca (Rachel Dratch), Catherine (Ana Gasteyer), Val (Paula Pell), and Jenny (Emily Spivey) have been inseparable even though they have all moved to different cities and have had very different lives. First the first time in a long time the whole group is coming together to celebrate Rebecca’s 50th birthday. The group booked out a house in Napa Valley for a weekend of wine, lots of wine, a very tight schedule, and more wine. But as everyone’s lives have moved in different directions, the question is, have they moved on from each other.

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