TL;DR – Today, we map the journey of the crew in Fountain of Youth.
Mapping the Fountain of Youth –
I realised today, as I was watching today’s titular movie, that I had not made a map in a while. Sure, I have a couple that I am still working on that you should see soon, but a fresh map with a fresh source that has been a while. Now, if you have read our review of Fountain of Youth, you will know that we did not have a great time with the film. But that does not mean that there is nothing worth mapping.
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.
Disclosure – I paid for the AppleTV+ service that viewed this film.
Fountain of Youth Review –
There is a genre in the Action-Adventure that leans into hunting lost artefacts, which, of course, makes you think of Indiana Jones and National Treasure or more. I honestly love these films because they capture that childlike wonder when I was discovering the world and learning about history. So, when I heard that Guy Richie was going to take a stab at a film in this world with a fantastic cast, I was fundamentally excited to give it a watch. I probably should have reset my expectations.
So, to set the scene, we open in the streets of Bangkok as Luke Purdue (John Krasinski) needs to outmanoeuvre a local gang to escape with a painting. As he takes an emergency train ride to Chiang Mai and tries to get some rest, he is woken up by a business opportunity. Esme (Eiza González) gives Luke the ‘opportunity’ to go easily or difficultly. A fight/flirt on the train proceeds. Luke escapes and now has a mission in his life. He is going to need a team to pull it off: Murf (Laz Alonso), Deb (Carmen Ejogo), Owen Carver (Domhnall Gleeson), and his sister Charlotte (Natalie Portman), which he may or may not have just gotten into a lot of trouble with her boss, ex-husband, oh and also INTERPOL.
TL;DR – Some films are greater than the sum of their parts, and then we have today’s entry that has all the right ingredients, yet, like me, every time I try to make bread, nothing rises from it.
⭐⭐
Rating: 1.5 out of 5.
Post-Credit Scene – There is an end-credit scene.
Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.
The Island Review –
So, to set the scene, it is Greece in 2001, and people are making their way around the many Greek islands. One of those is Álex (Aida Folch), who is making her way to a secluded restaurant to be their new hostess. It is the kind of restaurant full of fresh flavours that you could feel were pulled right from the sea that surrounds you. But because she is late, the restaurant owner, Max (Matt Dillon), demotes her to server. It is her dream job, dream location, and the boss is quite fine, which is why she does not see all the warning signs everywhere.
TL;DR – A wildly ambitious film, which while it doesn’t always live up to the promise it makes, when it does land, it is wildly fascinating.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.
Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.
Space/Time Review –
One of the things I like best about my job is when you find something that has taken a big swing to explore. Not content to play it safe, they reach for the sky and don’t care if they hit the Moon or not. I do love exploring that kind of creativity, even if it does not always pan out.
So, to set the scene, in the not-too-distant future, society is on the verge of collapse. Years of environmental degradation have taken their toll, and the biosphere might not hold up in the long run. It is in this space where scientists, like Holt (Hugh Parker), have been working on a secluded island to find ways to stave off the collapse. They tried to develop wormhole travel, but it backfired spectacularly, and many were killed. Liv (Ashlee Lollback) and Harris (Pacharo Mzembe) have tried to move on with their lives after the calamity. Still, when the opportunity to dabble in some illegal science comes up, Liv can’t help but dive back into a world that almost took her life last time.
TL;DR – Does it nail those moments of spectacle? Absolutely, in ways few can. But it is also filled with a lacklustre antagonist, a meandering narrative, and a desperate need to find some relevance. Look, it is just okay, and that’s fine.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.
Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Review –
Well, we have apparently reached the end of an era, though I will believe that when we see the box office earnings. But if this is the end, does it create a satisfying narrative to justify this massive franchise coming to a close? Can it create a level of visual excellence that makes it stand out from those who came before it? Will it make Tom Cruise run the most? These were the questions I had in my mind as I sat down with my popcorn and drink.
So, to set the scene, it has been a few months since Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning [now minus the dangling Part One] and Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team of Luther (Ving Rhames) and Benji (Simon Pegg) have gone to ground with the Crucifix Key. While hiding, the AI Entity has infiltrated most of the world and has artificially created tension among the nations. The Earth is a powder keg waiting to go off, The Entity has created a doomsday cult to forward its means, and Gabriel (Esai Morales) is still out there causing chaos. However, Ethan Hunt has a plan; the only issue is how many of his friends he might have to sacrifice before the end.
TL;DR – It is a perfectly fine film, with strong performances and an interesting villain. Unfortunately, it feels like it is constantly being held back from reaching its potential.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid and post-credit scene.
Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.
Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.
Thunderbolts* Review –
I think it has been no secret that the MCU has been struggling to find its way in a post-Endgame world. It has had more misses than swings, which has forced a course correction into safety in many places. Thus, Ant-Man loses its charm and Captain America becomes just okay. It is in that space where they announced: what if the MCU did their version of Suicide Squad with a bunch of characters left over from the other films but also make it PG for some reason? It honestly sounds like a poor pitch, but then the first trailer dropped, and all of a sudden, there was a ray of hope. Now we see if that hope was warranted.
So, to set the scene, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is the head of the CIA and totally not still working for her own company that is up to so many illegal activities that she is now under impeachment from the US Congress. Knowing she has to clean house, she sends her undercover agents across the world to destroy any evidence of what she was working on. However, then they are the only link between the illegal stuff and her, so what do you do? Oh, maybe you get Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) & Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) to go to the same secluded warehouse, each with the mission to kill the other and then incinerate all the evidence one there are just bodies left … what could go wrong … Oh, and why is Bob (Lewis Pullman) down here?
TL;DR – A surprisingly fun romp that finds a way to make an odd 8-year-old sequel work in the context of now.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.
Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.
The Accountant 2 Review –
When I got the invitation to see The Accountant 2, I was honestly surprised. I had not heard much about a sequel, and I think that the first film might have aged a bit better than some of its contemporaries. I still only have vague recollections of the movie with an interesting premise, a strong performance, but it is also profoundly messy on every level. But, even if that first film didn’t quite live up to the potential it merited, there was enough there for me to wonder what would happen if they got a second bite at the apple, and this is what we are looking at today.
So, to set the scene, it has been eight years since The Accountant and Christian “Chris” Wolff (Ben Affleck) is still auditing banks and deals for organised crime, travelling around in a trailer home, and also giving tips to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Well, the former head of the FinCEN, Raymond King (J. K. Simmons), is only semi-retired because now and again, he picks up a case that means something to him. But when a meeting with a mysterious woman (Daniella Pineda) goes wrong, he leaves a note for his successor Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) to contact The Accountant. Because only they might be able to solve this puzzle.
TL;DR – Drop is uncomfortable and unsettling but also deeply compelling. It’s one of those thrillers that has you on the edge of your seat, wondering if anyone will make it out alive.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.
Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening.
Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.
Drop Review –
Even though film is an old visual medium, it is always trying to connect with and incorporate modern technology. While some films like Searching take that concept to the extreme, others sit back and pick the lazy option and just show a message pop up on a screen. It takes a lot to have modern technology fit naturally into your movie. But today, we look at an entry that just might pull that off.
So, to set the scene, Violet Gates (Meghann Fahy) is a single mother to Toby (Jacob Robinson), and that and her work supporting victims of spousal abuse and coercive control have meant that she has not gone on a date for a very long time. But today is different; her sister Jen (Violett Beane) is coming over to babysit, and tonight, she is going out on a date with what seems like a perfect gentleman who has been chatting to her for months and has not asked for a feet pic once. Her date, Henry Campbell (Brandon Sklenar), is taking her out to a fancy restaurant called Palate, with a view right over the Chicago cityscape. It could be a perfect date, right up until she starts getting obnoxious messages on her ‘Digi-Drops’ app. They are annoying, and she is about to turn the app off when it tells her to look at her home security cameras and do whatever they ask her to do, or her sister and son are dead.
TL;DR – Much like the action films of the 1990s, which were a clear inspiration, G20 may hit just about every cliché in its runtime, yet it still gets to be a fun blast.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Post-Credit Scene – There are mid-credit scenes.
Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this film.
G20 Review –
My background is in International Relations, and one of the many facets it explores is the strength and use of international organisations. These tend to be contextually quite dull from a Hollywood story perspective, but every now and again, my two worlds collide. Sometimes, these are pretty fascinating choices, like in The Hitman’s Bodyguard, and other times, they can be a confusing mess, like with Rumours. However, today, we are upgrading from the G7 to the G20, and calamity is afoot.
So, to set the scene, something is very wrong in Washington DC. It is so bad that they must wake Madam President Danielle Sutton (Viola Davis) in the middle of the night. Because her daughter Serena (Marsai Martin) found a new way to get around the Secret Service and escaped the White House to go to a party. Now on her first international trip, President Sutton is on the backfoot domestically and internationally as she arrives in Cape Town, South Africa, to sell the G20 on her plan for a digital currency for farmers. The hotel was meant to be a fortress, but a fortress only protects from external threats. One surgical strike later, and the security becomes terrorists, and now twenty world leaders are hostages.
TL;DR – A stunning work of animation that conveys so much without saying a word. You are brought into this story in the opening moments, and it captivates you until the final frame.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Post-Credit Scene – There is an end-credit scene.
Disclosure – I paid to watch this film
Flow Review –
There was one film that I wanted to catch last year, but no matter how much I tried, the film festival screenings never lined up for me. Well, since then, Flow has won the Oscars for Best Animated Film and we have finally gotten a full realise here in Australia. That meant that I had to dive in and give it a watch, and I am so glad that I did.
So, to set the scene, one day, Cat (Miut) was going about its usual day, stretching and sleeping in the old sculpture studio that it calls home and then lazily dropping down to the river to catch some dinner and get something to drink. But this day, a pack of dogs were hounding everyone by the river, and Cat had to make a run for it. But just when they thought they were safe, a cacophony of noise explodes from down the river as a deer horde races away from a flood. Cat manages to escape back to their house, but the next day, the water starts lapping against the house, and for the first time, they realise that home might no longer be safe.
TL;DR Movie Reviews and Analysis 