Tag Archives: Movie

Monkey Man – Movie Review

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – An explosive and raw revenge film that leaves nothing in the tank as it explodes in a riot of action.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Kid dressed in a monkey mask.

Monkey Man Review –

When it comes to the Revenge genre, they can be a bit hit-and-miss. You have to get the audience to sympathise with your protagonist because if they don’t, well then all that violence starts looking bad. The best example of this in the modern era, John Wick, a film which gets name-checked here, and is an excellent example of doing this right. Well, today, we might be able to add a new entry to that list.

So to set the scene, we open with a mother telling her son about the legend of Hanuman. But in the present, that boy does not have a name. He is Kid/Bobby/Monkey Man (Dev Patel) who spends a lot of time throwing cage matches for Tiger (Sharlto Copley) wearing a monkey mask. It is a brutal occupation, but it gets Kid the money to enact his plan, starting with getting into the ground floor of Queenie’s (Ashwini Kalsekar) very illegal but very popular entertainment business. Because Kid has a mission, and that is to bring pain to the people who cause his family harm.

Continue reading →

Dune: Part Two – Movie Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – Even with such a weight of expectation that I had for it, Dune: Part 2 still stuck the landing with a gusto I was not expecting.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

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

Paul stands in front of an explosion.

Dune: Part Two Review –

I need to be clear when coming into this that this might have been the most excited I have been to see a film since maybe The Lord of the Rings. I adore this universe (okay, only the first three books, don’t @ me), and to see the First Film not only get the universe they were adapting but also have the budget to show it off. Well, there is a reason it was my favourite film of 2021. However, that is a lot of expectation, and in my experience, that can be a recipe for disaster.

So to set the scene, the plan of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) has succeeded. With the help of  Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken), Arrakis/Dune is his, the Atreides are dead, the millennia-long feud is over, and Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (Austin Butler) is getting ready to take over from his incompetent brother Glossu Rabban Harkonnen (Dave Bautista). There is only one problem: not all the Atreides are dead, for Paul (Timothée Chalamet) and Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) made it through the desert to the Fremen people and are now in the hands of Stilgar (Javier Bardem) and Chani (Zendaya). It was safety brought with a blood price, which is increasing as the Harkonnen troops send patrols deeper into the desert. For Paul, his new place with the Fremen could be a way to find revenge for the destruction of his family, but is he ready for leadership to be thrust upon him? For once the Fremen are unleashed, can they be stopped?

Continue reading →

Echo: Season 1 – TV Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – There are clearly some rough edges where the production issues the show had shone through. But I do think it found its feet, and it could be the start of an interesting new direction for the MCU.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this series.

End-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene in the final episode.

A magical portal.

Echo Review –

It is an odd time for the MCU; projects falling to launch and land in cinemas, and failed opportunities like Secret Invasion making no impact in the cultural landscape are everywhere. But there has been hope here and there, and Marvel making a gamble is better than Marvel playing it safe. In that case, let us see if they can bring something new to the table.   

So, to set the scene, Maya (Darnell Besaw) has never had a normal childhood, as her mother (Katarina Ziervogel) was killed. At the same time, she was young, and her father (Zahn McClarnon) took her to New York and eventually brought her into his world, the same world that killed him. A world run by Mr Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio). He was a powerful man, a man with connections, a man that Echo (Alaqua Cox) would eventually have to betray, but not before he turned her into a murderer. You can turn against Fisk, but the man has a long reach, even when he was the man who had your father murdered. [the first half of the first episode basically catches you up to the end of Hawkeye with some added context]. Now from here, we will be looking at the series as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

Continue reading →

Tension That Kept You On The Edge Of Your Seat In 2023!

Posted on by
2

Well, we have looked at Emotion and swung wildly across the spectrum to Fun, and now we are completing that trifecta by looking at Tension. Tension is one of the most challenging facets of filmmaking because it requires the script, direction, acting, and editing to all work in tandem to evoke the perfect pace. If just one part of that group misses, then an essential part of the film falls apart.

In 2023, we continued to see some excellent use of tension to build mystery, to be the harbinger of the coming dread, or even to tick the clock of inevitability.   

Our Highly Commended in 2023 are Five Nights at Freddy’s, Killers of the Flower Moon, Knock at the Cabin, M3GAN, The Nun II & Saltburn
Our Best TV Tension in 2023 are Deadloch: Season 1, Doctor Who: 2023 Specials, The Last of Us: Season 1, Poker Face: Season 1 & Silo: Season 1

So, without further ado, these moments of tension kept us on the edge of our seats in 2023. Be warned that there may be slight spoilers ahead for the films in question.

And the Nominees are –

Continue reading →

Gold – Movie Review

Posted on by
2

TL;DR – Brutal, uncomfortable, and completely compelling.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid for the Stan subscription that viewed this film

Gold. Image Credit: Stan.

Gold Review –

When you are creating a film that wonders into the Survival genre, there are two very different ways you can engage your audience. The first is through shock, a sudden event or trauma like a bear attack. Or you can slowly pull everything away from people like a tide coming in or an approaching winter you are not ready for. Today we look at a film that explores the latter, but instead of the chill of winter, we get the brutal, unrelenting heat of the desert Sun.   

So to set the scene, some time, someplace, not far from now, a man is sitting in a train carriage boosting a ride in cargo. Man One (Zac Efron) has the clothes on his back and not much else as he walks out into the desert heat at Greenview Outpost. He is heading to the compound in the restricted Eastern Territories and gets a lift with Man Two (Anthony Hayes) through the inhospitable landscape. Man One goes off to take a leak after the car blows its radiator, which is when he spots something shiny in the desert, a gold nugget.

Continue reading →

Finch – Movie Review

Posted on by
3

TL;DR – An emotional journal to find safety in a world that has fallen into disaster.     

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid for the Apple TV+ service that viewed this film.

Finch. Image Credit: AppleTV+.

Finch Review –

One genre I have always found interesting is that of the lone survivor. Why they were left alone could be from them being forgotten, marooned, left behind, well, anything. Fighting against the elements and even time to survive. Indeed, Tom Hanks is famous for playing a similar situation in Cast Away, so you knew it had to be an exciting premise to get him back into this realm.

So to set the scene, in the not-so-distant future, a solar flare wiped away Earth’s ozone layer exposing the globe to a massive surge of radiation and also setting off a global EMP. This baked the planet, killing nearly all the plants, animals, and of course, humans. One of the last people alive is Finch (Tom Hanks), who has survived in St Louis in the basement of the robotics company he worked at. He has one mission, to finish building Jeff (Caleb Landry Jones) an android, so there would be someone to look after Goodyear/Dog (Seamus) after he was gone. Things were going well until a supercell arrived. It will last for over 40 days, 40 days too long. So they all have to make a trip across the country to safety.  

Continue reading →

The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard’s Carnage Through Italy Mapped

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – We map the carnage The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard takes across Italy

Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard). Image Credit: Roadshow Films.

Map-It Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard –

When I sit down to watch a film, I don’t always think, “How can I map this?” However, there are some films that, in the first few moments, I get a gut feeling that I am going to need to take notes because we are going on a wild ride. One such film that had this effect was the recent Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard.

This film starts in Capri and then goes on a reign of carnage across the Italian Peninsular. It is also one of the easier maps to make because the movie was (usually) quite clear as to where all the action is taking place. There is only one spot on the map Trieste, where I have had to guess because they filmed it, but they don’t say that in the film. Please enjoy the map below, but one quick warning shows the whole movie, so there will be some [SPOILERS] below.    

Continue reading →

Animals on the Loose: A You vs. Wild Movie – Movie Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – An improvement on this style of story, but an odd juxtaposition holds it back.   

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

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

Animals on the Loose: A You vs. Wild Movie. Image Credit: Netflix.

Animals on the Loose: A You vs. Wild Movie Review –

 

One way that Netflix has tried to differentiate itself in an increasingly bifurcated market has been the implementation of ‘choose your own adventure’ films. These echo back to an old style of storytelling, but while the nostalgia has been interesting, none of them has been able to nail the technique so far. However, if anyone has a shot at it, it would be Bear Grylls for the entertainment factor alone.

So to set the scene, we open in a wildlife sanctuary in South Africa, where we find Bear Grylls (Bear Grylls) running from a lion only to reach his car to find it locked. We then jump back earlier in the day to find Bear inspecting a fence to see that something had broken through and that the fence that should be electric is not working. You have to fix, the power, find a baboon, and stop a lion all before a storm comes in.

Continue reading →

First Blush – Movie Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – A film looking at people trying to find other people to plug that hole in their lives   

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film.

First Blush. Image Credit: Gravitas Ventures.

First Blush Review –

There has been a lot of reframing of traditional relationships in the post-modern era. However, when cinema has started to explore this realm, it rarely explores this world’s realities. Today we have a film that gives it a solid try if nothing else.

So to set the scene, Nena (Rachel Alig) and Drew (Ryan Caraway) are a mostly happy married couple living in Los Angeles. While everything is good, it does feel like they are sleepwalking through their lives until one day Drew plans a surprise birthday party for Nena with her annoying friend Carrie (Jordee Kopanski). The party is a bit rubbish, but while they are there, Carrie runs into Olivia (Kate Beecroft), and soon their worlds come crashing together.      

Continue reading →

Awards – Tension That Kept You On the Edge Of Your Seat In 2020!

Posted on by
6

Well we have looked at Emotion, and then swung wildly across the spectrum to Fun, and now we are completing that trifecta with looking at Tension. Tension is one of the most challenging facets of filmmaking to pull off because it requires the script, direction, acting, and editing to all work in tandem to evoke the perfect pace. If just one part of that group misses then an essential part of the film falls apart.

In 2020 we continued to see some excellent use of tension used to build mystery, or to be the harbinger of the coming dread, or even the ticking clock of inevitability.   

So without further ado, these are the moments of tension that kept us on the edge of our seats in 2020. Be warned that there may be some slight spoilers ahead for the films in question.

Continue reading →