Tag Archives: movies

Abigail – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A bloody joy when it is working and a bit of a slog when it is not.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

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

Abigail reveals herself.

Abigail Review –

Have you ever heard a film premise and immediately thought, “I need to see that”? Well, that is what happened to me when I first heard about Abigail. A group of thugs think they are kidnapping a little girl, but they actually take a monster. I mean, there are whole fairy tales based around concepts just like this and how they turn out. Add in the team behind Ready or Not, and you will have me sold.

So to set the scene, one evening, a group of professionals start casing out a house, waiting to capture the person within. Frank (Dan Stevens) is the boss, Joey (Melissa Barrera) is client control, Sammy (Kathryn Newton) is their hacker, Rickles (William Catlett) is the sniper, Peter (Kevin Durand) is their muscle, and Dean (Angus Cloud) is their car man. But the person they are kidnapping is a little girl, Abigail (Alisha Weir), who just got back from ballet practice. People are not okay with kidnapping a kid, but $7 million is $7 million. However, when they arrive at the creepy house run by Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito) and must hold the child for 24 hours, it would be a shame if there was also a monster stuck in there with them.

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Challengers – Movie Review

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TL;DR – Wild, sensual, and captivating. While not all of it works, when it is on fire, it is electric.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

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

Tashi Duncan (Zendaya) watches the tennis match behind sunglasses.

Challengers Review –

Some films can captivate you just by hearing the name of a director and an idea. Luca Guadagnino’s previous works, like Call Me by Your Name and Bones and All, were not perfect, but they were immensely captivating, sucking you into their worlds. Well, I was interested in seeing where he would go from there when exploring the world of tennis.

So to set the scene, we open in the middle of the 2019 New Rochelle Champions Tournament as Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor) and Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) are facing it out in the finals. A dual for the ages. However, both sets of eyes are not focusing on each other but on someone in the audience, Tashi Duncan (Zendaya). There is a palpable tension the court that can only exist between people with a deep history, which is when we cut back thirteen years.     

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The Stolen Valley (Alta Valley) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While it starts strong, it unfortunately runs out of gas after the first act as the storyline becomes convoluted.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film

The Utah Countryside.

The Stolen Valley Review –

Today, we are looking at a film that is wearing its influences on its sleeves. That is not a bad thing. In fact, just last week, we watched Monkey Man do just that, and it was grand. But there is danger in this approach because if people are constantly thinking about other movies and not your own work, well, something has gone badly wrong. Today, we look at where The Stolen Valley lands on this spectrum. 

So to set the scene, Lupe (Briza Covarrubias) struggles to find her place in the world. Trying to connect with her mother, Lizette (Paulette Lamori), learn her native language, Diné, or just get ahead in a world where everyone is taking from her. But when her mother becomes sick, and there are only experimental and expensive options left, Lupe is forced to find her father, who she thought was dead. But a run-in with Maddy (Allee Sutton Hethcoat) after she just crossed local crime lord Antonio (Ricardo Herranz) leads to a dangerous gun-filled chase.

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Monkey Man – Movie Review

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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.

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Mapping The MonsterVerse – Map-It

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TL;DR – We map all the destruction and Kaiju action from the MonsterVerse

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

Mapping The MonsterVerse –

Well, it is Easter at the time of writing this, and the latest entry into the MonsterVerse, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, has landed in cinemas. The MonsterVerse is the universe from Legendary where Godzilla fights a bunch of other Kaijus/Titans, including Kong, and usually in the middle of populated cities.  

With that in mind, we thought it would be interesting to see what it looks like when we chart all that destruction onto a map. WARNING: there will be some Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Spoilers ahead.

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The Wages of Fear (Le Salaire de la Peur) (2024) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While there is a solid narrative framework for the action, we end up with a film that has more missed opportunities than times they cut to jiggling nitro canisters.

Rating: 2 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

A oil pump explores.

The Wages of Fear Review –

Today, we are looking at a remake of a classic novel and a classic film. I have not watched or read the original, but even then, their legacy looms large. Getting a second or third but at the apple can be an advantage because you have seen where things have not worked before, but then, when you are walking on the same ground as a classic, you might be lurking in dangerous territory.

So to set the scene, we open in the middle of the North African desert as pursuers ambush two cars from World Wide Heath and are just able to get into a local village before getting overrun. But a single stray bullet was enough to take out the local gas well. If the fire spreads, it will take out the entire village. They have only 24 hours to get enough nitro-glycerine to explode the gas pocket. Fred (Franck Gastambide) does not want to risk the ride through occupied territory; good thing the head of the oil company, Anne (Astrid Whettnall), had the perfect leverage, Eric (Alban Lenoir), Fred’s brother stuck in jail for a crime, Fred committed.   

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The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A short but powerful look at our own demons.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I watched this on Sony’s YouTube.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

The world crushes in on Miles.

The Spider Within Review –

As we patiently wait for the third part of the Spider-Verse series after Into the Spider-Verse and then Across the Spider-Verse, it was nice to hear that we were getting a short film in the universe. This is an excellent idea because you can keep the interest in the series up while getting to tell some more intimate stories that might not have fitted in a large feature. With that in mind, let’s dive into The Spider Within.

So to set the scene, Miles (Shameik Moore) is walking home, but is feeling the weight of all his different worlds crushing in on himself. His schoolwork is floundering, but he is out saving the world, and that disconnect can only continue for so long. Not even his father (Brian Tyree Henry) and his offer of pizza and scary movies can help. But what happens when that disconnect breaks down?

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Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While this is more of a Kong film, I love that they leaned into the camp, but some hollow aspects held it back.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

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

Kong finds a realm under Hollow Earth.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Review –

One of my joys in recent years has been the big Kaiju punch-em-up that has been the Monsterverse. There is just a lot of fun seeing two giant creatures rumble their way through a city. But now that we got the big team-up film last time, the question then becomes: where do they go from there? Well, that is the question we will look at today.

So to set the scene, at the end of Godzilla v Kong, Godzilla becomes the alpha of the surface world, and Kong becomes the alpha of Hollow Earth. A sort of detente that exists only if nether of the two strays into each other’s territory. But when Kong heads up to get some dental surgery, and Godzilla starts ripping out nuclear reactors in Europe, it feels like something is coming their way. This is then when we ask the question: Is Hollow Earth as far down as you could go?

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Desperation Road – Movie Review

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TL;DR – An exploration of the enduring legacy of trauma and the damage it can leave if you can get past one particular plot point.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Warning – Contains scenes including flashing lights.

Maben runs with her daughter.

Desperation Road Review –

Today, we come into a film with more than a bit of trepidation. On the one hand, we have Garrett Hedlund, whose work I have generally enjoyed and whose Tron Legacy lives rent-free in my brain. However, then we have Mel Gibson, who was once a force of nature, but when I last saw him in The Continental, he was an anchor that held the entire production back, though to be fair, that was not the show’s only issue. How is this dichotomy going to work? Well, it turns out the answer was Willa Fitzgerald.    

So, to set the scene, Maben (Willa Fitzgerald) and her daughter Analee (Pyper Braun) hit hard times as they made their way on foot to Mississippi. But when a police officer sexually assaults Maben, and then she shoots him in self-defence. This is bad, really bad. Meanwhile, Russell (Garrett Hedlund) is just getting off a bus from jail when he gets a beat down, with a promise that his debt is not paid. After a chat and a gun pick from his father Mitchell (Mel Gibson), he heads home to find a recently renovated house, now with no windows and glass everywhere. These two worlds are about to collide explosively because there are few secrets in a small town.    

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Control – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While it has an intriguing concept at its heart, some serious technical issues and casting choices torpedo what could have been an engaging narrative.

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is an audio sting at the end of the credits.

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film.

Stella looking into the camera.

Control Review –

Today, we are looking at a film that feels very in the now. It is looking at self-driving cars and the potential loss of control when we hand security over to technology for our own comfort. There is a lot of scope to do something interesting with that scenario that is not working in the bombast seen in films like The Fate of the Furious.

So to set the scene, after a long meeting and press, Prime Minister David Addams (Mark Hampton) lets Home Secretary Stella Simmons (Lauren Metcalfe) take his daughter Evie (Eire Farrell) home. Of course, things are slightly awkward because David and Stella are having a very public affair. It should be a simple trip, that is, until someone hijacks Stella’s self-driving car. There is a voice (Kevin Spacey) who is very unhappy with Stella and now has complete control over her vehicle.     

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