Tag Archives: movies

Anyone But You – Movie Review

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TL;DR – This is a film that is based entirely on the chemistry of the two leading cast members. Thank goodness they have some.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to see this film.

Sydney.

Anyone But You Review –

There is a considerable risk when you base the entire foundation of your film on the charisma of your two leads. There are multiple examples, like Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, where that mistake has caused the film to fall flat on its face. It is a dangerous proposition … but what happens when you get it right?

So to set the scene, it is a typical day in a coffee shop when Bea (Sydney Sweeney) runs into Ben (Glen Powell) while trying to get the key to the bathroom. Some shenanigans occur but sparks fly, and soon they are spending the night together. But the following day contrives a situation where both parties think the other was in the wrong, and they part ways with an odd story of a creep to tell their respective friend groups. Until we discover that those respective friend groups are the same because Bea’s sister Claudia (Alexandra Shipp) is the new finance of Halle (Hadley Robinson), whose brother Pete (GaTa) is best friends with Ben. That animosity gets heightened when both of them end up on a plane to Sydney, Australia, to attend the wedding, only to find both of their exes are there. So they fake being in a relationship. What is the worst that could happen?

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Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While Aquaman is quite fun in places (the whole volcano fight), you could feel that they struggled to find the right tone, so it bounces all over the place and never settles into its rhythm. Also, it can’t escape the fact that it feels fruitless watching it because you know it is about to get hit by a big re-do button.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

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

Whales.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom Review –

Oh my, look, a lot is going on with this film that is not its fault. It did not go into production knowing that it would be the final entry of the DCEU, and much like The New Mutants, it does not deserve that kind of legacy. But we can’t go into it ignoring all the stuff around it because I brought that baggage in, and I don’t think I am alone here.

So to set the scene, Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) is now living two lives. By day, he is the King of Atlantis with all the responsibilities and limitations that come with it. But at night, he is a father to a son they had with Mera (Amber Heard). This is not an excellent combination for a sustainable life. All it would take is one issue to torpedo everything. Enter Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), who has had Dr Stephen Shin (Randall Park) search the globe for Atlantean tech so he can repair his suit when he discovers an even greater power lurking in the ice.   

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Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While it does not quite hit the heights of the first film, it is still a fun time.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

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

The many faces of Mrs Tweedy.

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget Review –

Well, if there has been something I have been waiting for an age for, it is a dive back into the world of Chicken Run. The original film was such a delight that it still sits in my Top 10 Animation Films of All Time list. However, after some understandable voice cast changes and some less understandable changes, some concerns did slip in. Thus, it is time to see if lighting can strike twice in the world of clay animation.

So to set the scene, it has been some time since Ginger (Thandiwe Newton), Rocky (Zachary Levi), Bunty (Imelda Staunton), Mac (Lynn Ferguson), Babs (Jane Horrocks), and Fowler (David Bradley) escaped from Mrs Tweedy’s (Miranda Richardson) farm and landed in the bird sanctuary. Since then, they have founded a new society, built houses, planted all sorts of crops, and started having chicks. Well, Ginger and Rocky’s daughter Molly (Bella Ramsey) is at that age where she wants to understand the world outside of their little island, with all the drive of her mother. But when a new road is built, and the danger of humans reappears, the chickens decide to hide rather than fight, which is when Molly decides to sneak out in the middle of the night.

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The Boys in the Boat – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A perfectly okay film that refuses to integrate any of the themes it proports to be exploring.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

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

The boys lined up with their oars.

The Boys in the Boat Review –

Today, we look at an interesting biographical film because, at its core, it is more interesting for what it does not do than what it is that we see in the final product. This creates a film that, by all metrics, is perfectly okay from a technical perspective, but the moment you integrate any of the narrative, you find it to have the solidity of balsa wood.  

So to set the scene, it is 1936 in Washington state, at the height of the Great Depression. Joe Rantz (Callum Turner) has spent most of his life sleeping rough but still managed to get into the University of Washington. But when financing becomes tight, he decides to take up an opportunity with the University rowing team because it comes with a room and a small financial compensation. The Washington University rowing team has not won a race in a long time, and coach Al Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton) is starting to feel the pressure from above to place or get replaced. But could this new batch of rowers be the best crew he ever taught? And in an Olympic year, no less?

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The Family Plan – Movie Review

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TL;DR – An interesting idea and solid family dynamics, that unfortunately gets dragged out past its strong point.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There are mid-credit scenes.

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

The back of the minivan with family stickers.

The Family Plan Review –

There are some actors that play themselves in every film they are in, which can be a good or a bad thing, depending on the movie. If there is a perfect example of this, it is Mark Wahlberg, who I can keep or take depending on the outing. Today’s film looks like it will be something right my alley, but I have been burnt before.    

So to set the scene, Dan Morgan (Mark Wahlberg) is a mild-mannered family man who is friends with the whole neighbourhood, does a good job selling cars, has a slightly dysfunctional family life, and does not like his photo taken. Which makes it most surprising when he is at the shops, an assassin attacks because it looks like someone has been burnt, and a whole world of pain is about to come to suburban Buffalo.

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Wonka – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A delightful romp through Wonka’s past, full of musical energy and more than a few full-belly laughs.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

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

An overhead shot of dancers making a W out of umbrellas.

Wonka Review –

I am going to be perfectly honest with you from the start, when I heard that there was going to be a prequel based on the back story of Willy Wonka, I could not help but roll my eyes. The constant francisation of the cinema landscape has led to many of these projects that just feel like they are going through the motions rather than having anything interesting to say. However, now that I have seen it, I am glad to say that I was wrong.

So to set the scene, we open as Willy Wonka (Timothée Chalamet) arrives in a mysteriously unnamed European City. He has spent the past few years sailing around the globe, finding the best combinations for chocolates, and he is now ready to share them with the work at the famous Galleries Gourmet. But Wonka has a kind view of the world and is not prepared to be crushed by the Chocolate Cartel run by Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Prodnose (Matt Lucas), and Fickelgruber (Mathew Baynton). Nor does he read the small print before taking a room in Scrubbit’s (Olivia Colman) Laundry as recommended by Bleacher (Tom Davis), a less-than-savoury individual. However, just when things are at their lowest is when you can really shine, and his new friend Noodle (Calah Lane) helps him find that.

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Bottoms – Movie Review

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TL;DR – It races right up to the line of being a parody without crossing it, a bunch of laughs even if not everything lands.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There are mid-credit scenes.

Disclosure – I paid to see this film.

PJ and Josie at rock bottom.

Bottoms Review –

After mainly being obliterated, the R-rated teenage comedy has returned in recent years, which means a whole new generation gets to have their EuroTrip moment. But can a more mature comedy focused on teenagers work in this new world? Well, that is the question we are looking at today.

So to set the scene, friends PJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri) are at the bottom of the social picking ladder at Rockbridge Falls High School. Even more so when they run over the star quarterback Jeff (Nicholas Galitzine) a month out from the big game against rivals Huntington High. But when you are on the bottom, there is nowhere else to go but up, and it is in that moment that the girls arrange a fight club. On the surface, it is all about empowering the women of the School, but in reality, it is all about getting laid.  

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