Tag Archives: Samuel L. Jackson

Argylle – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A film that makes one of the worst mistakes it can: constantly remind you of better films you could be watching.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film

Agent Argylle is captured.

Argylle Review –

Today is a bit of an awkward review because I am exploring a work from people both in front of and behind the camera who I have deeply loved before. However, today, I am looking at a film that fails at almost every single step. It failed so badly that I had moved from frustration to disappointment, to wholly checked out by the time I rolled my eyes at the mid-credit scene. With that in mind, we will explore just what went wrong because, like many things, it was not just one road bump that led to this.

So to set the scene, we open with Agent Argylle (Henry Cavill) infiltrating the lair of Lagrange (Dua Lipa) and initiating a pretty intense dance-off. However, Lagrange knew he was coming and what he looked like because someone in his organisation was a mole. In fact, it could be one of his teammates, Keira (Ariana DeBose) or Wyatt (John Cena). However, just as the big reveal happens, we discover that this story is not real. It is a novel written by noted author Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard), whose Argylle series of spy novels are best sellers. However, as Elly takes a train ride with her cat Alfie (Chip) to her mother Ruth (Catherine O’Hara), she is interrupted by the unkempt Aidan Wilde (Sam Rockwell), who might be leading her into a world she wrote about in fiction, that just might be real.

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The Marvels – Movie Review

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TL;DR – This was just a fun delight from start to finish.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene and an audio tag at the end.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Sing and dance.

The Marvels Review –

We are in an interesting time for the MCU. The once dominant cultural force in the cinematic landscape is now starting to find itself on rocky footing. It has struggled to find its voice in the post-Endgame world, with only Guardians 3 shining in the mix. It is in this space we get a film that stars two characters that we only introduced in the Disney+ series, and that might be a tall order to pass.

So to set the scene, Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) is enjoying spending time writing comics about her hero, Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), instead of doing her science homework, but little did she know that on a planet in space, Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) is digging up her other bangle. This fractures space-time, and as Captain Marvel and Captain Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) investigate just what happened, they all get zapped by the energy. This would be bad enough on any day, even less because now, whenever one uses their powers, they switch with each other.

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Jurassic Park Review (1993) – Exploring the Past

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TL;DR – A masterpiece in cinema that still moves you thirty years later.    

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

the entry gate to Jurassic Park.

Jurassic Park Review –

Some films captivated you the first time you watched them, getting your claws into you and never letting go. As a kid, one of those films was Jurassic Park. It delighted and terrified in equal measure. But even though it is in my Top 10 Films of All Time, it is a film I never watched on the big screen because I was far too young when it was released. But on the 30th anniversary of its release, it was back in cinemas, and it was time to rectify that.

So to set the scene, on a remote island off the coast of Costa Rica, an animal transfer at a new type of zoo goes terribly wrong. Investors start to panic, so John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) and his lawyer Donald Gennaro (Martin Ferrero) bring in three experts: Dr Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Dr Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), and Dr Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) to give the park their stamp of approval. But why would a zoo need palaeontologists? Cue the John Williams soundtrack.   

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Secret Invasion: Home and Full Season – TV Review

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TL;DR – This was a series that felt like it could be something spectacular, but it never came together, leaving a frustrating mess.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

Nick Fury.

Secret Invasion Review –

I know many people that have struggled with the MCU post-Endgame, and I can see where they are coming from. I have pretty much liked or at least found fine everything bar the miss that was Ant-Man, but as I sat down to watch Secret Invasion, I had concerns, which turned out to be justified. In today’s review, we will first look at the series finale and then a broader look at the season as a whole.

So to set the scene, Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir) continues to push the world’s nations into all-out war, wanting it as a prelude to the extermination of the Human Race. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is on the run with very few pieces he can play, but one of them is the one thing Gravik wants, the Harvest. Here is the DNA of all the superhuman/alien/Norse gods etc., in one place, the thing needed for the Super-Skrull technology. But can Nick Fury stop Gravik before he starts his war with a replaced Rhodes (Don Cheadle) whispering in the president’s (Dermot Mulroney) ear. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode and season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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Secret Invasion: Promises – TV Review

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TL;DR – This episode felt like it was just moving things around to get them ready for the rest of the season

Rating: 3 out of 5.
Gravik stares down the Skrull Council

Secret Invasion Review –

Well, I was not sure how people would take the first episode of Secret Invasion, and wow, did the internet rip them apart. I think part of that was justifiable with those awful AI opening titles, and others less so, given I feel like a lot of it was just a significant tone shift than what people were used to. But after being much stronger on it last week, the follow-up was a bit more disappointing.  

So to set the scene, in 1997, in Brixton, London, two years after the events of Captain Marvel, the Skrulls are back on Earth after finding no home. Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) promises those who had made the trip that if they help him on Earth, he will find them a new home. Thirty years later, we see the aftermath of that broken promise, forgotten in the time of the Snap. As people, including Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), lies dying in the square after the successful terrorist attack in Moscow and Fury is bundled into an FSB car as the Russians start arresting all those they think carried out the attack. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Secret Invasion: Resurrection – TV Review

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TL;DR – This first episode is a bit of a mood introduction for the series, preparing you for where things will go.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Fury arrives back on Earth.

Secret Invasion Review –

When people wondered where the MCU could go after Endgame, one of the most mentioned storylines had to be Secret Wars. So you can understand there was quite a reaction when it was finally announced. Even more so, you realise that they have been seeding this story since Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Far From Home. Now it is here, and we get to see how well this franchise can jump back into the spy/espionage genre.

So to set the scene, we open in Moscow as Agent Ross (Martin Freeman) walks through a night as society starts to fray when he meets an agent Prescott (Richard Dormer), who thinks that Skrulls are trying to take over the Earth with targeted terrorist attacks. With a warning that an attack is coming that “will set the world on fire”, and then Prescott attacks Ross. Flying through the streets of Moscow, Agent Hill (Cobie Smulders) tries to get Ross an evacuation, only to discover all is not what it seems. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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The Protégé (The Asset) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – Well, look, it is not a great film, but it is not a bad one either. It is just that the narrative is not there to support the action.   

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this movie.

The Protégé (The Asset). Image Credit: Amazon Prime.

The Protégé Review –

Some actors out there give solid performances no matter what film they are in. One of those actors is Maggie Q, who I have always seen giving her best in whatever production she is in. Frankly, I am not sure why she is not in more things. Well, today I catch up with her latest action film with The Protégé.    

So to set the scene, in 1991, it was a stormy day in Da Nang, Vietnam. Moody Dutton (Samuel L. Jackson) walks into a hideout to find that all the people inside are dead, bar one little girl hiding Anna (Eva Nguyen Thorsen) in a closet that may have killed them all. Moody can’t leave her alone in the middle of all that death, so he takes her with him. 30-years later, in Bucharest, Romania, a now grown-up, Anna (Maggie Q) and Moody kidnap Vali (George Piștereanu), the kid of a local mobster Don Preda (Velizar Binev), for 3 Million Euros. But while Don Preda blusters, he does not know that Anna is not a kidnapper. Anna is an assassin.

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Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – More of the same, so if you know how you feel about the first film, well, not much has changed    

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene and something at the end.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film

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

Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard Review –

A few years ago, there was this small weird film that slipped into cinemas. The Hitman’s Bodyguard was a fairly average action film, with all the narrative beats that you would expect. However, with some good cinematography, action set pieces, and a cast that bought entirely into the premise, it turned out to be more than the sum of its parts. I wondered if they could capture that same energy twice, and the answer is both yes and no.

So to set the scene, Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) is no longer an AAA-rated executive protection agent, as the organisation took umbrage that he took a bullet for a known hitman. After some counselling from his therapist (Rebecca Front), he decides to instead of waiting for the review board he would take a sabbatical from bodyguarding and fly to Capri for a relaxing holiday. Which lasts about five seconds until Sonia Kincaid (Salma Hayek) arrives guns blazing as the Mafia has captured Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson), and only Michael can set him free.

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Death to 2020 – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A mockumentary that tries to walk the line between entertaining and informative and often fails even before it stops its narrative to do an ad for Netflix halfway through.    

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

Death to 2020. Image Credit: Netflix.

Death to 2020 Review –

I don’t think it is a controversial statement to say that 2020 has been a crap year on many fronts. It was so bad that I forgot some of the bad things that happened only to be reminded of them tonight. When a documentary film titled Death to 2020 comes along … well you have my attention, even when you find out it is a mockumentary that could still be good if executed well. However, I am not sure this one stuck the landing.

Death to 2020 starts in an interesting place because it is a documentary presented by actors playing roles. Right from the start, there is an interesting juxtaposition between reality and fiction as Laurence Fishburne’s calm tones narrate the coming calamity. This kind of set up gives you a lot of potential because it removes you slightly from the material, giving you avenues for comedy and introspection. However, that is a tricky line to walk, and frankly, this film slipped off that edge on multiple occasions.

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Movie Review – Unicorn Store

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TL;DR – A delightful film about the tension between dreams and reality and how they don’t always add up   

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

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

Unicorn Store. Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –

One of the things that is becoming rarer and rarer these days is going into a film without any idea what to expect. Well, today I got to experience one of those rare moments as I turned on Netflix and stepped into a world of glitter and paint and every colour in the rainbow with no idea what I was getting myself into.

So to set the scene, we open with a montage of Kit (Brie Larson) growing up, discovering her life, discovering her joy for art, only to have it come crashing down when she fails out of Art College and has to go back to live with her mother Gladys (Joan Cusack) and her dad Gene (Bradley Whitford). This of course sets of a period of depression as Kit fails to find purpose in her life, while her parents try to help, like introducing her to Kevin (Karan Soni), but it is not very successful. In frustration, she joins a temp agency where she placed in an advertising firm, a place where creativity goes to die. When one day she gets a letter to come visit The Store and she finds The Salesman (Samuel L. Jackson) waiting because he has the one thing she has always wanted a Unicorn.

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