Reviews

The strength of the script and actors makes this a very entertaining schlock thriller with some real nasty turns. Joely Richardson gives possibly her strongest performance as the lead in this movie, keeping the mood suitably tense and providing a very good turn as a mother who will go to any lengths to protect her family. The supporting cast also give the script the emotional edge that it requires, Neil Linpow and Harry Candy giving convincing performances as the troubled duo, making the desperate situation feel both genuine and taut, also Sadie Soverall as Maisie gives a very strong turn as the ingenue, struggling to decipher the emotional puzzle at play.

An extremely entertaining thriller that will take you by surprise.

Was pleasantly surprised by this movie. While the set up is a little clunky, imagine the end scene in castaway where Tom Hanks turns up to his wife's home and then turn that into a movie. Had this script been written in the 2000s I can easily see the movie being a screwball Cameron Diaz vehicle with a much bigger emphasis on the comedic elements in the script, perhaps even Ashton Kuchner popping up somewhere. But what this movie does instead of playing for laughs is wring the drama out of the story, giving the two leads Phillipa Soo and Luke Bracey a lot of time to build their romance, which does make us invested in the love triangle element once it occurs. Which is to the detriment of Simu Liu, who does a lot of work away from the main leads, which slightly undermines his leading man status, as Soo and Bracey are the ones we're rooting for, and Liu seems like a genuine inconvenience for most of the movie and is given very little beyond his third wheel status.

Phillipa Soo is great as a leading lady genuinely torn by her love of two fine men, Bracey and Liu both do good work, a pleasant surprise and one definitely worth checking in on.

I'm a sucker for anything Japanese, it's heartening now that there is an emerging genre of U. S made horror movies set in Japan using the much tried and tested fish out of water device and adding the J-Horror signature of spooky jumps, strange children, foreboding music and strange Japanese folk lore to repurpose the old fashioned three young and beautiful idiots go into a forest routine.

These particular idiots make a point of seeking haunted temples, deliberately not heeding massive warning signs and still managing to keep their "ere what's going on here look", all over their beautiful faces. The Japanese setting is crucial to this story, and to be fair the Japanese locales are authentic and serve to add a sense of other worldly menace to the story. You can see that the director knows his Japan, and uses it to extract every ounce of tension.

The acting, as mentioned is good, the actors all keep a straight face, looking suitably jaded and confused as three Americans would if they stumbled into a J-Horror movie, and the director keeps the tension tight, never going too far into silliness, but keeping enough intrigue to make you wonder where this will all lead.

It's a genuine scare flick, with its heart and hand firmly on its chest, with an intriguing premise that really does pull you in. Don't be too put off by the score here, it's much better than the reviews would make you believe.

A soil scientist is called in to research an area of land where the soil is strangely fertile. He is escorted by a park ranger, on their way to the area they meet a few unexpected characters.

Ben Wheatley brings a sharp eye into the he world of Covid paranoia, with the foresight to script, film and release a movie deep in the heart of lock down 2020. In doing so we have a time capsule of the paranoia and fear of our times.

Referencing movies like Annihilation, Mandy, the Blair Witch, we have a movie rooted in horror lore and absolutely dripping in atmosphere and dread. Wheatley wrings every second of tension and atmosphere out of every scene, creating a somber mood of absolute fear and dread. Is it Covid, is it technology, is it us...whatever it is, take me to a hospital if it ever gets here.

A female officer joins a bomber crew on their flight to New Zealand, claiming she had orders from up top and a secret case she must deliver. Things hit a SNAFU and the plans go out the window.

First of all it's worth mentioning that Gremlins are referenced in this movie, when you hear Gremlins you can only think back to the 80s classic and wonder if this is some strange hybrid prequel. Second thing worth mentioning, the callout to The Twilight Zone movie is another obvious harking back to the past, and once again the audience is thinking this is "Nightmare at 20,000 feet". Then the movie goes into its own territory, with an all action finale with a lot of mayhem and easy thrills. Chloe Grace Moretz gives a game performance as the secretive flight commander who may know more then she lets on and the action and script is serviceable, possible potential for more, but it does what it sets out to do and runs with it. I realized when reading through the trivia that Max Landis has a writing credit on this, and that makes sense. Whilst rumor has it his script was seriously edited, there is a little of the Landis sideways thinking still evident on the screen, how much exactly we will never know, suffice to say he is a writer who excels in blue sky thinking on genre pieces and knows how to wring an idea out of a maudlin premise. Also, Moretz should be commended, she's been a star ever since her foul mouthed debut in Kick Ass and somehow has hung in there and has kept making fun movies whilst looking every bit the movie star. This is a strong action turn for her where she shows a commanding range of emotions to what is quite a thread bare script.

There's been a lot of negative criticism of this movie, and I am beginning to think that the reasoning is purely because the lead is female. I wonder if say Chris Prat was cast and the plot lines were altered for a male lead, would the fall out be as severe? I would bet my house on a no.

The truth is the movie doesn't need defending, it is pure hokum from start to finish and has no pretension to be more than the sum of its parts. That being a flying bomber war movie, with a gremlin critter on board. Now what part of that description did you not like, this is essentially a throwaway comic book piece, the likes of which are made by the dozen, the mild twist being that is has a strong female lead: it's fun, it's action packed, it's got Gremlins and a WW2 bomber, what's not to love? Ohh...it's the female lead people don't like...I see.

Statham joins a money courier service in L. A town, the job is dangerous as we saw at the beginning there are serious occupational hazards. A few days into his first work week Statham shows an incredible aptitude for the job, but The Statham is hiding a bigger secret, and the music tells us all is not well.

Wrath of Man is as brawny and haggard as the posters makes it out to be, swooning cello soundtracks and drab L. A vistas tell us this is VERY serious. The Statham is hiding something from us and his colleagues, noticeable by the fact he doesn't flinch, ever. We have a massive back story, a lot of gangsta types and henchmen looking concerned and then a switch in narrative as we see the inner workings of a massive heist.

The heist element is handled well, Ritchie has studied the genre and know where to ramp up the action. The cast is strong, all actors look appropriately moody and tense as if they know that the Statham is angry, and must pick their words wisely. The flaw is in the plotting, whilst Ritchie is a pro with this type of fare, making his name with Lock Stock, Snatch, RocknRolla and the likes, he has a flair for crime dramas/comedy and handles the scenes suitably, BUT the script is SO dense with plot threads that it all does not make a cohesive whole. The set up of mystery man joining a courier service shifts to a revenge drama and then refocuses on a heist movie. I feel he should have picked a genre, because both are good but together they serve to conflate.

All that being said, Ritchie continues to be a director worth watching, and in Statham we have artist and muse re-United after a long absence. What's more Ritchie's movies are always fun, witty in places and teething with ambition, that for me is a win, but a marginal one...

A mother protects her sickened boy from the outside world, but when a young girl befriends him she uncovers some uncomfortable truths.

The Harvest has some strong moments, the acting is note worthy, the characters are believable and seem game for the ride. The direction is well handled, making the most of a strong premise, but where it falls slightly short is in its central focus on the children as the core of the movie. Without giving too much away, there is an element of children taking the role of adults in this movie, whereas the premise is deserving of a more mature and complex handling of the emotional twists. The message being relayed by the movie here is that children are in control of their own fate, but there is a bigger story in the foreground concerning parental abuse, parenthood, bereavement and identity, which is side swept entirely for a more child view of right and wrong, which I believe does not do the movie full justice.

McNaughton has directed some classy movies in his years and I was surprised to see his name appear in the credits, but not overly surprised. He has a deft hand with directing movies that come at the audience from left field, never really fitting a genre, and accomplished in his ability to tease a good performance out of his leads. This he does well in The Harvest, but there is a feeling the darker elements of the story has been watered down. On a final note, that's Peter Fonda playing the Grandpa...yes...THAT guy.

A talented cellist goes to Shanghai to visit her former teacher and meets his new protege. Envy and mutual respect between the two cellists is shown, which quickly turns to romance. Things then take a wild left turn, and then some...

Without a shadow of a doubt the movie's shifts in genres and mood is a badge The Perfection wears with glee. There is an element of the script and editing team laughing wildly as they jump and leap from the rafters from one scene to the next. While it is jarring, frustrating and damn right confusing, there is an element of intrigue created, but even this is brief and it all ultimately ends in disappointment.

If I had to pick a moment in this movie that I enjoyed, I would say I liked the movie that The Perfection was turning into at the beginning of the second act. This was genuinely frightening, well paced and tense. The reveal after this scene and the eventual turns and false corners it makes to get to the final third is just plain ugly and madly implausible, madly.

As a final note, many movies are now telling the stories of the #metoo movement, this is to be applauded, and The Perfectionist places abusive relationships on its massively long list of ideas. However, what happens when script writers place so many jarring twists and tonal shifts into its story, is that the eventual larger message trying to be conveyed is lost. In The Perfectionist the message is obfuscated to such a degree that it becomes practically irrelevant, and what we remember more are the wrong turns and double crossings, instead of being moved by a story about overcoming abuse and retribution.

Perfection...no...potential...sure, why not.

To understand the plot, you have to understand that this is a world where Godzilla inhabits the same space and time as Kong, then all plot is meaningless and you will just go with the action. The semblance of a plot to speak of any is that Godzilla is lurking with intent, and to prevent a reckoning between Kong and Godzilla (stick with me here) Kong must be transported to his own home world (Skull Island?) and on his way there Godzilla attacks!! However, there's more, there are some nasty corporate scientists types who want to harness the energy on said Kong home world and have a devious plan to syphon this energy in a very convoluted story strand which serves the purpose of some massive fisticuffs, cue carnage...

The main point of recommendation for this movie is the emphasis on the showdown. The side scrolling beat 'Em up visuals of old Godzilla is reincarnated for the modern screen in full blooded CGI and makes for a marvelous spectacle. Kong is given a good amount of heart and emotes to the screen well, conveying a sense of ennui befitting a noble beast, this in of itself is quite an achievement. When you throw in Godzilla and his own sense of purposeful angst and devotion to the better angels of our nature, you have a duo of staggering proportions fighting for a cause that the audience are not quite sure of but support none the less. If there are any deficiencies it is the lack of scale to these battles. Hong Kong is rendered and torn down in a blink of an eye with very little moment of pause. This would have served as an interesting third perspective, think Cloverfield or the likes. Alas, cities are torn to shreds with very little discussion of collateral damage. This would have given the movie a little more of what it needed. In the end it is a massive beat down between two of cinemas greatest visual icons.

All this being said there are some much needed surprises along the way, I didn't see the trailer and was fortunate to not know what was coming, so will not spoil it here, but there is an ace up the sleeve which when it arrives gives the audience another wow wow wee ha moment.

This is bombastic if a little brainless fun, which most certainly delivers on the visual scale. What must be noted is that almost exactly a year on since Covid restrictions across the globe, this is a little reminder of how blockbuster movies used to be pre lockdown: loud, silly and ultimately forgettable. I'm glad it has arrived in the cinemas and will look forward to some more of the big boys joining the party.

A young man is haunted by his childhood and has impulses to maim beautiful young women off the streets of L.A.

Told mostly through the first person perspective (think Peep Show with lots of bloodshed) Maniac succeeds in being a strong and biting modern horror. It happily enters into the cannon of great cityscape movies where the city itself is a character. We see knowing references to many L.A landmarks, from the beaten down streets of Downtown to even the Orpheus cinema getting a good look in. Those who know their L.A will have fun spotting the landmarks. Add to this a really unhinge Elijah Wood who pulls a genuinely creepy and pained performance as the protagonist, one can't help but applaud this movie for doing something that modern horror has failed to do of late, which is be both unsettling and entertaining at the same time, whilst never losing sight of the truly macabre and satirical (perhaps that's four things). One ace in the hole is Elijah Wood, who sheds the baby fat and gives his all to this performance, which takes some getting used to, but once you settle in, it is an inspired piece of casting. It is a strong point of this movie to see the places that Wood goes to portray the character, which at times does feel strained, as we know him to be Frodo, the epitome of all that is good in this world. However, it's because we are seeing Frodo that makes this even creepier and much more believable. Add to this a heavy 80s synth soundtrack which would not look out of place in Winding Refn's Drive (2011) and this is a fun night. Be warned you will need quite a strong stomach, but it is earnest in its shocks and unflinching in its gore.

A really effective and nasty horror which really does feel fresh in the modern era of jump scare chills.

Highly invented parody of the super hero genre, with Ryan Reynalds at his cocksure best. It seems the super hero movie has been in vogue for the past few years now, with studios clambering to release any kind of movie, TV show or animation attached to a super hero premise. There was a time when studios waited to unleash their tent pole super hero movies onto the world. This usually followed a long laborious period of rumours of actors playing the part, directors walking in and out of production, script writers and script doctors being hired and fired. Now it seems that every six months a new super hero movie or new look super hero is being reborn, rebuilt, re-configured, renewed, re-hashed, re-imagined or just plain revealed. Add to this the fact that within these movies are a scatter gun of loosely attached characters who will go on to have their own movie releases. This really does say all you need to know about the state of the Hollywood movie making process at this moment in time, and perhaps says more about international audiences appetite for spandex clad crapola.

Now add to this the new Deadpool movie. A movie which is so self aware of its roots as a super hero movie it borders on the pastiche. The joke in Deadpool is that the character is aware he is in a movie, that alone is enough to separate it from the usual slam bang visuals of the ordinary super hero movie. Now factor in that he is a foul mouthed, sex-obsessed, drug abusing, wise-cracking, mutant hero, and you begin to start wondering how this movie ever made it to the cinemas. In this age of polished, stars and stripes, hero obsessed genre of movie making, it is refreshing that Hollywood deemed it worthy to add to the cannon the antithesis of the super hero, and that antithesis is Deadpool.

Whilst not totally re-inventing the wheel, Deadpool succeeds through it's sheer disregard for the genre. Deadpool wears it's 'R' rated badge proudly, neither trying to kowtow to the box office 'PG' crowd nor go full blood and guts towards insatiable violence. It straddles a fine line between the two, providing some clever 'meta' references to it's modern audience, whilst at the same time being visually eye popping with some deft cartoon style OTT violence. Even though at heart this is a super hero movie, with a character that has been present in comic book form for decades, and is straddled with a plot reminiscent of any Marvel/DC movie/origin tale that you care to mention. Deadpool comes across as fresh and a nice tonic to what we have seen of the tired comic book genre so far.

When you start to analyse why it works you begin to realise that it falls nicely onto the feet of one Ryan Reynalds. Ever since Ryan limped onto our screens as Van Wilder in the early noughties, he has been an actor who has been left in a state of limbo artistically. Whilst good looking and toned and more than capable of holding a romantic lead, he could never quite shake his obvious comedic chops, always delivering a line as if he was laughing to himself on the inside. Thus we saw his peers such as Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio even Ben Affleck (all in the same age bracket) go on to make more serious movies with great success, all successfully transitionally from drama to action with little fuss. Whereas Reynalds appeared to be left behind still trying to define his acting, unsure if he was a romantic lead, action hero or a comedian.

In Deadpool I feel Ryan has rediscovered his range. In essence he is not an actor to be taken seriously, nor a superhero who we can convincingly believe is capable of saving the world. For me he is a modern day Chevy Chase, all knowing smiles and smarmy charm. He is a throwback to the 80's comedic sensibility where it was OK to laugh at people who were different or less good looking than you. He is the actor we all love to hate, overly confident, limited in range, lacking in subtleties, and way too quick with a one liner. But when he is good, he is great, and when he is bad, he is just damn unwatchable. In Deadpool he is note perfect.

That isn't to say that Deadpool is a perfect movie. As part of the X-Men entourage it does spread it's bets by including links to the X-Men saga, clearly with a view to cashing in on a Deadpool/X- Men collaboration at some time in the future. However, this link seems somehow fitting. Deadpool as a comic book character exists alongside the X-Men, furthermore the inclusion of Colossus is in itself a joke, and one that is cleverly interspersed into the script, rather than ham fistedly wedged in to tie the two entities together.

A fun, inventive spin on the super hero genre, and a much welcomed breath of fresh air to the current status quo of Hollywood blockbusters. It will be interesting to see how Deadpool develops in his inevitable sequel and if the powers that be have the balls to put their money where their mouth is and give him free reign in an X-Men spin off. Judging by how well this movie came together, all signs look good.

The fate of a foot soldier, an ageing pirate (and his loyal sidekick), a young girl, a star pilot and the leader of an enemy army, all collide and intertwine in this highly anticipated return of the Star Wars series.

It was with apprehension that I approached The Force Awakens. Having invested a great deal of expectation and anticipation into the prequels during my formative adult years, I approached TFA with a sense of withdrawal. This stemmed from the fear I have that any amount of hype would eventually just leave me in another state of devastation and possible resignation to the knowledge that our heroes (George Lucas, I'm looking at you) will always remain all too human, a state which I have never quite recovered from. Well TFA has somehow restored my faith in movie-making, and possibly in life itself, from the first moment when the words "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" appeared, to the second when the ubiquitous blue credits started rolling at the end. For the whole duration I was taken back to my youth, more specifically, the heady days of the early nineties, not to a time when I yearned for adventure and sought mystical powers to defeat my enemies, but to a time when all that I demanded from certain sci-fi adventure movies was that they were as good as Star Wars.

TFA is most certainly a movie that can stand quite proudly amongst the original trilogy. J.J Abrams vision shows a director who has a deft eye for the spectacular whilst equally comfortable paying homage to his predecessors. A good clue to this movies retro roots is in the title itself, "The Force Awakens", the director J.J Abrams definitely reclaims the power and mysticism of 'the force'. In the prequels "the force" became a throwaway trope, everybody had the force in the prequels and it was used so flagrantly that we forgot it's true intangible qualities. In TFA, as the name suggests 'the force' is used sparingly, but to great effect (there was one particular scene where I had to fight the urge to applaud in the cinema). J.J Abrams clearly understands the text that he has be given along with it's wider fandom, and rather than shrink, he has rose to the occasion and brought us something great, spectacular and touching epochal.

In terms of story telling, the characters of Rey and Finn carry the lions share of the plot, whilst characters such as Han Solo, Chewbacca and Princess Leia return to add some much appreciated gravitas to proceedings. Also there should be a mention for the actor Adam Driver playing the latest antagonist Kylo Renn. Driver plays this role well and is convincing in his troubled persona, appearing evil yet at the same time angst ridden. In previous instalments both Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader carried this duality inside of them, but Kylo Renn truly embodies this fear (and rage) as an integral part of his character. Through his portrayal of Kylo Renn, Driver elevates what could have so easily been a poor mans Darth Vader to a character that is fresh and suitably imperious.

Now to address some of the criticisms directed at the movie. Some may argue that rather than paying homage TFA is in effect a reboot/re-telling of the original trilogy, twists and turn and all, WITH the inclusion of a Death Star and a masked villain who has more than a passing resemblance to Darth Vader. You could even go further and say that whole characters along with their personality traits have been cut and pasted from the original trilogy and plonked square onto a whole host of characters in TFA. Whilst this is undeniable and some might argue all too obvious, the only defence that I can give to this is that TFA is the first of a new trilogy. The faint whiff of a movie making process that is hedging it's bets on how to develop it's character, and what direction to take it in, has not quite come about fully formed.

To take it to another discussion I think Hollywood has learnt that introducing new characters to a well known and beloved movie series (I hate the term franchise) can be a precarious one, Jar Jar Binks being the go to model of new characters that did not quite resonate with an audience. So it is very likely that the writers erred on the side of caution and made certain characters from TFA a composite of what was great about previous characters in the original/prequels. Is it noticeable, yes, is it enough to distract and cause this audience member to cry foul, no.

Ultimately, once all the analysis has been done, The Force Awaken succeeds in reinvigorating and restoring the lustre of the original trilogy. A lustre that had been besmirched by the god awful George Lucas prequels. It has been noted by many commentators that the prequel trilogy was too explanatory, telling the story in a way which was both lacking in subtlety, yet somehow at the same time convoluted and bogged down in some civil war/trade politics that nobody could quite explain nor care for. The Force Awakens dispenses with all the faux political subtexts that effectively ruined the prequels and takes the story back to the heart of the original trilogy. That heart being the story of an everyday young hero longing for adventure, who is then taken on a fantastical journey and on the way meet an unlikely crew of bandits and mis-fit companions. Eventually said hero discovers that their life not only has a higher purpose, but that greatness is, and always has been inherent within them. It's a story as old as story telling itself, but when done right, it hits the mark every time.

Young Japanese girl and her boyfriend talk the night away about loneliness, mild depression, money and hopes and dreams.

This is an interesting experience, the movie seems more suited to a modern art museum then a cinema. The narrative so to speak is centered around a conversation the lead characters are having in a darkened room, this is presented through voice over and then there are visuals interspersed of Tokyo, all of the visual anchors of Japan are displayed: subway lines, Shibuya, kinetic lighting, neon streets, darkened alley ways. This is all very well shot, and adds an eloquent beauty to this movie, suggesting disquiet and a sense of isolation.

The appeal of this movie lies in its honesty and sincerity, there is a sense that the dialogue comes from a honest source, and I can see that the movie is an allegory of many a Tokyo-dwellers internal monologue. As someone who has lived in Tokyo for a few years I do understand and in many ways connect with the existential dread that this movie depicts of life in Japan, we are indeed alone with everybody, and we do feel genuine fear and uncertainty at our most vulnerable moments, which ironically those moments being when traversing the crowded city scape of urban Tokyo.

Many a cinematic nod to David Lynch, Wong Kai Wai, Jean Luc Goddard and perhaps even Terrence Mallick. Perhaps a little raw in places, and in some cases too real, but it should be applauded for it's style and I hope to see more from Stoler.

Salary man loses his job and in order to save face lives a lie to his family by continuing to set off to work as if all was normal. Meanwhile his wife detects the changes whilst his two son's grow further away from him.

The backdrop is the 2008 Japanese recession, and throughout we see suited figures walking ghostly across the screen, some looking for jobs, others like the lead character living their own lies. The movie doesn't pull any punches in it's damming portrayal of a modern Japan, throughout we see Tokyo portrayed as confined, gritty, cold and sterile. Gone are the neon and hyper kinetics of Shubuya or the affluent Ginza, what we have are job centre queues and homeless shelter camps.

What this movie also draws light on is a sense of masculinity in the modern age. We have the sins of the father resonating throughout this movie adding to a greater sense of tragedy.

Throughout Tokyo Sonata we feel as though the tragic nature of the storyline can only head in one direction, however whereas many tragedies shows art as destruction, here we have art as saviour.

A truly touching movie, the likes of which I haven't seen in a while. The movie doesn't wallow in it's own self pity, what is shows is that all our destined paths can only be walked by us alone, no matter what ties and bonds we have made along the way.

If every movie endeavoured to convey this stark yet simple message, then I'll be for that.