In The Grey

 

This review may contain spoilers!

In The Grey, a small island nation is invaded by a high-tier client lawyer and her team of mercenaries to recoup the billion-dollar debt owed by the man who owns it.

This film functions like an action-film machine; it moves on a tight schedule and has a relentless rhythm. Everything about the operation we watch unfold is entirely tactical; emotion doesn't ever really bleed into it, it's just unrelenting. This is a film that wants to dismantle an antagonist; the components of storytelling are just a means to get there. It's extremely impressive watching the matter-of-fact way this film dissects the dissolution of a despot. There's a sort of thrill to the cocky soldiers running drills, backroom deals being postured and the helter-skelter run to extraction. I loved nothing more than when Rachel stopped for a beer, and we got to see the highly efficient way her team responds to a militant show of force from the enemy combatants.

Henry Cavill, who played Sid, is pretty entertaining as this lumbering manipulator; Cavill as the disruptor mercenary with an easy sense of charisma is a neat bit of casting. Eiza González, who played Rachel, is one of the most captivating performances in this feature; González is just as much of a combatant as the others, she is just sparring with dialogue. Fisher Stevens, who played William Horowitz, is quite a fun turn as the adversary lawyer who is watching his client's world fall apart; Stevens presenting an character who is struggling with a loss of control is often the best part of the antagonist storyline.

However, the best performance came from Jake Gyllenhaal, who played Bronco. I never watched The Covenant, but I must say there's a very natural pairing with Gyllenhaal and a Guy Ritchie script. This is a mercenary figure who feels quietly imposing, like he could snap into a dangerous display of force at any moment. I greatly enjoyed how aloof Bronco was as a character; that quick-talking wit you expect from a Ritchie film is entirely carried by Gyllenhaal here. Comfortably, the funniest role, while also being the most dynamic mercenary. I enjoyed how calculating this character was; his dry sarcasm often hides a figure who is deceptively cunning. If that's not enough, any time Gyllenhaal and Cavill get to riff off one another is a treat.

Guy Ritchie's recent film run hasn't been the most impressive; often, that feels like he's not finding anything fresh in the same tried and true elements. Yes, the characters make dry-humoured jokes, there's a high-stakes heist, and the boys with bravado live up to their cockiness. But somewhere within all of that, we've lost the actual sense of character. I watched this film, and I know I'm supposed to be rooting for Sid, Bronco and Rachel. But it's honestly pretty hard to care. These are characters who serve the action and are stoic individuals rolling out a very tactical plan. You never really get to see their sense of emotion, nor how they connect to one another genuinely. This film is often very detached, and even the main plot is just watching our heroes still money from one rich guy from another bunch of rich guys. There's also a significant exposition problem in In The Grey that aggravated me to no end. If a gun isn't firing, this is a film that just will not shut up. Every character has a voice-over, monologue or phone call in which they are dissecting and explaining elements of the plan or what they are doing. This turned what could have been an intriguing or tense story into a top-heavy info dump.

I'm used to a Guy Ritchie feature being quite a stylistic trip to the cinema, but this is quite visually lacking. I found the camerawork here staggeringly obvious; there's quite a structured approach to how action and confrontation are captured that I didn't enjoy. The editing moves at a steady pace that never really switches up on itself enough to draw in the viewer. The score for this film is a significant disappointment, given that the film struggles to create a sense of mood; the music in the feature rarely makes you feel the danger of those high-stakes scenes.

Carlos Bardem, who played Manny Salazar, is one of the absolute worst onscreen antagonists I've watched all year; Bardem's turn as a billionaire crime lord was entirely unbelievable. Rosamund Pike, who played Bobby Sheen, is finding some horrible roles lately; Pike as this sweat-soaked financial executive is a completely miscast character. Kristofer Hivju, who played Axel Olsson, could have had an interesting role; sadly, Hivju is reduced to a bland henchman figure. Darrell D'Silva, who played Braxton, is a gruff figure who doesn't quite fit his role; D'Silva is a character who opens this feature but doesn't leave much of an impression. 

Guy Ritchie tries to flex his muscles here, but he winds up showing us all the tired, old tricks. I would give In The Grey a 4.5/10.

Mortal Kombat II

 

This review may contain spoilers!

Mortal Kombat II is an adaptation of the Mortal Kombat video game franchise and a sequel to Mortal Kombat (2021). In this feature, the champions of Earthrealm must defeat Shao Kahn and his allies in a tournament, lest he claim Earth in conquest.

The character of Johnny Cage is offered up to be the more 'everyday' human for audiences to relate to this time around. He is quite a charismatic, funny figure, and it can be entertaining to see him grow and join the fight to save Earthrealm. This feature also boasts some really impressive fight sequences; it takes what worked well in the first film and really builds upon it. Watching some points in which the film does a reasonable job of tipping its hat to the games with a line, cameo or visual moment is a nice improvement from the original.

This film might not wow anyone from a story perspective, but it is a massive visual step up from the 2021 film. The cinematography here frames with intention, evoking video game style and also moving at a pace with some extremely impressive fight sequences. The visual effects finally look decent; there are some scenes where things can be stretched thin, but for the most part, this is a real feast for the eyes. I loved how visual backgrounds were styled, paired with flying razor hats, CGI throwing daggers and roaring infernos. The score is also a lot more engaging; it kicks the adrenaline into overdrive and makes the action as intense as possible.

Karl Urban, who played Johnny Cage, was a satisfying new addition to the series; Urban has a very natural, comedic charisma that enhances his character. Damon Herriman, who played Quan Chi, was extremely eerie as this unnatural sorcerer; Herriman's ability to play to the fantasy setting and the unusual, conflicting elements around him really set his performance apart. Hiroyuki Sanada, who played Hanzo Hasashi, decided that he was just here to impress this time around; Sanada plays into the tougher side of Scorpion, which works a lot better for him. CJ Bloomfield, who played Baraka, gives an immense creature performance; Bloomfield and Urban also have a great comedic dynamic with one another.

However, the best performance came from Josh Lawson, who played Kano. I cannot even begin to describe it, but Lawson has just found his way to a very natural fit with Kano. This rough-edged scoundrel is not necessarily someone to be trusted. Lawson presents an uncouth figure who cusses out allies and enemies alike. This film struggles to be funny, but Lawson sure doesn't. If there's a moment in which I actually found myself laughing the hardest, it was when Lawson was onscreen. Yes, we needed a little necromancy to get there, but thank goodness Kano is back. Josh Lawson was my favourite part of the first film, and he continues to deliver.

There's one thing that just seems to be true of Mortal Kombat films: there's not a lot of plot going on. A big part of this seems to stem from the fact that this is just adapting a fighting video game; the story is paper-thin in the first place. Yet, despite that, we seem to get ridiculous exposition dumps every other scene, paired with interdimensional travel, lizard people, magic and Elder gods. There's really no way into the story of this film; it's all quite outlandish and really caters to the players of the game. If you're an audience member who hasn't played before, good luck. The punching looks neat at least. This film doesn't always seem very confident in itself either; it really struggles with conveying who leads the feature. The marketing would tell you that it's Johnny Cage, but he seems like a piece in the ensemble at times. There are whole moments where Liu Kang or Kitana could be leading the film, but they aren't brought forward to that role either. So the only thing really leading this feature is that we're waiting for the big, muscular bad guy to get killed by the end. This film often lowers the stakes; characters who died in the first film are being resurrected left, right and centre. We even take a big trek into Netherealm, an Underworld for Mortal Kombat. This makes the threat of death hanging over our heroes' heads all the less significant, one of the few elements that lends an edge to these films. I also wouldn't recommend trying to work out the rules to the tournament; the characters try to explain it, but the rules are also extremely inconsistent. The dialogue, being a mixture of one-liners, quips and throwbacks to the video game, makes this some of the weakest writing I have experienced all year.

Adeline Rudolph, who played Kitana, has a lot of potential but never really manages to grasp it; Rudolph winds up being the exposition spout McNamee was in the original film. Martyn Ford, who played Shao Kahn, is a very generic antagonist role; this hulking threat is all presence but no substance. Tati Gabrielle, who played Jade, just doesn't have the chemistry with Rudolph to play their friendship and betrayal; Gabrielle is often too stoic in her scenes. Jessica McNamee, who played Sonya Blade, is surprisingly more boring than the original film; McNamee is easily the most bland fighter of the feature. Mehcad Brooks, who played Jax Briggs, struggles to make much of an impression this time around; Brooks is pushed to the background a lot more. Ludi Lin, who played Liu Kang, is quite an important character with an actor who can't play to that; Lin just doesn't have the bold presence to make himself known. Tadanobu Asano, who played Lord Raiden, is an extremely expressionless performance; Asano just doesn't feel big enough to be an 'Elder God'. Chin Han, who played Shang Tsung, is one of the more forgettable antagonists; he often seems like the surplus element in his scenes. Joe Taslim, who played Bi-Han, had quite a generic performance this time around; Taslim was reduced to a final fight scene with no real motive or purpose. Max Huang, who played Kung Lao, was a bit of a forced character return; he just doesn't feel like a big enough draw to play up his big fight sequence. Lewis Tan, who played Cole Young, has been demoted from protagonist for a very clear reason; Tan often struggles to play naturally in a scene. Ana Thu Nguyen, who played Queen Sindel, is in such a twisted role that makes little sense; this character is all over the place, and it's not very clear why. Sophia Xu and Desmond Chiam, who played Young Kitana and King Jerrod respectively, give a relatively simplistic intro to the film; this is a father/daughter intro that we've seen a thousand times before.

Sometimes, a really bad film begets a really bad sequel. I would give Mortal Kombat II a 4.5/10.

Hokum

This review may contain spoilers!

Hokum follows Ohm Bauman, a bestselling author who travels to a small Irish town to scatter the ashes of his parents. However, the hotel in which he stays contains untold horrors that Ohm will find himself entangled within.

This film is a completely eerie journey throughout, a horror that likes to keep you on your toes from one of the earliest scenes. This film takes Ohm, our leading author protagonist, and places him in an isolated and unusual setting. This rustic Irish hotel, which is our backdrop for the film, acts as a great setting to place the action. It has a gothic feel to it, but it also has a few layers that need peeling back. The Irish folklore element here of a witch stalking the local population and snatching young children away to Hell drummed up the fear early on, but seeing the telltale signs that such a creature had been trapped within these walls was much worse. The tilt into the second act is brilliant; we discover the murder of a likable character and descend into a locked room horror-mystery. Ohm races to not only free himself from being trapped but also to come to the bottom of the murder that he has stumbled upon. This movie will tease you with what is real and what isn't, but it walks the line between with a great deal of forethought. Seeing supernatural moments as an audience member, only for them to be ripped away with a plausible explanation, is brilliant. The way the protagonist actively makes use of what he has learned and then uses the supernatural horror against the main antagonist is an impressive conclusion, too. Hokum is that sort of horror that draws you in deep before sinking its fangs into you, and I could not look away (as much as I wanted to).

The design of Hokum is nothing short of impressive; it maximises the use of the creepy and claustrophobic hotel space to make a compelling horror setting. The camera work really toys with the urgency in those moments of pure terror. There is an extremely fast-paced sense of pacing that moves at a precise speed, but it is the cutting of those moments of tension that lands the most. I loved the score for Hokum; it was chilling and really set the heart pounding in those moments of peril.

Austin Amelio and Ezra Carlisle, who played the Conquistador and Boy respectively, are a nice glimpse into Ohm's psyche; Amelio really plays to the emotional guilt of the scene well. Adam Scott, who played Ohm Bauman, led this horror extremely well; Scott presents an author who is a bit of a jackass but also incredibly quick-witted. David Wilmot, who played Jerry, is quite surprisingly the heart of the film; Wilmot's eccentric drifter is the guiding centre for justice in this feature. Michael Patric, who played Fergal, is this gruff and impassive protector of the hotel and its occupants; Patric's role is often the most intimidating in any scene he is in. Will O'Connell, who played Alby, is quite a sweet character amongst the hotel staff; his earnest interest in Ohm is a nice contrast to Scott's bitterness. Brendan Conroy, who played Cob, isn't here much, but he sure leaves his mark; Conroy's storytelling around the witch is absolutely chilling horror in and of itself.

However, the best performance came from Peter Coonan, who played Mal. This is one of those antagonists who you can find across horrors and is almost always reviled. When the film first starts, and we meet Coonan, he portrays a lovely hotel manager with a lot of quiet charm. He is a relatively unassuming figure, but he breathes a sense of charisma that the film had been lacking up until that point. The tilt into seeing the brazen horror of his actual character, the crime he is willing to perpetrate, darkens things. From here, Coonan presents a man who is far more desperate; he wants old skeletons to stay buried, but is losing control over the situation. Watching the descent into Mal turning on all the other characters and eventually being claimed by the witch is where everything is amped to the max. Sometimes, the best horror antagonists are the mirror up to the worst of human potential.

Hokum is one of those films that just doesn't have a lot of characters to like within it. I found it difficult to find the person you want to root for in this cast because they all have some glaringly bad traits. Ultimately, you should be on Ohm's side, but he is a very prickly figure by design; regardless of his sympathetic background, his chief character trait is being a bit of a jerk to everyone. The final act plays things out a bit too much, faking the audience out at every turn. The bell scene is a really good example of something going on for just a little too long. I also don't think this film needed to hamfist the final question on whether the supernatural elements were real or not. By this point, enough work had been done for the audience to get their own impression of this. More than that, revisiting the Conquistador character to show Ohm's character growth felt a bit more than was strictly necessary.

The soundtrack often felt a bit simplistic to me; it was just a heavy-handed push to remind the audience that the action of this feature took place in Ireland.

Florence Ordesh, who played Fiona, is a character who often doesn't show much of her own personality; Ordesh's role serves to prop others up and then be a puzzle to be solved for the rest of the film. 

The perfect blend of tension and a good mystery, Hokum is going to be this year's Weapons. I would give Hokum a 7.5/10. 

The Devil Wears Prada 2

 

This review may contain spoilers!

The Devil Wears Prada 2 is the sequel to The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and rejoins our main characters twenty years on. When Runway magazine experiences a disastrous PR nightmare, Andy (a now award-winning journalist) is rehired to restore the company's reputation.

I actually really forgot how much fun Andy Sachs was as a character. I imagine, like most, the draw to watch Miranda Priestly once again was a huge pull to see this sequel. Yet, I could not help but fall into Andy's journey. This is a character who has grown by being an advocate, who chases stories of human struggle. She is still quirky, a little awkward and does not fit squarely into the mould of Runway magazine as Miranda styles it. But Andy is a very sincere fighter for justice, and loves Runway in her own way. Seeing how Andy, Miranda and some of the other characters fight for Runway is a really significant part of this movie. In a broader sense, thematically, this film uses the characters we know to explore the media industry's current struggles. From award-winning journalists being fired at the top of this film, to Runway facing mass layoffs, it is clear that the media as we know it has been distorted and changed. The idea of a physical magazine has all but perished, and the digital narrative is more about views than the content of the narrative. This sense of helplessness is perfectly capped off by one of the tech billionaire antagonists admitting A.I. and the like are much like the fires of Pompeii. Impossible to outrun, better to accept the lava. I really felt this film managed an endearing, comedic tone while also having so much to say about the media landscape of today in a very starkly honest way. Across the whole feature, the thing that sat so well with me and the large audience I was sat with was how nice it was to see these characters again, still themselves, just slightly matured. Watching Nigel and Andy befriend one another all over again, or Emily's own insecurities lash out against Miranda and Andy, felt like I had stepped through a portal back to the mid-2000s. This was a sequel that completely understood where it had come from and then proceeded to work itself for the modern day in a manner that made sense.

If you're going to do a The Devil Wears Prada sequel, it pays to go big or go home. From a visual design perspective, this film really understood how to frame these grandiose settings of luxury, spotlight the incredible costuming work and transport the audience to the world of designer fashion. I found the editing had an incredible, fun sense of pacing within a scene, especially when it could toy with multiple sequences running parallel to each other. It also has a soundtrack boasting some of the more interesting celebrity female musicians today, with Miley Cyrus, Dua Lipa, Laufey, Lady Gaga and Doechii all lending music to this ensemble of brilliant tracks.

Anne Hathaway, who played Andy Sachs, leads this film superbly; her character is so emotive that it's very hard not to connect with her. Emily Blunt, who played Emily, has that same cold edge that worked so well for her the first time; Blunt has this fragility going on beneath the surface, which I felt enhanced the role. Stanley Tucci, who played Nigel, very well stole the show countless times; I think Tucci is just a wonderful, heartfelt performer. Justin Theroux, who played Benji Barnes, is this ridiculous tech bro billionaire who is charmingly goofy at first; Theroux then adds this depraved worldview about AI and the future, which was a chilling moment. Kenneth Branagh, who played Stuart, is in one of his more domesticated roles here; Branagh and Streep are entirely sweet together. B.J. Novak, who played Jay Ravitz, is quite fun as a finance bro; there is a certain satisfaction in how ignorantly callous he can be. Lady Gaga, who played herself, is an absolutely stunning performer, to no one's surprise; watching her spar with Streep was a delight for me. 

However, the best performance came from Meryl Streep, who played Miranda Priestly. This role is the iconic element of The Devil Wears Prada films. Some parts just seem to come so naturally to Streep, bringing Miranda's superior presence to life. The almost comical way Miranda is such an elitist figure at the top of the world, meting out her worldview on others while also adjusting to change herself. Yet, I really found Streep came into her own in the back half of the film, where we really got to see under the surface of Miranda again. Watching her seethe and vie for power as Runway and all its staff are being ripped away is interesting. I also really enjoyed seeing her navigate the moments of betrayal from Emily, seeing that cunning edge of her character come to life. Streep then really gets to play this role as a bit of a mastermind, working alongside Hathaway and Tucci to make a thrilling and emotional final act. That scene of Miranda and Andy in the car together, talking about the book at the end, is why Streep makes this movie; it's why I will always come back to these movies.

The start of this sequel does take a while to get going; the world initially feels quite different. There are a lot of working pieces going on, blended with a lot of new faces; it's not a smooth transition to a fresh feature in that first act. I also felt this film was a little more prepared to play to a simple gag at times. There were some jokes here that felt a bit more on the nose or exaggerated than they would have been in the original feature.

I found this film very stylish with a strong eye behind the framing of the camera, but it wasn't without some points of weakness. I particularly hated how the lighting was captured in this film. There were entire scenes where the shadows dropping over characters concealed good acting or brought the visual quality of a scene down. 

Simone Ashley, who played Amari, barely feels like a character; the new, fashionable assistant just completely bereft of personality. Lucy Liu, who played Sasha Barnes, is quite a figurehead but not much of a role; Liu is here for the plot to reach a goal and not to really flex her acting chops. Tracie Thoms, who played Lily, is a returning friend character for Hathaway that felt poorly revisited; Thoms is a moment of nostalgia in a film that has moved past her. Caleb Hearon, who played Charlie, actually yanked me out of the film a bit; Hearon barely felt like an actor, and it was clear that his social media presence was why he had a role. Patrick Brammall, who played Peter, is quite an odd romantic pairing for Hathaway; I found his particular brand of humour struggled to mesh with the film. Rachel Bloom, who played Tessa, is quite an outlier in this; Bloom's publishing friend is often frenzied and running at a higher pace than she needs to be. Helen J Shen, who played Jin Chao, was the quietly charming side character that felt like a bad sequel move; Shen's role could be a bit too obvious in her comedic delivery. Tibor Feldman, who played Irv Ravitz, was a powerful role that had no gravitas; Feldman just wasn't commanding enough for the part. Larry Mitchell, who played Mack, was one of Andy's friends too many; he added nothing of value to this feature.

The absolute thrill I had watching a top-tier mid-2000s dramedy make this kind of a comeback. I would give The Devil Wears Prada 2 an 8.5/10.

Exit 8

 

This review may contain spoilers!

Exit 8 is an adaptation of the video game The Exit 8 by Kotake Create. It is a liminal space horror about a man who becomes caught in the same repeating underground subway corridor. He must spot anomalies as he walks through the tunnel, or risk becoming trapped forever.

This is a film that thrills by drumming up the fear where it can. What I enjoyed the most about Exit 8 was the introduction of the corridor itself, this liminal space that our leading characters found themselves trapped within. Those early scenes where our protagonist stumbles into the corridor are a sinking feeling, a moment of dread as you realise what is unfolding moments before he does. From here, we come to be thoroughly immersed in this sinister passage and are shown all of the horrors that it can yield. Those moments where our characters fail or guess wrong weigh heavily upon the audience. I think the ability to place you in the experience of those living this 'purgatory' is an impressive narrative feat.

I found I really enjoyed how this film captured a quite limited urban space. This is a very contained film by nature, and yet the camerawork always had you exploring the space with the same level of scrutiny as the main characters. The score for the film really ramped up the tension and the sense of helplessness. I adored the intensive use of 'Bolero, M. 81' to lurch us into the horror's repetitive nature.

Naru Asanuma, who played The Boy, was quite good as this young and stoic protagonist; he conveyed a lot early on without even needing to say anything at all. Kotone Hanase, who played the High School Student, was a deeply unsettling role; the way her role's personality twisted and turned was tough to watch.

However, the best performance came from Kazunari Ninomiya, who played the Lost Man. This was our leading protagonist for this film, and he helps pull us into what he's experiencing. When we first meet this role, he seems a bit muted, neither courageous nor firm in his sense of self. Ninomiya plays a man who is wrestling with the prospect of becoming a father, often terrified of the very idea. The course of the film forces him to confront the responsibility behind the thought, and take courage in the face of supporting his ex-girlfriend. Ninomiya's best quality in this film is how we see his character come to realise that he is trapped. It is a slow realisation, a terrifying one. Watching this Lost Man become tortured by the loop he finds himself trapped within is the significant element that has to work in all of this.

Exit 8 is an interesting premise; the liminal horror is a nice draw. However, it is a film that just keeps doing the same conceit over and over again. You wind up settling in as an audience member, because the same space and where the film is going with its use of this horror setting is very clear. There's not even very much fear that our protagonists won't escape, which is probably the missing piece to making this puzzle better. While I think Ninomiya does an incredible job with what he has, I also found the Lost Man a horrendous character to have to follow across the feature. He's inherently rather pathetic, and bumbles around being tortured by a sense of duty that doesn't seem so agonising. In fact, the way he internalises and really rakes himself over this thought of becoming a father gets to a point where you even lose a bit of sympathy for him. Even the fact that he is upset at himself for not confronting bad behaviour on the train is a hard moment to connect with. I didn't always find this film consistent; the Lost Man's asthma being a significant issue, then never really being one again, bothered me a lot. I don't feel like the Lost Man even changes enough as a person by the end of the film; he merely seems to have found common decency.

The visual effects for Exit 8 just weren't good enough for the space they took up. The rat scene alone was absolutely hilarious.

Yamato Kochi, who played the Walking Man, was really here to be more creepy than he was a character; he played a bit too strongly in the moments he got to break away and do his own stuff. Nana Komatsu, who played the Lost Man's Partner, never felt like a role; she was more of an impending question hanging over the narrative.

Exit 8 is a fairly unsubstantive film video game adaptation. I would give Exit 8 a 4.5/10.

Michael

 

This review may contain spoilers!

Michael is a biopic about the early career of Michael Jackson up to his final performance with the Jackson 5 on their Victory Tour.

Michael is a film that really comes down to portraying Michael's own insecurities. He was beaten significantly as a child, had an imbalanced relationship with his father and sheltered in childish fantasies. His rise to fame here is depicted as an effort to escape and believe in himself; to essentially break away from the Jackson family mould. Michael is oppressed by the control Joseph Jackson has over his family; there's a sense of fear there that permeates across the film. It's an interesting duel watching the pair try to resist and control the other. 

This is an Antoine Fuqua-directed film, so you know there's going to be a bit of style at play. There's a shot in this film of Jackson standing atop a car outside the CBS studio, which I think immortalises the visual nature of this feature. But if that's not enough, you can see just how much fun Fuqua had stitching the 'Thriller' music video scene together. The editing here is quite slick and sets an even pace to a film that could have otherwise felt slow. The strength of the film should be the music, and it often is. The selection of songs here might be obvious, but they are also clear staples of Michael Jackson's musical genius.

Jaafar Jackson, who played Michael, is a capable lead who has clearly worked hard for the role; his physicality as Michael Jackson showed him to be an incredible study. Nia Long, who played Katherine Jackson, is a quieter mother figure; the way Long built up Katherine's strength and resistance to Joseph across the film, I found admirable. Larenz Tate, who played Berry Gordy, shows a great reaction to Michael's rising star; the way Tate is a positive figure to Michael at an early point in the film is a nice note. Miles Teller, who played John Branca, is a real straight-shooter in this; Teller keeps a level playing field and guides Jackson well across their scenes together. Mike Myers, who played Walter Yetnikoff, has a great standout scene in this film; watching Myers play the part of strongarming MTV is a real blast.

However, the best performance came from Juliano Valdi, who played Young Michael. I don't think there will be a more powerful child performance this year. Which is a crazy thing to feel after I watched the NZ premiere of Hamnet earlier in the year (if you know, you know). Valdi's take on Michael Jackson as a child is electric; this is a young boy who feels the music he is performing to his very core. He moves about a set effortlessly; the dancing here will blow you away. But I loved how gentle and earnest he was. Valdi established that Michael is a bit off-kilter but also sincere. I also think he portrayed the struggle between father and son the best out of all the performers working that storyline. Watching Valdi barely hold himself together after a moment of abuse was like walking on crushed glass. This is a young actor who should go a long way; there's talent here in spades.

The issue with Michael is that it often feels safe, but more than that, it feels like it holds a substantial amount back. Biopic films that focus on musicians have been a constant staple of late, and Michael is one of the more basic ones I've watched. This is a simple rags-to-riches story, with minimal roadblocks and some mild interpersonal struggle scattered in. It's not trying to be inventive like Bohemian Rhapsody or Better Man were. The whole story feels quite condensed or even edited down. Chunks of life story have been ripped clean out, and what's left feels like the Michael Jackson story they're okay with telling us. Michael is a surface-level deep film that struggles to find detail in its narrative. It is also clear that Michael is an unusual protagonist. Yet the things that make him strange feel oddly taboo and like they can only be talked about so much. He hides in childish things, but the film seems afraid of examining the why there too closely. Michael really could have been a strong character study, but in truth, it just wants to celebrate the rise of Michael Jackson's celebrity.

Michael Jackson bought a range of animals in his time, and this film lightly covers this. The result of this is some absolutely uncanny CGI animals completely ruining the flow of this narrative from time to time.

Colman Domingo, who played Joseph Jackson, hits a pretty singular note across this; the mean-spirited, selfish father figure gets quite played out. Laura Harrier, who played Suzanne de Passe, is a figure who is there to be the tantalising door to the music industry; but Harrier isn't really playing much of a character here at all. KeiLyn Durrel Jones, who played Bill Bray, is framed as an odd father figure substitute to Joseph throughout the film; this is a performance that awkwardly observes but rarely feels vital to the scene. Kendrick Sampson, who played Quincy Jones, is entirely irrelevant to the plot of this film; Sampson and Jackson don't even pair nicely together in their scenes. 

There are pieces of a good story here amid the formulaic, bizarre musical biopic. I would give Michael a 6/10.

Fuze

This review may contain spoilers!

Fuze is a heist thriller following a military bomb disarmament unit locking down a few city blocks in London to disarm a recently unearthed WWII bomb. At the same time, a band of opportunistic thieves use the lockdown to perform a bank heist.

I found this an incredibly interesting thriller, one that was prepared to change itself to keep the audience hooked. At first, what we have is quite an operational high-stakes glimpse into a major event that forces military, law enforcement and other units of government to come together to protect innocent lives from this bomb threat. The additional element of a band of thieves steadily working throughout this lockdown also contributes to the tightly paced delivery, with their heist proving extremely methodical. At precise moments, you wonder whether this is the time the thieves would be caught, while at others, the risk of the bomb detonating escalates. The film is stacked with tiny micro-conflicts that shift things into tenser or more unpredictable spaces. Once the large pivotal shift of the film transpires, the dangerous elements really unravel, and our focus lies with the heist. Seeing double crosses play out, secrets become revealed and intensive shoot-outs play out, leave you guessing to the very end who our final triumphant characters will be. There is a strange sense of satisfaction in watching who walks away, regardless of how likable the characters themselves are. Fuze is a thriller where you might notice the cards it has up its sleeve, yet it spins its story very well.

This film has a very simplistic, everything precisely in the frame approach. We move and hold with the characters who lead the screen; this is a film that invites you to observe as it all unfolds steadily. The editing for Fuze is absolutely tight; it keeps an incredible pace and moves through scenes in a way that only serves the story that is being told. The score might not be the most impressive of 2026, but it manages to keep a tense feeling of anxiety going in crucial scenes.

Theo James, who played Karalis, is a pretty slippery criminal mastermind here; James' role is riding the stress and high of this caper the most out of anyone. Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who played Chief Superintendent Zuzana, is a very stoic leader; Mbatha-Raw does a good job at showing a reserved and effective figure of authority. Saffron Hocking, who played Military Sergeant Dootsie Keane, is a strong foil to Taylor-Johnson's more aloof lead; Hocking banters with her lines impressively while switching into a more abrasive military manner when called for. 

However, the best performance came from Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who played Will Tranter. This might be a smaller film than some of Taylor-Johnson's recent leading work, but it also reflects how much he has grown as a performer. There is no point in this film where you don't believe Will is a man of action who is seasoned in difficult scenarios such as this. Taylor-Johnson commands the military response scenes, barking orders and holding the unit together with a casual grit. Yet, it's the scenes where his command is challenged that I loved; watching him grow stubborn and upset was a nice switch. Seeing the sort of compassionate soldier he was and the path he chose in that final flashback was a great piece of acting from Taylor-Johnson to close us out.

Fuze is a well-written, precise piece of cinema that isn't too hard to follow. This is the sort of feature that signposts where it's going pretty hard, and I felt the mystery would have been richer with some more subtlety. The way this thriller becomes so heightened near the end, with a scrabble for success, felt a bit messier than the polished first half. The final flashback scene, paired with the humorous credits roll, felt a bit unnecessary. It was an endpoint that had me wishing the film just trusted the audience to be smart enough to read it. The use of comedy before a full cut to credits just seemed tonally jarring when compared to the movie we had been watching.

The soundtrack for this film had some cool tracks, but a really strange mix of genres that made no real sense. The jump from reggae to a folk-rock thing really had me scratching my head.

Sam Worthington, who played X, isn't much more than a big grunt with a few more lines than most; whatever leading man talent Worthington used to wield has abandoned him here. Elham Ehsas, who played Rahim, has his own subplot that doesn't intrigue as much as the others; Ehsas is really held on his own to tell his story, which struggles.

A tense play-by-play that turns into a lively heist thriller. I would give Fuze a 7.5/10.