Solo: A Star Wars Story

This review may contain spoilers!

This is something different for Star Wars and if you're open to something new then you're in for something special. I would give Solo: A Star Wars Story a 9/10.

This is classic heist film with a Star Wars backdrop, it's so effective because it's a universe you love to delve into and be a part of with a narrative that is so unique and different from anything Star Wars has done before. The thrilling high stakes adventure lead by a cocky protagonist filled with bravado is a lot of fun and knows how to balance comedy with serious action. The narrative deals some heavy moments and you get a very insightful glimpse into the more everyday side of the Star Wars underbelly. This is a journey that will take you on many twists and turns, with references to all aspects of the Star Wars universe and moments fans have heard about but only dreamed of being able to visualise. The cinematography doesn't shirk this need to visualise at all, you get some stunning blockbuster shots coupled with perfectly framed moments fans have been craving, such as Han and Chewie flying the Falcon together for the first time. To no one's great surprise the visual effects look superb, the ship sequences, in particular, are a standout and the train heist is certainly enhanced by visual effects. The score for the film has some nice homage to famous tracks from past Star Wars films, yet it's the way this film makes a sound that is so lively and thrilling that truly captures the essence of what Solo is going for here.

Alden Ehrenreich, who played Han Solo, had a lot of people sceptical as he had some massive shoes to fill; yet Ehrenreich pulls off the smug smuggler with an ease that is a real credit to his ability as a performer. Joonas Suotamo, who played Chewbacca, has made a great transition into the role of Chewie; Suotamo really gives this role a light-hearted take and has really assumed the mantle well. Emilia Clarke, who played Qi'ra, is such a likeable role and has incredible romantic chemistry with Ehrenreich; yet Clarke does a nice job at sowing the seeds that make us begin to question her motivations somewhat and the arc her character goes through is subtle yet very well set up. Donald Glover, who played Lando Calrissian, really plays upon the more flamboyant and extravagant persona of Lando to make for quite a comedic performance; the rivalry established between him and Ehrenreich is great and makes for some of the best scenes in the film. Thandie Newton, who played Val, is very tough and aggressive which immediately establishes her as probably the most capable in Harrelson's crew; yet her tough exterior is countered by her very grounded outlook on life which makes for a very bittersweet minor role that you'll really feel for. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who played L3-37, is such a funny role that carries a strong comedic presence throughout the entire role; the presentation of a droid who hasn't been mindwiped developing a deep outrage over the lack of droid rights is a fun shtick that works well in the film. Paul Bettany, who played Dryden Vos, is a great antagonist that you come to dread; he seems very caring and interested in others but is constantly threatening and exhibiting violence - a great Star Wars crime lord to say the least. Sam Witwer and Ray Park, who voiced and played Maul respectively, bring a fan favourite character back to the big screen flawlessly; Star Wars has done some great twists like Vader being Luke's father or Han being killed by Kylo and the revelation of Darth Maul in this film is certainly amongst them.

However, the best performance came from Woody Harrelson, who played Beckett. This is a role that is the foundation for what Han Solo becomes: a scoundrel with a heart of gold. When first we meet Beckett he is so full of life and takes risks at every turn, with his crew behind him he is probably one of the best out there. Yet Harrelson does a good job of showing the slow shift in his role; the grief his character has over the loss of his crew that transitions to desperation at the possibility of losing his life at the hands of his employer. You see a nice chunk of the film in which Harrelson becomes a mentor to Ehrenreich's Han and finds the possibility of a new crew and future. When this is snatched away in the final act Harrelson really takes his role to the darkest point; betraying those he once cared about and attempting to double/triple cross everyone for his own gain. It's a great role and an absolutely brilliant performance by Woody Harrelson.

The three-act structure is adhered to strongly here but the problem is the content; each act has a lot to deliver and all are needed to work. However, the vast scale of scenes and subplot being crammed in to establish, advance, explore or explain elements of the plot makes this a lengthy film to watch with some noteworthy pacing issues.

Jon Favreau, who voiced Rio Durant, is a bit obvious as far as characters go; Favreau's character is really here to bring forth exposition from other characters and his function in the narrative isn't really clear beyond that. Erin Kellyman, who played Enfys Nest, is a minor antagonist for most of the film who gets a bit much to watch once we delve into her backstory; Kellyman's character takes the plot in a new direction in the final act and we develop a lot more exposition because of this making her role come across as quite disruptive to watch. Linda Hunt, who voiced Lady Proxima, is supposedly voicing a major crime boss in this film but she doesn't even remotely come across as menacing; Hunt's voicework makes this role feel grandmotherly and cautionary but never a threat making the first act feel a little less dangerous at first.

Deadpool 2

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It's got nothing on the original Deadpool but it sure is a fun outing. I would give Deadpool 2 a 7/10.

This film really excels when it spends time with the title character; which is great because that's most of the film. A lot of this feature stems from Deadpool struggling with loss and finding purpose after this, which is an interesting journey to watch this rather twisted role undertake. The humour lands fairly consistently and is still doing a lot of original jokes around the fourth wall that most American comedies can't even measure up to. The cinematography looks excellent, many scenes rely on intense slow-motion visuals and graphic action sequences. It's no surprise that great special effects go hand in hand with this; a lot of the various death scenes are enhanced by impressive effects and CGI characters such as Cyclops and Juggernaut look well designed. The fight choreography is insanely well done, everything is orchestrated to move fast and often look as creatively brutal as possible. The score really ramps up the feel of this action blockbuster, but the soundtrack perfectly captures the random and completely psychotic nature of Deadpool.

Josh Brolin, who played Cable, is such a gruff hardass that you feel like he's one of the toughest characters in the film; his dark, rough exterior is a nice contrast to the quickfire crass protagonist. Ryan Reynolds, who played Deadpool, is perfect as this role; his fast quips and lewd humour make the role entertaining but the rather natural way Reynolds plays loss and anger in this show his range as a performer. Morena Baccarin, who played Vanessa, has such great chemistry with Reynolds and the pair are a natural onscreen couple; Baccarin's way of portraying a distant, wise conscience to Reynolds' role in this was different but effective. Brad Pitt, Bill Skarsgard, Terry Crews, Rob Delaney and Lewis Tan, who played Vanisher, Zeitgeist, Bedlam, Peter and Shatterstar respectively, make for some very intense roles that really amp you up to see them in an outing as a team; Delaney, in particular, is a stand out for his very 'everyday guy' persona that makes the ridiculousness of his role all the more apparent. T.J. Miller, who played Weasel, still has a very sharp wit to him and can rattle off a number of jokes to the betterment of a scene; Miller's stern approach to being Soni's boss in this is rather amusing, especially compared to the scenes in which we see Weasel as a rather cowardly figure. Stefan Kapicic, who voiced Colossus, is such a kind patient role who really does his best by Deadpool; this film really has a strong focus on the friendship between Deadpool and Colossus and Kapicic does a great job showing that. Nicholas Hoult, James McAvoy, Evan Peters and Tye Sheridan, who played Beast, Charles Xavier, Quicksilver and Cyclops respectively, make for such a fun cameo; they aren't in here long but the effect of them not wanting to engage with Reynolds' character works brilliantly.

However, the best performance came from Zazie Beetz, who played Domino. This role has such a quiet ease and confidence about her that is nice to see; this is made even better when she engages in quickfire banter with Deadpool wit for wit. Beetz really sells Domino as a more casual yet earnest hero, we haven't really seen anything like her before yet immediately we want to see more. This is a character who you can certainly describe as grounded amongst the carnage that is the setting of Deadpool 2 and she fits in nicely.

The Deadpool films like to occasionally make jokes around lazy writing, but this film does it quite a bit almost as an excuse to get away with lazy writing - which makes for a good punchline but not a good narrative. Throughout there's an emphasis on sacrificing moments of good narrative in order to preserve the comedic integrity of the film, without much of an effort to find a balance. Moments in which an important future element of the story is given away in order to make a joke means that the film loses a bit of suspense and ultimately it's a fairly predictable film. The number of new characters and subplots makes this rather busy and there was a lot that could've been either cut out of the feature or shortened for the sake of pacing. A common issue with sequels is when the main character suddenly focuses upon a legacy of theirs, often a kid entering their lives and they don't know how to responsibly handle this; doing this in a Deadpool film was a risk that didn't really pay off.

Brianna Hildebrand and Shioli Kutsuna, who played Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Yukio respectively, are often put in the background of this film as a couple but don't really do all that much; this is quite disappointing in Hildebrand's case as it would have been nice to see this role built upon from the last film. Julian Dennison, who played Russell, is one of the most annoying performances to watch in the film; banking so much on Dennison to deliver a character we can empathise with and care about throughout the narrative of the film was a clear mistake. Jack Kesy, who played Black Tom Cassidy, is a fairly generic henchman role that puts on a tough persona and does little else; Kesy's character is more here to be a punchline and not an actual role. Eddie Marsan, who played the Headmaster, is such an uninspired antagonist that you wonder why someone of his acting calibre was cast in the role; quite simply this could have been anyone because the role did next to nothing and faded into the setting. Leslie Uggams, who played Blind Al, was a nice enough gimmick role in the first film but doesn't have much to do this time around; Uggams really feels tacked on to this film and didn't really lend anything to the narrative besides another setting for dialogue to occur in. Karan Soni, who played Dopinder, was such a fun role in the first film but didn't do so well in a repeat performance; Soni's role scrambles to find his own subplot and it's not as entertaining or as subtle as the first film.

Life Of The Party

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Despite a fun comedic cast, this isn't a film that makes an effort to stand out or do anything different. I would give Life Of The Party a 3.5/10.

The strength of the film lies in its very well written characters, there's a lot of humorous individuals here and you'd be easily entertained by just about any of them. The strength is that whether the scene focuses on the main cast or some characters, you will be hooked in by their personalities and how they interact with one another. Life Of The Party also does a great job of setting itself up for some of the clever punchlines it has planned, resulting in some of the great scenes like the reveal around Jack's character or the divorce meeting scene.

Melissa McCarthy, who played Deanna, really suited the lead protagonist of this film; McCarthy established some very clear witticisms to her role and presented a nice caricature of a mother figure in a youthful setting. Molly Gordon, who played Maddie, really established the horror and embarrassment her character faced rather well; Gordon's growing support and change in outlook as the film progressed was a nice change from familiar tropes. Maya Rudolph, who played Christine, just has such natural chemistry with McCarthy and they feel like close friends onscreen; Rudolph knows when to play up her role and does a great job at showing how her character lives vicariously through her best friend. Adria Arjona and Jessie Ennis, who played Amanda and Debbie respectively, have so much energy in their roles; these could very easily be characters who feel like side roles but they really commit to their scenes making the main group of girls a very visible and accessible friend group to watch. Julie Bowen, who played Marcie, brilliantly encapsulated the vain and arrogant nature of her role; Bowen was a nasty enough antagonist and the horror she displayed when her character got her comeuppance made for a satisfying scene. Matt Walsh, who played Dan, gives quite a dry performance which suits his role well; the very deadpan delivery of this significant divorce makes his and Bowen's character immediately dislikeable. Jacki Weaver and Stephen Root, who played Sandy and Mike respectively, dither a bit and have mildly absurd reactions to many of the events they are privy to in this film; Root's extreme tirades are an especially funny aspect of this relationship. Luke Benward, who played Jack, is a very charismatic and charming role; Benward's portrayal of Jack's infatuation with McCarthy is very well done and an equal balance of humour and sincerity. Chris Parnell, who played Mr Truzack, is quite a dorky professor role that immediately charms; Parnell lends a very supportive and honest quality to this character which makes him rather likeable. Damon Jones, who played Frank, is a very grounded figure which makes his style of comedy quite different from the rest of the cast; Jones plays an ordinary husband quite well and has great chemistry with Rudolph. Heidi Gardner, who played Leonor, deadpans a very dark young adult goth brilliantly; Gardner does a very nice portrayal of the budding feelings of friendship her role feels towards McCarthy's character.

 However, the best performance came from Gillian Jacobs, who played Helen. This is a rather unique role to the film with an intriguing backstory of spending a few years in a coma. Her rather 'out there' persona and unpredictable attitude was a nice contrast to the rest of the film and made her interesting to watch. Jacobs has a very natural way of finding the best means of delivering a line to create comedic impact. This is a role who isn't always at the forefront of the action but who steals the show constantly; you'd almost prefer to see a spinoff about this particular role.

This isn't a story that will surprise you very much, it follows an all too familiar formula and sticks to that fairly close. It's never a feature that sets out to achieve much more than the baseline concept it pitches at you in the first fifteen minutes; so by the time the ending comes around the narrative hasn't taken any surprising twists or turns. In fact, everything about this particular comedy is extremely safe, the main protagonist is never met with any real challenges and never faces strong ramifications for her actions. The cinematography doesn't look impressive, there are multiple scenes that aren't very well framed. The editing also lacks any flair and keeps the narrative at a slow pace. The score for the film is forgettable; while the soundtrack feels like someone picked songs at random for comedic effect without actually thinking if all the tracks would work well together.

Debby Ryan and Yani Simone, who played Jennifer and Trina respectively, are some of the most stereotypical antagonists I've seen in a recent comedy film; Ryan, in particular, seems content playing a catty bully with no personality traits beyond that stereotype. Jimmy O. Yang, who played Tyler, doesn't really serve much of a purpose in this film; he feels like one cast member too many and his chemistry with Gordon just isn't there. Christina Aguilera, who played herself, was an ill-fitting and obvious cameo; Aguilera's role within the film doesn't come as a shock and she certainly doesn't have much when it comes to acting chops.

The Breaker Upperers

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I get pretty embarrassed by how complacent New Zealand cinema has gotten with these dumb, often senseless comedy films that seem to define our film culture now. I would give The Breaker Upperers a 1/10.

This is a film in which the awkward nature of the comedy comes across fairly strong at times, not necessarily for an entire scene at any given point but certainly for some choice moments of dialogue.

James Rolleston, who played Jordan, is nice to see back in front of the camera; his blundering, young role is quite clueless and Rolleston finds a nice comedic direction with him. Ana Scotney, who played Sepa, is a fierce role with a tough exterior; I liked how Scotney balanced this rough exterior but was able to lend some degree of real emotional heartbreak to her character. Rima Te Wiata, who played Jen's Mother, really has a melodramatic performance that works wonders for her; this very vain, poised role is over the top but works well for the tone of this feature.

However, the best performance came from Madeleine Sami, who played Mel. Of the two leading protagonists Sami certainly provides a strong counterbalance to van Beek, often entering scenes with energy and delivering her role with a range of emotion. The strength of this role is a fairly innocent and naive approach to predicaments, she can be bumbling and has a unique comedic presence. The fact she depicts a sense of conflict, both externally and internally throughout shows a strength in her performance and out of all the cast this is one of the roles that actually feels like a character rather than a gag.

This film sets a poor standard almost immediately; setting the idea this is a comedy that will probably only appeal to middle-aged upper-class women who are on their fourth rerun of Absolutely Fabulous. However, the content doesn't even attempt to stay consistent with its original target audience, pitching to a minority crowd and a youthful audience as it develops. It's not really a film with a good sense of story, there's certainly no hint as to what it wants the audience to get out of the experience. At times you wonder if they were actually hoping to make you laugh. This is a film riddled with poor messages about romance, how to handle poor relationships and female friendship and you wonder if anyone bothered to read the script before greenlighting this beast. The cinematography is quite bland and simple, the direction obviously quite amateur or fairly new out. The editing keeps the pacing of this comedy slow and cumbersome; impressive considering the less than 90-minute runtime. The score isn't really there to speak of and the soundtrack is a mishmash that you won't remember walking out of the theatre.

Jackie van Beek, who played Jen, is a stiff, dull character to watch; as a central protagonist van Beek doesn't really work and weighs the film down. Celia Pacquola, who played Anna, has very little screen presence which her meek role is only partly to blame for; this character is introduced as a bit of a shtick but didn't fit well when she was reintroduced into the main narrative. Cohen Holloway, who played Joe, is really just inserted crudely in this film to be looked at; he certainly lacks chemistry with van Beek and Sami and really seems to coast in on his performance. Nic Sampson, who played Jen's Brother, is such a weird role that feels completely out of place; Sampson and van Beek feel so far removed from one another that their relationship as brother and sister really doesn't work.