The House With A Clock In Its Walls

This review may contain spoilers!

There's a famous saying about making a film: The hardest things in a film to work with are kids and animals; the director should probably have heeded the kids warning. I would give The House With A Clock In Its Walls a 1.5/10.

Lorenza Izzo, who played the Mother, is a really nice sentimental point of connection and security for the young protagonist; Izzo does a stellar job at steadily shifting her scenes to a darker and more unnerving tone.

However, the best performance came from Cate Blanchett, who played Florence Zimmerman. Blanchett has a very refined poise throughout this piece, creating a role who is elegant and proper. It's really entertaining to see the chemistry between Blanchett and Black, watching the pair banter and quickfire dialogue between one another is a treat. What sets Blanchett apart so clearly in this film is how well she layers in and presents Florence's backstory. We can really hear her heartbreak over losing her family in the Nazi occupation of Paris, and the subsequent lack of self-confidence and outrage at Black for abandoning his own family make this a brilliant sub-plot. Not only is Cate Blanchett the heart of this film, but she also spends most of the feature carrying the entire production.

This whole film is pretty hard to redeem so I'll break down some of the key issues. For starters there's a lot of different genres at play that can make this a rather confusing film to watch; there are a number of horror, comedy and family film features all set to a fantasy backdrop. The film didn't really understand how to manage pacing either; dragging its feet for a long period before suddenly taking a massive leap forward in the section. The number of times exposition and story is presented through grainy flashback grows old pretty quickly too. The worst aspect of this film was just how much the film relied upon its child protagonist, this was not an actor who had the range to keep you hooked throughout. The cinematography impressed initially but then the camerawork grew very repetitive and recycled the placement of cameras a number of times. The special effects were plain ghastly and didn't align with the rest of the live-action set and performers; the hedge-lion or cartoonish armchair were serious eye-sores and whoever decided to put Jack Black's head on a baby body seriously needs to re-evaluate their creative decisions. The score for the film is cheesy, there is an attempt here to make music that sets up minor scares and spooky scenes but the rather camp melody doesn't lend itself very strongly to this effect.

Jack Black, who played Jonathan Barnavelt, seems like he's playing two different roles for most of the film: a serious warlock that the writer and director designed and Jack Black; the fact this role feels like he hasn't been worked on very much is a bit of a let down and makes the film hard to take seriously. Owen Vaccaro, who played Lewis Barnavelt, is one of the worst casting decisions that could have been made for the leading role; Vacarro has proven himself a lot over the last few years to be one of the really hard to watch performers in Hollywood and that just shines through in a leading role. Kyle MacLachlan and Renee Elise Goldsberry, who played Isaac Izard and Selena Izard respectively, really come into this film and ham up the antagonist roles big time; the pair seem so stiff and detached from one another that it's impossible to really view them as aligned, compelling villains. Colleen Camp, who played Mrs Hanchett, stumbles through this role; you really feel like Camp is only given the number of scenes she has for the Goldsberry reveal down the line. Sunny Suljic, who played Tarby Corrigan, gives a pretty stereotypical portrayal of a school bully; Suljic's ever dour expression and miserable attitude makes him difficult to perceive as this so-called popular class president. Vanessa Anne Williams, who played Rose Rita Pottinger, is one of the most unnecessary roles in the film which isn't necessarily due to Williams; this character just comes off as a forced last-minute romance sub-plot which is just plain uncomfortable to see Williams and Vaccaro play out.

Johnny English Strikes Again

This review may contain spoilers!

I have to say, this is probably my favourite Johnny English film yet. I would give Johnny English Strikes Again a 7/10.

Something that has really surprised me about the back half of this year is just how good comedy films are to watch again, films like Tag and The Happytime Murders have already impressed and now the third Johnny English film comes along staving off any semblance of sequel-itis. The strength of these spy comedies is the real slapstick, quirky nature behind the main protagonist, he's completely captivating to watch and manages to find a new shtick in each new scene. This is a film in which comedic timing is perfect, punchlines are set up clearly and each major skit-like scene has the audience doubled up laughing. The cinematography is the best it has ever looked in a Johnny English film, using dynamic camerawork for high pursuit chases or exquisite establishing shots of settings where confrontation shall occur. The score manages to maintain the light tone well, yet the real strength is the soundtrack with one of the best scenes in the film utilising Darude's 'Sandstorm' extremely well.

Emma Thompson, who played the Prime Minister, gives a hilarious Theresa May-esque parody in this film; her tirades around inaction and a desperate need to be near alcohol make for a rather entertaining political figure. Olga Kurylenko, who played Ophelia, does an amazing job at presenting this lethal spy alongside Atkinson's extremely bumbling one; Kurylenko presents a character who is cool under pressure and has the capacity to be extremely deadly. Ben Miller, who played Bough, is a truly welcome returning role; Miller was missed in Johnny English Reborn and it's nice to see him return with such strong chemistry alongside his onscreen partner. Michael Gambon, Edward Fox and Charles Dance, who played Former MI-7 Agents respectively, are a really nice unexpected cameo; this is a scene of immense acting talent presenting a sense of decorum that contrasts nicely with Atkinson's English.

However, the best performance came from Rowan Atkinson, who played the title role of Johnny English. It's no great shock that Atkinson shines throughout he has in all the other films up to this point. Where it really stems from is just how much he attempts with the role, always trying a new gag or piece of physical comedy. Atkinson is just so purposeful and expressive in how he performs, there's never a point where the comedy feels lewd or crass because he's just so natural at making humour feel clear and effortless. This is one of those nice roles where he has to be shown as exceptionally serious while doing things the audience can perceive to be silly, a contrast Atkinson has to a fine art at this point.

This film completely nails every aspect that makes it a comedy, there are non-stop laughs at most every turn. The problem comes when you take the time to focus upon the plot. Throughout the antagonist proclaims how much he loves 'data', all while spouting some technical jargon that never really makes any sense. His big plan? To shut off the internet and hold the world hostage as a result. Not only is this such a played out plot but as we've seen in the past the screenwriter just doesn't have the knowledge to be writing anything like that. The result is something just over the top and nonsensical, it's a step down from the moments of clever comedic wit shown throughout. The special effects for the film aren't amazing either, a lot of the green screen settings feel imposed and the submarine missile launch scene (while hilarious) feels quite superficial because the film suddenly relies on such a significant technical element.

Jake Lacy, who played Jason, has had a rough run so far this year; his antagonist in Rampage was less than successful and now his portrayal of a tech mogul who never really seems fully convinced with what he's talking about is quite the let down too. Adam James, who played Pegasus, is the first excessively bland portrayal of Pegasus we've had in a Johnny English film; James just pushes exposition and a dry tone often falling to the background in scenes with Miller, Atkinson and Thompson.

The Predator

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Admittedly the Predator films have generally been more miss than hit but this feature is certainly carrying the flag for worst Predator film yet. I would give The Predator a 3/10.

This film has fairly engaging action scenes, moments where intensity can suddenly break out and you're briefly diverted from the weak plot into a mindless joy ride of gunfire and explosions. Something that this film manages to strangely craft for itself is an entertaining tone; you find yourself laughing at a weak line of dialogue or comedic beat because the film roots itself so heavily in this jovial atmosphere. This is certainly a lighter version of the Predator which doesn't necessarily work but it certainly crafts the tone well. The special effects look great in two major scenes; the opening scene and near the end of the final act. This is because a significant amount of the work that went into the effects of this film is in the alien spacecraft; making for some interesting visuals and set pieces alike.

Jacob Tremblay, who played Rory McKenna, has fast come to fame as one of the most talented young performers in Hollywood and that stays consistent here; while the plot behind this child with Aspergers is flakey there's certainly no getting away from the stunning work Tremblay does in depicting the mannerisms and vulnerability of his role.

However, the best performance came from Trevante Rhodes, who played Nebraska Williams. From the start you soon get the feeling that you're going to like Rhodes in his role; you also get the impression he is going to be woefully underused. This performance is entertaining because this character is so laidback and resigned to his fate of imprisonment and sentence of 'insanity'. Yet what sets Rhodes apart is how he slowly begins to reveal his character and the motivations behind him as the film progresses. Seeing this role so low and lost, filled with regret over not being able to finish the job or not being able to be the person he could've been is a great subplot to observe. The world-weary yet charismatic soldier Rhodes gives us is every bit more fascinating than Holbrook as the protagonist, someone should let the casting director know.

This film is a very messy thing to watch. From the beginning we are thrown into this big conflict between two Predators and given little context as to what we're seeing; this wouldn't be so bad if we weren't then introduced to four different main protagonists, three separate important plot devices and one unnamed alien investigating organisation that never gets explored much outside of the fact that it's 'government'. Feeling a little overwhelmed? Well, then you're getting a good sense of the film already. As the film progresses we get a scatter-bomb of weird developments that just don't make a lot of sense: really lowbrow or poorly written dialogue, a very unnecessary nude scene, a bunch of unlikeable side characters and a betrayal from the unnamed government organisation (big shock!). In the second act the film takes a weird twist and becomes more like an old family film; the main child protagonist comes into prominence, there are alien dogs who become somewhat domesticated and alien creatures explode into goop that looks like something out of the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards. The final act all rounds out with a pretty underwhelming final fight and the revelation of some weirdly Iron Man looking Predator armour that goes beyond tacky. The cinematography is horrible for an action film, often poorly framed and not setting up anything appealing or dynamic. The special effects aren't so great when the focus isn't on the spaceships, the Predator creatures don't look very good, the invisibility design looks somehow worse than any film that has come before and the alien dogs feel like something that should have been left on the cutting room floor. The score that feels beat for beat like a copy of the score from the original Predator film seems to beg us to attribute nostalgia to what we're viewing, but ultimately it's like watching a poorly half-completed jigsaw puzzle with pieces from about five different boxes.

Boyd Holbrook, who played Quinn McKenna, should never have been cast in a leading role; Holbrook's drawling tone and casual approach to performance make him boring and repetitive to watch. Keegan Michael-Key, Thomas Jane, Alfie Allen and Augusto Aguilera, who played Coyle, Baxley, Lynch and Nettles respectively, is a unique idea for a group of side characters in theory but in practice these were a set of personalities reading bad dialogue who did not match up with one another at all; reasonable from someone like Aguilera who hasn't left much of a mark onscreen yet but I expected a lot more from the rest. Olivia Munn, who played Casey Bracket, never really feels like a scientist and doesn't seem to present the background to her character very well; Munn has a habit of being a bland addition to an action feature but it's a shame to see her have so much screen time in this one. Sterling K. Brown, who played Traeger, doesn't seem to know what sort of role he's playing; at times we get the brutally serious government agent yet sometimes this can fall aside to an almost maniacal, macho hothead. Yvonne Strahovski, who played Emily, is that necessary bridge between Tremblay and Holbrook but unfortunately fails to connect with either of them; Strahovski feels a bit tacked on at times and even her 'big speech' scene has no punch to it.

The Nun

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They took the scariest part of The Conjuring 2 and made it relatively not scary to watch in its own film. I would give The Nun a 5.5/10.

This feature does a great job when it functions as a dark fantasy, exploring an ancient demonic threat and laying out the adventure needed to counter the threat. The Nun crafts an interesting history around how the Catholic Church confronts supernatural entities, and in particular shows how Valak came to find a means of entering the material world. Throughout there are some exquisite establishing shots that capture the rich setting; there is also a sense of constant motion through cinematography which allows many scares to be set up.

Ingrid Bisu, who played Sister Oana, is a very earnest role who is driven by a need to drive out the darkness; Bisu really deftly evolves her earnest desire to help into a developing anxiety and fear for the evil that stalks the abbey. Gabrielle Downey, who played The Abbess, is surprisingly more frightening than her nun counterpart; Downey instils a sense of dread for events to come and her delivery is classic horror film.

However, the best performance came from Demian Bichir, who played Father Burke. Bichir has an incredible sense of gravitas when it comes to this role; you sense that there's a history to him and that he has seen some absolutely horrific sights. The steady resolution that stems from Father Burke makes him an interesting protagonist for a horror feature, he seems ready to confront threats of the supernatural which is what makes these Conjuring universe films so interesting. Bichir is extremely good-natured, sharing some great on-screen chemistry with his co-stars. Ultimately, this is an incredibly unique heroic figure who perfectly suits the horror scene.

The problem with this film is that it doesn't really know what it wants to be, often toeing the line between horror and dark fantasy. The two genres borrow from one another quite distinctly yet when the film starts feeling more like an adventure than a group of protagonists being terrorised by an entity you know you've lost your horror qualities. The film delivers in-depth exposition about this supernatural history between the Church and demons but fails to build up a sense of dread within the plot. The entire second act is devoted to a litany of jump scares or horror scenes but never takes the time to explore the plot further or establish motives for the antagonist. When the film takes a turn to hunt the threat rather than surviving it you get the sense things have lost their way and this can't be made any clearer than the overly sweet happy ending and loose connection back to the Conjuring films. The antagonist isn't very well explored considering she's the title character; she has several moments that seem to conflict with her role in Conjuring 2 and watching her attempt to banter with one of the protagonists is a fairly cringeworthy third act development. The editing for the film is pitifully slow, even when there's a need for quicker moments in the scary scenes. Worse than this there's a multitude of poor production moments; such as the obvious smoke machine fog or the way make-up has been applied to the main antagonist and zombie nuns. The score comes off as generic and cheesy, while the soundtrack is barely there, offering up a morsel to give this film some semblance of a time period setting.

Taissa Farmiga, who played Sister Irene, gives a very soft performance; you don't always follow her motivations or drive to remain in the scenario she is in. Jonas Bloquet, who played Frenchie, is an ill-fitting role for a horror film; Bloquet plays a suave action hero capable of banter but this can really draw you out of a scene that is doing it's best to be scary.

Mile 22

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You put Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg together and you get cinematic magic almost every time. I would give Mile 22 an 8.5/10.

This is really leading the charge as one of the strongest thrillers I've seen so far this year; every time I thought I could expect a direction the narrative would take I would be pleasantly surprised by a well-established twist. The strength of a film like this is how solidly recognisable it is: a gritty glimpse into an American black ops team and the missions they run on foreign and domestic soil. At first, this team seems bulletproof, cool and clear-cut American heroes, albeit a few moral grey areas here and there. Yet as they embark upon the mission this film centres around we see that even the best stumble; even as some of the heroes fall we hold onto hope and the ending this feature provides is nothing short of exemplary. The cinematography really plays around with different angles and shots to construct a very chaotic picture, you see moments of a scene from views you would never have dreamed of with daring framing to top it off. The editing complements this sense of deliberate chaos, cutting at an unpredictable pace and setting some transitions that really move the action forward perfectly. The score for the feature is akin to something out of a modern wasteland, a hollow bass that rings out over the action and emboldens the melancholy scenes most of all.

Lauren Cohan, who played Alice Kerr, is an extremely violent and foul-mouthed operative; Cohan's great strength is she shows her role's deep connection to others so strongly, no other performer shows such great on-screen chemistry with the wide range of cast members outside of Wahlberg. John Malkovich, who played Bishop, comes into this film as an almost relaxed 'holier-than-thou' eye in the sky; Malkovich takes a character who wields supreme tactical power and grounds them, making them a likeable role we connect with almost instantly. Ronda Rousey, who played Sam Snow, is a performance I feel is going to surprise a lot of people; Rousey certainly plays a soldier who is comparable to a sledgehammer but more significantly the way she portrays a fear of death in her final scenes is one of the better moments in the entire feature. Sam Medina, who played Axel, is a brilliant antagonist set against the protagonist in this film; Medina has an entertaining way of playing of Wahlberg that makes their scenes together extremely intense.

However, the best performance came from Mark Wahlberg, who played James Silva. Wahlberg has just been outdoing himself with his roles in most films in the past few years but this one is certainly his stand out performance for 2018. The character of Silva has a stony, eerily calm approach to combat and conflict when first he's introduced; this is the stone cold American soldier we've seen in films before. Yet Wahlberg flips that perception on us almost immediately, unveiling a frantic operator whose thoughts race at a million miles a minute and whose every line drips with exasperation. This wouldn't be a Wahlberg role if the character wasn't capable of great displays of wit, showing a comradely sense of humour with his team. Silva is a menacing, intimidating protagonist; and when all is said and done Wahlberg takes this stone cold role and shows the compassion within as he diverts from the mission to save Cohan's role, Alice. A brilliant character and performance, one I would watch again and again.

The film follows a pretty simple formula which isn't surprising but does make this a little simple to watch in places. The entire premise being to move from point A to point B means that we can see how the plot has to start and end can fairly accurately reason out where issues may arise along the way. Furthermore, the final minutes of the film take away from what could have a very powerful ending by teasing more to come, the result isn't as poignant because we are teased that the battle isn't done; a message which seems counterintuitive to how events have played out.

Iko Uwais, who played Li Noor, is a significantly important plot point but a rather boring character to watch; Uwais doesn't show this character to be anything other than a bag of cool looking fighting tricks and minimal substance. Carlo Alban, who played William Douglas III, is the weak link of the main black ops team; his place in the team is never really explored and Alban feels tacked on to make up numbers. Natasha Goubskaya and Nikolai Nikolaeff, who played Vera and Aleksander respectively, are important as the main antagonists but don't have a lot of presence in the film; these are roles you would forget if the film didn't clip in their faces every fifteen or so minutes. Terry Kinney, who played Johnny Porter, is one of the drier political roles; Kinney doesn't really hold his own in the aggressive scenes he shares with Wahlberg, making for a rather impotent role.