Ready Or Not

This review may contain spoilers!

This film feels like a fresh bit of flavour in the horror/thriller camp even if it does struggle to find the line between horror grounded in reality and supernatural horror. I would give Ready Or Not a 6.5/10.

Ready Or Not follows Grace, a young woman marrying into the very wealthy Le Domas family; the Le Domas family having earned most of their wealth via their gaming endeavours. Grace has to embark on a game of hide and seek as part of a family marital tradition, yet things take a dark turn when the game turns to a kill or be killed hunt. The entire premise for this feature feels really original in it's execution, there are certainly some great homages to classic horror cinema but I never stopped being impressed by the creativity that was so evident in the writing and direction of this film. I believe what elevated this sensation was the genuine cast of characters assembled, this wasn't like other 'secret killer cult' films but rather took care to make you feel like every role had depth and was interesting. The characters were intimidated by their own undertaking and squabbled amongst one another as you would expect in a twisted high stakes situation. I felt that Grace in particular was this noble figure who really endured yet never operated beyond the boundaries of what would be considered reasonable character development.The cinematography was really carefully framed, utilising gripping close ups and a lot of effective camera movement to enhance the tone and make the audience feel as if they were on the run too. The editing tied it all together nicely and set a strong pace, scenes knew how to drag a shot before a cut or when quick frantic cutting was needed. The score for the film was really impressive, a number of horror scores can fall into the realm of the generic or piggyback off classics but this was music that left you tense from beginning to end.

Samara Weaving, who played Grace, is an incredible protagonist who leads this feature very well; Weaving has some sharp biting retorts and portrays real terror in such a consistent, impressive way. Henry Czerny, who played Tony Le Domas, makes for an intimidating and erratic patriarch of this twisted family; Czerny's aggression and manic desperation to see the hunt come to a close is fascinating to watch. Andie MacDowell, who played Becky Le Domas, is such a welcoming compassionate mother figure at the start of the film; I appreciated MacDowell's dedication to finding the line between good mother and proficient hunter throughout as it really showed a complex duality to her role and the situation. Melanie Scrofano, who played Emilie, is an almost psychotic personality from the minute the hunt begins; Scrofano has this malevolent way of depicting survival for the sake of her young children which is an interesting trope to see turned on its head. Kristian Bruun, who played Fitch Bradley, is a strong source of comedic gold throughout the feature; Bruun is a nice perspective into a family member who is completely outside of what is going on and disbelieving at every turn. Elyse Levesque, who played Charity Le Domas, is this cold merciless role that makes for one of the more memorable antagonists; Levesque is so fiercely bound to her life as a rich woman of power that she begins to set anything aside in pursuit of keeping her way of being.

However, the best performance came from Adam Brody, who played Daniel Le Domas. I think what I liked about the character of Daniel was that he really played against your expectations throughout the feature. When first Brody presents Daniel to us he is this drunken member of the family, on the fringes of their unified image and with nothing but copious amounts of hilarious dry wit. As the film descends into the hunt for Grace you begin to see how worn down Daniel is, the resentment he holds for the game and his inability to reconcile participating at all. Brody and Weaving have an interesting dynamic in which she manages to bring forth the more honourable and good side of his role as the film wears on, ultimately resulting in his rescue attempt and heroic sacrifice for her sake. I also really enjoyed the power struggle Brody had with Czerny, the family patriarch.

Cinema these days really blurs the line between genre on an almost frequent basis, this has resulted in some great films and some confused messes. Where Ready Or Not struggles is finding the middle ground between a slasher/horror thriller and a supernatural horror. The film succeeds when you become invested in these very complex and dynamic characters and the hunt they embark upon, yet there's another side to that coin that holds all the baggage. Any time the film attempts to explore the family's motivations for killing Grace we get caught in a web of exposition around dark pacts and ancient deals with devils. Right near the end of the film there's a moment where the film commits strongly to the supernatural element and it feels really jarring after seeing a split between the two for so long, ultimately it cheapens the film because it feels like it was added for shock value as opposed to enhancing the narrative. Ready Or Not often pushes the boundaries when it comes to showing intense displays of gore as well, which has its moments where it really works but at other moments just feels included to set you on edge and make you feel shocked and uncomfortable. This is a film with a strong concept but more often than not is let down by a shocking, jarring moment that was thrown in as an attempt to curveball the narrative.

Mark O'Brien, who played Alex Le Domas, is the role who is dumped with delivering a weighty amount of the exposition and he really doesn't handle it well; beyond that O'Brien just plain doesn't have all that much chemistry with Weaving and so the scenes where he grapples between loyalties aren't very convincing. Nicky Guadagni, who played Aunt Helene, goes to quite an over the top place with the family member who seems most dedicated to the ritualistic sacrifice; Guadagni never takes a moment to explore what is real for her character and just transports her away to a place that is impossible to connect with from the start. John Ralston, who played Stevens, is pushed really strongly as the main henchman for the antagonists but his motivation always comes across as murky; Ralston never pauses to provide character but instead just launches into full blind physical brutality.

Charlie's Angels

This review may contain spoilers!

It wouldn't be Charlie's Angels if it wasn't a fun action blockbuster with a convoluted plot. I would give Charlie's Angels a 5.5/10.

Charlie's Angels is a soft reboot of the famous action series that follows our heroines from the Charles Townsend Agency as they take on the latest high profile criminal threat. In this film, seasoned Angels, Sabina and Jane, have to protect a promising recruit, Elena, who has developed a device that has the potential to be weaponised on a mass scale. The film really benefits from knowing what it wants to achieve, the end product is a positive tone as the entire feature has such strong messages about positivity and empowerment for women. There is also a real sense of fun and humour with this feature, multiple characters will treat you to dialogue you wish the original films had dreamt of having and I certainly had some scenes that left me laughing. The score for the film is a high energy romp, yet the compiled soundtrack for the film is the real triumph; Charlie's Angels hosts a number of tracks from upcoming young female musicians and it really highlighted the way in which the film attempts to raise women up.

Naomi Scott, who played Elena Houghlin, was a lot of fun as the new trainee Angel; Scott was this really unskilled yet highly excitable up and comer who the audience got to see the thrill of the Angels' world through. Ella Balinska, who played Jane Kano, was the certifiable badass of the group; Balinska had a tough, no nonsense attitude and barrelled into fights like a one woman militia. Patrick Stewart, who played John Bosley, seemed to be having a fair bit of fun portraying one of the admittedly classic camp Charlie's Angels villains; Stewart's smug demeanour and sense of superiority over his enemies made him a good foil for the protagonists.

However, the best performance came from Kristen Stewart, who played Sabina Wilson. Sabina was a complete wild card onscreen, you never knew exactly what she was capable of doing in a scene but it was often guaranteed to be hilarious or exhilarating. Stewart entered scenes like a whirlwind, she felt entirely present at any given moment and never dropped tempo once. The result was this role who had boundless energy, that you absolutely felt was the most charismatic of the team and who had a charming reckless streak. Stewart was flirty and daring like the old Angels but brought a confidence in her own self-worth that highlighted what an Angel written in 2019 would look like. This performance wasn't merely good, it stole the show and has me excited for Kristen Stewart's future performances.

This film is a lot of fun and has some great take away messages but the overall story has a number of issues that let it down. The first act initiates the plot by relying on a really strong heavy handling of the features themes, there's no subtlety and the entire introduction to Elena comes across as quite forced because of this. The entire film becomes a big long pursuit of acquiring one particular item that is just juggled back and forth between the bad guys and the good guys, it's not a very inspired or original storyline and it never tries to find a unique take on this. The moments in which the film does attempt to divert away from the main storyline you get these relatively unnecessary subplots tacked on like Jane's backstory in leaving MI6, Jane's romance with Langston or the intricate web of unnecessary antagonists squaring off against one another and the Angels to boot. There's also a big twist antagonist (to no one's great surprise) and the film plays this out for a little long too, snapping focus back from one surprise character to another. The cinematography utilised throughout the film needed some variety, a number of the close-ups or panning shots used were very repetitive and it wasn't often the film found a style all its own. The editing for the feature was relatively mild for a blockbuster feature too, slow cuts in a scene and some jarring transitions throughout that marred the pacing of the end product.

Elizabeth Banks, who played Bosley, felt like quite a detached mentor/guardian figure; Banks really didn't feel strongly engaged in her scenes, probably because of the split focus with directing, but the role suffered for this. Djimon Hounsou, who played Edgar Bosley, was very similar to Banks in that he came across as a stoic detached mentor figure; this meant that when Hounsou's death scene came around you didn't feel it as much as you should have. Sam Claflin, who played Alexander Brock, gave a very generic performance as the egocentric billionaire; Claflin switches this role to more of a bumbling villain at the end which is fun but it's a bit too little too late. Jonathan Tucker, who played Hodak, looks more like he wandered off the Terminator set than the Charlie's Angels one; Tucker has no emotions at all as the film's token henchman and so he doesn't leave much of an impression. Nat Faxon, who played Peter Fleming, lays on the misogynistic boss rather thick; there isn't a scene in this film where Faxon knows how to dial himself down and not play it over the top. Chris Pang, who played Jonny Smith, felt like a one off antagonist that could be goofy as a gag then the film would move on; in pulling Pang back for repeat scenes the character came off as cheap and an unnecessary element to the feature. Luis Gerardo Mendez, who played the Saint, was another role that was fun as a gag but wore in with repeat appearances; having a novelty 'mind,body, spirit' guru in every Angels HQ was fun until scenes focusing on this role wore on for too long. Noah Centineo, who played Langston, was awkwardly pushed into this film as a forgettable love interest; Centineo's chemistry with Balinska in non-existent onscreen and the whole role was a waste of time. Marie-Lou Sellem, who played Fatima Ahmed, felt like a role who practically appeared out of nowhere; the tense scenes of broken trust between her and Balinska felt like something out of an entirely different film.

Doctor Sleep

This review may contain spoilers!

This is probably as perfect a sequel to The Shining as one could hope for. I would give Doctor Sleep an 8.5/10.

Doctor Sleep is an adaptation of Stephen King's sequel to The Shining; it also frames itself as a loose sequel to the original film as well. Doctor Sleep brings reunites us with Dan Torrance, now an adult, as he grapples with alcoholism and the horrors brought on by his 'shine'. As Dan manages to make things right for himself he finds himself bound to Abra, a young girl with incredibly strong powers who is being hunted by vampiric immortals known as The True Knot. As a sequel I think this was a brilliant character study and got to show us the world Stephen King had built through these two novels. The horror/fantasy element is very well handled and watching how Dan has escaped the evil of the Overlook Hotel since his childhood years is really interesting. The way those who 'shine' are depicted is quite fascinating as well, you see a variety of powers and the ways in which they emerge throughout this film and that is offset by the horrific nature of the cult-like antagonists hunting them. I think what impressed me most about the narrative was how Dan Torrance was examined as a character. When we meet him as an adult in the film he seems like a shell of a person, addled by alcoholism, drug use and getting into random violent fights. The film feels a journey about how Dan finds his way back to sobriety and the good nature that is at the heart of his role; it's a really interesting point of divergence from Dan's father Jack, who attempted to get clean at the Overlook and was instead corrupted by the entities there. Having found himself clean and renewed with purpose Dan begins getting contacted by Abra which launches them both into a large conflict to save her from those that would feast upon her shine. By taking on a mentor role to this young girl Dan is stepping up into a greater area of responsibility, just as Dick Hallorann was a guide and protector for Dan when he was a child. Inevitably all parties are brought together at the Overlook and Dan must face his greatest demons in order to save Abra; this is personified in what is the film's crowning scene, a dialogue between Dan and the cursed spirit of his father Jack. There's a lot to say about this scene but all I want to note is that it's right up there as one of the best cinematic scenes I've had the pleasure of watching this year. The cinematography throughout is a clever blend of homage and captivating ingenuity; there were some shots that really took you back to The Shining and some that I feel should make this film have a status all its own. The visual effects were phenomenal, I liked the design for how the True Knot fed and I was also really impressed with how they did scenes like Rose the Hat mentally tracking down Abra. The score for the film is haunting and melodic, yet has it's own melancholy reflective tone that I think captured the heart of the film.

Rebecca Ferguson, who played Rose The Hat, hasn't had a role this absolutely phenomenal in a short while; Ferguson is this calculating, hungry antagonist that teaches you exactly who to be afraid of throughout the feature. Kyliegh Curran, who played Abra Stone, has to be one of the best young talents I've seen in a film this year; Curran is staggering as this highly confident powerful kid and shows an expressive range consistently. Cliff Curtis, who played Billy Freeman, is a really charismatic good-natured role that is impossible to dislike; his loyalty and bond with McGregor make this duo an onscreen friendship that is remarkably likeable. Zahn McClarnon, who played Crow Daddy, is a very calm, level-headed antagonist who frames nicely against Ferguson's Rose; I liked McClarnon in particular because he wasn't preternaturally bloodthirsty as some of the True Knot were, he was strategic in how he plotted his kidnapping and murder which made for a good villain. Emily Alyn Lind, who played Snakebite Andi, is a really interesting performance into corruption; Alyn Lind first presents Andi as a young woman doing something questionably good and from there is dragged into the world of the True Knot and twisted into becoming a bloodthirsty killer. Carl Lumbly, who played Dick Hallorann, is perfect as Dan's mentor and conscience throughout the film; Lumbly's almost spiritual perspective on delivering exposition about the shining is phenomenal line delivery. Thomas Downing, who played The Bartender/Jack Torrance, has to be one of the driving forces behind one of my favourite scenes of the film; Downing did for this role what Nicholson did back in the original Shining while crafting a good foil for McGregor to play against. Bruce Greenwood, who played Dr John, is an admittedly minor role in this film but a kind character and important in Dan's early journey; Greenwood delivers a sense of quiet understanding and compassion that allows Dan to find his way back to embracing his shine as a good thing once again. Alex Essoe and Roger Dale Floyd, who played Wendy Torrance and Young Danny, made me feel like I was stepping back into a time machine and watching The Shining all over again; Essoe in particular had that soft, protective composure that so famously marked the role of Wendy. Jacob Tremblay, who played Bradley Trevor, is another great performer in a smaller role that really leaves you with an impression; Tremblay gives the best portrayal of blind terror you'll see from a kid of this age as he's strung up and murdered.

However, the best performance came from Ewan McGregor, who played Dan Torrance. I couldn't call this incredible sequel a character piece without high praising the actor portraying the character himself. McGregor goes to great pains to show Dan as a very tortured soul at first, he's haunted by the memories from his childhood and fallen into some of the abusive habits his father partook in. This role is almost pleading to get well and find purpose separate from his shine and when he begins to discover that we get this really joyful moment of clarity. McGregror gets to play to Dan discovering how his shine can be of assistance to others, using his position as an orderly at a hospice to help the elderly there who need him. This calling continues to extend as Dan reluctantly becomes a mentor to Abra and has to put aside his own fears in service of his charge. The journey Dan goes through from dejected and alone, to good and compassionate is a powerful one and really comes together nicely when he faces all that has ever challenged him when he returns to the Overlook in order to save Abra's life.

This film did stumble through exposition at times, I think for the most part the explanation of what was supernatural really worked but Doctor Sleep couldn't escape a few overly lengthy or cheesy moments born of this error. The introduction at the start of the film that followed closely on the heels of The Shining went for a little long as well, it was clear they had a lot to establish but it meant the film had a slow start. The editing for the film was impressive in terms of visual effects but the cutting together of the piece left a lot to be desired. The slow fades and abrupt cuts felt decades old and it really interrupted the flow of the piece at times.

Zackary Momoh and Jocelin Donahue, who played David Stone and Lucy Stone, are some of the only members of the cast who don't really seem as certain on how to get the best from their roles; what you wind up getting from this pair is a pretty stereotypical portrayal of parental figures in a supernatural feature.

Terminator: Dark Fate

This review may contain spoilers!

I have enjoyed a lot of these Terminator films for a while and this is another good instalment in the series. I would give Terminator: Dark Fate a 7.5/10.

Terminator: Dark Fate is the sixth instalment in the Terminator series and yet another direct sequel to Terminator 2: Judgement Day. In Dark Fate Skynet has fallen and a new threat has arisen, Legion, a military AI hellbent on the eradication of the human race. Augmented soldier, Grace, is sent back in time to save Dani Ramos, the future leader of the human resistance before Legion can kill her first. How the film enhances the Terminator universe is really interesting, I think the way in which the threat of Skynet being dismantled as it was by the end of T2 was well done and the heightened threat of Legion was extremely impressive. The film utlised a number of flash forwards, used the enhanced human fighter and the new Rev-9 model terminators to really hook you into the action; the stakes felt higher than ever and it was a real thrill to watch. I think seeing Grace's journey unfold as she went from being a scavenger, to resistance fighter, to an enhanced human was powerful and you saw the levels of sacrifice a person would be willing to go for a cause they believe in with her. Perhaps the best storyline was that of Sarah Connor's, seeing her lost and alone after a tragedy in the past I thought it was a great direction that she was a rogue Terminator hunter now. Watching her grapple with her past and having to trust Grace and Carl felt like a good journey for her character and you saw a lot of what happened to her reflected in Dani. The cinematography throughout this film makes you feel very present in the action, it was such an immersive experience that kept you in motion and hooked you with fantastic visuals. The special effects throughout the film were the best this franchise has seen; whether that be from the designs of the various Terminator models, post-apocalyptic settings or mid-air plane collisions this spared nothing in an effort to leave the audience wowed. The score for Dark Fate was adrenaline fuel if ever I heard it, perfect for the grand scale blockbuster this is and with multiple callbacks to some of the famous tracks from the original films.

Linda Hamilton, who played Sarah Connor, is unapologetically the toughest person in any scene and does not back down for a fight even if she's entirely outmatched; Hamilton wears the years of grief and futility her character has known really well and you understand her bitterness. Mackenzie Davis, who played Grace, is an exceptional fighter who is unbreakable and determined to see the purpose of her mission through to the end; Mackenzie's struggles with being made augmented give her role a lot of complexity which is only heightened by her tearful recounting of the future she has come from. Diego Boneta, who played Diego Ramos, is a really charismatic and altogether innocent young man; Boneta really sells you on the sibling chemistry between him and Reyes which makes his scene of self-sacrifice really profound. Diego Luna, who played the Rev-9, was instantly a classic Terminator model akin to a performance as memorable as Schwarzenegger's was back in the day; Luna is entirely remorseless, precise and dangerous in every scene he is in.

However, the best performance came from Arnold Schwarzenegger, who played the T-800/Carl. Schwarzenegger is the face of these films and has spent more time with them than any other cast member from the franchise. I think experience like that really shows in this film because every scene he's in his performance feels very purposeful and reasoned. He has all the classic rigid and stoic mannerisms that make the T-800 so famously mechanical and inhuman. But by inhabiting this role for so long he also has the capacity to play against what you know and present a humanlike Terminator in the form of Carl. It's not an easy character by any stretch but emotions like guilt, regret, love, sympathy and loyalty come through in how Schwarzenegger presents Carl but he's very good at showing these emotions in a limited capacity to make you believe he has gone as far as a machine can to being human. I also have to say he is just about the funniest performance you'll get all film, his serious yet passionate explanation of what living as a man who owns a drapery is like is probably my favourite scene.

This film was nothing short of stunning blockbuster material, but it suffers from one big issue that a number of blockbusters fall prey to. This film has a lot of stunt or effects heavy action scenes and these are offset with big lengthy moments of dialogue and exposition, giving insight about the characters and feeding the audience key information. Any film like this has to find the moment of balance between these types of scenes and Dark Fate really struggles with finding this balance; not at first, but certainly as the feature wears on. Action sequences begin to get repetitive or they don't seem to find an ending, the flip side is we get long moments of lengthy explanations from characters that just come across as dialogue heavy. A major problem the film suffers with is the Terminator's new target: Dani Ramos. As a character Dani is very black and white, there's never much given to her in terms of depth; but the film tries to do a 'big twist' and reveal that unlike Sarah Connor it isn't her son that will save the world but her. This revelation might have surprised a lot of people back when they were making T2 but it wasn't a huge shock and as a role Dani is far from convincing as humanity's saviour. The film ties itself strongly to being a sequel to T2 but in the first two minutes of the film kills off a fan favourite main character in a pretty underwhelming way, while the movie is riddled with great fan service this part is going to be hard to watch if you're a Terminator fan.

Natalia Reyes, who played Dani Ramos, is the weak link in an otherwise solid cast; Reyes plays quite a two-dimensional character who sees things in a very black and white way and is truly a hard sell as Earth's ultimate saviour.