How To Train Your Dragon

 

This review may contain spoilers!

How To Train Your Dragon is a live-action remake of the 2010 film of the same name and a loose adaptation of the Cressida Cowell novels.

For a long time now the major complaint about the live-action remake has been the way they have all gone through major deviations, essentially abandoning the original film that they spawned from. However, DreamWorks makes a smart move by placing the original creative lead, Dean DeBlois, back at the helm for this adaptation. This creative link ensures that the original message and narrative beats are conveyed effectively. We get the chance to see the world of Berk, only it feels a little more real as humans interact, fight with and befriend the titular dragons. Taking on Hiccup's journey as an outcast who wants to belong, only to develop an unlikely bond that changes the Vikings forever is incredibly charming. I loved that this movie didn't pull punches. Moments where a fight had to have stakes we would see Vikings fall or our heroes in real peril, Hiccup and Toothless' bonding was really gradual and nice to fall into and the Red Death's reveal is a genuinely terrifying moment in the feature. This film might have lost a couple of scenes but it largely kept the script of the original, allowing this film to bring How To Train Your Dragon to a whole host of new young Vikings in the audience.

The visual effects for this film are pretty good for the most part. I most enjoyed how the dragons felt so characteristic, they were entirely expressive and the designs were as varied as they were in the original series. John Powell returns to give the iconic score one more go fresh, each song really uplifts the quality of a scene. Hiccup and Toothless' first flight is one of those iconic film moments that stays with you long after you've left the movie theatre.

Nico Parker, who played Astrid, does a great job of bringing Astrid's character journey to life; Parker presents a more aggressive character who finds inspiration in Hiccup and Toothless' bond. Gerard Butler, who played Stoick, looks like he is having the time of his life in this film; Butler really leans into the comedy of Stoick more successfully than I expected. Nick Frost, who played Gobber, is an admittedly decent pick for the teacher of the next wave of dragon-slaying Vikings; Frost wears his character's heart on his sleeve a bit which works admirably. Gabriel Howell, who played Snotlout, is a ton of fun as the cocky young Viking trying to impress everyone; I found Powell entirely entertaining without being too arrogant in his character. Peter Serafinowicz, who played Spitelout, did a lot without needing to say much at all; his rough-edged father figure paired nicely with Powell's Snotlout. Naomi Wirthner, who played Gothi, is a performance that really added an intriguing element to the world of Berk; Wirthner's Gothi managed to be mysterious and mystical without even needing to contribute dialogue.

However, the best performance came from Mason Thames, who played Hiccup. I have no idea how far they cast the net for this role but it was clearly the exact right amount. Thames is nearly flawless as the live-action Hiccup. He has a nervous and slightly off-kilter personality that makes Hiccup a bit of an outcast in the Viking village of Berk. Yet, he also has such a big emotional range and is relentlessly earnest. I loved the moments where he got a more determined edge to Hiccup, seeing him fight for Toothless and for his people to change for the better makes How To Train Your Dragon the special film that it is. I hope Thames gets the complete trilogy, he has more than earned it.

For better or worse, How To Train Your Dragon is exactly what the original animated film is. Beat for beat this film is the same, so it will not surprise you nor unfurl some major new plot point to keep it fresh. I feel the big criticism for live-action remakes beyond why on Earth they keep making them is that they often deviate too much from the original material. Here they find the best from the original work, but that can also be its own weakness.

Overall, the biggest failure of How To Train Your Dragon is the visual camera work. I often found the cinematography missed the best angle it could have found in a scene, favouring poorly framed close-ups or shots that only really serve to set up a visual effect. While I think the overall special effects in the film are good, that first village fight scene was really average and many of the flight scenes are blurry.

Julian Dennison, who played Fishlegs, is a New Zealand actor who has really struggled to make his mark in a blockbuster; Dennison was awkward and one of the characters I least wanted to see onscreen. Bronwyn James and Harry Trevaldwyn, who played Ruffnut and Tuffnut respectively, just pushed the comedic relief angle too hard; in a film where there was plenty of humour present, there was never much need for performances that oversold it. 

One of the most faithful and entertaining live-action remakes in years. I would give How To Train Your Dragon an 8.5/10.

Ballerina

 

This review may contain spoilers!

Ballerina is the first spinoff film in the John Wick universe, set between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4. In this film, we follow Eve, a young assassin trained by the Ruska Roma, who goes off on a revenge mission when she encounters the group that murdered her father.

I love how scrappy Ballerina is throughout. Where watching John Wick is about watching a master assassin sweep his way through a room brimming with goons, Ballerina presents more of an underdog revenge mission. Eve enters this film through a fairly compelling tragic origin and an adrenaline-filled training sequence that sees her getting moulded into the fighter we've all come out to see. This is a film in which the protagonist struggles, she is smaller than most of her opponents and her punches don't pack a wallop. Seeing this character learn to fight more effectively as if her life depends on it, makes this an interesting premise from the beginning. We know Eve is going to hurl herself at her opponents like an animal, clawing her way through a fight creatively and without compromise. Eve's descent into the world of the High Table is fascinating, and this development introduces a new cult faction, making for a unique adversary. I appreciated watching Eve work her way up the ladder to achieve her revenge - even being judged for her righteousness by the Baba Yaga himself. The best aspects of this film come from seeing Eve fight her way through a killer village, that felt fresh for the John Wick universe.

This is a film that captures action brilliantly, thinking of ways for the camera to latch onto the most original form of movement to really make those brawls flow. Pairing neatly with that is just how nicely the editing weaves this production together; the action sequences involve very intensive cutting, which makes the film look all the better for it. I was blown away by the stunts across Ballerina, like a John Wick film the theme seems to be creativity first and choreography only half a step behind. The score for this film is nothing short of thrilling, with a real adrenaline pulse present throughout and a neat Tchaikovsky number scattered to weave an emotional bond with the character. Having a track from Evanescence and Halsey both meant this film had a broody, tough edge to close on that perfectly mirrored the tone of Ballerina.

Ana de Armas, who played Eve, leads this film with the same amount of intense drive that made Reeves' Wick so famous; de Armas has a primal ferocity and rage on show that really makes you sit up and pay attention. Keanu Reeves, who played John Wick, is such a staple of this franchise and a welcome return; Reeves presents a more morose and benevolent side of Wick here that I quite enjoyed. Anjelica Huston, who played The Director, is still an imposing force within this world; Huston lends a cold edge to this character which I loved. Gabriel Byrne, who played The Chancellor, is one of the most memorable antagonists in the John Wick universe yet; Byrne presents himself with such charisma while talking about spine-chilling actions. Ava Joyce McCarthy, who played Ella, is a brilliant child performer; she didn't get boxed into type and really gave her role a mean edge where required. Norman Reedus, who played Daniel Pine, is giving more than you might expect with his fatherly assassin; this role was quite a selfless type who pushed himself for the sake of his daughter. Lance Reddick, who played Charon, isn't in this for long but gives as good as ever; Reddick was a real treasure as Charon and he is an actor who will be sincerely missed. Abraham Popoola, who played Frank, is a role I'd love to see back in this universe; Popoola found the perfect balance between campy and cool.

However, the best performance came from Ian McShane, who played Winston. This character is such a brilliant fixture of the John Wick universe. McShane is entirely elegant and sophisticated in his delivery, making the actual person he is portraying both alluring and mysterious. In this feature we get the more benevolent side of Winston, seeing him shelter and protect young Eve. McShane does a great job of being the doorman in this almost fantastical world of killers and assassins. I was especially impressed with the way McShane subtly steers de Armas to her path of revenge. Winston becomes this figure for justice within the world of darkness he resides in, which has always been one of the most fascinating facets of his character.

I greatly enjoyed Ballerina, it feels like another sign that the John Wick universe is the safest place to go for good action. However, where Ballerina suffered is just how ridiculous it decided to get at times. I felt this film tried to be creative wherever possible, but it so frequently undercut this with a sequence that felt almost cartoonish. The grenade sequence and the flamethrower sequence in particular got a bit overbearing. Ballerina also tried a bit too hard to come off as a dramatic character piece at times, delivering Eve some plot twists around her past that were uninspired. This movie didn't need to make Eve's story overly complex, her revenge angle served the narrative enough. I also enjoyed seeing John Wick in this, but he was used a lot more than was really required. John Wick diving into the action at the end of the film as Eve's fight sequences were tapering out stole the thunder of her ending a bit. The focus was shifted from Eve right when it should have stayed squarely on her.

Catalina Sandino Moreno, who played Lena, just feels like an error within the story; the commitment to the secret sister arc is an emotional push that winds up having no weight behind it. Sharon Duncan-Brewster, who played Nogi, really gets saddled with the exposition dumps for this feature; I also found her being delegated the constant pep talks quite frustrating. David Castañeda and Victoria Comte, who played Javier and Young Eve respectively, weren't the most interesting aspects of Ballerina's opening; I particularly found Comte a difficult young performer to engage with as the child version of the leading role. 

This is just further proof that the world of John Wick continues to dominate the action film scene. I would give Ballerina a 7.5/10.

Mountainhead

 

This review may contain spoilers!

Mountainhead is almost a one-room drama of sorts involving four billionaires as they vent about their business woes, the disruptive consequences of their own A.I., and the idea of taking over world nations and crafting the perfect murder.

This movie is an interesting take on satirising modern billionaires and the power they wield. While I felt a lot of this movie lacked a decent narrative throughline, the presentation of the message was clear and decent enough. These characters are all very callous, none of them come near to being grounded and one even acts like 'other people' don't really exist. These characters release products into the world that have a global negative impact, and don't assess how to fix it but instead attempt to find humour in the situation. Everything is about reputation and how to get an edge over others to enhance their financial profiles. One character takes a sociopathic bend because he becomes convinced he needs to kill one of the others so that his consciousness can be uploaded digitally when the science progresses there. This seemingly convoluted fear of mortality turns into a crazy plot where three of the characters attempt the most ineffectual murder in history. This film does a lot of this, the characters talking about doing these big serious sweeping things and not really advancing towards an actual outcome. A light barb that billionaires are morally bankrupt and also only looking to make effectual change for themselves.

Jesse Armstrong has a pretty crisp visual style, with the camera keeping things active and interesting in spite of the singular location. I loved how dynamic the lighting was and how the camera sought every possible interesting angle of interaction. The score by Nicholas Britell is quite a delicate, almost trance-like sound that is virtually crystalline and perfect in sharp contrast to the characters at the core of this story.

Steve Carell, who played Randall, is a more sociopathic and emotionally devoid role; Carell's character is probably the most cutthroat in his willingness to betray others to preserve himself. Cory Michael Smith, who played Venis, looks to be having incredible fun playing the clear Elon Musk parody; this is a character who runs through some very extreme turns of emotion that happen at very surprising points in the script. Ramy Youssef, who played Jeff, is very intriguing as the more morally conscious member of the group; Youssef's character incites the most conflict which makes him fun to watch.

However, the best performance came from Jason Schwartzman, who played Souper. This is a character who is a simpering hanger-on to the big billionaires at the table. Schwartzman's role isn't a billionaire, the only one at Mountainhead with a net worth only in the millions. He walks around desperate for the approval of the other three, wanting to be seen as something close to an equal. The initial grovelling is embarrassing in the face of unabashed confidence or indifference, yet Schwartzman doubles down further and further. When he gets so desperate that he becomes the active pawn in a murder plot, we see how wretched and shallow this character truly is in the face of his ambition. He barely contains his glee at rolling over a rival to be held in better esteem by the end of the film. None of these characters is likeable, but Schwartzman's role certainly has the most interesting dimensions to it.

I really struggled to find the plot in Mountainhead. The story is really these four band together, talk some ideas but act impotently about them and then turn on one another for the sake of greed. It's a pretty shallow satire at best, depicting familiar celebrity billionaires via dramatic parody but without anything deep to say beyond what one might expect criticism of billionaires to look like on a surface level. The fact the comedic murder attempt story is as close as this film gets to a linear narrative is underwhelming. It's clearly a movie that thinks it has more to say than it really does, but the points aren't really these big intellectual discussion topics. This is a film that feels more like a corridor debate between university students than something helmed by an Emmy-winning creator.

The editing for Mountainhead is slow, no doubt owing to the limited ability to cut within a singular location. Unfortunately, it still contributes to a more sluggish presentation of the story.

More of a college philosophy bro's character assassination of a pack of billionaires than a groundbreaking satire. I would give Mountainhead a 6/10.

Fountain of Youth

 

This review may contain spoilers!

Fountain of Youth is an adventure film that follows Luke Purdue, an art thief and explorer, as he seeks the Fountain of Youth alongside his team. When he hits a snag in his journey he ropes in his younger sister, Charlotte, to reluctantly unlock the last pieces in the puzzle.

This movie holds a lot of charm, particularly in the moments where the adventure transitions into an action piece. I'm not necessarily speaking of the strange shootout at the end between Interpol and the security team, but rather those classic moments where the adventurers have to scramble out of harm's way. Watching Luke navigate a number of situations where he has to keep his research or discovery safe from Esme is often the high point of the feature. The best point of all this was the introduction to the film where Luke is engaged in a high-stakes chase sequence and then a train carriage tussle in Thailand.

I'm used to a Guy Ritchie film having a decent musical score and Fountain of Youth is no exception to the rule. This is a thrilling musical arrangement that builds into the sense of wonder present at times. I also loved the Thai version of 'Bang Bang' kicking the film off, great soundtrack choice there.

Natalie Portman, who played Charlotte Purdue, has a pretty good bickering sibling chemistry with Krasinski; she is the more stoic and cautious presence across the film. Eiza González, who played Esme, has some cracking chemistry with Krasinski across this that makes them the most fun of the film; she is a dangerous yet entertaining presence throughout. Daniel De Bourg, who played Harold, is perfect as the ex-husband role to Portman; De Bourg is so despicable in his role that he winds up being the more memorable antagonist.

However, the best performance came from John Krasinski, who played Luke Purdue. This is a pretty classic explorer figure. Krasinski plays a real rascal here, someone who you can't take very seriously as he works with a quip and an improvised plan. Luke is the sort of role who enjoys the chase of the score, often being pulled by the lure of his own greed. I enjoyed Krasinski's comedic displays of confidence and flirting, all while ensuring Luke came off as bumbling and lucky. This isn't a world-famous explorer character in the making but it's certainly a solid show that Krasinski can lead well in this genre.

The adventure genre hasn't been flying high for quite a while now. The new Indiana Jones was a disappointing end to the character, the Uncharted film was a pale reflection of the game and no one turned up for the National Treasure Disney+ show. So perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that Guy Ritchie's foray into this genre is such a disappointment. I mean, Ritchie hasn't been making very good or memorable films for the past few projects himself. Yet it would be fair to say that Fountain of Youth is perhaps one of the worst features in Guy Ritchie's filmography. This is a film that kicks off with a very compelling opening scene and then promptly descends into a slow, rambling story that moves our characters from point to point. The conflict present in this film is often very easily resolved if that conflict doesn't involve stuntwork and even the puzzles our heroes are solving don't feel especially inspired. Watching young Thomas wallop the drums until a secret Ancient Egyptian passageway opens up is one of the worst things I've seen in film this year. The film struggles with interpersonal relationships too, Luke and Charlotte squabble like siblings but their conversations rarely hold depth. Along those same lines, Luke and the entire team barely engage with each other on a personal level. This film also does what a lot of these sorts of films do and presents a potential mystical component, but the mystique around this is barely there. The secret organisation protecting the Fountain makes itself known to Luke before the audience even gets to meet his team. When the fountain is revealed it never felt like it was hard to reach and when it immediately starts exhibiting magical powers the reveal is underwhelming. I also cannot believe the amount of time this film wasted with Interpol as an organisation having a presence. The Interpol subplot just felt like an anchor on the whole story.

I love Guy Ritchie's style as a rule but the cinematography here was remarkably dull. The film didn't really capitalise on set pieces or locations as much as I expected and the gentler scenes of conversation looked very blocky and simplistic. The special effects for this film were ghastly, the whole Fountain sequence with the visual effect of the water looked like something out of M. Night Shyamalan's Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Domhnall Gleeson, who played Owen Carver, used to be a really promising up-and-comer but now seems to be circling some average roles; Gleeson is a very stereotypical greedy British businessman villain. Arian Moayed, who played Inspector Jamal Abbas, is one of the most annoying members of the cast; Moayed is overbearing in this and struggles to make his character feel relevant. Laz Alonso and Carmen Ejogo, who played Patrick Murphy and Deb McCall respectively, just feel like extra bodies to give the adventurers a 'team' vibe; the fact is these characters are barely engaged with and often forgotten about. Stanley Tucci, who played The Elder, has no real reason to be in this film; Tucci rattles off some dull exposition and nothing else. Benjamin Chivers, who played Thomas, isn't a great young performer; his dialogue delivery isn't great and he struggles to form convincing relationships with other cast members. Steve Tran, who played Kasem, is an odd novelty antagonist that gets more screen time than is really needed; the way the role hounds after Krasinski's is almost cartoonish.

Guy Ritchie used to be one of my favourite film directors ever. Now he makes lifeless adventure films that can't even beat out the Uncharted film. I would give Fountain of Youth a 3.5/10.

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

 

This review may contain spoilers!

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning marks the eighth and allegedly final film in the Mission: Impossible franchise. This film picks up where Dead Reckoning left off, with Ethan Hunt and the IMF team racing to destroy the AI adversary known as The Entity. On their mission, they are beset by other parties seeking to control the Entity, both enemy and allied.

The Mission: Impossible series has been one of my very favourite action series for some time. The death-defying action that escalates in these movies is something that really authenticates the stakes. Over the years, Ethan and his team have grown increasingly isolated from their allies as their enemies crawl out of the darkest global underbellies. This places our protagonists in a very interesting place from the top of this film. They are extremely isolated because they are the only faction working towards the destruction of The Entity, everyone else simply wants to put it on a leash. This 'out in the cold' position IMF finds themselves within marks them as the underdogs the whole film, with only one another to fall back onto. The film does a good job of escalating the tension with a simple ticking clock across the story. Three days until The Entity nukes the world, giving our heroes barely any time to deep dive into military submarines, disarm city-levelling bombs or have a bi-plane altercation. There is a desperate edge to everything with this race against time that I loved. Another simple trick is that the hero and the villain just have it out for one another, Ethan and Gabriel tangle with one another across this which is a nice driving force.

The stunt work in these films has always been out of this world, and the final film continues to deliver on that front. Watching Cruise navigate complex underwater sets or walk along the exterior of an active aeroplane is a spectacle well worth watching. The visuals for this film are impressive, with dramatic well-lit close-ups in your more intimate scenes paired alongside grand-scale action sequences with stunning views. I really enjoyed the score for this film, it utilised the main theme nicely while also holding some really tense or poignant pieces throughout.

Hayley Atwell, who played Grace, is one of the freshest faces on the main team and she is entirely superb; Atwell plays to the stakes of a scene really well. Ving Rhames, who played Luther Stickell, is a bit underutilized in this feature but works extremely hard in his scenes; Rhames has a more earnest and melancholy edge this time around that will leave you mourning. Simon Pegg, who played Benji Dunn, gives his most grim take on the character yet; Pegg really plays a loyal and desperate soldier here who mirrors Cruise nicely. Pom Klementieff, who played Paris, really finds her place in this feature; having a more dangerous assassin in the IMF mix really added some new flavour to the team. Henry Czerny, who played Kittridge, has been nice to see back in the role he inhabited so long ago; Czerny leaves you guessing as to his character's allegiances which makes him a wild card in scenes. Holt McCallany, who played Serling, is the saving grace to the Presidential War Room scenes; McCallany has a seasoned edge and a propensity for character acting that sells him as this Intelligence Head. Tramell Tillman, who played Captain Bledsoe, was an incredible scene-stealer; Tramell really had fun with his character which made him a little unpredictable and interesting. Shea Whigham, who played Briggs, is just one of the great working character actors right now; Whigham presents a figure hounding after a deep-seated personal vendetta neatly. Rolf Saxon, who played William Donloe, is a surprisingly great returning role; Saxon's gentle genius who has been living in exile is a really intriguing addition to this film. Katy O'Brian and Paul Bullion, who played Kodiak and Shirley respectively, had this tough edge and banter that worked alongside Cruise; these scenes felt fun because it was just strong performers showing off against one another. Pasha D. Lychnikoff, who played Captain Koltsov, was a surprisingly fun minor antagonist; Lychnikoff crafted a respectful combatant with a begrudging chemistry shared with the IMF team cast members. 

However, the best performance came from Tom Cruise, who played Ethan Hunt. I find that in almost every single one of these films, this note rings true. Cruise is an actor/producer combo dedicated to this craft like few else, and across this film series, he has repeatedly put in the work. In his hands, Ethan Hunt has turned out to be a classic hero. An action hero with an unwavering moral compass who runs headfirst into danger to save the world around him. This film Cruise presents Hunt as being almost haunted by that drive, he knows the stakes through and through. This is a character entirely desperate to save everybody and willing to sacrifice himself in fifty different ways to do it. This is Cruise standing up and showing us all how much he loves Ethan Hunt one last time, and it's a true spectacle.

My issue with The Final Reckoning seems to be quite a bit of what I disliked about Dead Reckoning, showing a real unwillingness to learn. This film takes off with a bang in London, pitting Ethan and Gabriel against one another once more. We're then sadly pushed deep down into planning stages, political jargon and long stretches of exposition for the remainder of the first act. This is not a short film and it would benefit from a strong sense of pacing, but that vision just isn't present in this film. Once again, the film takes a strange turn by really doubling down on an omnipotent AI antagonist, weirdly making Mission: Impossible feel like it has taken on a sci-fi bend. The robotic antagonist is dispassionate and doesn't mesh well into this espionage world. I strongly feel this film series would have been better served with a more human antagonist to close us out. This film also continues the trend of the last one in another way, hosting a long bloated subplot revolving around American bureaucrats in a room hosting a debate. It's very dry storytelling that kills the rhythm. This last instalment loses a lot of the light-hearted charm of modern Mission: Impossible films, it just takes itself far more seriously than it really needs to. The Last Reckoning has a stern edge and the loss of levity is punctuated throughout.

A flaw the past couple of Mission: Impossible films have had is elements of the editing. It often feels like nothing is left on the cutting room floor and as many shots are pushed into a scene or sequence as possible, resulting in a slow pace and entire scenes that feel crammed.

Esai Morales, who played Gabriel, loses a lot of his menacing edge from Dead Reckoning; Morales is almost a cartoonish bad guy in this with his constant ultimatums and maniacal laughs. Janet McTeer, Nick Offerman, Charles Parnell and Mark Gatiss, who played Walters, General Sidney, Richards and Angstrom respectively, were quite a bland ensemble who were very unconvincing as figures of major authority; Offerman was perhaps the most disappointing as the blustering and self-sacrificing general. Hannah Waddingham, who played Admiral Neely, had a ridiculously impassive exterior; Waddingham gave this role little to no emotion whatsoever. Angela Bassett, who played Erika Sloane, wasn't especially engaging as the President for the film; Bassett helmed an ensemble that seemed to grapple with one another for who could come off the most stoic. Greg Tarzan Davis, who played Degas, is one of the worst main characters introduced into the IMF team; Davis barely brings personality to the film and feels like excess weight. Lucy Tulugarjuk, who played Tapeesa, is a bit of a curveball addition to the film with more screen time than the role demands; Tulugarjuk playing the Inuit woman who gets laughs for not understanding anyone was an odd bit of running comedy. Stephen Oyoung and Tomás Paredes, who played Pills and Hagar respectively, were the dullest aspect of the submarine storyline cast; Oyoung really grinds the audience through some average exposition delivery.

Far from the conclusion Mission: Impossible deserves but a decent tip of the hat to many years of Ethan Hunt. I would give Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning a 7/10.

The Wedding Banquet

 

This review may contain spoilers!

The Wedding Banquet is a remake of the Ang Lee-directed 1993 film of the same name. Within this feature, Korean trust fund baby, Min, faces an impending return to South Korea due to his visa expiring. When his American boyfriend, Chris, turns down Min's proposal, Min presents a new solution. He will marry their lesbian friend, Angela, and in return pay for Angela and her girlfriend, Lee's, next round of IVF. However, the plan encounters a hitch when Min's grandmother arranges a visit to oversee the wedding.

Andrew Ahn is a queer director and storyteller whom I greatly enjoy and want to see more of. His work on Fire Island was very memorable and indicative of the way he lifts up queer and Asian culture via his storytelling. The Wedding Banquet is similar in the way it presents a lot of facets of these cultures that the average viewer wouldn't consider. The film opens with an allusion to Chinese dragon dance, that is immediately subverted with performative drag for a gala. I think many people wouldn't be used to the conversations this film is willing to have; like Angela's mother presenting as such a strong ally and putting herself on a pedestal for supporting her daughter when there were parts of their history where this wasn't overtly true. We get a very detailed examination of IVF motherhood, and the parenting choice conversation held between queer couples. I felt Angela grappling with this amidst her previously mentioned mother issues made for an interesting lead role perspective. There is also a discussion of commitment in queer relationships, which is another conversation point that doesn't get a major spotlight. I most especially loved how queer friendships are presented through a 'found family' lens, due to shared experience and interest this is something very true of the queer community and The Wedding Banquet presents this very well. I mean just look at the last shot of the film, it's a special one.

The score for this feature is beautiful, setting a melodic tone that resonates consistently and yet manages to evoke a range of emotions throughout.

Bowen Yang, who played Chris, is surprisingly better when he's not playing it up for laughs here; Yang's character isn't the nicest and yet he still finds a way to ground the character and make him feel sincere. Lily Gladstone, who played Lee, just shows us all why she is an Academy Award nominee; I loved Lee and her enormous capacity for love and reflective conversations about the future of her relationship. Kelly Marie Tran, who played Angela Chen, really leads this film in a way that I loved; Tran presents a protagonist with a real chip on their shoulder and who wants to do right by others despite her own insecurities. Youn Yuh-Jung, who played Ja-Young, has a really well-rounded character arc; Yuh-Jung presents an older Korean woman who grows from her more conservative views out of love for her grandson.

However, the best performance came from Joan Chen, who played May Chen. This was a character you know from the opening scene will steal the show more often than not. Chen's energy is infectious and she definitely winds up carrying the comedic load of the film. Just watching her grind up on that Chinese dragon had me in fits. Chen is playing a mother who is this sort of 'mega ally', she's involved in more queer support groups than her lesbian daughter. She is this overbearing gossip and she loves to make things larger than life. It is a real whirlwind of a character that could have just been played for comedy. Yet, Chen brings a lovely bit of nuance to the character. Her scenes with Yuh-jung in which she gently supports the Korean grandmother towards a more loving approach to her grandson are quite beautiful. I also loved the dynamic she shares with Tran; that scene in the bathroom where she comforts her on-screen daughter and reflects on her own flaws is one of those real human moments only fleetingly captured in film.

I found The Wedding Banquet to be another Andrew Ahn success in that it had a lot to shine a spotlight on, but I'm not convinced the story told really did a good job with that. These conversation points deserved to be the focal point and they often lost their edge just as we started delving a little deeper into them. This is a feature that tries desperately to be a romantic comedy, but it feels more naturally aligned to being a romantic drama. The humour often feels misplaced, sudden or it straight up doesn't land. I found the constant need for a scene to get a little goofier distracting, and essentially it dumbed the story being told down. While I liked the conversation around commitment in queer relationships, this film doesn't make Chris very likeable which makes the good turn ending a bit harder to swallow. I also felt this film let the novelty of the fake relationship die out too soon. The grandmother working everything out straight away was realistic but it took a lot of fun out of the story. It was also hard to believe Min came from the type of money he did when the film rarely could present a location or character dressed in a manner that reflected this descriptor.

This film clearly didn't have much budget behind it and it sadly showed in the production elements of the film. The cinematography tries for this cosy, light indie vibe most of the time but tends to land on blocky framing and restrictive sequences that feel pushed for time. The editing doesn't really support this either, with static cutting that sets a dull pace to the whole thing. The soundtrack for this film is just too empty, beyond one excellent track from Chinese American Bear, there is nothing here to lift the film up.

Han Gi-Chan, who played Min, just seems confused by the tone of the film; he is almost always playing to comedy in an over-the-top cartoonish manner. Bobo Le, who played Kendall, feels a bit surplus to requirements in this film; Le is meant to be a guiding point for Yang's role but the pair have quite a disinteresting chemistry with one another.

It is an impressive queer work that gets lost in the weeds trying to be funny and could have been a little stronger with some of the messages it was trying to convey. I would give The Wedding Banquet a 6.5/10.

Thunderbolts*

 

This review may contain spoilers!

Thunderbolts* is the 36th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It continues the stories told in Black Widow, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Ant-Man and the Wasp. Within this film, several anti-heroes must break ties with their employer, Valentina, as they are confronted with a new superhuman threat: The Sentry Project.

Thunderbolts* is quite a new step for Marvel in terms of tone, a completely dysfunctional and dark motley crew hounding after the big bad they all used to work for. The first scene that draws these heroes together tells you this isn't the light and fun MCU of Thor: Love and Thunder or The Marvels. In this scene, we have four of the mercenary characters pushed into one room intending to kill one another. The stakes are immediately raised when one succeeds in performing an execution before they realise they have all been betrayed. These are the asshole heroes of the superhero world, no one is going to hold these characters up as the pillars of morality. Yet across the narrative, the rough edges on this team of unlikelies start to smooth, and characters who shouldn't be good together bring out the best version of themselves. The main characters aren't good people or they don't have good faith in themselves, and their journey evolves them into something more. It is a film about underdogs who become heroes through lifting one another up. I also loved the use of The Sentry in this film, this isn't as simple as describing an antagonist role. The Sentry, or Bob, starts as an awkward and mentally unstable figure who stands as the best mystery of the Thunderbolts*. Watching his vulnerability and the way it is preyed upon as he becomes the strongest character we have seen in a long time is a very impressive juxtaposition. Seeing all of this power and greatness corrupted into a shadowy figure known as The Void, is a thrill and even a little horrifying. The things Thunderbolts* does right are always the moments that try to be a little more creative and fresh from what we have seen before.

The visual style here has some nice flow to it, action just glides across the screen and when it holds still for a second the framing is brilliant. Thunderbolts* is quite striking with its use of light and dark contrast, bold in how a scene is captured and evoking what emotion we should feel. I was also very impressed with the special effects on display here. The fight scene with Sentry is one of the cleanest fight scenes I have seen this year, a really well-choreographed and designed moment. The design for The Void is also quite grim, with his ability to turn people into shadows quite a fearful touch. Son Lux's score is also a real boiling point, it leaves you feeling like tensions are just waiting to burst into full-blown conflict. The soundtrack isn't much to speak of but it fits neatly with the theme or plays well into the film's sense of comedic timing.

Florence Pugh, who played Yelena Belova, is more than capable of leading a major film production like this; Pugh does a good job of grounding Yelena right down into her core emotional state. Lewis Pullman, who played Robert Reynolds, really just runs away and steals so much of the show; Pullman can make young Bob quite charming in one scene and then shape him into one of the most threatening roles we have seen in the MCU the next. Wyatt Russell, who played John Walker, has a mean edge and a lot of snark to him; Russell presents a man who is angry at the world and reluctant to accept his own failings which makes for quite the journey. Wendell Pierce, who played Congressman Gary, really comes to bat as this politician hounding after injustice; Pierce plays a man who knows how to work the system and stand by it.

However, the best performance came from David Harbour, who played Alexei Shostakov. I did not expect to have missed this washed-out Soviet super-soldier as much as I did. Harbour yearning after his glory days, both past and future is a bit that never really gets old. I loved his enormous joy at any slight silver lining, even if it is one he has fabricated. Harbour carries the comedic weight of the film on his back with great talent, he knows how to draw the best possible laugh out of a scene. I loved his chemistry with Pugh, their genuine father/daughter connection props their characters up quite well. The scene where Harbour draws Pugh back into the fight before the final battle is one of the most heartfelt moments of the film. Harbour gives his absolute all to this character and his energy is infectious. This is a performance that does not stop and I wouldn't want it to.

Thunderbolts* is the sort of film that bounds with creativity and wants to blaze the trail with something new. So it is disappointing when it folds down into the classic formulaic beats. The film has a very impressive second act but the final act is patched with holes. These characters don't really brawl or engage in a conflict that feels satisfying. The Void is an antagonist that just devolves into all of Bob's 'bad feelings', a figure with supreme power who should not be permitted to wield it. On the cusp of Bob overthrowing The Void, it threatens to consume him and all of the team rushes forward to embrace him so that he knows he is safe. It's a nice sentiment but an underwhelming end to a film that previously held some worthy stakes. The film ends with a shared embrace and the end of all troubles, the sense that everything was all in our heroes' heads is disappointing. The film's opening is sluggish; it opens with a very monotonous voice-over from Yelena as she paces through a slow opening and action sequence. More disappointing than that is the political subplot peppered throughout Thunderbolts*. This loose sense of Valentina needing to be impeached and the committee railing against her is just another example that the MCU hasn't managed a sense of its political world to any great success since Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It also drags Bucky Barnes down into the murk that is this political landscape, which is a puzzling place to present such a character. The film ends with a convoluted 'big shock' moment that barely feels earned and left me leaving the cinema wondering what happened to that feeling I had in the second act.

Sebastian Stan, who played Bucky Barnes, regresses completely into a stoic beat 'em up sort of role; Stan feels outside the core cast of this which leaves him sticking out like a sore thumb. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who played Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, is the sort of performer who just hams it up in their superhero film antagonist role; Louis-Dreyfus plays this role for comedy more than she ever tries to play it for a dramatic read. Hannah John-Kamen, who played Ava Starr, is such an intriguing role to add to this mix; but I just felt like she was wasted and not really explored throughout the narrative. Olga Kurylenko, who played Antonia Dreykov, might as well have not been used for this film; this character was propped up for little more than a death scene. Geraldine Viswanathan, who played Mel, just awkwardly sits in more scenes than this character really deserves or needs; Viswanathan's whole betrayal storyline feels pretty predictable and makes for a dull role to watch.

A film that can be creatively fresh while also diverting down the easy road at times. I would give Thunderbolts* a 7.5/10.

The Accountant 2

 

This review may contain spoilers!

The Accountant 2 is a sequel to Gavin O'Connor's 2016 film The Accountant. In this feature, eight years have passed, and Medina finds herself on the path of a new case after the sudden murder of Ray King. When the case comes with a calling card to bring Christian Wolff into the fold, he complies with his gung-ho brother in tow.

This sequel has nearly been nine years in the making, a continuation of a premise that was, admittedly, pretty good the first time around. So how do you take that benchmark of a decent movie and keep it running? Especially after such a long time. The solution has been to double down on the quirkier, unique elements. Suddenly Christian's eccentricities are explored in more settings, his chemistry with his brother is given more room to run, the loose cannon Braxton is firing on all cylinders and Christian's unique supporter, Justine, has more to do. The main story is as thrilling as any old action sequel can be, but what lifts this movie up into real greatness are those unique aspects that evoke humour, wild antics and heart in abundance. This film starts with Christian outsmarting a dating app so that he might be suitable for several dates, only to steer these prospective partners away due to his personality in person. He is actively seeking a means to no longer be alone in the way he knows how. At the same time, his brother Braxton is anxiously hyping himself up for a polite phone call - something entirely outside his aggressive mercenary skill set. The nature of the call? A puppy adoption that sadly doesn't go Braxton's way. Both brothers are struggling by themselves and looking for a connection. The moment they crash together the film shifts gears. These two are hilarious together, you immediately believe there is a sibling bond. They bicker and are in constant conflict but they also pair together and support one another incredibly. The film even hops off the main path at one point for a bar scene in which the brothers grow closer after one gets into a dance and the other a fight. The ending of this film is a very satisfying shoot-out in which both brothers put everything on the line for one another and the kids they are trying to rescue. It rounds out the arc of these two coming together as a family nicely and solidifies this film as one of the most entertaining action features I have seen so far this year.

Something I have to give real props to for The Accountant 2 is the action choreography, this film hits hard and fast when it switches to this. The fight choreography is rough and gritty, but the final sequence of the film is mapped out extremely well. That final scene charts gunfire movement through a space neatly, right down to the more desperate knife and brawl moments that develop over that moment. I also have to give major props to Bryce Dessner's score, which is low and pondering but can find some pulse and movement where required. The track 'See-Line Woman' which opens the film is a wonderful number that puts a bit of building tension to the first piece of action we get.

Ben Affleck, who played Christian Wolff, is remarkable at bringing back an old protagonist he has honed so well; Affleck really disappears into his role's unique mannerisms. Cynthia Addai-Robinson, who played Marybeth Medina, is playing the straight edge to the mystery at the core of this film; Addai-Robinson really performs the heavy lifting when it comes to presenting some of the moral conflicts in this film. Allison Robertson and Alison Wright, who played and voiced Justine respectively, is one of the more unique roles from this series and it takes two incredible performances to bring her to life; seeing Justine as more of a mentor figure in this one was an excellent new angle.

However, the best performance came from Jon Bernthal, who played Braxton. I greatly enjoyed Bernthal in the first Accountant, where he dropped in for a great reveal and action scene. The fact this film seemed quite motivated to show more of this role can only mean the creators had a strong sense of what would elevate this movie. From the go, Bernthal presents a character who feels like he can intimidating, someone who is more of a man of action. The difficulty he shows in having a polite conversation or talking with a woman while eating dessert is what makes this so fun. Bernthal has really defined his character and knows how to use this to play a scene for comedy. Braxton doesn't know how to rein in his aggressive side very well, which makes him a great mercenary but not someone who plays well with others. Despite that, the best part of this movie is the chemistry shared between Bernthal and Affleck. From his earliest scenes with Affleck, Bernthal is ribbing and joking and squabbling and really crafting that sibling dynamic flawlessly. This is a great role for Bernthal and a big example of why he should be leading more major features like this.

This movie is brilliant when it shows off what makes it unique, but where it fails is the main mystery throughout. Even from the first scene, the death of Ray King doesn't spark much sadness in the audience nor did I feel particularly pulled into the why behind it all. The film then meanders into this overly detailed and complex human trafficking storyline in which the antagonists only show up when they really have to and there is a link to a child with heightened needs identical to Christian. The way this film presents this mystery makes the main storyline seem less engaging, and certainly less of a priority. The fact there's an extra layer around an El Salvadoran woman who gets in a car accident while running for her life develops some kind of savant syndrome after ridiculous facial reconstruction surgery and becomes a super elite mercenary. The main story is functional but it is a means to an end for what we are all really here to see.

I was probably most disappointed with how dated this film looked visually. The shots all look quite washed out, entirely dark or drained of colour. More than that, there just aren't many interesting frames to reflect on with this film, it is shot in a very simple manner that leaves little impression on the viewer. I was also surprised to see some very old-school wipes used as transitions for this film, it only heaped on to a visual style that was not doing the work.

J.K. Simmons, who played Ray King, seems to know he's got a bit of a bum gig here; Simmons just being in this to perform a lazy scene and die isn't very worthy of his range. Daniella Pineda, who played Anaïs, is a mercenary role that just feels awkwardly placed throughout the film; Pineda doesn't quite hit the mark as a mercenary nor does she seem to reach the emotion required for her role's backstory. Robert Morgan and Grant Harvey, who played Burke and Cobb respectively, come across as afterthoughts; as far as antagonists go Morgan hardly feels like someone who would be pulling strings and Harvey isn't very intimidating. Andrew Howard, who played Batu, is an almost comical element of the film; Howard presents a cloak and daggers mercenary handler that is just a bit on the nose. Dominique Domingo, who played Angie, feels more like a prop than a role to bring out a romantic scene moment for Affleck; Domingo and Affleck really don't have much chemistry in the first place so this angle isn't very convincing.

It's one of those shocking sequels that entertains more than the original. Bernthal and Affleck together are unbeatable. I would give The Accountant 2 an 8/10.

Sinners

 

This review may contain spoilers!

Sinners is a historical horror feature following twin brothers, Smoke and Stack, who attempt to open a Juke Joint in their hometown. However, Their opening night is halted when a vampiric force arrives to threaten the partygoers.

Ryan Coogler has been a real champion for Black art and excellence across his entire career, but this is a very real culmination in his efforts. Coogler gives his best original idea yet in this arresting story about two brothers who just want to return home and redefine themselves. They don't want to be seen as criminal anymore, but rather through their own work and hustling they wants to be business owners, they want to build up this massive juke joint and create a space for Black people. In this joint they pull together the best local talent they have, uplifting Black music and art in the space too. This first half of the feature is an exemplary story in and of itself. We are shown a Black America that still is in the throes of Jim Crow law, where the memory of slavery is not so very distant. At the same time, it is a story of Black culture expressing itself, shaping identity both within its roots and what it hopes to become. The community established through the cast of this film really impactfully tells this story and setting very well. Even the tilt into the fantastical horror elements, where vampires enter the picture, tells us a lot about these themes woven by Coogler. Here we see a white vampire (admittedly an Irishman who also would have been ostracized at the time) with intention of taking the player at the heart of the music. It's a very interesting discussion on invasion of Black space, business and art. Coogler points the finger and really levels the conversation around Black creativity or entrepreurship being stolen, assimilated or copied by white people.

This is a real visual spectacle, an absolute feast for the senses. Ryan Coogler makes the South of the 1930s feel expansive, lining the roads with sweeping cotton fields and broad town roads begging for a shoot out. Yet, he often promises artistic cinematography, just look at moments like the wheeling flames as our cast dances in a dream-like sequence paired against the vampires hypnotically dancing to an Irish folk song later. By this measure, I also have to rave about the score and soundtrack in equal measure here. Putting actors who can really sing was right at the forefront of the vision and Ludwig Göransson is one of the greatest film composers living at present. The soulful sound of this film paired with complete reverence for the Blues marks one of the best cinematic sounds of the year.

Miles Caton, who played Sammie Moore, is absolutely on fire in his first major breakout role; Caton's vocals are next level and he also plays to the emotional crossroads his role finds himself upon very well. Saul Williams, who played Jedidiah, holds so much gravitas as the pastor in the feature; Williams and Caton really challenge one another well as a father/son duo. Michael B. Jordan, who played Smoke and Stack, leads this movie with great competence; as Smoke Jordan is a firm hand leader type while he lets all of his charismas flow as Stack. Yao and Li Jun Li, who played Bo Chow and Grace Chow respectively, are really fast moving business-focused characters; Li in particular stands out with her negotiating tactics and combative nergy in the face of the vampire threat. Hailee Steinfeld, who played Mary, is a firecracker in this; Steinfeld has a remarkably sharp tongue and delivery that can only ever really be matched by Jordan. Wunmi Mosaku, who played Annie, is this very serence and wise figure with quite a spiritual connection to the world; Mosaku plays the role with great confidence that makes you believe in the knowledge her character wields.

However, the best performance came from Delroy Lindo, who played Delta Slim. I thoroughly enjoy Lindo as a performer, particularly at this point in his career. When we first meet the character of Slim we get this wild and drunken entertainer, someone who plays loosely to his code and guards his patch even fiercer. Lindo gives the role a bit of lived history, the man is carrying around years of living and you feel the weight of that. At the same time, Slim is someone who loses himself in the sensation of playing music, Blues is in his veins and you feel that sincerity through the performance. I enjoyed seeing Lindo lock horns with other performers, or share a laugh with them or even fearfully tiptoe around them in the final act. What makes Lindo such a good performer is that he gives everything to a character, I could not tell you where Slim ends and Lindo begins, and that's on being a master of the craft.

I think Sinners is an excellent film at the worst of times, but it does full victim to Coogler's general weakness. He likes to play in a blockbuster sized sandpit, where the film is buffed up through a big cast or the genre. For Sinners the cast component is only a good thing, but I found the genre angle to be a bit pulpy. Obviously vampires serve the metaphor well enough, but the way this film tilts into a vampire horror is quite abrupt and doesn't ever quite click into place super well. The film is filled with little 'vision board' moments like this that serve the theme but look a bit tacky at times. A music sequence with modern music elements crammed in, vampires playing instruments as a disguise to get in, a very sluggishly paced final action sequence and an excessive amount of scenes with our characters just chatting it up with the vampire antagonists at the door. The threat doesn't feel as big as it should, and there are some moments where the tilt into horror just feels performative to get audiences into theatres. Even the ending, with Stack and Mary scoping out Sammie at a 90s Blues joint or watching Smoke gun down the Klan to really ram what the movie is selling home makes it all wrap up on an off beat.

I also find Coogler's movies tend to be letdown by simple or downright bad special effects. Sinners gives us two Michael B. Jordan's which isn't an effect that is particularly hard by modern standards, they were pulling that move with doubling last century. But the ugly fire on water effect that sees the demise of our main vampire antagonist was another poor mark against a rather poor ending.

Jack O'Connell, who played Remmick, just feels a bit paper thin to be the main antagonist of the feature; once you remove the singing and the creature make-up the vampires just don't have all that much to them. David Maldonado, who played Hogwood, gives the same generic older racist antagonist we've been seeing for a couple of decades now; there is nothing unique in this caricature Klansman performance.  Jayme Lawson, who played Pearline, is really just here so that the Sammie character has a love interest; I really didn't feel much of Lawson's acting resulted in a feeling of chemistry between her and Caton. Omar Benson Miller, who played Cornbread, is a performer without a lot of range to give; Miller feels like he's there to serve as a bit of comedy before things get dark but he doesn't really deliver on that. Peter Dreimanis and Lola Kirke, who played Bert and Joan respectively, only served to lower my impressions of the vampire antagonists; these roles just felt goofy in how they played their scenes once turned. Buddy Guy, who played Old Sammie, presented one of the most hollow feeling endings to the film; Guy just plucked at a guitar and fed this really odd gaudy ending.

Celebrating the significance of Black music, creativity and business through the guise of a Western vampire horror might just be one of Ryan Coogler's wildest ideas yet. I would give Sinners a 7.5/10.

Warfare

 

This review may contain spoilers!

Warfare is a film that recounts the real life experiences of Ray Mendoza's Navy SEAL platoon, depicting a particular battle within Ramadi, Iraq during 2006.

This movie has an incredible sense of what modern warfare is. It presents us with a room filled with young men in fatigues dancing and cheering to a song as the first scene of the feature. These are our protagonists, a bunch of young partying men who don't seem much like fingers behind the triggers of heavy-duty assault weaponry. But that is who they are. For the next hour and a half, the film draws the audience into this extremely immersive experience, the extreme violence of war in a contained moment. We watch this band of soldiers from holding their position, ranging the street from their sniper's nest, right up until they are ambushed and start taking heavy casualties. The unique quality of Warfare is that once we start from the day of engagement, every moment feels like an actual measure of time. There is little time within the movie where we aren't running in sequence with how long a moment like this could actually play out. It's a very authentic film interms of grounding the experience, which is an impressive feat.

This is a technical masterpiece from Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland, who have really pulled out all of the stops to bring the audience into that full experience I mentioned earlier. I wouldn't normally speak to the sound design and editing but it is some of the very best I have heard so far in 2025. The variance in rounds fired from different weapons, to types of explosions and even the range of sound a soldier would or could hear in a moment is presented to us. The film is remarkably brutal to watch, with a real "do not look away" approach to the camerawork. I loved how the camera could switch seamlessly between a very static staged area to a sudden fluid tracking sequence as we spring into action. I even have to give a nod to the soundtrack here, that opening with 'Call On Me' by Eric Prydz is going to be playing in my head for weeks.

Joseph Quinn, who played Sam, runs pretty hotheaded which he seemed to have fun with; Quinn's performance hinged on portraying the horror of receiving a severe injury from an IED which he really went to town on. D'Pharoah Woon-A-Tai, who played Ray, is the role the audience gets to experience the most through; this is such a pivotal role played to maximum experiential effect. Michael Gandolfini, who played Lt. Macdonald, is one of the quirkier figures in the film; Gandolfini really played someone who was in over his head rather well. Will Poulter, who played Erik, holds massive presence at first as the commanding officer; Poulter also loses his composure after the IED attack and presents that loss of self well too. Kit Connor, who played Tommy, is a much softer and inexperienced presence than the others; Connor was the perfect pick to be the rookie amongst the crew. Taylor John Smith, who played Frank, really feels rock solid when first introduced and holds good chemistry with Jarvis; yet this is an interesting character to see lose his mettle a bit throughout the feature. Charles Melton, who played Jake, really comes into the film later and seizes control well; Melton leads the back half of the feature with tremendous presence. Rayhan Ali and Heider Ali, who played Falah and Sidar respectively, were very interesting characters to see on-screen; these allied Iraqi soldiers who presented fear well as they were treated essentially like fodder.

However, the best performance came from Cosmo Jarvis, who played Elliott. This is such an ensemble film, as the war genre typically tends to be, but Jarvis really stands out from the go. When we first really get to know this character he is perched atop this bed, running his sniper scope along an Iraqi street. Jarvis looks fatigued but intent, drenched in sweat but like a rock. He occasionally mumbles out a call or scratches something hurriedly into a notebook. He commands that room while he's holding it, and not even in this macho kind of way. Jarvis feels seasoned, he has a bit of a rougher, grittier edge to him that you respect. When he quips the word "weak" at the character, Frank, it feels Marine-coded. He is the first actor who has to convincingly react to being injured, and his initial portrayal of slipping into shock while holding the ability to push forward is very compelling. Even later on, Jarvis and Quinn are almost competing for the best portrayal of men grievously injured by an IED; for me it was Jarvis' portrayal that sold it.

To get critical about Warfare feels like you have to get a bit hard on the genre. This is a movie bannered with a title that might have well just called itself 'War'. Every single war film under the sun has this formula: start out with a slower pace with the soldier lads bonding and getting us a little emotionally invested, then a big battle or ambush happens and casualties begin and some of them get out of it. The end. This filmhas the unique pitch of trying to make us live in the time sequence of the the moment, but this really slows the pacing in a few moments where some urgency could have been maintained. This film is also an experience but it doesn't feel like a very well-rounded story. The protagonists almost entirely get away, the Iraqis world gets rocked...and that's kinda it. The film is a blip of a battle but there are barely any themes present, Warfare has little impression to impart of the audience other than a bleeding heart behind the scenes during the credits homaging the platoon. But this surface level commendation to the troops doesn't feel earnest or even particularly earned by the end.

This movie is almost a real home run from a technical lens, I just really hated the visual effects. The most glaringly awful effect was the one generated twice: the fighter jet that bombed the road. Nothing about this aircraft looked very real set against the backdrop at all, and it was such an eyesore I felt pulled out of the moment when it was used.

Adain Bradley, who played Sgt. Laerrus, is the only performer within the main platoon who I would describe as forgettable; Bradley has minimal unique interactions or character traits to make his role stand out from the crowd.

A technically stunning war film that will pull you deep into the carnage of an Iraqi skirmish and leave you feeling horrified. I would give Warfare a 7.5/10.

The Amateur

 This review may contain spoilers!

The Amateur is an adaptation of Robert Littell's 1981 novel of the same name. In this feature, CIA cryptographer Charlie Heller goes on a one-man revenge mission after his wife is murdered in a hostage situation gone wrong. Flung into a criminal world, he is learning to understand, and with the CIA hot on his heels, Charlie will have to act smart and fast to get the justice he seeks.

There is an overarching quality to this movie that shines best: getting to watch Charlie race against the clock to get justice for his wife. When this character actually gets passionate about the need for justice, utilising his skills to blackmail a CIA Director and get his demands met so that he can get his own brand of justice is the point at which this film starts to get lively. As Charlie sets out on this journey and begins to realise he can only get these kills through his own technological savvy, we start to see a more unique quality to this revenge narrative. The way this vendetta pulls Charlie and the audience all the way up until that final confrontation with the man who pulled the trigger is a gripping moment, and the highlight of the feature. I also only wish this film had been bold enough to play with the dirty politics in the CIA storyline more; the subplot around Director Moore had good legs and could have been given more of a focus.

Jon Bernthal, who played The Bear, feels like the whole nine yards when it comes to a menacing CIA agent; Bernthal's last scene of the feature feels like a grounded moment of trying to talk someone off a ledge. Holt McCallany, who played Director Moore, emits a dangerous presence in this film; McCallany holds tremendous power and control just in how he delivers the lines. Danny Sapani, who played Caleb, has an incredible dynamic with McCallany in this; you could have replaced Fishburne entirely and have Sapani hunt Malek all movie long.

However, the best performance came from Michael Stuhlbarg, who played Schiller. I love performances that are one scene long but are the most arresting thing about the film. The Amateur is riddled with moments like this, but none trump Stuhlbarg's antagonist. He has this gentle calm to him, a general indifference that makes him one of the most threatening characters in the feature. Stuhlbarg shared the scene well, allowing for a bit of a grapple between himself and Malek. Stuhlbarg is a real threat who draws out all of the hero's weaknesses, his misgivings and low points. Stuhlbarg holds a set and becomes the focal point of it here, making his role something that truly elevates the film.

I spent a lot of this movie wondering when it was going to ramp up, when Charlie was going to become this central spy character the audience really roots for. In truth, the film only really ramps up when Charlie is committing revenge, but everything around these moments feels very lifeless. The core problem is that Charlie Heller just isn't that compelling to watch. Heller is an awkward individual who has this bold switch into an international rogue super spy, and it doesn't work for this movie. He's not interesting, and he never becomes better as a character through this journey. He even tracks down the Russian widow of an old CIA informant, pulls her into the field and gets her gunned down. He is also motivated by the death of his wife, a character who has no character beyond being 'the wife' and gets the pleasure of existing in this film to be killed and incite Charlie's big revenge quest. While out on his rogue quest, Charlie's big CIA adversary is some old, overweight trainer who gets sent after him, too. The whole film feels very poorly conceived, and feels like it wouldn't have been hard to step back and make some obvious adjustments to secure a better film.

The Amateur is also a thoroughly ugly film to spend your time watching; it is devoid of any kind of colour palette and doesn't know how to get creative with shooting a scene. The editing sets a slow pace that only agonises the trundling pace of the narrative. The score barely provides a pulse to key scenes, and the soundtrack isn't even there at all.

Rami Malek, who played Heller, really struggles to lead this film; Malek fails at being an interesting spy type or a besotted husband seeking vengeance after an emotional loss. Rachel Brosnahan, who played Sarah, had very little to work with here; Brosnahan dances about with a very shallow role and fails to make much of a connection with Malek. Adrian Martinez, who played Carlos, is rather awkward in the workplace friend role; Martinez doesn't seem to know where his character sits in this and only half commits to scenes. Julianne Nicholson, who played Director O'Brien, feels entirely miscast as the head of the CIA; Nicholson has no gravitas or authority to her, which makes this whole character fall on her face. Anna Francolini, who played Anita Garrison, has quite a dull role in this cast of characters; Francolini's therapist character doesn't draw out any significant emotional points from the lead character. Laurence Fishburne, who played Henderson, is the last actor in this cast who should have been chasing Malek around; trying to sell Fishburne as this former elite field agent on one last job made my eyes roll. Caitríona Balfe, who played Inquiline, is also just another female character placed here for an emotional death scene; Balfe's stoic deep cover character draws no further emotional weight from this script.

The spy/thriller genre is really going through it this year, and this lifeless feature led terribly by Rami Malek is no exception. I would give The Amateur a 4.5/10.

A Minecraft Movie

 This review may contain spoilers!

A Minecraft Movie is an adaptation of the hit video game, Minecraft. In this film, a band of down-on-their-luck Idaho denizens are whisked away to another world where imagination is the most extraordinary power you can wield. Desperate for a way back home, our heroes must team up with a seasoned adventurer, Steve, to save the Overworld and return home.

This is probably one of the most insane movie-going experiences I'll have this year. Sitting through audience members shouting out lines alongside the characters, hurling objects around in excitement and applauding multiple times to make fun of the experience made me realise what this movie had done VERY well. A Minecraft Movie fully commits to the absurdity of what it is trying to achieve; it knows there is no serious way to breathe life into Minecraft, and there's a lot of fun had in just pushing the envelope. Watching Steve and Garrett cuddle midair while strapped to a wingsuit, right through to Steve singing about his lava chicken contraption, is the sort of ridiculous fun this film allows itself and the audience to have.

While there are some problems with the special effects in this film, the base design and animations of the Overworld and its creatures look very creative. I found myself pretty immersed in just the experience of visually seeing the video game world brought to the big screen. The score for the film is extremely fun, inviting us on the adventure while also paying homage to the gentle tracks from the video game itself. The soundtrack is also a pretty fun blend of old-school rock and original Jack Black-led pieces that elevate the joy of this whole experience.

Jason Momoa, who played Garrett, really leans into the fun of a comedic role here; Momoa seems to revel in portraying this arrogant ex-Gamer of the Year who has fallen on hard times.  Jennifer Coolidge and Matt Berry, who played Vice Principal Marlene and voiced Nitwit respectively, worked in tandem to bring out the most amount of comedy from an unusual storyline; Coolidge really carries the work by throwing herself into these over-the-top flirting scenes. Jemaine Clement, who played Daryl, has quite a fun, macho trailer park type role here; Clement's bluster in the face of Momoa ruining his character's event was hilarious.

However, the best performance came from Jack Black, who played Steve. I mean, if you want to point a cast member who committed the whole nine yards, it has to be Black. From the moment he first appears, you immediately know he's going to give this role everything he has. Jack Black seems to have boundless energy and enthusiasm, wheeling through scenes with more exuberance than his younger co-stars. If bringing imagination to life were a person, it might be Black. He plays so well in this fabricated world, which just helps you believe in everything. He seems so full of confidence and commands the screen that you believe him to really be a fabled Minecraft warrior. That diamond armour scene alone... Black's humour carried this movie on solid shoulders, and the fact that he was able to lend his singing to the film only made it better.

As a whole, this film is riding on the hype and the social media memes that have seen people flock to it in droves. But the reality is, this isn't much of a story. Just as a concept the film barely knows how to begin, forming Steve as this goofy cartoon-like individual who is purely motivated by one location in a janky attempt to get a character into the Minecraft Overworld. We get a massive opening narration from Steve that is burdened with exposition before sending the action hurtling back to Earth. Unfortunately, the leads we are introduced to for this film are very strange character choices: a washed-up arcade owner, two orphans (one of whom is deemed creative because he draws a jetpack) and a family support worker/travelling zoo worker (I didn't get it either). The film mashes these downright odd character archetypes together and finds a way to shove them awkwardly into the Overworld. The film then proceeds to send all the characters on one long fetch quest to get a box for the portal cube, and later inevitably wrestling it off the big villain, all while sidelining their two leading actresses. In amongst all of this, there is a subplot of Jennifer Coolidge romancing a Minecraft villager, because the 5 (yup, 5!) writers were just that freaky. Even characters that should have more conflict with one another wind up getting along because the actors clearly wanted to have a bit of a bromance. It's a poorly crafted script, no better than your typical American general release comedy, except this has Minecraft stamped on the poster.

The film is rather ugly to look at in terms of shots; it really shows the limits of the effects-heavy world. There aren't many truly creative shots, and the film feels very limited in what it can achieve. While the core design of the special effects looks good, they blend terribly with live-action characters, with whole aspects reminding the viewer that we're not watching something entirely immersive. The budget for special effects clearly didn't extend to the live-action shots, as it is this setting where the visual effects look the worst.

Sebastian Hansen, who played Henry, is such a focal point of the film and yet entirely annoying to watch; Hansen just lacks personality and doesn't feel like the kid full of wonder who has something to bring to the Minecraft world. Emma Myers, who played Natalie, is in such an awkward role in this feature; Myers playing an orphaned older sister who has to take on a guardian role doesn't feel like a character who is easy to engage with. Danielle Brooks, who played Dawn, is one of the characters who just did not need to be in this film; Brooks seems very earnest, but her character adds absolutely nothing to the overall narrative. Rachel House, who voiced Malgosha, is a pretty cut-and-dry antagonist; House doesn't do much with this role and is satisfied with just playing bad. Jared Hess, who voiced General Chungus, felt like a simplistic comedic character; Hess voices a role played for comedy but drawing absolutely no laughs.

This strange, absurd, indecipherable movie is entertaining even when it has no reason to be. I would give A Minecraft Movie a 4.5/10.

Death of a Unicorn

 

This review may contain spoilers!

Death of a Unicorn is a fantastical horror-comedy in which Elliot and his daughter, Ridley, venture out to a wilderness retreat owned by Elliot's billionaire boss. Unfortunately, plans go awry when Elliot hits a unicorn on the way to the retreat, unravelling the horrors that come with discovering the existence of a mythological beast.

This is a film that many people will see because of its utterly wild premise. It's not very common for a unicorn to be the centre of a darker genre like horror, so the novelty of this is quite fun. I'd go a step further here after watching this and say the fantasy elements of Death of a Unicorn is what was worth seeing it for. There is a big question mark over the unicorns. What does their very existence mean for us? Across the film, I wanted to know what powers they had, or how they might act or better yet, exactly what purpose did the unicorns serve? Is their magical presence for something? The rewarding thing about the mystery at the core of all the magic is that we can really steadily get the answers or infer them from what the film is showing us. It's a very real point of intrigue in the movie, and I greatly enjoyed getting lost in that fantasy aspect.

The score for this film feels very experimental and downright unnerving at times. I felt the music tailored for this feature really uncoupled us from the world we knew and contributed the most to the moments in which the unicorns felt unsettling.

Paul Rudd, who played Elliot, has a very natural charisma that makes you want to root for him; at the same time, Rudd also presents a pretty interesting performance of a weak-willed father who picks his ambition over his daughter nearly every time. Anthony Carrigan, who played Griff, might not be front and centre of this film, but steals more than a few scenes; Carrigan has a real talent for subtly inserting his own brand of comedy into a scene. Téa Leoni, who played Belinda, is the only actress who understood how to present a ridiculous billionaire character; Leoni really finds a way to balance the comedy and absurdity of her role in a way that appeals to an audience.

However, the best performance came from Jenna Ortega, who played Ridley. Ridley is a very outspoken role that fits neatly into Ortega's wheelhouse. She doesn't let anything slide and tries to combat the ignorance of her Dad and his employers across the whole film. Ortega plays to Ridley's more rough-around-the-edges habits in a very grounded manner, meaning that even if she is the one cussing others out, you are almost always rooting for her. This is a character grounded in empathy. Ortega plays Ridley as the one who tries to understand the unicorns and the balance of nature the most, making her a very sincere person. Ortega also does incredibly in the horror genre; her reactions in a terrifying scene pull you in.

Death of a Unicorn is another foray into the peculiar for A24, or at least that's how it presents itself. But the truth is a tad more disappointing. This film is really trying to pull off a clever dark comedy about capitalism and the greed of billionaires without ever really managing to achieve that whole 'clever' part. The comedy in this film is very exaggerated or downright obvious, delivered by characters who don't naturally evoke very funny moments. I really can't believe that in a market over-saturated with good stories dealing with themes of capitalism, billionaires and financial imbalance, this film managed to present such a theme like a dull, blunt instrument. Death of a Unicorn feels more like a bumbling, low-brow American comedy that doesn't naturally fit into the A24 portfolio. The fact that this film builds the whole story around a tapestry presented by a character and then presents the story identically from that makes the whole concept feel a bit simple too. Even more emotional matters, such as Elliot performing an about-turn and shaping up as a father, don't feel particularly earned. In fact, it's a very sudden and late point of the film that does nothing to endear the audience to Elliot. The ending for Death of a Unicorn feels quite sudden and doesn't leave the viewer feeling entirely satisfied with the conclusion either.

I don't know how a movie with such a fun premise and good-looking location wound up looking so bland as a film. The way this thing is shot is remarkably dull and simplistic, and the horror sequences are far too blocky. Even the special effects, which the film really hinges on, are a huge letdown. The design of the unicorns isn't especially appealing, and they don't sit nicely within a scene. The soundtrack for the feature is pretty absent, and when it does kick in, the music on it feels lifeless.

Richard E. Grant, who played Odell, just doesn't know when to play things more restrained and when to oversell it; Grant prances around a set waffling through his lines without landing much of an impression. Will Poulter, who played Shepard, doesn't know how to play this character any other way than over the top; Poulter really brings this film down to dim-witted comedy territory. Jessica Hynes, who played Shaw, is really wasted in a henchwoman with a gun type of role; Hynes gives no range of emotion across this whole thing. Sunita Mani and Steve Park, who played Dr. Bhatia and Dr. Song respectively, are relatively boring as the generic scientist characters; even with a bit more screentime, Mani fails to be a bigger player within the cast.

The latest A24 promises a lot but delivers almost none of it, opting instead for a more traditional half-baked American comedy. I would give Death of a Unicorn a 5.5/10.