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Dune: Part Two (2024)
Thanos Vs Drax II: A little perspective...
Okay, so let's just reign in this 'hype-train'... Now my rating is probably closer to an 8 (which in the way I rate movies on here, is very, very good) but I feel I just need to help settle down this average that is being blown all out of proportion. Don't get me wrong this movie looks and sounds incredible, but that is where the "incredible" ends. There are many sound bites and quotes flying around, which we all know are hand-picked or even 'funded' by the studio, that are going to lead you to believe this is the greatest film of all time...(It isn't). Or that Austin Butler has delivered us one of the greatest movie villains of all time...(He hasn't). These are merely part of the sales pitch. Unfortunately, when you deal with a project such as this that already has a massive following from the books there is no middle ground. The fans will destroy the movie or hail it as the greatest adaptation of all time. These fans, that hold the books in such high regard, feel a sense of ownership, as if they are trying to tell the world "You see, we were right. You all called us nerds or geeks but now look...." And they will shout longer and louder until everyone else agrees.
Like I said, this is a very good movie, but it is merely the middle.. (spoiler alert, there's gonna be another one!) Now unlike maybe The Dark Knight or Empire Strikes back, I don't know if this is something you would just watch randomly a few years on from now. You would have to set aside the time to make a dedicated effort to watch the whole saga. Which for me, removes it from the 'great movie' conversation.
A truly great movie should be something you can watch at the drop of a hat, something you can switch on halfway through and be instantly enthralled because you've seen them so many times. I just see that with this movie. Oppenheimer was the same. A fantastic film, but are you gonna stick it on when you've got a few hours to kill, while you wait for your solicitor to get back to you with the news of how much of your pension your soon-to-be ex wife wants in the divorce settlement...? No. You're gonna grab Flight of The Navigator off of the DVD shelf or City Slickers.
I digress. In a nutshell - Great visuals, incredible sound, some good performances although a missed opportunity with Butler's "greatest movie villain of all time". Pacing was a bit all over the place at times but overall a more than worthwhile next part to the story. I hope the next part (whether it's the final part or not) delivers too.
The Creator (2023)
Gareth Edwards IS The Creator.
I'm a little baffled by some of the scores towards the lower end of the scale. Some reviewers touting a lack of originality, some blaming "plot holes", others picking fault with the acting and the dialogue. At the end of the day, nearly every film ever made will at some point suffer with one or more of these. Read some of the these Pulitzer worthy ramblings and you'll be hard-pressed to find any real obvious examples of the aforementioned faults. There's some 'stretching' going on and it always amuses me when someone can spend two or three paragraphs, lambasting someone's writing talents when their own looks like it has been proof-read by Jimmy Krankie.
Back to the film.... What Mr. Edwards has done it s created a beautifully immersive world garnished with incredible CGI effects for a third of the price of your usual off-the-peg sci-fi blockbuster. Some great performances, some lovely set pieces, a little bit of heart and a few tears... And you have yourself a great little movie. I say little... This is Gareth 'Rogue One' Edwards! It feels grand in scale. It's like this great little Independent film shot against a summer blockbuster backdrop.
There's some cliché, there's some confusing elements but there's an awful lot to enjoy. So rather than try give you a blow by blow account based on my, wholly unqualified, opinion... I'll let you watch it yourself. And watch it yourself, you should.
Fast X (2023)
It's far from fast and it will leave you furious.
Just seen this on Sky... So glad I didn't furnish this with another ticket sale at the box office. I'd seen most of the others from the franchise at the cinema but after they sent dumb and dumber up into space the last time out, then even worse...brought them back! I thought, I'm done with lining a certain Mr. Diesel's pockets.
You just cling onto the tiny bit of hope that maybe someone from the studio actually watched the movie, then in a moment of clarity shouted "Children stop!! Put your crayons down... We're not making another one!" Then gathered up all of the unfinished 2D drawings of cars with machine guns attached to them, stickmen running around with rocket launchers, ironing board-shaped aeroplanes flying around in the sky whilst on fire and big bombs with the word "bomb" written on them (minus the second 'b' obviously) and sack the entire creative team.
Everyone enjoys switching off their brain for a couple of hours during a 'popcorn' movie but Vin's "acting" is like his umbilical cord "switched off" his oxygen supply for a couple of minutes during his birth! Although to be fair, he has learnt a new facial expression for this movie (he's got about 4 now) and manages to shoe-horn it into every scene he's in. Whether the scene calls for it or not, we're being treated to Vinny's new face.
I seriously believe that the X in the title...isn't referring to the tenth movie...no, it's his signature! The guy is a buffoon. He has all the emotional range of a sloth. Sloth! That's it.... He's like Sloth from The Goonies, just blundering his way through the saga. Instead of yelling "Hey you guys!" Just yelling "Faaamily". I wish someone would chain Dom Toretto to a wall in a cellar somewhere and just sit and throw Baby Ruth bars at his head. That could be the plot to Fast 14 Vs Marvel or whatever the next one is going to be. Then just when you think there's no chance for Dom... Hulk Hogan crashes through the wall on a nuclear-powered hover-submarine and before you know where you are Mama Toretto has to set another place at the dinner table.
Oh yeah, back to reviewing the movie... It's crap, but what did you expect?
Will I watch the next ones? Of course.
Rubikon (2022)
In space, nobody could hear the audience scream...."get on with it!!"
I've nothing against a low budget Sci-fi thriller, I've seen some good ones, I've endured some tough ones. Rubikon sadly falls into the latter category.
An interesting enough plot, but the lack of even moderate 'star-power' doesn't bring any weight to the 'thriller' element of the movie. You don't really care too much for any of the characters, which when you consider the plot, these could essentially be humanities final Series of Big Brother. Even worse than the real thing!
The end, when it finally does come, fizzles out like an out of date Roman Candle and leaves you with just as much satisfaction. It seems lazy and I'm not sure overall, what the point of the movie was. Now what I am sure of, is that there will be a hurd of far more qualified, Star-Trek pyjama-wearing, Kubrick idolising, Comic-con queue-camping intellectuals, that will say otherwise... But hey, I'm just here for the popcorn and all I'm saying is that there's probably a reason this only took about £308 at the box office!
Freelance (2023)
It is what it is, which is average.
I think this really missed an opportunity, to either be more in the vein of a Red Notice or The Lost City in terms of comedy value and execution, or more of a serious actioner... A la Extraction. I just think the lack of direction left the movie floundering between the two genres and this leaves you feeling they haven't quite made the most of a decent cast. Cena plays the reluctant hero in a 'fish out of water' style, which doesn't really make sense due to the fact he's a former special forces operative. A scene which highlights this sees him fleeing a helicopter attack... Instead of a stoney-faced hero running sequence made famous by Stallone's Rocky 3 beach romp or Will Smith's shirtless car chase (on foot)... We get more of a cat on a hot tub roof playing hop-scotch. There's also questionable dialogue which lets the movie down but let's face it... John Cena in an action comedy, running around the jungle firing big guns... It's not here for the 'Academy's' consideration.
Leave the World Behind (2023)
Apparently, they left the ending behind.
Now I'm all for a movie that leaves you with unanswered questions or an ending that is open to interpretation. But only when they are conceived and executed well. Inception would be an obvious example. What a film like that has over this however is a couple of hours of intense, gripping action scenes, character building sub-plots and, dare I say, a direction. When you have been spoiled with all of this, you can not only forgive but rather enjoy the ambiguous finale and the discussions that take place in the car on the way home from the cinema. When you allow the pretentiousness to take over and close out your movie in such a manner, don't do it on the back of a two hour, slow-burning bore-fest and expect the audience to feel satisfied.
Such a good cast let down by laziness or just lack of ideas. I'm sure there will be plenty of reviews claiming it to be a "thinking person's" movie or such but we're not out here studying for our psychology degree.... We're here to be entertained. If you want to drag your viewer down a long arduous lane, fine. But give them a little treat at the end! Namely some corpses, an explosion or three, a "eureka!" moment, boy gets the girl or even boy KILLS the girl... Something.
Muzzle (2023)
Bark is bigger than its bite.
I do have a soft spot for these type of movies... Channing Tatum's "Dog" was surprisingly good, I thought "A Dog's Purpose" was good also. I mean, Turner and Hooch set the bar (or should I say "stick"), it's a classic. I think the less said about K-9 the better. It seems an element of comedy helps these movies build the relationship between man and his would-be best friend. Here though, it's out and out drama with not much in the way of levity to break up the doom and gloom.
I think this started out well but the point where it really needed to start drawing you in to whatever the endgame was, it didn't. Aaron Eckhart did a decent job but I think was let down by the watered-down, John Wick-esque, murky underworld that he was tasked with infiltrating and ultimately toppling. A real lack of a crescendo with the final confrontation being somewhat absent of any real, ahem, 'bite'.
Napoleon (2023)
So for those seeking 'Gladiator 2'... Wait for Gladiator 2.
Disappointing and lack-lustre. The trailers look incredible and don't get me wrong, some of the action sequences are exactly that. The problem here (and it is a big one) is the poorly crafted, disjointed love-story that takes centre stage. Whether deliberate or not, there's almost an element of comedy in some of the interactions between Napoleon and Josephine... Or maybe the execution of some of the dramatic scenes are just comical..?
I'm struggling to guage Phoenix' performance due to the eccentricity of the main protagonist. It could be that the character study is bang on or it could be that the muddled continuity and up and down pacing of the movie has somehow compromised any real shout at a leading actor Academy nod.
Another issue I think is, that rather than maybe concentrate on a particular period or story arc during his reign, Scott preferred to go down the route of brushing over every significant date in Bonaparte's military career. The end result being a very 'hit and run' style insight into the whys and wherefores of specific historical events. Instead of a much more detailed build to something a little more epic. The battle of Waterloo would be the obvious choice.
Overall, I think it's a chance missed to tell the story, or at least a side of a story, of one of history's more complex battlefield generals during one of history's greatest battles.
King Richard (2021)
So when is G.I Jane 2 coming out?
Love a good Will Smith movie and this is exactly that. There are a lot of reviews on here dissecting the film in terms of it holding up as an accurate, historical account but that's not always what we're looking for. You would be naive to think that any biographical account, whether on the page or on film, executively produced by the subjects' own daughters, (who also happen to be main protagonists themselves) wouldn't be carefully constructed with a slight 'rose tinted' version of the truth.
So set that aside for a moment and even forget that these are real people and real events. What you are left with is a sport-based drama you've seen a thousand times, but this time brought to you with a stellar performance, worthy of the Oscar success Smiths' portrayal of the eccentric titular character, garnered.
I mean let's face it, a movie about tennis? It's not putting bums in seats is it? It probably wouldn't fill a theatre with the very linen-pant clad, middle class bums that don't mind paying 8 and a half quid for a handful of strawberries and some Dream Topping! Now put Will Smith in it, give him some crazy dialogue, some inspirational speeches and set it in Compton... Now we want to watch a tennis movie.
A great supporting cast, including a very Paul Rudd-esque Jon Bernthal, prop up Smith's performance and prevent it being the 'one man show' we know he is more than capable of delivering.
The Killer (2023)
More filler than thriller.
I've seen some reviews labelling this Fincher/Fassbender vehicle a suspenseful thriller... That's a bit of a stretch. It's a thinking mans' John Wick done on a working man's budget. There's nothing in the way of big set pieces, shootouts or car chases but then again, if everything else is there, you don't need them. This I think is where it falls a little flat. I understand it was a bit of a passion project for Mr. Fincher, but this can usually lead to the outcome being a little pretentious. I certainly think this is the case here. There's plenty to like, with the way the film has been beautifully shot and the detail that has been thought about throughout. There's an almost 'modern-day film-noir' feel to it. But sometimes it's not enough. I just don't feel there's enough for the audience to care about, which is why I feel you come out of it like the movie ends... a little flat.
Plane (2023)
Sully on steroids!
Exactly what you want from a film like this... Plenty of blood, guts and thunder (literally). Butler plays the titular role of badass pilot with a past. You're not gonna find this guy shipping out half-cut cockneys on a budget bender to Benidorm. Instead we find him in charge of a band of cobbled together plane 'crash' survivors, seeking rescue on a war-torn jungle island somewhere in the Philippines.
There's not much you have to really think too hard about, which make films like these so enjoyable. Turn the volume up, press play and watch the body-count rack up.
Some great supporting turns, especially from the flight manifests' "mysterious" traveller.
The Commuter (2018)
Ironically 'commute-worthy' iPhone fodder.
If you switch your head off for 90 minutes, you can breeze through most of Neesons 'post-Taken' offerings. This, is no exception. It's adequate background fayre for nursing one of those "stealthy" hangovers. The ones that creep up on you late afternoon. Don't be unnerved by the 'suspensful thriller' packaging, you can handle it... Unlike the half bottle of tequila that seemed liked a good idea last night.
Neeson again takes centre stage in this off-the-peg thriller that sports a good supporting cast (in names at least) and some decent set pieces and passenger-car scuffles.
Doesn't quite hit the mark in some areas nor has the originality element like similar films such as Source Code.
Retribution (2023)
Cut and paste
An actor you've seen before, reading dialogue you've heard before in an "action" movie you've laboured through before.
Nothing new from the man that reinvigorated the 'aging action hero' genre with Taken (well, the first one anyway).
A plot older than Neeson himself with action sequences straight out of a 'Christmas 24' thriller. The actors have very little to work with here, probably less so than the script writer(s). And let's face it, they probably had nothing more than a big box of crayons and about 15 minutes!
The only worry is... How many more 'straight to DVD' classics does Rob Roy have in his locker!?