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Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
Godzilla vs. Kong's monster-sized silliness is fun but flawed.
Whilst attempting to find his way home, Kong comes face-to-face with the devastating Godzilla; and with the world watching on, the fate of mankind hangs in the balance as the two begin their fight for supremacy.
The first thing to say is that it is never made explicitly clear why any of this is happening. There is talk of rituals of years gone by and the film also owes something of a debt to the plot of Batman vs. Superman, but at no point is it convincing that any of this has to happen, other than the fact that the VFX people have come up with a pretty convincing Kong and Godzilla.
We get almost an hour in before we see the monsters themselves, and by that point, most of the interesting dialogue has been spoken - and that's really saying something - but the studio knows that what audiences really want to see is the fight sequences. In that regard, the film works. The fight sequences are of a huge scale and are full of thwack, vim and vigour. Fortunately, the monsters never lose their sense of size and there are some really visually striking shots of the two going at it.
As fun as the fight scenes are, the film does make one fatally bad decision. Without going into any detail what I can say is that based on the majority of comments across social media about which of the two monsters should win, in the end, the wrong one does. Visually and technically, the film is more than satisfactory, but creatively it is not rewarding enough. The characters are disposable, the script seems like an after-thought, and the film isn't saved by its ending.
Godzilla vs. Kong will no doubt make a lot of money, but I don't think we are quite there in terms of a film about the world's most infamous movie monsters fighting it out. Not terrible, not great, just a bit - *sighs with a heavy heart*.
Happy Death Day (2017)
Far from being a disaster, but not quite Source Code
The premise of this film is what gives it 4 of the 6 stars I have given. It's actually a really smart plot, yet it is executed rather poorly, which is such a shame considering that if the film took itself a little more seriously, it could genuinely be put into contention as one of the great Psychological Thrillers of recent years. That is the problem, it's more "fun" than "thrilling".
The story and ingenuity start to slow down as the film goes on, with both gently coming to a halt by the final 10 minutes of the film, so it's a downward slope from (pretty much) the start but it does manage to cling on to its entertainment value long enough to be worth watching.
Don't expect a masterpiece, it's just a bit of fun.
Avicii: True Stories (2017)
Devastatingly honest and brutally real, this is extraordinary cinema.
DJ's and music producers live a life which many wish they had. A life of private jets, money and fame. However, as Avicii: True Stories shows, that lifestyle comes at a cost, and for the man behind the biggest name in Dance music, that cost became far more damaging than any loss of money or fame.
Avicii: True Stories shows the story of Avicii from the beginning, with a superbly chronicled time-line, showing the rise of success from the early days of Tim Bergling to the worldwide chart domination of Avicii, it's all in there.
Highlighting the immense health struggles that Tim suffered over the years, it suddenly becomes so clear as to why Avicii had to stop. The machine had beaten itself, the light was no longer to outshine the darkness, the madness of it all had finally reached its peak, and it hit that peak in devastating fashion, as shown in this extraordinary up-close-and-personal telling of Tim's career as a DJ and music producer.
It's a hard-to-swallow reminder that what we hear in his music, tales of uplifting nature filled with such positivity and joy, is not at all accurate to how Avicii is as a human being, as Tim. The trailer for the documentary quoted Tim saying: "Peoples perception of who Avicii is - isn't who Tim is" and it is that separation between artist and human being which proves to be so damaging, "the picture doesn't represent the painter".
The story-line of the documentary gives a sense of depth and shows the journey in a way that isn't too long to become uninteresting or too short to not be enough, it's perfectly shot and beautifully edited. We get to see it all, from the business aspects behind Levels to the incredible production process behind some of Avicii's biggest hits, Avicii: True Stories has everything and nothing is left unexplained, it's all there.
Avicii: True Stories is an emotional roller-coaster between pure euphoria and crushing struggle, with both shown in their most raw forms. The music brought so much joy to Avicii, but the lifestyle brought so much pain to Tim, it's an important lesson that what we see isn't always a true representation. This is a very unique piece of cinema, simply put - this is compulsory viewing.
It (2017)
Terrifyingly brilliant. You'll float too.
What persuaded me to watch this movie was the blessing bestowed upon it by the stories original creator, Stephen King, who claimed: "I wasn't prepared for how good it really was".
He's not wrong.
"IT" is quite extraordinary. The attention to detail, the subtle but effective comedic undertone and the exquisite cinematography not only do the original title proud, they make this re-imagining of the original classic even better than its predecessor.
It's a very scary film but what impressed me was how true the film sticks to the original's tricks; it isn't filled with loud in-your-face jump scares, in fact, a lot of what makes this film scary is the slick cinematography and intricate shadow play. The use of lighting and creation of atmosphere is what makes this film so tense, which is why it's perfectly suited for those who like Horror movies but without the obnoxious gore.
Watched the pre-release as a critic - August 28th.
Dunkirk (2017)
Staggeringly superb, Nolan is unrivalled.
Nolan has become somewhat of a cinematic genius over the past decade. His ability to see things from a completely different angle and deliver such powerful cinema is unrivalled. "Dunkirk" is the next level. No film matches its level of power, emotion, tension, atmosphere or storytelling.
Opting to veer away from the stomach-wrenching brutality of the films only competitor, Saving Private Ryan, "Dunkirk" looks to focus more on the story behind the violence. Nolan achieves this with such ease. This gripping tale of struggle, togetherness and bravery is as beautifully written as it is acted.
I cannot fault this work of art.
The Hateful Eight (2015)
Tarantino's relentlessly gripping "whodunnit" is gloriously gory
Fans of Tarantino will have become accustomed to high-octane, bloody killing spree's in his works such as KILL BILL, DJANGO: UNCHAINED and PULP FICTION, however, THE HATEFUL EIGHT sings a very different tune. It gradually lures you in and isn't particularly violent at all, for the most part, but just when you're sitting comfortably enough, the fountains of blood pour into the frame to give this film a true Tarantino feel.
Mightily suspenseful, beautifully scripted, exceptionally acted and with an outrageous amount of entertainment, THE HATEFUL EIGHT is a true Tarantino classic. No one quite does it like him.
Baywatch (2017)
Not particularly good but not particularly bad either, just painfully in the middle
I wasn't expecting anything great from this movie, so I wasn't too disappointed. What can you expect from a Baywatch movie? Of you're going to get a few cheap jokes, sexual references, the occasional violence and a lot of camera ogling (albeit mostly focusing on Zac Efron during a workout scene). What damages this film the most is the fact that it tries too hard to be as good as 21 Jump Street. 21 was, and still is, a very funny film and Baywatch has clearly taken note of the "pro-takes-on- the-bumbling-apprentice" style of comedy of which is so brilliantly portrayed in movies like 21 J S, Hot Fuzz (etc). However, Baywatch is not the new Hot Fuzz and it isn't the new 21, it is just Baywatch.
The humour is very predictable, often relying on bad language to add some sort of risqué edge to the painful, slapstick humour throughout the movie. It has its moments of humour and the action is exciting enough for the purposes of the film, but it just doesn't have enough in it to make it interesting. The film itself is roughly 2 hours, that is ridiculous. Trim it down to a 1-hour one-off reboot special and you'd probably be watching a very good episode of Baywatch, but as a standalone film, it is painfully bland.
The Mummy (2017)
Far from being a bad film, "The Mummy" provides some thrills and spectacular visuals
The Mummy franchise has been struggling lately. Ever since the original 1999 movie was released, the movies have gradually gotten worse. The first "Mummy" was slick, well made and entertaining; the second was your typical B/C movie, not the worst but far from the best, and then with the third installment it was clear that Hollywood had given up on the franchise and wanted one more pay-cheque.
Skip forward to 2017 and we appear to have something just as good as the original. Sure, for some, the flashy visuals may seem like a cover-up for the (occasional) uninspired dialogue, however, there is no doubt that a lot of money was invested in making this film look good, and it sure delivers on that aspect (even with The Scorpion King setting the bar very low, "The Mummy" (2017) still looks pretty amazing).
Tom Cruise stars, which to some may be a turn-off, but I think some credit is due here. Tom has made a name for himself in the M:I film's, and with his performance in "The Mummy", he shows audiences that perhaps it's not too late to make a name for yourself in a different franchise. He's not the best actor in the world by any means, but he does the job and he does it well enough for the film to be taken reasonably seriously.
I think that it's important to remember that you're not seeing anything ground- breaking with this film; it's not going to have the same impact as the original Mummy title and it certainly isn't going to steal the show at the Oscars, but it has its moments of adrenaline-pumping action, well-crafted visuals and smart dialogue.
Some of this 1hr 47min Egyptian-fetish flick feels a bit clunky, and the story is all too familiar sounding (disturbing an ancient evil which comes back to wreak havoc on everyone), but when you consider that there have been worse Mummy films, 2 to be exact and that Alien Covenant hasn't exactly set the bar for reboots particularly high, The Mummy has its entertainment value, it has its action and suspense, but it also has some cracks in its sarcophagi which will, hopefully, be ironed out when they inevitably make another of these in 2 or so years time.
Not the worst, not the best, but definitely worth watching for a few thrills.
Parental Guidance: Some scary scenes, moments of moderate fantasy horror and bloody violence, language (15+)
Laid in America (2016)
This is what happens when non-actors try to act
I've seen a fair few KSI and Casper Lee videos over the past few years. I'm 20, so their videos are aimed for that kind of age. I didn't expect this film to be good, because KSI has tried to do things outside of making Youtube videos, for example: rapping, and they just do not work, and my expectations were not disappointed. It's his ego that is the problem. Casper, I feel, is more likable as a "Youtuber", but this film? It is just so, so bad.
It's the typical "we don't have a good script so we'll just use loads of crude jokes" kind of film, it lacks depth or any sort of meaning, it just, exists. It's not funny, the jokes are old and painfully predictable. KSI's brand of loud-mouthed swearing is boring now and this film really shows that, he just has no idea what he is doing. In saying that, neither does Casper. Acting is just so far out of these guy's world and it really shows in this film.
I didn't expect a film with KSI in it to be any good, but this is an absolute disaster of an attempt to make anything entertaining, meaningful and/or enjoyable.