Month: November 2022

Erin Brockovich (2000)

Rating 15
Length 2h11
Release 07.4.2000
Director Steven Soderbergh
About In Hinkley, California, a legal assistant discovers a major company’s dark secret that affects the health of the residents. With the help of her employer, she sets off to seek justice.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: Netflix
Trailer:

The Good

  • Albert Finney is always on form. From his breakout performance in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, to his main stream choices like Daddy Warbucks in Annie. I may not like his Christmas Carol (Scrooge 1980), but he does give an amazing performance as Ebenezer.
    He on perfect form as Ed Masry and his chemistry with Julia Roberts’ Brockovich is phenomenal. It’s hard to say that Finney was robbed of the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Mainly because I’ve never seen Traffic. However, this was an award winning performance from Finney.
  • Julia Roberts was not only a bankable star, she had the talent to back it up. Her name alone, in the decade since Pretty Woman, guaranteed bums on seats for the producers. That would never have been in doubt.
    However, there’s few actresses today, let alone back then, who would have been able to give such a performance that would ensure people would still be watching 22 years later.
  • The story is gut wrenching, yet understated. Yes, you get the impression good will out, but the intimate perspective the film gives you; you’re there with Erin. You feel every story, you fear for the outcome.
  • The film is also really funny. You need that in a film that is embedded with emotional journeys. Thankfully the relationship between Ed and Erin gives you that rest bite.

The Bad

  • There’s no bad in this film. It’s a film that’s economic with it’s time, generous with giving the characters room to tell the story and the cinematography is beautifully intimate and almost independent cinema in feel.

The Ugly

  • It’s the ugly truth of it all. This actually happened, effecting families and workers. Yet, the company did attempt to cover it all up and those families had to fight hard.
    Yes, you’ll feel like there was a win when we hear all the figures being thrown around, but once the film finishes, you do have to remember that $5 million is not actually going to have gotten the Jensen family very far considering the medical bills they would have.

Final Thoughts

Okay, so if you want a cushy Roberts rom-com, you’ve picked the wrong option. If you want a hard hitting, smart, biopic that makes you think this is the one for you.

The Noel Diary (2022)

Rating PG
Length 1h39
Release 24.11.2022
Director Charles Shyer
About When a best-selling author returns home at Christmas to settle his mother’s estate, he finds a diary that holds secrets to the past.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: Netflix
Trailer:

Naughty List

  • Hair! Oh I know it’s stupid to be getting on my nerves, but close the end of the film and on the return leg of the road trip, Rachel’s hair goes from curls to salon straight.
    1. I’m pissed off with the implication that straight hair is more attractive.
    2. There’s no way, that character, would have packed the essentials to get that salon finish.
    Seriously, it’s Winter Soldier’s Black Widow scene all over again.
  • Why does the woman always have to cheat?! Or rather, why did she have to have a fiancé? Okay, most who watching this will get swept away with the romance and I agree, it’s not that deep.
    Except it is. It’s a trope for that reason; its a formulaic characterisation to put in an “obstacle” or ‘tension’. On the surface, that’s fine. But spend more than a second on it, and they’ve trashed their leading woman.
  • It’s rather bloated and tries to almost tell the story of two films in one. Normally the two leads each having something to resolve is no bother, even adding in the romance… I think it is the added complication of her not being available is the proverbial wafer thin mint this film could have done without.

Nice List

  • Two very beautiful, and charming, leads. Both Barrett Doss and Justin Hartley are wonderful in their own respects, but when they are together they make this film joyful. You know, until the script gets in the way.
  • I really found some comfort in the scenes with James Remar. Someone who has always improved anything I’ve watched, there was something powerful in his performance as an estranged father.
  • Despite the sadness that sets the film in motion, it is rather uplifting by the time the credit call time on this Hallmark-lite story.

Final Thoughts

Easy to believe the romance, leave your brain at the door and enjoy it for what it is: a PG Mills&Boon by way of the Hallmark channel.

Black Adam (2022) Film Review

Rating 12a
Length 2h05
Release 21.10.2022
Director Jaume Collet-Serra
About In ancient Kahndaq, Teth Adam was bestowed the almighty powers of the gods. After using these powers for vengeance, he was imprisoned, becoming Black Adam. Nearly 5,000 years have passed, and Black Adam has gone from man to myth to legend. Now free, his unique form of justice, born out of rage, is challenged by modern-day heroes who form the Justice Society: Hawkman, Dr. Fate, Atom Smasher and Cyclone.
Moon: Full moon in mid-credit sequence
Where to Watch: Limited screenings in cinemas nationwide
Trailer:

The Good

  • I really quite enjoyed Pierce Brosnan hamming it up as Dr Fate. He was one of very few saving graces of the film.
  • Bodhi Sabongui was phenomenal as Amon Topaz. He gave the character his all, he won me over from the start; to the point where I thought this film was going to be a rehash of Shazam and he was going to be our Black Adam.
    I truly look forward to seeing where this kid pops up next, because he is most definitely one to watch.
  • There’s a fight sequence “in the rain” and that is incredibly well filmed.

The Bad

  • The plot is clunky and it’s even debateable whether it’s not a Justice Society film and not Black Adam.
  • My boy Dwayne Johnson. I get that there’s meant to be this reserved persona about Black Adam, but why’d you make him a Vulcan?! It’s just wrong.

The Ugly

  • I spend most of the time at odds with the title character. That shouldn’t happen and that was plotting choices. In an attempt to make Black Adam a mystery, the audience is alienated and made to feel like he’s the bad guy.
  • I’m also not meant to dislike the Justice Society. Like, seriously?! I’m hating the bad guys, I’m hating the good guys and the main guy…. this movie is not leaving me with much to like.
  • It’s CGI is shit! Beyond shit. It certainly isn’t going to age well.

Final Thoughts

Stop trying to make DCMU happen!

Pottersville (2017)

Rating 12
Length 1h24
Release 10.11.2017
Director Seth Henrikson
About Maynard, a beloved local businessman, is mistaken for the legendary Bigfoot during an inebriated romp through town in a makeshift gorilla costume.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: Netflix
Trailer:

Naughty

  • It’s a personal thing, but I’m not a fan of Thomas Lennon when he’s got a large role. The focus moved to him for that middle chunk and I completely switched off. When someone drowns out not only Ron Pearlman but Ian McShane too? You need to tone down your character.
  • It didn’t lean into Jaws enough. Or Its a Wonderful Life. It didn’t lean into anything at all. It almost just half-baked the references.
  • Furries?! We had to go down the route of furries? Yeah, this film isn’t going to exist without that plot point, and I must admit I loved Michael Shannon referring to the wolf as a squirrel but …. it just feels at odds. Perhaps removing the Christmas element might have helped?

Nice

  • Ian McShane is the perfect Quinn. You will never be able to fault Lovejoy to me. I only wish he’d gotten his equivalent Indianapolis speech.
  • Michael Shannon has a bad guy aura, so it’s quite refreshing to see him take on the George Bailey role of the town. I also love that while he is that guy, he’s not the stoic perfect archetype that Jimmy Stewart was known for.
    Also, he handles the humour well.
  • The Its a Wonderful Life scene. Bloody hell, it was brilliant. The lead up to it, his reasonings for the actions he took that had him turned on and the uplifting town unity. It gave me everything except for the devastating tears that Frank Capra’s Christmas outing does.

Final Thoughts

The film looses my interest in the third act, but the opening and closing are some of the finest, charming, acting I’ve seen.

Christmas With You (2022)

Rating PG
Length 1h29
Release 12.4.2017
Director Greg McLean (Writer James Gunn)
About Follows a pop star who’s got a career burnout and escapes to a small town where she finds not only inspiration but a shot of love.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: Part of MGM subscription on Amazon Prime
Trailer:

Naughty

  • It’s not only predictable, it’s paint by numbers plotting. Take out the Christmas setting and I’d be out within the first few scenes.
  • The set up all feels a little too contrived for my liking. It’s only because of how good it is once you’re past the set up that it can be forgiven.

Nice

  • Freddie Prinze Jnr! How awesome it is seeing him back as a leading man. He may have grown up, but he certainly hasn’t lost his charm. Not only that, but this is a rare occasion in which his Latino heritage has been utilised in this way and he kills is from the start.
  • Amiee Garcia, the wonderful Ella Lopez of Lucifer. It’s amazing to see her give us a better J-Lo than J-Lo! She’s funny, she’s charming and sincere. The only thing I didn’t buy was the idea that she was old and out of touch. Seriously, she looks younger than me, not her 47 years of age.
  • The chemistry, the comedy and the Christmas-ness of it all really will keep everyone entertained. There’s a true sense of family that will hit even the coldest of hears.

Final Thoughts

Not only is this a decent Christmas outing, it’s better than the other “super famous popstar falls for super regular DILF” 2022 has to offer. Switch off your brain and enjoy.

Disenchanted (2022)

Rating PG
Length 2h02
Release 82.11.2022
Director Adam Shankman
About Years after her happily ever after, Giselle, Robert and Morgan move to a new community and Andalasia and the real world are thrown off-balance.
Moon: Full moon in final animated shot before the credits
Where to Watch: Disney Plus
Trailer:

The Good

  • Gabriella Baldacchino really holds her own as Morgan. I almost wish the film had allowed her to be the protagonist. Watching it everything unfold from her perspective would have allowed for more of a fresher take.
    I’d have loved it if she’d gotten to save her love interest too. Really play around with convention.
  • Amy Adams does well playing wicked. Who’d have thunk it? She certainly looked to be playing the part and the film really warms for me once she’s no longer playing sickly sweet miss perfect.
  • The musical (score, that is. Although kudos on the Frozen reference) and visual cues to other fairy tales was quite good. From the on the nose, to subtle I expect people will be compiling an “all the Easter Eggs and references in Disenchanted” over the coming month.

The Bad

  • Gah, the singing. I hate musicals.
  • Giselle’s fish out of water and unrelenting pep had me reaching for the remote. This is why the fish out of water genre/clique does not do well with sequels. It’s only charming the first time out.

The Wicked

  • How do you have two amazing singing talents like Yvette Nichole Brown and Jayma Mays and waste them?! In a film about calling out the conventions in song, how did our wing-women not get a number? I’d have taken that over Dempsey’s ham fisted cringe-worthy attempts.

Final Thoughts

A film that perhaps too way too long to be released and feels a little too been there, done that.

Spirited (2022) Film Review

Rating 12a
Length 2h07
Release 18.11.2022
Director Sean Anders
About A musical version of Charles Dickens’ story of a miserly misanthrope who’s taken on a magical journey.
Moon: There was a waxing crescent towards the end of the film
Where to Watch: Part of Apple TV and selected cinemas.
Trailer:

Naughty List

  • Some of the green screen is really ropey. I like what it is trying to achieve, however if I’m noticing on a first viewing? I hate to think what it’ll look like a few years down the line.
  • The concept set up is a little tedious. Could be the number of songs that are crammed into the set up (I’m not a fan of musicals), but I really needed some of the fat trimmed one way or another.
  • It’s a tad too long for me. I like my Dickens, and my musicals, like I like my cocktails. Short. Yes, this does break out of the standard one night, three ghosts, formula. Still not sure it justifies the screen time.

Nice List

  • I adore the ‘Monsters Inc’, behind the scenes on the supernatural, vibe that this Christmas Carol outing presents.
  • Ryan Reynolds man! Seriously, he gives his best Reynolds performance, showmanship, with his “Scrooge” in need of turning. Not only that, but he gives the audience Broadway chops! He sings, he dances, he taps!
    He also has amazing chemistry with Wil Farrell.
  • The songs, while I’m not a massive fan, have that whimsical Jim Henson for adults gloss. They’re uplifting, clear and annoyingly catchy. Anyone without my aversion will love them.
  • It’s nothing you will have ever seen from a Christmas Carol before. It has that meta-ness that Reynold’s Free Guy gave everyone last year, while this actually throws in a few curveballs.

Final Thoughts

It’s a decent film, with its own spin on the overtold classic. It might take a moment to get into, but it pays off in ways you won’t even expect.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

Rating 12
Length 2h41
Release 11.11.2022
Director Ryan Coogler
About Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M’Baku, Okoye and the Dora Milaje fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with Nakia and Everett Ross to forge a new path for their beloved kingdom.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: Cinemas Nationwide now.
Trailer:

The Good

  • How the film handles the passing of Chadwick Boseman is touching, tasteful and by shifting the protagonist focus from the start means there is no offensive Star Wars type CGI to fill in the narrative gaps.
  • Winston Duke is the perfect scene stealer, as as always, however what I loved most in this outing was that he held his own for the emotional scenes as well as the comedic.
  • The commentary on politics and the passing of a monarch was not lost on me. It was obviously filmed long before the passing of the Queen of England, but the message still resonated.
  • How the film handled grief was powerful. I liked the exploration of different ways to grieve. Not only as a film that embodied the grief for Boseman, but for the character of T’Challa too.
  • The film is fucking stunning

The Bad

  • I’m not sure about the inclusion of a quasi-hindu culture for the anti-hero Namor and his aquatic community. I am aware that its meant to be the Mayan culture, however the blue skin makes it hard not to make parallels with Hinduism. Whether it was about ensuring diversity, or setting them apart from the DC counterparts, it just didn’t land right.
    It could also be that there’s upcoming blue bastards that irk me somewhat. I mean, why do they always have to be blue?
  • Weren’t the Enternals fucking about with the Mayan culture back in that shit show? Or are we just pretending that movie never happened now? I mean, we pretty trotted all over the globe in this movie…. why was there no glimpse of that celestial corpse. Could have easily been that body that disturbed the vibranium and started this all off.
    You know, so that there’s literally *one* tiny thread connecting this phase’s movies together! Fuck, did MCU really peak with the Infinity Saga?!

The Ugly

  • It was about forty minutes too long and lacked enough action sequences to balance out the emotion. Kids can take the emotion, hell we’ve all been through enough Uncle Bens by now to know that. However there’s the web slinging to counter balance.
  • I think the film tried to fit too much into this movie. I also think that Phase Four should have had this as a limited series and gave Falcon and Winter Soldier the movie.
  • Getting very tired of the queerbaiting bull shit from the House of Mouse. If you’re going to go gay, go gay. Don’t do the hint to keep your conservative viewers happy. You can’t pay lip service any more. I’m all for making it clear without the neon sign, but this ain’t that. This is called being a pussy!

Final Thoughts

It did it’s best with the story it *had* to tell. It also attempts to tackle such a mountainous topic like grief but it essentially boiled down to being yet another Marvel origin.

Enola Holmes 2 (2022)

Rating 12
Length 2h10
Release 04/11/2022
Director Harry Bradbeer
About Enola Holmes takes on her first case as a detective, but to unravel the mystery of a missing girl, she’ll need some help from friends — and brother Sherlock.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: Netflix
Trailer:

The Good

  • Millie Bobby Brown is rather good as Enola. This is the kind of actress who is not only comfortable in her own skin, but it able to show vulnerability within the characters she’s playing.
    This is no exception and, a perfect example is when she is able to, in character, break the fourth wall. Not many actors of her age could pull it, let alone with such an impact on the story.
  • All returning actors play their parts as excellently as they had previously and we have new comer David Thewlis who is a delight as always, even if he was playing rather typecast. But then, I always have preferred his Lupin to his Freddie May.

The Bad

  • I felt as if the film relied a tad too much on Henry Cavill in this outing. Perhaps it was the lack of Claflin as the second Holmes brother, or just the Cavill of it all but it was one scene away from being a Sherlock Holmes story and that rankled me.
  • Which I partly feel was down to the story. Perhaps one that works better in the book, but on the screen I felt that it was trying to be a clever nod to Doyle’s original works while still attempting to be canon. I loved the Matchstick girl storyline, but as it became a larger story and clearly weaved into the elder Holmes’ case, I felt underwhelmed.

The Ugly

  • I must say I felt that the protest scene was mishandled. For a film, it felt twee and too scripted. Knowing the protest and strike was a real event made it even harder to swallow. The script and staging was just too clunky, too inactive and then a switch was pressed and it changed.
    I wish they’d played it differently is all and built the scene up rather than have it stagnant and switch.

Final Thoughts

A perfect autumnal watch as the light draws in. It’s wonderful to see Brown holding her own and growing as an actor.