Category: 2023

Poor Things (2023) Film Review

I have adventured it and found nothing but sugar and violence.

Rating 18
Length 2h21
Release 12.01.2024
Director Yorgos Lanthimos
About Brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist, a young woman runs off with a lawyer on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, she grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.
Moon: waxing crescent seen just before ‘The Ship’ title
Where to Watch: Disney+ and cinemas nationwide
Trailer:

The Good

Emma Stone is breath-taking and weirdly charming with her brash candour as Bella. I adore the character in all her being, learning and adventure. Her journey reminds me a little of the life of Siddhartha; except perhaps without the epic amounts of ‘furiouis jumping’.

Visually this film is a dream. It’s art. From the use of colour, the fish eye lenses and use of steampunk imagery. It reminds me a little of The Fall (2006) for how the visuals are overwhelmingly striking.

The script is absurd, but so very quotable.

The Bad

The thing that will prevent this being a rewatchable gem is the sheer number of sex scenes, particularly when Bella gets to Paris. Call me a prude if you wish but while I do not take offence or abashment to watching them as part of the telling of this tale, they are not something I find enjoying or entertaining enough and there are certain scenes that I find a bit too disturbing to endure again. However, with an editing of some (most), I’d watch this over and over again.

The Ugly

The music. Yes, it fits well with the absurdity of the film however I really did not like what the subtitles name ‘offbeat strings’. I don’t know enough about music but the instruments were either out of tune or key. I think they are different, but I could not tell you which one it was.
Even the introduction of the theremin did not win me over as it was there to clash with everything else.

Final Thoughts

An incredible, award worthy, film and piece of art.

American Fiction (2023) Film Review

Geniuses are loners because they can’t connect with the rest of us.

Rating 15
Length 1h57
Release 02.02.2023
Director Cord Jefferson
About Monk is a frustrated novelist who’s fed up with the establishment that profits from Black entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, he uses a pen name to write an outlandish Black book of his own, a book that propels him to the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
Trailer:

The Good

I fucking loved the humour. From Jeffery Wright’s Monk reducing a white woman to tears over the use of a controversial racial slur to the white judge declaring they love listening to Black voices; after voting against the black voices in the room.

Speaking of which, Jeffery Wright is perfect. I’ve loved him since he first appeared as Felix in 2006’s Casino Royale. While other’s in the role could have drowned in the cynicism and negativity, Wright balances it out with a charming vulnerability.

Is there anything Sterling K Brown can’t do? Damn, he has an amazing presence and works off whoever he is acting against. One of my favourite things about this film is the relationship between the two brothers.

The Bad

The ending ventured into Blazing Saddles territory with the meta and layered ending. I’m still trying to decide if it worked for me or not. I did love that it allowed us to reach the end without hitting the typical tropes.

The Ugly

It is a rather heavy going film despite the comedy. Parental trauma, the pain of losing a loved one to alzheimers, the challenge of living in a sibling’s shadow. So much of the life of Monk will be relatable to anyone who has experienced what it’s like to be part of a family.
For me watching Monk take up the lion’s share of caring for his mother was pretty tough going.

Final Thoughts

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

Rating 15
Length 3h26
Release 20.10.2023
Director Martin Scorsesse
About Real love crosses paths with unspeakable betrayal as Mollie Burkhart, a member of the Osage Nation, tries to save her community from a spree of murders fueled by oil and greed.
Moon: full moon seen 25 minutes in
Where to Watch: Apple TV
Trailer:

The Good

I’m calling it now: Lily Gladstone will take away the Oscar for Best Actress in a leading role on 10 March. She is incredible in representing what I see as a matriarchal power within a community that many women today would say is what feminism is looking for in terms of ‘equality’.
Gladstone even when at the most vulnerable point of Mollie’s life, gives a strength of character and morals that will have you wanting to reach through the screen to ensure her survival.

It is a visually beautiful film. You cannot deny, that Martin Scorsese is an incredible, talented, filmmaker. He’s even able to utilise slow motion is a competent and effective way.

The story is powerful. I found myself at the half way mark, maybe a little after, thinking so angrily about how corrupting wealth is. It then pulled me up short because this is a wealth that is still causing death, deception and dehumanisation a hundred years later. We’re not talking about money, but something more powerful. Oil.
Then you consider the characters of Mollie and Ernest. My opinions of DiCaprio aside, it’s clear these two characters love each other. It creates an almost paradox, not only within the film but the audience’s own understanding too. It will have you thinking about it, long after the film has finished.

The Bad

The run time. Yes, I do think that it’s largely to do with what the story is telling and how it perhaps could have been a trilogy. Maybe if Scorsese was younger, he’d have entertained it. However, I think this is the first three hour film I’ve watched since the most recent Bond. I didn’t need to stop the film, but with it being a slow and relatively quiet film, I know others would struggle.

By extension, because of how long the film is, the one thing I disliked was the use of flash back in the final act to an earlier part of the film. It wasn’t a replay of scenes, but still felt unnecessary.

The Ugly

I big swing, but Leonardo DiCaprio is too overrated and I could have watched this film with anyone else in the role of Earnest. In fact, I would have preferred Jesse Plemons take on the protagonist, and DiCaprio in the smaller, third act role, of Tom White.
Maybe I’m missing something that others can see in DiCaprio’s performances, but I couldn’t distinguish this performance, to that of The Revenant (2015), or even Don’t Look Up (2021). His ability to gurn and look like he’s attended Joey’s School of ActingTM does not an actor make for me.

By extension, Robert DeNiro should have been swapped with John Lithgow for the very reason that there was doubt or question about the morality of Bill Hale. The moment you see DeNiro, you know that while he himself doesn’t get dirty, he’s the shots.
Put Lithgow in the role, what is seen immediately as manipulation, becomes a much more subtle and opportunistic plot. DeNiro is too much the obvious choice for that role and I truly would have loved to have seen Lithgow get his teeth into a multi act performance and allowing DeNiro to play the smaller, government role.

Final Thoughts

An incredibly well made film that is a little too long for me. Not because of attention span as such, more that the story does lend itself to a trilogy.
That said, if you’re a fan of Scorsese, you’ll find this biopic perfect.

Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken (2023)

Discover the hero just beneath the surface.

Rating PG
Length 1h31
Release 30.06.2023
Director Kirk DeMicco
About Sweet and awkward 16-year-old Ruby Gillman is desperate to fit in at school, but she mostly just feels invisible. She’s prevented from hanging out with the cool kids at the beach because her over-protective mom forbids her from getting in the water. When she breaks her mom’s rule, Ruby discovers that she is a descendant of the warrior Kraken queens and is destined to inherit the throne from her grandmother. The Kraken are sworn to protect the world’s oceans against vain, power-hungry mermaids.
Moon: full moon seen at multiple times
Where to Watch: Now TV
Trailer:

The Good

Following in the footsteps of Disney’s Seeing Red, this film looks at the turbulent time of going from childhood to adulthood.

The characters are pretty cool, and I love the subversion of expectations: making the Kraken good and the mermaids evil.

It’s good to have Jane Fonda and Annie Murphy within the voice cast. There’s something distinctive and soothing about Fonda’s voice and Murphy’s work as Alexis in Schitt’s Creek makes her perfect for the popular student, Chelsea.

The Bad

For a Dreamworks production, there’s something missing. The quality of both the animation and story just don’t reach the quality of any of the other franchises from this company.

The Ugly

The biggest problem is that the opening is told by an omniscient narrator who also happens to be the protagonist, Ruby, and doesn’t know she’s a kraken until half way through the film.
It just puts the audience at odds with the narrative. We already know she’s a kraken because of the title, then the opening tells us too… but then the film plays dumb. It sucks.

Final Thoughts

I don’t regret watching, but I really did find it lacking.

The Book of Clarence (2023)

I wouldn’t have let you drown. But now I have to crucify you.

Rating 15
Length 2h09
Release 11.10.2023 (BFI London Film Festival)
Director Jemmies Samuel
About A down-on-his-luck man struggles to find a better life for his family while fighting to free himself of debt. Captivated by the power and glory of the rising Messiah, he risks everything to carve his own path to a divine life, ultimately discovering that the redemptive power of belief may be his only way out.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch:
Trailer:

The Good

It’s difficult not to compare this to Monty Python’s The Life of Brian, and it exactly what made the Python’s film (and Kevin Smith’s Dogma) great that allows this to succeed too.
It’s an incredible, clever, film that can be read on many levels. While we follow someone attempting to emulate Jesus, much in a similar way to LoB, there’s so many elements of Biblical truth to be seen within its run time.
For example, the discussion of Mary’s ‘virginity’ and a particularly funny dialogue about etymology: *chef’s kiss*.

You will know this from the trailer alone, Jesus is finally not the blue-eyed white guy of Hollywood. That’s not to say that this film doesn’t acknowledge, or attempt to explain, how Jesus looked like prequel Obi Wan.

Clarence’s character arc from blasphemer to believer is stunning and comparable to the conversion of Saul. It’s also the source of much of the humour. None of which is possible without LaKeith Stanfield. It takes a certain talent to successfully act in dramatic roles, and comedic roles, Stanfield is not only able to do both; he’s does both in the one film.

James MacAvoy: His presence is short, but memorable. Oh he absolutely relishes every moment of being a villain.

The Bad

I wish the very beautiful Babs Olusanmokun had a few more scenes than he did. It would have been nice to have seen him use his physical/fighting experience within the scenes he did appear in.

The Ugly

I actually cannot believe I’m saying this, but Benedict Cumberbatch was incorrectly cast. To me at least. While I explained earlier, it is hard not to compare this film to the Python’s silver screened outing, Clarence is not Brian.
Unfortunately, I got the impression Cumberbatch was playing the role as if he was in the 1979 cult classic.
Yes, he got some of my favourite lines, love the character and the inclusion of him in the story as a whole. However, I disliked his delivery. Too hammy and too broad. The biggest shame? He could have knocked this out of the park.

Final Thoughts

Not only is it modern, beautiful and moving, it about bloody time. It also felt sincere in its message of faith. Something that occasionally be lost with the comedic tone.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) Film Review

Heroes aren’t born. They’re mutated.

Rating PG
Length 1h40
Release 31.07.2023
Director Jeff Rowe & Tyler Spears
About After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers. Their new friend, April O’Neil, helps them take on a mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.
Moon: full moon at multiple points
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime – with Paramount subscription
Trailer:

The Good

The animation is stunning. Since Spiderverse, other companies have really upped their game when it comes to having a unique animation style.

The characterisation of the quartet is perfect. The turtles are no longer identified by their coloured mask, but each of the brothers has an individual body type that reflects their personality.

Love that the film oozed easter eggs; it was most definitely written by my kind of people who loved the original cartoon tv show. They don’t overwhelm, so people new to the franchise will not feel alienated. Instead they add value to those of us who loved the show growing up.

The soundtrack is amazing.

The Bad

There are some pop culture references that *may* date this film in years to come. While calling the boys “Shrek” will linger, some of the others might not.

The Ugly

Yet another origins story. Bit like the death of Batman’s parents or Uncle Owen, I really would love a TMNT incarnation to forgo the mutation beginnings of our heroes in half shells.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed this film, but more than anything it has me craving the original tv show.

The Beanie Bubble (2023) Film Review

Rating 15
Length 1h50
Release 21.07.2023
Director Frank Coraci
About The unbelievable tale of one of America’s most fascinating phenomena — Beanie Babies. Flashing back to the ’90s and early 2000s, an in-depth look at how the era-defining zeitgeist came to be.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: Apple TV
Trailer:

The Good

Our leading ladies are incredible. They command their individual stories and make for engaging heroes.

The story of the beanie baby rise and fall is pretty interesting. There’s an anticipation that is enjoyable because of the fact that we find Ty is a dick and, as an audience, we know how it all ends.

The Bad

There is a simpler, much more linear, story to be told that would have made this a more appealing movie. While the movement through time and between the stories of the three women is clever, it is an alienating device.

Its a slow burn. A little too slow at times, you just don’t realise it because the chopping and changes gives a false sense of progression.

The Ugly

Those fucking cats! How on earth they sold is beyond me. If only people of the 80s realised how shit they were and this uber narcissist would never have been successful.

Zach Galfifianakis without a beard is all kinds of wrong. That man was so attached to his beard, he refused to shave it for Hangover 3. I was so unbelievably distracted for the entire film.

Final Thoughts

Certainly worth a watch, and a trip to a time that I’m certainly not ready to consider nostalgia.

Bottoms (2023) Film Review

You don’t care about feminism. Your favorite show is Entourage!

Rating 15
Length 1h32
Release 03.11.2023
Director Emma Seligman
About Unpopular best friends PJ and Josie start a high school fight club to meet girls and lose their virginity. They soon find themselves in over their heads when the most popular students start beating each other up in the name of self-defense.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
Trailer:

The Good

Ruby Cruz, Kit of the Willow tv show, shows another layer to her acting in her vulnerable, humorous, outlier. While I would give anything for season 2 and 3 of Willow, I’m happy to see Cruz in something. There’s something familiar and androgynous about the role of Hazel. Almost like the love child of Buffy’s Oz, Stranger Things’ Robin and Ghostbuster’s Egon.

This film is bat shit crazy in the best way. It’s funny, delves into real issues and goes to the extreme when needed. The final act is so unhinged that you have no choice but to go with it.
This is Booksmart, meets Jawbreaker by way of Jennifer’s Body and Metal Lords. I could list more because the setting and the story is ultimately familiar, yet there’s a unique and fringe quality that gives this an edge.

Alo Edebiri is proving there will be life after The Bear. Awkward but leader-worthy is currently her niche, and much like the Emmy winning show, she plays it really well.

The music is on point. It’s up there with Clueless and 10 Things I Hate About You for soundtracks you’ll want to listen to.

The Bad

The trope of building something up from a lie.
It’s a little tired because as soon as it starts, there’s only one way it can end. I really just wish there’s a way of having this film without that plot thread, or a subversion of our expectation upon the reveal.

The Ugly

The adults in the film totally suck. They’re terrible teachers, parents…. hell they’re terrible adults. As rubbish as they are though, it allows for everything to take place. Just prepare to hate all the adults and just roll with it. The minute you start questioning anything, the whole pack of cards fall down.

Final Thoughts

A brilliant, bat shit crazy movie that will not be everyone’s cup of tea.

Book Club: The Next Chapter (2023)

We’re on this trip, not because of fate, but because we’re best friends for fifty years.

Rating 12
Length 1h48
Release 12.05.2023
Director Bill Holderman
About Four best friends take their book club to Italy for the fun girls’ trip they never had. When things go off the rails, and secrets are revealed, their relaxing vacation turns into a once-in-a-lifetime cross-country adventure.
Moon: full moon during the evening meal
Where to Watch: Now TV
Trailer:

The Good

The four friends are well cast and it’s fun to see them take on a ‘trip abroad’ that normally would be teens or young adults. It allows for slightly different age-related tropes.

The presentation of Covid-19 was really well done and a good way to start the film and catch up with the four leads. However, I would say the rest of the proceedings do sort of move on as if there’s no further issue, but then again that is typical for society today.

It’s nice to have both Giancarlo Giannini (Bond) and Hugh Quarshie (Star Wars Prequels) on board to woo the ever wonderful Candice Bergen.

The Bad

There’s a tense threat that the tight-knit group is going to have a falling out that never transpires. As a result of this film being so loyal to its predictable plotting, it leaves the audience tense with expectation.

I don’t care that it is a fake out; Mary Steenburgen doesn’t cheat and I hate that even for a second I had to envision an ending where she has to break Craig T Nelson’s heart. Not funny. Not funny at all.

The Ugly

It’s all too predictable, and the bits that weren’t obvious were made as such by deliberate narration. Yes, there’s some comfort in it, but not all was necessary. It also makes the fake-outs predictable too.

Final Thoughts

An easy, offence-less, plot by numbers sequel.

Next Goal Wins (2023) Film Review

Rating 12
Length 1h44
Release 26.12.2023
Director Taika Waititi
About With the 2014 World Cup qualifiers approaching, down-on-his-luck coach Thomas Rongen tries to turn the American Samoa soccer team into winners.
Moon: Full moon during the “nightcap” scene
Where to Watch: Still in cinemas
Trailer:

The Good

Yes, it’s a little plot by numbers, as underdog stories go. But that’s what makes them so good. Plus, you have to give it at least a bit of a pass; it’s based on a true story.

I adore the humour. I always have. It’s that odd, make a declaration that seems to be an absolute, then list the exceptions. Of which there tends to be many. For example “America Samoa skin is impenetrable. Unless you have something sharp. Scissors, a knife, a pin. You know anything that has a really sharp point.”
It’s like a Waititi Dad joke and I adore it, especially when you pair it with the dead pan accent of Waititi; or most of the cast of Next Goal Wins.

Kaimana is incredible as transitioning player Jaiyah. I was concerned that the topic of having a trans woman on the team was going to be approached in a heavy handed manner, particularly when one of the first scenes has Fassbender’s Rongen deadname her, repeatedly.
However, what develops is a beautiful education of the coach, and perhaps the audience too, and one of my favourite relationships of the film almost becomes the focus of the film. I would have loved to have seen a little more, but given that this is a football film I’m going to let go.

The Bad

At first I thought perhaps it was the accent, but it is actually that fucking fake assed beard that Fassbender is made to wear for the opening act. Maybe it’s the blondness of it that really makes it look fake, but I really could have done without it and I was very grateful for it’s departure upon his arrival to the island.

The Ugly

Niagara Falls warning – as with many underdog movies, this one will tug on your heartstrings and reaching for the tissues. You know, if you have a heart.

Final Thoughts

This is essentially Mighty Ducks does football, with Waititi’s brand of humour. I personally love it, but some might not.

The Marvels (2023) Film Review

Rating 12
Length 1h45
Release 10.11.2023
Director Nia DaCosta
About Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, has reclaimed her identity from the tyrannical Kree and taken revenge on the Supreme Intelligence. However, unintended consequences see her shouldering the burden of a destabilized universe. When her duties send her to an anomalous wormhole linked to a Kree revolutionary, her powers become entangled with two other superheroes to form the Marvels.
Moon: moon(s) sighted
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime for rental
Trailer:

The Good

The best part of The Marvels is Iman Vellani, reprising her role as Ms Marvel from the Disney+ show of the same name. She’s identifiable, not only as a fan of The Avengers, but as teen with an overbearing, yet loving, family.
I adored her flawed character, I enjoyed watching her grow in confidence and her interaction with her family and whatever organisation Fury belongs to now.
One of my favourite parts came towards the middle of the film; Kamala, upon facing the genocide of the remaining Skrull and the harshness of Captain Marvel’s apparent apathy suddenly realises she’s not in her fan fiction. The expression Kamala gives is so very telling and said much more than pages of dialogue.

Goooooooooooose! I love Goose (in your face whoever said Goose would be dead in Endgame) and they really played on the cat behaviour and Flerken elements this film. I loved it all. Every single second of Goose.
Then they went and elevated it with one of my favourite Star Trek treatments: They did Trouble with Tribbles! Seriously could have watched a film set just on that station. In fact, I really wish they’d leaned into the Trek a little bit more.

Fury, and Samuel L Jackson by extension, brings the humour just by being himself. His interactions with the three leads and, in particular, Kamala’s family are the perfect tone to brings some levity into what is rather angst-ridden proceedings.

The Bad

Why so much angst?! Captain Marvel is very angry, but doesn’t pull it off in the way Fury does. She’s almost akin to The Doctor (Who) but the character hasn’t got the balance quite right yet. While The Doctor also comes with some heavy baggage, every incarnation has always balanced it with a brightness and a joy and Captain Marvel needs that. There is an attempt, but it needs to be more. Kamala was the perfect opportunity for it and it was missed.

The Ugly

It is very clunky both in terms of a film within a blooming universe and how this film, and its story, is presented to the audience. It’s not so much that you need to have seen the tv shows, or even any previous film featuring Captain Marvel. The issue is that the reminders come a little too late and I’m certain “yeah, thanks. Figured that out now and if you wouldn’t mind filling me in on what I missed while I worked on it?!”

Another example of clunky, that actually does link in to the Disney+ shows. I *think* this comes after Fury fronted Secret Invasion, however the presence of the Skull and Fury without factoring in the fallout everything that transpired?! While I don’t expect it to be fed in to the story in a way that alienates those who choose not to watch, it’s also should feel like the film is a retcon of a show. They should compliment each other, elevate. However, more work on the script is needed for that to happen.

What a waste of Zawe Ashton! The actions and motivations of Dar-Benn are so utterly shit and mind-numbingly dumb that there was no real danger to be felt.
It appears that Dar-Benn has two missions; revenge and saving her planet. Thirty years is a rather long time to come up with a plan that achieves …. both?
Don’t know about anyone else, but save first, revenge later?! It just doesn’t make sense; they’re clearly advanced technology wise and there’s no reason to hate the people she’s prepared to destroy. It’s like an inconsistent triad of motivation.

Final Thoughts

Oh there’s lots to enjoy, but it fails for the same reason many Marvel movies do post-Endgame: not enough time is being spent on the script or the overall plan within the franchise.

Role Play (2023) Film Review

Rating 15
Length 1h40
Release 12.01.2024
Director Thomas Vincent
About Emma has a wonderful husband and two kids in the suburbs of New Jersey. She also has a secret life as an assassin for hire, a secret that her husband Dave discovers when the couple decide to spice up their marriage with a little role play.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
Trailer:

The Good

Kaley Cuoco and Bill Nighy have amazing chemistry. It’s strange because it’s not romantic, in the slightest, but they give us some of the best scenes in the film.

Cuoco actually plays the action really well. From weaponry, to hand to hand she makes for a convincing spy/ gun for hire and I certainly welcome more work like this from her.

There’s some incredible shots, locations and camera work throughout this film. As a director of episodes of the incredible The Bodyguard (2018), Thomas Vincent has shown he’s as good on the big screen. Much like Cuoco, I am looking forward to seeing more from him.

The Bad

The film goes the long way around to set itself up and get to the action, and sometimes it’s about the journey and sometimes it’s about destination. Unfortunately, this film tries to do both and achieves neither.

By extension one of the biggest problems is who the film deems the protagonist. Initially it seems all set up for Kaley Cuoco’s Emma to lead the film as spy whose lies catch up with her. Then it briefly appears as if the film is going for a riff on Date Night (2010), before giving us Dave’s (David Oyelowo) perspective on a potential pretence that Emma has gone missing.
The film really is a Cuoco’s vehicle and could do with a narrative clean up as there’s just a little too much diversion in the middle act that brings the audience out of the film.
While there’s equally an edit in which this film exists as the duo, akin to Date Night. However, for that to work, there needs to be less separation between the couple. Most importantly, for this to be truly coherent film, a decision needs to be made.

The Ugly

The motivation of the mysterious Sovereign, the decisions made and the lengths they go to is left somewhat unexplained. Yes, there’s a connection made to Emma however it’s all centred in the past. There’s no explanation of the future and the ever important… why?

I did not like some of the cuts that made it into this, specifically ones relating to Cuoco. Way too many sad and angry faces when they weren’t necessary. Maybe the director was calling for stoic, but I’m not sure that’s what happened. Just really made me sad seeing such a pretty, and funny, person frowning so much.

Final Thoughts

It’s a decent Friday night watch, but I don’t think it’s going into anyone’s rewatch pile.