Tag: Film Review

Another Simple Favour (2025)

Rating: 18
Length: 02h01
Release: 01/05/2025
Director: Paul Feig
About: Stephanie Smothers and Emily Nelson reunite on the island of Capri, Italy, for Emily’s extravagant wedding to a rich Italian businessman, which is interrupted by murder and betrayal. Every friendship has its twists.
Moon: No Moon sighting
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
Trailer:

The Good

  • Both Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively are killing it again. Not only do they individually bring their A game, their chemistry as social cat and mouse who love each other is the best kind of fucked-up.
  • This film is a farce, and it’s not hiding that fact. However, Feig has traded in his Saturday Night Live casting for a much more scripted and controlled affair. There’s few actresses that can balance that line of comedy and drama, and only one who can do well. Allison Janney not only adds her Oscar winning acting chops, she plays the role with perfect comic timing.
  • The costumes are as incredible as the first film. If for nothing else, you have to watch the film to feel the awe and envy of the clothes both Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick get to wear.

The Bad

  • It’s about 30 minutes too long. The opening sets everything up pretty quickly if not a little too exposition by dialogue.
  • The publicist was wasted character and just there to be picked up and dropped when Stephanie needs someone to talk to. I almost wish the set up to get her to the wedding instead included taking her son or anyone else.

The Ugly

  • Enough with the casual incest already. It is just such a weird non-plot point that the film just keeps coming back to. It feels like it would be right at home in a Feig/McCarthy led production and a improv line. However, it’s just odd that it was not only brought back up, but the film doubled down in the sequel.

Final Thoughts

Yet another surprising offering from Feig. It won’t stand up to multiple viewings but it certainly is worth the watch.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) Film Review

The ghost with the most is back

Rating 12a
Length 1h44
Release 06.09.2024
Director Tim Burton
About Three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River after an unexpected family tragedy. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life soon gets turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter discovers a mysterious portal to the afterlife. When someone says Beetlejuice’s name three times, the mischievous demon gleefully returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem.
Moon: Full Moon spotted during Beetlejuice’s backstory about an hour in.
Where to Watch: Still at cinemas nationwide
Trailer:

Trick

  • I assumed it was the notoriety surrounding Jeffrey Jones that saw his character, Charles, meet his demise. It is sad, then, how much his likeness was used throughout the film. Often, a disgraced actor’s character is done away with sans pomp and ceremony. So I am surprised that his image is shown on his grave… stone?
    It was one thing to show his death through stop motion. Hell, I quite liked it and thought it was a novel way to get past not casting him. However, that should have been it. No headless character popping up and certainly no photos of him at all. It then begs the question; is Jones still getting paid for this instalment?
    Given that Jones is not imprisoned, it all feels very bad faith and bad taste to involve the character so heavily.
  • On a similar note, Santiago Cabera’s Richard is underused. Many of the scenes involving Charles, could have been replaced with Richard and reducing the audience ick from Charles and giving Richard the room to develop his character.
  • I could tell Beetlejuice was Michael Keaton this time around. It’s not like I didn’t know who Michael Keaton was when I watched the original Beetlejuice; I’d seen Batman. However, much like James Spader in Mannequin, I really struggled to see Keaton in the role, he was so involved and invested.
    Now, that’s not to say he wasn’t invested this time. It’s just that it very much felt like Michael Keaton playing Beetlejuice.
  • I wanted to love Jenna Ortega as Astrid. On one level I did. She is the perfect daughter for Winona Ryder’s Lydia. My issue is passing on the conflict from Delia and Lydia to Lydia and Astrid.
    Astrid being obsessed with death on the one hand, but also not believing Lydia and her past does not work for me. Something needs to change within the conflict, or they need to be on the same page from the start. Think Gilmore Girls and the Gilmore matriarch. Don’t get me wrong, the conflict works narratively. However, it fails because you’ve created a carbon copy of Lydia in Astrid.
  • The lip-sync overwhelm. Loved the synching to Brian Adams however the film was trying to recapture the magic of the original scenes and, in doing so, comes across a little too try-hard. The worst, for me, was the wedding ceremony dance/sync-along. It felt too forced and tired.
  • We get it Burton, you have a type. Please stop casting your current beau in your work. Yes Monica Belluchi is a goddess. Does she fit the role well? Eh! I personally would have preferred someone else, someone who was not so ethereal.

Treat

  • As a sequel with an extended length of time between, and upon first watch, I really enjoyed being back in this world. The colours and the contrast of the living and the dead. It all provides such a beautiful and quirky comfort. There’s a story that was legitimate and worth telling, the characters still feel the same and not like the actors have forgotten everything that made them great.
  • Catherine O’Hara is delightful and everything I remembered of Delia Deetz. From the moment we see her in the art installation, I remembered why I’ve always longed for a sequel.
    What I loved most of all, was that she was still the quirky woman I remembered, but she’d embraced that part of herself and the medicated harshness was gone from her character.
  • It’s funny, it’s charming and it attempts to throw you off guard. How successful it is with that, I guess it how good you are at reading films.
  • Bob!
  • It is a self contained story. Yes, there may be a sequel down the line, however there doesn’t need to be one. It leaves you fulfilled, at least it did me.

Final Thoughts

It is never going to live up to the standard of the first outing, but it gives enough to satisfy anyone wanting to return to the world or those who enjoy Tim Burton’s work.

Pitch Perfect (2012) Film Review

Well… sometimes I have the feeling I can do crystal meth, but then I think, mmm… better not.

Rating 12a
Length 1h52
Release 21.12.2012
Director Jason Moore
About Beca, a college fresher, reluctantly joins an all-girls a cappella group and later infuses freshness into their repertoire. They then take on a male a cappella group in a competition.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: Netflix
Trailer:

The Good

  • Anna Kendrick gives an opinion changing performance with this film and sees me going from avoiding anything with her in, thanks to Twilight, to her being someone I’d watch in everything.
    Not only is she likeable and relatable as Freshman Beca, I was left with a want to see how Twilight would have played out had she secured the role of Bella Swan.
  • There is a really good plot thread in which Leader Aubrey, feeling challenged by natural leader Beca, doubles down on her management style and makes it clear that Beca is not liked, or wanted. Now this may appear to be a clique that has been seen in many films. Even music competition film Sister Act has a similar theme with Whoopi’s teacher nun and the class she has to look after.
    However, Pitch Perfect makes it feel fresh and new.
  • The music is awesome. Every song collected for this soundtrack is upbeat and will have you humming along for days after you watched.
  • I like that the romance, while present, takes a back seat, favouring a slow burn and friendship.

The Bad

  • I do love both Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins. However for every line that hits a funny bone, there’s about three that will have you cringing. I guess that’s the nature of ad lib.
  • I wish they’d put subtitles on Lilly, because what she actually says is genius. They should have been there for every line even in the cinema. I absolutely cannot recommend strongly enough that the next time you watch, you put on the subtitles.

The Ugly

  • Some of the jokes, particularly those that are aimed at Cynthia Rose’s sexuality, feel very dated and boarding on being phobic.
  • In the same sense, the whole concept of “Fat Amy”. While not so much that it hasn’t aged well, but more that it was never funny. Yes, I’m saying that as a larger lady. However, the point is that even if you have the “fat” character poking fun at themselves it’s rarely going to work if she’s written by someone who has never had weight issues.

Final Thoughts

This is such a comfort movie for me, despite the flaws. I think I watch it at least once a year and this is quite significant considering I watched it on one of the worst days of my life.

Vertigo (1958) Film Review

Somewhere…Somehow – He’d Loved and Killed That Self-Same Girl Before!

Rating 12
Length 2h08
Release 22.05.1958
Director Alfred Hitchcock
About John, a retired detective from San Francisco, suffers from acrophobia. He is approached by an old friend, a rich shipbuilder, who wants John to investigate the weird activities of his wife, Madeleine.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: ITV X
Trailer:

The Good

  • James Stewart is as awesome always. Okay, so Scottie is no George Bailey but he is still a likeable character thrown into a complex mystery. I’m not used to seeing America’s Everyman in colour, but bloody hell those eyes take on the lion’s share of the role.
  • The music has that Hichcockian chill to it, adding to the elements that make the director a high profile auteur.
  • The entire filming and cinematography. The flair and experimental shots that jerk you into the scene.
  • All the scenes including Midge are wonderful and I really do wish she was used a little more and not discarded come the final act.

The Bad

“I love you Madeline.”
Really?! She’s your mate’s wife and you’ve been essentially stalking her for 3 days at the point of you uttering those words?! Yeah, I’m cynical, but a bloke who is still hanging about in his ex-fiancee’s place and tasked with following a woman who may or may not be on the edge of a mental breakdown is not the fast-track for love.

The Ugly

I wish it was in black and white. I don’t quite know what it is, but outside of Stewart’s dashing blues, everything seemed off. Almost as if it was coloured in after the film was made.

Final Thoughts

Great film with a few surprising turns that justify its run time.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)

They’re back to thaw things out

Rating 12
Length 1h56
Release 22.03.2024
Director Doug Lyman
About The Spengler family returns to the iconic New York City firehouse where the original Ghostbusters have taken ghost-busting to the next level. When the discovery of an ancient artefact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must unite to protect their home and save the world from a second ice age.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: Cinemas Nationwide
Trailer:

The Good

Love the Trevor ‘tude. Finn Wolfhard really has that ‘I’m 18 so I want to be treated like an adult’ done to a comedic fine art and his story arc with Slimer is quite cool and there is a great pay off to it.

As much as I was worried about it, I’m actually quite happy we returned to New York and, even though we are back, this film offers us something different.

Paul Rudd truly is the gift that keeps on giving with this franchise. His paternal role and the conflict of not quite being part of the family is so beautifully handled from the moment he introduces himself as Phoebe’s ‘step-teacher’.

Lars and the new digs! Oh I love them both. Lars gives us a new Egon and the newly developed site blows the franchise wide open in terms of concepts. I also must admit that the final act also resets a lot. Almost akin to Arkham being destroyed.

The Bad

Getting Podcast and Lucky to New York was a tad heavy handed and while the film has a place for Podcast, I’m not sure it knows what to do with Lucky. The other aspect is that both characters are ‘discovered’ to be in New York for the summer, rather than the Spengler family knowing they were there.
In addition to this, the connection between Lucky and Trevor is non existent. In fact, I think they spend one scene together?!

I want more Lars Pinfield. James Acaster, being of a similar age and dry humour, is living my dream of being a Ghostbuster. Plus he’s hot, in that British way that was made prominent by Anthony Stewart Head in Buffy.
So, to say that we needed more, I mean it. He’s introduced and utilises impeccably well, for the most part. However, when it came to the final act, it was almost as if there were too many characters to handle and he just disappears, only to return in the closing moments.
It’s a shame, because he really is a great addition to cast. I truly do hope they take the franchise in the direction rumoured and he gets to head up a UK branch.

The Ugly

Melody, or rather the actress, being 16 is completely unbelievable. I know it is about her connection with Phoebe however, it would have been better to have gotten a younger actress or made the character a little older.
As it stands, it’s a little reminiscent of Shirley Henderson playing Potter first year Moaning Myrtle.

Final Thoughts

I loved it. I don’t understand the hate and I will most definitely be rewatching this.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

A Mighty Motion Picture Of Action And Adventure!

Rating 12
Length 3h47!!!
Release 10.12.1962
Director David Lean
About Lawrence, a lieutenant in the British Army, is asked by Colonel Brighton to moderately assess Faisal, their ally. Lawrence is impressed with Faisal and seeks his help to plan an attack on the enemy.Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: Netflix
Trailer:

The Good

Peter O’Toole is, certainly to me, the mid-century equivalent to David Tennent. The voice that commands attention, with a clear Shakespearean training and way of standing out among a cast of heavy hitters.
There’s something about him, on his own that is enchanting. You then have these beautiful, almost battle of wits, moments between his character and some of the finest actors of their time. My favourite is Lawrence meeting Omar Sharif’s Sherif Ali for the first time. It’s as if it was straight out of a Shakespeare play. He of course also goes toe to toe with Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins and Alec Guinness. It these interactions alone that make the film worth watching.

It’s a beautiful film with incredible shots and pans of enchanting landscapes. There’s no denying that director David Lean has an incredible eye. I’m not a hot weather girl, but even I’m tempted by what I see.

The music is out of this world. I don’t know if its true, but I feel as if there’s an element within Maurice Jarre’s epic and romantic score that was an inspiration or influence to the great John Williams.
The score here is so iconic that I’ve probably heard hundreds of times without realising it’s origins.

The Bad

The film is too long for the bookend filming device to truly work here. You forget about it by the time you reach the end. The film could have quite easily skipped ahead and started with the introduction of O’Toole’s Lawrence.

The Ugly

There is no need for the film to be as long as it is. The restored version on Netflix runs for 3 hours and 47 minutes and its very, Lord of the Rings with all the walking. I perhaps would have preferred to have seen the original parred down 3 hour and 7 minutes, but even that to me feels excessive.

Another David Lean and Alec Guinness bumble. This time, no prothetic for cultural implication. No, this time it’s straight up brown-face while Anthony Quinn is given the prosthetic nose and brown face. Quite a hard thing to watch knowing we have Omar Sharif, of Arab decent, in the cast.
This is the exact problem that actors are challenging today. A historic president was set that these films would not be marketable without this casting of white prominent actors and fitting them to the role. Equally, Sharif was made up to appear white in many of his roles.
This whole thing, and knowing those who are up in arms over The Little Mermaid and Perry White casting changes will not acknowledge these poor representations, too focused on their perceived injustice makes this film, and others like it, a hard watch.

Final Thoughts

A beautiful and epic film with a charismatic lead. Just really could do with an hour cut out to making it a much more manageable affair.

The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy (2000)

The shortest distance between friends isn’t always a straight line.

Rating 15
Length 1h36
Release 11.05.2001
Director Greg Berlanti
About A group of gay men struggle to navigate relationships and life in West Hollywood. However, a new member joins the gang, putting a strain on their relationship with each other.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: ITV X
Trailer:

The Good

What a cast.

This is not your typical LGBTQ movie. At a time when any mention of being gay would often go hand in hand with a parable about the AIDS crisis, coming out, or the connection to drug cultures, this film gives what I would say is still ahead of its time today; a film about gay relationships, friendships and community.
Its daringly mundane in its story, giving us the ‘turning 30’ theme and how the romantic proverbial clocks are ticking on a group of friends.
It’s heartwarming, it’s refreshing and I want these men in my life.

Timothy Olyphant leads this film in such a beautiful way. I’ve seen him in very few films and always playing a main antagonist or a background character so I am quite happy to see how well he holds his own as a Chris Pine-eque lead, questioning what he wants out of life, love and a relationship.

The Bad

I’m not a fan of Dean Cain of late and find his face smarmy and punchable. I honestly was expecting him to be a homophobic antagonist when I saw his name, so mildly surprised at hearing he took this role against his agent’s wishes.

“told you we should have drugged him and jerked him off.” Don’t know about anyone else, but not a fan of causal rape threats in a conversation over lunch.

They made my man a bad guy. Not even a run of the mill bad guy, he corrupts one of the youngest and most positive men of the group. We don’t get a resolution to it either, so the audience never know if he genuinely cared.

The Ugly

Niagara Falls.
The last act is emotional and with bring forth all the tears; from the heartbreaking to the joyful. It will have you reduced in one swift moment and those tears will fall right up until the credits.

Final Thoughts

This is what Singles (1992) wanted to be. It’s an uplifting, ahead-of-its-time film about friends looking for love, who just so happen to be gay.

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) Film Review

The hardest thing in life is sell.

Rating 15
Length 1h40
Release 30.10.1992
Director James Foley
About After all the salesmen of a real estate company are given their notice, they come up with a plan to get even with their bosses. However, their plan to steal the business puts them in tough spot.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: ITV X
Trailer:

The Good

Jack Lemon! Oh I adore Jack Lemon. Hearing him use “cocksucker” and “motherfucker” was unexpected and awesome.
In all seriousness though, it was an award worthy performance and his character broke my heart.

The 90s cinematography of grime and neon lights really sets the tone. I don’t know what it is, but I always love a film with rain.

The script is good and because of it starting life as a play; the characters are all played by heavy hitters who each have their own moments to shine.

The Bad

Don’t houses just…. sell themselves?! I don’t know much about it, but it felt a little intense for what I understood as a need and demand market. Loved the premise, I just think there was some context I was missing from either the industry or the time.

The Ugly

Fucking Kevin Spacey! I can’t watch his ratty little face anymore without being so friggin angry. There is the argument for separating art from artist, but this slimy dirtbag who I’d considered a “great” actor for playing these unlikable characters just cannot get that pass.
The only way I got through it was knowing David Harbour played the role in theatre back in 2012. He’d have given a different, yet amazing performance.

The homophobia and xenophobia is just too rife. It doesn’t let up. Again, it’s a seeing it for the time it was made sort of deal, but fuck that. I was never comfortable with it, I never will be.
That said, I loved the liberal use of the word ‘cunt’ in the final movements. I loved all of the swearing and I know to some people that is just as offensive.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the title is better than the film itself.

Trolls World Tour (2020) Film Review

Rock N’ Troll

Rating U
Length 1h31
Release 12.03.2020
Director Walt Dohrn
About When Queen Barb of the Rock tribe decides to destroy all other genres of music by stealing their techno strings and bringing them under her rule, Queen Poppy sets out to thwart her evil plans.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: BBC IPlayer
Trailer:

The Good

Sam Rockwell. I could listen to that man’s voice all day. I absolutely love his character too.

Barb’s method of explaining is to use denim patches like those you would find on a rocker’s jacket. It contrasts perfectly against Poppy’s bright, bubbly and crafty offerings.

The Bad

James Corden is in this.

The Ugly

The autotune on most of the music is annoying as fuck! Like, I’m not the fan of musicals at the best of times, but this is barely music.

My biggest issue is that not matter what genre that’s presented, it still has a pop sheen to it. Given that the film is about how different the genres all are; they really should not sound so similar. They even make Metallica sound like pop rock and the less said about the techno offering, the better.

Final Thoughts

Meh

Road House (2024)

Take it Outside

Rating 15
Length 2h01
Release 21.03.2024
Director Doug Lyman
About Ex-UFC fighter Dalton takes a job as a bouncer at a Florida Keys roadhouse, only to discover that this paradise is not all it seems.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
Trailer:

The Good

There’s a few funny scenes as a result of Jake Gyllenhall’s blend of violence and zen. If you do watch, just wait for Kokomo! Best scene in the movie.

Jake Gyllenhall, while not my cup of tea (My inner AJ Rimmer will not let me swoon on someone that buff), he does have that smile and charm to hold the film… for five or so minutes.

The Bad

The plot is lazy and stupid.

The Ugly

The filming is nauseating when it comes to the fight sequences, of which there are many. This film has a massive stiffy for Hardcore Henry (2015) so any time Dalton puts up his dukes, we get all POV with our cameras. It is horrific and the fact that it opens with a POV shot, with dodgy CGI arms belonging to one Post Malone means I’m checked out straight away.

Conor McGregor. I cannot explain how bonkers his performance is. From his Terminator-esque opening to his manical smile, I didn’t know whether to laugh or bleach my eyeballs.

Final Thoughts

Ouch! And that’s not for all the punches.

The Godfather Part II (1974)

All the power on earth can’t change destiny.

Rating 18
Length 3h22
Release 15.05.1974
Director Francis Ford Coppola
About Vito’s popularity in the underworld is on the rise, while his son, Michael’s career is swinging downwards. In order to redeem himself, Michael must fight his enemies, including his own brother.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: Channel 4 Online and Paramount Online
Trailer:

The Good

It is a better made film. I cannot put my finger on what it is, but it feels more accessible to the gangster-adverse like me. Even up to the halfway point I am liking the dual time frames.

Robert DeNiro is incredible as the younger version of Vito Corleone and for me is the highlight of the film. Not only did he give a worthy performance for a character that was played by Marlon Brandon, he also made it his own. I can also now see why there was such a call to have Pacino and DeNiro in a film together.

The music is stunning.

The Bad

Oh the sister can fucking do one! She picks such shitty men. In fact, she’s already lost one brother who was looking out for her, don’t sulk about Michael kicking you into touch. Yes, she was irritating in the first one, but she served a narrative purpose. Here, she’s just fucking annoying.

I don’t think enough was made of the ‘you said you’d be legit in 5years. It’s been 7.’ It felt more like exposition to given the audience an idea of how long it’s been than a reminder of the power of those words.
It just makes me question something I wasn’t thinking about by reminding me, which then brought to my attention how much Michael is no longer conflicted. He’s no longer making decisions for a legacy, but I really do wish there was something that suggested the Marine was still there beneath the mask of being the Don.

The Ugly

I don’t see the connections or complimenting themes that require the two timeframes being in the same film. They are, individually, strong stories. They do not go together. You know they don’t because of how long each runs for before switching.
What perhaps would have worked better would have been had to keep the story from the first film up until Michael executes those who attempt to assassinate his father, and weave young Vito’s story in there. They are then complimentary stories and both timeframes end with the son avenging the father.
You then have the freedom to spend a film focused on Michael’s romance in Sicily, bulk that out and have Michael looking into his roots while in exile. You would then finally have a closing film to the trilogy that looks at Michael’s return home and his accession to the Don of the family. 

Final Thoughts

I good film, that I had to watch in three sittings. Still not getting the hype, but I understand the quality of the craft.

Green Book (2018)

Inspired by a True Friendship

Rating 12
Length 2h10
Release 01.02.2019
Director Peter Farrelly
About Amidst rampant racism in the 1960s southern America, an African American pianist hires an Italian American bouncer to drive him through his venues. They come closer in the course of their journey.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: Netflix and BBC IPlayer
Trailer:

The Good

Mahershala Ali is dream casting. He plays Don Shirley in a way that is reminiscent of Tim Russ as a Vulcan. I love how he grows over the course of the movie. Then there is a scene near the end in which Don plays with a Jazz band and I’ve never seen a smile convey quite so much; belonging, happiness, contentment. Perfect!

It’s really funny considering the story. Despite the challenges faced on the road and in the Deep South of America in the 60s, this film keeps it upbeat and humorous as much as it can. From Don’s tart responses to anyone and everyone, to Tony’s food focus, it makes this very different to other films depicting this era.

The Bad

It takes a little while to get going, which is a hard thing to pick upon as it gives us time with the lovely Linda Cardellini. Perhaps intersecting Tony’s life with that of Don’s may have been the compromise that the film needed for a smoother start.

The Ugly

Honestly, as much as watching films about segregation and racism is educational they are a difficult watch for me. I don’t understand, on an introspective emotional level, how someone (let alone a society) could treat people so badly. This is something that I find difficult for Race, culture and anyone who has fought to belong due to their sexuality or identity.
Anyone who absorbs emotions like a sponge, will find the film hard going but it is worth it for the final act alone.

Final Thoughts

Entertaining, educational but an emotional ride.