Record Of Ragnarok: Season 2 Overview

Summary

The fight between Gods and Men continues.

In my mind this first half of the second season is both good and bad. Fairly split down the middle. Unlike in season one where all the fights were interesting, this time around it is decidedly more one sided.

The fight between Shiva and Raiden did little for me, even when the backstories of both tried so hard to get you to care about them. I thought Raiden’s death made little sense, though I did like the fact that he and his Valkyrie found love before they died. However, the fight between Hercules and Jack the Ripper on the other hand was fantastic, easily the best of the series so far. Jack the Ripper as a character is so downright sinister that he is a treat to watch, I like that the series has dipped into his origins and brings him back in the very last episode as there is so much more they can do with him. Likewise I really enjoyed how his episodes have almost a horror quality to them and feel a lot darker than the rest of the show.

I like that with each new season, or halve season in this case, the show is deepening the mythology of its own world and I hope next season dips into more about the Valkyries background and motivation.

Overall, still a very good show and one to watch.

3.5/5

Pros.

Jack the Ripper

A deeper mythology

The fights are entertaining

It manages its tone well

Cons.

I didn’t care very much about the Raiden and Shiva fight

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RRR: The Sun Sets On The British Empire

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Two Indian revolutionaries, played by N.T Rama Rao Jr and Ram Charan, wage war on the British Crown.

I think this film has a little bit of everything. It has epic action scenes that are both intense and beautifully shot, it has fantastic and surprisingly catchy musical numbers and a good message about standing up for what you believe in and staying true to yourself.

I think the most impressive moment of the whole film comes within the opening act wherein Charan’s character is tasked with arresting a protestor who has just smashed a picture of the King with a rock. What follows is one of the best uses of slow motion I have seen in recent cinema, coupled with the fact that the fight gets gory and isn’t afraid to let the hero get hurt, it is incredibly effective.

I also think that the two leading men have great chemistry which is really important as basically throughout the film their character become metaphorical brothers and as such the bond needs to be believable. I thought each played off the other really well and both had moments of action hero prowess as well as relatability.

The one area where I had an issue with the film, and I know that it is fairly predictable, is with the pacing and the length of the film. I understand that the film is supposed to be an epic and that entails a certain scope and runtime, but I think also that the film has a lot of filler which could be cut out in order to make it a more streamlined and enjoyable viewing experience. Take a lot of the strange romantic comedy esque moments that are placed into the second act for example they could be removed and it would better the pace of the film by a lot.

Overall, the film is fun and has a lot to enjoy in it, however, the incredibly slow pace does hurt it.

3.5/5

Pros.

The action

The two leads

It is a lot of fun

The songs

Cons.

The pacing

Sometimes there are tonal issues

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Qorin: Is Your Teacher A Demonic Summoner?

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A boarding school is turned into a portal to hell when students begin performing black arts and summoning their demonic doppelgangers.

I have a lot of love for Indonesian horror cinema, and I think that in many ways Muslim focused horror films make for a nice break away from the same old Christian tinged horror films that play every week at the multiplex. As such, I went into this with high expectations expecting another May The Devil Take You, but boy was I wrong.

This film isn’t the worst possession film I have ever seen but it is also in no way good. I would say the biggest issues the film has is that despite is premise being just different enough that it feels a little bit fresh, the way the story plays out is anything but. You have seen this film many times before and know exactly where it is going. Indeed this film clings to tropes and worn out characters as though it is too afraid to show an ounce of originality.

Additionally, the low-fi scares of the film don’t prove effective at all. Now I am not saying that low budget films, which this clearly is, can’t be scary really the opposite is true, but they do have to make an effort to do more with less and to make every shot count. This becomes an issue here as a lot of the time the effects just aren’t good enough and don’t lead to a scary scene, again it comes back to the fact that it is the same old same old, their demonic doppelgangers are in no way different to how a character from a Blumhouse movie would be and that is boring.

Overall, there is so novelty to the idea and trace amounts of originality, but the film really shoots itself in the foot by sticking far too closely to tired characters, scares and storylines.

2/5

Pros.

Traces of originality

It is unintentionally hilarious at times

Cons.

It relies way too heavily on cliches

It is bored and predictable

The scares don’t work

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Paradise PD, Was A Man Killing Cats Ever Funny?

Written by Luke Barnes

I want to use this piece to talk about the latest season of Paradise PD and the idea of mean spirited humour.

I want to open this up by saying humour is totally subjective so what works or doesn’t work for me might work or not work for you, I am not saying my opinions on what is and isn’t funny are definitive this is simply an opinion piece.

Recently I sat down to watch the most recent season of Paradise PD on Netflix after having watched all of the previous seasons, however, unlike with those seasons I was barely able to make it more than one episode into the new season.

Now why was that? Well though the show has always had mean humour in a similar vein to something like Family Guy and I found with this most recent season that all the characters are just so unlikeable and hateable that I find it hard to watch. There is no reason to watch something when you hate every single one of the characters, is there?

Worse yet in a lot of the cases I find that the characters are hateful for no other reason than to be edgy. That complaint has been levelled against this show since day one and for the most part I ignored it, but now it is too much to ignore, this show is edgy for the sake of it and rather than be cool as the creators probably want it to be it just feels try hardy. Look at a recent adult animation like Little Demon it had a lot of gross out gags and edgy humour but it also had an engaging story, deeper themes and characters you didn’t hate. It didn’t have the character living in the anus of an inbred baby for a joke.

I don’t know dear reader, I don’t know whether this season is any worse than the last few but I do know that it was finally the time wherein I saw the worse side of this show and stopped watching. Maybe I have changed or maybe it is simply the fact that watching a man kill cats and then do a musical number with them isn’t funny.

Hopefully Netflix cancels this show soon.

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Living With Chucky: A Love Letter

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A documentary about the people who have brought the Child’s Play franchise to life over the years and what the films mean to them.

I thought this was a sweet film, especially in the later stages when the documentarian reveals herself and what her connection is to the franchise.

What I liked the most about this film is that you can tell it was a labour of love, and more than that you can tell how much the series means to all of the people being interviewed and as a fan of the series, I don’t understand why you would be watching if you weren’t, that spoke to and connected with me.

I liked the deeper insights the documentary gave into the behind the scenes production of the films and the fact it gave a voice to some of the lesser known people who have been involved with the series and allowed them to talk about their experiences as well. It was fascinating.

My one complaint and this is a very nit picky one if I do say so myself is that this film felt incomplete. Whilst I understand it was probably shot a few years ago and only being released now, it feels incredibly remiss to not talk about the Chucky tv series that is currently airing within it. All of the films get a mention but the series isn’t name checked once which feels like a noticeable admission at least on my part. I would like the thoroughness of having the documentary go through everything to do with the franchise but again I see that is hard when it is on-going perhaps they will do a follow up down the line.

Overall, a lovely documentary and if you are a fan of the franchise one that you simply must check out.

4/5

Pros.

The real sense of love

The look behind the scenes

It brings back a lot of happy nostalgic memories

The sweet connection of the documentarian to the franchise

Cons.

They don’t mention the show

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Friday: Working For The Weekend

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Craig, played by Ice Cube, and Smokey, played by Chris Tucker, run into trouble when they get on the wrong side of their local drug dealer.

I know a lot of people really like this film, and I have been meaning to watch it for some time. After watching it I can see the appeal, the film is quite effortlessly funny and has characters that both make you laugh and smile but also that you can relate to. Everyone has known someone like these guys before, and as such the experience of watching this film feels like spending time with your friends.

There are also quite a number of funny and well developed side characters that helped the world to feel full and lived in. There is constantly something funny going on and that helps the film to feel lively which helps to stop any pacing issues. In terms of wider narrative I thought the film was fine, yes the story has been done before and since, but the laughs and the characters more than make up for the overly familiar story and give you a reason to stick with it.

Overall, a lot of fun.

4/5

Pros.

Cube

Tucker

The side characters and world

It is very funny

Cons.

The story is a little familiar

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The Other Woman: This Is Why Cameron Diaz Needed To Retire

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A pair of women, played by Cameron Diaz and Leslie Maan, find out that they have been cheated on and so team up to try and take down their ex, played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.

When considering films like this you can see why Cameron Diaz retired. If her return in years to come leads to more films like this being made than the landscape as a whole will be a worse place for it.

There was nothing of any charm of warmth about this film. If anything there were lines so unpleasant and off putting that I almost turned it off. Take if you will a scene in which Diaz’s character is talking to her assistant, played by a robotic Nicki Minaj, wherein they talk about there being no issue with Diaz sleeping with married men so long as she can ‘take them’. Now, before you say it, yes this attitude has been in many male driven rom-coms before so isn’t anything new, and this is at the start of the film wherein the character still needs to work on themselves, however, whether it was a man or a woman saying this it is still a dick move. The whole conversation, which is fairly early on, doesn’t do anything to make you like Diaz’s character really quite the opposite.

Moreover, the film tries to cut a feminist silhouette of having the women realising they should be helping and uplifting each other rather than fighting over a man, which is a good message. Although it is quickly undercut as Diaz’s character just begins a new romance, which then makes the idea of her not needing a man to be happy, which the film really tries to run with, feeling hollow. I think the film would have been better if after defeating the ex Diaz’s character ended the film single but open to the idea of trusting a man again. That would feel more true to me at least.

Overall, this film wasn’t enjoyable to watch at all and at times felt like it was forcing my hand to the off button, and I like rom-coms.

0/5

Pros.

None

Con.

Diaz is unlikeable

It is contrived and overly familiar

It tires to land a feminist message but is way off course

The ending contrasts the whole point of the film

Nicki Minaj can’t act and shouldn’t be given any roles in the future.

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The Mandalorian: The Return

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The battle for Mandalore intensifies.

I think this episode did a lot to make the season better, was it enough to make up for some of the midseason episodes that were utterly awful? No probably not. However, I thought there were enough cheer worthy moments to get you back on board with the series here.

I really liked that this episode gave Din, played by Pedro Pascal, real time to shine and let him be a badass and have long drawn out action sequences. Moreover, I liked his reaction when the elite Imperial trooper were about to kill Grogu, you can tell that he thinks of him as a son it is very endearing. As was the scene wherein Grogu saves his adoptive parents from certain death with a force bubble, I must admit I teared up a little in that moment.

Of course I also enjoyed Din finally formally adopting Grogu as his own son and the two of them heading back off together to carry out new adventures of their own, I think it is both a good ending for their arc at the end of the season as well as a good set up so the next season can be better.

The one thing I would criticise this episode for was how it handled the return of Moff Gideon, played by Giancarlo Esposito. They got it wrong in so many different ways, firstly by saving him to so late in the season there was not enough time to set up what his evil masterplan was as such the cloning thing really did fall flat. Secondly, though they tried to make him more physical here to try and match Din, you really had to suspend your disbelief to go along with that as clearly he was a bad fighter yet he was getting in some licks that he really shouldn’t have been able to logically. Thirdly, they gave him a rushed death with little to no acknowledgement of the fact that the series major antagonist has just died, it is all very much okay on to the next thing.

Overall, the action and the Din and Grogu feels make up for the incredibly wasted Moff Gideon. Lets hope next season will be better.

4/5

Pros.

Din and Grogu saving each other

Din getting action scene to shine in again

The action

The ending of the episode and where it leaves things for next season

Cons.

They really waste Moff Gideon

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Air: Born In The USA

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A film about the making of the Air Jordan

If this film proves nothing else it proves that Ben Affleck is a hell of a director. Whilst I wouldn’t say this is perhaps to the same level as Argo I would say it was a very fun film that worked on pretty much every level.

I found more than enough to like about the plot to keep me engaged even though I am not interested in Basketball. The business aspects of the film felt almost like classic Sorkin, and I thought that the scenes between Damon’s character and Davis’ character wherein they discussed Jordan’s future with Nike were easily the best of the film.

In a lot of the more dialogue heavy scenes the terrific performances that Affleck is able to get out of his cast really come through. Not only were the previously mentioned Affleck, Damon and Davis great, but I also really liked Chris Tucker and Jason Bateman. Bateman in particular had a number of really strong dramatic scenes that connected with me emotionally, in particular his scene about how his daughter only wants to see him because he can give her shoes.

However, the feather in this film’s cap is its soundtrack. All of the Eighties hits that you could possibly want are featured here at every turn and it is glorious and helps the film to feel lively and keep you engaged.

My one complaint of the film would be that, as is so often the case, the pacing isn’t good. Like with many modern films this out stays its welcome and would have been a better film if it was shortened.

Overall, bar the pacing issues a great film and a directorial comeback for Affleck, though I personally liked Live By Night.

4/5

Pros.

The business scenes are really sharp

Everyone is bringing their A game

The soundtrack

The unexpected emotion

Cons.

The pacing issues

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The Mandalorian: The Spies

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The Mandalorian people return to their home world, meanwhile Moff Gideon, played by Giancarlo Esposito, returns from the shadows.

I think fairly easily the best thing about this episode is the return of Moff Gideon and the tease of not only Thrawn but all of these other wider Imperial factions out there in the galaxy. I never thought I would say it but the set up this episode does for how the Empire turns into the First Order actually made me like the sequel trilogy just a little bit more.

I also appreciated that this episode had a direction and didn’t feel like a side quest designed to kill time. The series now feels like it is leading to something again, which is nice as up until this point this most recent season felt directionless.

The action was well done and I enjoyed seeing all the Mandalorians fighting together, though I am slightly concerned for where things are going. I think considering Din was the only Mandalorian captured I am worried that the next episode will kill him off, which if so would prove that this whole season of the show has gone out of its way to reduce his role and replace him. In many senses the fact that Din went running in first also seems a little out of character, especially in the scenes before that he was shown at the back.

Overall, it is nice to see the series have a direction again but I am concerned for where things are heading.

3.5/5

Pros.

Seeing the Heirs to the Empire

The return of Gideon

Seeing all the Mandalorians fighting together

Grogu’s new mech suit

Cons.

Din’s future

Some of the decisions made no sense

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