Captain Marvel: Hire Better Writers!

Captain Marvel is a Marvel Comics Superhero film directed by Anne Boden and Ryan Fleck. The plot revolves around air force pilot Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), who loses her memory and gains a new identity as Kree Solider Vers. Once Vers ends up back on Earth her two identities clash together causing the creation of Captain Marvel

A lot has been said about this film, but fear not, I won’t get into that side of it, I will analyse this for what it is, a film, not the political message some people think it is. When I first saw this film, I fell asleep in the cinema, however, that is not an indictment on the film, as I was massively sleep deprived. I rewatched this film recently and found it to be quite an enjoyable experience, it is good as far as dumb fun popcorn film can be.

First things first I thought Larson was serviceable as Danvers, her performance had moments of goodness scattered in there, however I think the writing was criminally weak and lead to her not being all that likeable in her own film. I think if you look at how she was written in Endgame you can see how the writing was to blame as her character is much much better there.

I love what this film does in terms of world building it sets up Krees and Skrulls in the MCU, hopefully leading to a Secret Invasion storyline. What’s more the ending that see the Skrulls turn out to be the good guys, nicely flips the narrative of the film and was genuinely surprising. Moreover, Ben Mendelsohn is fantastic in this film, once again proving that he should be cast in more films, he is a great scene chewing villain and is also hilarious.

I thought a lot of the side characters were underdone and might as well have not been included, Samuel Jackson’s Nick Fury doesn’t need to be in this film as his buddy cop relationship with Carol doesn’t really work and I for one would have liked to see him not be in it and then let his time be used giving Carol more development/ personality. Likewise, Jude Law’s Yon-Rogg is necessary in that he is Carol’s ultimate antagonist, but he to feels underdeveloped.

Overall, I think the crimes of this film are because of the weak writing, I think Brie Larson and Captain Marvel the character can be done well, see Endgame, and hopefully we will see more of that in the future with a new and better writing team. There is potential here. Takeaway for Marvel/Disney hire better writers.

Pros.

The Kree Skrull War.

Brie Larson.

The potential for the future.

Cons.

The underdeveloped characters.

The weak writing.

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Horse Girl: One Of Netflix’s Worst

Horse Girl is a drama film directed by Jeff Baena. The plot follows Sarah (Alison Brie), a woman whose normal life starts to unravel, and she becomes more and more unhinged; the later parts of the film get into things like alien abduction, cloning and mental health, with a lot of the film being up to your interoperation of events.

When I sat down to watch this on Netflix the description for it made it sound like a horror film, that is what I was expecting and my oh my it is not that. Well it isn’t in a literally sense, but it does show the horrors of mental health and how someone can easily slip into a manic episode and that is a pretty terrifying thing to think about.

That said thinking about this film is more fun than actually watching it. Large sequences of this film are dull and drawn out, most likely in an effort to make you care about the main character which you never actually end up doing. What makes this worse is that a lot of the film’s abstract elements, come across at best as confusing and at worst as a deluded sense of self; as this film seems to think it is far deeper than it actually is. This is an art film in very much the worst way.

Alison Brie gives a good performance, especially with what she has to work with, she makes Sarah both a vulnerable and frightening character at the same time and easily carries a lot of the film’s dramatic scenes. However, everyone else in the film with no exceptions are the most unlikable group of human beings ever assembled. By that I mean none of the characters have any warmth or likeability, maybe that was a conscious choice who knows; Debby Ryan’s character perfectly captures my point.

It is films like this that have given Netflix the reputation that they will make anything, Horse Girl adds yet another weird unpleasant title to Netflix’s already growing stable of bad films. Though I think this film has some good elements and Alison Brie is okay overall it is tripped up by its huge ego, that is clear in near every scene, as this film isn’t deep it’s pretentious.

That is an hour forty-five minutes of my life I am not going to get back.

Pros.

It is neat to think about.

Alison Brie is okay.

Cons.

It is the worst type of Art film.

It’s not deep it just thinks it is.

It’s dull.

You end up hating most, if not all, of the characters.

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Bohemian Rhapsody: The Man Behind The Band

Bohemian Rhapsody is a musical biopic drama film. The plot revolves around the life of Queen front-man Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek), his rise to fame, his years with Queen and then his death. This film pulls no punches where that latter period is concerned, I have heard people criticise it, but I think it deals with his aids diagnosis and death in a dignified way.

Before I get into the review, yes, I know this film was directed by a prolific abuser, but it can still be enjoyed as a film in spite of that fact.

My first impression of Malek’s Freddy was that I didn’t like him, I didn’t like what Malek was doing with him, I thought it was cheesy and over the top. However, over the course of the film, especially towards the end, I had a drastic change of heart and Malek really won me round with his performance: he particularly excels in the film’s emotional moments.

What’s more this film reminded me how much I like Queen and their music, each one of their most famous songs were used and in a way that made them feel relevant, rather than in other musical biopics when they feel forced in for the sake of it. I particularly thought ‘We Are The Champions’ was done beautifully in the context of the film.

My one issue with the film is that it has too many characters. This film is supposed to be a Freddy Mercury biopic and for the most part he does get centre stage, but at the same time there are a lot of needless sub-plots and side characters that I found to be distracting. In that same vein I found the moments of the film where the focus shifted to the other members of Queen to be dull, this is after all a story about Freddy Mercury, this to me felt like the surviving members of Queen forcing themselves in, as they were heavily involved in making this film.

Overall, I think this is a great musical biopic, it did everything you would want a biopic about Freddy Mercury to do, it gave you a look at his life and at him as a person. The songs I thought were used to good effect and my only critique is that it could have been more organised and focused.

Pros.

Malek.

The Songs.

A good look at the man behind the band.

Didn’t stray away from darker areas.

Cons.

Too many characters that stole focus.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Spider-Man Far From Home: Gone Yet Not Forgotten

Spider-man Far From Home is a Marvel Superhero film directed by John Watts. The plot of this film follows Peter Parker (Tom Holland), and his friends as they go on a European vacation after the world-changing events of Avengers Endgame. In this film Peter considers his place in the world after the death of his hero Tony Stark (Robert Downy Jr) and ponders if it’s time to just be a regular kid and give up being the friendly neighborhood Spider-man.

I have to admit I was one of the few people who wasn’t taken with Spider-man Homecoming or Tom Holland’s portrayal of the character. Maybe it was because I grew up during the Raimi era, but Homecoming did little for me and I believe Peter was better used in the Avengers film he appeared in. However, I liked Holland and his portrayal a hell of a lot more this time around, I truly think he has grown into the character over time.

Holland manages to capture the emotion of the character really well ,excelling in the film’s dramatic moments, him dealing with his grief over the death of Tony is a truly moving thing to see. What’s more, I liked how Holland plays the character in the sections of the film that see Peter just being a regular teenager and whenever it is him and his friends interacting on screen it is a joy to see.

The soundtrack of the film really helps with this, Watts is definitely drawing on 80’s Teenager movies like Ferris Buller’s Day Off and other works of John Hughes and it shows 100% in the soundtrack. It feels like this film could easily have come out in that time period and that really enhances the film for me.

The wider connections to the MCU are fantastic and it is nice to see Peter fight classic Spider-man villains like Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), and the dynamic the two characters have is electric. The end credits stingers for this film leave the franchise in a really interesting place and I can’t wait to see where they will take the character from here.

My one issue with this film is that they continue to make Spider-man and Peter Parker feel like Iron Man Jr, I understand the father son dynamic between the two is important for Peter’s arc, but to have Tony so involved in his story makes him feel like he has less free agency of his own and is rather Iron Man’s side kick and I don’t like this for the character, hopefully Spider-man 3 goes another way with it.

Overall, a very solid film, a strong step up from a lukewarm first entry, both Watts and Holland feel more in their respective groves this time around. They need to watch out and make sure to not turn Peter Parker into Iron Man Jr, as that was my main cause of concern when watching this film.

Pros.

Watts is better.

Holland is better.

Gyllenhaal is incapable of giving a bad performance.

The end set-up.

Cons.

Iron Man Jr?

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Malevolent: Menacingly Average

Malevolent is a British horror film directed by Olaf de Fleur Johannesson. It follows brother and sister duo Angela (Florence Pugh), and Jackson (Ben Lloyd Hughes), who pretend to be paranormal investigators to make money. However, when they arrive at their latest case both siblings learn that not only is the paranormal real, but it wants to see them dead.

When I was going through Netflix and I saw a horror film staring beloved up and comer Florence Pugh I expected big things and boy was I disappointed! This film is as run of the mill and as generic as a horror film can get, all of the ideas this film has have been done before and so much better. It reminded me in a lot of ways of The Boy from a few years ago, expect that felt novel and fresh and this just feels like a retread.

This film greatest crime is how average it is and how it seems to be okay with it, everything from the performances to the scares had me at an eh. The horror genre is in a near-constant effort to reinvent itself: because there are only so many times you can jump at a jump scare before it becomes obvious and crucially not scary. This is what I think befell this film, had it come out 5 years ago it could have done well, but it came out now and that my dear reader is what killed it.

Another baffling thing this film does is have Florence Pugh a British actress speak with an American accent. This is a British film that takes place in Britain, so it would make sense if Pugh spoke with her normal accent, I wouldn’t mind but her and her brother being American’s doesn’t really fit into the plot at all and it just seems a bit odd.

The ending the of the film, when it is going full kilter into all the lip-sowing action, is when it is at it’s best and I will give it that. The ending is genuinely a bit creepy and left me thinking about it after the credits rolled, if the rest of the film could have been like that it would be a much better film.

Overall, this film felt incredibly bland, it had all been done before, and other than a creepy ending and a somewhat decent performance from Pugh, it is on the bad side of forgettable.

Pros.

Creepy last 10 minutes.

Florence Pugh gives an okay performance.

Cons.

It’s boring.

It has been done before, better.

The accent thing bugged me.

It is very much a 2014 sort of film.

1.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Toy Story 4: Saying Goodbye

Toy Story 4 is a computer animated comedy film directed by Josh Cooley. The plot continues on from the ending of Toy Story 3 with the toys now having moved on from Andy and are now loving life under Bonnie. However, one of the toys feels as though he doesn’t fit in this new world anymore and questions where he does belong, this toy is Woodie (Tom Hanks).

I firmly believe this film doesn’t need to exist, Toy Story 3 wrapped the character arcs up for everyone in such a nice and satisfying way we didn’t need to revisit them, maybe in 30 years when the series will inevitably be rebooted, or remade, but we didn’t need another sequel. Pixar billed Toy Story 4 as an epilogue, a whole film that would serve as the end. So, it is by that definition I will judge this film.

I thought this film was good, but not great, by far it is the weakest instalment in the quadrillage. This film is very much Woodies film and yes, he has always been the main character of these films, but he has just been one part of a larger ensemble. Here he is the main focus. As such characters like Buzz (Tim Allen) and Jessie (Joan Cusack), are not really in this film, they have sort of appearances here and there, but they are given nothing of note to do, Jessie especially.

In terms of characterisation Woodie goes on quite the journey, he starts the film trying to make Bonnie into the new Andy, when he realises, he can’t do that and Bonnie makes Forky (Tony Hale), a new toy to replace him, he realises he needs to move on. In many ways Woodie is the audience in this film as he realises the time has come to say goodbye. They tie into this Bo Peep (Annie Potts), coming back into Woodie’s life, she is the one who got away and she shows him, very much the film shows us that it is okay to move on.

Audiences of my generation have grown up with these films and now we are being told it is okay to move on and leave the Toy Story films behind and I think there is something beautiful about that. Though I think this film was deeply unnecessary and was most likely a cash grab it still had heart and it still had soul, I liked seeing where it left Woodie and I hope they leave him there.

Ps. Please Pixar don’t make Toy Story 5!

Pros.

The ending.

Woodie’s Arc.

The new characters are good for a laugh.

Cons.

Side-lines Buzz and Jessie.

You can’t shake the feeling this film doesn’t need to exist.

3.5/5

The Full Monty: Bearing It All

The Full Monty is a comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo. The plot follows a group of unemployed men in Sheffield who turning to striping to make money. This film isn’t afraid to touch on some very real, very dark themes, such as the rights of a father, body image and sexuality, but it handles them all in a thoughtful and mature way.

This is one of those late 90’s early 2000’s films that were social realist with a twist of fantasy in there. It tries to show the world in a realistic way, not in a Hollywood happy ending sort of way, there is a touch of happiness at the end, but the fate of the guys if left relatively ambiguous. It is in the same sort of vein as Trainspotting.

Robert Carlyle does a great job as Gaz, he plays him as a man who has made a few mistakes, his life hasn’t turned out the way he wanted it to, but he always tries to do right by his son. I liked this angle for the character and thought that the relationship between father and son worked well and was affecting, especially when it looked as though Gaz wasn’t going to be able to see his son anymore.

Another thing that I thought worked really well was Mark Addy’s Dave. Dave has body confidence issue that deeply affect him, we the audience don’t realise this right away, however throughout the film we see how his issues are controlling and ruining his life and his marriage and it breaks your heart. Like I said before this film doesn’t pull any punches it hits you in the face with these unpleasant truths about life and they make you think. I think Dave and the way he is represented on screen is so important for cinema as a whole, as it shows people who are suffering from similar issues that they are not alone.

Overall, I think this film doesn’t really work as a comedy film it didn’t make me laugh once, but it works incredibly well as a drama film. It has a strong message about loving yourself and how there is always hope for tomorrow as well as highlighting a lot of the struggles people have to go through on a day to day basis. Dave’s struggle with body confidence has stayed with me since I saw the film a few days ago and I think that proves just how powerful it is. Half a really important social commentary, half an unfunny comedy film.

I’m mixed.

Pros.

Robert Carlyle.

Mark Addy’s character works on so many levels and the struggle he has to go through is one that so many people can relate to, as such it is deeply impactful.

The social commentary and darker themes.

Cons.

It is not at all funny.

It does drag on a bit at times.

3.5/5

Reviewed By Luke

Yoga Hosers: The Great White North

Yoga Hosers is a horror comedy film directed by Kevin Smith. The film serves as the second instalment in Smith’s True North trilogy after Tusk. The story this time around sees the Colleens (Harley Quinn Smith and Lily-Rose Depp) return, to fight Nazi clones that take the form of Bratwurst people and once again save their hometown. If that premise sounds out there and weird to you, it should. Yoga Hosers is aware that it is an hour and half exercise in nonsense and silliness and is proud of it, it revels in it.

*Before I watched this film, I had heard people say nothing but, bad things about it and I have to say I disagree I quite liked the film. For me the Colleens are likable and funny protagonists, Harley Quinn Smith once again proves that she has a lot of upcoming actor potential. I think the film has strong horror and comedy elements, it leans more towards comedy most of the time though and is at times both scary and funny.

The humour for me worked about 75% of the time, which is less than what I would give Jay And Silent Bob Reboot, but that film was great. That said the humour in this film had me chuckling quite often and had me laughing out loud once or twice. Don’t get me wrong there are some jokes that drop like lead weights, but for the most part the comedy works.

The hidden Nazi’s element on the plot was genuinely scary at times, however this was deeply undercut by having them be bratwurst people, which for me was just a little bit too ridiculous and I didn’t find them scary. There was some quite good gore across the film that might make you happy if that is your kind of thing, personally I love a good bit of gore in a horror film.

A final point to note is that Johnny Depp is in this film as Guy LaPointe a detective who helps the girls out. Depp for me was easily the best character in this film and the one I liked the most, he was charming and likeable and very easy to warm to. I like when Depp plays over the top eccentric characters.

Overall, I think this film has been judged a bit too harshly, yes, the bratwurst people are ridiculous and yes, the jokes don’t always land, but on the whole this is still an above average horror comedy film and one that does have things to enjoy for the right audience.

Pros.

The Colleens.

Johnny Depp.

Wonderfully Silly.

Cons.

The Bratwurst people.

The humour for me is hit or miss.

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Jay And Silent Bob Reboot: Who Said All Reboots Are Bad

Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is a buddy comedy film directed by Kevin Smith. This film sees the titular duo head back to Hollywood to try and stop a remake of The Blunt Man and Chronic movie, facing various foes along the way, and also dealing with Jay finding out he has a daughter he never knew about.

I was not expecting to like this film as much as I did, it was terrific and easily one of the best films of last year at least to me. This film has made its way onto not only my favourite comedy films of all-time list, but also my favourite films of all-time list, it is simply that good.

As someone who has become a lapse Kevin Smith fan in recent years it is nice to see him back in top form. Characters from previous Kevin Smith films such as Matt Damon’s character from Dogma show up here, it is nice to see all the familiar faces and inside jokes. What’s more this film is fantastically meta, it knows it is a film and milks it for all it is worth.

The comedy in this film is great, all of the characters are hilarious; especially Jason Lee who is only in the film for a short amount of time, but he makes the most of every second, that Alvin and The Chipmunks joke made me laugh out loud. This film had me laughing constantly, there was very few to no jokes that didn’t land, as a comedy film this is perfect.

The relationship between Jay (Jason Mewes), and his daughter Millennium (Harley Quinn Smith), is incredibly endearing. We see Jay come to terms with being a parent and having to overcome his own father issues so that he can be a good dad to his new daughter. Harley Quinn Smith does a great job as well, she is loveable and hard not to root for, her dream of having a dad that loves her is as sweet as it is heart-breaking. The final scene of the film acts as sort of a passing of the torch moment between Jay and his daughter and it is beautifully done, ending the film on an extreme high note.

Overall, a bundle of laughs, joy and heart from start to finish. Hilarious and heart-warming, a must see!

Pros.

It’s hilarious.

It has a great heart.

All the cameos from Smith collaborators.

The relationship between Jay and his daughter.

A beautiful ending.

Cons.

None

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Justice League Dark: The Mystical Side Of DC

Justice League Dark is an animated science fantasy superhero film. The plot revolves around a team of DC Superheroes, the more mystical ones, who have to investigate a pattern of strange behavior that has turned fatal. The Justice League themselves can’t understand the problem, so it is down to Batman (Jason O’Mara), and his strange collection of allies to save the day.

*Justice League Dark is one of my favourite DC comics, I have read many runs of the team over the years, so when I heard about this project, I knew I had to check it out. I was disappointed, this was an incredibly average film, nothing more, nothing less.

I will admit it was nice to see the team of Constantine (Matt Ryan), Zatanna (Camilla Luddington), and Deadman (Nicholas Turturro), get together; furthermore, it was nice to see Matt Ryan return to play Constantine, he is fairly synonymous with the character to me. However, my issue was the overall story just felt flat. The best issues of the comic have strong horror elements, but I didn’t get that here, other than the shades and a few other things it was mainly without horror.

What’s more though I liked Constantine I felt that a lot of the other characters were short-changed so that he could have more screen time. An example of this would be Swamp Thing (Roger Cross), who has been a major part of the team before in the comics, here only gets a few lines. Worst of all after he gets defeated, he just goes away and we don’t see him again, which feels like a big unresolved plot thread.

As I said before, this film is everything I would expect from a Justice League Dark film, a group of the more mystical DC heroes fighting against a supernatural opponent, but that isn’t enough to sustain my interest across the film’s runtime, I wanted more. More depth to the characters, more scope to the narrative, I don’t know exactly what but, something that felt better than bog standard.

Overall, this film fell short my expectations, it didn’t wow me in anyway, in fact it annoyed me a lot of the time. I wish they had put more time and energy into the characters and the story overall, if they had this might have been something special.

Pros.

Matt Ryan.

It is nice to see all of the characters team up.

A solid foundation.

Cons.

Other than Constantine and Zatanna very weak characters.

How they handled Swamp Thing.

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke