Frozen 2: Into The Unknown?

Frozen 2 is an animated musical fantasy film; the plot takes place three years later and centers around Elsa, (Idina Menzel), finding out the origins of her powers.

The most notable thing about Frozen 2 is the distinct change in tone it is very much similar to the tonal shift that the Harry Potter films had; with Frozen 2 being much more mature and exploring far darker themes than Frozen.

The overall narrative choice of tieing Elsa’s powers into her being an elemental is an interesting choice. The other elementals, air, fire, earth and water are a mixed bag; fire is a cute salamander, literally to sell merchandise, air and earth are bland and full of plot holes; water is by far the best.

The songs, which are a key part, are even better this time around. ‘Into the Unknown’, is a better song than ‘Let it Go’, as it says more about Elsa’s character motivations while also serving to set up and foreshadow the later plot. That is something that applies to all the songs in this film they no longer just feel forced in because the films needs a song, which Frozen 1 is guilty of. Instead, most of the songs this time around serve a narrative purpose.

The characters except for Elsa and Olaf,(Josh Gad), who I will talk about separately, all feel sidelined in this film, being reduced to caricatures. Anna, (Kristen Bell), becomes so needy and, controlling with Elsa that she can’t let her out of her sight for more than five minutes; which leads to Anna repeatedly putting herself in danger and needing to be saved. Kristoff, (Jonathan Groff), who was already a background character in the last film is now given even less to do; making me ask the question why was he even included if they weren’t going to use him? His whole story line revolves around him wanting to propose to Anna, and it keeps going badly, does that sound funny to you? The first time it’s passable, maybe you think it’s just a throwaway gag, but no that is his whole arc; and it is incredibly unfunny. He does get a song this time around ‘lost in the woods’ which is surprisingly, but that is it. There are some other side characters but, they’re only featured briefly.

The two characters who I think are good in this film and progress in interesting ways are Elsa and Olaf. Elsa’s quest to find out who she is keeps us guessing most of the film, yes at times some of the twists along the way are painfully obvious, but I still respect how her character progresses and, the fact that by the end of the film she is no longer Queen. I think the side plot of her maybe having a romantic moment with a Northuldra woman, is brushed over far too quickly, but maybe we will get that in the inevitable Frozen 3? Olaf, who was mainly comic relief, here has an existential arc where he questions reality and the nature of change; which I thoroughly enjoyed and thought it added a nice bit of comedy for a more mature audience.

To conclude I think that this film could have been better if it was just an Elsa, and maybe Olaf, standalone film. Anna and Kristoff have so little to do why include them? The more mature story is definitely a plus as well as the ballsy ending, but the issues I have mentioned just drag it down for me.

3.5/5
Reviewed by Luke

Frozen: The New Christmas Hit

Frozen is an animated musical fantasy film, focusing on two Princesses Anna, (Kristen Bell), and Elsa, (Idina Menzel), as they have to save the Kingdom of Arendelle. Elsa is born with ice powers that she can’t control, which scare her to the point she seals herself away from society. However, she rejoins society when her parents die and, she ascends the thrones, this all turns bad and, the kingdom is plunged into eternal winter, she then runs off so she can’t hurt anyone else. Her sister Anna then begins a journey to find her sister and save the kingdom.

The refreshing thing about Frozen is how it bucks the traditional Disney formula. There is no Prince Charming, and the closest we get is the villainous Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. There is a romance subplot between Kristoff, (Jonathan Groff), and Anna but, this isn’t the main focus. Furthermore, the ending of the film which calls for ‘true love’, is the love between the two sisters; which I found to be delightfully subverting.

The songs are all very well done, especially ‘Let it go’ the song a million little kids listened to on repeat, they add to the dramatic elements of the film nicely. Furthermore, the Nordic/ Sami influence in the score helps the film to have a sense of original identity.

The two sisters are incredibly well fleshed out characters with very well defined motivations and personalities, being great role models for younger audiences. However, the rest of the cast are ignored as a result. Kristoff and Olaf, (Josh Gad), have their moments but, they end up feeling more background characters; with Olaf being the worst for this.

Olaf is only in the film to act as comedic relief, which more often than not comes across as annoying. The humour of the film is very much skewed towards a child audience, yes it is a film aimed at children, but most good animated films have jokes and lines in for the older members of the audience; this one does not.

The mythology of the film is very interesting, with strong Nordic influences, it is rife to explore; though it is only lightly touched on here.

Overall all this is on the better side of Disney fare interestingly bucking the trend of the film’s gone by. Anna and Elsa are both incredibly well-formed characters that have a lot to love about them; being great inspiration for little girls. The score is well used and, memorable with songs you will remember long after the credits roll. My one issue with the film is that the supporting characters aren’t given a lot to do which makes them feel more akin to cardboard cutouts.

4/5
Reviewed by Luke

Horrible Histories, The Movie: Did We Really Need This?

Horrible Histories: The Movie- Rotten Romans is a British historical comedy film, based on the best selling Horrible Histories books and the hit TV series. The plot follows a Celt girl called Orla, (Emilia Jones), and a young Roman boy called Atti, (Sebastian Croft), as they go from captor and captive to unlikely friends, all the while Boudica, (Kate Nash), and her Celtic tribe fight against the Romans.

Since I was young, I’ve been a huge fan of Horrible Histories, the original incarnation of the TV series is still some of if not the finest kids television out there. It is entertaining and informative; with a lot for people of all ages to enjoy. Needless to say, I went into this with pretty high expectations.

Straight off the bat, I was saddened by the fact that most of the original cast from the television show don’t make an appearance; not even a cameo. That certainly hurts the film. However, we do get some excellent newcomers mainly in Glow’s Kate Nash, who here plays British legend Boudica, Nash is incredibly cool and stylish and really sells the character. She steals every scene she is in especially when they do a rendition of the Boudica song from the series.

Therein lies another one of my complaints about the film, it feels too reliant on the TV series, it has many winks and nods to gags and songs that made the original so beloved, which isn’t in itself a bad thing. What makes it a bad thing though is that Horrible Histories the Movie has nothing new, it has nothing to offer besides these winks and nods. Except for Kate Nash’s Boudica, all the new characters we meet in this outing are utterly forgettable, which is a crying shame as the actors themselves are quite talented. Nick Frost and Craig Roberts are both capable of adding a lot to a film, but here feel hamstrung by a weak and predictable script.

The Show is broken up into sketches, these sketches cover everything from Vikings to Victorians, they don’t linger on any one period for too long. That is another thing this film falls prey to the entire runtime is dedicated to the ‘Rotten Romans’, and it becomes apparent after a while that there isn’t enough material to cover this length of time. This lead to long sequences that feel incredibly drawn out, not adding much to the overall plot instead just being boring.

Overall this film is the textbook definition of a missed opportunity, the absence of the original cast is felt strongly, and even a show-stopping performance by Kate Nash can’t change that. It is passable and inoffensive, but if you want to see the masterpiece that is Horrible Histories watch the 2009 series, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

3/5
Review by Luke

Last Christmas: Who Will You Give Your Heart To This Year?

Last Christmas is a Christmas set romantic comedy featuring Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding. Emilia Clarke plays Kate a women whose life is falling apart, following a heart problem the Christmas before, she is working a dead-end job, running out of friends and about to have to go and live back at home. Yes, this character has been done 100 times before, but there is something so wholesome and relatable about the way Clarke plays the character, that you instantly root for her.

The same can be said of Kate’s love interest Tom, he is mysterious and enigmatic, keeping the world at an arms length. Once again there is nothing new about this character type, but Golding’s portrayal is so charming and, endearing that you can’t wait to see him; just like Kate.

The love story between them feel relatable and, the audience really wants them to get together by the end of the film; especially after one heartfelt scene when Kate tells Tom about her heart problems.

However, it is not meant to be. Spoilers here if you haven’t seen it.

Just when it seems as though Kate and Tom are going to get together, it is revealed Tom’s dead. He died last Christmas and, his heart was given to Kate through an organ transplant. When the twist hits you, you will feel one of two ways about it: either you will think it is a bittersweet masterstroke or, it will break your heart. I fell into the latter camp.

My other complaint about the film is there is a needless Brexit plotline in it that feels forced in, Last Christmas would function perfectly well without it, it doesn’t really come up much and, I do wonder why it was included. I feel as though it was to be current and political, but I feel it dated the film and made me groan.

The performances were all also fantastic, Golding and Clarke especially, in fact, I think this might be Emilia Clarke’s best performance yet, she is the heart and soul of the film. The direction is also strong by Paul Feig, it is very clearly a Paul Feig film with all the trimmings, which I personally love but, he is an acquired taste; if you like his other films you will like this.

I think the ending is heartwarming and sweet, as it puts the focus more on Kate’s character development rather than her getting the guy and having the happily ever after ending; that most films like this do. To some, this could become a Christmas classic, however, for those who are comparing this film to the likes of Love Actually then it won’t come off favorably.

A nice turn your brain off, happy Christmas film, Clarke and Golding are great. Watch it and be merry.

4/5
Reviewed by Luke

Let It Snow: This Film Belongs on the Naughty List

Let It Snow is a Christmas themed romantic comedy, focusing on the trials and tribulations of a group of teens in Illinois. If you’re looking for a feel-good, switch your brain off Christmas film then you will like Let It Snow.

However, if you’re looking for a good film, then this is the furthest you could get. I thought there was something almost offensively bad about this film, with its depiction of teenagers/ teenage life and love.

For a start, the characters feel with everything they say and do, like they have been written been adults, who have never met a teenager in their whole life and can’t seem to remember their own experience. By this I mean the characters are a collection of stereotypes and cliches of Gen Z people. What makes this even worse is that other than Kiernan Shipka’s The Duke, yes that is the character name, all of the other characters are intensely unlikeable. They’re a collection of the most self-indulgent, self-obsessed, narcissistic characters ever put to film. They whine and have fits of anger randomly, just seemingly to add some drama to the plot.

Whatsmore the love stories feel like a collection of reused plots from other more successful Rom Coms, with everything feeling more than a little derivative. However, all of these classic plots have been given a current 2019 coat of paint, so social media and the internet have to be included to the point of it becoming tedious.

The acting is understandably bad, and I mean bottom of the barrel Blumhouse bad; Lucy Hale bad. Netflix has seemingly gathered together as many teenage actors as they could get, regardless of talent, and stuffed them into this film; in a futile attempt to seem current. Also, something I was thinking of watching this is that it seems as though anyone who has ever been in a Netlfix series appears here, The Santa Clarita Diet check, The Good Place check, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina check, the list goes on. It almost feels like this film was made to promote those other shows in away.

The only likeable performance is Kiernan Shipka as The Duke, she is charming throughout and the only thing the film has going for it, however, the bar for a performance in this film to appear as good by comparison is incredibly low.

Ultimately Let It Snow feels like a cynical, teenage crash grab. The heavy pandering to a teenage audience means a lot of other people will find it hard to enjoy, I am genuinely surprised that an actor from Riverdale didn’t show up at some point, this is why people say Netlfix will greenlight anything.

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Satanic Panic: The Devil, Demons and Devilishly Good Pizza

Satanic Panic is a horror comedy film, following Sam Craft, (Hayley Griffith), a pizza girl, who makes a call to the wrong house and quickly finds herself the target of a satanic cult- due to her being a virgin.

Satanic Panic has vibes of pulpy grind-house horror, think Rob Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses, which is a delight to see as those sort of films are few and far between these days. Couple that with the fact that the film features a lot of horror references and homages to many horror classics, and you get a film that is going to scream, “Watch Me”, to any genre hardcore.

However, if you’re looking for a scare, you might want to look elsewhere as Satanic Panic is definitely more of a comedy than a horror; the last 15 minutes asides. Said final 15 minutes which features demons battling it out is not only cool but, also the film’s scariest section.

The comedy of the film mostly lands, making me smile multiple times as I was watching it. Although, somewhat surprisingly, where the film most shines is in its attempts to be dramatic. This comes when we hear Sam’s backstory and learn she is a cancer survivor, and that she abandoned her friend/ lover on the cancer ward. This scene is surprisingly powerful, far more so than I was expecting from a horror comedy film; the emotional weight of this scene hits you hard and fast taking you by surprise and knocking you off your feet.

The mythology of the film and how it approaches demons and devil worship is also novel and fresh; especially towards the ends when it focuses on the hierarchy of Hell. As a result the film almost demands a sequel so we can see more of this world and these characters.

The characters are also fantastic, Hayley Griffith plays Sam perfectly encapsulating her spirit and, to an extent her innocence. She makes for a solid lead and, one who is easy to root for. Likewise, Rebbeca Romijn’s Danica Ross is superbly evil, relishing every moment she is on screen; either with a fantastic quip or, a memorable scene. Romijn proves here why she is one of the best actresses working today. Though the breakout star of the film and, the one for me who gave by far the best performance is Ruby Modine. Modine plays Judy Ross, Danica’s daughter who is left for dead and, saved by Sam. Judy is capable but, also incredibly damaged and, the friendship she forms with Sam is incredibly endearing; watching her fight the forces of night is something I never knew I needed until now.

If you’re looking for a film that is going to scare you or, creep you out this isn’t it. However, if you’re a diehard fan of the horror genre and, like films that pack heart, laughs and, about 10 minutes of scares then this is for you! One of the most smile-inducing films I’ve seen all year.

4/5
Reviewed by Luke

The Day Shall Come: Behold Your Messiah Is Here

The Day Shall Come is a dark comedy thriller, written and directed by Chris Morris, of Four Lions fame. The plot follows Moses Al Shabaz, (Marchant Davis), as a preacher who hates the way society does things and voices idea of rising against the Government. Throughout the film, we are shown that Moses thinks he is on a divine mission and believes that God is on his side; though everyone else thinks he’s delusional. The events of the film begin when Moses community centre is closed, and his landlord asks for radioactive materials to keep it open. Meanwhile, the FBI is looking for new targets, people they can lock up for terror charges, and they set their sights on Moses thinking him unstable.

The beauty of a Chris Morris script is that even though Moses and his crew do things that would make anyone else the villain in the narrative, like buying guns off Isis, here we see it twisted. Moses and his friends think they’re getting one over on both sides and it’s all one big trick. Because of this, we still root for Moses throughout, because, in his own manic way, he is incredibly likeable.

On the flip side of this Morris criticises the processes of the FBI showing how they would go to any length to arrest someone for terrorism so that they can get a promotion; even literally giving them a nuke. The FBI character we follow is Kendra Glack, (Anna Kendrick), who unlike her superiors starts to see throughout the film just how ridiculous the whole process is.

If you have seen Four Lions or, any of Chris Morris’ other work you know that he likes to cover important real-world topics and draw out the absurdity in them. Taking narratives that would otherwise be very dark and heavy and making surreal comedy gold.

Davis does a fantastic job making Moses likeable and sympathetic despite being a terrible person; we can see his good intentions. He is equally as terrific delivering serious dialogue as he is having a conversation with his horse; that he thinks can talk.

Kendrick, on the other hand, plays the same character she always does, you can picture in your head what I mean, but she is still likeable all the same; if a little bland. A lot of her FBI colleagues outshines her, particularly her boss Andy Mudd, (Denis O’ Hare), who gets all the best lines and steal the last third of the film.

Overall this isn’t a film for everyone. Some may not like its subject matter. Some might not like its breed of comedy. However, if this film appeals to you, then it is a blast of surreal comedy at its finest and the stuff of indie filmmaking legend. You won’t see anything else like this I can guarantee you that.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Little Monsters: Neil Diamond 27 years later and better than ever!

Little Monsters is a Zombie romantic comedy, in a similar vein to something like Life After Beth. The plot of the film revolves around Dave, (Alexander England), who after being dumped by his girlfriend moves in with his sister and her son Felix, (Diesel La Torraca). One day when Dave takes Felix to school, he meets Miss Caroline, (Lupita Nyong’o). He becomes wholly smitten, after this, he agrees to chaperone his nephew’s school trip, to impress Miss Caroline; then zombies show up, and everything gets crazy.

Before I get into my thoughts on the film, I just want to say that I genuinely believe that the Zombie genre is dead, tapped, devoid of creativity. The same story lines and character types are recycled over and over; there is nothing new to say. They should be retired, even if only for a few years, and allowed to rest in peace.

To that extent, Little Monsters is nothing new, the idea of a Zombie Romantic Comedy has been done before, Life After Beth, Warm Bodies even Zombieland has elements of romance in it, so this plot element doesn’t make this film unique. Indeed it is quirky, and by having the child cast be quite involved at times, there is a novelty to it. However, this is just a new coat of paint on a tired, used concept, and there is no getting away from that fact.

The charm of the film comes from Alexander and Nyong’o’s performances. Both are instantly likeable and maintain this throughout, their romance is well done and feels earned, including a very touching rendition of ‘Sweet Caroline’, which may be one of my favourite in film songs of the year. The two actors have chemistry as well and make for a believable couple.

Josh Gad is also in this film he plays a children’s entertainer called Teddy McGiggle/ Nathan Schneider, whereas typically Gad is annoying and brings you out of the film with his over the top performance it works well here. Gad’s character is a depressed alcoholic who hates kids and views having sex with their mums as a way to get back at his child audience. So you can see that the character is going to be the over the top sort. Gad plays him to perfection savouring every second he gets to be on screen; he is most certainly a scene-stealer in this.

My major issue with this film aside from the distinct lack of originality is that the zombies don’t show up until a good 20 minutes into the film; maybe more. Based on the trailers I had seen before viewing this, I thought that Zombies would be a massive part of the film from the beginning, but that isn’t true. The first half an hour shows us how bad Dave’s life is, it drags out his breakup and the fact that he doesn’t try or, care about anything. I understand the film is doing this to show his character transformation later, but it just feels like bad writing; at best padding at worst tediously drawn out.

Overall, the first half-hour is missable, but once the zombies and Josh Gad’s character turn up, the film comes back to life. Little Monsters has very little in it that you haven’t seen before, probably done better, but it has some entertaining performances and an excellent performance of ‘Sweet Caroline’.

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Zombieland 2: Sometimes Dead is Better

Zombieland 2, is the belated sequel to the cult classic horror-comedy of 2009. The film, much like the first follows our group of unlikely loveable survivors as they try and stay alive in the zombie apocalypse. Double Tap, a reference to one of Columbus’, (Jessie Eisenberg), rules for surviving Zombieland from the first film, takes place ten years after the end of the original. The plot revolves around Tallahassee, (Woody Harelson), Columbus and Wichita, (Emma Stone), as they try and find Little Rock, (Abigail Breslin) after she departs the group and tries to find herself and a cute guy; so she can have the idyllic family life.

If that message seems odd to you, it’s one of many. This film feels like it was made ten years ago, a lot of the jokes feel dated and in poor taste. I’m not saying every movie has to be PC and can’t say what they want to say; I’m just saying some of the messages in this film are troublesome.

The character of Madison, (Zoey Deutch), encapsulates this precisely, she is a new character to this film, and she first runs into the characters when she meets Tallahassee and Columbus in a mall. She then sleeps with Columbus despite him seemingly loving Wichita, who at this point in the film has run off for a month because the prospect of marriage scared her, but like many of the characters joke in the movie, he moves on really quickly and not only does his undercut the love between him and Wichita, but it also serves to assassinate his character. Which makes the final moments of the film feel cheap and unbelievable.

Furthermore, Madison is the embodiment of everything that is wrong with this sequel; the original main characters almost feel pushed to the side, just to focus on the film’s new characters who are all boring and underdeveloped. In addition to this, most of the new characters are only included to allow these tiresome recurring jokes. An example of this is Madison herself; her main character trait is that she is dumb, a bimbo, you’ll be damned to forget that in this film as there is a joke about her lack of intelligence every five seconds, something this film doesn’t seem to understand is that repetition doesn’t make a joke funny.

What’s more, as you have probably seen in those woeful trailers, there is a prolonged scene in which new survivors show up, who are basically copies of Columbus and Tallahassee and they can’t see it. Isn’t that funny? These characters are only included for that joke, and the film drags it out and drags it out, and it’s just not funny. We could have had more scenes that added to the story of our four main characters but, no we need this ten-minute unfunny joke.

I wish I could say that this was just a sequel that didn’t need to be made, but it is far far worse than that. This film tarnishes the original by making characters do things they wouldn’t do, just to set up a cliched boring narrative. This film spits in the face of the original and looks smug about it. Harrelson is the only person who looks like he wants to be there; he is the one saving grace. Double Tap has a joke about women Suffrage just casually thrown in, and it feels so out of place and out of touch. This film should have either come out ten years ago or, just not at all.

Sometimes dead is better.

1.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Abominable: Dreamworks most surprising Gem

Abominable is an animated film from Dreamworks, about a young girl Yi, voiced by Chloe Bennet, who has shut herself off from the world after the death of her father. That all changes when an escaped Yeti takes refuge on the roof of her building. As she embarks on a mission to help him get home to Mount Everest, the Yeti helps her through her grief and reminds her of what a beautiful place the world can be.

I had low expectations going in, and I hadn’t heard much about the film, what I had heard was suggesting it was going to be incredibly average. However, I can honestly say after seeing the film that it’s a delight. Abominable is greatly influenced by Dreamworks other heavy hitters, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragons. Though their respective influences are clear, I think this film rises to the same level as these two greats, if it doesn’t surpass them.

The central theme of the film is grief, and what this film does better than something like Coco, the emotion does not feel artificial or forced, but rather incredibly raw and genuine. So much so that you can relate to Yi’s level of grief and empathise, imagining the level of pain you would feel if you were in that situation.

Everest, the Yeti, doesn’t have much to say or do, apart from wanting to get home to the mountain of the same name, but he takes the traditional role of making all the kids realise who they are. Though this role is incredibly cliche, here it can’t help but make you smile as the dynamic between the kids and Everest is precious.

The one area this film falls down in is its’ villains. Said antagonist is Dr Zara, who the film first reveals to us as a sympathetic character who wants to study and protect this majestic creature. However, as we should all know because she has a British accent, she must be evil, and sure enough midway through the film this turns out to be the case. Her motivations are quite lacklustre wanting to capture the creature so she can sell it, and though Sarah Paulson is drafted in to voice her, she is given precious little to sink her teeth into. Something the film does well in the antagonist department is show how the character Burnish, who is presented as a nasty man who wants to recapture the Yeti to prove himself right, has a change of heart and realise that Everest needs to be protected. This shows how even the villains of the film can be redeemed. The main characters show elements of this as well, as they develop to become better people.

The world the film creates is beautiful and expansive, with a robust lived-in feel to it. Every destination the kids go to in their quest to get Everest home feels like it has a thousand stories to tell; leaving them aptly for a sequel.

Overall Abominable blew my expectations away and was one of the most charming, heartwarming animated films I’ve seen in a long time. Chloe Bennet deserves praise for her role as Yi, and the film as a whole deserves recognition for its positive messages about grief and coping with it, and the importance of family and being yourself. Abominable is a film I can’t recommend enough.

4/5
Reviewed by Luke