The To Do list: Exploring Your Body

The To Do List is a romantic comedy film directed by Maggie Carey. The plot sees Brandy (Aubrey Plaza), make a to do list before she goes off to college, the twist however is that the items on the list are sexual in nature as Brandy is quite inexperienced, so she sets out to change that.

This has been in my Netflix queue for quite some time and I finally watched it, and I have to say I am glad I did. I ended up enjoying it way more than I thought I would, and it is easily one of the best films I have seen recently.

I thought the sex positive message of the film was very good and very enlightening for teenage viewers. The idea that sex is a natural thing and nothing to be ashamed off is something that is not said often enough, especially for Women. It is nice to see a new wave of media with a sex positive female focus, other example of my point would be Book Smart, Blockers and Fleabag.

I also thought the film was hilarious and it often had me laughing. I thought Clark Gregg as the overprotective, uncomfortable with sex father was the standout in this regard, his character often had me in stiches, and he paired with Connie Britton’s sex positive mum worked wonders.

Overall, a hilariously good, funny film that I highly recommend everyone watch.

Pros.

Clarke Gregg

Aubrey Plaza

Bill Hader

It has a very good message

It is hilarious

The cameos

Cons.

None

5/5

Beauty And The Beast: The Definition Of Stockholm Syndrome

Beauty and the Beast is an animated family film directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise. The plot sees social outcast Belle (Paige O’ Hara), becomes the prisoner of a Prince (Robby Benson) who was turned into a beast after insulting a witch. As things appear sinister Belle realises that The Beast is not as monstrous as he first appeared, and they end up falling in love; it is a tale as old as time.

So before I get into it, I want to say yes I know the premise is troublesome, it is a textbook case of Stockholm Syndrome and the message of the film sucks hard, but hey it is a Disney animated film so what else is new.

This was not one of the Disney animated films I grew up on, I think I might have seen it once before, so when I watched it the other night it was almost like the first time and I have to say message aside it is a fairly okay family film. This is not in top tier Disney animated films at least not to me.

I thought the songs where okay, some better than other admittedly. They were catchy enough and they got in my head, but I didn’t remember them much once the film ended. I liked Belle and thought she was an interesting character it is just a shame that she is side lined once the Beast is introduced to the narrative. Her and the Beast have a form of chemistry on screen that is believable, thought I wouldn’t call it romantic.

Overall, one of the meh tier Disney animated films, maybe if I had grown up on it I would have felt differently, but as it stands it just seems quite bland with a seedy undertone the more I think about it.

Pros.

The animation is beautiful

Some of the songs are good

Cons.

Some of the songs are bad

The message and the premise are troublesome

Belle is a good character but doesn’t get to shine

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Out Of The Shadows, Casey Jones, A Hero Emerges

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Out Of The Shadows is an action superhero film directed by Dave Green. The plot this time around sees the grotesque looking CGI brothers taking on other worldly entities and normal baddies who have been turned into animal super soldiers.

So I enjoyed this film more even than the first film. I think it has a few glaring issues the CGI chief among them but is on the whole a step up from the first film.

I enjoyed that the creepy overly sexual Mikey (Noel Fisher), did not make a return and I thought that the foursome felt better and more natural on screen in this film. Two things that bugged me about the Turtles and their storyline is one, the subplot about wanting to fit in and be human, which felt like the most obvious generic sequel plot line ever. Two, the Brothers have weapons but we never see them use them in any real way, yes I know it is a kids film so we are not going to get blood and gore, but at the same time they don’t even seem to fight with them rather their hands most of the time; that irked me.

I like Stephen Amell as Casey Jones, I think he is perfectly cast and is the best thing about this movie; also Casey is my favourite character from the cartoon. The human plot is okay, not really much different from the first film. Megan Fox is overly sexualised every chance they get, and Will Arnett is there, being funny? Killing time? I don’t know at this point.

I like that this film have Shredder (Brian Tee) and more active role where we got to see him interact with other characters rather than just appearing having a few lines and then disappearing. I also liked that they went with Beep Bop and Rocksteady, with Krang as the main villain. I enjoyed that they embraced the weirdness.

Overall, a solid sequel that works for the most part. There are a few issues that need to be ironed out if they ever hope to make a third film though, however.

Pros.

Going with Krang as the Villain

More Shredder

Making Mikey less of a sex pest

Casey Jones/ Stephen Amell

Cons.

The weapon thing bugged me

Why is Will Arnett in this film?

Also they were creepy and overly sexual with Megan Fox

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Wonder Woman: The Shining Light Of The DCEU

Wonder Woman is a superhero film directed by Patty Jenkins. The plot centres of Amazonian warrior Diana (Gal Gadot), who becomes entangled with a WW1 plot and who finds out that she is a demigod. There is a lot going on, but hey it’s a superhero film.

Before I get into this review I just want to say that this film is probably my favourite DCEU film to date, closely followed by Shazam, and I believe it achieves a lot of what Captain Marvel was going for in terms of female empowerment, but is often short changed in favour of the inferior MCU film.

Gadot really did prove all of the haters wrong, she perfectly embodied the character on screen and became almost synonymous with the role. Diana as a character is easy to root for and is very down to earth and likeable despite not being mortal.

The colour pallet of this film and the use of humour really help this film to set itself apart from the wider DCEU and establish it as something with its own identity. I really think this film nails how to use comedy in a superhero film it has several funny sequences including the penis scene early on with Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), which made me laugh, but hey I also laughed at the “what are those” line in Black Panther. The humour also doesn’t take away from the badass action, as is the problem with the MCU a lot of the time.

Yes, I know I can’t talk about the film without addressing the final CGI boss fight that does let the film down and ends it on some what of a sour note, it is a shame, but the rest of the film more than make up for it.

Overall probably the best DCEU film.

Pros.

The comedy

Diana and Steve

Gal Gadot

The Action

The WW1 setting

Cons.

The final fight

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Iron Man 3: The MCU’s First Slip Up

Iron Man 3 is a superhero action film directed by Shane Black. The plot sees Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), suffer with the consequences of being Iron Man. It is a very human story. The you have some nonsense with serums and old enemies seeking out Stark. However, at its heart it is a story about Tony finding a new place in the world and coping with it.

This review may be controversial.

So, this film had a big task to accomplish it had to follow Iron Man 1 and 2 (which I enjoyed), and also serve to end the Iron Man trilogy, that is a tall order by any means. I applaud Shane Black for making this a more stripped back story, focusing on Tony as a human being rather than a superhero. Having him have to use his mind to get himself out of trouble rather than this armour or his Superhero pals. As a character study piece it gets thumbs up from me, however, this is not a character study film this is a superhero film.

It is in that regard that I think this film falls apart. The promise of Ben Kingsley as the famous Iron Man villain the Mandarin was a tantalising one indeed, so when they revealed that the he wasn’t the actual Mandarin and was actually an actor it was more than a little disappointing. The real villain of the film was a one note baddy whose name I can’t even remember, the subversion didn’t work and was later undone in further material.

Overall an ambitious film in a lot of ways, it succeeds as a character study it fails as a superhero film.

Pros.

Making Tony Stark human.

Not including other Avengers (outside of Rhodey)

Giving Pepper something to do

Cons.

The twist doesn’t work

It adds nothing to the MCU as a whole and ends up feeling quite inconsequential

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Rental: The World’s Worse Air BNB: Imitation Is Not The Finest Form Of Flattery

The Rental is a horror thriller film directed by Dave Franco. The premise seems two couples head to a rental house for the weekend, once they get there they notice that it is the Air BnB from Hell and things quickly escalate.

Now, I had mixed feelings on this one. I thought for what it was trying to achieve and for a first-time directional effort it was good, but in a lot of other ways It was critically let down.

I thought the actual story itself was well done and well executed, it was tense and it used that tension well throughout. What I didn’t like however, was how blatant it was in its homage. This film feels like Franco is trying to make a Hitchcock film, there are several sections that seem directly inspired, I didn’t enjoy that. Mimicking the classics does not make your film a classic.

The characters are also a mixed bag. On the one hand you have Alison Brie as Michelle, the nice person of the group, she is likable and should really be the hero of the story; however she is unceremoniously killed off. The other 3 main characters are differing degrees of bad people and their unpleasant actions make it very hard to sympathise with them.

One more thing that bugged me about this film was the weird racism subplot from the start of the film. It plays into character motivations eventually and gets better over time, but at the start of the film it did not fit at all and felt forced and clunky. Trying too hard to be relevant.

Pros.

A solid first effort

Uses tension well

Alison Brie

Cons.

It feels like a poor imitation of one of Hitchcock’s lesser works

The racism subplot at the start of the film does not feel natural

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Scooby Doo And The Legend Of The Vampire: Rock On

Scooby Doo And The Legend Of The Vampire is an animated family film directed by Scott Jeralds. The plot follows Scooby (Frank Welker) and the gang as they head to Australia for a music festival, once they get there they find some strange goings on resulting in them coming face to face with a local vampire called the Yowie Yahoo.

So this was another classic from my early 2000’s childhood, I decided to revisit it as the animated Scooby Doo films prove to be great comfort viewing. I have to say I enjoyed it, it held up well. Also unlike Monster of Mexico this film did not rely on cheap stereotypes for characters, and actually had some well written Australian and Aboriginal characters (for a kid’s movie at least).

Though I talk a great deal about the problems with formulas I have to say the Scooby Doo formula works well, you know what you’re going to get and there is some comfort in that. I found the villain, the Yowie Yahoo to be quite interesting and I enjoyed the throughout rock feel of the film, which I thought was boosted incredibly by the return of the Hex Girls from The Witches Ghost.

Overall a fun and entertaining Scooby Doo adventure with interesting new characters and a terrific reunion.

Pros.

An interesting monster

Not using stereotypes

The rock feel of the film

The return of the Hex Girls

Cons.

A tad predictable

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Iron Sky, The Coming Race: Facebook News Got It Right

Iron Sky The Coming Race is a Finnish German Austrian comic science fiction action film directed by Timo Vuorensola. The plot this time around sees the surviving humans now living on the ruined Nazi moon base, however, there existence is threatened by the fact that the base is falling apart. So the daughter of James Washington (Christopher Kirby) and Renate Richter (Julia Dietze), from the first film, Obi (Lara Rossi) must lead a team to find a new element within the hollow Earth to power up a spaceship and save the last of her people.

So yeah as you can guess this film goes fully out there and has a race of lizard people being present throughout human history and saying that the Earth is hollow. I think these new twists added to the mythology of the film and helped this sequel to feel different enough to stand on its own. Furthermore, the ending twist of the Soviets having a base on Mars is inspired and hilarious; if a little predictable.

My issue with this film is that though the new characters introduced therein are good, they just aren’t as good as Washington and Klaus (Gotz Otto), from the first film. In terms of likeable lead characters this film defiantly has a void that isn’t filled by the new cast. Whatsmore by having Renate having a backseat for most of the film I feel almost cheated out of seeing her as the badass leader of the remaining humans, (this happens off-screen).

Overall, this is still good and entertaining and by embracing further wackiness it does justify its existence, but it should have been a direct follow up with a bigger focus on Renate and should have kept James around. A bit of a disappointment.

Pros.

The Red Planet twist at the end

Further embracing the weirdness

Renate’s final scene

Cons.

The new character struggle to be likeable

It just isn’t as good

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Iron Sky: They’re Back

Iron Sky is a Finnish German-Austrian comic science fiction action film directed by Timo Vuorensola. The plot reveals that the Nazi’s were not defeated in World War 2 rather they fled to a base on the Moon to plan a counterattack. We follow Renate (Julia Dietze) and Klaus (Gotz Otto), two of the Moon Nazi’s who are tasked with going back to Earth to prepare for an impending invasion.

I really enjoy this film; I have been meaning to watch it for a while and finally did, and I have to say it lived up to what I hoped it would be. The film fully executes the comedic nature of its premise, it is not afraid to get silly with it. The sense of humour of the film is quite zany and dark, but I have to say it kept me very entertained.

Easily the best character in the film is James Washington (Christopher Kirby), the model turned astronaut who unwittingly discovers the Nazi’s hidden fortress. He has a lot of the best lines in the film and made me laugh a lot.

This film does something I thought was impossible, it makes spoof movies good again. The spoof as a genre has had some great success, but in recent years it seemed to be dead after a lot of misfires in the early to mid 2000’s. However, this film and its well-done spoof elements prove there is still some life in the genre yet.

Overall, a wonderfully wacky good time, I whole heartedly recommend.

Pros.

Not afraid to get silly

Fully lives up to the premise

Christopher Kirby

The space battle at the end

Cons.

It becomes a little repetitive towards the end and some of the jokes don’t land.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Ferdinand: John Cena’s Charm Has Limits

Ferdinand is an animated family film directed by Carlos Saldanha. The plot follows a Bull called Ferdinand (John Cena), who doesn’t like to fight. In the Spanish world of bull fighting that proves to be a liability and Ferdinand soon finds himself facing up to some unpleasant truths.

So, I really enjoy Blue Sky Animation, I am a big fan, yes, I know they didn’t make this and that it was actually made by 21^st Century Fox Animation, but I saw their name attached and thought I would check it out. My takeaway? It is a very meh film, sure it is a nice turn your brain off kids movie, but if you’re looking for any substance or originality you’re looking in the wrong place.

The plot feels very been there done that. I can name a whole host of other movies that have a lead character who doesn’t like or can’t do something that his world revolves around. The unoriginality in and off itself is not the damming thing, plenty of films feel samey, my issue is that this film can’t seem to be bothered to do anything new with the premise beyond an unfamiliar location.

Overall, John Cena’s easy charm can’t be called upon to make this a good film. As far as animated films go maybe give this one a miss, you and or your kids won’t gain anything from watching it.

Pros.

I enjoyed the Spanish flair

Cons.

Boring

Seen it before

Kate McKinnon was at her most annoying

The emotion feels hollow

1/5

Reviewed by Luke