The Midnight Sky: Stick To Acting George, Oh Wait

The Midnight Sky is a science fiction drama film directed by George Clooney based on the novel Good Morning Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton. The film revolves around a lone scientist (George Clooney), who together with a little girl must venture into the artic circle to deliver a warning to a deep space mission.

This film was a slog to get through. Of the positive comments and reviews I have seen most praise the score and the visuals, and yes whilst there are some nice artic shots and vistas that is not enough to make up for the paper-thin characters or the lack of anything original from the story.

When I began this film I had moderate to high expectations, however, as it went on I kept comparing it to other ambitious science fiction films like Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar or last year’s Ad Astra as a result of these comparisons I saw how much this film was trying to be like them but failing hard along the way.

Even if you only watch a few minutes of this film you will see that it clearly has a high opinion of itself: by that I mean it thinks it is far deeper and far more intellectual with its themes then it actually is. What it actually seems to be is a pale imitation of better science fiction films, whereas of itself this film seems to think it is competing for Oscars.

Overall, the two words I would use to describe this film are boring and smug.

Pros.

It has some nice visuals

Cons.

The characters are so thin you can see right through them

The story feels done better before

There is an ever-present air of smugness

It is far too drawn out and badly paced

0.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Boss Level: Don’t You Hate Waking Up With A Gun In Your Face

Boss Level is a science fiction, action film directed by Joe Carnahan. The plot sees ex solider Roy (Frank Grillo), become stuck in a time loop. As is customary he has to live out his death over and over again until he can find out what is going on and stop it.

Before I get into the review fully I just want to say, that ending- my my how much of a tease can you be.

This film will be familiar to most, the time loop concept has become very much a new fad in films over the last 5 years, with films like Happy Death Day and Palm Springs being good examples; by now you know what to expect from these sort of films. However, the thing I would say that sets this film apart from the others is Frank Grillo.

Grillo’s character goes on a real arc over the course of the film, as he makes various discoveries about his current situation and you can see the change in emotion and person happening before you very eyes. Grillo is incredibly versatile and he really sells his role. He made me both laugh and cry over the course of the film.

I enjoyed the film’s references and clear inspiration from classic videogames, I think this game feel helps it to standout and give itself some personality.

Overall, a nice surprise that has quite a few good moments and Grillo himself is superb.

Pros.

Frank Grillo

The character arc

The emotion

The ending

Cons.

It does feel a bit too familiar

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Dead Zone: Christopher Walken Saves Our Future’s, God Bless That Man

The Dead Zone is a science fiction film directed by David Cronenberg, based on the Stephen King book of the same name. The plot sees Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken), awaken from a coma to see that five years have passed, not only that but he can now see into the future. Johnny then has to decide how he is going to use his power going forward.

I might be a bit bias, because I am quickly becoming a Walken fan, but I think this film is terrific. I think it is nice to see a King based film that is not an out and out horror, though there is nothing wrong with that. I find that as a thriller this film poses some interesting moral questions that are fun to think about after the film ends.

Walken is a strong lead and plays the role with the right level of otherness, to never really feel like he fits in in any situation, but also the right level of charm that we believe him as a hero who is trying to help people.

My one complaint of the film would be the second act. I think the first and third acts are both strong, they’re interesting and engaging and they move along at a nice brisk pace, however, the second act really feels like filler. Not only that, but it is also by far the slowest part of the film and is almost a drag to watch at times and you are desperate for something, anything to happen.

Overall, a strong King adaption that begs some interesting questions and has a great lead performance in Walken.

Pros.

Walken

Cronenberg

The moral questions

The ending

Cons.

The tedious second act.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Honeymoon Project: Can You And Your Partner Survive A Year Alone Together?

The Honeymoon Phase is a science fiction thriller film directed by Phillip G. Carroll Jr. The plot follows a young couple who volunteer for a science experiment, to test the idea of ‘honeymoon’ phase. After they move into a new house together, thing soon take a turn for the sinister as it appears that the house and the scientist monitoring them behind the scenes are trying to pit the pair against each other.

I enjoyed the Black Mirror esque, dark science fiction. I thought the film uses the threat of existential dread well to create a haunting atmosphere that lasts for the whole film. The acting is top notch and both Mike Sutton and Chloe Carroll flourish in standout performances.

My issue with this film is it takes things a step too far, into bad taste. Bear in mind that taste is subjective to the person, so you may feel different to me. Examples of what I am talking about are the sex scenes that are scattered throughout the film, these border on the soft core pornographic and get to the point where you feel uncomfortable watching them.

I understand that maybe this was done to push the art form and the boundaries, but for me it was too much.

Another example of what I am talking about is the curling iron scene. There is a part of the film when Eve (Carroll), is pregnant and is trying to lose the baby and rather than do anything else, that would be much easier, she decides to stick a curling iron up her vagina to kill the baby and I am left saying why?

Overall, though this has strong performances and a well-formed premise, the bad taste issues are just too much for me to overcome I found it very difficult to watch.

Pros.

The performances

The premise

The sense of existential dread

Cons.

The curling iron scene

The oddly pornographic sex scenes

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Phineas And Ferb The Movie, Candace Against The Universe: Ashley Tisdale’s Finest Performance

Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Candace Against The Universe is an animated family film directed by Bob Bowen. The plot sees Candace (Ashley Tisdale), get abducted by aliens whilst trying to bust her brothers, naturally Phineas (Vincent Martella) and Ferb (David Errigo Jr.), mount a rescue mission. However, once they find her, they find that she is no prisoner and has finally found people who appreciate her. Or has she.

I assume this film is the end the series, I don’t know as I haven’t kept up with the series for over 5 years, but if this was a conclusion to it then it works well to end things. If this is a just a film that will lead into the next series ignore this point. It did have an air of finality to it.

The humour of this film reminded me of more adult fare like Family Guy, which is either a pro or a con depending on how you view that show. The humour for the most part left me cold, but it did manage to get a laugh out of me a few times.

I enjoyed seeing things work out for Candance for once, it was nice to see her side of things as I felt it carried a nice duality to the series.

Overall, a nice flipped perspective that showed the series can still hit the highs it used to.

Pros.

The flipped perspective

I enjoyed the finality to it

It made me laugh a few times

Cons.

More often than not the humour left me cold

It wasn’t as strong as a lot of the classic episodes

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Bill And Ted Face The Music: One Last Excellent Adventure

Bill & Ted Face The Music is a science fiction comedy film directed by Dean Parisot. The plot reintroduces us to other favourite rockers Bill (Alex Winter), and Ted (Keanu Reeves), who are now all grown up and have teens of their own. Life hasn’t been so kind to the pair and they still haven’t managed to make the song that will unite the universe, then one day they are told it is now or never and the duo set out on one last excellent adventure to save time and space.

This is a very wholesome watch at a time where we need wholesome watches, it is nice to see the duo back on the screen and it feels like they have never really been away. Winters and Reeves still have strong chemistry and it is fascinating to see them now as middle-aged family men.

I enjoyed the fact this film introduced us to Bill and Ted’s daughters, who are just like them, I thought that was a neat twist. The casting of Bridgette Lundy-Paine and the ever-excellent Samara Weaving is pitch perfect and part of me hopes they get their own spinoff; though that is unlikely. My one issue with them would be that the film never uses them enough and often side-lines them, they need more screen time.

The cameos worked well for me and a lot of the best humour came from them. I enjoyed the Dave Grohl bit, and it was nice to see Death (William Sadler), return. However despite this I found the biggest issue with this film was the comedy. A lot of the time the jokes didn’t land for me and were a bit weak and lame, the film often made me smile but never made me laugh. Comedy is subjective.

Overall, a welcome return/conclusion Winters and Reeves are still great together and the daughters are well cast and interesting in their own right. The comedy is a weak point for me, but I still had a lot of enjoyment from this film.

Pros.

Reeves and Winters are still great

Samara Weaving is a scene stealer

The cameos and returns

The ending and the feeling of closure

Cons.

A lot of the humour didn’t land for me

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Tenet: What Is In A Word

Tenet is an action science fiction thriller film directed by Christopher Nolan, the plot sees The Protagonist (John David Washington), try and prevent the end of the world, whilst also dealing with events happening backwards and forwards in time.

So before I get into this one, I would be remiss if I did not mention, that during the pandemic I have come to dislike Christopher Nolan quiet a bit, as he has had no regard for the ongoing corona virus and how his film may act as a super spreader event, he just cares that it is out and that he can lord himself as the ‘saviour of cinema’, so some bias, but hey if you’re still with me let’s get into it.

The concept is novel and inspired, I enjoyed it very much. Though the timey whimey stuff could have felt gimmicky it never does. I enjoyed seeing the same scene play out twice, one forward in time and once backwards, I found that this approach cleared up a lot of plot holes along the way.

The acting was all superb, with John David Washington proving that he is more than capable of leading a blockbuster film and of giving his dad a run for his money in the charm department. Though his co-stars give good performances as well, really this is Washington’s film and will be the one you walk away taking about.

The plot I had a few issues with, I found it to be overly obtuse and deliberately confusing, throwing in random science things from left field in an effort to seem smart. Some of the dialogue comes across as feeling a little try hard in that regard, and as I always say making something pretentious doesn’t make it clever or deep; it makes it smug.

Furthermore, in my screening of the film I had a lot of issues with sound mixing, I have talked to other people about it and they have experienced it as well. There will be a quiet conversation and you won’t be able to hear it because there will be a loud boowom in the background and you will be like wait what.

Overall, is this film worth seeing it cinemas right now? Maybe, maybe not, it is good, but I don’t really think it would be any worse on streaming, the cinema experience seems to work against it in the sound department. I think this film will be quite niche, you will either enjoy it or you will walk away bored and frustrated; there is no in-between on this one.

Pros.

The acting

The premise and the time effects

I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would

Cons.

It reeks of smugness and is deliberately confusing

The sound mixing is awful

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Project Power: Popping Pills

Project Power is an action science fiction film directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. We are shown a version of New Orleans where a dangerous new street drug that gives people superpowers is all the rage. Who is behind it is unclear, but that doesn’t stop one former army major (Jamie Foxx), from trying to bring in all down and save his kidnapped daughter.

I thought this film had a very cool concept, I enjoyed the gritty very real world feel it had; despite a premise that could easily have gone in a silly, superhero direction. It is made very clear to us the audience that these people aren’t superheroes, they’re regular messed up people who are just doing what they can to try and take control of their own reality.

The soundtrack nicely pushes this authentic feel, with each song feeling very necessary and well attached to a certain scene; there was only one song that I found to be clunky and out of place and even slightly awkward.

The performances were stellar from all three leads; however I think anyone would tell you that this is Foxx’s movie and he makes the most of every second he is on-screen. It is also nice to see Joseph Gordon Levitt pop back up, I feel like its been a while since I have seen him in a big budget film.

My one complaint would be that it feels very Netflix. It is of course a Netflix action film, but therein lies the problem, because Netflix seems to keep to a formula with these kind of movies they all end up feeling very samey and there are times when this film feels like it is falling into that trap. Not a huge indictment of the film itself more one for Netflix’s action movies in general.

Overall, a fun ride with a lot to say and some great performances not one that I would need to watch again, however.

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Jexi: A Man Has Sex With A Phone, Need I Say More

Jexi is a comedy film directed by Jon Lucas and Scoot Moore. The plot sees loser Phil (Adam Devine), get a new phone that seems intent of making his life better. A bond forms between Phil and his new phone called Jexi (Rose Byrne), and the two have to navigate the difficulties of modern life together, and then Phil gets a girlfriend and all hell breaks loose.

So, high art this film is not, but damn is it funny. I had heard nothing but bad things going in so I was expecting the worst and was genuinely shocked when I was laughing almost from the get, if you view this film as a so bad it is good kind of film then you will enjoy it more for sure.

The writing is poor, but the film encourages you to not think about it and just watch a man have sex with his phone, try and get that image out of your head, part of the fun is the ridiculousness. The comedy works surprisingly well, and Byrne and Devine bounce off each other really well and have a great back and forth. Byrne especially is great; her mean girl style of humour really seems to be working in her favour.

Overall yes this film is trash, but it is also a hell of a lot of fun. I was laughing near constantly for an hour and a half; my one critique would be that the romantic stuff doesn’t work and feels deeply cringey.

Pros.

It is hilarious

Rose Byrne steals the show

Byrne and Devine have a great back and forth

It is bizarre

Cons.

Sometimes it is cringey and awkward

The writing is poor

4/5

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