#52: WEAPONS

STARRING: Josh brolin, Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Cary Christopher, Benedict Wong and Amy Madigan. Written, produced and directed by Zach Cregger. Budget $38 million. Running time 128 minutes.

When a classroom's worth of children, save one, Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher) all get out of bed at 2.17am in the morning and run off into the night never to be seen again, suspicion falls on their teacher Justine Gandy (Julia Garner) and the parents of the missing kids all turn on her. 

And that's all I'm going to tell you about the plot. The film unfurls its story through six different character's perspective, the surviving child Alex, his teacher Justine, her ex boyfriend Alden (Paul Morgan), her boss headmaster Marcus Miller (Benedict Wong), a young drug addict called James (Austin Abrams), and the father of one of the missing children Archer Graff (Josh Brolin).

Telling the story from six different character's perspective is an excellent conceit and works brilliantly, building the plot with each tale. You'll try to second guess the story, but you'll do it without success, the film leads you along but each time rips the rug from under you, creating a deeply unsettling and scary experience. The film is filled with jump scares and some genuinely frightening imagery, it's also got some extremely gory sequences that had the audience I saw this with shrieking in response. The direction from Cregger is very assured and he is shaping up to be a deeply original horror director. The music also works perfectly creating an atmosphere of clawing naked dread.  

However, a film like this only works if it nails its landing and it's a delight to report that this does it with absolute precision and you will not be disappointed. 

It think this was one of the most original and chilling horror films I've seen in a very long time and I bloody loved it! And for once, I didn't groan or laugh at some ludicrous plot hole.

Drop whatever you're doing and go and see this now, before someone spoils it for you.

9/10

 

#51: X-MEN

 

STARRING: Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Bruce Davidon, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Ray Park and Anna Paquin. Screenplay by David Hayter from a story by Tom DeSanto and Bryan Singer, based on x-Men by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Directed by Bryan Singer. Budget $75 million. Box office $296.3 million. Running time 104 minutes. Origianlly released in 2000.

Was amazed to realise that this is 25 years old, how is that possible I mused until I realised that my daughter was born the previous year and she's 26. This glorious movie predated the MCU first effort, Iron Man by 8 years, which amazed me even more. 

What an absolute treat it was to see this up on the big screen, I don't think I've seen it that way since it was first released. It has a great cast, a confident script and a great look. The way the source material is handled is respectful, as is the way the characters are introduced, no more so than the introduction of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), who simply owns the screen everytime he's on it. The actors all bring a splendid sense of believability to their characters and the effects, which for the most part seem very practical enhance the experience even more. It honours the comics it's based on, and it looks as if every penny of its budget is on display.

It's not perfect, the final third act showdown between the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants looks and feels cheap, but the build up is glorious. This is a film with a story to tell, and not a message to sell and I doubt we'd have seen the MCU if this hadn't been successful. Obviously it created an initial triology, of which the least said about the third, Last Stand the better! It's a terrible film, but not as terrible as the franchise of mutant themed movies it spawned. 

With a great beginning, a solid middle and a disappointing ending this was a excellent and exciting evening and well worth rewatching. 

8/10

#50: THE NAKED GUN

STARRING: Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, Kevin Durand & Danny Huston. Written by Dan Gregor, Doug Mand and Akiva Schaffer. Directed by Akiva Schaffer. Produced by Seth MacFarlane and Erica Huggins. Budget $42 million. Running time 85 minutes. 

The film opens with a bank robbery in progress where an item called 'P.L.O.T. DEVICE' is stolen from a vault box by Kevin Durand's Sig Gustafson, henchman to Richard Cane (Danny Huston). Soon after a wrecked car turns up with a dead body and Lt Frank Drebin Jnr (Liam Neeson) is assigned both cases. When Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson), the sister of the dead body in the car turns up widowed Drebin is drawn into a passionate romance that intertwines with a sinister conspiracy involving Richard Cane which might just end up causing the end of the world.

The stakes, both literally and literally, have never been higher for a Naked Gun movie, and this new one, a 'legacy sequel' to 1994's Naked Gun 33 1/3 starring the last, great Leslie Neilson as Lt. Frank Drebin is a daring effort. Will this film resonate with the youth of today who, it seems, find comedies where farting is funny problematic and where jokes about sex with dogs are considered tasteless?

Packed to the gill with jokes both verbal and visual, the film never lets up and the sense of utter stupidity and silliness is so thick you could cut it with a knife. No stupid pun or smutty joke is left unturned or said and the success rate, oddly enough is rather high. I laughed out loud many times and Liam shows off some powerful comedy chops. Similarly, proving she's also a game gal is Pamela Anderson who has some great comedic timing, and in one scene alone, the superb jazz club she dazzles singing a staggering ridiculous song. And Danny Huston is an utter delight, his villainous Cane is brilliant, his climactic fight with Drebin is worth the admission price alone. There's also an excellent back and forth about the Black Eyed Peas which had me almost weeping with laughter. 

This film is the very definition of 'it isn't big and it isn't clever', and it's a delight because of it. There's an over abundance of innuendo gags, which delighted me immensely, and it's been so long since any so called comedy produced by Hollywood has been this cravenly and openly childish and I laughed myself horse. There are two standout jokes which I'm still laughing about the first when Drebin says to Beth as she gazes out of the window over hollywood, "UCLA?" to which she replies, "Yes, Frank everyday, I live there." and the second was how he described her bottom in a voice over. For once this film wasn't ruined by the trailer. Everybody seemed wildly game. 

All that said, it's not perfect, even with a running time of just 85 minutes the second half dragged and there's a sequence with an owl that goes on way too long. And oddly enough some of it seems too police procedural at times. This is also one of those films that defies critical appreciation. So I reviewed it from the point of vierw that it made me laugh. A lot. But mostly because it's just so goddam silly and deeply childish. 

In fact I haven't laughed this much since Jackass IV. 

7/10

#48&49: FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS.

 

STARRING: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Julia Garner, Sarah Niles, Mark Gatiss, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser and Ralph Ineson. Screenplay and story by: Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jef Kaplan and Ian Springer and Kat Wood. Produced by Kevin Feige. Directed by Matt Shakman. Budget $200 million dollars. Running time 114 minutes. 

Featuring one of the single worst movie posters of all times, this is the fourth Fantastic Four film in 31 years, the first being Roger Corman's 1994 film and it's also 37th film in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). And easily the best Marvel film since Avengers Infinity War and Endgame. It comes at a time when we, the movie going public, seem to have lost our passion for all things superhero related. 

With Marvel desperate to re-start our love of superheroes, the whole fate of the MCU rests in hands of the FF. The story set on an alternative Earth, in the early 1960s introduces the FF four years after their initial appearance and the world has been greatly enhanced and improved place since then, with flying cars, giant TV screens, robots, monorails and a dirty great big rocket launching pad in the middle of the Hudson River. We meet Reed Richards (Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) sitting down to enjoy their weekly Sunday dinner ritual when an intergalactic herald by the name of The Silver Surver (Julia Garner) turns up tells the world that its to be consumed by a being called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and leaves. The FF fly off to confront Galactus and get their collective bottoms powned by a massive intergalactic being in a onesie who's suffering the worst case of the munchies in history. When he detects Sue Storm is pregnant he demands the child in return for sparing the Earth from his hunger. Refusing to acquiesce Reed and Co flee back to Earth to prepare for the coming apocalypse.

This was just glorious! the tone, style, casting and look of the film is near perfect. The chemistry between the First Family binds the film and their natural ease is the glue that does the binding. With a script that mixes light touches of humour with drama and action and peril is very well balanced. Doing away with an origin story for the FF, we're given enough info to accept their existence and by focusing only on them and not filling the screen with other superheroes, something that somewhat muddied the waters with Superman, the film amply holds our attention. Oddly enough the one thing that usually narks me about superhero films is the threat which always seems to be of a global mass extinction event, however here that threat feels all too personal and localised, even if it is the entire city of NY. The film is packed with incident, but never to the detriment of the narrative, and as a result has a wonderful energised quality about it. 

The special effects are also mostly spot on, bar a few jarring transitions from live action to CGI. The Thing in particular is spot on, and Reed Richards stretch abilities never look embarrassing or amateurish. Likewise, the look of the 60s throughout the film feels organic and natural and fits in perfectly with the feel of the FF. And this film does manage to capture the glorious energy of those original comics created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, who get name checked up at the beginning and even feature a blink and you'll miss it cameo. Indeed, the film is packed with nods to the comic past of the FF and will reward long term comic fans with eagle eyes. 

I've been waiting for this for a long time and keeping my fingers crossed that it delivered and boy does it do that! In spades! This is Marvel back on top and firing on all cylinders, ditching he need of a message or ramping up the humour, Fantastic Four: First Family successfully launches Marvel's first every superhero group triumphantly into the 21st Century and beyond! I've already seen this twice and might even try for a third time. I bloody loved it!

An absolute delight from beginning to end, with no soggy bottom, drawn out climax, or sassy teenage girl saving the day. 

With this and the also excellent Superman, I'd say that far from Superhero fatigue, the future looking rosy for the supes! 

It features two post credit stings, the first is killer, the second just filler.

9/10 

#44, #45, #46: THE LORD OF THE RINGS: FELLOWSHIP, THE TWO TOWERS, RETURN OF THE KING - EXTENDED VERSIONS

                   

STARRING: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Liv Tyler, Bernard Hill, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Andy Serkis, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving and Sean Bean. Written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson and Stephen Sinclair. Directed by Peter Jackson. Music by Howard Shore. Combined budget for all three films: $281 million. Box office taking so far: $2.964 BILLION dollars. Running time for all three extended films 683 minutes or 11 hours and 38 minutes. Originally released 2001-2003.

The story sees eight friends going off into the wilderness on a men-only, boozy Stag-do, only for the groom-to-be and his best man go missing with the wedding ring, leading to much hilarity when his pals set off to find them before the big day.

Watched over three nights at Cineworld and taking up a staggering 11 hours and 38 minutes, this was a true cinematic experience that exceeded expectations. This was the first time I've ever seen the extended editions on the big screen and boy was it worth it. There's something about watching movies on the big screen and at the cinema which truly ignites the imagination, you get immersed in a way you can't at home, you spot small details, and you marvel at the sheer scale and size of the glorious edifice, and best of all you end up getting swept up in the adventure. 

The script by Walsh, Boyens, Jackson and Sinclair is superb, the dialogue and language is so layered and nuanced, indeed everything about this epic undertaking is peerless, the direction, the art direction, the costumes, the production design, the music, the editing, the performances, the everything, I simply can't fault it. Sure the running time is bum numbing, but the spectacle is worth it. 

All three films, an easy 10/10

 

  

 

#43 & 47: SUPERMAN

 

STARRING: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion and Isabela Merced. Written and directed by James Gunn. Budget $225 million. Running time 125 minutes. Two post credit stings.

And so came Superman, with a huge weight of expectation on its shoulders and on the shoulders of its writer and director, James Gunn who took control from Zack Synder, cleaning house in the process and recasting the whole thing with newbie David Corenswet taking over from man of ham Henry Carvill in the titular role.

The film skips the need for yet another origin story and gets straight to it, with Superman (David Corenswet) literally crashing landing in the Artic having suffered his first defeat at the hands of a mech-suit powered individual called Ultraman. It won't be Supes only defeat as he seems to spend most of this film having the living shit kicked, or punched out of him. Over and over again, we witness Superman failing, forced to run away and recharge himself by the sun before racing back to try and save the day. Meanwhile Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) orchestrates his nefarious masterplan to rid the world of his arch-enemy and secure himself some prime real-estate in the process. Aiding Supes are The Justice Gang, a ragtag bunch of meta-humans including Green Lantern, Mr. Terrific, Hawkgirl and Metamorpho, and his adopted dog, Krypto. And of course Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) who likewise gives more than adequate performance. 

What follows is a good natured, very kind-hearted film, filled with lots of action, some great special effects and funny dialogue. Sadly, while it never threatens to scale the giddy heights of the 1978 classic it does entertain. David Corenswet is a worthy successor to the mantle and he brings a virtuous spirit to role. The film is fun and entertaining but never really soars, Superman seems lost among so many other meta-humans and his constant ass-whoppings become frustrating. Nicholas Hoult's Luthor is this film's MVP and he seems to thrive in the malice he brings to the role. There are a few rather big plot holes along the way and lots of Easter Eggs to get the fans excited, including some famous DC characters. And that's about it. 

For those of your interested there are two post credit stings. 

I liked this, but didn't love it. It flew but didn't soar and Superman wasn't super enough but it was still worth the wait.

8/10 

 

#42: M3GAN 2.0

 

STARRING: Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Ivanna Sakhno and Jemaine Clement. Written by Gerard Johnstone and Akela Cooper. Directed by Gerard Johnstone. Budget $25 million. Running time 120 minutes.

The sequel to the 2022 grossed £181 million worldwide and scored a very satisfying 93% on Rotten Tomato. It was a tight, little horror thriller with a great premise and a genuinely creepy protagonist that didn't outstay its welcome. So it was a no brainer that we'd be getting a sequel, with a great little template to follow what could possibly go wrong?

Cut to three years later and M3GAN 2.0 has arrived and we found out exactly what could go wrong. 

This feels far more like M3GAN 3 than 2. Traditionally with a direct sequel we get more of the same just amped up to the Nth degree. It's usually only in the 3rd installment that the increasingly desperate film makers try to mix things up and oomph the anti to entice the audience back. And that's what this does in absolute spades but sadly it doesn't pay off. That said, this isn't a trainwreck by any measure, it still rather entertaining, it's just overloaded with far too much stuff, and M3GAN has gone from creepy girl-sized killer robot to a young woman with protocols to prevent her harming humans. And she's up against another killer AI female robot killer. This is much more science fiction than the original and the introduction of a super AI intelligence trying to escape into the real world feels awfully similar to a certain Mission Impossible film from a month or so back. 

Actually that said, you kinda of wish that there'd been a similar sort of showdown in MISS IMP: DR between Ethan and the Entity as we see here between M3gan and the AI, a physical kinda of showdown rather than the dimming of the lights we were given. 

This time round there's more humour, more gurning and more camp, but far less in the way of horror or tension. 

Entertaining while it's on, but utterly forgettable once it's over.

6/10