Blue Beetle (2023) - Movie Review

While DC Studios deals with one hell of a production reworking (one of several over the last decade), this film has been released in limbo. Following on from The Flash, whose reality-twisting premise seems to have officially spelled the end for the DCEU timeline as we know it, but still coming out before James Gunn’s official re-establishing of the universe. Between the burnout that the superhero genre has been experiencing post-Endgame, and the ongoing fandom civil war concerning DC on the big screen, it’s unfortunately easy to see why this production would get left behind in the shuffle. Even the upcoming Aquaman sequel, which also exists in the same state of flux, has a stable connection to what past films have shown us; this has to stand entirely on its own. Although, it should be said, that this film arguably does manage to do that, albeit with some stumbling blocks along the way.

A Haunting In Venice (2023) - Movie Review

After the release limbo and subsequent inundation of cast controversies that wound up plaguing Death On The Nile, it is somewhat relieving that Kenneth Branagh’s latest dive into the works of Agatha Christie hasn’t run into any such unpleasantness just on the surface. And yet, right from its horror-tinged trailer, I admit to being sceptical about how much I would like this one. Honestly, my first impression was that this was going to be yet another attempt to cross-promote with the Conjuring supernatural aesthetic, which has been steadily shrinking in my favour over the course of 2023. But hey, this wouldn’t exactly be the first time I went into a film with weird and arguably unfair expectations, much as I try to avoid such things. And it’s ultimately a moot point anyway since, again like Death On The Nile, I quite enjoyed this.

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (2023) - Movie Review

This film feels like a course correction in the worst way possible. DreamWorks Animation, who have dealt with labels of ‘Disney/Pixar rip-off’ pretty much since their inception, have recently been making films that are not only really damn good, but good in a way that sidesteps any kind of association with other studios. The Trolls movies, The Bad Guys, Captain Underpants, How To Train Your Dragon, not to mention last year’s genuine artistic triumph with Puss In Boots: The Last Wish. Their reputation in the modern day is quite secure, far as I’m concerned… which is what makes their latest release so thoroughly disappointing.