Thirteen Lives (2022) - Movie Review

I was initially planning to just skip this one entirely. After how badly Hillbilly Elegy turned out, I didn’t want to run the risk of Ron Howard screwing the pooch on a story that is far more important than the humble brag come-up of a venture capitalist. I even raised this same issue with fellow critic and top bloke Travis Johnson over at Celluloid & Whiskey, who understood my apprehension but suggested I still check it out. I’ve been to many a screening with this guy, and he knows his shit, so I figured it was worth giving a burl. And man, am I glad I did, because this is some of Howard’s best narrative work in ages.

The Banshees Of Inisherin (2022) - Movie Review

 

So, back in high school, I had this friend. We’ll call him… Jay. Around when we started school, me and him were put into a special morning roll call group with a few others, all of whom were neurodivergent in one form or another. We hung around a lot during class breaks, and they were pretty much the only friends I had back then. Sure, I got along okay with the rest of my classmates, more or less, but they were more acquaintances than anything else. These guys, though? Proper mates.

Then Jay decided that that wasn’t happening anymore. One day, he just up and told me to piss off. To not hang out with him and the others during lunch like we usually did. Knowing my often-violent mood swings at the time, I’m not saying that he probably didn’t have his reasons for doing so; just that it came out all of a sudden.

And this wasn’t a one-off thing either; every so often, he would just suddenly decide that I shouldn’t be there anymore, after however many days of us kinda-sorta being cool with each other again. On a random whim, I would get cut off from the only friends I had for however long he felt like. It finally came to an end a little while before we graduated, when he made nice because, and I quote, he “found someone worse” than me. Not exactly the most welcoming apology, but I didn’t hold it against him then or now; at least the merry-go-round ended, and we were able to part on good terms.

After Yang (2022) - Movie Review

A film that gets described as a “metaphysical science fiction drama” in its Wikipedia page is like a siren call to me. And the story attached to it certainly doesn’t disappoint from that perspective, exploring what happens to a family when their adopted son passes away. Well, not so much ‘passes away’ as he shuts down and won’t turn back on, as this is set in a near-future where a company exists that basically sells artificial siblings wholesale, and said child (the titular Yang, played by Justin H. Min) is a ‘technosapien’ that couple Jake (Colin Farrell) and Kyra (Jodie Turner-Smith) originally bought so that their other adopted child Mika (Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja) had someone she could learn about Chinese culture from.

The Batman (2022) - Movie Review

There’s an easy joke to be made about there being yet another Batman movie in cinemas right now. And while it’s certainly true that the Dark Knight can be quite oversaturated, both on the screen and in the comics, that’s largely the result of just how versatile he is as a character aesthetic. Some put emphasis on the psychological edges of his choice to be a Bat-man who regularly fights insane asylum escapees, like in Grant Morrison’s Arkham Asylum. Others focus more on the tragedy of that existence, where he’s fighting an endless war for a city he knows far less about than he realises, like in Scott Snyder’s New 52 run. Others still frame him as the father of a family of crimefighters (something that has taken on a literal dimension in recent years thanks to Damian Wayne), finding a substitute for the family he lost when he was a child, like in Marv Wolfman’s A Lonely Place Of Dying.

It’s stuff like this that can keep a pop culture figure fresh even after eighty years, and it’s part of the reason why I have and likely always will look forward to seeing a new take on Gotham’s protector. I had next to no apprehensions about this thing from day one of hearing about it, as Robert Pattinson has gone from strength to strength in his post-Twilight script picks, and Matt Reeves has some exceptional work under his belt with War For The Planet Of The Apes, as well as Cloverfield and Let Me In. And thankfully, all of that talent pools into something that… well, there will always be a debate to be had over where this sits alongside past efforts, but it most assuredly stands out from the pack in a number of ways.

Ava (2020) - Movie Review

I’ve been trying to make at least a modicum of effort to avoid actively handing over my money to individuals whose continued presence in the industry is problematic. Mel Gibson starred in three movies that made it to cinemas this year, and I only saw one of them because I was sent out on official detail for FilmInk. I avoided the other two because, even though I’ve been receptive in the past… I just don’t want to see my dosh used to fund whatever stupid shit he’s got lined up next. And under those circumstances, I shouldn’t even admit to having seen this feature, given its writing accredited to one Matthew Newton, a disgraced member of TV royalty over here with a history of domestic violence. And if he was attached to this in any other respect, like as an on-set producer or as director (which he was originally, but Tate Taylor was brought in to replace him early on) or any other position that would’ve put the women on-set in the firing line, I likely wouldn’t have bothered.

But I don’t see enough reason to disregard the hard work everyone else put into this off the back of his shitty history. Far as I know (and more than ever, I welcome being wrong about this), he won’t see as much return on this as he would otherwise, and considering it recently made its way to Ava, the filmmakers are likely trying to recoup their losses as best they can in light of what are likely justified boycotts based on Newton’s involvement. I’m bringing all this up now because it seems impossible to get into this without addressing the controversy in some fashion. But also to highlight how Newton’s contribution to this production (the script), in spite of how much he dominates the conversation around it, is easily the least interesting part of said production. And it’s not as if this film is particularly captivating to begin with.

The Gentlemen (2020) - Movie Review

I’ve been ragging on Guy Ritchie as a filmmaker for a few years now, and I feel the need to clear some things up. For as much as I’ve taken issue with his more recent efforts, I don’t want to come across like my objections are coming from some knee-jerk “how dare he try and do something different” shit. Rather, I keep pointing this out because I’ve seen enough of Ritchie’s work to know where his strengths lie. He’s a Brit-crime storyteller, and a damn effective one when he plays to what he does best. But as soon as he reaches for something bigger, his limitations present themselves.

Whether it’s coating his usual style in philosophical wankery like with Revolver, adapting classic stories that clash with his sensibilities like with King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword, or just plain doing what he should know by now isn’t his strong suit like with Aladdin. I bring all this up because I want to see Ritchie deliver satisfying cinema again, and it’s why I’m very happy with his latest.

Widows (2018) - Movie Review

The phrase "honour amongst thieves" pretty much serves as the underlying mood behind most if not all heist films. Most of their main drive comes portraying thievery as a competitive sport. And with the placement in the realms of sport comes the preceding fixation on technical skills and strategy, with all the intensive choreography and smooth-as-butter timing that goes with it. There’s also an underlying aspect of revenge, or at the very least retribution, attached to a lot of them, with the heist being the means to get even with someone who doesn’t play fair.

The Beguiled (2017) - Movie Review

The plot: Amy (Oona Laurence), a student of a Virginian girls school during the American Civil War, comes across a wounded Union soldier in the woods surrounding the school. Amy brings the soldier, named Corporal McBurney (Colin Farrell), to the school where the headmistress Martha (Nicole Kidman) agrees to bring him in and get him better. However, with Confederate soldiers frequently marching outside their gates, and the girls at the school not being sure how much they can trust the Corporal, they may have to come to a difficult decision about what to do with him.

The Killing Of A Sacred Deer (2017) - Movie Review

Mahan’s Media, at its core, is me spilling my post-film thoughts into writing. Sometimes, the film being discussed tries so little that thematic analysis is barely required, while other times, I go out of my way to bring up what I think is relevant to the conversation. The Human Centipede III led me to talking about the U.S. Constitution, Hotel Transylvania 2 got me thinking about the modern attitude to the classic Universal monsters, and Aaaaaaah! gave me an excuse to polish off my high school drama education; basically, I write about whatever I want to write about at that given moment.

 

However, while I do pride myself on being able to discuss media at this level, I will always admit that I am hardly a seasoned expert on any of this. Any grand statements I have made in the past concerning the human condition are mostly personal observations and whatever unifying theories I’ve expressed to explain certain films could very well be 100% incorrect. Every word I’ve ever written here and elsewhere is done with the possibility that I could be talking completely out of my arse on the subject; all I care about is being able to explain the reasons why I hold those opinions, not necessarily whether they are “correct”. I just say what I believe to be true, and if I’m wrong, so be it; I learn from it and move forward.

 

I bring all this up because, every time I get to a film of this nature, I get self-conscious that maybe I’m just too stupid to get it. I’m willing to bet that this is a common reaction to today’s subject, but I’ve never let that stop me before. Hope you’re ready to get both confused and depressed.

Solace (2016) - Movie Review

Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (2016) - Movie Review

When it comes to looking at any form of media, you’d have a hard time finding a more powerful and influential force than sheer nostalgia. And to help prove this theory, let’s look at the Harry Potter series, a film saga built entirely on nostalgia. Now, I’m not saying this as an immediate negative of the work itself but rather a side effect of the series as a whole. The film series started and concluded at precisely the right times to latch onto the global millennial mindset, creating that rare form of entertainment that people have grown up alongside with. Those who grew up on these films tend to reminisce on them with the same fidelity and clarity as their own real-life schooling experiences. In today’s era of YA films desperately trying to align themselves with teenaged kids, it’s surprising that this series managed to do everything that they have been aiming for without really trying for it. Naturally, with all this in mind, the announcement of a new film set in the same universe was met with the exploding of several animal heads from the shrill levels of squee that were uttered in response. But this is where the flip side of nostalgia kicks in; the thought that what is considered perfect through rose-tinted glasses cannot be improved upon, and any additions to the canon would only sully it. Well, time to put that to the test with today’s film.

The Lobster (2015) - Movie Review

I’ve talked before about the high-conceptuality of speculative fiction, but as much as I like it when filmmakers indulge in their more bonkers side, it is perfectly understandable if it repels other, more discerning film-goers away. Even if My Little Pony doesn’t get the same knee-jerk reaction out of me these days as it used to, a certain level of self-awareness is required so as to understand why other people may see you as… odd, to say the least, for watching it. For all our talk about not judging books by their covers, every so often there will be a film that sounds too out there for audiences to apparently take. This is one such occasion, and I will freely admit that the premise had me sceptical about its efficacy as well… then again, I’m sceptical about pretty much every release these days, so this is nothing new. However, I can only hope that by this review’s end, I will have converted at least some people on seeing this film because it deserves to be watched.