Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (2023) - Movie Review

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse changed the modern animation industry to the point where, when looking at the whole thing historically, you could reasonably split the timeline into pre- and post-Spider-Verse. It represented an approach to animation where anything and everything was permitted and encouraged, leading to many others that would take cues from its eclectic and chaotic visual style (The Mitchells Vs. The Machines, Entergalactic, Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, just to name a few), and for an IP with many different media iterations already, it still managed to stand as one of if not the best yet.

The Addams Family 2 (2022) - Movie Review

While it didn’t really hold a candle to Barry Sonnenfeld’s live-action films, I liked the first animated Addams Family movie. It made proper use of its new 3D environment, the voice acting was fun, and it even managed to find a way to make the family’s Goth outsider aesthetic resonate in the modern day, when their entire way of life has been wholly embraced in popular culture. I won’t begrudge that film for being popular enough in its own right to warrant a sequel. But looking at what we finally got, I can’t help but think the filmmakers have walked back every step they took with the original.

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019) - Movie Review

Well, so much for thinking that Joker would be the most contentious cinematic release of 2019. Sure, the reactions to this one haven’t been nearly as alarmist, but for a film at the centre of one of the largest-waged fan wars of the last decade… is it just me or is no-one vibing with this? People who saw Last Jedi as a healthy direction for the franchise aren’t happy with it, people who thought Last Jedi was a betrayal of the series aren’t happy with it, and looking at the critical response, it is currently the second-worst reviewed entry in the series, only 3% higher than The Phantom Menace.

Add to that how fucking exhausting the discourse has been around this entire series, and quite frankly, I was dreading having to watch this. And in fairness, I can definitely see where its detractors are coming from… but I can also see why there’s quite a bit to like about it as well.

The Addams Family (2019) - Movie Review

Of all the preconceptions I’ve gone into a film with, this one marks a particularly dark possibility. Namely, while I was watching this, I was seriously hoping that none of the animators had to work in sweatshop conditions to make it. Yes, coming from the directors behind Sausage Party, in particular Nitrogen Studios head and human ringpiece Greg Tiernan, that is a legit worry. Admittedly, there haven’t been any reports yet of such things being the case with this one, but considering Sausage Party’s place as one of my few genuine problematic favourites because of what happened behind the scenes, I really hope this isn’t just Act II of the same shit. Especially since it would mean once again being conflicted over a film I enjoyed.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) - Movie Review

The plot: After a costly battle against the First Order, General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) tries to evacuate the Resistance fighters and get some distance between them and the First Order ships. In order to get away, former Stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega) and Resistance maintenance worker Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) have to go to a nearby planet to find someone capable of getting past a Star Destroyer's defences. Meanwhile, Rey (Daisy Ridley) has found Jedi Master Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) to teach her the ways of the Force. However, it seems that Luke’s past still haunts him and there’s only one thing he wants done in regards to the Jedi: He wants them to end.

Suburbicon (2017) - Movie Review

 

I’ve been living in suburban neighbourhoods for pretty much my entire life. The mild isolation from living in a hidden-away culdesac, the golf course next door that insisted the family wore crash helmets when in the backyard, gossiping neighbours who go to prove that there are some high school patterns that some just don’t grow out of; I’ve seen my share of suburbia. Because of this, it’s little wonder to me that seemingly-innocent neighbourhoods are so often used not to show familial connection and comfort, but creeping dread. It all looks so nice and all the neighbours seem so nice… something’s wrong, isn’t there?

 

Cynical as it is, this mindset has led to a lot of good stories, from the nostalgic reality check of Pleasantville to the unnerving voyeurism of Rear Window to the popcorn horror of Goosebumps. Today’s film, co-written by the Coen brothers and George “Hard Left Hook” Clooney, is cut from the same cloth. But how good is it in that capacity? Or any capacity?

The Promise (2017) - Movie Review

Even without getting into the premise of today’s film, this has the kind of main casting that is designed to make audiences froth in excitement. You’ve got Oscar Isaac, a true rising star who has been attached to critical and audience darlings for several years straight at this point and has even entered meme status thanks to his… interesting dance sequence from Ex Machina. Next to him, there’s Charlotte Le Bon, whom I’ll admit hasn’t exactly wowed me with her latest features, but quite frankly, she’s more than due for a proper-good production. And then there’s Christian Bale, the modern king of method acting who is well-known by this point for how seriously he takes his work. As much as I know better than I’d like how easily a promising cast can be cut down by a wasteful story, rest assured, this isn’t one of those occasions.

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) - Movie Review

With the Marvel Cinematic Universe as ubiquitous as it is, it can be easy to forget just how important the X-Men films have been for the common conception of comic book movies. At the start of the millennium, the genre was in a pretty bad state: Vanguards of the art form Superman and Batman had both fallen on legendarily bad times, the kitschy ways of the 80’s were sticking around for god knows what reason like with Captain America and the unreleased Fantastic Four film, and to make matters worse, we weren’t even getting that many of them that were worth noting. Blade was pretty much the one and only comic book superhero film that was watchable. And then noted filmmaker Bryan Singer teamed up with Solid Snake (seriously, the OG voice actor for Solid Snake wrote it) and up-and-coming actor Hugh Jackman to make history for the format. Pushing the surface badassery of Blade into mainstream-recognised maturity, it changed the landscape from then on; it set the groundwork that the MCU went on to flesh out. No question, even in the wake of negative reviews, I was looking forward to the next instalment in this legendary series, especially given how amazingly well Days Of Future Past turned out. This is X-Men: Apocalypse.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) - Movie Review

Of any film that I’ve seen this year, along with the few that are still scheduled for the rest of the month, this is easily the one I was looking forward to the least. Partly because, all year, this film has been built up like a cinematic Second Coming and the advertising for it has been beyond obnoxious, both officially and through word-of-mouth. But also partly because I fall right in the middle in terms of my opinion on the Star Wars films.

I don’t love the original films: They’re still (mostly) good and Empire has definitely earned its place in sci-fi canon, but I don’t see them being quite as good as the rest of the world does. However, I also don’t hate the prequels: They definitely have their issues but, in terms of action and even some of the more dramatic moments, these all have their good points that have been widely ignored by history. Hell, as much hate that has been thrown at Jar-Jar Binks over the years, I still maintain that C-3PO is far more irritating and, as a racial stereotype, he pales in comparison to the wise old sage with squinty eyes that speaks in broken English that the world seems to kindly disregard. With all this in mind, I’m not exactly the best person to be seeing this movie; if I wasn’t obligated to watch everything that shows at my local, I probably would have just ignored this entirely. However, since I wouldn’t be doing my job with looking at easily the biggest release of the year, here I am.

A Most Violent Year (2015) - Movie Review

Organised crime flicks were probably among the easiest for audiences to latch onto when they first introduced. I say this because, when you really think about it, they’re only a slight exaggeration of regular business dealings in the first place. The further up the chain of command you get for a given enterprise, the more cut-throat the tactics and goals get. If you’re just a small upstart shop that sells fresh coffee, the only thing on your mind is being able to compete with the legions of Starbucks in the same area. If you’re Starbucks, your goal is to not only to compete with competitors but to also drive them out of business if possible. Really, the only difference between the two is that Starbucks isn’t likely to send hired goons to rough up the opposition. Well, maybe Apple does that, but it hasn’t been made "officially" known yet. At any rate, shift that paradigm to something that is a little more essential than your daily brew or the newest iPhone; like, say, heating oil for homes during a particularly cold winter in New York City. With this backdrop, we have today’s crime drama.

Ex Machina (2015) - Movie Review

Once the fear response wears off, human inquisition starts about what exactly it is. Add to this our conflicting need for companionship, and it results in posing the big question: What counts as human? Speculative fiction owes about ¾ of its internal organs, and maybe 6 fingers, to this notion because it has resulted in some of its greatest work based on it. Take this notion about “what is human?” and give it to one Alex Garland, a man who might be one of the optimistic in terms of humanity as a species. Best known for his work with director Danny Boyle, and that kick-arse Dredd movie from a couple of years back, he has a thing for including characters, even villains, who are willing to help heal the world in the face of oblivion; It’s just that they went about in very different and morally opposing ways. Putting these two together has, apparently, lead to a highly acclaimed production that is being compared to seminal sci-fi works like 2001 and Solaris. As you can probably tell by my blog background, this sci-fi geek really hopes that its hype is justified.