Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania (2023) - Movie Review

In the wake of Justin Roiland being brought in on felonycharges, and the widespread sharing of some… worrying interactions with underage fans, there have been concerns about what this will mean for the future of Rick & Morty (We’ll ignore the fact that the status of fiction in the wake of potential real-world shittiness shouldn’t be the main concern). After the news that he had been let go from the show where he voices the two main characters, and has had a major role in shaping what the show is and has become, I have seen worry that his booting will end up kneecapping the show. That his brand of thoroughly abrasive meme humour is what makes the show worth watching (I’d argue that it’s the writing that does that, but we’ll get to that), and that without him, the show would be muted and gutless. I have no real stake in this fight, even as someone who is still a fan of Rick & Morty, but judging by how this film turned out, I’m starting to realise that worries of a PG-13 Rick & Morty not working have some validity to them.

Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil (2019) - Movie Review

2019 will likely go down as the year where Disney stretched too far, and I’m not just talking about their ever-growing monopoly on modern Western entertainment. What started out as interesting experiments to redefine their stable of animated classics (or, more likely, extend their copyright holding for said stories) has truly devolved into a collection of repeated and bewildering mistakes. Of the three that made it to cinemas this year, only one of them left me with anything positive to say, and even then, it has paled considerably since I first reviewed it.

Ant-Man And The Wasp (2018) - Movie Review

The plot: Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), while under house arrest after his actions in Captain America: Civil War, gets a mysterious vision connected to his mentors Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly). As he risks further imprisonment to see them, he discovers that this vision may be the key Pym and Van Dyne need to rescue Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), Pym's wife, Hope's mother and the original Wasp. As Scott once again prepares to enter the Quantum Realm, new villains lay in wait to take Pym's technology for their own purposes.

Murder On The Orient Express (2017) - Movie Review

Kenneth Branagh, when all is said and done, is a filmmaker who operates best in the realm of adaptation. Starting out by bringing some of Shakespeare’s greatest stories to the big screen in roaring fashion, right down to what has become the definitive version of Hamlet (all four hours of it), he has since gone on to give the same treatment to operas, spy thriller novels, superheroes, even Disney princesses. The respective qualities of each of those examples definitely differs, but I would argue that the man always manages to leave an impression on whatever genre he decides to take on. Today marks yet another new avenue for the man, this time delving into a murder mystery adapted from legendary writer Agatha Christie. Do we see the little grey cells go off in Branagh’s head once again, or are they sitting this one out?

mother! (2017) - Movie Review

Over the course of these reviews, I’ve talked at great length about directors who rank up there with my absolute favourites: Edgar Wright, Christopher Nolan, Kevin Smith, Tim Burton, Steven Soderbergh, even directors who became my favourites as I wrote more about them here like Denis Villeneuve. Today, however, we’re talking about my No. 1 spot, the filmmaker that I hold in the highest regard above all others: Darren Aronofsky.

 

The reasons for which are rather simple: His filmography is full of truly great films, save for Black Swan but that’s just down to personal taste, and he fulfills my liking for psycho-thrills more consistently than any other filmmaker I’ve come across. His approach to all things spiritual and psychological appealed to me even before my critical awakening, and to this day he continues to impress me. Without question, I was looking forward to this one… and yet the initial opinions on it (both from critics and audiences) are the most divisive I’ve seen for any film in recent years. Well, time to cut into this thing, and be warned that this is going to be a bumpy ride.