Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019) - Movie Review

After a long line of films based on video games that have made both gamers and general audiences heave into their popcorn buckets, it seems like the levy has finally broken and we have a good one out in cinemas. We’ve been leading up to this for a while now, between the genuine attempts at artistry in Assassin’s Creed, the outright fun of Rampage, even the frenzied glee of video-game-inspired Hardcore Henry, and while not everyone is raving about this particular feature, this has caught fire in a way that video game adaptations really haven’t managed to in years past. The reason why, having watched it, seems fairly obvious: Both as a continuation of an adored IP and as a film in its own right, this production does justice to both.

Deadpool 2 (2018) - Movie Review

The plot: Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds), in-between killing anyone he sets his sights on, is contemplating starting a family. Whatever domestic roles may be involved will have to wait, however, as his reconnection with the X-Men leads to him to a young boy named Russell (Julian Dennison), a powerful mutant with the potential for great disaster. As he connects with the young mutant, time-travelling mercenary Cable (Josh Brolin) has arrived in the present to hunt down the one responsible for the death of his family. With multiple threats on his life and others and his anti-social tendencies making his want to start his own superhero team a bit wonky, it's just another day in the life of everyone's favorite Merc.

The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017) - Movie Review

The plot: Disgraced bodyguard Michael (Ryan Reynolds) has been tasked with protecting hitman Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson), a key witness in the criminal trial against dictator Vladislav Dukhovich (Gary Oldman). As they try and manoeuvre their way to the courthouse, they have to deal with Dukhovich’s hired goons, the local police and even each other to make it there in one piece.

Life (2017) - Movie Review

Just as time loop narratives are currently reaching the point of potential oversaturation, it seems that the same can be said for films involving isolation in space. The Martian, Approaching The Unknown, Star Trek Beyond to a certain extent, even Passengers from earlier this year; we’re certainly not want for stories about how the vastness of space can make the average human feel infinitesimally small. However, as I’ve been making a habit of saying over the last few reviews, preconceptions like “Ugh, another space movie? This is gonna suck.” are made to be broken. Of course, bear in mind that another preconception I had with this film is “With these people attached to it, please don’t suck” so you can see the weird place I’m in before I even watch the bloody thing. So, is this going to fall into the cracks of the sub-genre or is it going to make itself stand out (hopefully, for the right reasons)?

Criminal (2016) - Movie Review

Memories are rather curious things. For as terrible and brilliant as they can be, both in the moment and the lasting effect they can have, every one of them ends up shaping who we are as people. Even those that end up being repressed because they are too traumatising to recollect end up shaping crucial elements of our own personal makeup. As such, whenever sci-fi or otherwise fantastical storytellers end up discussing the concept of memory, it usually ends up highlighting just how important memories are when it comes to who we are as people. So, with today’s film taking a similar focus, maybe it will bring a certain poignancy along those same lines. Somehow, though, I highly doubt it.

Deadpool (2016) - Movie Review

More so than any other comic book film that has been released during my lifetime, like The Avengers or X-Men or even The Dark Knight Rises, this is the one that I have been waiting for. Then again, given the character’s lauded reputation and fan base, I’m sure that that is true for most fanboys in the world. Deadpool is not only one of my favourite comic book characters, but might be one of my favourite fictional characters ever: His unique fourth-wall breaking personality probably gives the most freedom of any graphic novel character, almost like a living TARDIS in terms of story possibility. Just to be clear, this guy once mugged Queen Elizabeth for her clothing and teamed up with a group of robotic animals to take down an orca in a robot suit. Under regular circumstances, I’d say that this is that rare property that is impossible to screw up, but then again we all know far too well that someone managed to do just that. But, even with all the admittedly brilliant marketing behind it and the recognition it has already garnered from fans and newcomers alike, does this still hold up given how long we’ve been wanting this film to surface?

Self/Less (2015) - Movie Review

If I had to point to a singular reason why I love speculative fiction as much as I do, it’d have to be the inherent freedom of it all: Within the confines of the umbrella that is SF, you are capable of writing about pretty much anything the human imagination can conjure up. The personification of dreams going to a convention for serial killers? Done. A go-go dancer who uses a machine gun leg to kill zombies? No worries. A man in a magical telephone box that travels through time and space? That story’s been going on for over fifty years now. A piece of burnt bread philosophising about the nature of life, death and the pursuit of happiness? You can trust Japan to deliver on that front. So, when a film comes out with a pretty high concept idea in its framework, it will immediately grab my attention. Whether or not it can hold my attention for the running time is another matter.

Woman In Gold (2015) - Movie Review

Hitler was not a nice person. The acts he committed and oversaw during his lifetime mark him as one of, if not the, most despicable human in our history. His actions had a detrimental effect on millions, if not billions of people, and as a result, the ultimate extreme when it comes to explaining how bad something is is to compare them directly to Hitler and/or the Third Reich.

No, you aren’t reading the latest edition of Great Ders Of History; I only bring this up because of how often filmmakers apparently want to remind us of this fact. Not long ago, I was in a mild state of burnout because the cinemas were full of overly serious works and little else. It is now that I realise that I misappropriated that tired state to everything that was coming, when in reality I was just getting bored of films having to do with World War II; not just films set during that time, but films that have anything to do with that time period. The fact that it is the go-to setting for films fishing for Oscars doesn’t help. As much as I wasn’t too fond of A Royal Night Out, it made for a nice change of pace from the rest of the war time films that, regardless of quality, are starting to make me weary. Will today’s film help with that or just make it feel worse?