Kate (2021) - Movie Review

Usually, I would take one look at the director attached to this (Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, who also made the phenomenally unnecessary The Huntsman: Winter’s War) and be immediately sceptical about this being anywhere near the neighbourhood of worthwhile. But instead, I was actually looking forward to it because of basically every other name attached to it besides his, namely that of David Leitch’s 87North Productions. This is the studio that, along with its founders, has been pushing modern action cinema into a higher art form over the last several years, and considering star Mary Elizabeth Winstead and her own rising action cred off the back of Gemini Man and Birds Of Prey, I have enough faith in this working out. And honestly, I’d argue that this did work out.

Birds Of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn) (2020) - Movie Review

Birds Of Prey is one of the first comic books I remember reading when I first really started getting into them. I have the Manly Library to thank for that, as their graphic novel section introduced me to shit like Sandman, Transmetropolitan and Batman: The Long Halloween; stuff that would not only further the path that Watchmen carved out for me, but would end up influencing my own work in a number of ways. And during that time, I just happened to pick up a trade paperback of Gail Simone’s run on BOP, and man, is it a kick-ass read.

It was one of my bigger initial exposures to superhero fiction, and between the inviting characters and Simone’s uncanny sense of balancing action bombast with genuine heart, it had me hooked. I still get a little misty-eyed thinking about Black Canary’s adopted daughter tasting pancakes for the first time. Needless to say, I was hyped as fuck for a feature-length version of that, and while that may not entirely be what I got, that doesn’t make me any less entertained by it.

Gemini Man (2019) - Movie Review

Will Smith plays a black-ops mercenary, one of the best shots in the history of his agency. However, when he tries to retire to a non-violent life, his old employers decide that he needs to be taken out of the picture. In the process of trying to circumvent any potential feelings of regret that could lead into a want for vengeance, their actions only end up reinforcing that notion, bringing Will back into the fold on a mission to clean up house.

Swiss Army Man (2016) - Movie Review

Um… how in the holy name of fuck do I introduce a movie like this? At this point, this film’s reputation is well established, and yet I am unable to initially add much that doesn’t just involve me breaking down and asking "What the hell am I watching?" over and over and over again. To make things weirder, this film might actually have merit beyond its well-publicised oddities. How? Well, let’s get started and I’ll hopefully be able to explain why.

10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) - Movie Review