Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024) Review

It can be rare that a long lasting franchise can continue to put out banger movies after almost 20 years between movies. Actors getting older, becoming kind of a nostalgia bait, as well as without falling too much into the negative trappings of the modern action movie. Some how the Bad Boys movie franchise continues to do it to this day. Almost 30 years old, Bad Boys is a bit of a weird franchise that continues to thrive to this day. What I mean by weird, I mean it’s kind of rare for there to be a franchise with such long breaks between continuous movies. The first movie came out all the way back in 1995, and we are just getting the 4th movie now. The other crazy thing about it, is that it’s a franchise that has changed directors and still kept a consistent amount of quality throughout, even all this time later. This all leads to the newest movie in the franchise, Bad Boys: Ride or Die. Bad Boys: Ride or Die is an American buddy cop comedy action movie. The movie was directed by Director duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, from a screenplay by Chris Bremner, Will Beall, and George Gallo. It stars Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Venessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Paola Núñez, Eric Dane, Ioan Gruffudd, Jacob Scipio, Melanie Libra, Tasha Smith, and Rhea Seehorn. “After their late former Captain is framed, Lowrey and Burnett try to clear his name, only to end up on the run themselves.” (synopsis from Letterboxed).

I’ll start off by saying that this movie is a ton of fun.  I know it’s weird that this is the first Bad Boys movie that I have reviewed, but that’s how these things work with me sometimes. It has a classic style of comedy that is seen in the other movies but still works fore the most part for me. A lot of the humour comes from Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence), which is typical for the franchise but the type of humour they have him doing is a bit different than from what he has done in the other movies. Although it does keep the running idea of something happening to him and his reactions to it bringing the comedy. As well as how Mike Lowry (Will Smith) responds and reacts to Burnett’s shenanigans. So much of what makes this movie as good as it is are the characters. They have a lot of great interactions but also have a lot of interesting stuff to do. You have the age and lifestyles of the main characters catching up with them, the building of the relationship between Mike and his son Armando (Jacob Scipio), seeing a different side of Armando than we saw in Bad Boys For Life (2020). We get to see the titular Bad Boys be in a different mode than we’ve seen in the past, seeing them on the run makes for an interesting part of the movie. There’s some interesting implications in this movie that are introduced, they could just be hallucinations but it does make me ask some questions. Especially as there are things that happen in them that are seen later in the movie. I’m not going to talk about it much longer as I don’t want to spoil anything. The performances all work well for the characters the actors are playing. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence continue to be great in these roles, especially with the different things these characters go through this movie. 

The stand out parts for me about this movie are the action and the cinematography. The action is all done so well, any fight scenes are not over edited or hiding anything. The action works together wth the cinematography and camera stuff so well that they make up for any faults the movie may have. You can tell that the directors and cinematographer all got super creative with what they do in this movie. From the elevator scene, to the use of drones, to that first person segment, to that part that everyone is talking about, are all great. It makes it so much fun to watch. 

I do have a few issues with the movie. One of them is that the movie is kind of formulaic and doesn’t play with the formula much to differentiate itself. The villains are pretty lacklustre, the main physical bad guy is pretty generic in motivation and in what he does throughout. If he had time with Armando or more time with Mike maybe he would have been better but still. Maybe if he was given more of an interesting personality it would be better. The other main bad guy is a bit better as he has more of a connection to the characters and works well for what he is to make you hate him. But other than that he doesn’t do much either. My other main issue is that I feel like they didn’t really make a good enough change in the main characters of Mike and Marcus. They go through all this stuff that should have had more of a noticeable affect on them by the end of the movie, but to me it feels like they don’t. 

Over-all I think this was a great addition to this relatively popular franchise. It’s a fun movie with great and creative action. It has some issues, but they don’t make the movie any worse to me. I give it two thumbs up !! I recommend seeing it in person in the theatres if you’re looking for a fun time out. 

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) Review

It’s My Birthday (ok date of publish is the day after) and Summer blockbuster season is in full swing with the next instalment in the Mad Max franchise, with the Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Furiosa is a prequel to the 2015 action classic Mad Max: Fury Road and tells the story of the breakout character from that movie portrayed there by Charlize Theron. Furiosa is the fifth instalment in the Mad Max franchise and is its first spin-off, focusing on a character other than the titular character. It is an Australian post-apocalypse action adventure movie distributed by Warner Bros Pictures. The movie was directed, co-written, and co-produced by George Miller, who collaborated on the screenplay with Nico Lathouris. The movie stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemthsworth, Tom Burke, Ayla Browne, and Lachy Hulme. “As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the Wasteland they come across the Citadel presided over by The Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home.” (Synopsis from Letterboxed).

I’ll start off by saying that this movie continues and solidifies the idea that these movies (post the first Mad Max movie) are tales from the wasteland. Stories and legends told by people in the wasteland of the adventures of the main characters. This one is a little different in that we know where Furiosa’s (Taylor-Joy) story is heading as this is a prequel and essentially leads right into Fury Road. I think it works a lot in the movie’s favour as it gives it this epic feel, and even allows it to play with what happens at a certain point in the movie. I have to say I really enjoyed the way this movie told its story as well as the story it told. It really gets into Furiosa’s motivations and how she becomes the person she becomes in Fury Road. The only issue I have with her story in this movie Is that I do wish we got to see more of her with Imortan Joe (Hulme) and more of why she does what she eventually does in Fury Road. 

One thing that does work a lot for this movie is her relationship with the main antagonist, Dr Dementus (Hemsworth). Their story throughout the movie is great and serves for her main motivation of getting revenge on him for the things he does. Dementus is a great foil for his rival Imortan Joe. He’s a warlord that possesses more visual physical power than Joe and his allies do, while he doesn’t have the loyalty that  Joe does from his followers. Their different ways of control and rule are interesting to watch. It makes for a fun back and forth once the stuff hits the fan and the battle between the two warlords begin. Hemsthworth is having so much fun in this role and does an amazing job of portraying this character. You can really see how much he’s been wanting to do a Mad Max movie. Anya Taylor-Joy does an incredible job as the titular Furiosa, showing us different sides of the character than we’ve seen in the past. She also gets to do a lot of physical stuff which is great. Ayla Browne also does a great job as the Younger Furiosa in the early stages of the movie. Taylor-Joy’s chemistry with the Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke) is great and believable. Jack is a pretty cool character and was calm and collected through all the crazy stuff that happens around him. He kind of serves of a bit of a Mad Max-ish character for this movie (since the character isn’t in the movie). I only wish that he was in the movie for a bit longer than he actually was just to give us more time with him and too see more of his relationship bloom with Furiosa. The other performances and characters are all great as well.

The action in this movie is incredible. George Miller continues to be a master of action with this movie. The chase sequences continue to be great and suspenseful and creative. The camerawork and editing in this movie is also great. It was an also a little experimental. I feel like Miller was experimenting and playing around with a bunch of things in this movie. The effects are mostly good throughout the movie, though there are times where they are a little noticeable. At least more noticeable than they were in Fury Road, which is interesting as I think they might have a similar amount of VFX usage. The sets and costume design are all great. The costuming on the villains can be a little funny and silly at times, though that just normal for the Mad Max movies anyways. I don’t know why but I really felt that the villain groups in this movie felt a bit like a Power Rangers or Super Sentai villain group. I mean Dementus rides around on a chariot pulled by three motorcycles. The score is great and fits the tone of the movie well.

Over-all thus was a great ride and a fun movie to spend the weekend with. It tells a good story, has great action and great characters. It might not be as good as the movie it’s a prequel to, but it’s still in the best of the franchise. I give this movie two-thumbs up ! It is well-worth watching in the theatre, and even more worth watching when it eventually comes to your preferred way of watching movies. 

The Fall Guy (2024) Review

It is now the month of May in the year of 2024, and that means we are officially in the summer movie season. The time of year that is usually set for big releases with big budgets and big blockbusters. This year is both like and unlike others, we are still feeling the affects of the historic writers and actors strikes from last year, but we still have a lot to look forward to this summer. As such, the movie to mark the beginning of this year’s summer movie season is a movie that has kind of been missing for a bit, and a movie that is needed. That movie is The Fall Guy (2024). Inspired by the television series of the same name, The Fall Guy is an American Action Romantic-Comedy distributed by Universal Pictures and produced by 87North Productions. The movie is directed by David Leitch from a screenplay by Drew Pearce. The movie stars Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Teresa Palmer, Stephanie Hsu, and Winston Duke. “Fresh off an almost career-ending accident, stuntman Colt Seavers has to track down a missing movie star, solve a conspiracy and try to win back the love of his life while still doing his day job.” (Synopsis from Letterboxed)

This is a movie about making movies, as well as a love-letter to those behind the scenes that may not get the attention and focus that a lot of the big names do. As a movie about movies, it’s a ton of fun. Especially for someone like me who loves movies and how they’re made. It includes a lot of things that people will find relatable whether they have been on a movie set, or otherwise. A major focus of the filmmaking in the movie is related to the stunt people. Seeing that the director worked in stunts before he became a director. You can really see throughout the movie how much he loves the unsung heroes of movies. It comes across on the screen very clearly. 

One of the things I love about this movie is how the trailers didn’t really spoil much about the story. It went in ways that I wasn’t expecting and I quite enjoyed it. It is much more of a romcom than the trailers show. It also is pretty self-referential and a lot of the jokes are around that aspect of the movie. The comedy works a lot for me in this movie. The romantic aspect works great as well for me. The main characters of Ryan Gosling’s Colt Seavers and Emily Blunt’s Jody Moreno have great chemistry and work very well together. The rest of the characters are all fun too, bringing about believable characters in the crazy world of hollywood filmmaking.

The performances are all great too, the stand-out of course being Ryan Gosling. You can tell he’s having fun in the role and brings an energy of “what the heck have I gotten into” which works well for the character. His arc works well, a bit of Seavers getting his confidence back while going through all the things he does in the movie. Emily Blunt is great as well. She goes through a good arc as well and is kind of where a lot of the film set stuff comes in. She’s a strong character for sure. Hannah Waddingham is great as the movie producer Gail Meyer. She’s the producer of the movie the crew is working on and has a bit of a dark side we kind of see throughout the movie, especially near the end. She brings a great energy of fake positivity. The last main focus character is Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Tom Ryder. Ryder is the main actor and one of the biggest actors in the world but has a bit of a dark secret. Johnson does great in the role as the pompous prick big star actor that is also not fully all there in his head. He makes for a great mirror to his stuntman in Cole Seavers. All the other characters and performances are great and fun as well.

The action is great in this movie. For a movie that is directed by a stunt person, that puts so much focus on the stunts and giving stunt people the time to shine, it better have good stuff. The fight scenes and set pieces are all creative and make use of the tone and setting of the movie. They worked to make his job part of the action, everything Seavers does in this movie feels to me what could happen if a stunt person were to actually be in this kind of situation. Everything is shot and edited well, especially the money shot in all the trailers of the big helicopter fall. Though I am kind of surprised that they didn’t put as much focus on it in the movie as they potentially could have. The score and music use was pretty good throughout. I found the use of “I was made for loving you” by Kiss was interesting. Especially interesting as it is treated as a bit of a score motif throughout the movie. 

Over-all this movie is a fun ride and fun look at the world of filmmaking. I like how it has more personal stakes for a big budget blockbuster epic action movie. A heck of a good time and well worth seeing. I give this 2 thumbs up ! A good movie to see in the theatres as well. 

Monkey Man (2024) Review

I’ve been on a bit of an action kick lately, and there isn’t a lot out at the moment that hits that spot for me, at least from what I’ve seen so far this year. So I’ve decided to check out a film that hits that spot for me, Monkey Man (2024). Monkey Man is a very interesting film, a mix of classic action with a spirituality/religious element, while handling minority and class discrimination issues in India. Monkey Man is an American action thriller film produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film was directed by Dev Patel, from a story and screenplay by Paul Angunawela, John Collee, and Patel as well. The film stars Patel, Sharlito Copley, Pitobash, Viper Sharma, Sikander Cher, Adithi Kalkunte, Sobhita Dhulipala, Ashwini Kaleskar, and Makrand Deshpande. “Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash. After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.” (Synopsis from Letterboxed).

Monkey Man is the feature film directorial debut of Dev Patel, who also writes and stars in this film. For a first time director I do have to say that it is a pretty good start for Patel’s directorial journey. Part of me feels that with the content of this film that there is some personal aspect in it for Patel. With how involved he is in all aspects of this film, given his roles in it, I can’t help but feel that he’s put a lot of himself in to this film in different ways. There is some cultural issues shown throughout the film but I am not informed enough to be able to comment on them, I will say though that I don’t know if it’s saying much about them other than corruption is bad. I do think that it uses issues to its advantage for the story, as it helps give the audience a view into the world while also giving us a clear side to root for. That is part of what gives this film its identity, as well as the use of religious and spiritual imagery. Like in real life, the religious aspect is tied to the cultural issues and that while something or someone may paint themselves as good and holy, there’s the potential for something dark underneath. I enjoy how we know the villains are doing all this terrible stuff, while the head-honcho is a religious leader that deliberately paints themself as a messianic figure for the people. It helps to create the difference between Kid (Patel), who comes from the forrest and is down with the people in the poorest areas, while the villains are all rich and powerful figures in society. It helps with what the film is going for.

A recurring element in this film is the recurring imagery and references to the Hindu Monkey God Hanuman. From paintings seen throughout the film to Kid’s monkey mask, which is where the title of the film comes from. This is another aspect of this film that I have little to no knowledge of, but from the little research (okay, googling) that I’ve done, it seems to me like this film could potentially be inspired by the story of Hanuman. Throughout the film there are multiple references made between Kid and Hanuman, almost like Kid is a human version of Hanuman. The story of Hanuman is told throughout the film, and Kid as well as his mother worship Hanuman. I feel like this is done to maybe say that this is an adaptation in some way of the story of Hanuman. I’m not entirely sure but I figured I should at least comment on it. 

Outside of those aspects, the film has a very classic action movie feel to it. It has that very John Wick (2014) kind of approach to it. Not that the movie is like John Wick in the aspect of an older action star being refreshed with a great action movie, but in that it is a modern version of classic action storytelling. John Wick is a neo-noir revenge story, while Monkey Man is also a revenge thriller that uses a lot of elements of classic action movies, be they American or Foreign. It feels different to what John Wick did and brought to light. It’s got an underground fight ring, a training arc, a vision quest, brutal action, and mostly takes place in a few locations. It makes for an interesting experience. 

I feel like you can tell that Dev Patel put his all into this film. Even if he wasn’t the director and a writer on the film, he puts his all into the performance. It is a great performance with a good amount of weight in his desperation and his anger. His character’s journey throughout is pretty good, as well as how the film slowly reveals his backstory throughout. We see him go from this angry and what could be self-loathing state that he starts as in the beginning, to being a more focused and I guess grown person by the end. I do feel that we could have gotten the second state of Kid a little bit earlier to see how he’s grown, as it doesn’t come until essentially the 3rd act of the film which is where a majority of the action in the film takes place. 

Speaking of action, it is well done throughout most of this film. It does take a while for the action to really start, but when it does it’s really good. Which I guess could describe this film in general. For the first half most of the action is in the underground fight ring which is ok over-all, the action serves with the character’s motivation and confidence level. While in the underground fight ring the action is mostly him getting beaten for money. Even in when he returns after his vision quest and training arc the action in that location is still kind of meh. The best action in the film happens when he first fails, and then in the big brawl that the 3rd and final act is mostly comprised of. Those sequences are where some of the more interesting and I guess one could say fun action in the film happens. It’s also where some of the more interesting camera angles and editing happens. It’s also kind of funny that the action is at its best when Kid doesn’t have the monkey mask on. Other than that the camera angles and editing is mostly good throughout. There are times where it can be a little distracting. It feels like Patel is experimenting with different the cinematography which does give it an interesting style. The score is great, it is memorable and fits the film well. 

Over-all I do think that this is a good action film worthy of being seen. It’s nice to see that the film turned out the way it did considering all the troubles they had during production. Especially with how low the budget seems to be you can really see the budget on screen in all the effort put into the film. It’s a good watch that does get fun at times so I do recommend it. It’s got good action and an interesting story  so I give it Two Thumbs Up !! 

Poster by Entei Ryu (https://twitter.com/BadZrlwt)

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

It’s the 70th anniversary of the Godzilla franchise so today I decided to watch……..Hey wait a minute….A little deja vu here. I feel like I’ve said this before and will likely continue to say this a lot this year…..Anyways, it is now April and as such we are continuing our journey into the Godzilla franchise multiverse with the newest release in Legendary Pictures’ Monsterverse franchise, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Before I introduce this movie more, I have to say that this is such a blast. I had so much fun watching this movie that I was grinning from ear to ear. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (Which shall now be known as The New Empire or New Empire for short for the rest of this review) is an American Giant Monster Action Adventure Science Fiction Blockbuster movie produced by Legendary Pictures, and is the 5th movie in their Monsterverse series. The movie was directed by Adam Wingard, from a screenplay by Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett, and Jeremy Slater. The movie stars Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, and Alex Ferns. “Following their explosive showdown, Godzilla and Kong must reunite against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence – and our own.” (synopsis from Letterboxed)

I’ll start off by saying that I really enjoyed this movie. It’s a ton of fun throughout and really brings back a form of movie that is kind of gone at the moment. The movie ups the action adventure element of the last movie and brings it to the forefront. It’s like the movie could almost be called “The Journey to the Hollow Earth”. There’s exotic locations and creatures, there’s ancient ruins, there’s an ancient undiscovered tribe, there’s some kind of ancient mystical nature to the realm etc. It helps to create this fun atmosphere to the movie that really elevates it for me. I also enjoyed the way the movie splits up the subplots that are all tied together. You have the human characters exploring the Hollow Earth, you have Kong on his adventure to find a home, and then you have Godzilla adventuring around the world getting ready to layeth the smacketh down. It creates a good balance of storylines and also helps the pacing of the movie. I also don’t think the storylines and subplots of this movie have the issues of the other movies. All the characters in this movie are all great, are handled great, and have great performances. 

I feel like these are the best handled human characters in the Monsterverse. We have 3 returning characters and 2 new ones. The returning ones are probably the most interesting characters from that movie and are great here. Kaylee Hottle returns as Jia, the last member of the Iwi tribe with a true connection to Kong. She is one of the focus characters in this movie while also getting to be more of her own outside of kind of being a mouthpiece for Kong or telling what he is feeling. She does great in her role. She is kind of on a coming of age/prophecy journey in the movie. She’s finding her place and her purpose throughout and eventually comes to find that in the movie. Her mother figure Dr Ilene Andrews, as portrayed by Rebecca Hall, returns as well. She’s great as well, getting to work with the adventure aspect of the movie as well as getting more with trying to help Jia and what she is going through. To figure out what is happening she brings in another returning character, conspiracy podcaster Bernie Hayes, again being portrayed by Brian Tyree Henry. He again serves to be the main source of comedic relief in this movie, and he serves that role well. Being a bit of a source of commentary on what happens throughout, while also coming to understand things and offers his own explanations when it comes to certain moments in the movie. Henry is great in this role as he has been in everything I’ve seen him in. The last important character to talk about is a new addition to the universe, Trapper, the titan veterinarian portrayed by Dan Stevens. He’s a fun character that brings in a lot of the adventure into the movie. He’s an expert on titan animals and has an awareness of his surroundings in the hollow earth. Stevens is a ton of fun in this role and you can kind of see how much fun he is having in the movie as well. 

Another aspect of this movie is the more pronounced personalities of the titans themselves, especially when it comes to the main titans. Kong is another great character this time around, trying to find a home and fighting for that home is such a great story for Kong. We get to see so much physical and non-verbal storytelling from him and the other titans in this movie. I enjoy how intelligent and human-like the ape titans are shown to be in this movie. They emote and even kind of communicate in ways that humans do which is cool. We see titan characters laugh, be angry, try to stop someone and so much more throughout. Scar King is a great villain for this universe. He’s an original villain (not based on a Toho Property) and brings a lot of interest to the titans, as now we know there are other kinds of Great Ape titans of different species. He’s intelligent, cruel, ruthless and so much more. He brings a different energy than Kong does and is almost a dark counterpart to Kong. Especially in his relationship with another new monster in Shimo. It’s like they wanted to have a counterpart for each. Scar King is the reverse of Kong, while Shimo is kind of the reverse of Godzilla. They have different relationships and it creates a great dichotomy, while also setting up what happens in the final battle climax. Shimo doesn’t have a lot of focus in this movie so I can’t talk about them that much. Though I do like how they establish another ancient rivalry between Godzilla and the Scar King and Shimo.  

Speaking of that I did enjoy what they did with Godzilla, but he isn’t in it as much as I would have liked. Part of that is that for most of this movie he’s not part of a storyline, but he’s getting ready for the big battle to come. You have this interesting stuff in the Hollow Earth whether it’s Kong or the humans, and then you cut to Godzilla attacking or fighting something, he wins and then he continues on his route. It feels like Godzilla is there to up the titan action. Godzilla does keep the kind of angry personality he had in Godzilla vs Kong (2021), while having his own fun moments that bring another side of Godzilla to the surface. With the return of another certain titan we see their influence on Godzilla again as they’re able to calm down Godzilla more and aim his anger better. 

Speaking of Monster battles, the action in this movie is so good. So much fun and different monster action. A lot of cool influences that gave me a big smile on my face. I’ve seen it described as a tag team smackdown of a movie and it really is, especially when the final battle between the two sides begins. It’s a fun battle with a great story to the fight that should be seen to be believed. I have made a few wrestling references throughout this review and you’re going to have to see the movie to see why I’m doing so. I enjoy how once the monster fight begins the humans kind of take a seat to give the monsters the time needed for that fight. Moving on from the fight, the effects in this movie are all incredible. They’re well done and even small moments look great. The cinematography looks great as well. The music is done great, and the use of popular music is great as well. 

Over-all this was a fun ride of a movie and I am happy that it is doing well. It’s such a fun watch that everyone who is in someway interested should go see in the theatre. It is well worth the price of seeing in the theatre. I give it two-thumbs up !! One of my favourite movies of the year and one of my favourite movies in Legendary’s Monsterverse. Go see it !

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024) Review

2024 continues to be a big year for franchise anniversaries. So many movies have big anniversaries this year, from the 70th anniversary to Godzilla, to the 40th anniversaries for movies such as The Terminator and A Nightmare on Elm Street. This year also features a big anniversary for a franchise close to my heart, the 40th anniversary for a franchise I covered not that long ago, Ghostbusters. And with that anniversary comes a new addition to the Ghostbuster franchise in its 5 movie, and its 4th movie in the original timeline. That movie is Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. The sequel to 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife sees the characters from that movie return for a new adventure. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is an American supernatural comedy movie produced by Ghost Corps and Columbia Pictures. The movie was directed by Gil Kenan, based on a screenplay by Kenan and Jason Reitman. The movie stars Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Celeste O’Conner, Logan Kim, Emily Alan Lind, James Acaster, Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and a returning William Atherton. “The Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.” (synopsis from Letterboxed)

I’m going to start off talking about the aspects of the movie that I enjoy. One of the strongest things this movie does for me is to expand the lore of the world more. The big ghost of the movie is from a different part of the world and brings along its own lore which helps to open up more of the world. It’s a lot like The Real Ghostbusters cartoon from the 80’s. So if you’re a fan of that than you’re going to like this movie as well. The villain of this movie is pretty…..cool…..as well. They’re a big threat as well like Gozer, but in a very different way. They have different abilities and design which continues to show how big this universe is. Not only does it expand on the supernatural lore, it also opens up the world to the science fiction aspect with the reveal of Ghostbusters having a corporation now that is developing new technology to deal with the worlds ghost problem, including a brand new bigger containment system. The new technology is cool and new, but I also like how it’s more evolved versions of the technology that is already established in the universe. 

Another strong suit for this movie is the characters and their performances. The characters introduced in Afterlife continue to be great over-all and bring some great stuff to the movie. Mckenna Grace continues to be great as Phoebe Spengler, this time getting to bring a bit more emotion to the role as it’s a big of a coming of age movie for her. She’s a teenager now in this film and is dealing with all the angst and rebellion that comes with that age, that is only made worse by moving again and with being a Ghostbuster. She makes some big mistakes in this movie due to her emotions, but I just kind of wish that the choices she made had some more concrete repercussions. Another great returning character is Paul Rudd as Gary Grooberson. He continues to be the fun character he was in Afterlife, but this time he gets a bit more to work with as he’s balancing being a Ghostbuster, with trying to become more of a father figure to Phoebe and Trevor, and become part of the family. I like seeing the original Ghostbusters return again and seeing a bit more of what they’ve been up to since the original movies. It really adds a lot to Ernie Hudson’s Winston Zeddmore. He continues to be the no-nonsense character we all love, but he also has become a successful businessman that has been able to turn the Ghostbusters into something more. Dan Akroyd is great again as Ray Stanz. The new characters introduced in the movie are all pretty good over-all. The one with the most focus being Kumail Nanjiani as Nadeem Razmaadi. He’s where a lot of the comedy for the movie comes from. He gets the story going and introduces a new idea to the Ghostbusters universe as a whole. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about what he brings, but I do kind of like it. Another new character that is good overall is Emily Alyn Lind as the fiery ghost Melody. She has an interesting relationship with Phoebe and kind of plays to the rebellious side of her. I also really enjoyed the Easter eggs and references made throughout the movie.

Characters and Easter eggs are also where a lot of my issues with the movie come from. I think there’s actually to many characters in this movie as they aren’t balanced as well. It’s a little overstuffed and there’s not enough time to give to everyone. An example of this for me is Celeste O’Connor’s Lucky and Finn Wolfhard’s Trevor. They basically have nothing to do in this movie. Lucky is pushed off to be a side character while Trevor is just kind of there. It’s like they forgot to write him a storyline and just kind of shoved him into a comedy spot. His storyline kind of pays off in the end but not by much. This kind of comes from how much the characters from the original movies are in the movie. I actually think they’re in it too much. Ray Stanz is essentially a main character in this movie. He’s in it a little too much and even has some very distracting moments. Now the Easter Eggs and cameos are also an issue for me. Some I liked but I feel like there were a little too many that are there entirely for fan service. I feel like this movie has the issues that people say Afterlife has. Another issue I have is that they try to repeat a lot of the same moments from Afterlife that just come off as unnecessary in my mind. The final battle also kind of comes off as cliché to me. Things happen in it that I feel like could have been done differently to avoid it feeling cliché. 

The rest of the movie is pretty good over-all though. I like the difference in ghost and creature designs shown throughout the movie and their abilities as well. The effects are mostly pretty good throughout, the only weird looking stuff for me is the statue lions shown in the trailers. Everything related to Garakka the villain looks great, a good mix of practical and computer made stuff. The cinematography is good over-all, competent but nothing stands out that much. Although again anything related to the villain is great when it comes to the cinematography. The music is great as always. The score by Dario Marianelli is great, bringing back classic elements from past movies and keeping their energy while brining his own stuff to the movie. The props and costumes are all great and bring some evolution to the series while keeping the elements we all love. 

Over-all I did have a good time with the movie but it does have a lot of issues. It’s a good edition to the franchise, but could have used more time to balance things better. A cool new villain that is a good edition to the lore helps to elevate this. I do think it’s worth seeing if you like the Ghostbusters franchise. I give it One thumb up! If you like the ghostbusters franchise past the first movie, such as the cartoons and other material, than I do think you’ll like this movie. If you only like the first movie than this is not going to change your mind. 

Dune: Part 2 (2024) Review

It’s march now and time to talk about one of the movies that I am most excited to see this year in Dune: Part 2. As of the start of writing (Saturday March 3rd) I have seen the movie and I have to say that it is incredible. Dune: Part 2, which will now be referred to as Dune 2 going forward in this review, features a lot of what made Part One great and a lot more of it. This movie ups the action and uneasiness of the future and brings in more looks at the wider world of the Dune universe. I tried my best to avoid putting spoilers in this review so if you’re worried about that it should be fine, although there are allusions to a lot of things that happen in this film. Dune: Part 2 is an American Epic Science-Fiction film produced by Legendary Pictures, directed by Denis Villeneuve, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jon Spaihts. The film stars Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, Stella Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, and Souheila Yacoub. This film is the second part in a two part film adaptation of the science fiction novel Dune by Frank Herbert. “Follow the mythic journey of Paul Atreides (Chalamet) as he unites with Chani (Zendaya) and the Fremen while on a path of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, Paul endeavours to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.” (synopsis from Letterboxed)

The story and plot of this film are both effective and great. It’s a continuation of what happened in Dune (2021) (Dune will be referred to as Part 1 going forward) and brings it all together for this one. We get a lot of new elements in this film that were kind of hinted at with Part 1. There’s the romance between Paul and Chani, more the of the Harkonnen home world, and the battle between the Fremen and the Harkonnen leading to Paul’s ascent as well as his change. The film not only follows up on things brought up in the first film, it also gets more into the heart of what Frank Herbert was saying with the story of Dune. In this movie we see a lot more of the dangers of religion and prophecy that are continually brought more into focus in the books, at least from what I’ve heard as I have not read the books yet. One thing that is interesting about this film is that we see time move a lot faster in this one than in Part 1. Part 1 to me feels like it takes place over a few weeks or so, while this film takes place potentially over a few months. I actually kind of think that this is a flaw for the film as I kind of wish that we got to see more of some things that I will touch on later in this review. Now I don’t know if wanted more of a film is much of a flaw, but for me it kind of holds it back a bit. 

The characters and performances in this film are all great an incredible. Everyone does an amazing job and is firing on all cylinders. 

 Timothée Chalamet does another incredible job as Paul Atreides, who gets a lot more to work with this time around. We get to see more of Paul’s personality as he’s now a leader and warrior pushing the Fremen people to fight against the Harkonnen control over Arrakis. We also continue to see Paul’s struggle with his visions that have now begun to focus on a potential upcoming Holy War that Paul has a part to play in. At a certain point in the film something happens that causes us to see a change in Paul. He’s more focused and determined, and also more prone to being more manipulative and angry. Things that we didn’t think Paul was capable of in the first film. Chalamet does a great job showing and communicating this change. One thing I am going to mention here that I’ve seen is the discourse of Paul as a power fantasy figure that people might not be able to accept him not being what we think he is. While he does do a lot of things that audience members view as being great, he gets revenge becomes a leader and all that stuff. It can be seen as a power fantasy, and in a way it is, but I think people need to remember that you can do all this stuff and still not be the moral superiority. To sum this up Paul is a hero in the classical sense, and not a hero in the modern moral sense. This is in my opinion anyways. This comes in around the time that we see the change in Paul, that he is becoming the thing that he was worried about. 

We also get to see the relationship develop and blossom between Paul and Chani and for me it works. They have good chemistry together and serve as the main heart of the film. My only issue with their relationship is that I do wish that we got to see more of it, especially with the way the film ends up going. 

Speaking of it, Zendaya does a great job as Chani, she brings a lot of fire to the role. It’s interesting seeing her start of the film on a different side to Paul in a way, and his his actions and the way he is slowly turns her around on him. Leading to the romance that was hinted at throughout the first film. She does a great job showing her love for Paul, but also showing the start of the distrust she feels when Paul makes his decision. This does lead to another big change from the book which is interesting to me, though I’m not the person to talk about changes between the movies and the book. 

Austin Butler was great as Feyd-Rautha. The heir to Baron Vladameir Harkonnen (Skarsgård) and the in a way dark mirror version of Paul. I say dark mirror version as in this film he’s kind of presented as a counterpart to Paul and what Paul could be if he was raised in a different way. Butler brings a fun amount of craziness to the character. Presented as a demented and psychotic member of the Harkonnen family that enjoys fighting and killing. The only problem I have with the character is that I wish there was more of him in the film. He’s presented as Paul’s kind of rival but they don’t really explore that in this film. I get that there’s so much going on and so much they have to do, I just think they could have used the character more. 

Everyone else does a great job as well. Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica doesn’t get as much to do as she did in the first film, but we get to see more of the dark side of her character throughout. Javier Bardem as the religious zealot Stilgar is pretty good, portraying his belief well throughout. The Bene Gesserit characters all continue to be manipulative and hatable. 

The action in this movie is all incredible. A lot more action scenes throughout than there were in the first film. Everything is well thought out, choreographed, and shot well. We see a lot more of the Fremen fighting style throughout which is great. The stand-out hand-to-hand scene for me has to be the big climatic battle between Paul and Feyd-Rautha. The cinematography is again incredible, just absolutely beautiful. The same can be said for the effects as well. None of the effects are super noticeable or weird. A great example for both the effects and cinematography is the sequence set on the Harkonnen home-world. A really creative look at this majorly messed up great house. Really interesting imagery as it’s almost entirely black and white in comparison to the other worlds we’ve seen so far. The score by Hans Zimmer is also, again, incredible. Keeping a similar soundscape to the first film, including those incredible vocal riffs, but also bringing in some new elements. The most prominent is the introduction of the wood-wind instrument in the main musical motif of the film that is I guess the love theme for Paul and Chani. It’s heard in all the trailers so you’ll know it when you hear it.

One last thing before we finish this review up is one last kind of issue for the film. The structure of the film kind of feels pretty similar to the first film. Both films establish the world we focus on, we get looks at another world, Paul’s visions, a big action scene on Arakkeen, a big final hand-to-hand fight involving Paul, and then a kind of cliff hanger to end off the film leading to a big future event in a potential subsequent film. I don’t know how much of this is to do with the book and it being a separated film, but I figured I should put this here. 

Over-all Dune: Part 2 is an incredible film and a great follow-up to everything brought up in Dune: Part 1. A visual spectacle that needs to be seen to be believed. While I did have a few issues with this film as opposed to Part 1, I still loved every second of this film. It will be interesting to see where this adaptation series goes considering the way the books go from the small amount of research on the Dune series I’ve done. I know they said they’re working on the third film in Dune Messiah. I hope the film is able to come out, as it would be interesting to see what Villeneuve and the crew are able to do with the source material. As for this film though, I give it Two Thumbs Up !! A worthy film that really should be seen in the theatre. 

Argylle (2024) Review

It is now February and the month of love, being as such I decided to take a look a the recently released movie Argylle. Argylle is an American Spy Action movie with romantic elements that was written by Jason Fuchs, and was produced and directed by Matthew Vaughn. Argylle stars Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, and Samuel L. Jackson. 

“When the plots of reclusive author Elly Conway’s fictional espionage novels begin to mirror the covert actions of a real-life spy organization, quiet evenings at home become a thing of the past. Accompanied by her cat Alfie and Aiden, a cat-allergic spy, Elly races across the world to stay one step ahead of the killers as the line between Conway’s fictional world and her real one begins to blur.” (synopsis from Letterboxed). To start off I had a good time with this movie. For me it was a ton of fun and had a lot of good moments of comedy, action and character throughout. I do see a few issues with this movie, and can see what it has gotten a lot of the response that it has. So let’s get into more detail with it. Ok one quick thing is that I will avoid spoilers as there’s a lot of things that happen in this movie that I don’t want to spoil for those that are interested in the movie. Now let’s get on with it.

The story and plot of this movie are good for me, but also is where a lot of the issues with the movie come into play a bit. I did enjoy the way it moved and was paced, but feel like there’s a little too many twists and turns and reveals throughout. It definitely feels like it was written by the seat of the pants. I feel that it doesn’t really need as many reveals as it has, but for me it doesn’t bother me as much as it might other people. I can see where they were going with how many things turn and change throughout the movie, but it happens a little too many times throughout. The movie itself ends on a big reveal as well to set up a sequel. One thing for me though that doesn’t take away from the movie are the characters and performances.

The characters and their performances all work really well for me. I enjoy the way that they connect the characters and their chemistry with each other. The use of the characters is also really interesting to me. An example of this, the titular character of Argylle himself. Henry Cavill gives a good performance of the character and turns on the charm a lot throughout. The big thing is that there is not much to say about the character (at least in this movie) as the character is not what you expect and is used in a very interesting way throughout the movie. I am not going to say more as that would be spoiler territory so I’ll move on. Bryce Dallas Howard was pretty good as writer Elly Conway throughout, worked well with the I guess different versions of her character. From meek book writer to badass spy she works well throughout. Her chemistry with Sam Rockwell works well as well. They work good together. Speaking of him, Sam Rockwell is pretty good as Aiden Wilde as well. As always he brings a lot of fun to the role, as well as a lot of physicality to it and it all works well for him. As said earlier for me him and Elly have great chemistry with each other. The other characters and performances all work for me as well. Bryan Cranston is good as always as the villain. Catherine O’Hara brings some different stuff with her as well different versions of her character. Over-all everyone does a good job throughout. 

Now we move on to the technical side of the movie. The action throughout is over the top and well done throughout. The choreography is pretty good for the most part throughout, with some of my favourite scenes being from early in the movie where they play a bit with some character switching moments. The rest of the action throughout works well, although I can see people not liking some of the fight scenes from the third act of the movie as that’s where it gets over the top. For me I enjoyed the over-the-top aspects but it does feel like they could have used a little more speed or quickness in them. They can feel a little slow at times, especially during the smoke sequence. The cinematography is well-done throughout the movie looking great for the most part throughout, and the editing is well done as well. Where the movie kind of falls a little bit to me is in the Effects. They’re a mixed bag throughout. The movie really feels like it either didn’t need to use as much CG as it does, or that the CG needs more time. It definitely feels like there’s a lot of replacements or noticeable moments throughout. It can take you out of the movie especially during some of the most important moments in the movie. The score and music choices work well throughout the movie for me. One last issue I have is that the movie really feels like it’s trying to recapture the magic of the first Kingsman movie. For me it doesn’t work as well as that movie and I feel like it can really be seen in some of the more over-the-top moments of the movie. The biggest example to me is that it feels like it’s trying to recapture the magic of the pomp and circumstance sequence of the first Kingsman, even if for me it doesn’t get that close to it. Which is a little funny considering how this movie ends. They both have the frantic pacing to the action scenes, but I find that Kingsman looks better for the most part thought and feels more creative. 

Over-all I did have a good time with the movie, even with all of its faults throughout. It’s still a fun ride to me that is well worth watching. Whether that watching happens in the theatrical run of the movie, or when it eventually gets onto digital and streaming. Which shouldn’t be that long since it was produced by Apple TV+ . While it does have a lot of issues that modern Hollywood does, I still think it’s worth it. I give it One Thumb Up !!

The Beekeeper (2024) Review

It is 2024 so Happy New Year everyone !! It’s a big year for me and a big year for movies and pop culture in general. This year marks the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who, and the 70th anniversary of Godzilla which are some franchises that I want to do some watch throughs of this year. It is also the year I am turning 30. For such a big year, my first watch of the year is the recently released action movie known as The Beekeeper. The Beekeeper is a 2024 American Action Thriller directed by David Ayer, and was written by Kurt Wimmer. The movie stars Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Bobby Naderi, Josh Hutcherson, Jeremy Irons, David Witts, Taylor James, Phylicia Rashad, and Jemma Redgrave. “One man’s campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after he is revealed to be a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as Beekeepers.” (synopsis from Letterboxed).

The story and plot of this movie work for the kind of movie this is. It’s a kind of classic feeling action movie that kind of feels in the John Wick-ian style that’s been more popular since that series started. It has a lot of the hallmarks, the main character is a retired badass from a secret world underneath everything, that is brought out of retirement due to something happening to someone or something they care about. Then the rest of the movie follows as they go on their tour of revenge and look into the world this character comes from. While it does follow this, to me it does it in a good way that does make it different from John Wick in that we follow more people than mostly John or the villains. It utilizes it well to kind of create its own identity. I enjoy the dulling stories between what the protagonist is doing, what the FBI is doing, and what the villains are doing. It helps to give the audience time with the characters to learn about them and their motivations and characteristics that eventually converge together in the end. 

The characters and performances are all good over-all. Jason Statham’s Adam Clay (the ritual Beekeeper) is what you would expect from a Jason Statham action movie, but it’s successful for a reason…It works. His motivation is very understandable with how kind of realistic the inciting incident is. Which relates to Emmy Raver-Lampman’s Agent Verona Parker. She has very good motivation as she’s following Clay on his path of vengeance after what the villains caused her mother to do. Her performance is good and brings some conflict into the movie with how close this is to her and who it ends up involving. Josh Hutcherson does good in the villain role of Derek Danforth. He’s a relatively typical modern Hollywood example of the millennial billionaire/rich person. He skates, he has a bunch of “zen” stuff around him at his main office, and he does a lot of shady stuff. He’s immensely hatable and a good villain to root against. Especially with the people he hires to do the shady stuff. There’s a lot of bratty spoiled qualities to his character which works in his favour. Everyone else does good in their roles and brings a lot to the movie. Jeremy Irons brings that seasoned person who kind of brings a bit of a Viggo Tarasov (played by the amazing Michael Nyqvist, RIP) type character to the movie, if I were to use a John Wick reference. He’s the seasoned character trying to make the villain understand what he’s up against. Bobby Naderi brings a lot of the comedic releif to the movie as Agent Matt Wiley, the work partner to Agent Parker. Other than that everyone is suitable and effective in their parts throughout the movie.

The stand-out part to me is the action. The action is well-done throughout the movie. It is shot and edited well and doesn’t distract from what is going on. This is where it feels like a more classic action movie as the action is classically violent about an almost unstoppable badass. The choreography works for the character and who the characters are fighting. The gore is ok, it’s not over the top and is tame which works for me. The effects could use a little more work to bring up the detail in a number of spots but it doesn’t distract me. The music and score is ok over-all, it works for the movie. 

Over-all this was a fun movie and well-worth a watch. A good action movie and movie that is well-worth seeing in the theatre. I give it One thumb Up !!