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Movies which gave me more than I expected
3D movies which are worth watching in 3D
Directors with whom I am not in tune
The Beatles On Screen
The worst films I have seen since I started my Cineworld pass in May 2008
The list is in reverse order down to number 20. Then I decided to add more films.
Girls into Women
Vile characters in comedies
I have tried to leave out films where a central character simply isn't funny (nearly every Jack Black film, for instance).
Films with a single unnecessary F-bomb
How effing stupid.
This list features films with one, maybe two, F-bombs which add nothing to the film except causing offence. This is not to say that the films are kids' films - they're not - but they are mostly targetted towards an audience on the young side and/or with an expectation of family viewing (albeit not young children)
Movies' Greatest Hits
Reviews
Scrooge (1951)
Wonderful
Charles Dickens' classic Christmas story needs no synopsis: this 1951 film version, known as Scrooge or A Christmas Carol at different times and in different territories, has some variations from Dickens' text but is very faithful to the spirit of the original.
It is well staged, cast, and acted, and has one thing which raises its status to something special.
Alastair Sim.
Scrooge has what these days would be called a "character development arc" of monumental proportions during this tale, and it takes a special actor to make the two extremes, and the stages between, credible. Sim, known for his comic performances, gives us a Scrooge who is repellently cold, cynical, and lacking in humanity before his experiences shock him into the realisation that changing himself will bring him a happiness he has long forgotten, not to mention to the world at large.
Sim is fantastic, and so is this film.
Paddington in Peru (2024)
Good family fare
Paddington and the Brown's visit Peru in order to see Aunt Lucy, who is missing him terribly. But when they arrive at the nun-run Home For Retired Bears, Aunt Lucy has gone missing. So they charter a small steamer to go upriver in search of her.
This is a good natured family fantasy adventure with some decent gags, some pleasing scenery, some fun set-pieces, a cast who are having fun, a good heart, and another fine vocal performance from Ben Whishaw.
Oh, and the payoff to the El Dorado subplot is very nicely managed.
It's all a bit silly (a lot silly, actually), but it still brought a tear to my eye a couple of times.
Heretic (2024)
A cut above the usual
Sisters Barnes and Paxton are Mormon missionaries in their late teens. They call on Mr Reed, who has expressed interest in learning more about their church. Reed is likeable, good-natured, well-read, somewhat challenging in his questioning - and increasingly creepy. The girls begin to suspect that Reed's assurance that they can leave at any time isn't entirely true.
This psychological thriller/horror is essentially a three-hander between Reed and the two girls, and is notable for two things.
The first is the script. The dialogue in the first half of the film is unusual for this type of film: interesting, thoughtful, challenging as Reed seeks to make the girls challenge their beliefs, while being entertaining with a humorous edge. It has to be admitted that the latter half doesn't maintain the standard. It's fair, it doesn't counter what comes before, but it's a bit of a letdown.
The second is the cast and their performances. Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East are superb as the two girls who find themselves somewhat out of their depth. These actresses do not give us simple one-note damsels-in-distress performances, these are nuanced, complicated girls, very different to each other.
And Hugh Grant... he has done so many films as a light romantic lead, hand In hand with his self-deprecatory humorous persona in interviews, that it is far too easy to overlook what a very good actor he is. He uses the charming, self-deprecating humour here, but it's interlaced with both an intellectual sharpness and well-hidden wrongness. And, in that, he is helped by cinematography which concentrates on the deep lines in his face, making the character deeply disturbing.
So a shout out is due to the cinematography, and also to the sound design: there are some very subtle and clever touches in the soundtrack, including the music (especially the end titles).
Gladiator II (2024)
Not bad, bet it doesn't win Best Film though
Hanno's wife is killed and he is captured during the Roman conquest of Numidia under General Acacius (protege of Maximus, and now married to Lucilla, both from the first film). Falling under the control of ambitious slavemaster Macrinus, he wants nothing more than revenge. But things aren't as simple ass they seem, especially given the state of Rome under the twisted twin Emperors Geta and Caracalla.
The plot is a bit of a retread of the first movie with a couple of twisty and improbable bits solely to tie this film into its predecessor. Paul Mescal And Pedro Pascal as Hanno and Acacius don't command the screen in the way Russell Crowe did, but Denzel Washington has great fun as an analogue of the Oliver Reed character. And Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger are hugely entertaining as the deliciously demented Emperors.
But the spectacle (and bloodshed) is there, both inside and outside the Colosseum. Ridley Scott once again gives us impressive and beautifully choreographed action set-pieces, albeit the CGI apes are a bit iffy.
Red One (2024)
Who is the target audience?
On the eve of Christmas Eve, a coordinated military operation at the North Pole sees Santa Claus captured, and Head of Security Callum Drift is forced to call in ne'er-do-well gambler, shady thief and bounty hunter (and disbeliever in Christmas) Jack O'Malley to help locate him. Jack is a neglectful absentee dad, not to mention Level 4 on the Naughty List, so things don't bode well.
Given that Dwayne Johnson is Callum, Chris Evans is Jack, and JK Simmons is Nick (Father Christmas), there is an A list cast, accompanied by A list special effects. Johnson and Evans play it absolutely straight, although Simmons Is clearly aware that he's in a film which is really rather silly.
This may be a problem: I'm not sure. There were a lot of kids in the cinema expecting to see a film about Santa, and some of them were somewhat bored by the first half hour of set-up, then bemused by a fairly straight-faced action/adventure about espionage, search and rescue, and conflict between two opposing quasi-military forces (admittedly one of them is composed of snowmen).
My fear is that it may be too grown up for kids, and too childlike for kids.
I'm a big kid, so I loved it!
Juror #2 (2024)
Thought-provoking
Justin's wife is very pregnant, and the baby is due any day now - unfortunate, as Justin can't get out of jury service. The case concerns the murder of a young woman, found in the creek below a bridge with blunt force trauma to her head, shortly after she wandered, drunk, into the night and a torrential rainstorm following a violent altercation with her boyfriend. Many people at the bar witnessed it, the boyfriend has a questionable history, and his guilt, pursued aggressively by an ambitious prosecutor, seems assured. But only after the case starts does Justin realise that he knows something which no-one else knows.
Sometimes it's good to do into a film knowing nothing (other than, obviously, that this is a courtroom drama). This is a thought-provoking drama directed by Clint Eastwood. As information is drip-fed to us, the moral issues become more pronounced, and the question of what should be done when every choice leads to something grossly unfair for someone is a question for the audience as much as for the characters.
Everyone is good in this. Eastwood is famous for letting his actors act rather than requiring multiple takes, and they don't let him down. But special praise goes to Toni Colette as the prosecutor who is in danger of letting her ambition for an easy win blind her to the need to do her job properly. And Nicholas Hoult is superb as Justin.
Venom: The Last Dance (2024)
Absolutely ridiculous, and hugely entertaining
Having just returned from their drunken jaunt to the Tom Holland verse, Eddie and Venom find themselves on the run from an Intergalactic monster who is intent on capturing them in order to release his universe-destroying master. This involves Area 51, a one-armed lady scientist, an annoyingly wrongly prioritised general, horseback riding from a different point of view, a nuclear family in a VW van with an alien-fixated dad, and a highly improbable Las Vegas dance number featuring even more improbable dance partners. All of this wines together in a very funny road trip. With savagely violent monsters.
Being familiar with Venom from the comics and the third Tobey Maguire movies , it took me most of the first Venom movie to come to terms with the fact that it wasn't entirely serious. There are no such problems here. Notwithstanding heads being bitten off, people being shredded into blood spray etc., this film is a hoot from start to finish. At its heart is the Eddie/Venom double act, with the hapless Eddie playing straight man to Venom's hilarious lack of inappropriateness. Given the seriousness of Tom Hardy's cinematic CV, it is a delight to see him neck deep in comedy, to the extent of co-writing.
Don't expect this to be even slightly serious (except for the slaughter), but do expect to see some A listers playing it absolutely straight for laughs. It also, surprisingly, has moments which are somewhat moving. I was very entertained.
The Wild Robot (2024)
Wonderful
Roz is a personal service robot whose container is washed up on an island. Her programming compels her to perform helpful tasks, and given that the only living things are wildlife, she first has to learn how to communicate with them. Then a goose egg hatches and the baby goose imprints on her, and suddenly she has a task which can only be achieved over time - being mother to this chicken.
This rather silly story, told largely wordlessly in its opening act, ends up going in some unexpected directions. And while it is, at times, unashamedly emotionally manipulative, this is always in service of the story, and is unashamedly rather than blatant.
The film looks beautiful throughout, with some sequence which left me breathless - it's one of the best looking films I've seen for a long time. And there are lots of small, subtle touches, like how Roz gets scuffed, scratched and dirty as the tale progresses
But the man thing about the film is its heart. As well as emotion, the story is full of life lessons about judgement, tolerance, family etc., and all of them offered gently within the story, not hammered home with a mallet.
This is a wonderful film.
The Apprentice (2024)
Good
In 1970s New York, young would-be property tycoon Donald Trump is struggling to emerge from his domineering father's shadow when he recruits unscrupulous lawyer Roy Cohn to fight a discrimination lawsuit. John teaches him 3 rules - 1. Attack, attack, attack, 2. Never admit anything, 3. Keep repeating that you're winning even if you're losing, and some unspoken ones: if you can't win legitimately then cheat, and it's OK to throw anyone under the bus. The film follows their relationship until just after Cohn's death.
One must remember that, like any biopic, this is a fictionalisation of real life. Yet it feels more truthful than 90% of what comes out of Trump's mouth at the moment. The script, and Sebastian Stan's performance, show us a subtle progression from a rather diffident, somewhat naive man, born to money but uncertain about who he is, through is apprenticeship to Cohn to, ultimately, a man who has thoroughly learned the lessons Cohn taught him.
Jeremy Strong is phenomenal as Cohn. His dead-eyed reptilian amorality is utterly chilling yet, when he is dying and Trump spurns him, the man to whom he owns everything, you feel sorry for him. The film does a remarkable job in creating some sympathy for two character (for they are characters) who are so morally repugnant that you should feel nothing but loathing for them.
This film is well worth watching.
Smile 2 (2024)
Naomi Scott is remarkable
Global superstar Skye Riley is rehearsing for a comeback tour a year after serious injury in a car crash. On visiting a drug dealer for pain medication, said dealer, after displaying crazed fear, suddenly starts smiling unnervingly before smashing his fave to mush and dying. Skye then starts seeing people smiling creepily at her everywhere. And it turns out that this has happened before...
After The Man Who Laughs (1928) and Mr Sardonicus (1961) and, of course, DC's the Joker (comics, TV, and movies), it's surprising that visual media haven't paid more attention to the unsettling effect a smile can have. This film's predecessor made good use of that, and it's not surprising to see a sequel. And, as sequels go, it's not bad.
Actually, it's quite a bit better than not bad, for two reasons. One, writer/director Parker Finn brings some very accomplished directorial flourishes to the screen. The long moving camera takes in the opening sequence are sensational (conversely, there's a bit too much upside-down camera, and the final sequence sacrifices narrative clarity in favour of jaw-dropping visuals).
Two, Naomi Scott. I didn't realise I'd seen this British actress before, but she was Jasmine in Disneys's live action Aladdin (plus some other stuff I've seen). We all know the score for a leading lady in a horror film, right? Screaming, being terrified, distraught that no-one believes her, etc.? Scott brings so much more than that. This is a performance which belongs in a film with far more significance than a mere horror sequel. This young woman brings class to this film.
Salem's Lot (2024)
Too rushed
Writer Ben Mears returns to the town of his childhood. His arrival coincides with some deaths and the beginnings of clues pointing to a vampire infestation.
One of Stephan King's early novels, this is the third time on screen for Salem's Lot, after a genuinely scary 1979 TV miniseries and a subsequent less successful miniseries. And it created a template King has often used: a town with an expansive cast of well-drawn characters who you get to know and often care about as they come to take part in the plot.
This one changes up the climax - thank you - but delivers most of the other story beats and scary moments we expect. But the problem is that we just don't care very much. And the reason is that everything is done in such a rush, and nothing has a chance to breathe.
Why is Ben back in Salem's Lot? Not, apparently, to exorcise his childhood fear of the Marsten House, now home to the newly resident vampire Barlow. How did the romance with Susan develop? No idea, but after some frisson between them, she's suddenly in his room wrapped in a sheet. We never get a chance to get to know any of the victims before they become victims. This isn't helped by the fact that the cast is fairly low profile.
And there are rather too many "Oh, come on!" moments. Glowing crucifixes? Really? Variable speed sunsets?
If you never read the book or watched Tobe Hooper's 1979 version, this moderately gory version might win you over. To me, I'm afraid it fell short.
Buffalo Kids (2024)
Kids film, but very good
In the late 1800s, orphaned Tom and Mary arrive in New York to meet Uncle Niall who will take them to California to live. When Niall doesn't arrive they decide to find him. Having no money, they infiltrate a group of orphans who are travelling by rail to be placed with foster families. One of these is Nick, wheelchair-bound and incapable of independent movement or speech, though clearly very present mentally. After Mary and Tom take Nick off the train at a watering stop to pet bison (!), it leaves without them and further adventures ensue.
This is a Spanish CGI feature which appears to have a chap called Pedro Solis in the driving seat. The credits don't say that he also made the sandwiches, but I expect he did.
This is a film for children, which explains the many improbability, coincidences, the wilful nature of the sometimes irritating Mary, and the intrepid and innovative behaviour of the sibling protagonists. Things which don't really play for adults work perfectly well for a less cynical audience.
And this film is good-hearted. Yes, there are black-hearted villains, but everyone else is a good example. There are lessons about tolerance and care (and not eating berries you don't know about), but they are gentle and not clumsy.
The film looks beautiful. Sets are designed thoughtfully, and exteriors look fantastic.
And one of the things I liked most was paraplegic Nick. For someone with very limited movement and no speech, this animated character gives a great performance. I was quite sure that, due to Cheyenne medicine and mysticism, or a happy accident, he would have the power of speech or mobility by the end, and I was ready to be irritated b6 glib, unrealistic wish-fulfiment. Nope. No miracle cure. Instead, this acutely disabled character was treated with accuracy and respect. And that was a pleasure to see.
Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)
Brave and imaginative and far better than the first one
As Arthur Fleck awaits assessment over whether he is fit to stand trial, he encounters Lee Quinzel through music therapy, and a spiritual connection is made: she is just as damaged as he is. Arthur's trial proceeds and Lee is there to offer him encouragement.
First things first: despite the odd trimmings (Arkham, Harvey Dent), this film and its predecessor have nothing to do with Batman, the DC universe, or the Joker from the comics. Arthur Fleck is just a disadvantaged, damaged, disturbed soul, very much to be pitied albeit his crimes are unforgiveable.
I thoroughly disliked the first film. Having set Fleck up as a sympathetic victim, it then concluded in a dispiriting air of celebrating nihilistic notoriety. I thought its message was repellent, and Joaquin's performance was an obvious one, full of freak-of-the-week tics and mannerisms. I expected more of the same, especially since the things I hated seemed to be the reasons why it was successful.
I really liked this one. Phoenix gives a nuanced performance of a man who, ultimately, grasps the difference between right and wrong and struggles with the Joker and Fleck dichotomy within him as well as his new connection with Quinzel. I found this film much more dramatically satisfying (the end, annoyingly spoilers in a newspaper article, seemed a bit tacked on and unnecessary).
Yes, it's a musical. It didn't need to be, it's not a typical musical, but I quite enjoyed it although a little of Phoenix' singing voice goes a long film. I thought it was an imaginative and rather brave way to follow up the success of the first film.
Oh, and the film needs to make up its mind whether it's set in New York or Gotham City.
Megalopolis (2024)
A mess
In an alternative present day America, New Rome (recognisably New York, but modelled on the centre of the Roman Empire) has an uber-class. Cesar Catilina is an architect who has invented a revolutionary building material called Megalon, And wants to use it to build Megalopolis, a wonderful new city to replace the current decaying slums. District Attorney turned Mayor Franklyn Cicero (who unsuccessfully prosecuted Cesar for the murder of his wife) owns many of those slums. The two are not friends. There are also other power players, and the issue is further complicated when Cesar and Cicero's daughter hook up. Oh, and Cesar can stop time for reasons which are never made clear.
This is right up my street, I thought. I'm a big fan of science fiction, I thought. I like ancient Rome, I thought. Francis Ford Coppola, I thought. Huge cast of A listers, I thought. And, yes, I was right.
But what I hadn't reckoned on was that material which might have been better dealt with in a 6 part series doesn't really work squeezed into a two hour film. There are so many ideas and plot threads where you anticipate them going somewhere interesting, but they don't. What is left is a jumbled disjointed mess, with masses of obvious unrealised potential.
I offer a plus point for Aubrey Plaza, displaying dramatic talent you might not expect. But that's matched by a minus point for Shia LeBoeuf in a cackling performance of pantomime villain buffoonery.
Speak No Evil (2024)
Enjoyable thriller
Ben, Louise, and daughter Agnes are invited for a weekend to the country farm of Paddy, Clara, and mute son Ant, a family they met while on holiday. We know from that meeting that Paddy's social filters aren't as effective as most people's, but they go anyway. And gradually things go downhill to where the trailer tells you they're going. Let's just say that the final act involves a struggle for survival which doesn't really come as a surprise.
This is a straightforward suspense thriller with quite a slow build, as it becomes clear that what seemed slightly wrong was actually very wrong indeed. But, for all it's predictability, it is anchored by a mesmerising performance by James McAvoy. He is almost likeable for much of the film, yet you are always aware that what you see is never more than skin deep. And, as that surface bonhomie slowly wears away, he becomes truly scary (he's also pretty buff these days: I remember him being weedy and nerdy).
You should be unsure of the ending, but otherwise there won't be too many surprises.
The final shot is terrific.
The Critic (2023)
McKellen is wonderful
Between the wars, Jimmy Erskine has been the theatre critic of a national newspaper, noted for his acidic reviews, the worst of which seem to be reserved for young actress Nina Land. Nina confronts him to ask how she can avoid his savager. Erskine is a homosexual with a taste for rough trade at a time when homosexuality was a criminal offence, and is about to get fired over the morality clause in his contract. Unless, that is, he can obtain some trade-off material on his boss. His boss is very upright, but does have a bit of a thing for Nina. Perhaps Billy and Nina can do each other favours...
The trailer for this film gives the impression that it is a drama laced with dark humour. But there is little humour here, and it gets very dark before it ends. It's a good film, though, with a little bit too much coincidence in the characters' relationships (or, perhaps, too many minor subplots which don't really play into the main narrative.
The cast are all classy, and all are on top of their game, but this is Ian McKellen's film. Jimmy Erskine is as slimy a creature as you'll see in a film this year, or any year. The smug, self-righteous self-interest is overpowering. Is this truly the same man who played Gandalf?
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)
Big dumb fun
Arthur Curry/Aquaman is a reluctant king of Atlantis, but a doting father to baby Arthur Jr. Meanwhile, Black Manta obtains a magic trident and, to fight the threat to himself, his family, Atlantic, and the world, Arthur enlist the help of his brother Orm (which means breaking him out of prison for his treason in the previous film).
I missed this at the cinema and have only just caught up with it. If you liked the first one, the odds are that you will like this because it's largely more of the same - big visual action centred around a tongue-in-cheek, larger than life performance from Jason Momoa who is clearly having a whale of a time (pun intended). The visual effects are mostly great, although there are moments when I was very aware that I was looking at people in front of a green screen.
There are a lot of moments, though, when I thought "Hello, I've seen that before," where sequences seemed to have been lifted bodily from other movies. Watch it, and make your own list!
Most of the cast are clearly aware they are in a comic movie, not to be taken too seriously. And then there's Patrick Wilson as Orm. The character is written far better than anyone else is the film, with nuance and shading denied to the rest of the cast, and Wilson, catches all of it, and brings subtlety and strength to his performance. It belongs in a far better film than this one.
Although I greatly enjoyed this in a "leave your brain at the door" kind of way.
It Ends with Us (2024)
Misses its own point
Lily is unable to deliver the eulogy at her abusive father's funeral: he regularly beat her mother, beat boyfriend Atlas to pulp after catching him in bed with Lily, but it's not clear if/how he abused Lily. Adult Lily falls in love with neurosurgeon Ryle, bumps into Atlas, (why don't these guys have proper names rather than characters-in-novels names?), and Ryle turns out to have a bit of an insecure temper leaning to violence. Should pregnant Lily leave him, whether or not the renewed friendship with Atlas leads anywhere?
This is based on a book which I have not read, so it doesn't feature in my thoughts. This film appears to think it's a romantic drama with a central theme of spousal abuse. Yet it's a little too non-specific to deliver the knockout punch it needs. Specifically, Ryle's one moment of physical abuse is staged in such a way that it could be accidental. Yes,that may be true to life and, yes, it is clear that Ryle has a jealous temper, but this is a drama aimed at an audience. Dad is clearly an abuser, but it's not clear whether it is aimed at Lily. The film shies away fr9m showing whether or not Lily is a victim, and maybe it shouldn't.
The subject is a serious one, and I didn't feel that this film addressed it with the seriousness it merits.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)
Fun
When Lydia Deetz' father dies, it falls to her and stepmother Delia to clear the old house where all that horrible stuff happened years ago. Delia and daughter Astrid don't get on, which leads to a situation where Lydia needs to call on Beetlejuice for help. And Beetlejuice still has designs on Lydia. But he also has a previous wife.
The story in this film is a little involved, but works quite well, and is different enough from the original to not feel like a direct lift. The concise assessment is that If you enjoyed the original, you're likely to enjoy this too. Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O'Hara have great fun reprising their roles. Production design and effects are reminiscent of the original, but better.
And rest assured, if your favourite part of the first film was The Banana Boat Song, well, there's a production number here, too, and it's every bit as bizarre.
Alien: Romulus (2024)
Decent and uncomplicated
A group of young people, disillusioned at being tricked into continuing to labour on a mining planet, decide to hijack the cryosleep on a disused facility in orbit and escape to a better place. Unfortunately, the facility is host to some rather unfriendly critters, and things start to go pear-shaped.
This latest entry in the Alien franchise is a straightforward, stand-alone, science fiction horror romp and, like so many others, the question is who is going to survive. Fortunately, there are some obnoxious characters who we can hope get slaughtered first. The action is generally well handled, although there are times when the geography of the action is very unclear.
I was pleased by the fact that this film didn't try to be clever, a fault of too many of the previous entries.
There are some callbacks, one of which was entirely unexpected, and technically brilliantly executed. Conversely, another one was self-conscious and gauche.
Blink Twice (2024)
Stylish and nasty
Frida accidentally falls in with squillionaire Slater, and joins a group invited to a party on Slater's private island. It turns out that something very sinister is going on.
Zoe Kravitz directed and co-wrote this mystery thriller. It contains some disturbing content, and comes with a trigger warning, so I endorse it: this is strong stuff, not to be approached if you are sensitive about the issues warned about.
I must praise the direction and the performances as well as, to some extent, the writing. Having said that, I think parts of the plot logic fall apart if you look closely at them after the fact, although the story works well enough as it is unfolding.
The Crow (2024)
No better than o4dinary
Eric and Shelly are murdered at the behest of a crime boss. Eric is returned to life as an unkillable agent of vengeance.
The Crow was originally a comic series by writer/artist Jamie O'Barr, setting out the basic plot detailed above. It was an attempt to make sense of the death of a loved one, and was a bleak and unhappy piece, in stark black and white. The Crow was filmed effectively 30 years ago by Alex Proyas, although that film will forever be under a cloud due to the tragic death of star Brandon Lee in an on-set shooting accident.
This version rewrites much of the detail, in particular the antagonist. In the previous movie, Michael Wincott was a stereotypical thug gang-leader, and that was fine - the story needed little more than stereotypes, and Wincott was pleasingly vile.
Here, Danny Huston is a great villain. He is urbane, but has a dark arts gift of ordering people to do awful things, an ability gained while searching for immortality (which he is keen to extract from Eric). Other unnecessary story elements have been added: backstory for Eric and Shelly, an intermediate staging are between life and what follows, a kind of Spirit guide chap...
The thing about this story is that it works best when kept pure and simple, dealing just with the huge dark issues of love, loss and vengeance. And in all this other stuff, and you dilute the heart of the story.
Bill Skarsgard doesn't really give Eric the charisma he needs, pre- or post-death. I think, in an effort to keep Eric relatable, they've added pain to his unkillability, again diluting the purity of the original concept.
There is an extremely graphic battle in an opera house, albeit it suffers from John Wick syndrome of endless assailants appearing, pair after pair.
This film is very ordinary.
Despicable Me 4 (2024)
Fun
The problems Gru is encountering bonding with his new son are put on hold when the family have to be relocated with new identities due to supervillain Maxime's vendetta. Add in assorted complications, including would-be supervising next-door neighbour Poppy, who threatens to blow their cover, and a bunch of enhanced super-powered Minions, and you have a story which is every bit as chaotic and nonsensical as anything which has gone before.
You have to not expect sense from Despicable Me. Action, silliness, laughter and heart, yes, but sense? I don't think so.
This is the mixture as we've come to expect it, albeit with a different story and different details - everything is different except for one recycled joke (which is still funny). And, although the Minions are not at the heart of the film, they still earn the lion's share of the laughs.
This was great fun.
Trap (2024)
Pretty good
Cooper takes daughter Riley to a huge concert by superstar Lady Raven. There seems to be a vast amount of security which, he discovers, is because the authorities believe notorious serial killer The Butcher will be attending, and they are determined to catch him. Given that Cooper is The Butcher, this poses a problem for him. But he's very resourceful at solving problems...
Written and directed by M Night Shyamalan. Hmm. Well, this man has some hits on his CV. But there are some pretty massive misses too. And this one features his daughter Saleka playing Lady Raven and writing and performing the music - are we to see nepotism added to the hubris we have seen all too frequently?
It's good news, folks! This is a decent no-frills suspense thriller with some very pleasing performance. Josh Hartnett is sympathetic and chilling as Cooper, and Saleka Shyamalan acquits herself well both musically and dramatically as Lady Raven. But, for me, this film belonged to Ariel Donoghue as Riley, a teen thoroughly enraptured by the occasion while being puzzled by Dad's odd behaviour. And the suspense continues beyond the point where you expect a resolution.
I enjoyed this a lot.
Borderlands (2024)
A shambles
Intergalactic bounty hunter Lilith is engaged to find Tiny Tina for her father, only to discover that she has already been found by soldier Roland and, er, man-type thing Krieg. Together with a hobby robot Claptrap and Liliths's estranged foster mother they embark on a quest for The Vault, to which they believe Tina may hold the key.
I liked the trailer for this, and I love big brash colourful scifi, especially with a dash of humour, and especially when the cast includes Cate Blanchett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black.
Then I watched it.
To be fair, not everything went wrong, but the stuff that went right was largely "borrowed " from elsewhere. Production design is good, but the heavy lifting was done years ago by Tank Girl (remember that?) and various incarnations of Mad Max. Special effects are good, thank you Star Wars and Guardians Of The Galaxy. Humour - well, I think we can forget humour since it is conspicuous by its absence. The story is hugely derivative, as are the characters. Another sassy robot? Oh joy. Let's also mention a lot of extremely loud sound which drowns out some fairly important expository dialogue.
The film is based on a series of video games, and some of the criticisms may be more fairly aimed at the source material. But whether the fault lies with the source material, script or director (the latter two are Eli Roth) you know a film is in trouble when the word "fault" suggests itself so readily.
This thing is a mess in every way that matters. No, let's be fair - several of the performances are adequate.