Review: The Happytime Murders

My expectations for this have been more up and down then a roller-coaster.

After seeing the trailer, it shocked me, made me laugh and think about how good this concept could be. I did have my reservations, as it has Melissa McCarthy in it and she has a low success rate with me and the reviews coming from America were scathing to say the least from the critics.

It started rather well. It introduced to this world that had a premise much similar to that of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. But it seemed the writing and tone was flirting with that of Team America: World Police. I was loving the puppet designs, which is no surprise as they come The Jim Henson Company and got quickly engaged with those characters.
One aspect got introduced and already felt like a waste of space. Thankfully, it was not detracting my enjoyment of the film.
The story moves along quite nicely, and even though the story brought nothing new and the twists towards the end was not ground-breaking, I was still having a pleasant time. There is a moment where the humans take centre stage which slowed it down for me. But thankfully, it doesn't last long, and neither does the film. It's a swift duration and gets out when needed. If this was anything close to 2hrs, it would have certainly been a slog by the end.

All the puppet work and voice work was great and totally trumped the human actors. Bill Barretta as the lead did a great job, had a solid backstory and had good dialogue with strong execution.
I mention a part of the movie that felt like a waste of space, and that was Melissa McCarthy. As soon as she arrived on screen, it just felt pointless. Her character was just getting in the way all the time and was there for cheap laughs. Granted, the gags weren't terrible. But they weren't exceptional either.
Thankfully, someone that I can always rely in for gags did it again in the form of Maya Rudolph. Everything I've seen in her either as a lead or supporting, she always delivers and/or steals the show. She fitted the tone perfectly and contributed whenever necessary.
It was a shame to see Elizabeth Banks under-used as I am a big fan of hers and she always seemed committed to any work she is given. If her character was given more development, then I think the human element would have made this film a much more intriguing watch.

As mentioned before, the look of the puppets was a big strength of the film. Others I felt were the editing and I guess the general production design and cinematography weren't bad either. It moves along well and always kept my attention and that was thanks to the editing. The snappy duration could be its saving grace with the audience. I always appreciate a film that gets out when it should do.

In regards to the negatives, I think just the general missed opportunity of making the most of this concept. It never felt fully utilised and by the end of it, I think it would have done better if it was made int he 90's as I think that would have been better written and received audiences and critics.
Plus I think the comedy should have been better. Most of it is alright, but the rest of it felt forced. There is one that could have been the scene of the year. But in the end it kind of over-stayed its welcome. But fair play to them for going that far with the crass tone.

I think the reviews its getting are a tad harsh. But I can see in parts where they're coming from. But for me, it is solid at best. The puppets are what keep this film going and the story is perfectly fine despite being something you've probably seen before and should keep you engaged throughout.
Once again McCarthy didn't work for me, and by the looks of the American box office, this could be a career low for her.

I can see this doing better on the small screen when it comes out on DVD or on-demand. I wouldn't rush out to see this. But if you are intrigued by it and The Muppets or Sesame Street with added crude humour, it wouldn't do any harm in checking it out.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Christopher Robin

While I wouldn't say Winnie The Pooh is having much of a re-emergence with todays young generation, we now have our second film about the Winnie The Pooh characters in as many years.

In 2017, we had the ok Goodbye Christopher Robin. That was Fox Searchlight's attempt, and now it's Disney's turn. However, whilst the former was about the birth of the books. The latter seems to be going down the same route as Steven Spielberg's Hook did and rediscover ones childhood.

The trailers looked alright. But none of them got me hugely excited and expecting something special. So I went in with lukewarm expectations.

I ended up being caught rather off guard and had something I don't often have, a magical experience. It started off with some promise. There's a scene towards the start that is almost identical to the start and end of Gladiator which made me suggest where this could go in terms of its craft.
The way a lot of the characters are shot and created was really well done and fitted in beautifully with the natural locations.
The longer the film went on, the more I warmed to it. I could feel a sweetness about it, and that just grew and grew.
No matter how surreal it got in the second half at times, I just went with it and embraced it rather than questioning the reasoning around certain situations. There are decisions made in this film that may break a few rules in some peoples eyes with this type of story. Even though I recognised them, I went with them and it never changed my enjoyment of the story. In fact, it slightly enhanced them and just grew my investment for certain characters.
It's directed by Marc Forster, the same guy who did Finding Neverland. I love that film and it's in my all-time top 100. I could see similar themes from that as well as Hook, Toy Story 3 and even a bit of Ted.
By the end of it, I even came close to welling up, and I see many others going the full whack and bawl their eyes out.

The performances weren't award-worthy. But they all did their job well. Ewan McGregor has a solid track record with period pieces and can do family films well, and embracing the child of Christopher Robin was great to see. Plus, his chemistry with Winnie The Pooh was probably the strongest part of the performance aspect. The star of the show for me was voice actor Jim Cummings. This guy has done voices for many of your favourite Disney characters and his performance as Winnie The Pooh and Tigger in this was nothing short of great.
Like McGregor, Hayley Atwell, Bronte Carmichael and Mark Gatiss did solid jobs with their characters. Especially Gatiss towards the end, who really embraced the tone for a lovely final act.

It's biggest strengths were the visual effects and the writing. The character designs were terrific and made them look like genuinely well worn soft toys. The decision for them to look like that was spot on.
The writing is hilarious, smart, witty and made great use of A.A Milne's genius from the books. The execution of some of the nonsense dialogue being said by Winnie The Pooh and his friends reminded me of the animated version of Alice In Wonderland. On the face of it, it may sound silly, but it made sense as it fits the tone and it comes off as really sweet.
I also would like to mention the score. It harks back to the original Winnie The Pooh theme in its pieces which I noticed a few times, which was a nice touch.

There are no major negatives to speak of. I would have liked more development between McGregor and Carmichael's characters. I think given this sub-plot more screen-time would give the audience more incentive to care for the Christopher Robin character.

There is a negative that I don't see as one. But I can see others having this problem with the film. As mentioned before, a decision is made in the second half that may put some people off. But I just think that if you try and look too much into the logistics of this film, you're completely missing the point.

This story is absolutely delightful, sweet, charming, uplifting and quite funny for the most part. I was not expecting to enjoy it this much. Even though it has its sombre moments and it took a while to fully grab me, this was a very enjoyable watch.
In a nutshell, the story structure is something we have seen in countless family films. But the execution of it felt slightly different and its the films charming and playful heart made this a much more fun and emotional experience.
The way they the characters of the Hundred Acre Wood were portrayed was absolutely spot on, that and the strong writing made it to be such a magical experience rediscovering the love and popularity people had with these stories.

However, I'm not sure if I would totally recommend it for kids though. Younger children might lose patience with it as it doesn't rely on slapstick humor, loud noises or bright colours. Older kids should be fine with it. But still might get bored of it at times.
To be honest, I think adults would get more out of it. Winnie The Pooh is a story that is not doing much a regeneration for the modern audience. I think the older generation would resonate from the Winnie The Pooh stories more than kids in my opinion.
However, if you are a parent and have told your kids Winnie The Pooh and they are very much aware of this world, then by all means take them to see this. It's an absolute delight, super-sweet and executes its themes so beautifully.

With a sequel to Mary Poppins on the way, I felt this film has given a little bit of a hint of what to expect from the tone. The story arch of our central character felt very similar to Mr. Banks and I feel this could be the same feeling I'll have to Mary Poppins Returns. If that's the case, then I can't wait for its release just before Christmas.

I must mention that there is a mid-credits scene. Sadly, it doesn't add much to the story. But if you want to check out, then it's right in the middle of the credits for you to check it out.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Ant-Man And The Wasp

It is another busy year of superhero movies, and the last one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is now among us.

It has been quite a 2018 for the MCU. With the huge box office success and pretty good critical ratings of Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War, Marvel continue to grow at a rate that will not see their fans suffer from fatigue anytime soon.

I myself really enjoyed 'Avengers: Infinity War'. I have it as my new favourite Marvel film and one of the best superhero films of all-time. One of the most impressive things about it was how everything worked after 10 years of build-up through 18 films beforehand.

Now after all that, their 20th feature for me looked to be just a fun side-note paralleling the main story. The first Ant-Man I thought was alright. I liked the heist concept and the origins of the Ant-Man character. It had solid action, made great comedic use of the technology used by the characters, but with a couple of annoying supporting characters and like most Marvel films a forgettable villain. This one brings its strong aspects, and maybe a little bit more to get your teeth into.

From the very first scene, I was already smiling. It starts off with one of the sweetest scenes I have seen in quite a while. That put me at ease and I just had fun with this throughout.
The more time they were expanding and playing with the technology, the more exciting the action scenes were, I was enjoying the introduction and development of some new characters.
Also, I was surprised at myself at how much I was laughing at regular intervals. I was amazed at how much it felt more like a comedy then a superhero film, and yet still having that Marvel magic touch to it.
While the main story was moving nicely, I noticed some fun little sub-plots carrying on throughout the film. That was cool to see and you don't see many films these days pull it off that well anymore. Those moments just showcased the minor characters so well and made them mean something.
All of those components made it a very satisfying final act and made me want to see another Ant-Man film, which I was not expecting to say.

The performances all hit the spot for me and contributed well to the cause. Paul Rudd continues to prove that he is worthy of being cast as Ant-Man. His mix of comedic-timing, action and general likability works so well with the tone. Every time he puts on the suit, Rudd just proves me wrong that he deserves to be part of the MCU.
His chemistry with Evangeline Lilly is still believable and good value viewing. Also, the addition of the always great Michael Douglas makes a terrific trio to watch and get engaged with.
I was not a fan of Michael Pena in the previous Ant-Man. But I am happy to say that he did not annoy me in this one, and got some solid laughs out of me.
Going back to Rudd and his chemistry, his partnership with child actor Abby Ryder Forston is so sweet to watch. Right from their first scene, it is a lovely relationship to see develop and enhance. It instantly makes you care for what happens to them for the rest of the film and it was thanks to their brilliant comradery.
There were also plenty of strong and solid supporting and minor performances played by Walton Goggins, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, T.I., David Dastmalchian, Hannah John-Kamen, Randall Park and the always good Laurence Fishburne.

What I liked about it the most was the fun factor. I was surprised at how I could feel I was enjoying it, and there was never a moment that slowed the momentum down. Whenever it was action set-piece, or a character development piece, it all felt important to moving the story along and each section's arch got resolved in the end.
Marvel's current phase has seen each new release almost become more than just a superhero film. We've had a high school film, a space comedy, and this one plays out more like a straight comedy.
Also, the visual effects are obviously impressive. With the type of technology involved with Ant-Man, you've got a lot more to play with and they use it with great effect both from an action viewpoint and comedic one. I would not be against them getting an Oscar nomination.

The only negatives I have with the film is that it's might not be as good as some other Marvel films as the stakes in the story are not as impactful as some others. Other reasons could be that certain aspects just aren't as strong as some others.
There is nothing wrong with a superhero film that does not have end-of-the-world stakes and still be really good. They made up for it in other aspects. It comes close to be one of Marvel's best. But not quite.

I am really enjoying this current phase of the MCU, and they have made one of the most fun features of the franchises. The only ones I feel can compete with this in terms of fun are probably Avengers Assemble, Guardians Of The Galaxy and possibly Spider-Man: Homecoming.
I like it that you can get as much enjoyment and investment with these small scale stories as you can with the big ones.
This 20th film of this cinematic universe will have you smiling from start to finish. I had a much better time then I had with the first one. The performances are really good, there's strong chemistry with various characters, the action is super-entertaining, it had me laughing pretty consistently throughout the film and I like how much they explore and play with the technology within its action set-pieces.
I did have my doubts of superhero fatigue towards the end of Marvel's second phase. But since Captain America: Civil War, I have just had a very entertaining time with each new release since then. This studio are in a real sweet spot at the moment from a critical standpoint and I hope this continues for a good while. The next two films will have stupidly high expectations, as this could very well be the big transitional moment that will effect the potential existence of any future phases.

In the compulsory Marvel credits scenes, there are a mid and post credits in this one. The mid-credits scene is pretty cool and sets you up for the next installment from the MCU. As for the post-credits scene, it was disappointing and a missed opportunity. I was fine with their idea. But the execution was a bit timid and half-hearted. They could have really gone to town with this and it would have been much more memorable. But if you do watch this, the mid-credits is the only worth waiting for.

Rating: 7/10

Mission: Impossible - Fallout

You can say what you want about movie franchises over-staying their welcome, and sucking the life out of itself. But when it comes to the Mission:Impossible franchise, it remains to be one of the most consistent and reliable franchises right now.

Universally, the weakest in the franchise is seen as the second installment. However, I think most people will agree that it still has redeemable qualities and is still a fairly enjoyable watch. As for the rest of them, the order is most definitely not set in stone. A lot of peoples favourite MI film is quite possibly the most varied. For me, it's MI: III which saw J.J Abrams make his directorial debut. Since then, Abrams has been heavily involved in the Star Trek and Star Wars franchises.

For part six for this series, I wasn't super-excited for this. I knew this reliability of this franchise and I was expecting a good time at the very least. I certainly got that.

This particular Mission Impossible seems to follow the steps that the Bond film Spectre has done and that is link the main story with some of its previous film, which is a first for MI. They did hark back to small parts of previous films. But never to be integral to the story.
This therefore means that watching the last three MI films and even the original would help. Thankfully, it doesn't quite ruin the overall enjoyment of the film, but seeing those previous films will clear up some small aspects of the story for people who haven't any of the others. The way they're resolved was quite satisfying and I think hardcore fans will appreciate this the most.
I also noticed about half war through the way they were executing and editing certain scenes. It was as if they were trying to make it as realistic as possible in terms of resolving situations. It looked as if that their mission (pun not intended) was to limit their mistakes in logic and continuity as much as possible. Fair play for that. But did that improve my enjoyment of it? I will be talking about that later on.
One thing I noticed early on was the pacing. Dare I say, it was ploddy. I came to realise this as they over-stayed their welcome in various scenes. Whether it be on a tiny development piece or one of its pivotal moments, they all added in the almost 2hrs 30mins duration.
But one thing is for sure, the action is terrific and for some people, that is all they are looking in this type of film.

It is always was nice to see the old gang back together with Tom Cruise and Ving Rhames still featuring in every MI film. Cruise continues to astonish us at still kicking-ass, doing his own stunts and doing a lot of running even though he is now 56. The arch given to Cruise's character of Ethan Hunt was a very intriguing one, and ended up being well explored, developed and executed by the end. It may be the most in-depth character study we have seen in any MI film.
While it seems to be the only major project Rhames is still a part of, he remains a solid addition to the crew rather than just being a token for nostalgia.
While I still think Simon Pegg did well in his fourth MI outing, it was probably the least memorable performance out of all of them in my opinion.
We also have a few new regulars back for a second outing. Rebecca Ferguson gives us another memorable outing after her brilliant debut in Rogue Nation. Her contribution in the action scenes is great to watch and her characters strength is still believable and is becoming one of the best parts of this franchise.
Alec Baldwin is back and certainly has his shining moment in this one that is worth looking out for.
Sean Harris also did a solid job. It was not as memorable as his first appearance. But he still never felt out of place and continues to feel threatening.
As for newbie Henry Cavill, he certainly came in all guns blazing. He had a nice mix of mystery as well as brute force and was a memorable character. Also, after all the controversy involving his moustache, it was certainly worth it.
I must quickly mention Vanessa Kirby's character. I liked her mysterious persona and I would happily have more of that character if they decided to make more.
There was also a nice surprise minor role that further expands an aspect to the timeline.

What everyone will be talking about after seeing this, is most definitely the action. It is what the franchise is best known for, and they always seem to better themselves each time. Plus, I love they try to make it as practical as possible. In this one, there are three stand-out set-pieces. They are all gripping, exhilarating, well shot, well choreographed and are made to be seen on the big screen. One in particular towards the end has the cinematography to thank for. The in-built cameras perfectly enhanced the action and made it a great finale.
Also a brief mention of some great sound design during one of the set-pieces.

Sadly, it does have its flaws. I respect and appreciated the high-quality level and amount of realism and logic that they put into this one. I was fine with that being the route of director Christopher McQuarrie and his team went down. But I think concentrating too much on that detracted the enjoyment level. As mentioned before, it also effected its pacing as well in my opinion lingered too much on several occasions.
Also, some of the decisions characters made felt a bit unnecessary and some of the twists were predictable and felt being there for the sake of it.

So while I was somewhat disappointed with certain aspects, this is still another great addition to this increasingly reliable franchise. The strength and exhilerating nature of the action makes up for it. I could feel the stakes and the tension, the new characters never felt out of place with the tone of the franchise and this has great re-watchability potential.
If I had to rank it, I would place this second behind M:I III. If you are a fan of Cruise and this franchise then you cannot miss this, especially on the big screen.

Rating: 8/10

Review: First Reformed

The first I heard about this film was from the Venice and Telluride Film Festivals last year.
What intrigued me to see this was the trailer, Ethan Hawke as his selection of films is pretty solid and he rarely misses and the reviews were pretty strong.

The director of this Paul Schrader, is also the writer from Taxi Driver. I sadly haven't seen any other film that Schrader has directed or written outside of Taxi Driver. But after seeing this, I would certainly keep and eye out for any of his back catalogue. You can see the Taxi Driver similarities throughout. You won't be surprised if you heard this afterwards as the tone, story structure and themes are very similar.
While I don't think this will end up being as much of a classic as Taxi Driver, it's still certainly checking out and experiencing.

The pacing is of a slow-burner. But once you see the dark path this story is taking, then the pacing is spot on as the tension slowly builds up. Beforehand, while the story still moves along, the pacing is frustrating at times. Thankfully, I only felt that in the first half.
But it is the second half where this film shines and the very end will certainly spark discussions as its certainly open to interpretation.

Hawke is the big draw and carries this film so well. It's a strong performance and his transformation throughout the film was gripping to watch. This could well be a career best for Hawke.
It was nice to see Amanda Seyfried show some variety in her performance as she certainly out of her comfort zone. She fitted into the role really well.
It was also great to see Cedric The Entertainer take a non-comedic role and he did a pretty good job with the few scenes he had.

What I liked about it the most was the use of the theme of belief, as it goes down some challenging and dark routes and will certainly have people having different interpretations. It also covers some interesting topics such as over-population and similar worldly concerns we are having right now.

As mentioned before, I think what is preventing me from giving a great score is the pacing. It is a slow burner, and at times it takes a while to get to the next part. But while it is only a minor drawback, I'm still giving it a pretty good score.
This film will surprise you with how it ends up despite how its being marketed, Hawke's performance is worth investing in and it have one of the strongest final acts out of any film this year.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Incredibles 2

I can still remember going to the cinema to see the original back in 2004. I was 15 at the time and my sister took me to see it, and I had an absolute blast.

For me, this will forever be a timeless classic, one of Pixar's best feature films and in my opinion is still the best superhero film of all-time.

It will probably stay in my top 100 films of all-time till my dying days. It is currently ranked at 46, and I can't see it ever leaving that list.

What made the first Incredibles so great, was the family dynamic. It is a story-telling formula that if done right can be great and easily relatable for people of all ages. Also, the action and story itself was constantly exciting and had many surprising levels of maturity in the topics that it was covering.
Now 14 years, I was in bouyant mood that we were on course for another hit.

The long gap between the two installments doesn't bother me. But it may do to others. I remember the gap between Toy Story 2 and 3 being ten years. To me, that means they were waiting to find the right story, and believe that is what's happening with this sequel.

It's starts off with a lot of promise and an exciting action set-piece. Then we see the plot starting to be developed and a rather intriguing sub-plot take place as well.
The second act does still have plenty of strong and memorable moments. The story has some solid development and the sub-plot for me was starting to become the more gripping tale.
Then like the second act, the finale moves a long a good pace with many entertaining set-pieces. But if I was being cruel, the twists the story took felt familiar and lacked any shocks.

It's great to see most of the original cast return for some voice-work. Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson. They all did a great job and have not lost their touch whatsoever.
But it's the character of Jack-Jack that absolutely steals the show. He gets the biggest laughs and any time he's on screen, you just get captivated by him and the struggles he is facing in this film. The visual and slapstick style of comedy from him is so universal that everyone can get a grip of.

The films biggest strength remains to be the family aspect. I liked the every-day family approach to this story, and giving it a modern twist.
Another memorable part of the first one was the score by Michael Giaachino. Well, I can safely say that the rompy 60's inspired score by Giacchino is back, and there are many new pieces that were a joy to listen to. It is a score that I certainly will be listening to multiples times for the rest of the year.

I need to mention the animation, as it is mind-boggling. It's certainly becoming as photo-realist as possible. It could get quite scary as to how real animation could get in the future.

Sadly, the film does have its problems. The main reason I don't think this is as strong as the first one, is the lack of surprise, shock and profoundness. I remember the first one having some neat twists in the story's development that shocked everyone. In this one, there are surprises, but you can see them coming.
Also, I don't think the final act had a dilemma that had huge stakes. It was a pretty conventional set-piece that ended in an expected way.
Another small thing that this film lacked was playing on the tropes of a typical superhero film. They did that in the first one by making fun of monologuing, and they never continued with that in the first one. But don't worry, all of these are just minor things that prevent it from matching the first one.

There is still loads to like about this. It's super-entertaining, the action is exciting, the timing of the gags were spot on and made it consistently funny, it moves along at a nice pace and the way they play with the characters powers is great to see in the final product.
It might not raise the stakes of the first one or go into as much depth with its story. But when you compare it with most sequels, it's a pretty strong one and it's still another welcomed addition to Pixar's strong catalogue.

It could well be the perfect family-film of the summer for this year, and I would not say no to a third installment. Director Brad Bird and his team really understand what a superhero film needs, whilst also having a story underneath all the action that we people of all ages can learn from.
It's amazing that the timing of the release of this sequel during an over-saturated time of superhero films can still feel refreshing.

I must mentioned a couples of things.
There isn't a post-credit scene per say. But something does happen at the end of the credits that gives you enough of a hint of what could be in store for a potential third chapter. Also, a few pieces of music are playing in the end credits that links with moments from the film which were great to hear with the best sound system.
Also, like with pretty much all Pixar films, there is a short before the featured presentation. Like with all Pixar projects, there is a lot of heart, emotion and enough comedy to keep you smiling through the tears. Also, the animation is getting more and more real as the years go by. This studio is really making formidable steps within the animation genre. I can't wait to see the steps they take for the next installment.

Rating: 8/10