Review: Everything Everywhere All At Once

The amount of unprecedented buzz this new release was getting was even attracting the attention of the general cinema-goers. Achieving that is something quite rare, and is enough to convince people to at least experience this whether they end up liking it or not.

When I found that the directors were Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, I was expecting something pretty wacky. This is due to the fact that they made Swiss Army Man a.k.a. The Farting Corpse Movie. There was very little other information I was aware of going into seeing this. But I felt prepared for something we're not used to seeing.

It's honestly hard to know what to say about this film to have you properly prepared for what you are going to see. Even if I did spoil it, you would think I had gone mentally insane.

A lot of people are calling it 'The Matrix meets Sliding Doors'. While I do agree with that, there is so much more to it then that. I would also add comparisons to Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy in there as well. There are moments in its style that I would compare with Michel Gondry, it has absurdity of a Stephen Chow feature or a Monty Python sketch and the editing style is close to Edgar Wright.

But no matter how quirky, imaginative, ridiculous and ludicrous the film gets, it manages to explain it in a way that makes sense for the film it is in, stays in context and you somehow accept it and be on board with it. I was never confused and that alone makes this film an absolute triumph.

I love that while there is a multi-layered and mind-bending concept happening in front of us, the story remains grounded with real life themes being covered such as coming of age, family and acceptance of change.

It manages to stick with its core themes that the audience can relate to. That for me made it more impressive to still not be afraid to go back to what it is trying to say instead going overboard with its concept.

The cast do a great job of giving us some memorable characters to go with this ambitious story. Michelle Yeoh remains the powerhouse you all expect from her. She is a terrific lead and has plenty of charisma to make it easy for you to root for her.

Stephanie Hsu was a great stand out also. Playing multiple characters is never easy. But she made you believe her characters were completely different people. From being a frustrated teenager to a intimidating antagonist, Hsu did a wonderful job with both.

Jamie Lee Curtis is clearly having a blast with her character. It's something out of her comfort zone and I can see this performance pleasing a lot of people. It reminded me of Hugo Weaving in Cloud Atlas when he played the closest thing to Nurse Ratchet.

It was great seeing Ke Huy Quan get back into acting and you can tell he still loves doing this despite taking a long time out since his appearances in The Goonies and Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom. I hope this gets a second career out of him.

Another Asian acting legend is in this, in the form of James Hong. Despite being in over 100 films and now in his 90's, Hong has not lost a step and still pulled off another strong performance.

While it is certainly an impressive and highly imaginative piece of work, not everything stuck for me. Towards the end of the second act, there was a sequence that definitely over stayed its welcome. While most of it was high quality craziness, I was thinking we should be moving on by the end of it.

If I was being nit picky, I would also say the emotional part of the third act didn't quite get the impact out of me the film was going for. Don't get me wrong, I was impressed by that part. But I know it will work better with others.

But despite that moment of drag, this was a very memorable viewing experience that we all need to see for ourselves whether we end up liking or not. It is also one you will not forget anytime soon. Yes it is challenging, but it is worth the challenge. It reminded me of when I watched Cloud Atlas in cinemas as I felt I could not categorise it in one particular genre as it has so much. There is action, adventure, thrills, comedy, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, drama and even a bit of romance.

This is the film for all of those doubters that still believe that there are no original films being made these days. If you still feel that way, you are and always have been so so wrong. There is always some cool original stuff being made. You just need to know where to look, take a chance and discover it for yourself. This couldn't be anymore original if it tried.

There is so much to like and appreciate about the making of this. The concept sounds big. But the budget brings it down to a much more fun level without the need for vast amounts of CGI. It makes up for it in its action sequences, amazing editing and hilarious comedy. See it for yourself. There is nothing like it.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness

It's safe to say that phase four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is moving into some deep cuts within its source material. We are past almost all of the famous superheroes and are now delving into more niche characters as well as going down more of the fantasy route than the previous more grounded ones that added some realism to it.

So while this juggernaut may lose a certain demographic, there is still that urge for adventures from our favourite superheroes from the masses.

It certainly starts in a way where you are expected to be up to date with the majority of Marvel's films as well as TV series 'Wandavision'. If you are prepared, then it does head straight into the action and I was pleased that it carried on some plotlines from the first Doctor Strange film as it seems like a lot has happened since the first one came a few years ago.

With the story being fairly mind-bending, there are regular moments where the film manages to get away with not explaining the peculiar on-screen moments and you go with it because it is visually pleasing. However, there were still some bits that I don't think they quite got away with. But on the whole, there was little flaws in the execution of new elements to this film universe.

The rest of the film for me just felt like a combination of director Sam Raimi putting his style into the story as well as playing with the concept by teasing us with the possibilities of where this franchise could go. There are some juicy treats that will get big reactions. But it seemed aimed more towards the style.

The final act is where we see Raimi really go for it with moments that we have never seen in the MCU before and I was all for it.

Benedict Cumberbatch does another great job with his character. It still pleases me that this studio was able to acquire someone as highly acclaimed as him. You can tell he enjoys playing this character and it is fun seeing the development carry on.

I was pleased to see Elizabeth Olsen be given a lot to do and give her character the depth she deserves and that is probably thanks to what happened in 'Wandavision'.

I honestly wasn't that hot on Xochitl Gomez's performance. She looked out of place for me and I was getting bugged by the only facial expression she was expressing throughout the film, which was a worried one. However, I did like her chemistry with Cumberbatch.

It was nice to see Rachel McAdams again and be given a good amount of on-screen time. There are also some other performances that I would like to mention. But to avoid spoilers, I won't.

As mentioned earlier, it is directed by Sam Raimi. I was happy to hear this as he did a good job with the first Spider-Man film series which began 20 years ago. With his added love of horror, I was intrigued to see how much of the Raimi touch we would see on screen. Turns out, quite a fair bit.

There are many Raimi tropes that will please his fans. You can tell he is having fun with this and I am glad his style is all over this. It was a nice change of pace to see something different in the look outside of the 'copy and paste' Marvel style we're used to having. The horror elements were well utilised and made me think that this might not be suitable for the younger kids. So you have been warned.

As usual, there are a lot of visual effects to deal with. On the whole, they looked pretty good. The editing keeps the film moving along at a good pace for the most part and enhances the style choices made with some dramatic cuts.

With Raimi at the helm, there is no surprise that regular composer Danny Elfman is collaborating with him once again. His style is certainly well used in one particular sequence that could be many people's highlight.

Given the concept it was going for, I was probably expecting more. But what we got in the end remained very enjoyable. It is a bit unfair on the film to bring up theories and speculations and expect them to deliver on them. But with the ideas involved bringing up those possibilities, it is natural to expect a lot from this. While we do get some nice surprises and teases into where the MCU can go, it doesn't go all-out which I am absolutely fine with.

I liked it for its style, visuals and action. It doesn't have the emotional impact of like a lot of the Avengers films or 'Spider-Man: No Way Home'. But it has that cosmic vibe from Guardians Of The Galaxy as well as bringing in some horror which I think the closest we have got to in the MCU was the Mysterio fake reality sequence in 'Spider-Man: Far From Home'.

There is a lot of fun to be had and it experiments with certain aspects that we may get to see in future instalments.

There are the usual mid and post credits scenes. The mid scene adds another branch to this universe with intriguing possibilities. As for the post scene, while it is not important, it was a nice cherry on the cake for Raimi's contribution.

Rating: 8/10