Review: Dune (2021)

When you have an eagerly awaited sci-fi epic being released by who I consider to be the best director at the moment, I am naturally excited. Even more so, when this like many other major releases got delayed for over a year.

Denis Villeneuve has given us many memorable recent features such as Incendies, Prisoners and Sicario. But it is sci-fi that has seen him shine the most with the amazing Arrival and Blade Runner 2049. With his slow-burning style of story-telling with the huge backdrop to add some grandeur, I consider him the best director of right now. The perfect mix of an arthouse tone with a blockbuster budget has given us the best of Villeneuve and his next project has many people hyped.

While I have never seen the 1984 version by David Lynch, I have always been aware of this story. So much like Blade Runner 2049, when I heard Villeneuve was at the helm, I felt seeing his version would be the right route to take.

I felt I have done the right thing, as this film has a lot of aspects that I always love. Firstly, I must say that this film is big, really big. I could tell that there was a lot to explain and in great detail. But as someone who knows nothing of this story, I felt it was explained perfectly whilst never at all feeling like exposition.

I definitely got a Game Of Thrones vibe in terms of the level of depth and the themes covered. But with the added galactic background, it gave us such extraordinary imagery. Props to cinematographer and Greig Fraser for making this film an absolute feast for the eyes.

The action sequences have a wonderful scale to it and suspense that give us some great character moments. As for the final act, it may not have strong pay-off. But it certainly leaves everything at an interesting point that has me wanting more. Some may see this ending as just pure set-up and a franchise builder. But I see this more of a Lord Of The Rings ending, where this is a great stand-alone film that is part of a bigger story.

The performances were pretty good across the board with what quite a stacked ensemble cast. Timothee Chalament carries the film well as the lead. He doesn't quite have that charisma or presence to feel like a powerhouse star. But it was strong enough to carry this story.

Rebecca Ferguson was a standout. Her performance was impactful, her character was very interesting and I felt she fully utilised what her role could do. Another one that stayed with me after seeing it was Jason Mamoa. He really surprised me. A wonderful of great physical acting as well as his natural charisma that never felt out of place with the seriousness of the tone. Whenever he was on screen, I felt reassured and his character gave a great element of fun in a blockbuster sense.

Stellan Skarsgaard was hauntingly despicable, Oscar Isaac gave a strong presence with gave great believability in his character, Josh Brolin gave solid support when required, the unrecognisable Charlotte Rampling was wonderfully haunting and Dave Bautista continues to be a functional collaborator for Villeneuve.

As for Zendaya and Javier Bardem, they did all they could with their little screen time. But I feel we may see a lot more of them in the expected sequel.

From the production design, nothing that I will say will not be surprise as any recent Villeneuve feature is impressive, thorough and vast in its scale. You truly get transported to this time period that is tens of thousands of years ahead of us. With no knowledge of this world, it painted a perfect picture for outsiders like me to understand. Much like Avatar and Lord Of The Rings, it is world-building of the highest quality.

The landscapes look amazing, the costumes are heavily detailed and fit with each culture really well, the sets are perfectly crafted, the sound design is so good it hurts, I will be listening back to Hans Zimmer's score on hard rotation and the visual effects are flawless and felt as real as the physical locations used. This film will feature heavily in the technical awards at the Oscars.

All that being said, I'm not going completely nuts for it. What is stopping it, is the plot. It's not the film's fault as the source material paved the way for many other sci-fi's such as Star Wars. So at the time it was ground-breaking. But now, it is something we have seen before. Thankfully, the richness of the depth keeps it engaging as there is a lot of ground and lore to cover. Also, it executes its themes of betrayal, loyalty, redemption and politics really well.

Like with a lot of Villeneuve's previous works, this is an impressive piece of work. It has me excited for any future instalments and I hope this gets the love it deserves. I know not everyone will like it as Villeneuve's vintage slow-burning way of story-telling will test the patience of certain demographics, most notably Zendaya's followers. But it is definitely one of those films that needs to be experienced on the big screen. Whatever opinion you have on it, you will know that you have seen something that needed to have been seen on the big screen, as this is a pure cinematic spectacle.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Halloween Kills

I've been catching-up with the Halloween franchise lately, as I had only seen the original up until a few years ago.

On the whole, the sequels have been ok. But there have been some with a few interesting ideas such as in The Season Of The Witch and The Return Of Michael Myers. The only ones I have yet to check out is Resurrection and the two Rob Zombie directed Halloween's.

With 1998's H20 still fresh in the memory after seeing it not that long ago, it was time for the follow-up to 2018's instalment.

I was impressed at the start with the choices made and intrigued to see where they would go with this. It was also interesting to see how gory it was getting. This is probably the goriest Halloween film I've seen. Was it needed? I think so. Was it effective? Yes, it fitted with what it seemed the director was going for. It felt a bit out of character at times. But it certainly kept my interest.

One aspect that I'm usually a sucker for in films, is paying homage or referencing itself. This did so much that I felt it hampered the film from being its own thing. It relied far too much on the history of the franchise, and it managed downgrade multiple parts of the film.

By the end, it was pretty chaotic, the acting was starting to annoy me and some of the decision made at the end felt like a bit of a cop out. But as current series of films is being billed as a trilogy, and this is the second instalment, I am hoping this has a worthwhile pay-off.

There were moments of decent performances, but on the whole, it was not that good. Judy Greer, Andy Matichak  and Dylan Arnold gave solid showings. The rest were either over-acting or showing inexperience.

It's saving grace was the action and the production. The gruesome parts looked great and it an uncomfortable watch in a good way.

But by the end of it, there wasn't enough good to outweigh the bad. There were some interesting ideas with great use of flashbacks, covering topics such as social commentary and it had effective gory action. It just didn't stick the landing to make it the complete package with a quite frankly poor ending. Plus, there was no element of fun. It took itself far too seriously. 

I appreciated the attempt. But I cannot give it a pass. It's predecessor may have given me hope that this franchise could have a solid streak by being its own thing by using inspiration from the previous films. But it remains like every other horror franchise, one strong original, a few surprisingly interesting ideas in between, but on the whole ok or disappointing sequels.

Rating: 6/10

Review: The Last Duel

While I am always up for a new Ridley Scott feature, his hit rate has not been as strong in the past 10 years compared to the rest of his directing career.

The only exceptions in my opinion being The Martian and All The Money In The World.

That still gives me hope that Scott still has another hot streak in him and seeing who was involved in his latest project as well as the type of story had me somewhat excited for it.

From the opening scene, I could feel real scale to this production as well as the stakes involved. So I was already in for the ride.

The choice of story structure surprised me, as it went down a Rashomon/Vantage Point style of story-telling. I don't think it will be for everyone. But I felt there was enough clever subtle differences in each part including different camera angles, that tells you a lot about the character that we're seeing their view of the story from. But other viewers may find a bit boring.

Once you discover more information and the notice the differences in each part, the tension slowly builds-up, gradually boils overs and comes to a head during a brilliant pay-off.

The ending is expertly directed and acted and it gave me the high I needed. So whether the build-up and pacing is for you or not, it is worth it for tense and dramatic ending.

The cast were great both as an ensemble, and as individuals. Matt Damon is as intense as you want his character to be and the loyalty his character had made him very engaging for me. Adam Driver for me was the standout. From his dashing good looks that fit in with the period, to his engaging development that goes down many directions as the film goes on.

Ben Affleck was a big surprise for me, as he casting as well as his look felt out of place to me at first. But once I got used to his appearance and got to know his character more, I really enjoyed his performance.

Jodie Comer continues to excel in her transition from TV to film with a strong authentic performance. Her chemistry with Damon and Driver worked really well and gave us another well developed character to get invested with.

These four gave us a wonderful ensemble and enhanced the dialogue they were given to give such memorable characters.

The production is fantastic. The locations are well utilised. The cinematography wonderful shows the scale of this story. The action scenes were great and shows us that Scott can still shoot terrific action. It actually reminded me of fellow medieval drama and recent Netflix original Outlaw/King which hasn't got the love it deserves.

If I was being nit-picky, the pacing is slow at times and the duration is probably a bit too long. So it may test some people's patience. But like me, it may suck you in even more.

This was a really enjoyable watch full of betrayal, love, hate and done in that wonderful late medieval period way that makes it great for cinema. As mentioned before, the production is impressive, the performances are so good that pay-off gives you a real rush of adrenaline. Ridley Scott is still delivering, even being in the game for 45 years. When will he stop? After seeing The Last Duel, who cares.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Ron's Gone Wrong

A debut for a new animation studio usually ends up being pretty successful.

So the pressure was on for 20th Century Fox's new animation studio Locksmith Animation, who are based in the UK.

It was sad to see the closure of Fox's previous animation studio Blue Sky. They gave us the Ice Age franchise and actually ended with a surprisingly enjoyable feature in the form of Spies In Disguise.

But hearing a surprising amount of critical buzz of this new release had me going in with a bit of optimism.

Straight away, I was intrigued by the concept and them covering the topics of social media, privacy and friendship. Once they laid the groundwork of the story as well as the characters, the development just kept growing for almost everything and it showed how the real buzz is.

The development gives enough depth to almost every major and supporting character that gives you plenty to invest yourself with. Also with it being family animation, there is a lot of comedic moments. The gags are fairly strong and most importantly consistent.

Once the character of Ron appears, that's when the gags shine so well. The literal style of comedy from Ron reminded me of Baymax from Big Hero 6. With the added self-awareness regarding social media, the jokes were consistently funny and relatable to all ages.

Even with the laughs, the payoff is very emotional and rewarding. It's not the raw emotion that Pixar can produce, but it made me really care for what was happening on screen and that was thanks to great development of the characters involved.

It also reminded me of how tough and scary it was in school to find friends and I know that will relatable to basically everyone.

The voice acting worked really well. The chemistry with Jack Dylan Grazer and Zach Galifiankis was great and Ed Helms and Olivia Colman make great use of their talents to be the right amount of support.

The animation is nice and imaginative, the pacing is solid and the editing is quick at the right times and lingers when called for. The most impressive thing is, I don't really have a bad thing to say about this film.

This was a very memorable and enjoyable watch. This is a strong debut for this new animation studio and I hope this is the first many successful features. I hope this gets the love it deserves.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Venom: Let There Be Carnage

I've always been a fan of the Venom character ever since I was terrified of it during its appearance in the 90's Spider-Man animated series.

The way it consumes and haunts you made it a very effective villain. Since then, it just hasn't been the same.

From the poor shoe-in use of it in Spider-Man 3, to the strange and peculiar approach to the character in the predecessor to this latest release.

But with me being a sucker for the character and any superhero film as well being a big Tom Hardy fan, I couldn't resist checking this sequel out.

With me already used to the strange and dark comedic tone of the first tone, my mindset was already prepared for that style. The opening act already had me laughing at a few of the jokes. At this point, I'm not sure if it was either due to my awareness of the first one, or that it was being better written.

The longer the film went on, the more I realised that they got the tone they wanted as their execution of the gags was pretty consistent on the whole.

I was also surprised how quick the film went. The pacing is fairly frenetic. But I think my enjoyment during the 97 minutes duration made the film move even quicker. Before I knew it, the credits were rolling. So if you end up hating it, the pacing will help the pain.

Also, I felt the pacing enhanced the comic book style of the story. I think along with that style, the added silliness and over-the-top nature of the story reminded me of Punisher: War Zone for some reason.

On the acting side, it was perfectly fine. Tom Hardy makes his character and relationship with Venom believable. He continues to commit and embrace the concept as well as the tone.

Woody Harrelson I felt gave a solid debut for the character of Cletus Kasady and Naomie Harris surprised me by basically revisiting her Tia Dalma character from Pirates Of The Caribbean in her performance. It was nice to see Stephen Graham continue to find work in major studio productions. It's amazing how much career has elevated in recent years.

The visual effects are easily its strong aspect. They make great use of the Venom and Carnage look and I feel fans will be pleased with the look of both characters. If I wanted the full Carnage experience though, I would have liked his voice to higher-pitched and crazier i.e. like in the animated series.

However, I did have some issues with the editing and cinematography. At times, it felt chaotic and not in a good way.

But while I felt it was silly and over-the-top, it was most importantly fun. Which is why this does enough to get a pass from me. Not all the comedic moments worked. But there was enough laughs in there for the comedy to make it somewhat of a success. This is definitely better than the first Venom.

I have to give the final mention to the mid-credits scene. Audiences will go nuts for this. It managed to be the highlight of the film, as it leads to some very interesting possibilities for the franchise.

A nice surprise and I feel intrigued where they are going with this franchise.

Rating: 7/10

Review: No Time To Die

The pandemic has obviously effected the film industry in a big way. Many releases by major studios were put back several times during this period. Some had several dates in mind for an eventual release. But they were forced to reschedule on numerous occasions.

One film in particular that got a lot of coverage in its release process in the film I will be reviewing, and that is the latest James Bond feature. The 25th official film within the franchise has had a large amount of expected publicity. Not just because it is another James Bond release, but it is the last outing as the main character for Daniel Craig.

While rumours of a new Bond has been circulating for far too long, I was hoping that the release of the film will turn into a memorable farewell for Craig as I want this to be amount what's on the screen rather than events happening off it.

I haven't seen many Bond films at the cinema. So I always see new releases in this franchise as an absolute treat when seeing it on the big screen. The others being Die Another Day, Skyfall and Spectre.

This viewing experience ended up being a lot more impactful then expected. You could feel in the chosen colour palette that this was going to have a sombre tone, even with the well executed action scenes coming on an evenly basis.

With the usual travelling to exotic locations, I was noticing a surprising tone of expanded chemistry with many of the supporting cast. It wasn't just the Daniel Craig show. This was probably one of the best ensemble casts in a Bond film. On this aspect, it is up there with GoldenEye, Goldfinger and Skyfall. Many usual as well as new faces brilliantly shone in this. A big surprise was Ana De Armas. A brilliant actor who I had no idea was in this. Despite the short amount of screen time De Armas was given, she capitalised on it perfectly. The perfect mix of looking beautiful and kicking ass is exactly what you want in a Bond film. I can easily see fans pushing for her character to appear in more future films within this franchise. I was also surprised to see Billy Magnussen as I loved him in Game Night. Known more his comedic chops, it was refreshing to see in a more serious role.

Others that put on a good show were Lashana Lynch, who like De Armas has a promising future in this series. A no-nonsense by-the-book approach to her character worked really well when bouncing off with Craig. Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw and Naomie Harris together were the best they've been. Those three together really blossomed in this one, which was great to see.

Lea Seydoux does another solid job, and despite the disappointing amount of time they had on screen, both Christoph Waltz and Rami Malek did well with that they were given. I also have to give props to Jeffrey Wright, Dali Benssaleh, David Dencik and Lisa-Dorah Sonnet. There was an odd surprise actor involved. But I won't say so it can be a nice shock for you all.

With everything nicely building up both in character and story development, it ended with a memorable final act. The ending felt so impactful and I liked they didn't hold back. It was like seeing the end of an old friend. It reminded me a lot of David Tennant's last Doctor Who episode and a particular season finale to a show that I won't mention to avoid spoilers. But if I see any similar comparisons, then I will give props to you for seeing that.

From a technical aspect, the visual effects seamless blended in with the live action well. The score as well as the dialogue does a great job of incorporating one particular previous Bond that actually fits in well with its themes of fate, moving on, trust and growing. As for the usual theme, I think Billie Eilish's style helped give us an idea of what's in store. 

Not many drawbacks to mention. It's not a fun themed Bond. So I can't see it entertaining first-timers to the franchise and casuals viewers. The main one for me was the length. It did not warrant its 2hrs 43mins duration. It could have easily been 20 or even 30 mins shorter. So there were moments that either slowed the pacing down or lingered too much on certain moments.

That being said, I think many demographics that grew up with the franchise will be satisfied with it. It was most certainly a fitting end to the Daniel Craig era and he will remembered as a great Bond and can definitely be up there with the greats.

I had a good time watching this. It was entertaining, the story was interesting, there were plenty of characters to enjoy and that strong ending will certainly have it staying with its target audience for a good while.

I do have a few theories on how certain incomplete subplots will turn out. So it will be interesting to see where this new era of Bond will go both in its story as well as its next 007.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings

While this is officially the second film in phase four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a lot will see this new feature as the real beginning to Marvel's next era.

With a lot of new characters and worlds to encounter over the next couple of years, it is almost as if we having to reset and see this as more of a new phase one.

Right from the start, new characters, surroundings and even realms were being introduced. There was a nice mix of something new in the tone and vibe whilst still having doses of that vintage Marvel entertainment.

It wasn't until towards the end of the second act when I started to be fully on board with this world and that it could fit and play a integral part in the MCU. The development built up nicely for the final act and had me at peak investment at the right time for me to be excited about how everyone was going to be used in future installments.

Simu Liu did a great job in the lead. His charm and charisma looks to be more for TV shows than cinema. But I still felt confident in him carrying this film to the very end, and I felt he achieved that. I can definitely see him blossom as this phase goes on. Meng'er Zhang was a solid support to Liu and had an impressive physical aspect to her role and showed great skill in her action sequences to make her a believable asset to have. Awkwafina continues to make me more of a fan of hers. I was bit unsure in her early career. But as she as showed more range in her later roles, she has fitted into the tone of the MCU really well and had decent comedic relief with authentic development with Liu as well as her own story arch. I also have to mention Michelle Yeoh as she is acting royalty in my view and I'm glad her legacy has now extended into the MCU.

For our villain, I think Tony Leung did a good job. Marvel has not been the best in creating memorable villains. But I felt Leung was certainly above average. The reasons for his actions were understandable and his chemistry with Liu really helped the story.

There were a couple of nice surprise appearances from characters that I won't mention. But one certainly enhanced the comedic side to the story and nicely tied up a couple of loose ends.

As usual, the visual effects are top notch. With the added spiritual side to the story, some of the creatures were beautifully designed and mixed in seamlessly with the live action. The score by Joel P. West was a nice mix of blending that vintage blockbuster orchestral sound with an ancient Far East vibe to it.

I have to say though that I had issues with some of the pacing. There were definitely multiple moments were it dragged and slowed down. I felt like I had rebuild that investment momentum each time.

It's not an instant classic for me. But it was an enjoyable watch and it built some nice foundations for what is to come. I definitely got a vibe of a lot of similar phase one MCU films. After seeing this and knowing what is coming up next, it looks as if we may be going to the more spiritual, mystical and cosmic side of Marvel.

A final note for the expected credits scenes. There is both a mid and post credit scene. Both are worth staying for.

Rating: 7/10