Author: Mark

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Movie Reviews

The Black Phone

Blumhouse Productions, 2022

Thirteen-year-old Finney Blake (Mason Thames) already has his work cut out for him navigating bullies at school, looking after his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) and avoiding his alcoholic father’s (Jeremy Davies) violent gaze. But when notorious local legend The Grabber (Ethan Hawke) kidnaps Finney, his other troubles soon fade away as he desperately fights to survive his tormentor’s crazed games. Resourcefulness alone won’t save Finney though, he’ll have to rely on the supernatural ghosts of the Grabber’s previous victims, communicating with him through a mysterious disconnected black telephone bolted to the wall of his cell…

Rating: 7 out of 10.

Starring: Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, E. Roger Mitchell, Troy Rudeseal, James Ransone & Ethan Hawke.

Watch it now in Australian cinemas and on-demand in the US

Blumhouse Productions, 2022

In his grand return to horror, Scott Derrickson is back with a more personal tale, overflowing with his clear love and adoration of the seventies and the cinema of that period. Having done his proverbial “one for them” in 2016’s Doctor Strange (a film he is clearly still very proud of), The Black Phone feels unabashedly “for him”; a smaller scale abduction thriller with a distinctly Derrickson supernatural horror touch, wrought from a rough and tumble seventies childhood in a crime-filled neighbourhood. It doesn’t push the genre forward in any hugely innovative ways but The Black Phone is a rock solid option for 2 hours of occasionally spooky entertainment.

Here’s the thing: don’t go into this expecting a repeat of 2012’s Sinister, arguably Derrickson’s best film. The Black Phone takes a more subdued approach to its horror, after all, The Grabber isn’t worlds away from the violence Finney is likely to receive from his alcoholic father on a bender (both brandishing belts to horrifying effect). No, despite its supernatural underpinnings, the violence that takes place here is delivered by very real men, with the ghostly elements driving the plot rather than the other way around. Derrickson wisely employs the horror through The Grabber’s total lack of motive; he is completely unhinged and that unpredictability is the scariest thing about him.

Blumhouse Productions, 2022

There’s an element of M. Night Shyamalan’s Split to it – The Grabber appears bearing food in a sing-song falsely pleasant voice before storming upstairs, returning later with nothing but rage and contempt. But where Split implemented humour in its exploration of the kidnappers psyche, Derrickson seems uninterested in delving that deep, with Ethan Hawke delivering a performance that is all menace, a bumbling, stumbling murder machine with a penchant for showmanship in his abductions. Hawke rarely gets room to stretch beyond this, his face is covered by a terrifying mask for most of the film and the few hints at more to The Grabber beyond his love of murder are quickly abandoned before they pick up any steam. For what he is given Hawke plays the character terrifically but, despite the intense violence we do see, you can’t help but feel it could have been taken further.

Mason Thames, on the other hand, is remarkable as Finney. With only a few smaller roles under his belt, he is given the monumental task of carrying the entire film on his shoulders and does it brilliantly. Finney is instantly endearing as the avatar for Derrickson’s own childhood; a reserved intelligent youngster who is shy and indecisive in the face of danger. Derrickson does a great job at ensuring Finney’s intelligence feels natural – his childish naivety may get him into his mess but he’s smart enough to keep hold of a tool that can aid him – and it never becomes dull or tedious watching him attempt to figure out his situation and frantically try his next escape attempt.

Blumhouse Productions, 2022

It’s disappointing then, that that intelligence is undercut by some bizarre narrative choices. Finney is offered some pretty easy options to escape his cell early on thanks to his supernatural accomplices, but he only ever seems to haphazardly do what he needs to do. Minor setbacks seem to completely turn him off trying a way out, breaking the illusion at times that this kid is truly desperate to escape and robbing the situation of its tension. There’s a payoff and point to not pursuing these escape options in the third act, but leaps in logic of this magnitude are hard to ignore. Sadder still is the fact that the horror elements are largely relegated to cheesy jump scares, jolting you out of your seat with a bang and a horrifying image, but rarely leaving much of a lasting impression. The overarching air of unease and Ethan Hawke’s chilling performance are enough to keep you suitably uncomfortable, but its disappointing that the man who gave us Sinister is resorting to this level of jump scares.

Despite its flaws, The Black Phone is a wholly entertaining ride from start to finish, anchored by Mason Thames and Ethan Hawke’s endlessly watchable tête-à-tête and some surprisingly hilarious moments from Madeleine McGraw as Finney’s foul-mouthed sister Gwen. It loses momentum at times and the story veers into some hard-to-believe holes from which it never fully escapes but Scott Derrickson continues to prove that he is an exciting talent behind the camera, whether that be a multi-million dollar Marvel blockbuster or a contained, creepy little flick like this. You might not want to rush out to the cinemas to catch The Black Phone but if it eventually rings, pick it up.

7 / 10

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TV & Streaming Reviews

Stranger Things 4

Netflix, 2022

Following the climactic events of Starcourt Mall, the gang of Hawkins natives who battled the forces of the Upside Down have scattered across the country (and in some cases, the world), content with the knowledge that the threat has been neutralised. When a new threat emerges and a series of mysterious murders rock the town, the remaining Hawkins’ kids band together to uncover the source. Meanwhile in California, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) struggles to adapt to her new life away from Mike (Finn Wolfhard) as Joyce (Winona Ryder) uncovers a series of strange messages that could point to the location of a miraculously alive Hopper (David Harbour).

Rating: 9 out of 10.

Starring: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Sadie Sink, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin & Jamie Campbell Bower

Watch it now on Netflix

Netflix, 2022

Who would have thought that the Duffer Brothers humble little 80’s sci-fi homage would have turned into what Stranger Things is today: a totemic pillar of Netflix’s slate and a juggernaut of a show rivalling hits of recent years like Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad in its wild popularity. Season 4 is the best yet, bursting at the seams in its jumbo-sized penultimate adventure; the most mature the show has been and, despite its wealth of characters and plot lines, the most narratively focused since young Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) first took that unfortunate trip to the Upside Down.

Like Season 3 before it, many years have passed since we last saw the kids from Hawkins, and the opening few episodes quickly establish that beyond their physical appearance, the show has matured with them to tackle larger issues. The threat of the Upside Down has never felt as monumental as it does here. Key culprit to that is Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), who essentially functions as the franchise’s Voldemort and leader of all the Demogorgons and other Upside Down nasties that have plagued our heroes since the very beginning.

Netflix, 2022

Apart from retroactively focusing the diverse cast of, mostly, one note villains in previous instalments, Vecna acts as a nice bridging point between two of the longest running mysteries the show has told: the Upside Down and the mysteries of the facility run by Dr Brenner – ‘Papa’ (Matthew Modine). Answers to both fly thick and fast (no spoilers here), leaving plenty of room to expand in the upcoming final season. It’s smart storytelling that goes beyond the simple pleasures of Vecna’s obvious similarities to one 80’s horror icon Freddy Krueger (including a cameo from Freddy himself, Robert Englund). Stalking his victims in a dream-like fugue state, Vecna torments the children he kills, following them through eerie visions of past traumas and a mysterious dilapidated house. These sequences are unabashedly pulled straight out of a Nightmare on Elm Street film and are all the better for it, with some of the most intense violence the series has ventured into and an excellently eerie soundtrack to the horror.

Whilst Vecna acts as a bridge between the Hawkins and California storylines, the mystery of Hopper feels strangely detached. Revealed in the Season 3 post-credits scene to be a prisoner in a Russian prison, David Harbour is at his finest in the character this time around, with an introspective, soul-bearing performance that really digs into the heart of the character and the trauma that he has overcome. These quieter moments help flesh out the emotional stakes while all the other excitement is going on in the States, but you can’t help but feel removed from the action during these scenes. The adult characters are confined to Russia for nearly the entire season, and whilst its always entertaining, it never feels essential; pulling us away from the far more investing goings-on with everyone else.

Netflix, 2022

Make no mistake, Hawkins is where the real meat of this season is. The mystery of Vecna is inexplicably tied to the town and, as usual, it falls on the motley crew of Steve (Joe Keery), Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Max (Sadie Sink), Robin (Maya Hawke), Dustin (Gaten Mattarazzo) and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) to get to the bottom of it. This time they’re joined by newcomer Eddie Munsen (Joseph Quinn), a heavy metal, D&D playing nerd with a heart of gold who gets caught up in the murder of a fellow student.

Therein lies perhaps the Duffer Brothers greatest strength: in casting and presenting these new characters in such a way that they instantly become beloved fan favourites. Eddie quickly joins the ranks of Dacre Montgomery’s Billy and Sean Astin’s affable Bob through an endearing relationship with Dustin and Mike. He’s essentially a father figure to them, shepherding the gang through the ups and downs of high school with tough love and an unhinged glee. Quinn’s performance is a lot to begin with, but as the season progresses his rough exterior slowly softens to reveal a damaged teen desperate for some agency over his own life. His arc simmers in the background, rather than being a focal showpiece, until a rousing moment of pure badass heavy-metal awesomeness brings it home with emotional heft and a sense of pure, elating fun.

Netflix, 2022

Then there’s Eleven. Largely on her own for the series and forced to relive the traumas of her time spent in the care of Papa, Bobby Brown doesn’t necessarily bring much new to the character here (the script doesn’t exactly allow for it) but is so supremely confident in the role at this point that you know you are in good hands with her regardless of where the narrative goes. It’s nice to see the series round out the contributions of Matthew Modine and Paul Reiser, in a kind of “Magneto and Professor X working together again” situation that adds to the gigantic scope the series is going for; this could very well be the end of Hawkins, and everyone needs to unite to save it.

When these disparate strands come together and the full scope of Stranger Things 4 emerges is when the show truly reveals itself at the top of its game. The conflict has never felt more personal to the inhabitants of Hawkins; they’ve taken big, impactful losses that will surely linger on the show going forward, and it all unites to create a season that feels essential, as if everything that came before was building up to this moment. Sure there’s the usual overabundance of characters that the show can’t possibly give enough time to and the Duffers play with our emotions a little too much (kill Steve and we riot), but as a whole, Season 4 of Stranger Things is the most entertaining, emotional and most importantly rewarding so far. This is event television done right: big, bold and willing to swing for the fences.

9 / 10

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TV & Streaming Reviews

Ms. Marvel

Marvel Studios, 2022

Captain Marvel super-fan Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) finds her dreams becoming reality when she stumbles across an ancient bangle passed down through her family; a bangle that bestows the user with cosmic powers. After a series of mishaps occur as she struggles to control her powers, Kamala finds herself on the run from the Damage Control department and a gang of other super-powered beings, desperately trying to balance her search to find herself with the pull to be a dutiful daughter and friend.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

Starring: Iman Vellani, Matt Lintz, Zenobia Shroff, Yasmeen Fletcher, Rish Shah, Mohan Kapur & Nimra Bucha

Watch it now on Disney+

Marvel Studios, 2022

For a while now it has seemed as if the old-school days of the MCU are over. Gone are the small-scale origin stories about men learning to work with ants and soldiers struggling to defeat skull-faced Nazis, replaced with the sprawling, world-ending stakes of the Avengers films. Hell even the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man himself – ever the small scale hero – is tackling purple aliens now instead of bank robbers. Ms. Marvel is a glorious return to that bygone form, perhaps not in the scope of its action but certainly in its story, which spans generations and yearns to show a different side of the MCU than audiences are perhaps used to. In doing so it becomes one of the studio’s best shows and indeed projects they’ve put out in some time.

The heart of Ms. Marvel lies in the charming family dynamic at its centre. The Khans are a tight-knit, loving group of people – there’s the touch overbearing matriarch Muneeba (Zenobia Shroff), the effortlessly cool dad Yusuf (Mohan Kapur) and joker brother Aamir (Saagar Shaikh) with his soon to be wife Tyesha (Travina Springer) – and they are a joy to spend time with, their relationships to Kamala in particular feeling authentic and lived-in. Fresh out of high-school herself, Iman Vellani is easily able to handle the typical teenage frustration of having your family insert themselves in your life and gives a bright, bubbly performance that is instantly endearing.

Marvel Studios, 2022

In a rare move for a Marvel Disney+ show, Ms. Marvel uses those early episodes not to establish some convoluted mystery that it will later fumble (Moon Knight), but to make you care about Kamala’s everyday familial and school struggles. This foundation makes it all the more impactful once the powers and villains are introduced to the story: things are already so hectic for Kamala, how can she possibly take on the pressure of super-powers? It’s a wise approach that ensures that the considerably pared back approach to the action (no alien armies or Egyptian gods here) still feels monumental in Kamala’s world. It’s not every day that you’re chased across the rooftops of New Jersey by drones and showrunner Bisha K. Ali wrings every last drop of fun out of these set-pieces.

Also worth noting is the fact that this is one of very few of these Disney+ Marvel series not to succumb to an incredibly rushed finale. The series drags a touch here and there and overextends at times in just how many characters it wants to introduce and give justice to but all the key beats of Kamala’s story feel earned. The representation of Kamala’s Pakistani culture is also a highlight of the series (a vibrant wedding dance set-piece is joyous). Never does the show feel like it includes it simply to say this is Marvel’s first Pakistani hero; the Khan’s culture and heritage are woven into the very fabric of the story. In a lot of ways their family life is universally relatable – who amongst us hasn’t had fought with friends or struggled with an overbearing parent – but the differences here serve to differentiate this as a unique piece of Marvel entertainment, one that justifies its existence as a wholly seperate piece of storytelling, rather than just a Pakistani version of Spider-Man.

Marvel Studios, 2022

After the multiverse-ending stakes of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and the over-the-top ridiculousness of Thor: Love and Thunder, Ms. Marvel is a breath of fresh air, a reprieve that feels both familiar in its origin story setting and unique enough to expand the MCU into a whole new direction. Iman Vellani shows great promise as one of the new young heroes to usher in a new era of Marvel and the rich familial story told here shows nothing but promise going forward. If you’re one of the people longing for the MCU before it became gigantic, you might just be surprised by this little marvel.

8 / 10

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TV & Streaming Reviews

The Boys – Season 3

Amazon Studios, 2022

Having gruesomely dispatched the evil Nazi Stormfront (Aya Cash) in the previous season, the Boys have seemingly gone legit, with Hughie (Jack Quaid) toiling away in a superhero task force and the rest of the gang working as a CIA hit squad. The ever-gruff Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) however, remains committed to his crusade to end the Superman-adjacent Homelander (Antony Starr), joining forces with a disgruntled Maeve (Dominique McElligott) to search for a weapon capable of killing him. But when the original supe himself, Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) returns to the scene, Butcher spies an opportunity, pitting the veteran against his traitorous former team on a collision course for a showdown of the ages with Homelander himself.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

Starring: Karl Urban, Antony Starr, Jack Quaid, Jensen Ackles, Erin Moriarty, Laz Alonso, Tomer Capone, Karen Fukuhara & Chace Crawford.

Watch it now on Amazon Prime Video

Amazon Studios, 2022

With its third season, The Boys cements itself as the quintessential superhero counter-programming to the likes of Marvel and DC. Where those franchises threaten to collapse in on themselves with the introduction of television series and more content than even a super-hero could consume, Eric Kripke and his team continue to hone their gleefully deranged, wickedly funny send-up of the genre (future spin-offs not withstanding), all the while telling an endlessly engaging and evolving story of corruption and the madness revenge can cause. The third season might just be the best yet, with the series’ most mature story to date punctuated with pops of absurdist colour and unexpected musical numbers on the way to a conclusion that leads with good storytelling rather than the over-the-top gore the series is known for or the action-heavy slugfests of other genre fare (there’s still plenty of those to be had).

That isn’t to say that the series has lost its bite. Far from it. The premiere alone contains the most hilariously depraved scenes the show has attempted so far (that’s including impaled whales and giant, extendable penises) which we will not spoil here other than to say you are simply not ready for the experience. As someone who has seen a lot of things on-screen, even I had to wince and turn away at times, it was simply too uncomfortable. Outside of that, the gore is as plentiful as ever, Karl Urban still says the C-word a minimum 50 times an episode and the gross-out moments fly fast and thick. There’s also ‘Herogasm’, an episode and in-universe superhero orgy that dominates an entire episode. But things aren’t all that they seem here, rather than steer into an hour of over-the-top sex, the setting serves to accentuate the heavy emotional storytelling going on here. The Boys is dialling everything up to eleven, and the storytelling is no exception.

Amazon Studios, 2022

Kripke is a master of reinvention with his characters, consistently spinning them onto new exciting trajectories (it’s easy to see from his extensive work on Supernatural). Jack Quaid’s Hughie gets far more to do this time around with the introduction of Temporary V – a short term, 24 hour drug concoction imbuing the user with super-powers – and how these sudden bursts of power and responsibility impact his relationship with Erin Moriarty’s Starlight – ever the saviour in their relationship – is a highlight of the season. Urban’s Butcher is nicely expanded upon – a flashback scene provides some devastating backstory – calling into question his total commitment to winning no matter the cost and teasing some unexpected ways his character could evolve in the future.

Fellow Supernatural alumni Jensen Ackles is another excellent addition to the growing cast, as the PTSD-ridden, perpetually high Soldier Boy. Where Marvel and DC’s approach seems to be to consistently throw new characters into the mix, regardless of whether they sink or swim, The Boys excels at introducing one or two newbies and really rounding their characters out. Soldier Boy is no exception and Ackles brings the gravitas you would expect from a Captain America-like figure (“Hands off the fucking shield”) and plays it hilariously straight as he smokes, drinks and indulges himself in between dispatching his victims without a care in the world for modern-day niceties or social advancements.

Amazon Studios, 2022

But the true stand-out here and the show’s secret weapon continues to be Antony Starr as Homelander. It’s always a treat to dig deeper and deeper into the homicidal tendencies of his deeply troubled psyche and it’s amazing how much Starr can tell you about the character’s headspace through a simple flash of anger in the eyes. As far as TV villains go, Starr has cemented Homelander as an all-timer and should seriously be considered for an Emmy; taking something as pure and noble as Superman and warping it into this embodiment of all that is wrong with the world should be celebrated after all. The new wrinkles thrown into his character this season – further parallels of Trump and some spicy secrets – only serve to add even more layers to the already nuanced performance and although it may seem like we’ve had thousands of Trump-ish parodies in the media in recent years, Starr’s is truly definitive, refreshing in just how not subtle he and Kripke choose to handle the wild violence he inflicts and the nonsensical justifications for it.

The Boys continues its grim, gritty ride through an evil superhero-ridden landscape with its most ambitious and entertaining season yet. Delivering on fan expectations with wildly off-kilter set-pieces and the deliciously dark humour we’ve come to expect, the show really shines in how it continues to evolve and challenge its core cast of characters. Action is plentiful but not always the forefront – oftentimes a conversation is far more impactful than any punch – and Eric Kripke consistently surprises in where the story goes next. Jensen Ackles is an excellent addition to a phenomenal cast and Antony Starr continues to make Homelander the most disgusting, but infinitely watchable villain on television. No witty one-liners to end on here, I’ll leave that to the Boys, watch it now.

9 / 10

Categories
Movie Reviews

Thor: Love and Thunder

Marvel Studios, 2022

After embarking on a series of adventures with the Guardians of the Galaxy, a battle-weary Thor (Chris Hemsworth) prepares to seek out a life of peace before a distressing message from an old friend warns him of the threat of Gorr (Christian Bale) – a cursed being on a personal mission to end the existence of gods. When Gorr sets his sights on Earth and Thor’s ex-girlfriend turned super-hero Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), Thor and Jane embark on a journey across the universe in search of a way to defeat Gorr and find meaning in their lives again.

Rating: 5 out of 10.

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Taika Waititi, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan & Russell Crowe

Watch it now in cinemas

Marvel Studios, 2022

Love and Thunder is a Taika Waititi movie through and through, for better and for worse. 2017’s Ragnarok signalled a reinvigoration of the uptight Norse god – infusing Thor with a bro-ish charm and dim sense of humour and surrounding him with a colourful cast of characters – in a move that was unexpected but welcomed, packing all the action and emotional character beats that Marvel fans expected into an exciting new world. The sequel is Waititi fully let loose and in doing so, Love and Thunder loses itself in the incessant improvisational comedy Waititi so clearly enjoys. It’s not that it doesn’t work sometimes, but when the characters and story are sacrificed and you’re exhausted rather than elated at the end of it all, something isn’t working.

As a character, Thor has undergone a lot of reinvention throughout his many appearances in the MCU, and the start of Love and Thunder finds him in an interesting contemplative place. Pairing the God of Thunder with the Guardians of the Galaxy seems like the obvious next step in this reinvention, a natural segue into comedic hijinks that can exist on a smaller scale than infinity stone-seeking titans and Asgard-ending colossuses. Thor has been through so much, and it is natural that he should feel some fatigue. Waititi’s solution, then, is to shift this fatigue onto the viewer, completely undercutting any exploration of Thor’s mental state with joke after joke – rarely soliciting anything beyond than a chuckle – to the point where even the Guardians get so sick of it they leave.

Marvel Studios, 2022

Marvel movies have always leaned into comedy, with a quick quip often underpinning dramatic moments so as not to let things get too serious, but Taika takes Love and Thunder into full-blown comedy territory. The problem is quantity over quality. The Waititi schtick – off-kilter, improvisational one-liners interjected at awkward times – is so tired at this point, after films like Free Guy, Lightyear and Jojo Rabbit in the intervening years, that two hours of nothing else is simply interminable. Very few of the jokes here break from the formula, and those that do are rarely given more than a second to breathe before a handful more are thrown at you. This endless stream of gags wreaks havoc on the main storyline’s pacing, creating a hollow emptiness that often means you completely tune out until a serious dramatic moment is suddenly thrown into the mix and shocks you into paying attention again.

It’s a shame given Waititi’s track record. His films have always proudly worn their hearts on their sleeves and leaned into really dramatically resonant emotions, and those moments are buried here underneath all the comedy. Jane and Thor’s goofy reunion is underpinned by a heart-wrenching reality check that always threatens to boil over and create a genuinely moving scene, but the theme is never given a substantial amount of screen time to turn the tide against the onslaught. Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher could have provided a moving counterpoint to Thor and Jane’s journey of loss, and Bale is giving an incredibly fun performance here, but is tossed aside and seems to only be brought back into the fold whenever a studio executive has told Waititi that joke time is over and it’s time to get back to business.

Marvel Studios, 2022

Ultimately what saves Love and Thunder from approaching The Dark World territory is Hemsworth’s utter commitment to the role. Thor is as much a part of him now as Harry Potter is to Daniel Radcliffe and the film is carried by Hemsworth’s bumbling swagger and charm. There’s an ease about him, as someone so supremely confident in this character, that you as an audience feel a certain level of confidence in letting him take Thor in new directions knowing he truly cares. The comedy may fall flat a shocking amount of the time, but it certainly isn’t Hemsworth’s fault, and a lot of the jokes that work, only do because of him. The same sadly can’t be said for Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster, who is saddled with some of the worst material in the film and given an incredibly rushed arc that doesn’t allow her to really stretch as an actor, outside of the impressive physicality she displays once powered up.

It’s been a while since we’ve had a truly disappointing sequel in the MCU but Thor: Love and Thunder is unfortunately just that. With a returning Taika Waititi that refuses to tone down his idiosyncratic humour and take the time to sit with his characters, the first fourth outing for a Marvel hero is a disappointingly exhausting one, despite Chris Hemsworth’s best efforts to imbue renewed vigour into a character audiences have loved for over a decade now. There isn’t much to love, but a few sparks here and there suggest the thunder could be brought back in the future, it just might be time that Taika took a step back.

5 / 10

Categories
Movie Reviews

Dashcam

Blumhouse Productions, 2022

Shock jock Annie Hardy (playing a vaguely fictionalised version of herself) takes her internet show BandCar – a live, improvised music stream where Hardy creates simple beats and interweaves them with vulgar lyrics suggested by viewers – abroad to London, hoping to escape the COVID lockdowns imposed on her native Los Angeles. On her first turbulent night in the city, she discovers far more than she bargains for, when a surprise guest in her vehicle sends Hardy down a dark path full of everything from demonic possessions to cult rituals.

Rating: 3 out of 10.

Starring: Annie Hardy, Amar Chadha-Patel, Angela Enahoro & Jemma Moore

Streaming on Shudder in the US now and in Australian cinemas now

Blumhouse Productions, 2022

Rob Savage made waves in the horror world with Host, his 2020 pandemic lockdown-set possession film shot entirely through Zoom. As a feat of filmmaking against the odds alone it was impressive. That it managed to be as downright haunting as it was was nothing short of a miracle. With Dashcam Savage looks to see if lightning will strike twice, upgrading from a laptop to dashcam – one that makes it far further than just a car – with another DIY fright-fest completely derailed by the polarising pandemic opinions of its lead.

Annie Hardy is, simply put, insufferable as the vulgar, MAGA hat wearing, misinformation spewing internet star; whose success is predicated on how many people she can piss off in a single sentence. It’s a unique approach, making this kind of character your lead, and there’s a question to be asked about why Savage has chosen this awful combination of just about every bad take rolled into one person. You could say that a film of this nature doesn’t have to carry a message, but with such a divisive figure at its centre, it certainly seems like Savage is trying to say something, even if the film never wants to dig into that decision. The one thing we know for sure is that Hardy’s incessant chattering is worse to witness than any of the actual scares thrown at us.

Blumhouse Productions, 2022

When the things that go bump in the night do begin to crop up – a mysterious passenger by the name of Angela (Angela Enahoro) acting as the catalyst – Savage throws everything at the screen at once. There’s nausea inducing shaky cam as Annie flees from pursuers, fountains of gore erupting and worst of all, the fine work of Amer Chadha-Patel as Stretch (Annie’s dutiful friend) completely undercut at during every attempt to authentically react to a traumatic event by Annie’s endless snark.

But for all the ideas Savage might throw at the screen, the lack of any tension thanks to Annie’s grating personality means that the horrors simply fill the screen, devoid of any tension and seeming even more unrealistic than most horror films thanks to the constant chat-stream filling half of the screen. Still Savage should be commended for going absolutely bonkers with the plot, even if you can’t quite tell what is happening or why, and a scene in an abandoned carnival’s hall of mirrors provides some genuinely inventive jump scares.

Blumhouse Productions, 2022

At barely 80 minutes long, Dashcam overstays its welcome, thanks to the mind-numbingly painful chatter of Annie Hardy. Rob Savage’s sophomore feature shows some promise and willingness to branch out beyond the genre trappings that defined him, but ultimately falls far short thanks to its insistence on sticking with Hardy throughout it all. Here’s hoping we get a more engaging protagonist for that inevitable Microsoft Teams follow-up.

3 / 10

Categories
Movie Reviews

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Lucasfilm, 2022

10 years after the fall of the Jedi, former master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) is forced out of exile to stage a desperate rescue attempt of a kidnapped young Princess Leia (Viven Lyra Blair). With the menacing Jedi hunter Reva (Moses Ingram) hot on his heels and the looming shadow of Ob-Wan’s former pupil Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) growing larger, Kenobi is forced to rely on all his wits and help from the growing uprising within the galaxy to save the Princess and make it back to Tatooine alive.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Moses Ingram, Vivien Lyra Blair, Rupert Friend, Joel Edgerton & Jimmy Smits

Watch it now in on Disney+

Lucasfilm, 2022

Like so much of the gap-filling approach Disney has taken to recent Star Wars fare – setting stories in unexplored time periods between films – Obi-Wan Kenobi’s toughest challenge is justifying its own existence. In a universe this expansive do we really need to be following the same familiar characters yet again? Fortunately the series has a huge leg-up over others in the return of fan-favourite Ewan McGregor, easily the best part of the prequel films and iconic in the role. He’s equally fantastic here, picking up right where he left, with an understated, meditative performance as an Obi-Wan wracked with guilt and without hope.

Series director Deborah Chow frames her narrative as an exploration of hope and guilt within a galaxy filled with dread, positioning Kenobi as a kind of helpful Liam Neeson Taken type – his very particular set of skills can help a lot of people – whose spark gradually returns to his eyes as he recognises the impact he brings to the people around him. Running parallel to that is the story of Moses Ingram’s Reva; the formidable presence of the imposing Inquisitor tasked with hunting down surviving force users rivalling the titular Jedi himself in terms of screen-time. Ingram does what she is given exceedingly well, but the role is rarely written to expand the character beyond silently seething or bursting with rage. The finale manages to add some more context to her character, drawing parallels with Obi-Wan’s own journey, but does so whilst condemning Ingram to a lacklustre mission, ending her story with a whimper rather than a bang.

Lucasfilm, 2022

Where the show falls short isn’t in its themes or McGregor’s performance, but rather the narrative itself: an unfortunately dull and cliched buddy film that drags more than it excites on the way to a thrilling finale. Chow clearly intends the show to be more of a character study than previous Star Wars media, consistently honing in on Kenobi’s mental state throughout his journey, but doesn’t bring enough interesting characters or inventive set-pieces into the mix to create a consistently entertaining show. Kumail Nanjiani’s Haja, a con-man posing as a Jedi, brings a few much-needed laughs and O’Shea Jackson Jr. is clearly relishing being a part of the Star Wars universe but neither is given much to do outside of unloading exposition.

The action, when compared to Lucas’ prequel films, is similarly lacklustre. Gone are the intricately choreographed lighsaber fights of the early 2000’s, replaced by what feels like the same retooled blaster shootouts and space standoffs we’ve seen since Disney took over the franchise. The final big action sequence aims to rectify this – a lightsaber battled overflowing with raw emotional weight and featuring some visually genius use of the vibrant blue and red lights of the blades – but is hampered by choppy, rapid-cut editing. It’s a suitably epic end to this adventure but one that proves Chow doesn’t have Lucas’ eye for the dance of the battle.

Lucasfilm, 2022

We’re living in an age where audiences expect a certain level of surprise in their big-budget entertainment and Obi-Wan Kenobi doesn’t disappoint in that regard, delivering plenty of fan-service moments for eagle eyed fans to dissect and obsess over. While these are fun to see, they don’t do enough to overcome how inessential the story feels. It’s great to see Hayden Christensen back in a galaxy far, far away and he does a great deal to show just how much Anakin has given himself over to his hatred in the intervening years, but only a handful of scenes really reinforce the loss Obi-Wan feels over Anakin and the desire for vengeance Vader has.

It’s hard not to wonder how a smaller scale story would have landed; perhaps the previously scrapped adventure featuring Darth Maul or something set during the Clone Wars to showcase the brotherly bond between McGregor and Christensen in live-action. There’s a certain element of cheesiness in seeing a young Leia running around as Bounty Hunters stumble over themselves trying to catch her that works against the more poignant story of Kenobi. That isn’t to say that what is here is awful, but it could have been so much more potent had the narrative been more focused.

Lucasfilm, 2022

Obi-Wan Kenobi is further proof that Ewan McGregor’s interpretation of the Jedi master is just as iconic as Alex McGuiness’. Buried within too much filler is a powerful performance of a man struggling to come to terms with the loss of a dear friend and the idea of moving forward without him. Deborah Chow clearly understands the character and the personal story she wants to tell here, but struggles to balance it with the other Star Wars elements fans expect – thrilling action, memorable side characters and investing larger narratives – on the way to a finale that features some of the best pieces of Star Wars content produced since Disney took over. The force might not always be with Kenobi, but it will always be with Ewan McGregor.

7.5 / 10

Categories
Movie Reviews

Spiderhead

Netflix, 2022

Incarcerated in the mysterious Spiderhead facility – an isolated prison without cells or violence where inmates are subjected to medical experiments – Jeff (Miles Teller) undergoes increasingly strange experiences at the hands of the charismatic but creepy doctor Steve Abnesti (Chris Hemsworth) which push him to his limits.

Rating: 5 out of 10.

Starring: Miles Teller, Chris Hemsworth, Jurnee Smollett, Tess Haubrich & Mark Paguio

Watch it now in on Netflix

Netflix, 2022

Having helmed the blockbuster of the year so far in Top Gun: Maverick, Joseph Kosinski’s new thriller Spiderhead looked like a thrilling shift in momentum; a creepy slow burn about convicts subjected to increasingly strange experiments starring returning Maverick star Miles Teller and a gleefully insane Chris Hemsworth. The actual result is far less impressive, but is held together through the sheer force of will of the leads and a tone that doesn’t quite work but is always so bizarrely off-kilter that you can’t help but keep watching, even if the story loses all steam long before its two hour runtime comes to an end.

The problem comes in the pacing. What starts as an intriguing mystery about the Spiderhead facility and the potentially nefarious experiments devolves to tedium by the halfway mark, as Kosinski relies heavily on sequences of experiments which don’t bring enough variety to warrant returning to the well so often. Only one of these scenes truly excites – an increasingly hard to watch look at a woman completely surrendering control over her body as substances drive her insane.

Netflix, 2022

The central premise driving the film – testing new chemical compounds promoting artificial love, a thirst for violence, or unimpeachable obedience – is rife with potential, but the sequences between these experiment scenes move the plot forward in such a negligible way that when things suddenly pick up in the last half hour, it feels needlessly rushed. A little less of Jeff’s boring backstory and a scattering more mystery and Spiderhead might have been a much better time.

Part black comedy, part sinister asylum break film, Spiderhead struggles to balance the pairing, ultimately doing neither considerably well. The humour isn’t particularly biting or subtle in its approach to oppression, but strikes a perhaps unintentional goldmine in Hemsworth’s completely unhinged performance. Where Teller acts as the audience surrogate, playing Jeff fairly straight-laced and devoid of personality, Hemsworth is the total opposite, relishing the chance to go full villain and chew the scenery as the 80’s music blasting, cheap pleasantry spewing sociopathic scientist. There isn’t much to the character underneath all this surface level sheen but Hemsworth is so committed that it is hard not to get swept up in the fun of the role. At a certain point you stop caring about Jeff’s predicament and just look forward to the next bout of Hemsworth weirdness.

Netflix, 2022

Where Kosinski seems to have devoted most of his time (and budget) is in the antiseptic aesthetic of the actual Spiderhead facility – think a mad scientist’s dream James Bond villain lair. It’s a labyrinthine series of passages and cold, lifeless concrete that surrounds the prisoners of the island, and although they receive comforts in the form of personal rooms, video games and delicious meals, the presence of imminent danger always lurks; that Abnesti’s sinister plan could suddenly reveal itself and swallow everything up in an instant.

It all makes for a frustrating watch. Spiderhead nails the technical aspects of its production and Hemsworth is swinging for the fences with his wild performance but the connective narrative tissue just isn’t there. Teller is a bland protagonist – his story uncompelling – and the mystery of the prison’s activity unravels itself into a rote, lifeless reveal and generic final act fisticuffs. A perfectly serviceable film if you’re looking to kill a few hours, but Spiderhead unravels far quicker than it should.

5 / 10

Categories
Movie Reviews

Lightyear

Pixar Animation Studios, 2022

After inadvertently stranding his ship and all its inhabitants on a harsh, unforgiving wasteland of a planet, Buzz Lightyear (Chris Evans) launches a series of desperate test missions to ensure the colony can one day escape. When the latest of these missions goes awry, Buzz finds himself having to depend on a group of oddball fellow space rangers (Keke Palmer, Taika Waititi & Dale Soules) in order to save the colony from the evil Zurg (James Brolin) and find his place amongst the stars.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

Starring: Chris Evans, Keke Palmer, Peter Sohn, Taika Waititi, Dale Soules, Uzo Aduba & James Brolin

Watch it now in cinemas

Pixar Animation Studios, 2022

Lightyear exists both as a whole new franchise and a backdoor prequel to Toy Story – the film that supposedly sparked Andy’s obsession with Buzz and subsequent purchase of the toy. It’s an unnecessary connection that really only serves to trade off the goodwill afforded it through the Buzz Lightyear name; this is far closer to Pixar’s attempt at a gritty space adventure in the vein of Ridley Scott’s The Martian or, surprisingly, a more existential piece like Blade Runner 2049, than it is a goofy adventure. And sure you could get lost in the minutiae of inconsistencies the film creates with Toy Story but these are movies based on toys and spacemen, so let’s not do that.

All that is to say that Lightyear feels as if it would fare much better as Pixar’s attempt at a brand new space adventure, rather than carrying this convoluted baggage of a beloved established franchise with it. The story it tells is amongst Pixar’s more middling offerings; a perfectly serviceable, if predictable ride that constantly propels itself forward with exciting action and solid humour, but one that rarely surprises or offers anything truly emotional outside of an early montage. Where a fresh start may have presented Pixar with a chance to really hone in on developing a story that hits with the emotional depth of their other work, Lightyear feels constrained by its Toy Story ties, and like Buzz himself, unable to reach its full potential.

Pixar Animation Studios, 2022

Where the film isn’t held back is in its visuals. Lightyear is consistently jaw-dropping to look at and, as with almost every new Pixar film, their most gorgeous film to date, proving that the veteran animation studio remains dedicated to being on the cutting edge of the genre technologically. Going back and comparing this to Toy Story on a purely visual level is proof of just how far animation has come, with close to photorealistic character models (not including the gravity defying size of Buzz’ head) and dense, richly populated landscapes creating an optical treat at every turn. The stunningly realised sunsets and hyper-galactic travel sequences compete with even the most lavishly produced live-action sci-fi, a feat that works, for the most part, to effectively mask the story’s shortcomings.

Much was made of the decision to cast Captain America himself, Chris Evans, in the titular role, taking over from series veteran Tim Allen. The change is slightly jarring at first and it does take some time to get used to after the instant recognisability of Allen’s performance, but Evans performs admirably, imbuing his voice with a range of emotions that effectively capture Buzz’s development and the lowering of his walls as the adventure progresses. It is Peter Sohn’s SOX, however, that steals the show. A robotic cat companion gifted to Buzz, Sohn demonstrates terrific comedic timing; his deadpan delivery always manages to score a laugh and acts as the perfect foil to Buzz’ militaristic attitude. Also along for the ride are Palmer, Waititi and Soules as a ragtag crew of space ranger rookies with varying phobias and foibles. They’re all voiced with heart and humour, but not all manage to take off in their own rights; one note characters whose arcs are fun but safe.

Pixar Animation Studios, 2022

That really is the defining label for Lightyear: safe. Pixar’s latest doesn’t take the usual story risks the boundary-pushing animation house is known for, delivering a fun but forgettable adventure. The excellent technical innovation and solid voice acting do well to counteract those shortcomings, but can’t shake the sense that we’ve seen this all before in one way or another in other places. An enjoyable enough time, but not quite to infinity and beyond.

7 / 10

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Ranked

RANKED – The Jurassic Franchise

The Jurassic franchise has been a staple of the creature-feature genre since Steven Spielberg’s technology pioneering blockbuster hit screens in 1993. Since then we’ve seen all sorts of crazy dinosaurs, colourful characters and epic set-pieces as the series has evolved through the decades, culminating in the recently released Jurassic World Dominion. Here we take you through a ranking 65 million years in the making, to crown the apex predator of Jurassic films.

6. Jurassic World Dominion (2022)

Universal Studios, 2022

Dominion is the worst of the Jurassic franchise by about 65 million years and it’s not even close. What should have been a slam-dunk of a premise – dinosaurs finally unleashed upon the world and forced to interact with humanity – is completely squandered by returning director Colin Trevorrow, who instead gives us a story about a devastating locust plague. Just about everything else that could elevate that awful premise also drops the ball, as the returning trio of Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum are forced into half-baked corporate espionage scenarios before being completely shoved to the side.

What makes this culmination of the franchise sting so much is the lack of respect for the dinosaurs. They barely register as anything more than plot devices, cropping up to give Chris Pratt’s Owen and Bryce Dallas Howard’s Claire obstacles to overcome as they search the globe for their newly adopted daughter Maisie (Isabella Sermon). Far too much of Dominion is spent tackling the existential crisis of this young girl coming to terms with her genetically altered creation and, along with the locusts, works to reinforce a line spoken in Jurassic World that the filmmakers now seem to believe themselves: “people don’t care about dinosaurs anymore”. Only we do, and Dominion seems hellbent on wasting them every chance it gets.

5. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

Universal Pictures, 2018

Under the mantle of director J. A. Bayona and an approach that breaks all the franchise norms, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom unfortunately fails to find much success with its renewed outlook. In what feels like the first of two competing halves of separate films, returning heroes Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) are called upon to help protect the creatures they narrowly escaped from in their previous outing, as a volcano threatens to wipe out all prehistoric life remaining on the troubled island Isla Nublar. This opening is substantially better than the second half of the film, which meshes much of the better parts of the previous films while stripping back much of the unnecessary baggage.

The hardest pill to swallow comes in the form of the large tonal shift during the third act, which comes from a left turn into shady black market dealings, undercutting a more horror-focused haunted house adventure. As one complete film, this transition is rather jarring and isn’t helped by the cast of forgettable faces struggling to assist Pratt and Dallas Howard in keeping the film afloat. Toss in a needlessly bizarre plot twist and another big bad dinosaur hybrid that only exists for a big final showdown, and you’re not left with too much to recommend here. It does still have its redeeming moments, but Fallen Kingdom suffers from such an identity crisis in the two stories it wants to tell that it ends up struggling to find its footing in either.

4. Jurassic World (2015)

Universal Pictures, 2015

Jurassic World marked a fresh start for the franchise, over 20 years after the 1993 classic that started it all. Riding a much hyped wave of nostalgia, World made the most of every opportunity to appeal to long-time fans while attempting to lay the foundations for a new trilogy that would capture a new audience. It succeeds for the most part in the fan-service department, with several obvious nods to the original trilogy scattered throughout and the sweeping familiar soundtrack flourishes underpinning many of the film’s bigger moments. Yet despite succeeding as a decent celebration of the franchise, Jurassic World struggles to justify its existence and move the story forward in meaningful ways.

The plot here functions as a carbon copy of the original Jurassic Park – two siblings inexplicably become lost in a prehistoric safari, before forming a bond with a charismatic pair of dinosaur experts as they each confront their fears and weaknesses in order to escape. The problem here is that none of these pieces seem to gel together when the story plays out on screen. Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) are serviceable leads, however each of them struggle to muster enough charisma to carry the film and their chemistry is almost non-existent. Claire’s nephews, Zack (Nick Robinson) and Gray (Ty Simpkins), have a contentious and troubled relationship that simply ceases to be a problem when the going gets tough, and each character very much ends the film where they began. Just about every other side character fails to leave a lasting impression, save for a woefully underused Vincent D’Onofrio as a slimy proponent for dinosaurs in the military. A fun time for a shot of concentrated nostalgia but one that fails to recapture the magic of the 1993 original.

3. Jurassic Park III (2001)

Universal Pictures, 2001

The forgotten Jurassic film, Joe Johnston’s third instalment in the franchise (and first post-Spielberg) is largely successful in recycling elements of the first two films to create a fun if forgettable sequel that never stops delivering in terms of sheer thrills per minute. Tricked into aiding the quirky Paul Kirby (William H. Macy) and his loud ex-wife Amanda (Téa Leoni) search for their missing son Eric (Trevor Morgan) on Isla Sorna, Dr. Alan Grant (Neill) is none too pleased to once again be face to face with the creatures that caused him hell so many years ago.

Unlike Spielberg’s films, Johnston isn’t shy about his dinosaurs and doesn’t waste any time showing them off, preferring to constantly assault the viewer with chase scenes and close calls in a bid to make them as fatigued as the central characters. It’s a different approach that works more than it doesn’t but bizarre plot choices – the infamous “Alan” and the repetition of the lucky pack and dino poop ideas among them – and a failure to really develop anyone hamper an otherwise good time. The film also marked the first time the series made the cardinal sin of ousting the T-Rex as king of the jungle, introducing a Spinosaurus that, whilst featuring some terrifying practical effects, never clicked with fans. Still, try going more than a day after watching without inadvertently humming the “Kirby Paint and Tile Plus” jingle. Look out John Williams, you’ve got competition.

2. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

Universal Pictures, 1997

Often unfairly given a bad rap compared to its iconic predecessor, The Lost World is a fantastic sequel in its own right; one which expands the series’ scope and sets up some of the best set-pieces in the entire franchise. When John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) reveals to Ian Malcolm (Goldblum) the existence of a second dinosaur filled island and drops the bombshell that Malcolm’s own girlfriend, Sarah Harding (Julianne Moore) has been sent to survey the site, he jumps to the rescue, with a young Vince Vaughan in tow, no less. Once there the group must contend with a rival team sent to strip the island of the dinosaurs, alongside the usual carnivores, in a desperate bid for survival.

You could argue that the sudden existence of a second island is a cheap excuse for a sequel and that The Lost World is simply more of the same, but to do so would be to ignore how hard Spielberg tries to differentiate his sequel from the first film, shifting the action to San Diego for a fun monster movie-inspired sequence and furthering the commentary on animal rights and preservation. Goldblum cements his Ian Malcolm as the true star of the franchise, with his trademark snarky wit stepped up here along with a newfound paternal instinct for daughter Kelly (Vanessa Chester). He has something to lose this time around, and that makes for a much more interesting lead. The Lost World is Spielberg expanding on one of his greatest films with an adventure that shows him furthering his talents for tension and expertly crafted action; another gritty, in-the-weeds adventure that is a far cry from the sterilised banality and exhausting world ending stakes of the Jurassic World films.

1. Jurassic Park (1993)

Universal Pictures, 1993

It doesn’t matter how big or vicious subsequent films made the genetically modified dinosaurs, nothing can top the original that proved a less-is-more approached was the perfect way to capture the wonder and terror of dinosaurs brought back to life. The 1993 original introduced the world to Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill’s iconic scientists as they explore the recently developed Jurassic Park; created by the wealthy John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) who spared no expense in his quest to revive dinosaurs from their extinction.

Spielberg takes his time introducing even the concept of a dinosaur, let alone the teeth-filled carnage that follows, allowing the audience to form a connection with the group who venture out into the park before things go terribly wrong. It’s apparent to the audience that Spielberg is just as giddily excited to bring these creatures to life as we the audience are to see them, treating them with a reverence and wonder that bely the horrifying experiences set to befall our heroes.

And from the moment that T-Rex escapes its enclosure he is on a mission to deliver nothing but non-stop thrills as this unfortunate group is thrown into a desperate struggle for survival against nature’s most effective killing machines. Jurassic Park isn’t only a great stride forward for cinematic technology or a ferociously effective thriller; it’s also a pivotal event in the childhoods of so many movie-goers, a spectacle from a time when CGI was in its infancy and the thought of seeing a fully realised, realistic dinosaur on screen was pure fantasy. Leave it to none other than Steven Spielberg to make that fantasy a reality.