If they don't let us play, they all go away! (Child's Play 2019)

 265.

Child's Play

6.5/10

I have finally gotten around to speaking about the movie that I watched on Netflix when I typed in the letter C. Work has slowly started to take over my life recently and this review is delayed more than most of the movie due out in 2022. I can barely remember watching the version from 1988 and have seen only scenes from any sequel that came afterward. This time I'm going to tackle the 2019 remake which came to the cinema for a week before it got pulled from my local. I haven't heard the greatest of things but horror is horror and I'm willing to give it a go. No-one stands out within the cast I witness on the first glace as Audrey Plaza who plays the mother, is someone I have only heard by name and the cop who lives next door is played by Brian Tyree Henry is a face I recognise but don't ask me from what movie. After looking a little deeper, there was a reason for some excitement. Mark Hamill is going to be voicing Chuckie and although you may associate him with Luke Skywalker, you should really get in there and witness him voicing the Joker in The Batman animated series or The Batman console games. Let's find out is the toy was worth the price.

If we just have a quick run-through of the storyline, it's hardly worth getting into too much detail. It's a very very generic storyline as the movie begins with a bunch of pissed of Asians working in a sweatshop and one of them turns off the safety protocols on one of the Buddy dolls before killing himself. Nice bloke. As you can imagine, the doll finds it's way to Audrey Plaza's shop after it's returned for being faulty and she takes it home to her son Andy, who is struggling to adapt to their new flat. Audrey has already met a bloke, who isn't exactly great and we can guess what's going to happen to him. We watch Andy try to make friends whilst always resorting back to Chuckie. The doll is starting to show some signs of free will, which at first Andy loves but when the scratches Andy and Chucky takes offense, it isn't long until it's cut into pieces and being dumped down the trash shoot. Chucky has brought some friends about for Andy, who are more interesting in the doll really but friends all the same. Things start to escalate as Chucky witnesses Andy's Mom's boyfriend man handling Andy and heads over to his house and kills him in a very gruesome scene before taking off his face and bringing it home as a present for Andy.

As the conventional story continues, we see Andy battling to control his robot, try to explain to his friends that he is evil and even his own mother is very very skeptical about her son. He has made friends with the cop down the corridor and his elderly mother, who is next on the list for Chucky as he witnesses her telling Andy she can be his best friend. This death is the last straw for Andy and he rips Chucky to pieces and puts him in the trash shoot. Unfortunately, the creepy janitor finds him, puts him back together and meets his untimely death. Now the cop upstairs is getting suspicious, Andy has been acting like a bit of a loon and behind the scenes, the toy company is actually bringing out a whole range of these dolls. Andy's mother has had enough of his shit now and drags him to work with here, just as they are releasing the new dolls. 

Norris the neighbourly cop has determined that little Andy is the murderer and heads over to the toy store himself, just in time for Chucky to have switched the other dolls into murderous toys. A lot of people get sliced and Chucky turns on the lockdown of the shop, leaving just a few remaining inside, scrambling for their lives. Norris, the cop is sliced and diced by a drone with blades attached to the fans. Gutted about this because he was a good character who I thought would have saved the day, being a great character arch as he still lives with Mom, isn't very respected in his community and had been investigating the murders. This leaves Andy alone to look for his mother. Chucky as dragged her to the back, tied her up and is using her as bait for Andy. After a tussle and what Andy thinks is a winning blow, he goes to untie his mother but Chucky, with the most demented look on his face and knife in his hand, flies through the air at Andy before being shot down.

 My first thought is that the Mother got free and somehow found a gun. No, no, Norris is still alive somehow and it's one-shot kill as Chucky drops from the sky and stabbed through the power core. Mother and son embrace before she is put on a stretcher, the same as Norris and they have a little moment as the scene cuts. We have a statement from the toy company, recalling all dolls but as they are put into storage, one of the Buddy doll's eyes light red, suggesting that Chucky managed to transfer his AI somehow. The movie ends with Mark Hamill singing Buddi's song and if you get the chance to experience the creepiness, do it!

I'm not too sure if they expected this to be a cornerstone for reviving this franchise but I'm don't think it will go down too well. I enjoyed most of the movie. Yes, the storyline was very predictable apart from Norris coming back from the dead to an extent but it was a little bit of a 'tongue in cheek' horror that brought a little humour to the screen. Each time you met a character or someone said something bad, you always knew they would be at the end of a knife. This took a little enjoyment away from the movie but when you're not expecting a masterpiece and are just in the mood for a popcorn horror, you can easily forgive the writers. The doll was a strange look for a while compared to what you've come to know as Chucky and it took a while for the look to become very rough towards the end.

There's an extent where you could say this is just another horror movie cast of youngsters that may not be seen again but there were some redeeming features in this one. I enjoyed Brian Tyree Henry's character as the Cop Norris. There was a good guy factor about him and you wanted him to save the day. When I thought he was dead, I was disappointed when I thought they had killed him off. When he came back, I think I uttered the words 'Hell yeah', like some kind of Yank. That's the sign that a good job was done. The true highlight through the casting has to be Mark Hamill as Chucky. Such a mischievous voice in play and someone who could switch their attitude very quickly, which was needed in this movie and each time, you could tell the tone of voice was getting more evil each time. This guy is like a fine wine and does well when turning to the dark side. 

I came into this movie not hearing the best things. This gave me an idea of not going in expecting a masterpiece but to be entertained for what it is. There was a lot more humour than I had anticipated but because I wasn't in the mood to take this too seriously, it really did help with the enjoyment levels. It would be interesting to see if this goes any further, even if it's just something picked up by Netflix or just straight to DVD is more of a realistic option. This makes me want to go back and experience the originals though and maybe that can be seen as a good thing or a bad thing.

Every contact we've had with the outside has brought us death (Bird Box 2018)

264.

Bird Box

7/10

B is for Bird Box on my run through the A-Z on Netflix. Yet another exclusive to Netflix, I remember the hype about this one when it first arrived. The memes, quotes and opinions were flying around Facebook for weeks and I had someone stayed away from the bandwagon and decided not to watch it right away. This has given me the chance to go in with an open mind and to have forgotten about any potential spoilers that were floating around social media at the time. I knew the usual, Sandra Bullock is the main character, they are blindfolded as if they look at something, it will kill them. That's as far as my knowledge of the movie goes with the movie so let's hope it is something worth seeing.

The movie begins with Sandra Bullock telling two kids that they are going on a trip and it's going to be their most dangerous yet. The first thing I notice is that she is calling them Boy and Girl rather than actual names and I'm instantly wondering whether she knows them. We'll find out because in the tradition so far, Netflix is loving a flashback.

 We leave the trio in a boat on the river and head 5 years earlier to some character development for Bullock's character Malorie. She's an artist, bit of a recluse, has a loving sister and more importantly, she's pregnant. Sarah Paulson plays her sister and I've seen plenty of her in American Horror Story and the two go for a scan of the baby. Before they leave, the sister asks Malorie is she has seen the news. Reports of something causing mass suicides around Eastern Europe. Once it's put on mute, the sisters miss the fact that it has made it to North America via Alaska. When they arrive at the hospital, we are drawn to a female in pink, we get the babies scan and by the time we head out, that lady in pink is smashing her head against the window. Suddenly, shit hits the fan, people are killing themselves everywhere Malorie's sister Jessica sees something whilst she is driving and her eyes turn a shade of black, she crashes the car and the two crawl out.

 Jessica is still mental though as she steps in front of an oncoming bin lorry. Someone comes out of a house to help Malorie inside where a group is taking cover, but she sees something and walks inside a burning car and sits there. Another attempt by a gent works as he covers his and Malorie's eyes and they get in.

Inside the house, we have an array of characters, John Malkovich as the pissed off old guy next door who's wife killed herself when trying to save Malorie. We have Trevante Rhodes, who I have seen in a few things. He plays the guy who managed to finally help Malorie inside. Then there are a couple of side characters who start to get killed one by one. They even let a new, pregnant girl in and they find out that some people who look at whatever it is, are surviving and killing forcing others to look at this 'thing' and looting everywhere. Now in between seeing people getting taken out, we head back to the gang on the river and this dawns on me how much of a spoiler we are actually getting. Constantly seeing Malorie with two youngsters surely means that it is only her, her unborn child and the other woman's child that survives. She states that they are coming up to some rapids and someone needs to look. The lad volunteers but Malorie instantly says no. After a few minutes, the younger girl says she will do it and Malorie isn't exactly jumping to a no reaction. Maybe this means that the lad is her son and the girl is the extra tag along. Our main encounter with one of these acceptors of the killing force, kills everyone but Malorie, the kids and Trevante's character Tom. After this 'follower' is taken out, we fast forward 5 years. A time when our remaining characters are going house to house with a walk talkie and finally they get a reply.  A voice comes over directing them where to go for safety, taking the river and hoping they don't have kids otherwise it would be almost impossible. Tom wants to make the trip but Malorie thinks it's a trap. 

A couple of days later and the decision is made for them. The followers show up in force and Tom distracts them with his life as the others can escape on to the river and we are finally up to date with the timeline. With a close encounter with another follower on the river and getting up to the rapids, Malorie won't let anyone look to guide them through and they'll just hope for the best. Even with a bump along the way, they manage to get to shore with a soaking along the way. The get to a place where they find birds and birds react to these 'monsters' whenever they are near. The need to find the birds and they know they will be safe. Malorie falls down a ditch and the kids are lead away but these 'monsters' pretending to be her, they simply hear her voice and walk towards it. Malorie hears her sister but knows to drown it out, calling the kids back in her direction and saving them. The birds get louder and they find a door, eventually being let in and lead to safety. It turns out that it is a school for the blind that has also taking in some strays, one being the female nurse who did the baby scan for Malorie all of the way at the beginning of the movie. The movie ends with her naming the kids and the boy takes Tom's name whilst the girl gets her mothers. That's it, that's the end.

I enjoyed this more than Annihilation, that's for sure but again I felt there were too many questions left unanswered and I suppose that is the reason for some movies, to make people talk about them but I love a horror movie that finally reveals itself by the end. We never really got to grips with what the mystery figures were, only seeing gusts of wind heading towards people, shadows and a few drawings of different looking beasts but I wanted to set my sights on them myself, even if only for a few minutes. The storyline otherwise was pretty entertaining and full of interesting moments. It had a little bit of 'A Quiet Place' theme towards it but instead of keeping your mouth shut, it was your eyes. The main gripe I would have about how the story was told is once again the non-linear narrative. This time, it acted as a huge spoiler to who was going to survive from the house, which was the main setting for most of the story. 

Trying to think back whether I have watched a movie where we have had Sandra Bullock leading the line and I don't believe I have. This lead role suited her and I could actually sympathise with her at times. Not one for kids and anyone's shit, I could see my own attitude in her. This then carries over to the side characters. My favourite amongst these was definitely John Malkovich as the grumpy neighbour. A lot of the time the others in the house were screaming at him but I found myself screaming in my head at them because he was always on the right track. Everyone else adds a little something, a couple of others are just annoying and you become happy to see them go, that's for sure.

I'm still disappointed that we never got to see a monster, alien or anything along those lines, we only got to see what happened to anyone that looked at this phenomenon. It would be interesting to find out if there is anything in the pipeline to follow on with the story, even if this is without the same characters. Is this it for life now? What happens when the food runs out in the new hideout? These are questions that intrigue me after watching the movie rather than frustrate me like with Annihilation. 

It's not destroying. It's making something new (Annihilation 2018)

263.

Annihilation

5.5/10

With the cinemas closed, I have decided to use the streaming services that I have subscribed to, firstly starting with Netflix. I'm going to watch 27 movies, starting from A going through to Z and then ending with a movie that begins with a number. It's been needed so that I can get around to some recommendations and movie that I should have seen by now, (apparently). Only time shall tell if the wait was worth it. 

Starting with A, my movie is going to be Annihilation starring Natalie Portman and other than it has something to do with weird planets and starring her, I know nothing else. It is a Netflix movie, which means there was never the chance to watch it on the big screen so I hardly feel any guilt in not doing so. Let's start with a quick run-through of the story.

The movie begins with a bit of aftermath to the main story. We have Portman's character sitting in a room with a couple of people in hazmat suits interviewing her. Behind a glass wall, are several others listening in. Questions such as 'does she remember anything?' are floated about, to get the audience asking the same and pretty soon, we know that we won't be following a linear narrative. We have already seen a spacecraft crash into a lighthouse and are still waiting for answers on this. We are thrust back a little while and Portman's character Lena is an educator on cell biology. We find out that her husband is an army man and has been lost for the last year. A colleague is chasing her a little but she is still adamant that she is to remain alone. Looking at her wedding pictures, we see that her husband is played by Oscar Issac and I'm already thinking that he is a little too big of a name to simply be seen in a picture and some flashbacks. A night or two later and we actually see him return home. I thought at first that it might just be her wishing this, as we walked up the stairs but she is as shocked as anybody when it turns out that he is there. But maybe he isn't truly there. He doesn't have any, memories of how he returned, where he was and what happened. He ends up coughing up blood, being in the back of an ambulance and on the way to the hospital, a parade of black jeeps pull them over and take the married couple.

We are now in the location of the interview and Lena is introduced to the main Dr behind this secret ops Dr. Ventress, played by Jennifer Jason Leigh. She shows Lena a place called the Shimmer, which is just outside the compound and explains that Kane, her husband was part of a team sent in to explore. He has been the only one to ever return as others are either lost or dead. Kane is on the compound but he is also dying. We know where this is going and Lena joins onto the next team to go in after answers from this event which has started from a lighthouse inside. The team is made up of all women, bringing a different strength and the only other one I recognise is Tessa Thompson.

Once camping inside, the team has already lost a couple of days somehow. Their communications don't work all of this is also being explained by the present-day interview with Benedict Wong's character. The women look like ghostbusters walking around and we are into our new chapter, The Shimmer, as we walk through this planet enriched environment. Lena was in the army for 7 years so she is straight into the role and as one gets attacked by a gator, she shows how to handle a gun. On closer inspection, the gator has shark teeth and the team is wondering if there has been any cross-breeding within the shimmer. The make it to the last place that Kane's team took shelter and a video is left for them to watch. The team is cutting open on of their own, who doesn't seem to be putting up a fight. The video is for education purposes showing something growing inside the man and moving like a snake. The team takes time to digest what they saw and aren't too happy when they actually walk into the location that it happened and the guy is still there. He has seemed to grow like a plant, spiralling up the wall and decomposing. During this time, we have a few more flashbacks to Lena's last moments before Kane left on the mission and then a random sex scene with her colleague from earlier. 

As the team moves on, we lost one to a horrible looking bear, another to the same bear which now growls with the screams of the last victim and Tessa's character, who has plants growing out of her arm, walks off into the forest and away from the following Lena who cannot find her but does find several plants in the shape of people. Before leaving Tessa's character explains a few things about the Shimmer. The Shimmer isn't blocking the signals, it is refracting it, just as it is doing to the DNA of everything inside it. 

The Doctor already left to find the lighthouse so now it is Lena's turn to walk up to it, enter and answer the questions to what the hell is going on. There are skeletons sprawled out, a corpse up against the wall which looks like it had exploded and a hole in the ground with plants growing around it. There is a camera set up and watching the video she sees Kane is the body that explodes and from behind the camera walks another Kane, who they chatted about who was the real Kane and the distortion of reality. This clone is the one who made it back to Lena. Going into the hole, she finds Dr. Ventress whose face is all twisted and she explains that the Shimmer is of an alien nature. She then dissolves into some sort of bright form and Lena's facial cut bleeds into this bright light before it becomes a human form.

 It mimics all of Lena's moves, attacks back when Lena attacks and the only way out is to take another grenade and put it into the clone's hand whilst pulling the pin. It starts to truly transform into Lena as it burns away, touching the branches inside the lighthouse and crawling back into the hole, the fire spreads in the quickest way and the Shimmer disappears. We return to Lena's interview and rather than wondering what had gone on because the end 10 minutes had made me lose interest, I'm wondering how Wong's character had been standing in the same stance for so long listening to Lena. Wong's character confirms that the Shimmer has gone and Lena has no idea of how she got home. Kane has woken up and as the two are reintroduced, Lena knows that it is not truly him but he asks the same question of her. They both embrace and if you are quick, we see their eyes start to change colour. 

People may perceive this movie in different ways and it may be thought-provoking to some and maybe not for others. The storyline was pretty easy to follow, although on three timelines and the storyline was just that, a story. It felt like there was a metaphor behind it all but what? The ball never really dropped for me if there was one and maybe another slog of a viewing will bring it to the surface but I'd rather just read about it afterward. Alex Garland, the writer and director gave us Ex-Machina which I enjoy, was clever and kept me interested. I'm not going to write the lad off in my books on this movie as there were some other positives. 

I hadn't realised that there was such a horror swerve coming within the movie and to see some cool creatures and unique use of horror kept my hopes alive to the end. The way the movie looked was also pretty impressive, with a steady direction and relative freedom that comes from the genre, the sets and cinematography were pretty striking. 

The cast was pretty synonymous with this type of movie. Each having their role, their qualities and to an extent, they made sense. Portman as a leader by the end made sense as she was ex-army, rather than certain movies were you see these characters step up and kick-arse from absolutely nowhere. The only one for me to not make sense was the paramedic. The aggressive, tie you to a chair and point a gun at you type, usually comes from the army background or at least one of the characters who had been portrayed as a little insane. The paramedic was the calm and rational starter and then suddenly that changed in an instant and it didn't make sense. The roles were all acted out very well though, with the writing at fault, I can't fault the cast. I can't remember a movie that I've seen Natalie Portman lead the line but I enjoyed her in this one. 

It's going to be interesting to see what the freedom of these Netflix exclusive movies are going to give me. I wasn't overly impressed with this one and I'd be lying if I said that it didn't have its moments, I just think that it was let down by what the ending had become. Was it all about rebirth and creating a new you? Someone, please shed some light!

The problem with having it all is that usually someone else wants it too. (Fantasy Island 2020)

262.
Fantasy Island




3/10


Another horror movie coming out of Blumhouse Productions and I'm already wondering whether it will be heading to the good pile of movies to come out from the company or the bad pile. In my opinion, they are a hit and miss kind of franchise but when they hit, they usually get the bull's eye. From the trailers, this movie did look very interesting and excited me a little but I still had an apprehension, just in case all of the good scenes had been already shown. Michael Pena and Michael Rooker were the only two members of the cast that I could recognise coming out of this movie and I had already, mentioned in a previous review, a lot of these movies could have a young cast that we would be introduced to and then never see again. This doesn't sound like I'm setting a confident picture, but let's find out.
The movie introduces us to a gang of people who have been promised that traveling to this island can make their dreams come true. The group is as diverse as it comes, with a businesswoman, step-brothers, a former police officer and a girl who could be classed as a little disturbed.

 The movie seems to be revolving around her a little more than the others and once we are introduced to Mr. Rourke, Pena's character. who is the island's keeper, we are thrust into people fantasies. The brothers head to a party in a mansion, the officer heads to war in honor of his father, Gwen the businesswoman has the chance to accept her ex's marriage proposal and Melanie, our little crazy girl, gets the chance of revenge on an old bully. It isn't long until these fantasy's start taking a turn of the worse. As Melanie releases a video to her old bully's husband regarding her cheating, she also sees a video of the bully being kidnapped and brought to the island against her will. Now she realises that, indeed, shit is getting very real. Some sort of crazed doctor walks in to get in on the act but Melanie begins to act. Freeing her old bully, they both finally escape but run into Damon, an investigator on the island played by Michael Rooker.

 Before coming into this movie, I had no idea he had a role. He takes the girls to a cave and explains that these fantasies come from the 'spring water'. The had it mixed with their welcome drink and a crystal heart under the islands shows the guests their deepest desires, no matter how wrong they may be. Damon is there to investigate Rourke until he was offered to see his dead daughter. He took the chance and got trapped on the island for his troubles. After collecting some of the water, our trio heads to the resort to find a phone. 
As for our other characters, Gwen has said yes to marriage, she has a kid but doesn't feel right, she isn't enjoying her fantasy. Rourke appears and tells her that he once made a wish which came true. That was to have his dead wife back but to keep the dream alive, he has to make the guest's wishes come true. If he doesn't, everything is over. Gwen somehow talks Rourke around and gets to change her fantasy. The island doesn't like this and starts turning everyone else's fantasy into nightmares. To be fair, I already thought Melanie's was. The brothers at the part get set upon by some cartel, while Gwen is taken to the night that she accidentally started a fire and killed a neighbour. She tried to rescue him but passed out in the smoke. She was actually rescued by Rourke's assistant Julia. We, along with Gwen, realise that every guest except for Melanie was there that night in their own little roles. 
We haven't spoken about that former policeman much and his fantasy was to see his father in the war. Knowing that this was his last chance to see his father alive, he even tries to manipulate the fantasy by stopping the troop from going on their last mission. This last mission turns out to be saving the brothers from the Cartel that have captured them. After killing the cartel, the island brings them back as zombies and Patrick, the ex-cop, watches as his father sacrifices himself so that Patrick and one of the brothers can escape. The Asian brother survives yet the American gets shot to death. That's right, they are step-bros. The girls are set upon again but the surgeon, now a zombie but Damon flings himself and the zombie off the cliff, killing them both. This movie has now turned hectic. After making their way back to the resort, Sloane the bully, gets her husband to call in Damon's military buddies, even after seeing the video that he saw of his wife. The remaining survivors regroup and are cornered by Rourke who explains that they are all part of someone else's fantasy in which they are all killed. The gang realise that this has to be about Nick who died in the fire and maybe Rourke and Julia are his parents. They try to escape, ready for Damon's men to come and save the day but they are shot down by the Cartel who have made their way to the resort and now that the setting has become daytime again, I feel that it is drawing to a close of sorts. If I'm honest I'm actually getting bored of going into the little detail that I am. 
The group runs to the cave to destroy that mysterious rock but on the way, they are confronted by manifestations of their demons but making their way through the tunnels, we have our final twist to the tale. Melanie stabs Patrick, the ex-cop, whilst taking her bully hostage. It turns out that this was Melanie's fantasy after all, she wanted to get everyone else here as revenge for the death of Nick, who she was meant to be going on a date with the night that he died. It is also revealed that the worker on the island, Julia, is Rourke's wife but I think we had already guessed that one.
Outside of the cave, Julia begins to die, as she does every day but this time she asks Rourke to let her go, forgive himself and help the others escape from the island. Sloane, who is the bully, is the only one who can think at the moment. She realises that being on the island, she can have a fantasy too. She wants Melanie to be with Nick and this causes Melanie to be attacked by a Zombie version of the guy she was meant to go on a date with and she gets drag into the water by him.

 Before she drowns, she manages to pull the pin on a grenade and send it in everyone else's direction. Patrick, the once coward who wanted to prove himself in war and was too much of a coward as a policeman to run in and save Nick, throws himself on the grenade and the scene turns to black. 
The gang now wakes up in their hotel beds and realise what has happened. Rourke seems healed from the dark power and agrees to let the tourists leave the island. As they board the plane, the remaining brother makes a deal with Rourke to bring the dead one back to life. He makes the deal to stay behind and Brax, the remaining brother becomes Rourke's new assistance and changes his name to Tattoo, which is the start of the TV series which was out in the 70s'.
That movie is over and with that, so was another poor attempt by Blumhouse in my opinion. When I saw the trailer, I had high hopes that this could be one of the top entries to come from Blumhouse but I was left with a sour taste in my mouth. The trailer seemed to contain the action and when we actually sat down to watch the storyline take place, it seemed every clustered. I understand the story and enjoyed the major twist that came along with it but there were loads of little side stories, which filled up important space to expand on certain characters and this led to rushed storylines and a very rushed ending. I didn't see the main twist coming, I'm going to admit and it came at the right time within the movie, just as we were wondering if it was going to be a very safe and predictable ending. Looking back though, nothing made sense regarding the ending. Melanie has this plan all along but a lot of the movie, we were watching her panicking, being attacked and even nearly escaping on the plane she called. So which ending did she truly want?
The cast was mostly unrecognisable, with a few exceptions, I had finally gotten around to realising that the actress who played Melanie, Lucy Hale, was in another Blumhouse production, Truth or Dare. Clearly, she is a favourite with them but that movie wasn't great either. Everyone else was pretty damn forgettable and the role for Michael Pena, as mostly being a villain, didn't suit the guy at all. I was always kind of waiting for a comedic moment from him.
Always one to give horror a go, I came into this open minding and although the movie had some potential and dark moments, they would always stop short of actually getting right where I wanted it to head. Again, this could have been down to the cohesion of the storyline but having never seen the TV series, I have no idea who it would resemble it. The movie felt really lazy and depending on a younger audience to connect with some characters rather than taking too much of an interest in the plot holes that came along with it. The only major things that the movie had going for it was the location if that can be a thing. I'd love a trip to the island if it didn't come with the horror aspect. It reminded me of how much I need a holiday. It would take a desperate person within me to go back and watch this movie again on my own accord. I don't envisage this being a franchise or even producing a sequel unless it goes straight to VHS!

This is MY power and I'm not running away anymore! (Sonic the Hedgehog 2020)

261.

Sonic the Hedgehog




7/10

What can I say? One of my favourite games to play as a kid when my Sega Mega Drive was working has somehow finally made its way to the big screen and not without many a stumbling block along the way. This movie has been in line since the 90s' but the ball didn't start rolling until Sony bought the rights in 2013. This then hit a delay and Paramount Pictures picked it up the cast started coming in. The most recent negative moment when it came to the movie was the release of the first trailer. Everyone who has ever seen and remembers Sonic probably has an image in their mind of how he would look, other than being simply blue. He has these massive eyes to go along with his character and sass and unfortunately, this wasn't put into his design until the feedback and this caused a delay of three months for a much-needed redesign. Video games becoming movies very rarely have a good outcome, let alone great. Let's find out if this one runs rings around those critics!
The movie begins with Sonic racing through a city, being chased by some sort of craft. It's going to be the usual introduction that has been seen many times. A case of 'this is how I got here' and a run through until we see this moment later on in the movie. Now for the history lesson. A gang of echidnas chasing down Sonic for his power of supersonic speed. His guardian at the time, a massive owl, gives sonic a bag of rings that can create portals and uses one to send him to Earth. She also gives him a map of a planet of mushrooms which he can then escape to if he finds more trouble. Ten years later and Sonic has been living in Green Hills. Green Hills was the location of the first three levels in the Sega game. Whilst living there, he has been unable to make friends but idolizes the local sheriff, played by James Marsden. His name is Tom and with his wife, is due to move to San Francisco soon to take up a job with the Police Department there.
Sonic is really struggling with his loneliness and after playing a game of baseball by himself and upsetting himself whilst doing so, he runs the bases faster and faster until he goes into supersonic speed and creates a power surge that wipes out the power in the Pacific Northwest. This brings the big boys down to investigate and who else other than Doctor Robotnik. 

A scientific genius recruited by the US government, he puts himself straight to work, finding tracks that lead to Tom's shed. As all of this is going on, Tom has encountered Sonic and accidentally shot him with a tranq. Doing this led to Sonic dropping his bag of rings and sending them through a portal to San Fran. After waking up and chatting, getting over the fact that Sonic can talk, Tom agrees to help the little blue guy out. Robotnik isn't too far away and after a confrontation with Tom, calling him a domestic terrorist and taking a punch from the Sheriff, Tom and Sonic escape, taking to the road and bonding a little on the drive. All Sonic really wants it to find a friend after all of these years. 

Now as for Robotnik, he finds a quill from Sonic and discovers that the power that it possesses alone is enough to turn this man into an obsessive maniac. Robots are sent out to track down the pair and one even injures Sonic. Tom takes him to his wife, who is a vet and called Maddie who, after her surprise, is filled in with all that is happening. Although her comical sister who doesn't like Tom anyway disapproves of their plan to help Sonic, Maddie agrees to help and their niece gives Sonic some new trainers. These trainers are the iconic Red and White ones that we've been waiting to see. The trio head to San Fran to the rooftop on which the bag of rings sit but Robotnik is also on his way, in a hovercraft and we are about to catch up with the first scene. Sonic uses a ring to send Tom and Maddie on their way, back to Green Hills, whilst Sonic uses supersonic speed to try and outrun Robotnik but with the use of the quill he found, this mad man can now match the speed. Running through all areas of the world, they end up back at Green Hills. Sonic is shot down by Robotnik but Tom and the townsfolk come to his aide, even the guy who was seen as the crazy man for thinking a Blue alien existed in the woods somewhere. This gives Sonic some time to recharge his battery and turn the fight around, sending Robotnik to that Mushroom planet and ultimately winning. Following everything, Tom and Maddie decide to stay put and let Sonic move in, the Government erases all information about Sonic and the fact that Robotnik existed. On the Mushroom planet, Robotnik has saved Sonic's quill from the ship that crashed and having lost his mind, shaved his hair off and grown a moustache, which is the look that we know for Robotnik, he is looking for a way to return. Back on Earth, we get one final scene. Another portal opens up and with a spinning ginger tail, in flies Tails.

When it comes to Video game adaptations on the big screen this was a reasonable success in my book. With the criticism coming before the movie even hit the main screen, it seemed to work and had a lot of ties with the games themselves. Although we were introduced to human characters other than Robotnik, the origin of the story worked very well. It was a feel-good story that ended in the acceptance that our main character had strived for. The story wasn't too hard for the younger viewers to follow either but with a little bit of hidden adult comedy, there was something for everyone but this can mean that is is the standard story with no real surprises. The character of Robotnik was an interesting one to say the least. It allowed Jim Carrey to head back to his sporadic and excentric roots, just like his role as The Riddler in Batman Forever. I felt a little awkward during a random dance scene for him in this movie but I can ignore that and enjoy the rest and his drop from sanity into the crazy Doctor. Probably the best part of the movie. James Marsden had been off the map for a long time before this movie but his role was an ample one, if not predictable. As for the voice actor for Sonic, Ben Schwartz, I had only witnessed him in a couple of small roles but he got by very well in this movie. He even gave his fave to the motion capture.

If a company is willing to spend the money on a redesign and listen to their fanbase then I was going to take the time and watch this movie. With plenty of nostalgia and easter eggs it will be interesting to see if the rumours of sequels truly are in the pipeline. The humour was pretty average but visible whether it be animated or through the script. This movie was quite short compared to what has been released recently and if you are looking for some family fun, look no further. 

A thousand generations live in you now (Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker 2020)

260.

Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker


7.5/10

A fitting time to post this review when I had just completed watching the Skywalker saga over the past two days, starting on May the 4th (EVEN THOUGH I GOT DELAYED POSTING THIS!). For my two cinema experiences in watching this finale, my first was a triple bill with The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. If it was up to me, I'd have slept through The Last Jedi to make sure I was 100% awake but the mind boggled and needed to be awake to remember how pointless the movie was within the trilogy. J.J Abrams was back at the helm for this one thankfully and I needed to have faith that he could save the storyline from what Rian Johnson has for some reason, been given the freedom to produce. I grew up at the time of the improved first trilogy hitting the cinema again in the 90s', paving the way for my love of the franchise. I really hope that we get a great ending.
As always, it's worth starting with a synopsis of the storyline so if you haven't gotten around to see the finale yet, skip everything else and go and watch it now. As always there is a complex storyline to dissolve so I'll touch on what we need. Since the last movie, Kylo has been on a mission to track down a sith finder which will lead him to an unknown force on the planet of Exegol. We know what that force is thanks to the laughter of Palpatine spoiling the trailers. Not spoiling in a bad way but imagine the audience pop when they come across the Emperor! 

He has been revived by some mystical formula and a load of siths as he explains that he created Snook as his puppet but now that Kylo Ren has found him, he can become what is destined. He must kill Rey and use the armada of Star Destroyers that have been built to take over the galaxy. Rey has been carrying on her training under Leia, who we even get a flashback about as she trains with Luke. Poe and Finn get some information on what lies on Exegol and that they need the same map system to get there. Our heroes are straight on the case. Heading to a planet for their latest clue, Kylo uses the forces to create a bond with Rey and find out where she is. He sends the Knights of Ren, who we finally get to witness but the gang is saved by an old friend. Lando is back on our screen. Finally getting to the clue C3-PO can read the text but his programming does not allow for him to reveal what it means. Enter Kylo. Rey wants to face him and in the tussle, Chewy gets captured and loaded onto a transport ship. Rey tries to use the force to stop it taking off, Kylo tries to help it leave, Rey overpowers, sends a lightning bolt up her arm and blows the ship up. Speechless, just as she is, with the thought that Chewy is dead, what a way to go. Turns out though, that isn't the case, we saw him a couple of scenes later on Ren's ship. Back with the remaining trio and they are heading to a planet that Poe knows to get C3-PO talking and after introducing another couple of side characters, they reveal the location but not before we get a nice character arch from the droid. C3-PO has always been seen as a straight-lined kind of character, never wanting to get into trouble and when he does, gets completely helpless and cowardly. Standing firm, he says goodbye to his friends one last time as finding out the location will reset his memories. With all of this happening, Ren has tracked them down through the use of his knights and after searching the city, Poe, Rey and Finn get up to Ren's ship as Rey feels Chewy is up there. They free him, she has another weird vision encounter with Ren and the team escape with Chewy. This is all thanks to the spy who is actually General Hux! He just wants Ren to fail but I remember a little cheer going up in the cinema when it got revealed. He doesn't last long afterward. On their escape, Ren arrives and finally reveals who Rey is. Her father was the son of Palpatine, she is a Palpatine and this explains the sparks coming from her fingertips earlier I suppose.
Now the story follows Rey on her journey to get the Wayfinder on a moon of Endor where the Death Star crashed all those years ago. She finds the Wayfinder, battle a vision of herself if she turned to the dark side and even gets a visit from Ren, who destroys the Wayfinder and proceeds to attack Rey in a visually stunning scene.

 With Leia feeling what is going on, she uses her last energy to distract Ren with the force and Rey drives a saber through his midriff. Sensing that Leia has given her life for her son, Rey uses the force to heal his wound and steals his ship to complete her journey as he has the only Wayfinder still attached to his little ship. Kylo Ren is left to reflect on his choices in the waves. Finn and Poe are helpless as they watch Rey fly off. Just when you think you have this movie worked out, you may be wrong. Rey has flown to the island that she found Luke and she plans on hiding herself due to seeing the vision of her on the dark side. As she throws her saber into the fire of Ren's wrecking ship, it's caught by the force ghost of Luke, who says that a Jedi's weapon deserves more respect. Damn right it does! I hope that is a big f**k you to Rian Johnson for the last movie. He talks her around to travelling and ending all of this and even lifts out his old craft from the waters, a homage to The Empire Strikes Back when he failed to do so and Yoda did it. A complete arch for Luke. Rey is once again on her way, saving the Wayfinder and sending some co-ordinates back to base for everyone else to follow. R2-D2 receives them and restores C3-PO's memory to explain to the Rebels what is happening. We are on to our final every battle on the Skywalker saga.
At base, Lando is sent to try and get everyone to fight, no matter how scared they are, small their ship is or how far away they are, they need bodies for this and he's off. On Exegol, Rey confronts Palpatine, who wants her to kill him so that his spirit and the spirit of the Sith can pass on to her. In the background, we can see hundreds of hooded figures and I love how dark this part of the movie and scene is.

 Back on the moon of Endor, a soaked Ren is visited by his father and we can finally see Ben re-enter the fold, he knows he needs to help Rey and he steals a really old craft from the Death Star. Above the base, the fleet is ready to leave as Poe and his gang are overrun but everyone knows what is about to come. Lando's voice over the headset reveals that he found a few friends and there are thousands of little ships, even the side characters that Poe knew are in the fight and I remember feeling elated at this moment.

 He makes it to Exegol but is confronted by his Knights. This leads us to a great scene as Ben and Rey once again use the force and take down who they need to. They both confront Palpatine but he ends up draining them of their life force and healing himself, bringing back those evil eyes an antics as he sends lightning into the sky, disabling all of the Rebel ships, just as it looked like they were on to a winner. This is before Rey hears the voice of the Jedi from the past, whether they were in the animated series, Ewan McGregor was there, Yoda, Leia, Luke and even some Samuel L. Jackson as Windu popped in for a word. Rey picks herself back up and gives us an 'I AM ... IRON MAN' moment as she holds of Palpatine's lightning with a lightsaber before claiming she is all the Jedi, picking up Ben's used saber and directing Palpatine's attack back at him and ending his life. The movie draws to its close with the usual Star Wars celebrations on a planet to planet-scale, the characters embrace and we even get some nods to the older movies with the Ewoks. The one quick but massive moment for the older fans was Chewy receiving a medal that was due to him from A New Hope when Han and Luke got theirs. There was an outcry for years and years for this and it finally happened. Rey visits Luke's home that we first met the character back on Tatooine. She buries Luke and Leia's sabers before revealing her yellow one. She is questioned by a passerby on who she is to which she replies Rey, before looking into the distances and seeing the ghosts of Luke and Leia and turning back to say 'Rey Skywalker'.
This movie was never going to be considered one of the classic and to be honest, none of them have been and some have been nowhere near the original trilogy. I really enjoyed this movie and although there was a lot of fan service, it was needed considering what came before. The storyline was really good and the main twist was not expected. It was a little controversial bringing back Palpatine and how they did so but the need was there because they killed off Snoke for some reason and Kylo Ren was nowhere near menacing enough to be a leader of the Dark Side. Rey also needed to be someone if she wasn't going to be related to any of the rebels and although this bridge seemed to be burnt in the last movie when Kylo told her that her parents were nothing, this again seemed to be corrected. Even the fan service and nods for the past and part character were amazing to see. Another example and small example at this would be one of the pilots from the original trio coming back to fly at the end.
Heading on to the characters, it's sad to know that this is the end of their tale but I think everyone ended fittingly. Rey became someone on her own accord and although she doubted herself, she made the right choices in the end. The biggest change had to be Ben/Kylo Ren. Going from the spoilt brat in the last movie, moving on to wanting to kill Palpatine himself as he stood in the way of this total dominance to then finally changing and coming over to the rebel side of things to save Rey at the end by sacrificing himself. It was nice to see Ian McDiarmid back as Palpatine and reprising that role exactly how he left it. We have come to know the rest of the cast over the years and they didn't disappoint. One highly visible change in the line up from The Last Jedi would be Kelly Marie Tran's character Rose Tico. She was kind of forced down the viewer's throats from nowhere in the second movie and they, along with myself, didn't take to her at all. She was given a much quieter role in this finale and although there was a little bit on fondness towards Finn, it seemed nowhere near the amount that there had been.
John Williams gave us the sound that we have become accustomed to, the music that can get us excited but can also set the mood in how we are expected to feel. This helped with how visually spectacular the movie was at times had me wishing that I had seen the movie in an IMAX theatre but work didn't have great shifts for me to do so for travel. From each world, the crashed Death Star and even the fight scenes looked phenomenal, with Exegol and Palpatine's throne room a stand out for me.
The movie needed a lot of change to get the divided fans back on side after The Last Jedi and for me, it did just that. For a lot of other fans, they still didn't like this third, unfortunately. It was never going to be perfect with the number of storylines and characters that it needed to address, which I was truly thankful that they did if I'm to be honest. I have never seen such a middle finger to the movie that came before. It was enough to leave me satisfied with the Skywalker saga and that they had gone as far as they could with the story and characters involved. It was a sad time with the passing for Carrie Fisher during the filming but this was reacted to very well and she was given a hero's sendoff after saving the life of Rey. I would put this movie in the top 5 of the Star Wars nine when looking at everything that it had to offer. The force was strong with this one

Being Joker's girl gave me immunity (Birds of Prey 2020)

259.

Birds of Prey and the Fabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn



4/10

We are heading back into the DC extended universe and a spin of from the disappointing Suicide Squad movie. Margot Robbie shall be leading the line as Harley Quinn, the one success story from the Suicide Squad movie. Directed by Cathy Yan, I have no idea what to expect from her but being a fan of DC, I wouldn't mind a good installment for once. Ewan McGregor is probably the most intriguing part of this move, who is going to be playing Black Mask. Robbie actually helped to pitch the idea of this movie to the executives around 5 years ago and the second R rated movie to come from DC Films was about to begin filming. Let's get into it and find out how crazy it can get.
The movie is not set long after the Suicide Squad. Joker has kicked Harley to the curb, which hopefully means we won't be seeing Leto in the movie. She has cut her hair, joined a roller derby team and adopted a hyena, all shown through narrative and breaking the fourth wall. From here, we are setting the scene and introduced to a few more characters in a short space of time. Harley is drinking away her troubles in Roman Sionis' club, AKA Iron Mask, played by McGregor. There, she gets into an altercation with Roman's driver and cripples him. The singer at the club is Dinah Lance and the surname resonates with me straight away, it's Black Canary. She later stops a very drunk Harley from getting abducted and Sionis witnesses this, impressed with her performance he then highers her. On the other side of town, we have a cop named Montoya looking into some killing to the mob but a crossbow killer. The same night as the killings, Harley blows up the Ace chemical plant to announce the split from Joker.

 The cops know she is going to be a lot more dangerous now that she is making a name on her own.
Finally, we get down to the main story. Montoya asks Lance to be an informant on Sionis, which is rejected and Dinah Lance is then given her first job, which is to drive Victor Zsasz around to pick up a diamond and some account details from a mob family that was killed years ago. After doing so Zsasz in then pickpocketed by a new character called Cassandra Cain, who swallows the diamond when she is arrested. Harley is also run around town by some people she has wronged, including Montoya but is caught by Roman's men until she offers to get the diamond back for him in exchange for her life. 

This leads us onto a chase and a change in morale as Harley and Cassandra bond. Lance informs Montoya of the diamond plot too. Now we head back to the story of the crossbow killer. Turns out its a survivor of that mob massacre. She was a young daughter of the boss at the time and is now around for revenge. Going around as the Huntress she is going to have a role to play by the end. Back at Harley's her flat is bombed as an attempt on Cain's life after the owner of the flat rats Harley out. She offers to give up Cain in exchange for Sionis' protection once again from everyone else gunning for her. He agrees to meet her at an abandoned amusement park. Lance informs Montoya but is caught out by Zsasz who then informs his own boss. This is the first time that we see Sionis don his Black Mask and truly start to lose his sanity.
At the parK, Montoya confronts Harley at gunpoint but is knocked out of a window for her troubles. Zsasz turns up and tranqs Harley, holding Cassandra at gunpoint and then waits for back up. He is taken out by the Huntress after revealing that he was the last killer on her list of killers of her family. This gives enough time for Montoya to sort her head out and a stand-off commences. It doesn't last long as Black Mask arrives outside with a small army and the girls know they need to work together to get out of this alive. The gang fights their way through a 'fun-house' but Cassandra is still captured by Sionis's men. 

This leads to a car chase of sorts and plenty more roller skating. Cassandra ends up pulling the ring on a grenade that she slipped into Black Mask's jacket before Harley kicks him off a pier. That's him dealt with. Now for the loose ends. Montoya quits the force, using the account details for the money and joining up with Lance and the Huntress to start a vigilante team called the 'Birds of Prey'. Harley and Cassandra sell the diamond, start a contract killing business and we are pretty much as tied up as we can get. We even get a little mid-credit scene in which Harley is about to reveal a secret about Batman until she is cut off mid-sentence.
I'm pretty sure I left the movie with a very mixed attitude. This felt like watching Suicide Squad once again if not a slightly worse experience. Starting with some good, the movie looked brilliant, very dark and then flamboyant when scenes called for either. This was just like the Suicide Squad. This can be passed across for more compliments regarding the choreography from scene to scene. There would be some slow-motion action with Harley breaking into the police station and then the final fight scene had a contrast of styles and camera angles to showcase a lot at the same time.
As for the storyline, this is probably the weakest part of the movie for me. It's not something that gripped me in any way shape or form.  For a comic-related movie, it was a very normal styled storyline and this bordered on boring. If I wanted to watch a heist style plot I could pick much better movies. If I wanted to watch a hitman movie or people on the run, there's better out there. What is going on with DC that these terrible plots are simply a non-starter for the DC universe and its spin-offs? Even the script felt forced, at times it brought a little giggled to the audience but then again, it started to feel forced. The wit and r-rated license was lost mid-way through the movie and it just became a chore to follow. The movie came across as a chick-flick by the end, which wouldn't be surprising for a female writer and director being involved. It hardly contained them as the Bird of Prey and the main villain was a shallow gay feller. He didn't develop within the movie and everything then became predictable.
Finishing off with the cast, there could be a lot to talk about but I shall try and round it up. As already mentioned, McGregor was going to be an interesting watch for me and to no fault of his own, I was left deflated. There was a chance of him being totally menacing throughout the movie but it wasn't utilized. Being more flamboyant than evil at times, the one character that I wanted to prevail was rubbish. We know about Robbie as Quinn and this carried on, we don't need to speak too much about it and the fourth wall break at times was great but her story had no arch to it. Wanting to make it one her own, she became a desperate girl trying to stay alive instead. Moving swiftly on to a couple more, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as The Huntress was a very weird moment. Not because of the choice but the way she was on screen, a very serious but awkward portrayal. Not sure where the idea came from to show the character in this way but it didn't work for me. Ella Jay Basco's character Cassandra Cain did not hit home for me. This was the character I enjoyed the very very least. There seemed to be crude for the sake of crude when it came to this girl and the overly, gangster wannabe didn't land with me sorry.
DC needs to take a step back and find out what is going wrong. Nothing seems to be hitting home and I have no idea whether their fans have tunnel vision or are reluctant to say anything bad. I prefer what the DC comics have because it is darker rather than the Disney stuff from Marvel at times. There is something fundamentally wrong with who is writing these stories and the fans need to ask more questions than where that Snyder cut is hiding. The female comic fans could well enjoy most of this movie but it may fall drastically short for the male DC fan, as it did with me.