(film review) - Blue Story

Since getting older, I've not listen to what they call Grime Music from when they started to call it Grime Music.  I hadn't recognised or realised the genre had "evolved".  It used to be Garage which derived from House & Garage and I enjoyed them both, a lot.  I was fine with that specific name for that specific genre of music.  The moment "they" were calling the scene "Urban" and then Grime came into the fold, I felt there was a narrative being forced upon us and I was out.  What happened to calling UK Rap, UK Rap?  There has been a few UK Rappers back in the day, so are we now calling their music Grime, because Grime is UK Rap?  Maybe I'm misunderstanding it all. So, the majority of these people, like a Santan Dave, Rapman and such, I never knew of them as they were becoming rising stars.  I knew a Kano, Dizzee Rascal, Sway, Wiley and Chipmunk, but I never knew who Shiro was or his story.  Not to say I dislike the scene or culture, but I guess I grew out of it once there was that shift and to watch this film, being British and because I'm not a huge fan of the Grime scene, bar a few artists, I wasn't really interested in this movie by this "no name" (to me of course), about guns, gangs and violence.  But having been put onto Shiro's story (and I love storytelling and movies/TV shows etc - still haven't seen it yet, but I will), I was intrigued by the film and decided to go and watch it.  I mean, I loved Top Boy, all 3 seasons of it.  Even more so when the film was actually released and on the opening weekend Twitter blew up, due to violence breaking out at Star City, a leisure and entertainment complex, in Birmingham, involving Asian youths in an isolated incident leading to one of the 3 major cinema chains dropping it's showing of the movie.  I was hoping for better from the cinema chain.  I was hoping better for youths who carry weapons and fight, because I thought that was exactly what this film was about, how nonsensical it all is rather than perpetuating the issue.  And Blue Story did a decent enough job in showing that.  I'll explain.

Blue Story revolves around a life-time "beef" between two South East London Boroughs involving two gangs, The Peckham Boys and The Ghetto Boys.  Timmy (Stephen Odubola) who lives in Deptford, a town in the Borough of Lewisham which houses the Ghetto Boys, goes to school in Peckham and is best friends with Marco (Michael Ward), a young boy who lives in Peckham, a town in the Borough of Southwark which houses the Peckham Boys.  Although Marco is not a part of a gang, he has an Older Brother (Eric Kofi-Abrefa) who is a Peckham Boy.  With neither of the youths or their friends being a part of a gang or understanding the gang life, they all get on with life as adolescent teens doing teen things, but when Timmy bumps into an old Primary School troublemaker Keiran (Khali Best) who instantly has a beef with Marco because he is from Peckham and is on Ghetto Boy territory, the initial interaction is dismantled but is fuelled later on dragging both innocent teenagers into the life of a gang member, resulting in nothing but tragic events, one after another.

To say this movie was not close to home would be an absolute bold-faced lie.  The director, Rapman did an incredible job in capturing young adolescent teens going through teen life doing teen things, talking about teen stuff which made me reflect on my own personal life and what I was doing at that age.  EVERYTHING was close to home, which was soo accurate, it was unnerving.  The Dynamics of the group of kids were spot on.  There is always a hype one, usually a big/fat one, a quiet/shy one and one or two who are in the middle, but they were all friends with great banter and no prejudices.  These moments provided undeniably the best moments of comedy I ultimately relate to and still go through with the same friends I know from that era.
There are moments in the movie that made me remember things that happened to me as a child on the bus, or on the road, people asking me "where are you from?" as I am also from the very same areas highlighted in the film and had to also avoid anything gang-related.  Growing up, it was difficult not to slide into gang-life or be caught up in gang-warfare or a casualty because everyone knew someone who was affiliated with a gang, i.e a cousin or brother and this is something that still happens to this day all over the UK and over postal codes.

With that said, I wouldn't say this movie is a masterpiece though, as although the movie did a decent job going into gang culture and slightly touching on reasons as to why teens slip into gang-life, I felt that the movie was missing something.  The movie wasn't poignant enough to stress and possibly beat you over the head that the gang-life and fighting over postal codes is absolute nonsense.  There were a few scenes and moments that touched on it, but in my own personal opinion, not enough to beat these kids over the head to ultimately coerce young youths from participating in gangs, but I could be wrong.  There was a bit at the end, but by that time, I'm not sure the message is being hammered home and is simply flying over their heads.  If Rapman is able to dissuade one or two youths from this life from this movie, then that is something.

The acting was great although the story was a touch predictable and I would have liked Rapman to maybe put a twist into the storytelling, but maybe this is me expecting too much for someone I hope would do a sequel touching on the same themes, but possibly going into drugs and maybe the psychology of it all.  The reasons why these youths are in gangs or seemingly allowed to roam the streets, where are these guns coming from and how disconnected these youths are just like how disconnected society is.

I really enjoyed this movie, although, somewhat a musical which threw me at first, but I would definitely like more, hopefully Rapman has more up his sleeve.

(film review) - Knives Out

Rian Johnson is a director I got to know about when I watched a film starring one of my favourite actors, Bruce Willis.  The film was called 'Looper' and it involved a hitman or executioner (called a Looper) who kill those who have committed crimes in the future who have been sent back through time to the hitman as the disposing of bodies in the future is difficult.  However, when said hitman's future self is sent back - PROBLEMS.  Loved the story and the intricacies in that movie as it was intriguing and I was starting to like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, especially as I loved Inception and liked The Dark Knight Rises.  Also, Emily Blunt can do no wrong.
The Last Jedi, I loved.  I don't say much about it as there are soo much conflicting thoughts on what is good and what is bad about it, but I thought it was clever.  I mean it felt like Star Wars to me.  Rian doesn't hold back on the War aspect of the movie and does get a touch political.  The Canto Bight section was boring but I understood why it was there and the fight near the end was great.  Effectively he divided the fandom and I guess a lot of people didn't like what he did especially with the final twist in the movie.  He does like a twist.  So, with that said, Knives Out has plenty and not only is it clever too, it is damn well funny.

The head of a patriarch, Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) a wealthy crime novelist dies on the night of his 85th Birthday party with all the family and help, attended.  But when a famous and quirky private eye, Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is hired to solve the mystery of Harlan's death alongside Detective Lieutenant Elliot (Lakeith Stanfield) and police officer Trooper Wagner (Noah Segan), every attendee of the weird and quirky family from the Daughter (Jamie Lee Curtis), Son (Michael Shannon), Grandsons (Chris Evans, Jacob Martell), Granddaughter (Katherine Langford), Daughter-in-law (Toni Collette, Riki Lindhome), Son-in-law (Don Johnson) and Help (Ana de Armas) from that night are questioned.  Slowly and surely, secrets are revealed with almost every attendee having motive to kill Harlan for his riches.

This movie was clever, intelligent, humorous and hilarious.  Intelligent writing mixed with clever story telling and gags which led to humorous and hilarious moments.  For example, the film starts with a few ladies in the kitchen for breakfast.  One is listening to a murder mystery story on the radio, another is emotional over the recent murder and the other is trying to be sensitive to the subject.  Not a huge spoiler at all, but this very scene allows you to understand the tone of the movie with it's intelligent writing and clever storytelling which had the cinema laughing.  I mean, the story on the radio itself is simply gold.  Rian Johnson essentially throws in one-liners or what would be throw-away comments for them to appear later in the movie.  You are led to believe everyone has a motive and anyone could have done it, which is great, but the intricacies of the plot thickens halfway through the movie which changes the narrative completely.

Every actor in this movie is on top form.  Some don't get a lot to do unfortunately, but those who do are a breath of fresh air.  Daniel Craig's accent is weird, but you get used to it.  You can see he is having a great time with his role.  I found Lakeith and Toni's characters funny, especially with the latter and Jamie's interaction in a specific scene, Jamie was great!  But the standouts are definitely Chris Evans and Ana de Armas, where old Captain America wasn't seen as old Steve Rogers (at least to me anyway) and Ana (having not seen her in anything) was simply amazing.  It was great seeing Michael Shannon as to me, looks like the same person as I feel he has a distinguishable face, but disappears and looks different in every role.  Plus I couldn't help but think, Oh, Zodd and Captain America in one movie, they are crossing the streams...lol!!!

If you like a Murder mystery such as a Clue or Murder on the Orient Express, then this one is for you.  It would be interesting to come across anyone who disliked this movie, unless it is to do with what Rian did with Star Wars. Enjoy

(trailer review) - Call of the Wild

Everything is an animation. Well at least I think so with this one.
This is most likely not going to be a film which is for me at all.  I love me some Harrison Ford as he is some of my childhood greats, such as Indian Jones and Han Solo, but I can't say that this will be a film for me.  Plus I'm not sure if this is the right fit for me, well for what I see Harrison doing anyway.
A dog called Buck in which eventually befriends him? And the dog has all these abilities and can do everything? Maybe I don't get it because I'm not a dog owner or lover, but I'm also confused to if this is a full CGI dog or has CGI elements such as some movement and facial expressions.  I was perplexed watching the trailer trying to rack my head around it all.  Having watched it 3 times though, I'm going to go with FULL CGI, due to the stillness of the dog at times - Uncanny Valley territory.  I mean, it is a Disney Movie, so it should have some fun capers and heart to it.

Directed by Chris Sanders and starring Harrison Ford, Dan Stevens, Omar Sy, Karen Gillan

(trailer review) - Cats

I remember seeing the first trailer of this and thinking, "Errrr, OK!?!" I also thought that there is a lot of named talent in this movie too.  Of course I smiled when I saw a person of colour like Idris and Jennifer, but I also smiled when I saw the names of greats such as Sir Ian McKellen and Dame Judy Dench.  But looking at the trailer simply had me intrigued.   This trailer does nothing more but add to the intrigue and also puzzle me like the first trailer did.
I mean what is this movie about?  I never saw the theatre production and I think, from what I've heard or understand, it is a bunch of stray cats, living a cats life.  I mean, it's not Top Cat or Heathcliff, cats in which I'm familiar with, just a bunch of sing-song stray cats.  The entire premise is weird and it looks weird and I can't say I'm bought into this, people in costumes doing cat-like things with cat-like mannerisms and I'm not sure what to make of it if I'm honest.  So with that said, I'll give this a..."Hmmm, maybe".  Plus I'm not sure if I'm a fan of musicals if I'm honest.  For Colored Girls caught me off-guard and I wasn't a huge fan of the musical/Spoken word/Poetry of it, although I loved the stories told in the movie. Hmmm....

Directed By Tom Hooper and starring James Corden, Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen,

(film review) - Doctor Sleep

A very different film to The Shining, a film in which is the prequel to Doctor Sleep.  My concern is, there are those who watched and read The Shining movie and book, respectively, but had NO idea there was a sequel in movie or book called Doctor Sleep.  It would have been a great advantage if the producers didn't lean soo heavily on the fans of The Shining and expect them to automatically know what Doctor Sleep was, film or book.  You could argue and say, "Well if they were a fan of The Shining, then they would know about the book", and the answer to that is, "No, they actually might not know, so, it's better if you make them aware anyway".  I mean, they advertise Christmas in September, you can't advertise this film as The Shining Sequel?  Maybe calling the movie, 'The Shining 2: Doctor Sleep' would have worked better, like 'Transformers: Bumblebee' would have worked better for that Franchise, so on and so forth.

Anyway, I watched The Shining only a few days ago because I knew I had watched it before, but I couldn't remember how much of it I had watched or if I only saw highlights.  I mean it is a very well revered Stanley Kubrick film and they have taken soooo many elements from that movie to place in other movies over the years.  I mean, Ready Player One took many set pieces from the film and incorporated it into that mish-mash (purposely done and for good reason, not accidentally) of a film, so to say the film isn't a classic would be just silly.  But it took me two days to finish the movie and I must say, although I enjoyed the style of filming, not soo much the pace but I got used to it and the acting was great, it was a good film but very, very different from this sequel called, Doctor Sleep.  I'll Explain.

Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor) is a man who suffers PTSD due to the events which occurred in the Overlook Hotel when he was 5 years old.  He was on a trip with his father and mother but went mad and tried to kill him.  These traumatic experiences haunt him soo much that he finds it hard to cope so uses alcohol to suppress what he is going through and his memories.  Danny travels from town to town until he finds somewhere he feels he will be able to live and have a peaceful life.  However, things go wrong for Danny when he is met with a bunch of cults named the True Knot led by Rose the Hat who seek out those with the shine for immortality.

A very different film from the first one and at first, I found it a little difficult to grasp.  There is a lot of lore placed into this film in regards to what the Shine is and what people with the Shine can do.  Constantly I kept thinking of the first film asking myself, "Did I see this in the first film or anything like this?", but the movie doesn't explain everything to you and allows you to read between the lines.
The film was scary and there was tension built in places and some scenes didn't turn out how I had thought, meaning, I couldn't predict what was going to happen, which was good, however I did feel that the film leaned way too heavy on some elements of the first film to hammer it home that it is a Shining movie.  I wished they did that in the title.

There is a little girl in the movie who was simply excellent. Her name is Kyliegh Curran and her characters name was Abra.  I think this was her debut and she was flawless.  There were moments in this movie with her character that had me rolling with laughter especially two major moments involving Rose; and with the addition of Cliff Curtis playing Billy Freeman as Dan's friend, also provided some great moments.  Trying to avoid some heavy spoilers, I will say there are flash back scenes which we phenomenal.  I wasn't sure if they were lifted from the original movie or reenacted, but for some of these shots, I was definitely blown away.

A really good film especially if you like The Shining.  The cinematography was good and the music.  Haunting, definitely when they brought in the original from the first movie.  Not quite Kubrick but good nonetheless.  Mike Flanagan did a great job and he has some really good and interesting visuals would looked great on screen. I look forward to more from him.

(trailer review) - The Irishman

When I first heard this announced, it was mentioned that these three actors have NEVER been in a movie together.  So as these three actors are known in Hollywood as great actors of our time, to be in a movie, finally and altogether, it is believed that this would end up being a great movie.  However, using some De-Aging techniques which they have done with a few films of late, the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Gemini Man (although this was different), this film is promised to be a story that spans decades and with these three actors and a director like Martin, we can only wait and see.
A mob/gangster movie spanning decades of the life of Robert DeNiro and his relationship with Al Pacino and Joe Pesci.  I'll watch.

Directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, Al Pacino and Harvey Keitel.

(trailer review) - SpongeBob: Sponge on the Run

I've never been a SpongeBob fan so I never got the appeal.  It's the same with Dragonball Z, I just never got into it or got the appeal, so watching this trailer, kids or not, just didn't appeal to me.
When he falls into the water and soaks it up and inflates, that made me burst out laughing and the part where they get to the "Vegas" place and are bedazzled by all it's wonder, made me smile, but other than that, maybe a newer and better trailer, maybe, just maybe I'll be more interested.  But as it stands I could care less.

Directed by Tim Hill with voice acting by Tom Kenny.

(film review) - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

I finally got to clap eyes on this movie strangely enough, as it did leave the cinema.  However, this one was re-released with additional footage and although I didn't see the original release, I was still happy to bask in the genious that is a 'Tarantino Movie" again, hoping this one to be as good as others he has directed.

The Hateful Eight was good, but just that.  I didn't leave the cinema wow'ed unlike Django Unchained, Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2, Jackie Brown, Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs.  Granted, I didn't see a few of his earlier ones in the cinema and had a coughing fit during Inglorious Basterds and all now, I still haven't seen it.  But as for this movie, hmmm, it was very Tarantino.   Let me explain.

Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a actor now past his "prime" having done acting jobs after acting jobs but not receiving the recognition he believe he deserves and finding it difficult to navigate the changing film industry.  Along with his stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) who is also finding it difficult to find work due to a "rumoured" troubled past, they both live in Hollywood trying to get work in 1969 around the same time as the murder of Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) an up and coming model and actress.

First of all, although everything around Sharon Tate could be regarded as background "filler" or "noise", the film compiles various stories to come together to a climax at the very end and nothing short of what you'd expect from a Tarantino movie and also very satisfying.  The music is great, the dialogue is great.  There is a one-on-one with a little girl Rick has, and it simply shows intelligent and clever writing where Tarantino allows certain moments between characters to play out.  I mean, Rick Dalton is actually a GREAT actor and there is a scene in a trailer where DiCaprio goes to town and it's something we have all done in our lives (likely) and it's great and also funny.  So, real, he captures what that moment is like.  Not to mention how funny this movie is.  It doesn't try to be hilarious and some elements of the movie night be too inside-baseball, but it's the clever writing and situational humour that Tarantino is known for which makes elements of this film excellent.

The way the film is shot, it starts as an ad (as if you were watching TV back in the day on the box) and all you see is various ads throughout this movie along with reflection moments and even when we are on the set to a film, it's shot as though you are the camera watching the performance (which is the case), but takes on some old school filming tropes and it was at that moment, I wondered, "where is the film crew", but Tarantino weaves the filming of his movie and filming of a movie withing a movie to act as though we are just watching a movie that isn't the actual movie, brilliantly (if you follow).  There is a scene involving a bunch of hippies in which Tarantino did his best to lead the audience in lots of different directions which involved Brad Pitt who was also excellent in this movie.  The three main cast were spot on in their performance and it was nice to have Al Pacino sprinkled in there.  Althoughtl there wasn't a lot for Margot to do, what she delivered with what she had was great. She is a great actor and once again paired with DiCaprio since Wolf of Wall Street.

The film is very slow pacing and at times can be a little annoying as I did tend to get a little restless, but its the attention to detail.  It's the attention to camera angles and movements.  It's the attention to dialogue and expression.  There is a dog in the movie that was sooo well trained and then the ending climax to the film when everything came together was absolute gold.  It was Tarantino. Soo Tarantino and I loved it.

I believe it is important to remember that this movie is a fairytale based on characters in and around the true events of a real life tragedy that doesn't romanticise the tragedy in any way nor make light of it.  I left the movie thinking, "that was long, but I enjoyed it", especially with the additional scenes after and during the credits, but having really enjoyed it, I would definitely watch it again.

(trailer review) - The Way Back

Depression in men is a real thing.  Alcoholism is a real thing.  Hardship is a real thing.  Escapism is a real thing.  All these things need to be addressed properly in life and the things we men use as escapism aren't always the best things for our physical and mental health, especially if we aren't all there mentally because we have been trying to fight or put aside what has been bothering us for years.  Ownership of our demons are healthy for healing.

I've watched this trailer 3 times and all 3 times has brought me very close to tears.  This trailer is a masterpiece.  It shows you a broken man.  For whatever reasons is an alcoholic and is very down on his luck and it seems the only joy he seems to get, is helping these young kids in coaching them through Basketball, but his demons are ever persistent.

Say what you will about Ben Affleck as a lot of people just don't like him.  I never used to, to be honest, kinda like Leonardo DiCaprio, but after watching 'The Town' I grew to appreciate him as an actor and excellent director.  I don't need to see any more trailers as I will be watching this. No, it's or buts.

Directed by GavinO'Conner and starring Ben Affleck

(trailer review) - 6 Underground

Ugh, Michael Bay.  As annoying as Michael Bay's directing can be at times, the super slow-mo, small bonsai trees spontaneously blowing up in huge explosions to eclipse mountains, the pan-around shot around a character and in some cases, just dead dialogue; upon hearing about this movie for Netflix on a Netflix Budget (new lingo - Netflix Budget), I immediately rolled my eyes because, well I didn't care for it at all.  I like Ryan Reynolds and I loved Pain & Gain and the first Transformers Movie which was good-ish, but the rest got borderline racist among other types of nonsense.  And although the Transformers franchise made money, they were for the most part, simply piss-poor.  A far cry from Bumblebee (not directed by him), Bad Boys & The Rock.  And now it looks like Bad Boys 3 will be in the same vain as Bad Boys 2 than 1 and that's likely because of him, so I hope this new set of directors surprise me.

This trailer though, I'm not going to lie, tickled my fancy.  And although THERE IS a SLOW- MOTION PAN AROUND A CHARACTER shot, I did actually like the trailer a little.  Just a little.  I mean, it looks stylish (as usual).  The scenery looks beautiful and there are some excellently breath-taking shots and we have Ryan Reynolds, Ryan Reynolds is a WIN!!!  Plus, a Special Ops team who are literally the walking dead.  So, I'm hoping for the best really.  In Michael Bay we don't trust, but we hope.

Directed by Michael Bay and Starring Ryan Reynolds, Mélanie Laurent, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Peyman Maadi, Adria Arjona & Corey Hawkins,

(trailer review) - Fantasy Island

You see, I remember the name but I can't say I remember the show of the same name.  Must be one of those things where you hear of the name a lot but have no idea what it is.  With that said and when I did a little research on it, I remembered the little guy named Tattoo and recognise the main dude.  I think the little guy was in a James Bond film with, Roger Moore?

Anyway, from looks of the trailer, this looks like a spooky yet freaky horror movie that obviously isn't going to go well at all.  I'm thinking Shutter Island but not a psychological thriller, just a straight, make a wish and the wish comes true in the most sinister way.  In fact, like the episode of Rick and Morty where Summer goes to work for The Devil and The Devil had beef with Rick (for those who know).  It doesn't look like a compelling role for Michael Peña and this could all be a bit lackluster, however I'm hoping there are some nice horror twists or it is just a waste of a franchise, especially as I'm sure they will want to Saw Franchise this.  And just because it is from the Producers of Get Out and Halloween, I'm still not bought.

Directed by Jeff Wadlow and starring Michael Peña, Maggie Q, Lucy Hale, Austin Stowell, and  Portia Doubleday

(trailer review) - Skin Walker

Is this a silly name or is it just perfect for what the film is about?  As for the trailer, all I could get from it is a woman having a disfigured baby, the baby mentioned as being dead and an angry father whilst a woman is in despair and seems to be losing it whilst her or another woman seem to think the baby is still alive.  So, it's a matter of proving who is lying and getting back the child and proving that, that person wasn't going mad because the family is holding back secrets?  I don't know and I could be wrong but this film does intrigue me.  I'll wait for a better trailer to tell a "better" story before I can say I am fully invested.  Still seems like a silly name, though.

Directed by Christian Neuman and starring Udo Kier, Jefferson Hall & Amber Anderson 

(trailer review) - Scooby-Doo

When I was younger I used to watch Scooby-Doo.  Always trying to track the bad guy as I'm sure it is a murder mystery cartoon...or if not murder, people go missing, no? I really can't remember and really don't care at this point.  But I remember it used to be fun especially when they introduced Scrappy-Doo, the tiny version of scooby that loved to fight.  However, once I was told that Scooby-Doo and the gang was a bunch of Hippy druggies and that only Shaggy talks to Scooby and Scooby talks back to Shaggy (kinda like Stu and his Mum in Family Guy, that kinda thing, sorta) and they understand each other because Shaggy is constantly high.  I had no idea they were hippies when I was watching it as a young boy.  Plus, you don't see shaggy on drugs or taking them (Kids TV), but he seems to be clearly on it.  It was at that moment, my mind was blown.  I cannot validate this and maybe this information is wrong, but I've never cared to try and find out if it were true or not, or if it made sense.

As for this movie trailer, it isn't for me and I really don't care for an origin story of Shaggy and Scooby.  They are not aiming this film at me as I am NOT the demographic and it doesn't seem like a movie as clever as a Disney Pixar's Toy Story or Incredibles for it to also appeal to adults, ie myself, so I have nothing to really say about it as I wasn't entertained by it.  What I did like about it though, was the updated animation and how the characters were drawn, I really liked that.  The drawings were very modern but they kept the aesthetic which I loved.  Other than that, this needs to amaze me to be interested and I really don't see that happening.

Directed by Tony Cervone and starring Kiersey Clemons, Zac Efron, Will Forte, Jason Isaacs, Ken Jeong & Tracy Morgan

(trailer review) - 47 Hours

Ok, let's be real, some of these types of movies are straight garbage.  Anything for a cheap jump scare for a fast buck.  I can't say I've seen a Blumhouse movie that had done that or have heard of one, as for the most part, Blumhouse movies are decent and make a ton of money, but as soon as I saw those maggots in the girl's mouth and the guy getting hit by the car, I had a reaction.  I had to watch the trailer again and again to see part of the girl's face fall off, the other girl's mouth huge like a Titan from Attack on Titan and the blood spilling from a girls skirtand this is because they played some game.

It looks a little nasty and I'm currently in two minds about getting involved, but I do like creepy and this does weird in a creepy way.  The big mouth bit reminded me of the little boy in The Grudge, but then the way she moves...lol.  Ok, I'm kinda involved.

Directed by Patrick Johnson and starring  Allie Marie Evans, Annie Hamilton & Alexandria Deberry.

(trailer review) - Sonic the Hedgehog

So, Hollywood decided on making a film about Sonic the Hedgehog, a computer game from the 90's available on the Sega console systems such as the Master System and the Mega-Drive.  Sonic was soo popular that he also had his own TV series, so I'm guessing, to rejuvenate this character and the franchise beyond gaming, (because they still make Sonic games), they decided to do this film and try and reap the benefits.

The first hurdle and problem was in the first trailer for this movie as it looked terrible.  Sonic looked terrible, Jim Carrey didn't look that great or Iconic and the acting...well, it's a kids movie aimed at kids.  I am glad they listened to the fans and have redesigned Sonic to change his look to the more known and classic look and it looks great.  A much more accurate depiction.  I think where the film falls down (in the trailer at least and not including the acting from Jim Carrey and/or dialogue) is at the beginning, we see Sonic's world.  It looks GREAT! But he is in our world....Booooo!!!!  Let Dr. Robotnik finds his way into Sonic's world and have him do what he does best in there.  It just reminds me of the movie, Bumblebee, the first 5-10 minutes was excellent, Cybertron, then that was it.  It should have been the entire movie.  Should have been called Transformers: Bumblebee also, but at least this one is called Sonic the Hedgehog instead of Blue Speedster.  Let's just hope it does well, as we need more computer game movies and them done right.

I doubt I'd see this as it doesn't really interest me personally, but maybe some more trailers may convince me.  Bottom line. not really my thing.

Directed by Jeff Fowler and starring James Marsden and Jim Carrey

(series review) [STREAMING] - Living with Yourself

I can't say I've seen a lot of Paul Rudd movies or shows, but I do recognise him from films such as, Anchor Man...... And he is s very likeable guy.  I wasn't bothered that they brought him into the Marvel Cinematic Universe at all and he plays Scott Lang well.  The thing I like about him the most after discovering it, is that he has been trolling Conan O'Brian (the talk show guy) for years and there is a 6 and a half minute clip on YouTube that just gets funnier and funnier.  So, knowing Paul as a funny guy, I thought a series with him in it would be equally the same.

Living with Yourself is a funny and bizarre show about a man, Miles (Paul Rudd) who is essentially up to his eyeballs in work, his marriage with Kate (Aisling Bea) seems to be breaking down due to various reasons, so he treats himself to a spa make-over to hopefully come out brand new, refreshed and full of a different type of energy and hopefully can navigate through life better with a different and more positive outlook on life (well maybe not all that but, come out feeling better, you know).  However, the desired effects are not what happens as he is cloned.

The show has an interesting way of telling the story from different perspectives and gives you insight on the behaviours of Miles and his clone.  The interactions are funny especially as Paul Rudd's mannerisms are great playing both characters.  What is also great is due to these perspectives, it enables the viewer to relate to these different characters for different reasons and see what motivates them or life from their point of view.  I mean we can all relate to wanting to have more of yourself to do more things at the same time, like "two heads are better than one", kinda….or is that just me?

There isn't much twists or turns in this show and because the show is only 25-30 minutes, the cliff-hangers made me wonder what was going to happen next and if there were any other twists.  I was thinking in between shows (the Netflix 15 second intervals), "did he do this or did she do that?", "what happens when?".  I was very curious and intrigued by the sheer plot of it all because there are points where you don't have a clue what is going on and whom is doing what and why.

This show might not appease everyone as it's not hilariously funny all the time, as there are small moments and bigger ones, but not necessarily a wet your pants, funny moments, but Paul Rudd definitely sales it.  It is fun, grounded and very clever.  And as this is a series and is cheaply made, I felt like the two Paul Rudd's were better than the two Will Smiths, unfortunately. His wife Kate (Aisling Bea) is also great in the show but the show is more about Miles and his clone and how they deal with things, not to say she is a side character but her role isn't as big as his although she does have an episode centred around her which was great.

What I will say is, how the series ended was just the biggest non-cliff-hanger, cliff-hanger I've seen in a TV history.  It's not a cliff-hanger because well, that's it, right? That's how it ended.  But then it is a cliff-hanger because, surely, is THAT IT!?  It's hard to explain as the show is bizarre enough to take you on this ride in the first place only to end in such a way that leaves you either wanting more or you've definitely seen enough and don't want to see anymore.  However, I want to see if there will be a second season.  I mean, I thought about cloning myself afterwards.

(trailer review) - Ip Man 4: The Finale

Pronounced like "TIP" but with NO T......Ip! The master who trained Bruce Lee.  If you are into Martial Arts and Kung Fu, then this is definitely for you. I remember watching the first one and it was as if I was watching Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon again or HERO, I loved it.  Watching this trailer and seeing Donnie Yen reprise his role as the titular character is great and seeing even a glimpse of Bruce Lee in this was great.  I'm a fan of Bruce Lee although I haven't seen his films but I love his Martial Arts and showmanship.  I saw Ip Man 2 but didn't watch 3 because Mike Tyson was in it and it put me off the series/franchise, but seeing this again has brought me back.  Maybe before this one is released, I will watch them all to catch myself up.


Directed by Wilson Yip and staring Donnie Yen and Scott Adkins

(trailer review) - Soul

Disney is Skynet.  I mean how many movies are they realeasing a year?  From the studio that brought us Inside Out (which was good and I enjoyed), Up (which was also good and I enjoyed) and Coco (one I didn't see but heard it was really good) these guys do NOT drop the ball.  I saw Toy Story 4 which was excellent (as per usual) and Incredible 2 (which was seemless after all these years and very good), it's just interesting where they are going to go with this movie about a black teacher and musician who falls down a manhole/sewer drain and possibly dies.  It's a little dark but a lot of these cartoons are.  When the brother died in Big Hero 6 (SPOILER ALERT - after the fact, I know), that got me hard!!! Let's see what they will do.  I feel like it will have a great message behind it and be VERY uplifting.  I feel the tears already.

Directed by Pete Docter and starring Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Questlove, Phylicia Rashad, Daveed Diggs,

(trailer review) - Wendy

Ok, so the first thing that caught me off guard was that, Peter Pan is a black (person of colour) child? I had to watch the trailer 3-4 times just to make sure I understood what they were doing here.... and I love it!  I mean other than the fact that, all I could think about whilst watching this trailer is, 'The Goonies', wild children and bad parenting, this film looks very heartfelt and also very modern in comparison to previous Peter Pan outings and also not very fantastical. It would seem like it is more rooted and grounded with small fantasy elements, ie whatever our imagination can conjure up and in this case, these children.  I'm interested in seeing another trailer and seeing where they will go with this. Not really my type of movie, unless they get but a bit more fantastical with it, but it has caught my attention.

Directed by Benh Zeitlin and starring Tommie Lynn Milazzo and Shay Walker

(trailer review) - Color Out of Space

Now this looks intriguing.  Say what you will about Nicholas Cage but he is a pretty decent actor and he is always in a movie.  It's something like a minimum of 4 movies a year.  8 Movies last year, 6 movies this year and as it currently stands, 5 movies next year, he is working HARD!  Though some of these are likely to be direct to DVD, small releases or what-have-you, some of his movies really stand out from the crowd such as Mandy which got a lot of praise.

This film is from the producers of Mandy and strikes me as an modern day B-Movie.  It would be interesting to see what the audience thinks once they have seen this as people could have fun with it. I'm neither here or there with it but as I said, intriguing and the film might actually be good.

Directed by Richard Stanley and starring Nicolas Cage

(trailer review) - The Invisible Man

I want to go on about the 'Monster Universe' Universal Studios tried to set up a few years back with Dracula Untold, then when they tried to reboot the Universe again with The Mummy... ultimately, they both failed.  However, if this is a silent reboot, then I can get with that, providing this movie does well in the studios eyes and any other monster movies they end up doing also does well, then they can just connect them all.

We have had loads of The Invisible Man movies and to be honest, I think the only one I can remember is the Chevy Chase one, Memoirs of an Invisible Man.  No, I didn't see Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.

This movie looks pretty decent and from Blumhouse Productions, (those who make scary movies for a couple of dollars to make thousands of more dollars) and from the director of Upgrade (the better Venom movie), this film looks like it will be a good and entertaining watch, although it seems as though we've seen the entire movie in the trailer.

Directed by Leigh Whannell and starring Elizabeth Moss, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid

(film review) - Zombieland: Double Tap

Around 12 years ago, they mentioned making a film called Zombieland (I even reviewed it - gosh I feel old) and I wasn't sure what to make of it.  10 years ago, they released the trailer and the movie seemed goofy and fun, but I wasn't sure what to make of it.  Saw the movie in December 2009 and as my review stated, I really enjoyed it.  I had been awaiting a sequel to this movie ever since and it had been on hold because director Ruben Fleischer had been busy making films like 30 Minutes or Less, Gangster Squad and the more recent, Venom.  They did try to launch a TV series back in 2013 with Amazon Studios, but the show didn't even get past the terrible pilot as it was that bad.  I watched it and for the most part, it seems they got most of the core elements of the show, but it was just bad, really.  The characters had no chemistry and it just seemed very much like a budget Zombieland.  This sequel on the other hand, something we have waited 10 years for, not only does Ruben address the elephant in the room with it being 10 years, he also doesn't even bother to try and fix the concept of Zombieland, only expand/evolve it and that is BRILLIANT!!!  I mean, if it isn't broke, why fix it?

The film literally picks up 10 years later in real-time and since the events of the first movie, the zombies have evolved.  Whereas in the first movie it doesn't seem there is much civilians left that had survived the apocalypse, the now dysfunctional family have taken residence in The White House.  However, when Little Rock (Abigail) meets a guy named Berkeley (Avan Jogia) and goes missing, Wichita (Emma Stone), Colombus (Jesse Eisenberg) and Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) go off looking for Little Rock at Graceland, Elvis' home.  On their travels they have a new tag-a-long named Madison (Zoey Deutch) who has been living in a freezer the entire time and once they make it to Gracelands, chaos ensues, of course.

It took me a moment to get into this movie this time around and I'm not sure what it is, but I wasn't fully tuned in at the beginning.  I thought it might be because it has been a long time since we have seen these characters but I actually re-watched Zombieland last week so this feeling I was having confused me.  Maybe I was tied (which I was).  Maybe I was thinking it was 10 years too late and I wasn't invested any more or maybe it wasn't as witty and funny as the last one, but it was, it was witty and funny.  I really started getting into the movie once they met Madison and once we got to Graceland.

The rules are still there and we get to learn a bunch of new ones.  And just like what I said for the first movie, you might need to watch it again for the rules alone, but this film is just like the first one. The family are exactly the same.  Crazy Zombie kills, chaotic, clever and funny dialogue and with the evolved zombies, the humour definitely still fits in the world we had established 10 years ago.  One of my favourite scenes was at Graceland where they meet a 'Doppelganger' family and how that part of the story pans out.

Ruben Fleischer does an excellent job directing with keeping the same tone as the original and bringing back the now very well established cast.  Emma Stone, Golden and Academy Award winner, since the first movie.  Jesse Eisenberg, Golden and Academy Award nominee since the first movie.  Woody Harrelson, Primetime Emmy Award winner, 3 x Academy Award nominee and Sag Award ensemble winner to various movies, it's just great to see that these actors decided that this role wasn't too little for them and a brilliant job done getting back into the roles because Woody, Jesse, Emma and Abigail are excellent.  The film literally feels like 10 years later, we are still with these guys and they are still killing zombies and it's great.

My only critique of the movie is that, I would have liked to see the rules clearer as they do pop up obscurely throughout the movie and the lack of one of the zombies they named during the first act.  Other than that, if you enjoyed the first movie, this film continues with no bumps and no displacement since the 10 years.  I'm also glad the didn't try to do anything too outrageous that would have taken you away from the world of Zombieland and out of the film, although that Leaning Tower of Pisa part was teetering on the edge.  Just like the first one though, I would definitely watch this one again.

(trailer review) - Bad Boys for Life

I guess for the most part, I enjoyed Bad Boys 2, but there is a notable difference between the first and second film.  This one on the other hand looks like more of the same as it's predecessor and I can't say I'm mad at that.  Both Will and Martin are noticeably older and it seems like part 3 will play on that 'Leathal Weapon' "I'm too old for this shit" rift which will provide comic relief in this movie I know I will enjoy.  I'm hoping all the cast is back, as that would be great to see.  Especially if they got some deep cuts from the first and second movie.  I'd buy this for a dollar - sorry, wait, wrong cop movie.

Directed by and starring Will Smith and Marin Lawrence.

(trailer review) - The Banker

Apple are now smack bang in the middle of the streaming wars, well they very soon will be and someone already told me of a series starring Jason Mamoa called "See" which is meant to be a really good watch and has a great concept.  So seeing this trailer obviously intrigued me due to Apple's efforts to plant themselves in this war with the calibre of projects and actors to rival Netflix (I'm sure and the new Disney+) so we shall see what more comes out from Apple TV.

Depending on scheduling and such, I do think Samuel L. Jackson is miscast for this role as it seems to me he is playing "himself" or a character that isn't that far removed from others he has done, but I am loving the 'based on a true story' aspect of the movie.  Anthony Mackie is definitely a very credible star and I do like Nicholas Hoult as he was brilliant in Fury Road and as Beast in the X-Men franchise.  I'm definitely interested in this story as I've heard nothing about it and am keen to learn.  It's just upsetting to see racism in these period pieces which are a reflection on true events that happened in the past.  How many successful black people and areas there would have been for a better America if those who could were allowed to.

Anyway, a definite watch for me.

Directed by George Nolfi and starring Anthony Mackie, Samuel L. Jackson, Nia Long and Nicholas Hoult.