Oct 16 2021

Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) Movie Review ‘Comedy Saves The Film’

Venom: Let There Be Carnage – Comedy Saves The Film

Director: Andy Serkis

Writer: Kelly Marcel (Screenplay) Todd McFarlane, David Michelinie (Characters)

Starring: Tom Hardy, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris, Reid Scott, Stephen Graham

Plot: Eddie Brock attempts to reignite his career by interviewing serial killer Cletus Kasady, who becomes the host of the symbiote Carnage and escapes prison after a failed execution.

Runtime: 1 Hour 37 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Venom: Let There Be Carnage starts as Eddie Brock (Hardy) and Venom are still trying to figure out a way to live their lives together, with the interviews with Cletus Kasady (Harrelson) being a chance to put Eddie back in the spotlight, at a price though.

When Cletus bites Eddie, he gets some of Venom’s blood into his system, unleashing a new symbiote Carnage on the world, as this new pair looks to cause carnage, with Eddie and Venom needing to put their differences aside to stop their loved one getting killed.

Thoughts on Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Characters & Performances – Eddie is the still down on his luck reporter that is living with Venom in his head, constantly wanting food, he is getting tired of Venom getting in his way, but gets his stardom back after cracking the code of serial killer Cletus Kasady. Eddie must learn to live with Venom, or face a new threat in his life. Tom Hardy does well with the comedy side of this film, he will get more laughs than anyone else. Cleuts Kasady is the serial killer locked up, waiting for his life to be taken, when he learns Eddie has revealed the location of the bodies, he is put on death row, until he bites Eddie, getting infected with a new symbiote, one that will let him cause carnage, as he looks to rescue his lost love, as the Carnage side of him will kill anyone who gets in his way. Woody Harrelson does give us a twisted serial killer performance, it is everything we saw in Natural Born Killers though. Anne is the former fiancée to Eddie, she has moved on with her life, but is always there is Eddie needs him, which he does once again. Frances Barrison has the ability to unleashes a crippling scream, a weapon that has seen her locked up, until Cletus breaks her out, only her screaming will cause problems around the symbiotes. Michelle Williams and Naomie Harris are both wonderful actresses, they both look like they are having a lot of fun in this movie.

Story – The story here follows Eddie and Venom as they look to get on with their lives, but the differences between them stops that, with the pair needing to learn work together to take down the next threat in the city Carnage. This is a story that will make the end credits scene in the last film come off strange, because that implies Cletus is already carnage, which he isn’t until he is about to be executed. The twisted killers wanting to go on the run, is something fresh for a villainous side of characters in a comic book movie, which is nice to see. With the Eddie and Venom needing to learn how to get along being the side that gets the laughs. The story will tick all the boxes for what you would expect from the action side of the story, with very little coming off on the original side here.

Themes – Venom: Let There Be Carnage is the latest action comic book movie, with the action sequences looking as chaotic as you would imagine, not being the easiest thing to watch. When we look at the comedy though, this is where things shine, with the highlight being Venom ending up at day of the dead festival. When it comes to the special effects on show here, this is a flawless performance from that team, who make every single moment look like a natural occurrence.

Final Thoughts – Venom: Let There Be Carnage is a chaotic action movie, that turns to the comedy to make it enjoyable.

Oct 7 2021

Cop Secret (2021) Movie Review ‘The Best Action Comedy of the Year’

Cop Secret – Best Action Comedy of the Year

Director: Hannes Þór Halldórsson

Writer: Hannes Þór Halldórsson, Nína Pedersen, Sverrir Þór Sverrisson (Screenplay) Hannes Þór Halldórsson, Egill Einarsson, Auðunn Blöndal (Story)

Starring: Auðunn Blöndal, Egill Einarsson, Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir, Sverrir Þór Sverrisson, Vivian Ólafsdóttir, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, Júlíana Sara Gunnarsdóttir

Plot: A cop in denial of his sexuality, falls in love with his new partner, while investigating a string of bank break-in.

Runtime: 1 Hour 38 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Cop Secret starts as we meet Bússi (Blöndal) who has the reputation of being the toughest cop in Iceland, along with his partner Klemenz (Sverrisson) who is reluctantly involved in a high speed pursuit cause plenty of damage along the way, leaving Bússi’s rival Hörꝺur (Einarsson) to steal the spotlight, getting closer to taking his title as the toughest cop in Iceland.

When the pair find themselves working on the same case, they decide to put their differences aside to bring down the mastermind criminal Rikki (Haraldsson) behind it all

Thoughts on Cop Secret

Characters & Performances – Bússi has the reputation of being the toughest cop in Iceland, he always gets the criminals, even if it means sometimes he steps outside the law to achieve this. He has seen partners wanting to stop working with him, but when the latest case comes up, he is left to work with his rival, while questioning his own sexuality. He will always do what is best for his country, making it safe for the people. Auðunn Blöndal is great in this role, he brings all of the action hero traits, along with the comedy of being over the top in the role. Hörꝺur is the rival officer, coming from a wealthy family, where he clearly doesn’t need to put his life at risk, he has become just as efficient in the stopping criminal game, where he will start taking the spotlight away from Bússi. Egill Einarsson plays this role perfectly, knowing he is meant to be more over the top than his rival, which will get more laughs than it needs to. Rikki is the criminal mastermind that has been waiting for his chance to take down his plans, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson is a great villain to watch, clearly designed to be wildly over the top, which will create the extra impact in his scenes. The whole cast do play their roles well through the film, letting the three leads standout.

Story – The story here follows the toughest cop in Iceland finding himself getting competition from a rival officer, which will see him needing to put his differences aside to take down a criminal mastermind looking to plan something devastating in the capital. This is an action comedy story, with the whole point being that an odd couple find themselves together taking down a criminal mastermind, while everyone in charge doesn’t want them working on the case because of their destructive ways. Outside of the action side of the film, we do have a love story between the two leads, with this heavily masculine world, putting in a lead character that is unsure about his own sexuality, which is something we have never seen before and is a welcome addition. The core side of the action side of the story is like what we have seen many times before, but it works, why change something that works so well.

Themes – Cop Secret is an action comedy that starts with a car chase, before giving us a host of different action sequences along the way, with most of the comedy coming from the reaction people have towards the action happening, including things like, ‘this isn’t a movie’ line. The locations are used to show the different areas the cops can operate in, with the criminals in the typical shady areas, with the main attraction point being a major sporting event.

Final Thoughts – Cop Secret is one of the best action comedies of recent years, it will make you laugh along with the action.

Oct 7 2021

The Survivalist (2021) Movie Review ‘Action Movie 101’

The Survivalist – Action 101

Director: Jon Keeyes

Writer: Matthew Rogers (Screenplay)

Starring: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, John Malkovich, Jenna Leigh Green, Ruby Modine, Jon Orsini, Thaddeus Street

Plot: A year and a half after the fall of civilization due to a viral outbreak, a former FBI agent forced to protect a young woman immune to the disease from a dangerous gang leader hunting her.

Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Survivalist starts as a woman Sarah (Modine) is on the run from Aaron (Malkovich) and his group of thugs in a post-apocalyptic world. Sarah finds herself being sent to meet an FBI agent Ben (Meyers) who has been living off the grid during the viral outbreak.

As Sarah arrives on Ben’s ranch, Aaron isn’t far behind, with his thugs looking to seize the ranch for their own benefit, knowing just how important Sarah is for the future of humanity.

Thoughts on The Survivalist

Characters & Performances – Ben is the former FBI agent that has survived the viral outbreak alone on his ranch, he has dealt with family problems before and during the outbreak. He finds himself in the middle of the fight between the thugs and the woman, needing to use his skills to protect her and his ranch from losing everything. Jonathan Rhys Meyers does well in this role, he handles the action well, but doesn’t always get the time for the serious side of things. Aaron is the leader of the thugs who believes he has beaten the virus, believing he has come from a higher power to make the world a better place, he has serious cult leader vibes, making people believe he knows everything is the best. John Malkovich gets the good speech moments, but away from that, he doesn’t seem to do much. Sarah is the woman that ends up on Ben’s ranch, she doesn’t get affected by the virus. She only seems to be here to explain what is happening. Most of the supporting characters don’t seem to have much to do other than the odd battle against Ben.

Story – The story here follows a potential saviour of the nation who is immune to a devasting virus turns to a former FBI agent, as they look to escape from a ruthless gang of thugs who have their own plans for her. This is a story that can be seen two ways, the first negative side is to use the real life pandemic disease name for what happened, instead of just making one up, which would have been easier. On the positive side this story does feel like an episode of The Walking Dead, without the zombies, where the lead character must come up against a menacing villain to show off their skills. This does get into the action quickly, which is great, making everything feel more time based unfolding.

Themes – The Survivalist is an action thriller that has been created to show the very worst of what could have happened in a viral outbreak, the early days of the end of humanity, if you will. It plays out with commentary that something big has happened, but then contains the action to one main ranch, which only disappoints showing us the grander scale of the environment. The action does come off as the basics of what you would expect in a limited ammunition fight scenario.

Signature Entertainment presents The Survivalist on Digital Platforms 11th October

Final Thoughts – The Survivalist is a by the book action thriller, that puts the spotlight on Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the action hero role.

Sep 30 2021

No Time To Die (2021) Movie Review ‘Proper Slog’

No Time to Die – Proper Slog

Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga

Writer: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Screenplay) Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Cary Joji Fukunaga (Story)

Starring: Daniel Craig, Rami Malek, Lea Seydoux, Lashana Lynch, Ralph Fiennes, Christoph Waltz, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Ana de Armas

Plot: James Bond has left active service. His peace is short-lived when Felix Leiter, an old friend from the CIA, turns up asking for help, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.

Runtime: 2 Hours 43 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: No Time to Die starts as James Bond (Craig) living the retired life with his new girlfriend Madeleine Swann (Seydoux), this will see his past start to catch up with him, with James needing to move away from people once again.

5-years later James gets a chance to get back at his nemesis Spectre, when CIA agent Felix Leiter (Wright) offers him a new mission, one which will see him meet the new 007 Nomi (Lynch), as they need to work together to stop criminal mastermind Lyutsifer Safin (Malek).

Thoughts on No Time to Die

Characters & Performances – James Bond is the man we know, from the franchise, he has however moved away from the agent life, trying to stay off the radar, but his past will draw him back once more, now just a spy, working with British Intelligence, to get back at Spectre, only for everything to hit a new personal approach for him. Daniel Craig does get to give his version of Bond a nice send off, he gets some cheeky humour, which will be one of the few things to get your attention in this film. Madeleine Swann is the woman that James wants to spend his life with, she does have a connection to his past, one that will leave a level of uncertainty about where her she stands in his eyes. She comes back into his life, with her connection to an old enemy, one that will make her a threat for everyone. Lea Seydoux does everything she needs to in this film, she brings the bigger emotional stakes to the movie. Lyutsifer Safin is the villain, he has planned everything and has a bigger idea, but my god, he is one of the most forgettable villains I have ever seen in a Bond movie, I can barely remember anything he said or did. Rami Malek really does struggle to make this character make an impact, it does feel like the weakly written character over the bad performance. Nomi is the new 007, she does create a good banter in style with James, with her looking to learn from his rule breaking ways. Lashana Lynch does do well in this role, we get enough to not get too much, and enough to want to see more from the character. We do get a lot of returning characters, who are interesting, but the star of the performances is Ana de Armas, because what she brings to the table is the most entertaining part of the film.

Story – The story continues to follow James Bond, as he looks to escape the world of spies, only to find himself getting drawn back in, when he gets a chance to face Spectre once again, which will see him meet a new threat. When it comes to the overall story in this James Bond film, we must look at the fact the villain is one of the most forgettable factors in the film, which is sad, because without a good villain, we get left with a weak story. The story tends to put more focus on the emotional impact away from the agent world, much like Mission Impossible 3 did, only that film handled everything much better. The idea of bringing in a new 007, does work well, it is interesting to see the dynamic between the two, but it does end up falling into James Bond is better than you will ever be factor. This story also seems to have poor dialogue, with how certain moments, just feel like quotes, rather than natural conversations.

Themes – No Time to Die does have a mix of action, with one brilliant single take, Paloma’s action sequence and the car chase, which is by far the only entertainment factors we get in this film. The mix of sound depending on explosions, works well, but the idea of the voices in the head, but not showing the character, does feel clunky. The locations are beautiful, this can’t be denied, something the franchise will always be known for.

Final Thoughts – No Time to Die is a long movie that has plenty of pacing problems, with the action being the highlight of a bland Bond movie.

Sep 29 2021

Camino (2015) Movie Review

Director: Josh C Waller

Writer: Daniel Noah (Screenplay) Josh C Waller (Story)

Starring: Zoe Bell, Nacho Vigalondo, Francisco Barreiro, Sheila Vand, Dominic Rains, Jason Canela

Plot: In the jungles of Colombia, a photojournalist captures the truth behind a group of missionaries who may not be what they seem.

Tagline – The camera sees what it sees.

Runtime: 1 Hour 43 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Camino starts when award winning photojournalist Avery (Bell) gets offered her latest project, a chance to go and view the work of a group of missionaries in Colombia, lead by Guillermo (Vigalondo). What seems like a routine job takes a dramatic twist when Avery witnesses something she shouldn’t, leading to Guillermo sending the whole group after her.

Avery must fight to survive, while trying to prove the truth of what happened and Guillermo’s twisted ways if she is going to make it out of this alive.

Thoughts on Camino

Thoughts – Camino is a thriller that will see how a photojournalist will need to use her own survivalist skills to make it out of the latest situation in the Colombian jungle, after witnessing something horrific. This is a nice survivor thriller that will give us everything we need, as we dive into seeing how the leader of this group shows a darker side, which shows just how convincing he is in controlling the group to believing anything he says. The environment will show the dangers that Avery must deal with and show just how much photojournalist would risk getting the big story. Everything comes of tidy, without feeling as intense as it could, leaving us wanting to see more before it unfolds in the manner you would expect in any thriller.

Final Thoughts – Camino is a by the book thriller offer little fresh without being on the duller side.