"Bring Her Back" - Review

When their father dies from falling over in the shower, siblings Andy and Piper (Billy Baratt and Sora Wong) are placed into the care system. Andy applies for guardianship, but cannot do so until he is 18. Not willing to be separated from the only person who means anything in the world to her, and not wanting his blind sister to be raised alone by strangers, the two kids stick together - and find themselves in the home of eccentric but beloved-in-the-community foster mother Laura (Sally Hawkins), who has lost a daughter of her own and is more than happy to take on Piper...

A bleak, harrowing tale of how grief transforms you, hollows you out and empties you, leaving you unable to recognise people, only remnants of that which you have lost and may never again have.
It's a far sturdier, far better film to the fairly solid debut "Talk to Me", and more than earns its 18 rating: It was torturous watching some of this, but never gratuitous. For the film makes sure to focus on true horror of being isolated, cut off from your support network, gaslit and betrayed by those who should trust you, being kept in the dark when horrifying things are happening. At the forefront are an excellent trio of performers: much has been made of Sally Hawkins' performance and she is indeed fucking incredible here. She gives me my favourite moment of the year, and is genuinely horrifying to watch on screen, all while being compelling, grounded, and bloody excellent in general: it's like her old Mike Leigh movies infested with demons. Yet she carries herself with a deep rooted, heartwrenching tragedy and sympathy, and is fucking so fucking good. But Baratt and Wong are not to be outshone here and should not be overlooked: Baratt (the grandson of Shakin' Stevens, fucking what?) is a sturdy, excellent lead who is put through the fucking wringer, and shows a lot of range. Wong has never acted before, and I want to see where the fuck she goes after this brilliant debut.
A gnarly, bloody, wicked film.
Don't go into it if you've had a bad day (this is weapons grade bad times), you have been warned.
It's a movie where nothing is going to be alright, nothing will ever be okay, death is random and grief will consume and destroy you if you let it.

"Materialists" - Review

In the affluent, oppulent world of high society dating in New York City, Lucy (Dakota Johnson) floats among the high-flying clientele as a successful matchmaker. At the wedding of two of her clients (her 9th such wedding), Lucy meets the groom's handsome, sexy, successful, charming and ludicrously wealthy brother Harry (Pedro Pascal), who can be more than just a good client for her. Lucy also bumps into ex boyfriend John (Chris Evans) working as a waiter as he struggles to become a successful actor, and remembers their shared past.

Following up "Past Lives", Celine Song had a monumental task ahead of her: making another movie after the kind of once-in-a-generational maststroke which we'll never get again. Obviously this was never going to be as good as "Past Lives", so for the different kind of movie that it is, it largely works without casting aside what makes Celine Song good: namely emotionally knotted, complex scenes with impeccable double-meaning in its dialogue, and scenes where the actors are allowed to breathe, stretch and say a lot with a little. Here it's more akin to a Jane Austen comedy with its wry humour, subtle wit and delightful interplay between characters as they dance around points and navigate social minefields in code: Pascal and Johnson are excellent here. Evans is allowed to stretch his acting muscles for the first time in years, and makes for a good foil in this love triangle. The classic love triangle and "defrosting materialist" are done well here, with some quite witty dialogue and a sense of longing, need, an intagiable desire, two people talking and interacting through some frosted glass, much akin to "Past Lives". When it brings in a twist in the second act, it is oddly dark for the material on display. Song is fairly deft and classy with how she handles it, and it doesn't feel gratuitous and in fact is a thing to ponder, but it still really throws off the whole affair tonally, it's something of an odd duck to have, especially when they circle back to it in the final act as a 3rd act romcom character beat.
The film's fairly well made and a good romance, with genuinely funny gags, but the 2nd act twist stops me short of fully endorsing it as much as "Past Lives".

"I Know What You Did Last Summer" - Review

Ava (Chase Sui Wonders) returns to her home town of Southport for the engagement party of her best friend Danica (Madelyn Cline) and her loud fiancee Teddy (Tyriq Weathers), surrounded by opulence and success. Reconnecting with the pair, as well as blandly inoffensive Milo (Jonah Huer-King) and fresh-from-rehab Stevie (Sarah Pidgeon), the reunion of the old friends is off to a rip-roaring start. But upon causing a car wreck due to the tomfuckery of their absolute worst friend, the friends cover it up at the behest of Danica, with the aid of Teddy's wealthy father (Billy Campbell. Nice), and attempt to move on. But a year later, the excellent Danica receives a note stating "I Know What You Did Last Summer", and a movie ensues...

I've asked that if one must remake movies, they remake bad ones and try to get them right: once again a finger on the monkey's paw curls...
The original "I Know What You Did Last Summer" is one of the more famous efforts where 90s horror films are concerned, and has aged about as well as milk on a radiator: it's tacky and lame and has the suspense of a deflated trapeze artist holding a wet kipper, only remembered for its cast and possibly a chase sequence involving Sarah Michelle Gellar. Nobody likes or remembers its two sequels.
Yet do not let that dissuade the makers of this film! They shall milk nostalgia wherever it may lie: the introductions of Freddie Prinze Jr and Jennifer Love-Hewitt are most egregious, sweeping dynamic camera shots to soaring scores, but then give them little to do until a limp wristed attempt at the end which comes out of nowhere and really seems to do disservice to the characters. A chase sequence happens in an old warehouse of floats (you know movie, I should be watching "Thanksgiving", you're right!) including the one from the aforementioned chase sequence, and Sarah Michelle Gellar appears in a dream sequence to speak not to the main character of the film, but a different character who shares Gellar's role as "best part of the film" (though I get ahead of myself), whilst the new cast even visit the graves of previous victims. A particularly unctuous, odious "true crime" podcaster (it's a tortology, I know) even sports a t-shirt with Gellar's face and proclaims "I love your work!" to the killer - it's almost a pretty good satire there! But again, I could just watch the blood-curdling "Halloween" movie... None of this fawning, worshipful nostalgia comes from a place of love, and none of it matters because the script is dreadful.
It's actually refreshing to have a movie where you can pinpoint its flaws to a single issue. Don't get me wrong, this is not a "Five Nights at Freddy's" situation wherein I belive that the entire written word was a mistake and that I want to question if Scott Cawthon has ever interacted with a person; but until that movie's sequel comes out I don't believe I'll see a worse written one this year: lines about "beta males" and "keys to my crypto wallet" help me to pinpoint the exact year this was written, and often when the dialogue is not exposition it is clunkier than The Tin Man doing a pole dance
If you watch enough bad movies or slashers in general like me (first of all I'm sorry, there is hope for you) then you can sort of dissect how they work as you're watching them, which is already a bad sign that the film is dull and not engaing me: and here it was a case of me immediately calling who the killer was the moment they were introduced. (Hint: it's an early character who is given a backstory but otherwise gets nothing to do, and who is present but of screen for all of the big chase moments and kills. I'l admit it was better done than the school sequence in "Thanksgiving", so touche there movie). The dialogue is particularly heinous, save some genuinely funny lines from Danica about new age healing and wellness, and even established names and reliable hands like Billy Campbell and Freddie Prinze Jr are stuck with some true clunkers. Or even structural issues stand out:
We're introduced to Chase Sui Wonders (I like her, and she does what she can in this, but Simon Rex and Mikey Madison could not save this dialogue) in what I thought was going to be a throwback to "Scream" with a fakeout as to who our lead character was going to be, only we're stuck with Garth Marenghi dialogue and clunky lines of exposition after she talks to a mirror for a bit about her dead mum (which never comes back, neither does her dad) and heads off to Danica's house. Provisionally, Ava is the main character of the film.
But Danica instigates the plot, investigates much of it, is the one to receive the note, and gets the chase sequence and dream sequence with Sarah Michelle Gellar. Danica also receives an arc in the form of her improvements as a human being and her developing relationship with the shitbag Teddy, which actually becomes quite sweet over the course of the film. Danica is also the most entertaining to watch and follow by a country mile, and is elevated beyond the 2-dimensional shitbag she would have been in earlier movies (I like the little bit where she's fleeing a killer and stops immediately to take off her heels to run better, it's oddly clever and such a simple touch) with her developed arc and actually really endearing, funny dialogue. Chase Sui Wonders (who again, is great when she's in stuff, even thankless roles like this) gets some bisexual representation early on (I think?) which feels more like tease and titillation than any sort of relationship or character, and gets to chat with Jennifer Love-Hewitt.
It does not help that by far and away Madelyn Cline is so unironically good in the role of the New Age, "empath", materialistic rich kid queen bee Danica that she carries the movie and kind of saves it with her performance? She's actually infuriatingly good in this.
I don't want to shit on the director (Jennifer Kaytin Robinson) who has some great sweeping shots and to be fair never makes the film boring, she paces it well and has a few interesting ideas in the melting pot.
Plus (maybe incredibly importantly for this) a couple of the kills are good, and there's only CGI blood at the Sarah Michelle Gellar sequence, but it's not worth your time as a slasher movie. Watch it for Madelyn Cline (genuinely one of my favourite performances of the year) but maybe stick with "Clown in a Cornfield" or "Final Destination: Bloodlines" and "Heart Eyes" from this year alone.
Fuck Cline is amazing in this, it makes me angry.

"Superman: Legacy" - Review

The world is coming to terms with the existence of a supreme, powerful alien being known as "Superman" (David Corenswet), who intervened in an invasion by an ally of the United States government, courting controversy with his unsanctioned actions. Billionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) is determined to bring him down by any means necessary, aided by technology, brains and an endlessly ambitious ego. Forces collide, with the world as their battle ground, over ideologies and symbols on the line.

The movie is a good fun, a throwback to the bright, garish, colourful Saturday morning cartoons one grew up with and would associate with Superman, and in a good way it feels like those old movies and shows designed to sell toys: Lex Luthor has a detachable spaceship in his tower, there's a revolving crystal fortress, eclectic superhero trio "The Justice Gang" do battle with intergalactic imps in the background, etc. We get things like Superman discussing things with a rather excellent Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) illuminated by a battle between a neon "Dimensional Imp" and the "Justice Gang" in the night skies behind him, pretty stuff and all good fun. There's even that cute little quirk/trademark of Gunn's where he has a character (here Edi Gathegi's "Mr Terrific", a character I was unfamiliar with, showcasing Gunn's wonderful nerdy love of comic books, and here played as a genius done with life and the bullshit of idiots around him) do a creatively done fight scene well-shot, to a pop song you've not heard in years (though here the song's one I don't really like, so... great job there), and Gunn embraces the weird stuff. It feels, in some regards, very much a "Gunn Film" - harking back to his "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy and, to a lesser extent, "The Suicide Squad", what with its bright colours and garish pastels and overwhelming sense of anarchic glee.
The character work is strong across the board, always a strength of Gunn's:
Corenswet is endearing, wonderfully cast as Superman: he's a big joyful good boy trying to do his best, and going out of his way to save squirrels and little girls so they don't get squished in his monster battles, he dives in headfirst to resue his asshole dog (a highlight of the film, and set to become a fan favourite. Because of course he is: it's Krypto!) because "he's scared and alone". He's a great Superman, what you think about when you think of the character.
Rachel Brosnahan (fantastic name) is also marvellous as Lois Lane: she's integral to the plot, investigating and poking and solving things whilst Superman does the smashing, yet also questioning him and forcing him to confront his own actions and morality (there's a bloody excellet scene of a mockup interview between the two of them), and is not merely relegated to doe-eyed love interest or sassy quip machine, I enjoyed her very much. Her sugar scene was nice.
Nicholas Hoult was one of my favourites going in, one of the most interesting actors working today, and his Lex Luthor is suitably cartoonish, over the top, grandiose, arrogant, and a foil for all that is good in the world. He gets an excellent scene where Superman tears through his office like a hurricane and he is unfazed, and a great speech at the end about his grandiose desire for attention, humanity's need to innovate, and why he despises Superman. Lex Luthor is not "relatable": he's a billionaire who despises a man for being good. I'll save the scholarly examinatons of Superman and Lex Luthor and how they relate to current events for other blogs.

As is par for the course with Gunn: we get excellent character work even in the smaller parts, again proving the adage that there are no small parts, only small actors. Skyler Gisondo (another actor I was excited to se cast, he's great in "Santa Clarita Diet" and yet another arrow in the quiver of "Everything Gets Better if you Cast from the Booksmart Cast") is a delightfully cast Jimmy Olson, played here as a complete pussy magnet and a joy to watch, who weaves into the plot masterfully. On a similar note is Sara Sampaio (I appreciate that Gunn focuses on talent rather than names) as Luthor's selfie-obsessed girlfriend Eve, who kind of stole the show for me and got a brilliant payoff to her writing, making her more than a gag character: pictured here imprinting herself in my brain and heart forever:

Nathan Fillion shows up as Guy Gardner and nails it, the ever-wonderful Isabela Merced shows up (side note: her "Dora the Explorer" is still an all time favourite performance) for about 5 minutes as Hawkgirl and whilst I was gutted her dialogue was not entirely screeching and feral screaming she was good fun.

It's a breezy ride.
Unfortunately it is also a ride of one central paradox: it's simultaneously not James Gunn enough, whilst being too James Gunn.
I've followed Gunn's work since the start: I love "Tromeo and Juliet" and maintain "Super" is the best superhero movie ever made, hell I had him respond to me on Facebook about "The Specials" years ago. I've been in his corner forever, and so beyond happy to see him come so far and do well. He loves films, making them and creating in general. But "Superman" has been somewhat neutered of 2 of things which made him great: the anarchic blood and guts DIY filmmaking and chaos bred from the Troma mines (the CGI and backdrops and gleaming things all seem to blur together after a while), and his attention to leting emotional beats land by weaving the darkness and sorrow into the proceedings (here the characters are a tad glib and cartoony, which whilst fun does undercut it all a bit). I'm not an idiot: I'm not asking for "Superman" to be a bloodbath. The movie's constant clamouring for activity and action and fun and hijinks and jokes is never on the scale of a Marvel production (though there is a forced and somewhat excruciating joke about a Harem which feels too forced for my tastes), but it does mean that the emotional beats don't get as much of a chance to breathe. I was missing that soaring emotional high I wanted from it all in favour of fun, and it felt more like a James Gunn movie than a Superman movie in some of its dialogue, but never enough to be quite subversive. The touches were there (an alien baby so ugly it became adorable, a gang of oddballs, hints at body horror with the character of The Engineer) but pulled back a little too much. It's a good intro, and I look forward to when it can breathe properly and spread its wings.
It does well as a blockbuster and breezy fun time, its tone is all over the place, and it's a wild and crazy time. But despite my flaws and ranking of it in the middle of Gunn's ouvre (below "Super" and above "Slither"), the central messages are still good: kindness is decent, billionaires and corporations are bad, and we should (and can) all strive to be better people by remembering what makes us human. There's a lot to love, maybe too much, but it has Frank Grillo and a cameo from the golf club wielding Flo from "The Suicide Squad" too, so endeared itself to me.

"M3G4N 2.0" - Review

Years after her family-friendly toy went rogue and killed several people, robotocist Gemma (Allison Williams) has reinvented herself as an advocate for safety measures for A.I and preaching the dnagers of technology one must monitor, whilst also caring for her fellow survivor and now-teenage niece: aspiring tech developer Cady (Violet McGraw). But her life is upended when the FBI approach her seeking help in tracking down rogue robot AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno), currently on something of a rampage against creators. Gemma, cornered and under suspicion, is forced to team up with her killer creation M3GAN once again, in order to protect herself and Cady, and stop the evil robot's killing spree...

After the surprising success of the solid, fun satire of "M3G4N", the makers have been ordered to make a sequel and thus pulled a "Happy Death Day 2 U" and hurled everything possible at the screen. Fortunately they have recruited Akela Cooper, co-writer of cinematic masterpiece and peak cinema "Malignant" to help them in this endeavour, and have doubled down on the comedy, tossing out the horror almost entirely, for a rather messy film which just about lands on the right side of amusing fun to be enjoyable. Embracing the camp was also a good idea. The second act is a mess, and the mish-mash of ideas mean it's rather scattershot in its approach, but the jokes come thick and fast, Jenna Davis is having a wonderful time as the titular M3G4N, and Jermaine Clement shows up and steals the show as a tech bro shit, which is always welcome. It's a lot bigger than the previous movie, and has doubled down on what fans ask for: there's a dance sequence, M3G4N is Saturday morning cartoon evil but with a budding "family pet" relationship which is rather enjoyable; and whilst the villain is fucking dreadful (aiming for milquetoast but coming off as limp, weak and wooden in parts) as well as predictable, it's made up for by the performance of AMELIA, who adds physicality and straight-woman proceedings to it all. The makers bring in another "James Wan Cop" turned up to 11 in the form of Timm Sharp's FBI agent, and when it goes screw-loose bananas off the reservation, it still remembers to keep it light and roll with it. The writing seems more "tossing out an idea, geting bored with it, tossing it out and moving on" than a deliberate blending of genres, but I liked it well enough. Weirdly they bring back both of the assistant comic relief characters of the first film (Brian Jordan Alvarez and Jenna Van Epps) but keep finding ways to write out the later without killing her, and keeping comedic shenanigans of the first. I enjoyed it, and I'd probably watch it on Film4 in the evening if it were on. Just watch "Child's Play" 2019 if you need this sort of thing, but it's still fun.