Remember the last time I posted a review? Me neither honestly. I was seriously caught up in the exam season recently, so I just couldn't find the time to post frequently or see any movies during that time. The last movie I saw before then, but so long ago that I don't think it's worth reviewing now, was Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which was a solid sequel, if not quite as good as the original Guardians. I'd give it a score of 8/10. That said, exams have been over for a while, and in the past week and a half I've managed to watch 4 movies. I wanted to give all of them a full review, but my standard format is rather...bloated to put it mildly. Taking that into account, I thought I'd try a new format and give all 4 of those movies a shorter, more concise review in here but I'm of course still trying to maintain the same level of detail. Hopefully you enjoy these reviews then, and I'm going to try to get back to more regular content soon!
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword - Stylised Chaos
This movie is simply a dull affair, and therefore commits the worst crime a movie can commit: for the most part, it is incredibly boring. The plot is strangely in the model of a superhero origin story, which only serves to make the whole movie incredibly predictable. The characters also go through some standard stock arcs which can be thrown into any movie. This character is being encouraged to aim for a better life than the one he has; this character is stereotypically evil and has no redeeming qualities; and so forth. When no magic is thrown into the mix, the action is also surprisingly non-inventive, devoid of any interesting qualities, and is also weighed down by some awful CGI. Also, this is something I would not normally pick up on, but the editing in the movie is truly terrible, and is all but guaranteed to give you a headache. It's a shame that the script and effects are so bad, because many of the other parts of the movie are actually fairly solid. The acting is good for the most part, with Jude Law in particular delivering a hilariously over-the-top performance. As I suggested, where magic is included, the action also becomes more interesting and intense, and these are shot in a stylistic and intriguing way. The soundtrack is also great. The movie is a mixed bag then, with plenty of good and bad elements. However, solely because most of the movie is unfortunately bland, I have to recommend that you give this one a miss in the cinema, but it just might be worth a watch later down the line.
Rating: 5/10
Original Release Date: 12th of May, 2017
Starring Charlie Hunnam, Astrid Begrès-Frisbey, Jude Law, Djimon Honsou, Aidan Gillen, Tom Wu and Eric Bana
Alien: Covenant - Paradise Starts in Hell
The Alien franchise has had a rough ride in it's latter years. The only two great movies in the series are the first two entries, with all other films, including "Prometheus", having received mixed-to-negative reviews. "Alien: Covenant" is another mixed bag of a movie unfortunately, no matter how much fans wanted this to be a return to form for Ridley Scott and the crew. The big problem here is pacing. The movie is overly long, and wastes a lot of time on unnecessary set-up at the beginning of the plot. However, somewhat strangely, there is very little time devoted to character development, so little that you're unlikely to remember their names. Therefore, when the bodies start to drop, there's little to no emotional resonance with the audience. Why should we care about a character when they die if we don't know anything about them? The only two exceptions are lead character Daniels (Katherine Waterston), and pilot Tennessee (Danny McBride), who is only memorable because he wears a cowboy hat. The plot also spends little time answering the questions left by predecessor "Prometheus", and in fact raises far more questions than it cares to address. Also thrown in is a strange amount of exposition, which I say is strange in particular due to Scott's status as one of the most visual directors working today. With this being the case, you might have thought that he would have tried to find a way to express his ideas in a more interesting way, without simply explaining them blatantly. However, it's not all bad. The acting in the movie is solid for the most part, with Michael Fassbender in particular delivering a stellar dual performance as androids Walter and the far more sinister David. When the fantastic Neomorphs and later the famous Xenomorphs actually join the action, the movie becomes immediately more enjoyable and tense. The music is also excellent, and the visuals are of course stunning. Yes, "Alien: Covenant" is a mixed bag, but, despite my issues, it is an enjoyable movie. If you can get past the first act, the movie becomes immediately more arresting, and chances are that you'll be abel to have a good time with this one.
Rating: 6/10
Original Release Date: 19th of May, 2017
Starring Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Danny McBride, Billy Crudup, Demián Bichir, and Carmen Ejogo
Baywatch - I Go Insane
I cannot remember the last movie I saw where I left as angry as I did this one. I turned to the friends I was with and proclaimed that I wanted my money back, because this is hands down the worst movie I have seen in a long time. The fact is that the movie does absolutely nothing right. Of course Dwayne Johnson is as entertaining to watch as always, but he isn't playing a character. All he is playing is the stock character he plays in a dozen other movies. The rest of the cast is given nothing to do besides Zac Efron, who comes across as extremely irritating for the entire runtime, plain and simple. The movie is billed as a comedy, but I did not find myself laughing for a lot of the movie. The humour is very downmarket, which is unfortunately the kindest way of putting it, relying on sex, toilet humour, and slapstick to land laughs. It's a sorry sight when characters in the movie have to laugh to signal when the audience is meant to be laughing. Clearly the writers knew that none of the audience would be laughing. The only time I was properly laughing without a cue was during a fire rescue scene, but that was because the CGI was so awful that a first year university student studying film-making could almost undoubtedly do better. Also tacked on is a weak crime-busting plot with a very confusing villain, as well as 2 (possibly 3) forced romances. It's not the best narrative to say the least. However, as I've said, the absolute worst thing a movie can do is bore you, and this bored me. I was never laughing at any of the jokes, the main plot was never engaging, and I was never interested in any of the character side stories. To put it simply, do not see this movie, because it will leave you with nothing more than a headache and unsafely high blood pressure.
Rating: 1/10
Original Release Date: 25th of May, 2017
Starring Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Alexandra Daddario, Kelly Rohrbach, Jon Bass, Hannibal Buress, Priyanka Chopra, and David Hasslehoff
Wonder Woman - World War Wonder
I've been let down so badly by DC in the past, with all 3 of their previous movies set in their cinematic universe failing to live up to expectations, particularly with me being a fan of the source material. How refreshing then, to finally have a movie that has quite rightly been a critical success almost universally so far! Wonder Woman is easily the best film I have seen recently, and one of the best of the year. Gal Gadot proves all of the haters wrong and gives a strong, emotional performance as Diana, cementing her as one of the best parts of the DCEU. In fact, all of the cast does incredibly well. A special mention goes to Chris Pine for his great performance and chemistry with Gal Gadot. It's the smaller moments between these characters, such as an early scene on a boat and a dancing scene, that makes their romance so believable and better than every other superhero movie relationship in recent memory. The 3 villains are also handled remarkably well: Danny Huston's General Ludendorff is used appropriately; Elena Anaya's Doctor Poison is the most interesting and is enjoyable on screen (albeit she is slightly underused); and a third act twist introduces another villain who fits into the story perfectly and does not feel out of place thankfully. The script is impactful, often extremely funny, and presents the setting of World War I in a mature, often harrowing manner. The action is also excellent, although the overuse of slow motion may be slightly overused. The No Man's Land sequence is particularly impressive. If I had one complaint about the movie, I would only say that the third act is much more standard, predictable superhero fare than the rest of the movie, which is only a shame after the refreshing and intriguing first two thirds. This and the sequence is bogged down by some frequently questionable CGI. That said, it doesn't tear down the rest of the movie, and I highly recommend that you give Wonder Woman a watch. You won't regret it.
Rating: 9/10
Original Release Date: 1st of June, 2017
Starring Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Connie Nielson, Danny Huston, Elena Anaya, Ewen Bremner, Saïd Taghmaoui, and David Thewlis
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