[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by FireGilbert

I haven't reviewed any movies in a while so here are a bunch. Even includes a bad Ryan Reynolds one!

Ad Astra: Heart of Darkness in space with Brad Pitt as the hero. I enjoyed the visuals and world building but was left feeling like I'd seen two different films. The first part is a fun action packed space adventure that ultimately seems unnecessary in the story, while the second part is more of a slow paced psychological thriller with the meat of the plot. It was okay. 7/10

Boss Level: A decent action flick using the Groundhog Day/Edge of Tomorrow time loop plot device. Frank Grillo is fine in the lead and there are some well executed action scenes, but the story eventually drags and it might have worked better as an hour long Black Mirror episode. Also, I was frustrated the movie tells us everything happening through narration to the point of overkill, leading me to expect some cool sci-fi reveal, yet the ending is left ambiguous. 7/10

Don't Look Up: Love the idea of a disaster movie satire but this doesn't quite work. Adam McKay's writing is funny and fast paced but it seems like he didn't know if this movie should be a satire on our leaders responses to emergencies or a spoof on the comet heading to earth disaster movie. It also turns weirdly kind of philosophical near the end. Jonah Hill's performance kind of sums up this for me as I loved his first scene but every other appearance was too much and I was like I okay I get it you can stop hammering me over the head now. 7/10

Encanto: Disney goes to Columbia giving us colourful animation visuals and fun music. That damn catchy Bruno song might the best ever Disney song (sorry Be Our Guest). I enjoyed the story, a magical mystery, and was pleasantly surprised this did not follow a traditional hero's journey with a villain, instead being more about character development through exploring relationships. I do think they went overboard on the characters as there is too much to keep track of with all the different relatives with their different powers to the point where they individually feel almost meaningless to the story. I also thought the ending, although having a smart reveal, was rushed and didn't provide much more than a vague message on the power of love. Worth a watch. 8/10

Eternals: Style over substance having beautiful cinematography with poor writing. I really liked the premise of retconning the Marvel Cinematic Universe into human mythology but this struggles to tell a coherent story. Little time was spent on the characters and I had trouble caring about any of them including the lead. Feel like this would have been better off ditching the non linear story for a more traditional one, building up character introductions in the past before kicking off the plot. Wouldn't recommend unless a big MCU fan. 6/10

Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard: The first movie was mostly forgettable but gained traction from the Reynolds/Jackson odd couple relationship. The sequel tries to double down on this by adding Hayek to the mix and falls flat on it's face. There are some fun moments with the trio but it was tough to care about anything with the strange all over the place story. It tried to parody the modern spy thriller but felt more like a bad parody of itself. At least I got a good buzz by drinking every time Sam Jackson dropped an F bomb. 4/10

The Last Duel: Ridley Scott continues to make great historical dramas unlike any other modern director. This has all his trademarks with quality cinematography and set design with some great sword fighting action. The action is limited but the final scene is especially good and comparable with Gladiator. I did have issues with the narrative structure, especially since by part 3 much of the scenes are redundant. Also, while I understand the thematic implications, it was awkward the movie was about the struggles of Jodie Comer's female protagonist, yet she's barely in the first 2/3rds of the film. 9/10

Nobody: I've seen all this before in Taken and John Wick but still a fun action movie despite the tropes. Bob Odenkirk works well in the lead as a depressed family man with a hidden violent streak. Some of the story is a bit ridiculous including a campy villain but this is balanced by other parts I enjoyed about fatherhood and morality. 8/10

Nothing about Ad Astra made any sense, dumbest excuse for bad gratuitous violence I have ever seen, space monkeys and lunar pirates my giddy arse, Flash Gordon was rooted in more reality frankly