A little slow on the film reviews again, so here's a handful to keep you satisfied until I review Venom and Halloween next week...
A Simple Favor
Paul
Feig is at it again – and that isn’t a good thing
When
widowed soccer mom Stephanie Ward (Anna Kendrick) befriends Blake Lively’s
enigmatic Emily Nelson, a murder mystery of sorts awaits. Think Gone Girl but only half as compelling,
and add to that a film that has no idea what it wants to be. When it’s a
comedy, it’s too funny, and when it’s
dark, it’s actually not that dark. Strange,
though, that the trailers presented it as a film “from the darker side of Paul
Feig”, when it’s actually funnier than his 2016 Ghostbusters reboot (a film which also could have done with some of that "dark side" of his).
The Nun
The
marketing warned you not to watch this film – and you shouldn’t (because it’s total
shit)
Horror
– it’s the weakest genre there is. But while cracking the formula to a
genuinely terrifying film is no easy feat, on the other hand, it’s probably just as hard to pull off one that’s infuriatingly predictable, soul-destroyingly dull
and painfully forgettable. Well, congratulations to the producers of The Nun, the second spin-off within The Conjuring franchise. If you want to
experience everything that's currently wrong with modern horror, then watch
this to see just how wrong they get it – it’s pretty terrifying.
King of Thieves
The
title might sound Robin Hood-esque,
but these bandits have no intention of giving their fortune to the poor
In
this slightly less straight-to-TV version of 2017’s The Hatton Garden Job – based on the real-life robbery in 2015 - Michael
Caine, Paul Whitehouse, Jim Broadbent and Ray Winstone take a crack at the
jewellery-filled vault. The interplay between the actors here is nothing short of brilliant,
while there are whiffs of Ocean’s Eleven
throughout. Ultimately, though, it’s pretty forgettable stuff, but it can’t go
without mentioning the impressive “flashbacks” to each crook’s criminal glory
days – archive footage taken from each actor’s films of old.
Mission: Impossible:
Fallout
Your
review of the latest 'Mission: Impossible',
should you choose to accept it
Rare
is it that a franchise picks up after
its first two films, but the M:I
series has done the impossible. Tom Cruise and the gang return for the sixth
outing, this time to save the world from yet another moustache-twirling baddie.
But while the plot’s as formulaic as you might expect, perhaps the most
refreshing thing is that the film’s only desire is to remain consistent with its
predecessors in style, concept and tone, while of course offering up bigger
thrills in the form of those signature stunts, and (marginally) higher stakes
than the last time.
The Incredibles 2
Give
me a Buzz Lightyear film over these guys any day
Disney’s
very own non-Marvel ensemble returns
in this sequel that picks up directly after the original 2004 film. There’s no
need for anything in the way of a detailed overview of said-plot here, though; in
short, family challenges and fighting crime continues. In an era sickeningly-saturated
with superhero films, you know the score, and the only real difference here is
that as this is a Disney-Pixar flick,
expect far more CGI and unfunny jokes than usual. And as is the case with many
such films, this one is way less charming than it thinks it is.
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