Review Category: Movie

MOVIE REVIEW: A MOST VIOLENT YEAR / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: J.C. CHANDOR / SCREENPLAY: J.C. CHANDOR / STARRING: OSCAR ISAAC, JESSICA CHASTAIN, ALBERT BROOKS, DAVID OYELOWO, ELYES GABEL / RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 23RD

First things first, that title’s completely misleading. The Most Stressful Month would be far more accurate considering the entirety of the events in this 1980’s drama by J.C. Chandor (Margin Call, All Is Lost) take place in the 30 day period Abel Morales (Isaac) has to pay off the cost of a New York oil yard before his deposit, his family’s life savings, are forfeit. In that time, he has to deal with hijackers attacking his oil delivery trucks, disgruntled teamsters, flighty bank managers, a district attorney investigating his business for corruption, power plays by rival oil companies and the rising temptation to give in to violence and corruption to resolve his issues, something he has strived to resist his entire life. Matters are further complicated by wife Anna’s (Chastain) much hinted at crime family background and the threat that if Abel doesn’t handle this, she and her family will. Paralleling Abel’s trials, truck driver Julian (Gabel) tries to handle his own demons, with some help from Abel after receiving a savage beating when his oil delivery truck is hijacked.

The film has a very arresting style; Chandor has nailed a classy look for New York in 1981 whilst avoiding major landmarks and clichés, mostly staying to truck yards, offices back alleys and family homes. Chastain and Albert Brooks, as Abel’s attorney, provide excellent performances but the film really belongs to Oscar Isaac. He’s in almost every single scene and Abel’s struggles are clear on his face throughout. The repeated line of “I know that” becomes a repeated mantra as all around him Abel’s friends, family, colleagues and even possible enemies try to explain their reasoning why he needs to resort to violence or otherwise compromise his ideals, but it is they who don’t understand him. Abel already understands all this; he knows all the risks and options available but he needs to prove to himself and this city that there is another way.

While Isaac’s performance roots the film, there are still some issues. That excellent but expectation-setting title does the movie no favours, setting up the audience to expect a lot more violence than it actually contains. Yes, there is more than should be reasonably expected by a family man and business owner, but with all the shady, violent goings on around them it is surprising that more violence doesn’t impinge more directly on Abel’s family. The film also suffers slightly from hinting at more interesting elements repeatedly and then not exploring them. Chastain’s crime family background, the shady dealings that may have underpinned the success of Morales’ business, and possible shady dealings yet to come, all give the film the feeling of the middle chapter in an unseen trilogy.

A slightly different type of crime drama that’s a little light on the violent crime.

Expected Rating: 9 out of 10

Actual Rating:
 

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MOVIE REVIEW: INTO THE WOODS / CERT: PG / DIRECTOR: ROB MARSHALL / SCREENPLAY: JAMES LAPINE / STARRING: MERYL STREEP, EMILY BLUNT, JAMES CORDEN, ANNA KENDRICK, CHRIS PINE, JOHNNY DEPP / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Disney’s latest effort is an adaptation of a Brothers Grimm tale, itself already adapted to a play previously. Oh, and it’s a musical. Most definitely a musical. As in songs. Lots and lots and lots of them. So this isn’t quite your usual STARBURST affair, but the twisted plot of the film still has plenty to offer for genre fans.

The basic premise of Into the Woods sees famed stories of yesteryear all brought together and intertwined with the tale of a baker (Corden) and his wife (Blunt) who will do anything to start a family, despite a witch (Streep) having placed a curse on their loins. In terms of the familiar aspects of the picture, there’s plays on Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, and Rapunzel; all of which are woven into the greater narrative of a baker and his wife’s mission to procreate. And did we mention there’s songs?

In fairness, going into this film we were a little unsure as of what to expect. Admittedly though, we found our feet tap-tap-tapping away as soon as the opening song began to blurt out. The horror-loving, superhero-championing, sci-fi fan in us went in with stoic upper lip, expecting a traumatic experience similar to being serenaded by Grease’s Danny Zuko or have Abba songs thrown at us for 90 minutes. What we got was, yes lots of songs, but a beautifully crafted fantasy world that had a rich vibrancy and a macabre, gothic charm reminiscent of Tim Burton at his best (remember when his movies were actually good?).

At the centre of the various yarns being unravelled, we have Meryl Streep doing wonders as the central witch with her fingers in plenty of pies. The rest of the cast all hit the right notes (pun most definitely intended), with particular praise going to young Lilla Crawford as Little Red Riding Hood and to Johnny Depp as a devilishly mischievous Wolf, even if Depp’s character does come off as just a tad on the Jimmy Saville side of creepy. Oh, and Chris Pine sure can sing – James T. Kirk has certainly got some surprisingly impressive lungs on him!

Into the Woods does a great job of giving a unique look at some of the stories we’ve heard and seen many times before, and there’s a freshness and dynamism to its centre-pieces and plot devices. It would also be remiss to not acknowledge the fantastic job done by James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim on the musical side of the film. As alluded to, we’re generally not really ones for musicals, but Lapine and Sondheim deliver songs, score and a soundtrack that keep Into the Woods flowing as smoothly as Rapunzel’s barnet.

All in all, despite being hesitant on what to expect from Into the Woods (did we mention there’s lots and lots of songs?), Rob Marshall has delivered an impressive film that will have an appeal to many ages and to varying tastes. Quite the impressive feat.

Expected Rating: 6 out of 10

Actual Rating:
 

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MOVIE REVIEW: EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS / CERT: 12A / DIRECTOR: RIDLEY SCOTT / SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: CHRISTIAN BALE, JOEL EDGERTON, AARON PAUL, BEN KINGSLEY, SIGOURNEY WEAVER / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Nothing quite gets so much attention as a biblical story, so when it comes to religion in film it can truly be a troublesome road for filmmakers to encroach on. However, it must be said that, no matter your faith, religious texts boast tales befitting of the big screen. It is little wonder that so many directors have decided to utilize so many of these stories for their pictures and now it is the turn of Ridley Scott to bring another enduring story to the big screen. The results, much like 2014’s other monumental biblical epic Noah, are sometimes stirring but not always consistent. Exodus: Gods and Kings tells the story of Moses (Bale), and while it delivers nothing that Cecil B. DeMille’s lingering version of the story, The Ten Commandments, did not already display, Scott certainly has the eye for a biblical epic.

The casting call has drawn huge controversy (with the Hollywood stars billing taking credence over racial authenticity), as has the film’s inconsistencies with the text. This has inevitably led to the film failing in most people’s eyes and led to Exodus being less of an event than it should have been (it flopped at the box office). That being said, the film’s problems are not so much its details as the pace, because at 150 minutes in length, Scott has struggled in keeping things moving steady and sure. For every spectacular shot (and there are plenty), there is a slow stretch to follow, which jars the momentum. Scott seems to get caught up in presenting the story rather than enthralling us in it. And the first hour in particular drags its feet at many points. However, things inevitably pick up in hour 2 as Moses discovers his heritage, discovers faith, and comes into confrontation with Ramses (Edgerton) over freeing his people. The plague sequences stand out and are genuinely gruesome, and the story plays to Scott’s strengths in these moments, even if the delivery may divide many people.

Christian Bale leaves the film better than anyone, offering a reasonably grounded performance, compared to a slightly more over the top Joel Edgerton. Although these two are the only ones really given characters, as the rest of the cast generally drift along with the beats of the story. Aaron Paul generally gets lashed/hides behind a bush for the film’s duration, Ben Kingsley is the respectable wise slave, Sigourney Weaver is there one minute, gone the next, and everyone else is demoted to wife of so and so, that officer or that one with the beard. It is a shame that such a cast, if they had to be here, were not actually used to all that much effect. Still, despite the slightly underwhelming parting of the seas in the finale, you cannot say the film is lacking almighty entertainment and moments of genuine wonder or human emotion.

The film closes with the words, “For my brother, Tony”, in response to the tragic suicide of Tony Scott, so perhaps Scott’s religious epic, for all its faults, is so all over the place because it is a reaction as opposed to an adaptation. This is not so much the story of Moses, as the story of a man’s meeting with god and witnessing his wrath and power. In the end this is an epically scaled film that has its moments and contrariwise its problems, but Scott has made the film with personal motivations in mind and heart, so only he knows how successful he has been. We are merely here to witness the results, which, for what it’s worth, are mostly fine and sometimes better than expected, if overlong and uneven.

Expected Rating: 6 out of 10

Actual Rating:
 

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MOVIE REVIEW: DUMB AND DUMBER TO / CERT: 15 /  DIRECTOR: BOBBY FARRELLY, PETER FARRELLY / SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: JIM CARREY, JEFF DANIELS, KATHLEEN TURNER, LAURIE HOLDEN, RACHEL MELVIN / RELEASE DATE: DECEMBER 19TH

It’s been 20 years since Dumb and Dumber made an international star out of Jim Carrey, showed everyone Jeff Daniels could do comedy, and launched the careers of the Farrelly brothers. Since then the film has rightfully become a cult classic and spawned a disappointing prequel. So what have Harry (Daniels) and Lloyd (Carrey) been up to? Not much, apparently.

As shown in the film’s trailer, Lloyd has been in a mental institution since a failed romance from the first film. Despite being completely unresponsive, Harry visits him every week to talk to him and change his nappies, only to discover it’s all been a prank. Lloyd returns home with Harry, who tells him that he needs a kidney transplant. They visit Harry’s parents to ask for a kidney but find out that he’s adopted. Harry also finds out he has a child by former girlfriend Fraida Felcher (Turner).

They set off to find Fraida, who says she gave up the child, a girl called Fanny (Melvin), for adoption. Spurred on by Lloyd, who falls in love with Fanny after seeing her picture, Harry decides to track her down and a road trip begins.

Elements of the plot are largely the same – the road trip, Lloyd’s secret agenda, and a bad guy joining them en-route – but it doesn’t work as well. As you’d expect from the Farrellys, there is a lot of gross-out comedy, mostly involving Harry and Lloyd’s anal regions. While some of the gags work (“addicted to crack”), many fall flat, especially outdated racial jokes. As a result, the film is inconsistent – it starts well then lulls for a bit, finally getting better only to dip again.

There are some modern references, such as Breaking Bad (featuring a well hidden cameo) and a soundtrack by Empire of the Sun (sorry Primitives), to appeal to younger audiences who were probably too young for the first film. There are also some welcome cameos from the first film to please original audiences. Carrey and Daniels, now in their fifties, give it their all, but the intelligent jokes from the first film are missing and so is the charm.  A disappointing return for Harry and Lloyd.

Expected Rating: 6 out of 10

Actual Rating:
 

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MOVIE REVIEW: AN AMERICAN TERROR / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: HAYLAR GARCIA / SCREENPLAY: HAYLAR GARCIA / STARRING: JOE ABPLANALP, TAYLOR HULETT, GRAHAM EMMONS, LOUISE MACDONALD, MICHAEL HASKINS / RELEASE DATE: TBC

Driven by revenge against their high school bullies, Josh (Emmons), Sammy (Hulett) and Ray (Abplanalp) formulate a plan to massacre them at a school dance. When scouting a mysterious man’s trailer for weapons, Josh sees a popular cheerleader being held captive in the man’s lair and, as a result, tries to rescue her and stop Sammy from carrying out their plan. On the one hand, the idea of bullied teenagers committing massacres at their school draws parallels to real life school terror shootings like Columbine and Isla Vista, whilst also drawing parallels to films like Elephant, Bowling for Columbine and We Need to Talk About Kevin. On the other hand, films like Saw and the Hostel movies loom over the horror aspect of the film.

Even though the film is very cine-literate and is aware of both the subject matter and the genre it’s referencing, An American Terror, in the end, feels like two stories clumsily merged. One minute it starts off with the main characters planning the high school massacre, then it instantly becomes a horrific splatter movie, and then during its climax it goes back to conclude the high school massacre story. It ultimately feels like a weird juxtaposition between the two stories, and you feel like they should have had their own separate movies to accommodate them, but kudos to the filmmakers for having a go at combining the two together.

The set design is pretty solid, with the teenagers’ hideout feeling like a representation of their repressed anger and hatred with the dark lighting reflecting that brilliantly. Similarly, the mysterious Junker’s torture chamber/lair feels like a horrific menagerie of darkness, rust, blood, and mutilated skin that wouldn’t look too out of place next to the torture porn aesthetics of Eli Roth’s Hostel movies, but this is all down to both Kenneth H. Jones’ and Anton Fresco’s impressive set design and cinematography.

The performances are perfectly fine with Graham Emmons’ calm and controlled antihero being a complete contrast to Joe Abplanalp’s unhinged and psychotic troublemaker. Louise MacDonald gives a very sympathetic and human portrayal of the cheerleader victim-cum-final girl, and she’s strangely like Hayden Panettiere from TV’s Heroes. Are both of them related?

Even though An American Terror has a deep message, passable performances, and solid production values, it still feels like an odd amalgamation of two opposing films sitting awkwardly against each other. Whether this was a good idea remains to be seen, but it’s an admirably ambitious risk to take nevertheless.

Expected Rating: 8 out of 10

Actual Rating: 
 

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MOVIE REVIEW: BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) / CERT: 15 /  DIRECTOR: ALEJANDRO GONZALEZ INARRITU / SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: MICHAEL KEATON, EMMA STONE, ZACH GALIFIANAKIS, NAOMI WATTS / RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 1ST

Refreshingly strange and surprisingly poignant, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s Birdman ranks as one of the year’s most entertaining films for a myriad of reasons. Not only does it feature impeccable acting from almost everyone involved, it fearlessly explores the need for self-worth and even experiments with the dangers of robbing someone of that sense of worth. Birdman is inventive, bold, and unflinchingly honest in how it presents its ideas, instantly distinguishing itself from the mindless, soulless shlock that so often taints the already diminishing purity of cinema.

Birdman is the saga of Riggan Thompson (a phenomenal Michael Keaton), a fallen star who just can’t seem to crawl back out of the smoking crater he blasted in his sanity when he hit rock bottom. Tortured by his plummet from fame and haunted by the realization that he won’t soar with the grace he used to possess, Thompson runs a struggling Broadway adaptation that bleeds him dry of both his funding and any vestige of vitality still coursing through his tired frame. While he wallows in shame and his own ball sweat, his blunt daughter, Sam (a brooding, brilliant Emma Stone), flounders in her own loneliness and self-pity while simultaneously seducing Mike Shiner (a magnetic Edward Norton), an actor hired to perform in Thompson’s play.

Riggan spends most of the movie trapped in his own head, subjecting himself (and viewers) to the grating voice of his past self repeatedly attempting to coax him back into his identity as the eponymous Birdman. These scenes rank among some of the movie’s most memorable moments, immersing audiences in the tormented musings of a man who considers himself out of time and out of options.

Many critics have labeled Birdman as a comedy. We disagree.  While the film has its genuine, funny moments and becomes all the more endearing for them, it also ventures into darker, more thoughtful territory that balances out the levity and takes audiences through a cycle of conflicting emotions.

The film could have gone in a completely different direction, and I can tell you right now it would not have been nearly as powerful or as effective as the one Inarritu and his crew opted to go with. It could have kicked things off with a cheesy flashback that harkened back to Thompson’s days as Birdman, focusing on his once fruitful career before taking viewers through an exhausting montage of his desperate efforts to remain relevant. We consider it an act of mercy that Innaritu and company opted for a slightly more unique approach. Instead, the filmmakers wisely chose to keep Thompson at rock-bottom and really explore what he does with that.

Birdman may well be one of the saddest, strangest, and most rewarding trips to the theater you’ll make this year. Some of it may be tough to stomach, but you get more than enough payoff in the form of a truly special movie with a distinct voice and lots to say.

Expected Rating: 8 out of 10

Actual Rating:
 

MOVIE REVIEW: ELETRICITY / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: BRYN HIGGINS / SCREENPLAY: JOE FISHER / STARRING: AGYNESS DEYN, LENORA CRICHLOW, CHRISTIAN COOKE, PAUL ANDERSON / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Adapted from a novel by Ray Robinson, with an excellent screenplay by Joe Fisher, Electricity is the story about a young woman, Lily O’ Connor (Deyn), working as a casino cashier in a northern seaside town, who has a problematic family past and is struggling to cope with epilepsy, which was caused by her abusive mother. One day, her mother dies and her house is going to be sold, so Lily decides to split the proceedings with her long-lost brother, who she decides to travel to London to find, resulting in a descent into a harsh and violent world.

On the one hand, the story is very straightforward with a girl who’s out of her depth in the mean streets of London looking for her brother and meeting these different characters along the way, and during the course of this, her life is interrupted by these trippy hallucinatory sequences. These sequences are completely surreal and electrifying displays of art, showing us a distorted portrait of what might be happening in Lily’s world, and Si Bell’s cinematography is completely sublime and some of the best seen this year in cinema.

What’s remarkable is that the film does a very solid job of positioning you inside the head of Lily, making us understand and connect with her struggles, her quest, and her ultimate desire to find her long-lost brother. Also, you do feel the pain she’s going through throughout the film, making you feel the cuts and bruises she receives when experiencing these seizures. But ultimately, you completely understand her experience of the world as seen from someone stricken with the plights of epilepsy, and apparently the filmmakers received significant and creative input from the epilepsy society when making the movie, and that produces rewarding results.

At the heart of the film is a terrifically solid and heartfelt performance by rising star Agyness Deyn, displaying full-on real emotion that is very tender yet powerful and raw, which it needs to be in order to reflect its subject matter. The film itself has a got a very passionate, gentle, and sympathetic heart and soul, with debut director Bryn Higgins understanding the world in an honest and believable way that would draw the audience in.

There are some slight narrative issues, but those niggles didn’t detract from what is an emotional and hypnotic experience with very solid direction and writing, beautiful cinematography, and a terrific standout performance by Agyness Deyn, who will no doubt have a very successful acting career ahead of her. Electricity is one of the biggest surprises of 2014 and brilliant counterprogramming at around Christmas.

Expecting Rating: 8 out of 10

Actual Rating: 
 

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MOVIE REVIEW: TREASURE TRAPPED / DIRECTOR: ALEX TAYLOR / SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: ALEX TAYLOR, MICHAEL SURMAN, NICK PEEL, CARL WHARTON, KRISTIAN NAIRN / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW (LIMITED RELEASE)

Live Action Role-Play has long had a rather fraught relationship with the media. The hobby is essentially an elaborate version of let’s pretend, and that involves dressing up (usually as something odd) and pretending to be someone else (usually through bad acting). It is great fun to do, but looks quite silly, and in the past many lazy media-types have exploited this for a cheap laugh. Treasure Trapped bravely takes the more difficult path; it’s an examination of what British LARP is, where it comes from, and how it changes the lives of the people who are involved in it.

The documentary makers use a fairly simple narrative. Our three brave geeks drive a camper van across the UK, going to various LARP games (there’s at least one every weekend going on somewhere). At the start, the documentary makers are pretty clueless as to what the hobby is and why people do it, and after a weekend at the last ever game of Maelstrom, one of the largest fantasy LARPs, they’re still quite confused but they clearly had a lot of fun. Their quest for knowledge takes them to Peckforton Castle, the spiritual home and point of origin of LARP in the UK, and from there we learn some of the history of the hobby and the passion and obsession of larpers. It’s clear that the documentary makers had a lot of fun making the film, and this makes for an amusing experience that entertains, educates, and yet remains respectful to everyone involved.

It’s not without its flaws. For a documentary on the UK LARP scene there’s an awful lot of gaps when it comes to explaining the background, which is a surprise as the film is named after Treasure Trap, the first ever LARP system.  Instead, the focus is more about what LARP is and can be, which means they have to leave the UK and look at LARP in Europe. This latter half of the movie makes up for being off-topic by being utterly fascinating. We learn about the incredible lengths people have gone to create truly immersive experiences, and the anarchic film making style works well here, allowing the viewer to get drawn into the amazing things that LARP is used for, from education to intense personal emotional journeys.

Treasure Trapped is a small budget documentary and currently only has limited distribution. It is well worth the time it will take to find a local showing, as this is a fascinating insight into one of the most poorly understood forms of media out there.
 

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MOVIE REVIEW: NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB / CERT: PG / DIRECTOR: SHAWN LEVY / SCREENPLAY: DAVID GUION, MICHAEL HANDELMAN / STARRING: BEN STILLER, ROBIN WILLIAMS, REBEL WILSON, OWEN WILSON, STEVE COOGAN / RELEASE DATE: DECEMBER 19TH

Ben Stiller and his band of merry men are back for a third bout of nocturnal museum-based madness, this time with their sights set firmly on London and the British Museum. The majority of the impressive cast of the first two films return, with Secret of the Tomb being one of the last opportunities to see the late, great Robin Williams on screen. Anyone wondering how this franchise hadn’t fizzled out by now will also be pleased to hear that this almost appears to be a trilogy closer, with characters declaring ominously that ‘The End Will Come’ right from the very start.

In this latest outing for Larry the New York Natural History Museum’s night guard, things seem to be looking up. As the museum is ready to open its new planetarium, Larry has promised to deliver a star studded spectacular of ‘special effects’ featuring his very much alive museum exhibits. All the usual gang have their part to play, including Teddy, Attila, Pocahontas, mini-men Otto and Jed, and Rex the skeleton dinosaur. It just so happens that on opening night, the magic tablet that grants them all life begins to corrode, causing all the exhibits to go on the fritz with disastrous consequences. Ricky Gervais’ museum manager is given the boot for the fiasco and Larry is forced to travel to the British Museum in order to find out the secrets of the tablet from ancient Egyptian exhibit Ahkmenrah’s parents.

Opening with an Egypt-set prequel, the cause of the tablet’s corrosion right at this critical juncture in the present day is never really fully explained, despite us now being given the opportunity to see its excavation in 1938. The decaying prop is really just an excuse to get the plot moving and get Larry and his friends across the pond to a Clash-soundtracked and luxuriously-lensed London. Along for the ride are all of the big stars – Williams, Coogan, Wilson, and Dexter the monkey – but what lifts Secret of the Tomb out of the comedy pit is a few new inclusions to the club.

Stiller gets to explore his wild side and love of a good wig by taking a dual role, this time playing the square hero Larry but also caveman exhibit La. His scenes with himself could smack of indulgence but Stiller’s knack for silliness make them some of the funniest scenes. Dan Stephens dazzles as the British Museum’s Sir Lancelot, who teams up with the American exhibits to help them on their quest. Stephens (so good in The Guest earlier this year) adds comedy to his ever-expanding CV, getting most of the best lines and delivering a frequently hilarious performance. Larry’s teen son Nick, played by Skyler Gisondo, nails his awkward but tender relationship with his worrying father, while Rebel Wilson does her usual shtick, making any line to leave her mouth and every facial expression at least worth a snigger.

Secret of the Tomb will thrill kids with its manic special effects-infused set-pieces, but also has time for a (probably baffling for younger kids) quick and inventive dive into an Escher drawing for a fight between some characters. Even with its already bulging cast, it still crams in a couple of unexpected cameos that are best left as surprises. One cameo in particular, gives a major star the chance to play himself and brilliantly mock one of his most famous alter-egos.

Most unexpectedly of all, Secret of the Tomb almost manages to end with a welcome splash of poignancy. The finale feels as though the franchise is wrapping up and that there really will be no more Nights at the Museum. However, cramming in more endings than The Return of the King, director Shawn Levy undoes a little of the final farewell with an unnecessary final scene, particularly as what came before was given an extra layer of finality by the passing of Robin Williams.

Despite this slight misstep leaving the door wide open for further sequels, Secret of the Tomb is far too good a film to bury this franchise, so it won’t be at all a surprise if it’s dug up again in years to come.

Expected Rating: 5 out of 10

Actual Rating:
 

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