Review Category: Movie

A ruthless story of vengeance, Monkey Man takes some familiar ingredients to craft the kind of bloodthirsty action movie that audiences deserve. In his directorial debut and also as the protagonist Bobby, Dev Patel is in overdrive from start to finish. This pulsating movie is an intoxicating, colourful, and deeply personal dive through one man’s torment and punishment at the hands of his oppressors – and how he summons the strength to fight back. 

The haziness with which we uncover Bobby’s past shrewdly mirrors his fragmented, haunted self, Patel disconcertingly throwing us into the very centre of his panicked, frantic state of mind. It is an extraordinary performance; on the surface, he may appear to be calm. But peel away the thin disguise and Patel is seething with a white-hot rage that burns through almost every shot. Patel turns what could have been a fairly ordinary revenge flick into a fascinating tale of trauma, passion, and politics. 

Monkey Man is inspired by the slick majesty of the John Wick films (even directly referencing them at one point), and this is most obvious during the scintillating climax. But there are moments where Patel manages to ascend beyond even those lofty heights. Patel has crafted a thunderous, deliciously stylish breed of thriller that thinks nothing of getting its hands dirty. Perhaps most remarkable is how the film proves visually irresistible without ever fetishising or glossing over the inequalities at the core of the story. Monkey Man is a rip-roaring story of adversity and inequality, not to mention a rousing, blood-soaked work of art that stands as one the new great classic action movies. 

Monkey Man is out in cinemas now.

Based on the graphic novel of the same name, Robot Dreams is set in a world of anthropomorphised animals who have apparently mastered robotics. Robots are a common everyday appliance for them and, despite everything just said, it’s also apparently set in 1980s New York. 

Dog, our protagonist (who is also a dog), is cripplingly lonely. That all changes when he buys a robot companion. Robot and Dog immediately become best friends – possibly more (the film is extremely ambiguous about whether their dynamic is platonic or runs deeper). 

It’s always a joy when we’re given the rare gift of a hand-drawn animated feature in cinemas, and Robot Dreams doesn’t disappoint. While visually simplistic, it’s a bright, bold and colourful affair that showcases some great character designs. The animation is tasked with doing a lot of heavy lifting given that, except for the odd stray word mumbled in the background and the repeated leitmotif of Earth, Wind & Fire’s September, the film is completely non-dialogue. 

Eventually, Robot and Dog are separated due to circumstances beyond their control, and the rest of the film largely concerns their attempts to reconnect. Physically unable to move for much of this time, Robot indulges in dreams, repeatedly imagining various means of going home to Dog. While it’s important to see them longing to be reunited, the sequences largely feel like arbitrary filler (at 1 hour and 42 minutes, Robot Dreams is on the longer side for animation and definitely didn’t need padding to bring it up to feature length).

But once the film focuses on its narrative and stops spending so much time on these titular robot dreams, it really kicks into gear. The story builds to a truly poignant ending, far more subtle, mature and emotionally powerful than you’d likely expect from an animated family film about a dog hanging out with a robot. Robot Dreams concludes as something painfully bittersweet and universally relatable. On some level, it should resonate with everyone who sees it.

ROBOT DREAMS is in cinemas now.

Five swimsuit models, three intruders, one house, and a duffel bag full of zip ties and duct tape. These components make Model House – a taut home invasion movie whose primary strength is in its simplicity.

Trudy (Hailee Keanna Lautenbach), Sydney (Natalie Nootenboom), Nadia (Kyra Santoro), Zoe (Cory Anne Roberts) and Carla (Priscilla Huggins Ortiz) hole up in a remote house while on a shoot. Between rounds of sniping and hot tub-dipping, the ladies are interrupted when a gang of masked intruders come knocking on the door. The plan? To extort money from the ladies’ followers on social media. This simple plan inevitably goes awry with the arrival of a creepy neighbour and, later, temperamental gang member Flip (Phillip Andre Botello).

It’s a simple premise, slickly executed by writer and director Derek Pike – largely eschewing the male-gazey cheesecake it could have been in favour of something altogether darker and grittier. The budget feels low, but the house is well-shot by cinematographer David Keninger, and the performances are solid across the board, including at least one genre mainstay in Scout Taylor-Compton (Halloween ’07 and its sequel). Its leading five are a varied bunch, given distinct personalities and purpose in the writing and spirited performances.

True, those familiar with the subgenre will find few real surprises here – even as tempers fray and blood is shed, it  follows a fairly predictable trajectory – but it makes effective use of the home invasion template. A crime thriller staple done slickly, efficiently, and with sufficient poise.

MODEL HOUSE is out on digital and in select US cinemas on April 5th

Ghostly rovers return through a malicious entity living in the basement of an old English pub. Returning to these
grounds after the death of her estranged father (Peter Mullan), Iris (Freya Allan) learns about its spooky tenant when a man bursts in begging to be allowed access to the entity and the spirits it’s capable of conjuring.

Adapting his own short film, director Alberto Corredor turns up the atmospherics in this tale of a communion with the dead gone wrong. Like many a short film gone long (including co-screenwriter Bryce McGuire’s Night Swim), Baghead feels stretched too thin, but it does at least have a good and grizzly Peter Mullan performance at its core.

Like the burlap sack-wearing beast in the basement, the rest of it is chained to one location, making its world feel small and isolated, with very little life outside of the immediate frame. It suffers in its similarity and vicinity to the recent Talk To Me while lacking that film’s scares or nastiness. It doesn’t help, either, that Baghead herself is visually rather uninspiring and only creepy when it’s channelling the face and grumbles of Peter Mullan… with all credit going to Peter Mullan in this case.

The slight story is elevated by a number of late-in-the-game twists and the chilling cinematography by Cale Finot, which makes use of the gloomy Brit boozer setting. A mixed bag.

BAGHEAD is out on Blu-Ray, DVD and digital on April 8th.

The MonsterVerse returns to the big screen in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and in the process proves it is perhaps cinema’s greatest current shared universe.

Following up Godzilla vs. Kong, director Adam Wingard’s film sees Kong at home in the Hollow Earth, still yearning the company of his own kind, while Godzilla is on the surface maintaining balance among the Titans. However, technical disruptions from an uncharted area of the Hollow Earth seem to spell danger. As something is calling out, and a great ancient threat is getting ready to emerge, and this force may be too much to handle for even Kong or Godzilla…at least alone.

There is no doubt about it, after last year’s Godzilla: Minus One, and the continuing progression of the MonsterVerse, there has perhaps been no better time to be a fan of these legendary titans of cinema. And where the former nailed the thematic grounded storytelling this franchise originated from, Godzilla x Kong likewise nails the lore-filled spectacle and excitement audiences have come to expect. 

The beauty of the MonsterVerse has been how it has allowed each filmmaker the free reign to make their own movies, and how they all stand together proudly different, distinct and yet reflective of the changing ages of the iconic monsters on which they are based.

To that point, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is an absolute treat for anyone who has ever grown up with these monsters or their stories, particularly the fans of Toho’s Showa era. It is a cinematorium-rattling monster battle royal of the highest order, with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes soul meets WWE-style brawling (heck, we even get a suplex). And the kind of mainstream western Godzilla/Kong film that years ago you would have thought impossible to see!

Visually this film is beautiful, with otherworldly settings and imaginative cinematography, and immaculate designs of its monsters both great and small. Once again, seeing this universe conjuring up some majestic visual power, alongside a rousing score by Tom Holkenborg and Antonio Di Iorio, which subtly integrates some motifs from previous films without being defined by them.

The action is outstanding, and the roster of monsters constantly inventive, impactful and surprising (the marketing didn’t reveal everything folks), with the villain of the piece being genuinely the stuff of nightmares, while another new – slightly smaller – addition is heart-meltingly sweet. Wingard knows the brief here and delivers an occasionally crazy story that allows these monsters to take centre stage, with large parts of the story relying on their own very fleshed out characters and some visually-driven moments of dialogue-free narrative, which truly shows off the film’s effects and the life beneath them.

That said, the human element is rather good too here, with Dan Stevens’ new addition of Ace Ventura-esque vet Trapper being the undeniable charismatic standout! Alongside returning faces like Brian Tyree Henry’s Bernie, Rebecca Hall’s Monarch leader Dr. Ilene Andrews and Kaylee Hottle’s Jia. 

Despite all the action, set pieces and devastation though, the most impressive thing about this film is the heart that beats beneath it. There are some poignant notes along the way here, about culture, nature and the inherent beauty of the world and its importance, as well as a particularly strong story for the character of Kong about finding a home and a tribe, and liberating a kingdom. This is a film of many surprises, which has the insane action and explosiveness but makes time for the quiet moments too, as well as some enjoyable homages to not only other kanji fare but a few surprising other movies too, such as a Jason X!

No doubt, some will come in ready to pick apart logic, reality or feasibility but this wildness of the script and story all only adds to the experience and takes you back in time to a whole previous era of kaiju stories and filmmaking. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is an exhilarating, bone-crunching and heartfelt cinematic spectacle. That takes you on one hell of a ride, with laughs, emotions and fist-raising feel good joys. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this battle for Hollow Earth, preferably with a massive crowd cheering on every mech-coated punch and roaring at every atomic blast.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is possibly the most fun you will have in a cinema this year. Long Live The MonsterVerse!

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is in cinemas from Friday 29th March

Blumhouse returns to familiar stomping grounds with Imaginary, a story about a malevolent entity who latches onto a small child (in this case, Pyper Braun), determined to snatch them away to their secret realm – The Further. Sorry, no, The Never Ever, it’s called this time.

It’s a formula that has worked well for the studio, scoring them five Insidious films, plus a less well-received one about a haunted swimming pool in Night Swim. And now it’s the turn of the imaginary friend to get scary.

Save your Bing Bong jokes – Imaginary is well ahead of you, and makes plenty of them itself. But Chauncey Bear is no cuddly pink elephant; an unsettling stuffed toy with a lopsided face and spooky button eyes. Sinister shape-shifter Chauncey is a great design and, in the right hands, we could have been looking at the next Pennywise or Freddy Krueger.

Sadly, these are the hands of Truth or Dare and Fantasy Island director Jeff Wadlow and Chauncey doesn’t get much chance to cut loose. Save for a scene between CB, Alice (Braun) and a therapist (Veronica Falcón) he’s fairly hopeless and less intimidating than one would hope. While the final act plays with Chauncey’s form a little (including some genuinely good practical effects), this supernatural horror story is disappointingly crayon-by-numbers – snatching wholesale from Poltergeist, Insidious and Coraline.

Visually and structurally, it’s unimpressive, too, and features reams of dialogue which shouldn’t have made it past the first draft. Star DeWanda Wise gamely gives it her all but is ill-served by the writing and clumsy character work; meanwhile, Braun and screen sister Taegan Burns give spirited performances but wind up on the wrong side of grating. Likewise, a one-note Betty Buckley and The Walking Dead star Tom Payne, whose stupid hat garnered the only reaction (a derisive laugh) from this theatre audience.

Imaginary is a disappointingly lackluster waste of talent and potential; a film about the power of imagination which has very little of its own.

IMAGINARY is out now in UK cinemas.

On March 2nd, 2024, actor Sydney Sweeney hosted the popular American variety show Saturday Night Live. In the process, the Euphoria and Anyone but You star unwittingly unleashed countless triumphalist tweets [X’s?] and think-pieces from those who couldn’t really pin down what ‘woke’ is in the first place. All claimed that Sydney Sweeney had ‘killed woke’ by, uh, having breasts and not hiding them.

Fast-forward twenty days to the release of Sydney Sweeney’s openly pro-abortion, anti-Church, anti-men horror film Immaculate – a film which features, in addition to a shocking vein of gore and violence, the most inappropriate use of a crucifix since The Exorcist. Who’s the ‘death of woke now,’ eh?

Sweeney stars as young nun Cecilia, whose devotion to her faith is sorely tested when she takes on a position in a convent in rural Italy. Cecilia has barely had a chance to learn the ropes (wiping old nuns’ arses and hanging laundry, mostly) when she comes down with a curious case of morning sickness – and is quickly diagnosed to be with child. As the baby grows within her virgin belly, the rose tint quickly begins to fade, and Cecelia starts to question everything she thinks she knows.

Directed by Michael Mohan (having previously directed Sweeney in 2021’s The Voyeurs), Immaculate is a queasily atmospheric work of Italio-horror – wearing its genre influences on its sleeve along with the prayer beads and giallo-esque black leather gloves. Featuring grisly practical effects and truly discomforting moments of violence, it couldn’t be further away from the likes of Rosemary’s Baby or The Nun – if it did have kinfolk in Western horror, it’d be Ready Or Not, particularly as Cecilia grows increasingly desperate and unpredictable in planning her escape.

This envelope-pushing work of religious horror grips from the off, showcasing a subtle sense of humour as it welcomes Cecilia into its world. The dialogue between her and her fellow sisters snaps, and while Sweeney impresses in the lead (slightly redeeming herself for whatever was going on in Madame Web), Benedetta Porcaroli steals scenes as the foul-mouthed Sister Gwen.

As the trimesters stack up, so Mohan and writer Andrew Lobel double down on this unhinged path into a third act few could have conceived of. Deeply profane in places and a startling work of taboo-busting nunsploitation.

IMMACULATE is out now in UK cinemas.

The Ghostbusters franchise, brought to its knees by Paul Feig’s witless Answer the Call in 2016, was brought back from the brink by Jason Reitman’s likeable 2021 ‘reboot’ Ghostbusters: Afterlife. The film introduced a new generation of slime-fighters. It paid respectful homage to the crew who made the 1984 original a well-regarded classic, offering cameos from Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Dan Aykroyd, Annie Potts, and even Sigourney Weaver. It even had a slightly mawkish (and, some might say, borderline tasteless) tribute to the late Harold Ramis. The film did decent box office and paved the way for this new iteration of the team to carry the torch forward in a more family-friendly 21st-century Ghostbusters (the original being a lot spikier than many may remember). This new sequel, however, now co-written by Reitman and new director Gil Kenan, suggests that this franchise is either not ready or not quite confident enough to let go of its past…

The Spengler family (Carrie Coon as Mom Callie, Finn Wolfhard as Trevor and Mckenna Grace as the intense Phoebe) and Callie’s boyfriend Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd in Scott Lang/AntMan mode throughout) have moved away from Oklahoma and relocated to New York where they are effectively the ‘new’ Ghostbusters, still operating out of the iconic NYC firehouse. A spectacular and witty ghost chase around the streets of New York sets out the film’s initial conflicts – at 15, Phoebe is still too young to be a ‘proper’ Ghostbuster and Mayor Peck (William Atherton) is determined to close the Ghostbusters down due to the carnage that generally follows in their wake. So far, so reasonable. The film then loses its direction for a while, focusing on family dynamics to the detriment of any actual plot development until Kumail Nanjiani’s Nadeem produces the film’s MacGuffin – an ancient artefact that houses a powerful demon-creature with the power to turn everything it touches to ice – and brings the original Ghostbusters back into action alongside the newbies. There are a couple of side distractions: the introduction of a secret paranormal research laboratory housed in an old aquarium (whose staff include, randomly, British stand-up comedian James Acaster as a not-quite-dotty-enough boffin) and some more coy hints at Phoebe’s sexuality when she seems to forge a friendship with the ghostly Melody (Emily Alyn Lind). It all drifts rather aimlessly until the last act when the Big Bad (admittedly quite formidable-looking for a determinedly child-friendly movie) is released and starts causing the ice-based carnage promised in the trailers.

It’s hardly a spoiler to reveal that the Ghostbusters (both generations) are triumphant, and the stage is set, yet again, for more colourful, spooky hi-jinks in an almost-inevitable second sequel. But it’s time to let go of the past now – there are far too many callbacks to the first film here – and let this new team do its own thing away from the nostalgia fest that’s constantly pulling it back to an era it can’t help but sit uncomfortably alongside. Frozen Empire is a perfectly serviceable slice of bright and breezy low-intensity horror. Busting will indeed make you feel good, if only for the length of the film – but there’s the nagging undercurrent here of a series that, despite its injection of new blood, is a little bit tired and just past its spook-by date.

GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE is on general release now

Dune: Part Two is a doozy. Director Denis Villeneuve follows up his phenomenal Part One with a staggering interpretation of Dune‘s most interesting bits, and he does so with the verve and tact of a Frank Herbert admirer and committed filmmaker.

Paul Atreides’ (Timothée Chalamet) transformation from earnest outsider to emotionally removed idol is a critical element of this story. Rightfully, most of Part Two‘s success hinges on whether or not this specific development works (thankfully, it does). With Part Two, Villeneuve and co-writer Jon Spaihts again do justice to Herbert’s toothsome novel, bringing care, scale, and moral murk to a complex epic. Villeneuve wrangles the material with the thoroughness of a diehard; everything from Fremen customs to Harkonnen ideologies feel fleshed-out and he has been open about Dune‘s importance to him, so it stands to reason that he’d put enormous care into making his adaptation the absolute best version of itself.

Of all it gets right, though, Part Two‘s most impressive feat is its artful relegation of its many villains. The Emperor and the Harkonnens are present and felt throughout, but they all play second fiddle to the ramifications of Paul’s ascension. Prophecy and deification are the big bads here. Villeneuve, eager to honour the story that helped shape him as an artist, spends most of Part Two digging deep into what makes Paul’s evolution so complicated and devastating.

Granted, a number of character arcs and subplots are resolved perfunctorily, and a handful of defining moments get zero time to breathe. The rest of it, though? The rest of it is impressively close to perfect.

DUNE: PART TWO is in cinemas starting March 1st.