Film Review Club

Thomas Anderson returns to an even more dangerous Matrix. Leaving the success of his staged life as a game creator, he finds himself back in the action, looking for his one true love…Trinity.  The Matrix Resurrections maintains the vibrant visuals and unique aesthetic of the original trilogy, possibly even improving them at times. But the story ultimately lacks substance, which makes the film feel like needless filler, all in an attempt to unnecessarily revive The Matrix franchise. At its core, this fourth instalment actually feels more like a love story, rather than a futuristic sci-fi action flick. How two lovers fight through adversity to find each-other once again, the old trope of being stronger together, than apart. Don’t get me wrong there is plenty of Matrix style action sequences to make the film entertaining but when the plot was conjured just for the sake of creating a fourth film, ruining the satisfying conclusion from the third film, it limits it’s success. Despite it’s fa

Two homicide detectives in Louisiana are assigned to the murder of Dora Lange, an investigation that spans over a decade. Years after Detective Marty Hart and Rust Cohle believed they cracked the case, the pair are pulled back in to the trail of corruption and brutality. But can the pair put aside their old differences for the greater good… True Detective season 1 is well and truly peak television, spearheaded by the stellar performances of Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughy. The show is constructed as a nonlinear narrative, crossing between different timelines to create a wonderfully captivating and equally brutal detective story. The highlight of the show is definitely the two lead detectives, the character work is extraordinary and the way in which Harrelson and McConaughy portrayed those individuals is, in my opinion, their career best work, at least from what I’ve seen of their filmography anyway. The latter especially because Rust Cohle is such a complex character and despite

Resident Evil follows Jade Wesker fourteen years after a deadly virus transformed the world as we know it. But the infected are the last of Jade’s concerns, her past with Umbrella, her father and the fate of her sister Billy, all begin to catch up to her as she tries to make it back to her family.  Resident Evil was definitely one of my most anticipated shows for 2022, I’m a huge fan of the franchise and the original premise for the eight part series certainly peaked my interest. Unfortunately it didn’t quite live up to my high expectations but nonetheless I still enjoyed it and it has a lot going for itself. Season one starts off a little slow but around the third episode the pace really picks up and the plot starts to unfold nicely. The cast doesn’t necessarily include any major names but I think most of the ensemble performed really well, especially the actresses who portrayed the young Jade and Billy Wesker, I was really impressed with them (Tamara Smart and Sienna Agudong). I wasn

Ms Marvel follows Kamala Khan, a passionate superhero fan with a love for Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel). Often finding herself feeling like the odd one out, at home and at school, Kamala soon finds herself thrown into the world she adored so much, when a mysterious bracelet equips her with superhuman abilities.  Ms Marvel is a refreshing addition to the MCU Disney+ catalogue, with a unique aesthetic and a charismatic cast. First of all I want to praise Iman Vellani for her portrayal of Kamala Khan because she was born for this role! I couldn’t picture anyone else playing her and considering this is was Vellani’s first major role, she performed brilliantly. My favourite part about this show was definitely its unique creative style, particularly the way Kamala’s art and even the characters text messages, merged with the environment! It looked so natural and was a beautiful way to bring the frames to life, giving it a little extra energy to captivate audiences. Now I obviously knew the c

The Boys season 3 rejoins us with the crew led by Billy Butcher and overseen by Hughie in his new role as Victoria Neuman’s assistant. But it doesn’t take long for things to take a dark turn for the worse when new secrets are revealed and ‘Temp V’ is let loose within this bunch of heroic misfits. Can the teams new weapon finally help them bring down Homelander?  The Boys Season 3 takes every positive aspect of the first two seasons and doubles down on it, providing us with epic action sequences, graphic deaths and huge displays of power from all kinds of Supes. But if we put the action to one side for a moment, we are still left with outstanding performances that drive home the emotional themes of the show, ensuring The Boys delivers on all fronts. Once again Anthony Starr continues to thrive as the central antagonist Homelander, the man can speak a thousand words through a single facial expression and I’m constantly impressed every time he’s on screen. The surprise performer for me th

Love and Thunder rejoins us with Thor and his Guardians of the Galaxy companions as he sheds the weight and gets back to his fighting peak. His journey of self discovery is cut short when he is called back to New Asgard to face a new threat, Gorr the God Butcher. I want to start by telling you all straight off the bat, Taiki Waititi doubles down on the hilariously silly comedy we witnessed in Thor Ragnarok and for me it worked really well. However if you’re a person who isn’t the biggest fan of his style and approach then it’s fair to say you probably won’t enjoy it. There’s no hiding the fact that the MCU has been guilty of forcing comedy into otherwise serious films, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. But with Taiki’s approach he leans into it and doesn’t try to hide the fact that it’s silly and over the top and that’s why it works incredibly well for me. Through its entire two hour run time, which was full of humour, I’d say there was only a couple of occasions where it co

This biopic follows Elvis Presley as he transcends from a local country blues singer from Memphis to Rock n Roll legend who took the world by storm with his unique sound and iconic moves. Exploring the complicated and exploitative relationship between him and his manager Colonel Tom Parker.  The latest biopic to take the world by storm tells the ultimately sad tale of Elvis Presleys life and how his exploitation by his manager and his struggles with drugs lead to the icons death. I want to kick things off by mentioning just how good Austin Butler is, I’m glad he’s finally rising to the top end of the actor circuit because he definitely deserves it. Austin seemed to nail both the highs and the lows of Presley’s life and his voice and movement was the perfect representation of Elvis himself! I’ve never heard, nor seen any footage of Colonel Tom Parker so I can’t really comment on how well Tom Hanks portrayed the character. It was certainly an eccentric performance, a little weird at time

The Bad Batch follows a unique squad of Clones trying to find their way after the events of the Clone Wars. Dealing with the effects of Order 66, this family of fighters try to survive in a world ruled by the newly formed Empire. At the very centre of this Star Wars animated show are the core themes of family and brotherhood and that represents perfectly, the beliefs that these misfit clones live by. The deformities that blessed them with their unique abilities also allowed these clones to hold off the effect of the inhibitor chips that enforced Order 66 and allowed them to think freely for themselves. This puts them at direct odds with the newly formed empire and makes for an intriguing story and a nice addition to the Star Wars franchise. There is no doubting that this is one cool group of clones, we saw glimpses of their talent in The Clone Wars but The Bad Batch allows them to be the main focus and that creates plenty of thrilling action sequences. The animation also has to be cred

Stranger Things season 4 finds the gang split between Hawkings and California where Joyce, Eleven, Will and Jonathan have started their new lives. However the group finds their new lives cut short when they are forced to try and stop the latest threat arising from the upside down, Vecna.  The Duffer brothers have produced the most thrilling season yet by introducing the deadliest antagonist we have seen so far, Vecna. Not only that, they have also introduced some amazing new characters such as Eddie Munson who took the audience by storm with his unique charm and quirky personality, the perfect addition to the group of misfit heroes we have come to love. The storyline was broken up into three key parts, we had Joyce and Murray rescuing Hopper in Russia, Eleven, Mike, Will and Jonathan in California and then the rest of the crew in Hawkings. I loved the overall plot and season 4 was absolutely incredible but the only criticism I had was that I just didn’t care much for any of the other s