Film Review Club

Yellowjackets tell the story of a group of high school soccer players who survive a plane crash on their way to nationals. They come back with dark secrets that threaten their new lives. I absolutely loved this debut season and everything from the casting to the cinematography impressed me! The story flicks between the current day and flashbacks to the girls plane crash, I must say, the casting agent deserves a pay rise because the young and old cast match incredibly well. The story itself is frustratingly good and what I mean by that is I am dying to know everything that happened but it gets drip fed to us throughout the ten episodes and even then, we still know very little! It’s a great example of fantastic storytelling that gets you hooked right from the start. It flexes in the supernatural really well and it’s the type of genre I always enjoy. It’s a must watch in my opinion, a true banger from Paramount+. Overall (9/10) Thanks for reading. Callan

The reunion of two sisters is rudely interrupted by flesh-possessing demons who go on a murderous rampage, forcing the residents of an old tower block into a battle of survival.  I broke a big rule of mine to watch Evil Dead Rising, usually I have to watch all of the other films in the franchise before watching the latest instalment but this time I made the exception. I don’t think the film is linked to the others, bar the book of course, so that’s good news. But nonetheless it’s a pretty enjoyable movie! It certainly follows the usual tropes of a film of this type and although that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it did make it rather predictable. The cinematography was actually really good though, an aspect I thoroughly enjoyed. I also appreciated how they set up the conditions for the protagonists, usually you’re questioning why they wouldn’t just run or leave things be, but at least we knew why the residents in this old tower block couldn’t escape. That helped justify some of the ch

Hank Rogers discovers Tetris in 1988 and risks everything he has, even travelling to the hostile Soviet Union to try and get the rights for the widely popular game. Tetris is probably one of the surprise movies of the year so far, it felt like it come out of nowhere and that actually could have helped it become pretty popular amongst audiences. I think Taron Egerton performs really well and alongside the comedic yet detailed storytelling, it was all pieced together rather nicely. I enjoyed how they flexed the classic video game style animation into the live action frames, paying homage to the games of the time period and really highlighting Tetris as the centre piece of the entire movie. Now does it have that real stand out factor? No probably not but it’s a story I enjoyed watching because I had no clue the lengths people had to go to for the game to be available for the masses! Another pretty solid addition to the Apple TV streaming service I must say, it’s a shame that some of their

After spending years as Dracula’s familiar, Renfield vows to escape is narcissistic boss and create a life for his own. On one hand Renfield is exactly what you would expect it to be, a goofy R rated action comedy that embraces the silliness of the overdramatised characters. On the other hand, just because it achieved what it intended, it certainly doesn’t make it a good film. Nicholas Cage sets the standard for creating a silly character that can still captivate audiences, whereas the others miss the mark, some more than others. However I will admit that it’s perfectly watchable with a few fun moments and surprisingly the action choreography is actually really well executed. That is definitely the area Hoult seemed to do well in, the rest of his performance just felt a little lame and lacklustre, like he wasn’t really invested in the role. So even though it’s not the highest quality film, it’s still entertaining. Overall (6.2/10) Thanks for reading. Callan

A group of friends reunite at a luxurious mansion in America, for a night filled with alcohol and drugs. That is until people start dying one by one, can they find the killer?  Bodies, Bodies, Bodies inherently pokes fun at the silliness of the 21st century and how self absorbed some people can be. The characters rarely display anything but a shallow personality and that ties into the plot of the film rather nicely. As the storyline progressed it looked more and more likely that it was going to follow the usual whodunnit tropes, leading to a predictable finale that matches the rest of the mediocre movies of a similar nature. However the ending saved it from mediocrity and the stupidity of the whole thing actually made me like it, the killing kicked off by a tik tok gone wrong… the irony is genius! Will this stand out within the horror comedy genre? Probably not, but it’s still a lot of fun and it’s worth a watch just for that. Overall (7.6/10) Thanks for reading! Callan

Uhtred returns to finish his story as King Edward dies forcing him to return to war in order to achieve one United Kingdom.  It was great to see the characters I love return to the screen and this time with the blockbuster treatment! However the in depth character exploration and the wonderful plot development that we loved about the show just couldn’t be translated into movie format. Everything seemed rush, the storyline just jumped and skipped crucial aspects of the story that we needed and this made it all seem incredibly disjointed. Not to mention the blow that finally brought Uhtred’s story to and end, was in a mediocre battle that simply couldn’t compete with any of the conflicts that we witnessed on the show. Now this may seem like I hated it, I didn’t, it’s watchable and my love for The Last Kingdom meant I was invested despite its flaws but to me it was a stupid decision to sign off with a movie. I’m yet to watch a single film that was made to conclude a TV show, that actually

Air follows the story of Nike as they attempted to pull off the impossible, sign Michael Jordan as their marquee Basketball player.  Air is a perfect example of a sports drama, in fact a drama in general, because the sports is actually kept to a minimum. Ben Affleck once again proves his capabilities as a director as he produces a captivating account of how Nike signed the icon that is Michael Jordan. The first thing that strikes you is how they transport you into the 1980’s time period, with an opening sequence that involves everything 80’s and then the beautiful set and costume design keeps you there. I’m not a basketball fan, but the performances alone, made me passionate about the sport, without having watched a single game! Not once do we really see the actor playing Jordan, the focus is kept on Nike and the contract and that was a genius play because it didn’t allow for any distractions. I had a great time with this movie and I’d recommend it to anyone! Overall (9/10) Thanks for

When Mario and Luigi find themselves separated in a mysterious new world, Mario must help Peach to take on the all powerful Bowser so he can rescue his brother and Toad Kingdom. The Super Mario Bros movie is brilliantly creative, bringing to life the games I adored as a child. I was amazed by how true they stayed to the source material whilst also making the story feel incredibly unique. Animation really is improving with each movie in this day and age, Mario Bros is no different! It looked fantastic and the visuals were outstanding, with all of the different kingdoms getting their time to shine. But I was also surprised by the work they done with the Mario theme tune and working that into the musical score, it created this really joyful atmosphere and that injected so much nostalgia into each and every scene. The voice work, although criticised heavily in the build up to its release, was actually really good. They provide context behind the accents and although they probably had one t

Elite level spy, Orson Fortune is tasked with tracking down and preventing the sale of deadly new weapon technology. Fortune teams up with the worlds best operative and uses a Hollywood star as his Trojan horse. It was less Operation Fortune and more Operation Fiasco as Guy Ritchie has a rare miss, bringing to life one of the most forgettable spy films of the last decade! I really enjoy watching a lot of these actors and although they aren’t all necessarily known for their acting prowess, they’re usually very entertaining. However the storyline was incredibly dull, predictable and boring. The overdramatised spy handler, Nathan Jasmine was insufferable and that accent put on by Cary Elwes was absolutely awful. Now there were a few positives, some of the action choreography was pretty entertaining, although it never really lasted for any prolonged periods of time. There was also Bugzy Malone who many from the UK will know for his music but he was actually one of the better performers in

Father Gabriel Amorth, chief exorcist for the Vatican, battles satan and innocent-possessing demons. A detailed portrait of a priest who carried out 100,000 exorcists in his lifetime. Now I must admit I went into the movie expecting the usual jump scare horror flick, centred around an exorcism. However it was actually a combination of horror and fantasy. The Popes Exorcist focused primarily on the battle between the faith and Satan and less on the horror aspect, which I actually enjoyed a lot more. Russel Crowe delivers a convincing portrayal of the Italian Preist but I will say that every time he spoke it just reminded me of Zeus from Thor love and Thunder and I really don’t need to be reminded of that! The performances across the board were pretty good, the young actor Peter De Souza-Feighoney done really well, playing the part of the possessed boy. Choosing Ralph Ineson as the voice of the demon was a great decision, I wouldn’t say it was scary, it was actually quite comical, but th

A lone scientist in the artic desperately tries to contact a crew of astronauts returning home to a global catastrophe. Meanwhile he finds himself with a responsibility closer to home that he must take care of. The Midnight Sky has all the ingredients to be an amazing film, beautiful cinematography, an impressive cast and placed in a pretty popular genre. However the storyline just wasn’t up to the task and ultimately that aspect let the entire film down. I found myself uninterested and bored for the majority of its two hour run time. George Clooney performs relatively well with the poor material but I felt the other actors were let down by their pretty insignificant roles. It just took so long to piece anything together and by the time it did, you soon realise the wait wasn’t worth it. The film is set in the arctic which did provide the opportunity for a range of beautiful visuals and that was accompanied by a pretty magnificent musical score. Unfortunately not even that could justify