FILM: Guardians Of the Galaxy Volume 3 (dir: James Gunn, 2023)

"How cool was that?"

The Guardians grow up in this excellent, almost-mature trilogy-capper that will please fans immensely but baffle those who are not up to speed nor a fan of James Gunn's quirky ideas.  Rocket's backstory underpins the whole film and it is surprisingly affecting, well-drawn and emotional.  Eschewing some of the unnecessary bloat of Vol.2, other characters such as Drax and Nebula - and even Mantis - feel better written in this film, 'new' Gamora gives Zoe Saldana plenty to chew on, and as more emotionally-battered Peter Quill, Chris Pratt still has plenty of snark and energy to enjoy as well as displaying more depth.  The High Evolutionary makes for a suitably deranged and strong MCU villain, played with real maniacal menace by Chukwudi Iwuji, and Will Poulter is fun here as the hapless mummy's-boy Adam Warlock.  There are no real quibbles about the quality of the CGI on show here, building scenarios that range from strangely bizarre to impressive.  Volume 3 makes a fitting end to this iteration of The Guardians, not only exciting and entertaining to watch but demonstrating some real evolution across the three films, and whilst it might not be quite up there with Super and Slither, we should be grateful that writer/director James Gunn finally returned to complete the trilogy.  The two final extra scenes (mid-credits and right at the end) are funny and it leaves the fans with a message that will please for the future.

VOD: Crater (dir: Kyle Patrick Alvarez, 2023)

"You know the best thing about road trips?  You get to leave everything behind."

With the straightforward premise of five young teens living on a lunar mining colony taking a moon-buggy to visit a crater to fulfil a final wish made to a recently-bereaved member of the gang, we have an unusual setting for a fairly standard Disney live-action gang-on-an-adventure coming-of-age movie but with a sci-fi twist and some unexpected commentary on business politics.  The child cast is adequate if somewhat bland, although there is a sensitive performance from Isiah Russell-Bailey in dealing with the death of his father and its impact on his future and some promising nuance from Billy Barratt as his best friend.  Effects work is largely simple but effective, and a couple of scenes of (very) mild peril are executed well.  Overall, Crater is a very gentle movie in spite of some harsh backstories for the youngsters, resulting in a reasonable children's movie that is pleasant enough but leaves little impression.
 

VOD: Escape Room 2 a.k.a. Escape Room Tournament Of Champions (dir: Adam Robitel, 2021)

"The game is all there is, and all there is is the game."

A snappy recap of the profitable 2019 film opens this money-grab sequel, as the survivor inadvertently finds herself pitted unwittingly against winning contestants from other games.  Following the Twister model, the only real parts of interest are the actual puzzle/action sequences as opposed to the unengaging dialogue scenes in between, yet here the clues and puzzles are dafter and seem less plausible.  Although the film is largely well made and performed competently, it does nothing to advance the concept, and playing like an odd mix of the Saw and Cube films with a Final Destination-styled ending, the only real positive here is guessing the order in which the thinly-drawn characters are despatched.  Note: this review refers to the Theatrical Cut and not the Extended Cut that features a different opening and ending.
 

VOD: I Wanna Dance With Somebody (dir: Kasi Lemmons, 2022)

"It's about love - the things we do to get it, and the things we do to keep it."

This routine musical biopic establishes Houston touchstones very quickly through her teen years at the start of the film - exacting mother, self-serving father, bisexuality, gateway weed-smoking - and once her serendipitous performing break in front of label boss Clive Davis sets her career in motion the well-worn story unfolds.  Sharing a writer with Bohemian Rhapsody, this film is similarly slick and polished if somewhat laboured and obvious in telling its classic (if still sad and self-destructive) rise-and-fall showbiz tale, which in this case cries out for a bit more grittiness or the creativity of Rocketman to make it really soar.  As Houston, Naomi Ackie turns in nothing short of a remarkable and assured performance both dramatically and musically, with a nicely-played contrasting turn from Stanley Tucci as her steady boss/father-figure Davis.  In spite of its length, the film feels superficial overall, particularly on the later years of the singer's life, but the musical scenes and recreations work well and undeniable sadness of the loss of an extraordinary talent still comes across.

 

VOD: Peter Pan & Wendy (dir: David Lowery, 2023)

"You are too old for this to be the type of fun that you are having!"

After the shiny new 100th-Anniversary Disney ident, a spirited opening juxtaposes the core themes of fantasy play and growing up that sets the scene effectively for this latest and lively adaptation from (perhaps unexpectedly) director David Lowery.  The inevitable contemporary knowing and revisionist elements generally sit well with the more (over-)familiar story and touchstone elements, married together with generally good effects work (and less reliant on the CG-bloat of recent live-action versions) and a delightful confident score by Daniel Hart.  The first act hurtles along in a very engaging manner, which is maintained reasonably well throughout the rest of the film.  The selling point for this version is Jude Law as a rather tormented Hook, clearly having a blast but never resorting to pantomime.  The thinness of the story and its blunt metaphors remain, but this is a well-written and decently-realised version of the familiar property.
 

VOD: Operation Fortune - Ruse De Guerre (dir: Guy Ritchie, 2023)

"We're gonna need a shovel."

With an unknown but world-dangerous MacGuffin stolen from a secret lab, the government assembles an oddball private security team to track down the buyers/sellers and retrieve the stolen item, which also has to contend with a second team on the same mission.  There is plenty of globetrotting on offer with lush scenery to savour, but that does not make up for a surprising lack of strong action set-pieces - brief sped-up over-choreographed fist fights do not really cut it.  Reliable players like Josh Hartnett and Aubrey Plaza deliver the goods, and Hugh Grant is good fun in the geezer go-between role, but Cary Elwes and Jason Statham go for a mannered light swaggering style that underwhelms.  Although it aims for a 007/Mission:Impossible vibe, the film is not really smart enough to be really funny nor played straight enough to be taken seriously, but as a lightweight caper it just about scrapes by in the most insubstantial manner.
 

VOD: The Catholic School (dir: Stefano Mordini, 2021)

"Violence was the order of the day."

Based on the real life Circeo Massacre of 1975 in Rome, the early part of this film plays for the most part in a strict and stereotypical upper-middle-class boys' religious boarding school through the expected repression, bullying and ingrained attitudes.  However, the actual school element takes an increasing back seat to what then seems like a fairly standard if subdued coming-of-age European drama, as the boys negotiate concepts of faith and sin alongside an increasingly adult world of sex and relationships.  It is the latter part of the film that proves most difficult to watch, in an extended sequence that shows two of the young men (plus a third) kidnap and repeatedly rape two local girls at an isolated house that almost feels like it has drifted in from a Death Wish movie.  The tone overall is deeply serious and pensive as befitting the material, and the traits of toxic masculinity and privilege are played out tellingly, but the different strands of the movie do not entirely hang together in the apparent search for the exact reasons behind the tragic events.  The main characters are not sufficiently well-drawn to be compelling to follow, and the film's uncertainty of its identity is awkward overall.
 

VOD: Hellhole (a.k.a. Ostatnia Wieczerza) (dir: Bartosz M Kowalski, 2022)

"The world would gladly forget about the tormented ones."

With increasing internet buzz around this Polish horror-thriller, the film starts like The Omen with a desperate priest failing to execute a 'marked' baby, which then jumps forward thirty years as a young priest arrives at a forbidding and austere monastery/sanatorium.  The start of the film is suitably gloomy and atmospheric, and before long exorcism tropes duly kick in (a seemingly possessed young woman tied to a bed, crucifixes start shaking) but - as our protagonist and the viewers slowly discover - all is not quite as it seems.  The reveals are paced out nicely and misdirections are used well to keep the audience interested.  Events turn much more unpleasant from around the half-way mark, and the bonkers finale has some arresting imagery that is well-realised on screen.  The film is beautifully designed and shot in a constant blue/candlelight half-light with expansive use of sound.  It feels a little episodic overall and the ending is sudden but suggestively open-ended, but Hellhole is an odd, striking and reasonably satisfying horror.
 

VOD: M3GAN (dir: Gerard Johstone, 2023)

"This is what the future looks like, OK?  You just have to get used to it!"

The creepy/murderous doll sub-genre moves into the age of apps and AI with this smart and knowing low-budget horror that is also great fun.  Amongst the building scenes of robo-carnage, the film offers reasonably rounded main characters and manages to make some pertinent points about consumerism, parenting and even current concerns about the burgeoning impact of AI, but all of that is not the main reason for watching the film.  With echoes of past hits ranging from Metropolis, Childs's Play and TV's Humans to I, Robot, the story takes its time in the first act to set up a credible and logical scenario - even if plot-holes are rather obvious throughout - that all leads to a barnstorming finale, and whilst it holds no real narrative surprises, M3GAN is very well made and played straight effectively.