The date: April 30th 2019. The event: The first Sonic trailer is released online. The issue: HORRIBLE CGI design of the main character. After a six-month delay from its original release date, Sonic the Hedgehog is finally released with a fully re-designed character. Unfortunately, in all the faff over the image of Sonic, the filmmakers … Continue reading “Uh…Meow?” (Sonic the Hedgehog review)
I did it. I watched it. I just about survived it. And though I’m scarred, I can at least now brag I survived the worst movie of 2019.
“A thousand generations live in you now”. Luke’s utterance must have also been what J. J. Abrams heard when he was asked to direct the final episode in the Skywalker Saga. Every generation of child, young or old, was waiting to see what he was going to do with the final chapter. The answer? He … Continue reading “A thousand generations live in you now” (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker review)
Years in the making and decades in the narrative, The Irishman (titled onscreen as “I Heard You Paint Houses”) is Martin Scorsese’s latest epic crime drama, telling the life and confessions of Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran. Though it doesn’t feel it’s 3 ½ hour run time and the drama is beefy enough to fill it, it also never feels like enough excitement or emotion occurs within the film to justify it’s length.
Terminator 2: Judgement Day has long been one of my favourite films. Its action, its emotion and its CGI are all stunning for its age, and upon countless re-watches it still holds up as one of the greatest films ever made. The team behind Terminator: Dark Fate clearly noticed that, and decided to try duplicating that film. What’s left is a fairly enjoyable action flick with none of the flair of the originals.
In 2019’s answer to the endless popularity of Space Exploration films, ‘Ad Astra’ presents a poetic narrative that wouldn’t be out of place in ‘2001’. In Brad Pitt’s second film of the year, he voyages away from 1969 and into the near distant future to tell a story of hope, determination and fatherhood.
Based on the $90billion franchise, Detective Pikachu is the first live action film from Pokémon, the Japanese franchise that has spawned video games, anime series, card games, films and that infamous mobile app. I am someone who has never before touched the franchise, so I admit I was completely unfamiliar with anything being referenced. Perhaps … Continue reading Pika-Choose a different film to watch (Pokémon Detective Pikachu review)
LAIKA studios are rapidly becoming something nobody thought was possible; fierce competition for Aardman Animations. Their stop motion films both share a whimsical vibrancy and a taste for the bizarre. With their 5th feature film, Missing Link, LAIKA have delivered another exquisitely animated film with gentle comedy and a warm heart.
Produced by Peter Jackson, Mortal Engines is a film about giant cities on wheels that drive around and attack one another. While the bizarre concept is perfect Peter Jackson territory, this fantasy adaptation spoils its fantastic special effects with a cliché screenplay, poor performances and a lack of interesting personality.
I must preface this review by saying that I am not a ‘Potterhead’. I like the original Potter films, I think they’re perfectly fine. I was NOT, however, a fan of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the first prequel in J. K. Rowling’s ‘Wizarding World’. I found it boring, lacking in story and favouring style very much over substance. It’s with surprise that I announce this latest film is actually even worse, and highlights a lot of major issues in Hollywood’s Franchise-Saturated market.
Daniel Robinson: From Reel to Real 