The title of this tells you everything you need to know. Everything they did, they’re doing again. More ABBA, more horrible dialogue and more cheesy hammed-up performances. And you know what, Ol Parker (this instalment's director) has absolutely Nailed It! It’s a rare thing to watch a film that is so utterly naff and yet is so utterly uplifting and enjoyable.
Mission: Impossible is arguably the most consistent movie franchise going. Sporting some of the most incredible practical stunt work in movie history, the franchise has jumped from strength to strength and has only grown in quality and scale. With the sixth film arriving in cinemas next week, I thought I’d take this opportunity to look back and review the franchise so far.
Pixar haven’t had the best track record for sequels. Cars 2 was dreadful, Monsters University lacked suffered in comparison to the original, and Finding Dory was nothing to write home about. Only the Toy Story sequels have managed to do that rare thing of improve on the original. Having loved The Incredibles, I was really, really hoping that this sequel would manage to at least match it. What a shame then to report that The Incredibles 2 doesn’t quite live up to the freshness of the original.
If you’ve seen the poster for this film, then you already know it’s going to be ridiculous. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is back, in my mind the best A-List star to make B-List films, and this time he’s climbing a burning skyscraper to save his family and uncover a plot to destroy the building.
The opening words “inspired by real events” are utterly baffling and simultaneously heartwarming. This plot actually happened! The story follows five friends who have been playing Tag (or Tig) since they were 9. Four of them team up to try and catch Jerry (Jeremy Renner) who has never been tagged. Like I said, I can’t believe this actually happened, but I’m glad it did because it provided a good 100 minutes of entertainment.
Following Hollywood’s new trend of rebooting classic movie franchises rather than coming up with some original ideas, Oceans 8 sees Sandra Bullock gather a team to rob the MET Gala of a diamond necklace worth $150 million. Despite some glitzy visuals, this Oceans franchise reboot fails to shine.
Well, Deadpool 2 has done it. It has joined the rankings of 'Terminator 2', 'The Godfather 2' and 'Shrek 2' for sequels that outshine the original. I always felt the first film wasn’t as groundbreaking as it thought it was, and while entertaining, it lacked enough humour and action to really make it fantastic. Where the first film lost out, this one picks up, and boy did it do a good job of it.
Television has never been quite so entertainingly morose as Netflix’s adaptation of the best-selling book’s enters its second season. Building on the strength of last year’s first season, ‘Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events’ continues to be a unique triumph. The casting in the show is sublime, with Neil Patrick Harris nailing the character … Continue reading VFD: Very Fine Drama (Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events – Season Two review)
Well, I’d like to rename 2017 “the year that Marvel killed it”. Having already watched Guardians 2 and Thor 3, I finally got around to seeing Spider-Man: Homecoming, and blimey was I impressed yet again.
I missed Thor: Ragnarok when it came out last November, but with Infinity War looming on the horizon, I invested in the Blu-ray to watch it first. Boy am I glad I did, not only for the story continuation that will occur in The Avengers 3, but also for the sheer joy of watching one of the best Marvel films to date.
Daniel Robinson: From Reel to Real 