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Showing posts from August, 2024

Alien : Romulus review

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  The original Alien movie is a sci-fi classic no doubt about it. It was a genre defining movie. It's now 2024 and along comes Alien Romulus which is more of a sequel to the original than it is a prequel or standalone entry. Cailee Spaney leads the charge as a young woman living in space on a colonized planet. She is all alone apart from an synthetic humonaid that her father programmed to aid her. All she wants is to get off her planet and experience the warmth of the Earth's sun on her face as it sets. Her luck maybe soon about to change then when a few of her friends come up with a way to get off the planet via cryo stasis. But is all as good as it seems?? Right off the bat it's clear to see that Alien Romulus has been crafted with such love and care by all involved. Every frame is special. It feels so incredibly perfect and right. It's like slipping back into the original Alien's spacesuit. As for the Aliens themselves they are absolutely terrifying ini such tigh

Coraline 15th Anniversary review

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  It's quite hard to believe that Coraline is 15 years old. I'll never forget going to see it all the way back in 2009 in 3D. I was blown away by what unfolded. A masterpiece of stop motion animation and cinema as a whole Coraline is a wildly entertaining allbeit a bit dark tale of mystery, a child's imagination and buttons. I was very fortunate to see this movie once again on the big screen and it was as magical as it was the first time I saw it. Dakota Fanning lends her voice talents to that of a young girl named Coraline. After her parents move into a new house her imagination is pushed to the limit as she uncovers an alternate reality via a door in her living room. Once inside she is met with the same world and people as her own world but everyone has buttons for eyes. Of course things are far more sinister than it all seems as Coraline begins to fight for a way out and puts a plan in motion to stop anyone from ever venturing into this 'world' again. Visually Co

It Ends With Us review

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  Based upon the best selling book of the same name It Ends With Us is about a young woman's journey through life dealing with grief, anger and ultimately acceptance. Blake Lively stars as Lily Blossom Bloom (yes that's actually her name) a young florist who after the death of her father returns to her home where she meets a man with who she falls madly in love with. It's a simple setup but there is layers here, and lots of them. We get a ton of background on Lily's life as she grew up and how she navigated a pretty rough home life which included domestic violence. When she meets a fellow classmate who is homeless about to leave for the Marines she too falls madly in love with him. It's a very sweet and caring relationship one that is totally the opposite of her modern day one which begins to tour quite sour once her former love comes into the picture. It's an all too familiar picture and really is very impactful as the movie really kicks into gear in it's s

Trap review

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  The latest movie written an directed by M. Night Shyamalan is a game of cat and mouse. Josh Hartnett stars as a father named Cooper who is seemingly hiding a sinister secret. On the day that his daughter's favorite musician is holding a concert he faces a major battle of wits to try and escape the police who're hunting a killer dubbed only as ''The Butcher'' will he outwit everyone and escape? or will things come to a dramatic conclusion?? on paper Trap is a really fantastic idea. In execution it is equal parts brilliant and brutal. It's a movie of two halves and once we leave the whole concert situation behind it just keeps going and going leading to a overly confluted and needless post concert arc.  Josh Hartnett is the one true standout in Trap. He is absolutely brilliant here. Always on edge while trying to remain calm for his daughter on her big day of seeing her favorite person in concert. His mask slowly begins to slip more and more as he manuvers a

Borderlands review

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  Based upon the popular video game franchise of the same name Borderlands is supposed to be a bloody, violent, fun and over the top romp but this adaptation is anything but. Directed and written by Eli Roth Borderlands is a total misfire on almost all levels and fails to nail the foundation and world building of the games. Right off the bat it's clear to see that the casting is just all wrong. Cate Blanchett and Jamie Lee Curtis are nothing like their game counterparts and the same can be said for Kevin Hart. It's all sort of lumpted together in a story that is as unfunny as it is cliche.  As of late video game adapatations have been on the right path. Both Sonic movies, The Last of Us TV show and the Mario Bros movie. It's such a downer now to see this what arguably should've been a high ocatane, high intensity movie filled with action, blood and humour. They did get one thing right and that is the visuals. Visually Borderlands pops and is very much on brand for the w