31ST March - 2nd April
1) Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves
2) John Wick : Chapter 4
3) Mummies
4) Shazam! Fury Of the Gods
5) Creed III
6) Scream VI
7) Puss In Boots: The Last Wish
8) Allelujah
9) 65
10) Rye Lane
11) Dasara
12) Life Of Pi – NT Live 2023 (Theatre)
13) What’s Love Got to Do With It?
14) God’s Creatures
15) Falstaff – Met Opera 2023 (Opera)
John Wick: Chapter 4
The Fourth John Wick Movie is a masterpiece of it’s Genre.
More Gun-Foo but this time I feel that the story is better. Keanu Reeves as John Wick seems to have this sort of Action Movie nailed down. I am not sure that anyone else does Action like this.
If you weren’t a fan of the first three John Wick Movies, then this probably won’t be your cup of tea either.
John Wick uncovers a path to defeating
The High Table. But before he can earn his freedom, Wick must face off against a new enemy with powerful alliances across the globe and forces that turn old friends into foes. – Official Synopsis.
I believe this is one of the last Movies we will see the Actor Lance Reddick in after his sad passing on 17 March 2023. He is an Actor who has been in loads of TV Shows; Fringe, Lost, Boosch and even Doctor Who. Ian McShane and Laurence Fishburne add a bit of experience and acting prowess to the cast. Neither has much screen time but they both have a big impact on the film. Bill Skarsgard really pulls off his role as European Royalty, he does a good job of making you not like him very much, he believes he is better than everyone else and that the rules don’t apply to him. Donnie Yen is fantastic as a blind assassin, and he nearly steals every scene he is in.
The film opens in New York City, the home of the notorious Continental Hotel, and takes us to Osaka Japan, Paris France, and Berlin Germany. Each of those cities plays a major role in John Wick’s quest to seek revenge against the High Table for the acts outlined in the prior films, and to seek his unconditional freedom from service to their order.
Murray Close Hiroyuki Sanada and Reeves are reunited, having starred in 47 Ronin together. Sanada, as is always the case, is a strong presence in the film and makes the most of every scene he is in. He is a great addition to the film. The Osaka Continental fight scenes are groundbreaking, and among the best and most exciting in the entire series. This is some of the best fight and action choreography you will see; only topped by other scenes in this same movie.
Shamier Anderson and Clancy Brown are new to the series and add great value. Anderson as a cunning assassin conflicted between admiration and greed. Clancy Brown is a strong presence and welcome replacement in the role of Adjudicator. I found Asia Kate Dillon's version of the same character to be the weakest part of the prior film, and, perhaps, of the whole series.
Keanu Reeves continues to be engaging, empathetic, and dynamic in the role of John Wick. While the series has strayed a bit from the deeply reluctant anti-hero of the first film; we continue to cheer for the good guy caught up in a bad, bad world. One of the great strengths of the film is that Reeves and Stahelski are not afraid the let characters other than Wick shine. In fact, all of the stars of this one gets to have their deeply profound and memorable moments in and out of the company of the main character. This really works.
As for the fight and action choreography. The stunt team at 87eleven continue to elevate the game. The film has three major, larger than life action sequences, that each, individually, outdo anything you will see in any other non-John Wick movie. As mentioned previously, the Osaka and Berlin scenes were high energy, high body count affairs. They were complete with gun fights, sword mastery, gun play, and one of the best nun chuck displays you will ever see outside of a Bruce Lee movie. As for the scenes in Paris, at the Arc de Triomphe, and on the Church steps, they are unlikely to be forgotten and, unlikely, to be topped for years to come, if ever. They are unique and exciting and violent feasts for the eyes.
John Wick: Chapter 4 earns a 10/10 rating.
It is worth seeing, and probably seeing again. This is my personal favourite of the John Wick Movies. I predict a significant box office gross for this one, and it is well deserved.
A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers embark on an epic quest to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people.
I have added a Trailer above but if you haven’t watched any Trailers, yet I recommend you maybe don’t because a lot of the best bits of the film are in the Trailer and in my opinion it does spoil the movie a little bit.
This film definitely reminds me of the Lord of the Rings films, one part of the film in particular reminds me of the scenes in the mines of Moria.
The film has two very different bad guys, Hugh Grant plays a greedy human. Then there are the red wizards who are very creepy and mysterious.
D&D: Honour among thieves is super cheesy but if you can look past that it is a fun Fantasy Film, just try not to think about it too much.
The film continues the story of teenage Billy Batson (Asher Angel/Zachary Levi) who, upon reciting the magic word "SHAZAM!" is transformed into his adult Superhero alter ego, Shazam.
It’s like Superman and Friends with Comedy.
This film has some really funny moments, Zachary Levi brings his own brand of humour with a few current pop culture references; Including Game of Thrones and The Fast and The Furious movies, these are the most obvious that I saw.
Some of the CGI in this was pretty poor compared to what we are used to, you could tell in some of the scenes it wasn’t real. The flying scenes I thought were really bad considering some of the standards we get in today’s Movies and even Series. The scenes in the caverns were probably my favourite with the many doors that lead to different places.
Djimon Hounsou reprises his role as the wizard and he is good and so mater of fact about magic and things he thinks everyone should know.
Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu and Rachel Zegle play the daughter’s of Atlas; Hespera, Kalypso and Anthea. They are the ‘bad guys’ of the movie. They are all solid in this movie.
Overall I would say this movie is an Okay film, I think the humour was better in the first Shazam! Movie but the Action is better in this one. The CGI does let it down for me, it should have been better given today’s CGI capabilities.
Following the latest Ghostface killings, the four survivors leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter. In Scream VI, Melissa Barrera ("Sam Carpenter"), Jasmin Savoy Brown ("Mindy Meeks-Martin"), Mason Gooding ("Chad MeeksMartin"), Jenna Ortega ("Tara Carpenter"), Hayden Panettiere ("Kirby Reed") and Courteney Cox ("Gale Weathers") return to their roles in the franchise alongside Jack Champion, Henry Czerny, Liana Liberato, Dermot Mulroney, Devyn Nekoda, Tony Revolori, Josh Segarra, and Samara Weaving.
Does the world need another Scream movie? My answer would have been no, but judging by the amount of people in my screening there is obviously an audience for it. I wonder if the audience is mostly Millennials who haven’t seen the first 4 movies. Scream 6 is a direct sequel to Scream 5. This movie for me is Okay but a lot of the same old stuff, it just feels like all the other Scream movies which to me are getting a bit old. The Horror in this isn’t scary horror, it’s more Gory and violent. I didn’t jump once in this movie, and I am easily scared lol. Scream VI felt super underwhelming to me. It felt lazy, tired, and predictable. Chase and kill sequences punctuated by a half-baked mystery and very boring conversations that go in one ear and out the other. Yes, the film is gorier than the others. It's not particularly impressive, nor are the horror set pieces. Scream was never about the gore, so I don't know why that's such a selling point. The things Scream did have - the meta commentary, the characters - seem watered down. Despite all the insistence that "you've never seen a Scream like this before," it very much feels like a Scream I've seen before. Just worse.
My Rating 6/10
After dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) has been thriving in both his career and family life. When childhood friend and former boxing prodigy Damian (Jonathan Majors) resurfaces after serving a long sentence in prison, he is eager to prove that he deserves his shot in the ring. The faceoff between former friends is more than just a fight. To settle the score, Adonis must put his future on the line to battle Damian--a fighter who has nothing to lose. A solid entry in the franchise. The movie hits all the familiar beats and points that you've come to love and expect from any of the previous films. I do believe that buried deep inside of this script, is a film that could have been magnificent. These films have always been exciting and entertaining, but this film just seems to fall short, and I came out thinking I’ve seen this before. Like a lot of movies today Creed 3 lacks somewhat in originality. Everywhere you look in the cinema there are sequels/Prequels/Remakes/Reboots, so Creed 3 isn’t alone in my criticism of it lacking originality. A lot of people seem to like this movie though judging by some of the good reviews it has received, for me it is Ok and shows promise just fails to deliver a knockout punch.
My Rating 6/10
Review: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Marvel’s smallest hero with the biggest heart returns. This movie is the third Ant-Man movie.
Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), along with Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), explore the Quantum Realm, where they interact with strange creatures and embark on an adventure that goes beyond the limits of what they thought was possible.
The standouts for me in this are Jonathan Majors playing kang who is simply mesmerising and so menacing in his performance. I also think Michelle Pfeiffer has a very interesting role to play in this. She was trapped in the Quantum realm for around 30 and she doesn’t want to talk about her experiences there. She has a very complicated relationship with Kang. Hope (The Wasp) gets a bit side-lined in this movie and that is a little odd for the title character. Ant-Man and Kang get most of the screentime and most of the storyline involves them. The character of Cassie played by Kathryn Newton is also very important in this movie and the actress really makes you want to root for her to win. Hank Pym who was the original Ant-Man also gets his moments to shine, more so than Hope which is a little weird.
Now M.O.D.O.K (Mental
Designed Only For Killing) is obviously super cheesy and is there for comedic effect, but the CGI is terrible and people will talk about it for Year’s too come – not for good reasons. They brought back Corey Stoll to play M.O.D.O.K who was Yellowjacket in the first Ant-Man movie. We also get a cameo from Bill Murray which is very brief
There are elements of this film that remind you of Star Wars we have the rebels fighting Kang who would be the emperor in Star Wars. So, I guess that makes M.O.D.O.K Darth Vader?
This movie like the first 2 Ant-Man movies are all about family. The 3rd movie isn’t as funny as the first 2.
This movie I think deserves to be a bit longer, some of the story could have been given more time on the screen. The movie is 2 Hours and 5 Minutes and I think they could have done so much more with this movie and made it closer to the 3 Hour mark.
It is strange how you are watching an Ant-Man movie and it feels more like an Avengers level film. Kang is going to be huge going forward, I think Marvel fans probably already knew this with a version of Kang appearing in the first Season of Loki on Disney+ and of course the next Avengers movie is called The Kang Dynasty (02/05/23), so small hint there.
This movie has a mid-credit and a post credit scene both of which are worth staying in your seat for.
You will never be bored whilst watching this it is thoroughly entertaining.
5TH APRIL
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
The story of The Super Mario Bros. on their journey through the Mushroom Kingdom.
5TH APRIL AIR
Follows the history of shoe salesman
Sonny Vaccaro, and how he led Nike in its pursuit of the greatest athlete in the history of basketball: Michael Jordan.
7TH APRIL
The Pope's Exorist
Inspired by the actual files of Father Gabriele Amorth, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican, The Pope's Exorcist follows Amorth as he investigates a young boy's terrifying possession and ends up uncovering a centuries-old conspiracy the Vatican has desperately tried to keep hidden.
An assassin is given a contract to kill seven people around the world only to discover the targets are also assassins who have been hired to kill him.
14th APRIL
RENFIELD
Renfield, Dracula's henchman and inmate at the lunatic asylum for decades, longs for a life away from the Count, his various demands, and all of the bloodshed that comes with them.
A twisted tale of two estranged sisters whose reunion is cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons, thrusting them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable.
After her mother goes missing, a young woman tries to find her from home, using tools available to her online.
Ria Khan believes that she must save her older sister Lena from her impending marriage. After enlisting her friends' help, she attempts to pull off the most ambitious of all wedding heists, in the name of independence and sisterhood.
28th APRIL
The Unlikely Pilgramage of Harold Fry Harold is an ordinary man who has passed through life, living on the side lines, until he goes to post a letter one day...and just keeps walking.
5th MAY
Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3
Still reeling from the loss of Gamora, Peter Quill rallies his team to defend the universe and one of their own - a mission that could mean the end of the Guardians if not successful.
19th MAY
FAST X
Dom Toretto and his family are targeted by the vengeful son of drug kingpin Hernan Reyes.
26th MAY The Little Mermaid
A young mermaid makes a deal with a sea witch to trade her beautiful voice for human legs so she can discover the world above water and impress a prince.
2nd JUNE
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Miles Morales catapults across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. When the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles must redefine what it means to be a hero.
9th June
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
Plot unknown. Reportedly based on the 'Transformers' spinoff 'Beast Wars' which feature robots that transform into robotic animals.
16th June
Elemental
Follows Ember and Wade, in a city where fire-, water-, land- and air-residents live together.
30th JUNE
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
The plot is unknown at this time, but I'm guessing there will be Nazi's
14th JULY
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning
Part One
Seventh entry in the long-running Mission: Impossible series.
21st JULY
BARBIE
To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you're a Ken.
21st JULY
Oppenheimer
The story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb.
28th JULY
Haunted Mansion
A single mom named Gabbie hires a tour guide, a psychic, a priest, and a historian to help exorcise their newly bought mansion; after discovering it is inhabited by ghosts.
3rd NOV
Dune Part 2
A boy becomes the Messiah of nomads on a desert planet that has giant worms that protect a commodity called Spice. Spice changes people into travelers, mystics and madmen. What price will he pay to become the new ruler of their universe?
17th NOV
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Coriolanus Snow mentors and develops feelings for the female District 12 tribute during the 10th Hunger Games.
15th DEC WONKA
The story will focus specifically on a young Willy Wonka and how he met the Oompa-Loompas on one of his earliest adventures.
29th DEC
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Plot unknown. Sequel to the 2018 film 'Aquaman.'
1) BIG
2) Saving Private Ryan
3) The Green Mile
4) Forrest Gump
5) Philadelphia
6) Catch me if you can
7) Apollo 13
8) Toy Story Movies
9) Turner and Hooch
10) Sleepless in Seattle
Some very hard decisions had to be made and Sorry if your favourite didn't make my list.
