I’m not sure I can even go into this film in any depth – I’m too angry.

The Rise of Skywalker feels like it was specifically made to appease the group of fans who hated The Last Jedi. Like someone ran through the half dozen plot points that frustrated them the most, then set out to retcon them, one by one. It’s truly astonishing how many things achieved by the last film are undone by the return of J.J. Abrams.

Chief among The Last Jedi’s accomplishments was the notion that we have to move on from the past. Rey (Daisy Ridley) wanted to learn from it and take the next step; Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) simply wanted to kill it. “We are what they grow beyond”, Yoda said. Clearly he wasn’t talking about Episode IX, which has no interest in taking up the opportunity presented at the end of Episode VIII, instead content to retread old ground – even more than The Force Awakens. So expect to see old faces, endless callbacks and rehashed scenes from the original trilogy.

I won’t list the major plot points that infuriated me – to do so would be to spoil the film – but suffice to say, it feels like an apology. Which, historically speaking, is strangely fitting, considering Return of the Jedi was an apology for The Empire Strikes Back (which was not universally well-received at the time, despite what revisionists claim) and The Last Crusade was an apology for Temple of Doom. So yet again – it’s something we’ve seen before with George Lucas’ creations.

J.J. Abrams lets loose with a couple of things that annoyed Star Trek fans back in 2009 and 2013 – namely, messing with what can and can’t be done during faster-than-light travel, and giving his characters power over life and death. Sure, the end of The Last Jedi featured an astonishing show of power, but it also came at a cost. In Rise of Skywalker, Kylo and Rey are flinging the Force around like demigods.

What did I like about this film? Well, this won’t take long. The visuals are stunning, the VFX fantastic. There are some cool new worlds to explore. Most significant of all is the fact that the cast are acting their damn pants off. Despite the awkward exposition, plot contrivances and characters doing random 180s, they carry it off with aplomb. The undisputed hero of this trilogy is Adam Driver, who has consistently sold even the most ridiculous writing in all three of the films. But then there are so many characters that given short shrift. Leia, we can understand. But Lando? Luke? Rose? Finn? Wasted. Even new characters like Jannah (Naomie Ackie) serve little purpose.

So this is how it ends. At best, a constrained act of obeisance…and at worst, a whimpering apology. I’m sad to say that this trilogy will have to remain a two-parter on my Blu-ray shelf.

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Like many Stephen King stories from the past 20 years, this feels like a remix of things he’s done before. Specifically, it’s reminiscent of ‘Children of the Corn’, ‘The Stand’ and ‘Desperation’. Twins Becky (Laysla De Oliveira) and Cal (Avery Whitted) are driving cross-country when they stop to assist someone lost inside a field of tall grass. You won’t be surprised to learn that doing so is a bad idea…

I often find it exciting when King reverts to a back-to-basics story. As fantastic as some of his bigger, more complex tales are, sometimes you just want to read something like ‘The Raft’, you know? In the Tall Grass is like that, though it always hints at something else, just seen off-camera. It’s a bit like Lovecraft’s work in that way – there’s something bigger than us in the universe, it’s been here much longer than us, and will be here long after we leave. And it does not care about us.

The setup is intriguing, even if it does rely on the twins making some dumb mistakes. And the moment new characters appear, we as the audience are immediately more suspicious than Becky and Cal. It’s like they’ve never read a Stephen King story before.

Natali does some really interesting stuff with VFX here, as he has done all throughout his career. The budget is decent enough, but I never forgot that we were almost always in a studio, especially when there was obvious sky replacement going on…

I was never bored, but the film could have ended at any time after the 45 minute mark. There are dozens of mini-climaxes that felt like endings, and when the actual ending arrived, my only response was “ehh, good enough. That makes sense.” There’s no narrative urgency, no real oomph. The film successfully shifts gears from first to second act…and then plateaus.

In the Tall Grass is a competent film, well made. But that’s about it. The only highlights are Natali’s visual flair and Patrick Wilson, who is making a habit of hitting it out of the park even when the film around him is rather silly (see also Aquaman).

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The original film is a curious beast. Supposedly beloved by many, I’ve yet to find anyone who genuinely enjoys Jim Henson’s film as an adult. Even as a child, I found it a slow, plodding affair that failed to excite any emotions. The puppetry was the only thing worth writing home about. Henson’s next film, Labyrinth, was an improvement in every single way.

So I’m damning Age of Resistance with faint praise when I say that it’s a marked improvement on the original film. A prequel, it shows the world of Thra under the benevolent dictatorship of the Skeksis. The various tribes of Gelflings pay tribute to their overlords, variously in a state of denial or blissful ignorance as to fact that they are being taken advantage of. Everything changes when one of the Skeksis discovers they have the ability to use the Dark Crystal to siphon life force from the Gelflings, and extend his own life. Meanwhile, a mysterious force known as the Darkening (seriously) is taking over Thra…

With an expansive cast of characters, Age of Resistance sees the individual story threads spread across Thra, then intersecting more and more frequently until it all comes together at the end. If you’re fascinated by fantasy world-building, then this show has it in spades. The different landscapes, flora and fauna, various tribes and races – there’s a lot to take in, and I don’t remember the last time I watched a TV show that paid this much attention to the setting.

I should make clear that Age of Resistance has wonderful production values. The score is bold and uplifting, even if the main theme sounds distractingly reminiscent of Tears for Fears’ ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’. The physical sets are incredible, and the costuming is stunning. When it comes to the puppets themselves, however, I’m on the fence. I’m not a huge fan of rubbery-looking puppets, so the Gelflings themselves are unimpressive. Then there’s the fact that the puppeteers aren’t providing the actual voices. Now, I mightn’t have noticed this if Brose Avard (head honcho of the Chatflix podcast) hadn’t mentioned it, but as with the original film, the voices are replaced by other actors’, which means that the physical ‘performances’ aren’t as impressive as they could be. Put simply, ‘Sesame Street’ puts on a better puppet show.

The voice cast is…overwhelming. Taron Egerton, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jason Isaacs, Simon Pegg, Benedict Wong, Mark Hamill, Keegan-Michael Key, Awkwafina, Eddie Izzard, Helena Bonham Carter, Lena Headey…I have to stop, because the list goes on. It’s basically a who’s who of actors from fantasy and sci-fi productions of the last 20 years. Also, could we take a moment to note that Simon Pegg has appeared in reboots of Star Trek, Star Wars, Tintin, The Chronicles of Narnia, ‘Doctor Who’ and now this? Are there any iconic geek properties from his childhood left for him to take part in?

Age of Resistance is a love letter to the original, but thankfully much more entertaining. I wasn’t exactly enthralled, and was regularly conscious of scenes or plot points that only served to pad out the episodes, but perhaps that’s because I’m aware that this is yet another example of a proposed film being changed to a TV series by Netflix (see also ‘Stranger Things’ Season 1). The potential for more big budget puppetry on streaming networks does get me excited, however. I’m glad that the art can still get the big budget treatment in 2019.

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Mackenzie Davis stars as the naked young woman and she is the best thing about this – hopefully final – Terminator film by a good measure. Anyone who has seen Halt and Catch Fire will know how powerful she can be, but this is probably her most prominent role since her small but important character in The Martian. Davis brings just the right amount of strength mixed with fear and fragility. She is fantastic in an otherwise mediocre film.

For anyone who watched Terminator 2: Judgment Day and marvelled at James Cameron’s VFX chops while enjoying an almost perfect conclusion to the story from The Terminator, the hack job that is done on the story and legacy of those films is hard to believe. This film was released with a bunch of ‘James Cameron is back doing Terminator’ publicity and his involvement as story author and producer was trumpeted as a reason that this Terminator reboot will get it right.

One must wonder if Cameron has forgotten what happened at the end of T2 as the retcon performed here makes no sense whatsoever.

Talk about a slap to the face. Arnie’s T800 didn’t need to lower himself into a vat of molten metal? The iconic image of his thumbs-up sign as he sacrifices himself was meaningless? Oh, dear.

via GIPHY

This is a competent film, with action sequences that are sometimes exciting and yet very often things just feel flat. Robert Patrick’s molten T-1000 was terrifying because he was incredibly hard to conquer and completely soulless. It is hard to specify exactly why Gabriel Luna’s REV-9 doesn’t invoke the same sense of hopelessness, but it means the turmoil inflicted on the lives of Dani and Diego Ramos is harder to engage with.

It is enjoyable to consider some of the broader ideas raised by having a different apocalypse to consider after Sarah & John Connor avert the Skynet disaster in T2. The concept of the alternative future being different but equally bad is alarming and makes a good point about Man’s tendency to self-destruct. It will be difficult for fans, however, to ignore the canon and accept this new Dark Fate on its merits.

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I’m sure the Justice League reshoots necessitated some last-minute fiddling with this film, because whilst Aquaman has very few links to the DC films that preceded it, there are a couple of moments that made me go “huh?” For instance, here he doesn’t even know Mera’s name, despite their conversation in Justice League suggesting some kind of history between them.

But the thing is, it doesn’t really matter, because this film is almost entirely self-contained. It worked for Wonder Woman, and it’s clear that DC decided this was the way to go here, also. Sometimes people don’t want to worry about whether they’ve seen the 19 prequels before they go to the next superhero blockbuster (not naming any studios there, whatsoever. Oh no, I would never!)

One thing’s for sure: James Wan knows how to go big. I didn’t see his Fast and the Furious sequel, so for someone like me who’s only really known him for his horror movies, it’s surprising just how many stunning, large-scale VFX sequences impress. In fact, they’re pretty much the best parts of the film.

Because, to be honest, Momoa isn’t the greatest actor in the world. He’s amazingly good looking and definitely charismatic, but he doesn’t strike me as someone who has a genius acting instinct. Basically, he’ll do what he’s told by the director – and sometimes, despite his best efforts, it just doesn’t work. They’re at pains to explain that Arthur is a laid-back, cool dude who you’d sink a few beers with at the pub. But such moments always feel forced. He’s spent too much time at the gym for someone who apparently doesn’t have any aspirations. And considering he spends much of the film ignoring the hero’s call, this conceit has its work cut out for it.

The other performers succeed to varying degrees. Patrick Wilson is excellent, and manages to act convincingly even when half his face is obscured by a helmet (training in Watchmen must have helped). Dolph Lundgren also does a great job, whilst Nicole Kidman and Temuera Morrison are simply okay. Willem Dafoe struggles, however. He never looks comfortable. Finally, Amber Heard is…decent. She won’t blow you away, but there’s nothing poor about her performance either.

A lot about this film is just fine. But what really works is just how outlandish it all gets. Aquaman dials it up to 11 for much of the runtime, and isn’t afraid to go full fantasy. And when you have High Elves wielding laser guns whilst riding giant seahorses, you just have to sit back and let it happen, you know?

We’ve come a long way from Batman Begins, which was at pains to explain how such outlandish things could exist in the real world, or even Thor, which resorted to the “fish out of water” story so that the really fantastical stuff was pushed to the side. Now, a film like Aquaman can come out looking like a mash up of TRON, Lord of the Rings and HP Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos. And…I’m kinda okay with that.

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By the time you start part two, you’ve already had 35 episodes to gather a vast array of characters, many of which are kick-arse, unique heroines (who rarely, if ever, need saving – a shōnen rarity, in my experience.) Top of this list would be Izumi, teacher of the Fullmetal Alchemist. Despite being a powerful alchemist and martial artist, she constantly refers to herself as a housewife, and only ever seems to wear toilet slippers, like she just left the house in a hurry. There’s Riza Hawkeye, a sharpshooter in the military who serves under Colonel Roy Mustang; Lan Fan, masked bodyguard to Lin Yao; and May Chang, a young princess of Xing. All of them have depth, are capable and have their own ambitions. Last but not least, we have Olivier Mira Armstrong, Major General at the Briggs Fortress, which looks more than a little bit like the Wall in ‘Game of Thrones’.

And at this stage of the plot, it’s the supporting characters that really come to the fore. We know all about Ed and Al’s personal goals, and the evil plan that they need to thwart along the way. All that remains is a resolution of such things. And boy – does Brotherhood do its best to provide a suitably epic conclusion to the saga. The climax of the story, believe it or not, takes place over 18 episodes, give or take. It’s truly stunning just how many pieces are on the board at this point, and how deftly the series hops from plotline to plotline, all whilst keeping the same sense of impending doom hanging over our heads. That the pacing never slips up is remarkable.

The only disappointing part of all of this is that the final two episodes are…fine. Just fine. I didn’t sit back and think, “wow, the end of the story really knocked it out of the park” a la Steins;Gate, but neither was it disappointing.

As an action show, Brotherhood never fails – I regularly marvelled at its ability to up the ante – and the quality of animation, the music and the acting all contribute to slick piece of storytelling. There is less philosophical musing in this half of the story – whether that be concerned with the repercussions of civil war, or the moral implications of trespassing God’s domain through alchemy – but that’s to be expected, I guess.

This collection includes the four OVAs, each of which are only 15 minutes long. These are one-off side stories that either take place before or during the bulk of the series. Out of the four, three are excellent (particularly the one focussing on Izumi) and one is a strange misfire. They are definitely worth watching, particularly if you want to go back to the simpler times, when the fate of the world wasn’t hanging in the balance. It’s much like those who prefer the simpler, story-of-the-week episodes that featured in seasons 1-3 of ‘Buffy’, before it became quite so epic and arc-focussed.

That Ed and Al are the least interesting part of this concluding half of Brotherhood is the only sticking point. It didn’t bother me much because the supporting cast are so fun, but I can see others finding it frustrating.

That we can see the entire series, from start to finish, in two huge box sets is a blessing. It’s a marathon, but it’s one worth setting out on.

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So I’m here to let you know whether this Predator film is for you.

First off, if you liked the banter and sense of fun from the first act of the first film, then you may indeed like this breed of sequel. The difference is that, here, it runs throughout the whole film. Don’t expect anything as primal as the climax of the original.

It is surprising that no Predator sequel has really attempted to mimic the tension and slow build of the 1987 movie. You might argue that it’s pointless for a sequel to do so, when we’ve already seen what the titular beast can do, but then Aliens, Alien³ and Prometheus all dabbled in a slow build before unleashing the beastie. Why no one’s interested in doing the same for this franchise is anyone’s guess.

Secondly, this film has a fun plot and some unique characters, something that was completely missing from Predator 2 (a film that had five of six good ideas but seemingly forgot to write a script.) Black’s story provides some nice additions to the lore, and whilst it does have a tendency to over-explain (this is the franchise that features “IT DIDN’T SEE ME”, after all), there’s enough here to keep the franchise ticking over. If you like the usual Black and Dekker dialogue, then this film will hit the spot.

Thirdly, the action is decent. You could argue the sense of peril isn’t really there – this is an action movie in the era of the superhero after all – and you’re never really worried that this predator will be unstoppable.

So what’s wrong with it? Well, first off, it’s in a bit of a rush. The film is edited within an inch of its life. I appreciated watching a big budget movie that didn’t stretch for 2.5 hours, but all the same, the story doesn’t get room to breathe. I missed some of the dialogue too, in all the explosions and gunshots.

My second criticism is something few will be bothered by: I don’t feel it lives up to the “Predator in the ‘burbs” concept that was promised. We spend a lot of time in the forest, which is weird, since I had assumed that the idea of putting the beast in the suburbs was (a) to differentiate the film from the others and (b) to keep the budget down.

Finally, there’s the fact that, well…it’s a little offensive. Simply put, if you’re going to be bothered by the ham-fisted inclusion of a character with Autism, then don’t sit down to watch this. Cube was 20 years ago, but there were even complaints back then. In 2018, it seems a strange choice for an over-the-top action-comedy. For the record, I’m not sure about the way it deals with PTSD and returned servicemen either. I have no personal experience with either of these things, so I’m not a good judge of the material, but nevertheless, my Spidey-senses were tingling.

It’s a damn fine cast, by the way. Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Munn, Sterling K. Brown and Thomas Jane are fantastic members of our ragtag bunch of characters. Lead actor Boyd Holbrook doesn’t exactly leave a lasting impression, but he gets the job done, whilst Jake Busey and Yvonne Strahovski are terribly under-utilised.

The Predator doesn’t come close to matching the simplicity and genius of the original film, nor is it the waste of time and effort that was Predator 2. It does, however, continue the trend of sequels in the franchise unable to hit home runs…

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For those who don’t know, Brotherhood is the second anime adaptation of the popular manga. This version sticks closer to the source material than the first, however. The alchemist in question is Edward Elric (Romi Pak). In a classic Promethean move, Edward and his brother Alphonse (Rie Kugimiya) attempt to bring their mother back from the dead – with terrible consequences. Edward loses limbs in the process, whilst Alphonse’s body is utterly destroyed, leaving his soul imbued in a suit of armour. The two of them set out on a quest to undo the damage they did to their bodies, no matter what it takes.

The fantasy setting is reminiscent of Industrial Revolution-era Europe, whilst the military have uniforms could have been designed by Hugo Boss in the early 30s, if you know what I mean. Very quickly, the show establishes the rules for its magic. Taking its cue from alchemy, the powers are all about transmuting the essence of the elements around the caster, whether that be turning water to steam (granted, most of us use a kettle) or extracting the iron from blood to make metal weapons.

My initial thoughts on the opening few episodes were that the writing team knew exactly how to move things forward without filler, perhaps because this was a second shot at the story. But since discovering it’s practically a 1:1 adaptation of the manga, all credit should go to the creator, Hiromu Aarakawa.

This is shōnen anime but it doesn’t fall victim to the worst excesses of the genre. I feels like this is a result of having a female creator. There are many interesting and varied female characters, and so far I haven’t seen any egregious damselling. Considering that even the all-female studio Clamp seemed to confuse shōnen with ‘the female characters must be useless’ for a good portion of Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, it’s impressive that Fullmetal Alchemist isn’t aimed at teenage boys purely at the expense of the women in the show.

The action explodes onto the screen. The show strikes a great balance between detailed animation and fluidity. It isn’t afraid to use deformations/chibis for the more comedic moments, either, which took a moment to get used to in the face of such a serious story.

I’ve spoken before about how I classify science fiction (taking a cue from Mary Shelley). And Brotherhood is pretty much a literal reiteration of those themes. Time and again it speaks of man harnessing the power of God, and being punished for such hubris. As far as this collection goes, I don’t feel like they’ve got the humility bit down pat yet, as the Elric brothers are continually striving for new magical methods to regain their bodies.

The pacing, action, humour and visuals are all excellent in Brotherhood. This collection contains the first 35 episodes (along with commentaries) and as usual with Madman discs the visual and aural presentation is top notch. In fact, the only complaint I have is the arbitrary end point of the collection. Perhaps in an effort to make the two collections of equal size, this one stops abruptly, which is strange because there’s a natural narrative pause about six episodes earlier.

If, like me, you never got around to watching this show, now’s the time.

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That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it – I had a great time at the cinema. But the story is bland, and there are a number of subplots that are hinted at but never come to fruition.

Opening only moments after the first film ended, Incredibles 2 sees the Parrs continuing to deal with the hazards of being a superhero family. They’re still homeless and supers are still illegal. When an opportunity comes their way, Helen/Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) and Bob/Mr Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) will find themselves having to deal with new challenges and responsibilities, not to mention an enemy they can’t see.

As you’d expect, Incredibles 2 looks fantastic. The 60s chic continues – aside from the odd contemporary haircut – and the animation is slick as can be. Once again, Brad Bird knocks the action scenes out of the park. The ease with which he lets the action beats flow, even at incredible speed, is truly inspiring. There are a number of new supers, and their powers are visually stunning. The comedic beats work well, and the film never gets boring.

So it’s sad to see that there’s not much going on beneath the generic superhero movie plot. There are zero surprises, and quite a few twists are signposted. I appreciate that this is a kids’ film, but Pixar have done better. There are no scenes that will become instant classics, and aside from being pure, unadulterated fun, Incredibles 2 doesn’t offer much.

It’s frustrating, considering we had to sit through two Cars sequels (and two Cars spin-offs) before we got a sequel to the film that had the most potential…only to have it disappoint. At the end of the day, the film’s core dynamic is old-fashioned. “Dad is bad at being a stay-at-home parent” isn’t the most original take. Even the mostly brilliant Inside Out had a problem with its dated depiction of the differences between men and women.

Look, if you’re excited for this film, by all means go out and see it. I really enjoyed an extra two hours with this super-powered family. Just don’t expect anything particularly clever or subversive.

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The first time I saw Dead Snow (Død snø), it was glorious. It was at the Melbourne International Film Festival, a midnight screening with a cinema full of horror fans who thought the idea of zombie Nazis was absolutely brilliant. And we weren’t disappointed. There was laughter. Cheering. A general good time was had.

Then, a couple of years ago I rewatched the film on Blu-ray. It was not good at all. Somehow, it had become a poorly-paced, amateurish comedy horror that had very little to offer aside from the enthusiasm of the filmmakers. Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead (Død snø 2) was even worse. And Wirkola’s first Hollywood film, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters was nothing but a wasted opportunity.

But what we have here is a Wirkola film that finally achieves its potential. Set in the near future, where overpopulation has led to the installation of a one-child policy wielded by a totalitarian government, What Happened to Monday? sees a group of septuplets secretly living under the one identity. And it’s a lot of fun. (For the viewer, that is, not for the sisters… They’re having a rotten time, obvi.)

Let’s get the obvious question out of the way first: no, this is nowhere near as good as ‘Orphan Black’. Don’t be silly; nothing is as good as ‘Orphan Black’. However, Wirkola’s sci-fi action movie features snappy pacing, some great set pieces and Noomi Rapace having a lot of fun playing seven characters.

The film being two hours long, we don’t get a sense of the differences between these sisters, aside from the way they dress. Sure, there’s the quiet and geeky one, the sporty one and…the…blonde one, but we never go any deeper than a Spice Girls level of characterisation. But none of that matters when the story moves at such a fast clip, pausing only to offer some excellent moments of tension.

As critical as I was of his earlier films, Wirkola really does know how to stage an action scene. Sure, his characters fail to tap into my emotions, but his ability to establish a perfect pace and tone during the action is on par with Neil Marshall.

Willem Dafoe and Glenn Close also appear, though neither have to work very hard for their paycheque. The near-future world we are presented with is reasonably close to present day, so it’s an easy sell. And at the centre of it all is an interesting premise: just how would seven sisters go about pretending to be the one person in a totalitarian regime that keeps track of each its citizens’ movements?

The DVD comes with interviews, a making-of and FX breakdowns. As you’d expect, the film features some nifty scenes of Rapace interacting with herself, and we’re at a stage now (as evidenced by ‘Orphan Black’) where it’s near-impossible to spot the seams in such comp work.

What Happened to Monday? is a fun, breezy thriller that doesn’t try to be high art. It’s Wirkola’s most accomplished film so far, and Rapace is clearly having a ball. Cliché abounds, but there are also some twists that subvert expectations. Recommended.

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