Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) is a ten-year-old boy growing up in Hitler’s Germany during the end stages of World War II. His mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) leaves him to his own devices to explore his hometown and spend lots of time playing with his imaginary friend Adolf (Waititi), the Führer himself. An injury incurred at a Hitler Youth training camp will mean Jojo has lots of time to recuperate and discoveries will make him question his allegiances.

Jojo Rabbit is the third major film that Waititi has helmed that features a young child in the lead role. Boy is a spectacular film that explores the loss of innocence of its lead character. Hunt for the Wilderpeople takes the audience on a bizarre adventure as a juvenile delinquent bonds with a father figure who isn’t interested in children. Waititi coaxes excellent starring performances from his young leads in both of those films.

In Jojo Rabbit, Waititi is again considering the loss of youthful naiveté through the eyes of his hero, Jojo. And, again, Waititi helps Griffin Davis to excel in a comedic lead performance that many adults would be proud to have created. Matching Griffin Davis is Thomasin McKenzie as Elsa, while both Johansson and Sam Rockwell turn in accomplished takes on their supporting roles.

The first part of this film is an absolute riot: Jojo and Adolf have a blast (pun intended) preparing and then attending the Hitler Youth camp, and Waititi’s comedic skills are on full display. This is a satire with elements of slapstick and visual comedy thrown in, and it is really, really funny.

Considering the topic and themes under exploration, however, there inevitably needs to be a change in tone. Waititi tries to graduate the shift in the mood so that it isn’t so jarring, but there is a moment when the audience is assaulted by a thematic gut punch.

It is the difficulty of balancing the two different films Waititi is trying to make that means Jojo Rabbit isn’t as successful as it threatens to be. There is only so much an audience can be willing to trust a filmmaker, and Waititi breaks that trust when the gear change occurs. As a consequence, one wonders whether we are witness to a dream sequence and the cognitive dissonance causes a departure from the filmmaker’s world back into the real.

This is all incredibly lamentable, as Jojo Rabbit has enough heart to win most audiences. The film is mostly satisfying, and it is commendable that Waititi succeeded in creating it and then having it released. Were it not for its unevenness, Jojo Rabbit would be a miracle; as it stands, it’s just a very good film with a major flaw.

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After the discovery of the lifeless body of family patriarch Harlan Thrombey, his family come together at his gothic mansion to understand what could have lead to his murder. Old resentments resurface and the reading of his will escalates matters even further. Meanwhile, a mysterious private detective is investigating… something.

At a time when remakes and sequels are de rigueur and we’ve all slogged through 23 movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe alone, an original movie that is as fun and enthralling as Knives Out can lead to a form of ecstasy. This is the kind of film that so rarely sees the light of day any more, and it is so much more valuable for that. Knives Out is a reminder of what great cinema can and should be: a surprising laugh; a tragic mistake; a thrilling discovery.

And yet, Knives Out still needs to earn its stripes and it does so with aplomb. Paying homage to Agatha Christie while remaining stridently modern, the film is a hard one to encapsulate in a single genre. Is it a straight-out comedy? Not quite, but there are moments to make you laugh out loud, especially in seeing Captain America shed his lycra. A simple murder-mystery? Not exactly, but it certainly features many of the tropes of the oeuvre. There are elements of the caper; there are even some moments that shoot for political commentary although don’t let that put you off.

Quotable:

Marta Cabrera: I’ve never been to a will reading before.
Benoit Blanc: Think of it as a tax return by a community theater.

The entire cast seems to be loving their experience, although Chris Evans and Daniel Craig appear to particularly enjoy playing at variance to their most recent well-known characters. Craig is a revelation as private detective Benoit Blanc, a southern gentleman for whom the respect of the police detectives hints at an intriguing backstory. Johnson leaves questions about Blanc’s history unanswered, a decision that allows the film to feel deeper and more grounded. It must have been tempting to tell more of his story but thank goodness he resisted the urge.

Ana de Armas and Evans round out the leading roles, and de Armas is excellent in her part as the only one who really seems to care about Harlan’s death. Don Johnson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, Christopher Plummer, LaKeith Stanfield and Katherine Langford fill out an incredible leading cast. Unfortunately, a running joke about Jaeden Martell’s Jacob falls flat while Riki Lindhome’s Donna is wasted entirely and might have been excised to encourage focus.

The film moves along fairly briskly, although with a couple of brief edits to its 2h10m running time it would have been close to perfect. As released, the occasional redundancy keeps it short of that (high) mark.

Knives Out is a wonderful film and a must-see for film-lovers. This is the kind of filmmaking I wish audiences would encourage more with our box office money, rather than handing over yet more cash for yet another superhero money-maker. Please, go along and pay full-price: it’s the only way we can tell the accountants in Hollywood what we think is important.

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Surprisingly, this newest version isn’t actually a reboot – it acknowledges that which came before, all under the premise that there are now many, many Angels and Bosworths all over the world. (You know, that thing Ghost Corps was going to do until…well, we know what happened there.)

Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska play lead roles this time around, and they’re having a great time. Their performances spark off each other, and all three have oodles of charisma to spread around. The worst that can be said is that they clearly get along well – even when the film suggests they shouldn’t. The bickering is too friendly in the early stages, which takes away from the inevitable mutual respect that we all know will surface by the time the credits role.

Bosworth is played by Elizabeth Banks, who’s a triple threat here, having also written and directed the film. And the writing is interesting. Some have criticised the film for being stuck in turn-of-the-millennium girl power, but to me that feels unfair. The film is clearly feminist, the difference here being the inclusion of an incredible list of micro-aggressions that women have to face in their everyday lives. But at the same time, we’ve got a trio of women who are, of course, stunning in the most traditional of ways. For obvious reasons, I am not the right person to be suggesting how a 2019 Charlie’s Angels should approach feminism, but it’s clear that the concessions made mean the themes don’t land as well as they could.

The action is fun – and I mean really fun. The editing is a mixture of great and rotten, and there are some dodgy gravity-defying moments that make no sense, but the film has such a brisk pace that this isn’t a problem. Comparing the action to the likes of Mission: Impossible – Fallout, is simply unfair, because, well, nothing can compete with that film. At first I wondered if a gritty approach may have been more successful (considering we’re in a post-Bourne world where Daniel Craig’s Bond still struggles to find the fun), but then Kingsman did all right as a silly action-comedy five years ago.

So put this down as one of those pleasant surprises. If the responses online have put you off, consider giving Charlie’s Angels a go. It’s fast-paced, fun entertainment with some great action sequences. And if you need another reason, Kristen Stewart is hilarious as Sabrina, getting some of the funniest lines in the film.

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Season 2 of GLOW ended with the Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling taking up a permanent gig in a Las Vegas casino. This means that they’re doing the same show, over and over, every single night. Everyone feels like they’re stagnating, and for this reason, the writers of the show have decided to almost completely ignore the wrestling element altogether.

We don’t even see any proper wrestling until episode five. Instead, this season is determined to focus on some characters who’ve never been under the microscope. Gayle Rankin gets to finally flex her acting muscles as Sheila. Previously one-note (the woman who thinks she’s a wolf), this is the first time I feel like I understand who she is. It’s a similar story with Melanie (Jackie Tohn) and Jenny (Ellen Wong), who get possibly the most affecting scene of the entire season, as the writers examine the people behind the gimmicks. Carmen (Britney Young) and Arthie’s (Sunita Mani) relationship gets put through the wringer as well.

In some ways, it’s more of the same for our lead trio of Ruth (Alison Brie), Debbie (Betty Gilpin) and Sam (Marc Maron). Since their falling out is arguably the crux of Glow, we know that Ruth and Debbie can never become true friends until the final episode (or maybe never), so the dramatic gymnastics here are no surprise. And similarly with Sam – it’ll always be one step forward, one step back for the guy, because otherwise we’ll lose that which makes him so entrancing.

In fact, there are only really two characters left who haven’t had their time in the spotlight, and that’s Dawn (Rebekka Johnson) and Stacey (Kimmy Gatewood) – the two women who have been unfortunate enough to also be stuck with the least interesting gimmick. Oh, and Reggie (Marianna Palka), who continues to get so little to do that I didn’t even remember her name.

But in case you hadn’t realised by now, GLOW’s secret weapon is Bash Howard. Chris Lowell, always destined to be runner-up in the ‘Veronica Mars‘ boyfriend game, is shockingly good in the role. Bash has more money than sense, yet his struggles with his domineering mother and his closeted sexuality mean that his childish naïveté is matched only by the tragedy that is his life. Poor little rich boy or not, the guy has issues.

And so, like Dear White People Season 3, we have a show that’s moved away from its own premise. If you’ve only been watching because of the wrestling element, then you’re going to be disappointed. If, however, you’ve formed an attachment to the characters like I have, then you’ll be happy to continue watching a show that’s now more about being an actor/woman/gay person/ethnic minority in 80s America than it is about wrestling.

As I understand it, GLOW used up the vast majority of the true story elements back in Season 1, perhaps because the creators didn’t believe it was going to run for this long. As one of the few well-publicised shows out there to feature a majority female cast, however, there are enough unique stories here to hold my attention.

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Never fear – the biting social commentary and incendiary dialogue is still present and accounted for, but as Season 3 opens, it seems the students of Winchester are having trouble staying angry. Samantha (Logan Browning) isn’t helming the titular student radio show or turning up to black caucus, and is instead focussing on her filmmaking work. Reggie (Marque Richardson) is also too distracted byhis studies to attend caucus. Lionel (DeRon Horton) is learning about and forging his new identity rather than honing his investigative journalism skills, and even Coco (Ashley Blaine Featherson) has been distracted from her political aspirations because of her own personal fears and regrets. The situation is best exemplified by Al’s (Jemar Michael) attempts to get his fellow students to sign a petition in episode 1. Everyone’s too busy or, many cases, simply exhausted by the outrage of the week.

If the show is a microcosm of the life of many an activist, perhaps this represents the characters in middle age with their own kids and mortgage, too busy with work to march in the streets to fight for the rights of others.

Don’t get me wrong, there are still razor-sharp observations to be had – the best of which is a jab at ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and its particular brand of white feminism; the most audacious of which is a self-referential criticism of third-season Netflix shows – but in many ways DWP is a shadow of its former self. To counter the disappointment, the characters are as interesting as ever, so although the season veers towards becoming a soapie, it’s still intelligent and fiercely intersectional.

I do wonder if this season was in the original planned outline for the show. The resolution to the shocking cliff-hanger from last season is dealt with in a perfunctory manner, and a couple of sub-plots are put on hold with the suggestion that the fourth, and final, season will pick them up next year.

As always, the show looks stunning. The cinematography is great, and the costuming and lighting has to be amongst the best currently on TV.

I wouldn’t say that Dear White People is running on fumes now, rather that it’s strange to see a more relaxed season. Gone is the urgency, the passion and the rage. Instead, we delve further into the personal lives of the characters. The self-referential jabs suggest this is all part of the plan, but I’d be lying if I said this season was just as compelling as the first two.

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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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Let’s be honest: giving an eight-episode serialised story to Marceline and her mission to rid the world of vampires (‘Stakes’) might just as well have been a move specifically designed to please the likes of myself. Marceline the Vampire Queen has long been my favourite character, but it’s here she really gets to shine. This season also features what is quite possibly my new favourite Adventure Time episode: ‘The Hall of Egress.” This ethereal, hilarious conundrum of an episode feels like it was based on the writer’s dream. It sets a new high point for the show, both in terms of storytelling and visuals.

Speaking of pushing the boundaries of animation, we get a stop-motion episode too. However, we’re given no reason for its existence, and whilst it’s a decent story, it doesn’t take particular advantage of the different style.

One of my favourite things about this season is the lack of any completely off-the-wall, nutso episodes. I appreciate that some adults might like to watch Adventure Time whilst partaking in their drug of choice, but I much prefer the show when there’s a semblance of a story.

In fact, in the whole of season 7 there’s only one disappointment, ‘Crossover’. This is an addendum to ‘The Lich’ storyline that first began in season 4, and awkwardly begins with a story recap – something I don’t think the series has ever done before. Whilst some might appreciate it for tying up some lose ends regarding some paradoxes from previous eps, it did absolutely nothing for me.

But one dud out of 26 ain’t so bad, especially when it follows up with the brilliant ‘Flute Spell’, properly introducing the awesome Huntress Wizard, who up until now has only been seen in the background of some episodes.

As always, the visual fidelity of the Blu-ray is incredible, and it’s always better to enjoy Adventure Time in proper episode order, what with the multiple continuing storylines. Roll on the last three seasons!

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The premise is about as basic as you can get. Saitama is a superhero that’s so overpowered that he can defeat any enemy with a single punch. That’s it.

If you’re confused as to how they manage to eke a series out of that simple concept, well…so was I. Saitama has fought high-powered villain after high-powered villain, and all have fallen before him. He’s, quite frankly, bored with it all. The story has a definite make-it-up-as-we-go feel, with no real sense of foreshadowing aside from the hook at the end of each episode.

And yet…it somehow all works. Saitama’s disinterest is always entertaining, and the heroes and villains that grace the screen are all uniquely bizarre. The humour is simplistic – occasionally sophomoric, and one particular character brings with it the stench of homophobia – but I have to admit the show frequently raised a chuckle. It’s the unpredictability of the story that keeps One Punch Man going…and the idea that anything goes.

Whilst the character art is lacking in detail, it matches the punk-rock aesthetic of the storytelling, and the fact that, depending on how you look at it, this is a pisstake on the superhero genre. It feels specifically to be riffing on Western comics, though it’s skewering manga conventions also. The presentation itself is as crisp and clear as you’d expect from a Madman Blu-ray, whilst the disc also includes 6 OVAs that are exclusive to the disc releases, each about half the length of an episode.

Someone more knowledgeable in anime and manga than me could pick up on each of the archetypes and clichés that One Punch Man takes glee in subverting. The show has no depth whatsoever – it’s proudly simplistic and the humour is idiotic – yet it never becomes boring. You’ll no doubt quickly pick your favourite hero – mine is the pure-of-heart and completely-underpowered Mumen Rider – and be keen to see where the oddball plot will take things next.

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You may have heard that Joss Whedon was overseeing reshoots this year. It coincided with original director, Zack Snyder, taking time off for personal reasons, so it didn’t seem that sinister to begin with. What is surprising, however, is just how much of the film feels like the result of said reshoots. The giveaway, of course, is first of all Henry Cavill’s weird CGI mouth (for those who don’t know, they had to digitally remove a moustache he was sporting for another film). But secondly, the banter, the generally hopeful tone and, above all, the abundance of comic book fun feels like a deliberate change after the mixed responses to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Man of Steel.

The score features not only Danny Elfman’s Batman theme from the 1989 film, but John Williams’ Superman theme! Elfman himself is on scoring duties, and he combines these classics with the Hans Zimmer themes that dominated the DCCU so far. And that mish-mash is a good example of the mutated film that made it to screens.

But here’s the thing: I enjoyed this a lot more than expected. Whilst I didn’t hate Batman v Superman or Man of Steel, this film feels a lot more like the DC comics I read as a teenager. It’s entertaining, filled with amusing banter and some excellent action scenes. Whilst the chaos behind the scenes is apparent, it never overwhelms the finished product like in Suicide Squad. And I should be clear: though I think I could go through scene by scene and put moments in the Snyder or Whedon column, I may well be wrong. After all, many critics who pointed out the Spielberg versus Kubrick elements of A.I. Artificial Intelligence turned out to be wrong…

I don’t think this film does justice – ahem – to Jason Momoa’s Aquaman. We’ll have to wait until his solo entry before we see if his take on the character is going to succeed. Ray Fisher was the big surprise though. He’s excellent as Cyborg aka Victor Stone, and his digital (or digitally-enhanced) costume looks great in action – which is a relief after the awful posters. The same goes with The Flash/Barry Allen, and Ezra Miller provides some much-needed levity. But the film also manages to take itself seriously. Whedon is known for his punchlines and witty dialogue, but he never lets it get in the way of the drama.

The edit has had all the fat trimmed off. Seriously, there isn’t a second to waste in this two-hour film. And that also made for a pleasant change. Instead of a bloated mess, we got an efficient, light-weight popcorn adventure…

…which is bizarrely what I’ve been criticising Marvel about recently. So take all of this with a grain of salt. To lay my biases bare: I’m sick of Marvel’s safely middle-of-the-road output, undermining every dramatic beat with a joke, and I’ve always enjoyed DC comics more than Marvel ones.

At the end of the day, Justice League is not the unmitigated triumph that Wonder Woman was. But nor is it the mess that was Suicide Squad. We may never know if Snyder’s original vision would have been a good film, but this is one of the best last-minute re-edits that I’ve seen.

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Taika Waititi has yet to make a bad film. Here’s he’s effortlessly become part of the Hollywood machine whilst still retaining his directorial voice. The third Thor outing sees the God of Thunder attempting to avert Ragnarok, finding himself on an alien planet and settling yet another family squabble.

Cate Blanchett’s Hela should be the most significant new character, but she’s not at her best here. Much like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Blanchett on villain duties comes across as…a little tacky? I’m sure we can’t lay the blame at her feet – after all, the script gives her very little to work with – but all the same, she looks more like a Power Rangers villain that anything else.

In comparison, “Dear White People’s” Tessa Thompson very nearly steals the show as Valkyrie. This is someone I’m excited to see in further sequels. Jeff Goldblum is having a fun time, but his character doesn’t go anywhere, whilst Karl Urban is good value, as always.

As far as action comedies go, Thor: Ragnarok is doing what Marvel movies do best. I do wish they’d aim for some more serious moments, however. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 had the unfortunate habit of undermining every potentially emotional moment with gags, and whilst this film isn’t quite that bad, there are certainly some missed opportunities. If it’s all jokes all the time, there’s no reason to ever worry about the wellbeing of our heroes.

There is some really shoddy VFX work here, and some incredible moments too. Marvel need to get their act together – their movies are some of the most inconsistent Hollywood productions, visually speaking. There are some beats where the CGI effects look great, but then they’ve just plonked some flesh-and-blood actors in the middle of it, and don’t seem concerned about concealing the seams.

If The Dark World disappointed you, then Ragnarok is a definite improvement. Waititi hasn’t fixed all the problems with the Marvel movies in one fell swoop, but he’s crafted a competent feature. Sooner or later, however, these releases will have to become more than box-ticking exercises, and shake up the formula…

Eventually, I’m going to skip a Marvel film’s theatrical release. And that day feels closer than ever.

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