Venom: Let There Be Carnage - Big, dumb fun

I have to confess that I've forgotten a lot of what went on in the original film.  In fact, I think that's the point - it was pretty forgettable, but not in a bad way.  I quite like superhero films and it ticked every box, without being that memorable (and having a particularly dark final battle).  I guess 'Venom: Let There Be Carnage' is more of the same.

Tom Hardy is, as you'd probably expect if you've seen him in anything else, great value for money as the protagonist, journalist Eddie Brock, who's been given a juicy story to write, courtesy of an imprisoned serial killer, played by Woody Harrelson.  Unfortunately, during a visit Woody takes a bite - literally - out of Hardy, transferring a little bit of the 'symbiote' alien that lives within the mild-mannered journalist.  So, you're left with the never ending trope of an antagonist with similar powers to the hero.

I think a lot of die-hard Venom fans (of which I'm not) lamented this as a wasted opportunity, as they were expecting Venom and Carnage (Harrelson's symbiote) to go head to head throughout most of the movie.  As it turned out they only real go toe to toe in the final showdown.  The bulk of the film is spent with Tom Hardy and Venom bickering between themselves as to whether they should embrace a life of crime-fighting, or try and suppress it.  This is actually quite fun, but if you've tuned in to see a royal rumble and get given a sit-com, then you're going to be a bit disappointed.

I quite enjoyed 'Venom: Let There Be Carnage' for all its flaws.  Hardy and Harrelson are both heavyweight enough to make the film at least enjoyable, if not that memorable.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that

The Irishman - Epic.  In various ways

The first thing you probably need to know about Netflix's film 'The Irishman' is that it's roughly 3 hours and 30 minutes long.  I guess for that reason it's better that it can only be found on a streaming service - that way if you're not in the mood for sitting down for that long, you can sort of cut it up into 'episodes' and come back to it whenever you're ready.

Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci have a habit of teaming up with director, Martin Scorsese for these type of epic gangster movies.  And this time round they're joined by fellow acting legend, Al Pacino.  Now, 'The Irishman' may not be on quite the same level as the ever-awesome 'Goodfellas,' but if you like that sort of movie you're in for a real treat here.

It's based on a book about a real life hitman, working in the Jimmy Hoffa era of American politics (or should I say criminal underworld?  The two certainly go hand in hand).  So, if you can cope with the runtime and enjoy the - now typical - Scorsese/DeNiro combo, then you're going to be in for a real treat here, especially with Al Pacino thrown in there for good measure.

The only problem - which certainly is a minor nit-pick - is that the film is set over many decade; this involves the actors having to look different ages along the way.  To achieve this the producers have gone with 'de-aging software' to make the cast seem younger.  Now, the problem isn't with the way the film looks.  Yes, sometimes you can tell a character's face looks just that little bit too smooth, but on the whole the look isn't bad.  The problem comes when the actor has to move.  Sometimes they have to do something vaguely physical and that's when you can see it's really an old man shuffling around on set with a younger version of himself overlaid from the neck upwards.  But, like I say, minor inconvenience.  Apart from that, the film is very solid.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that

 Feed (2005) - A bloated tale

I didn’t really know much about ‘Feed’ when I went into it, other than it was classed as the ‘horror’ genre.  From its opening I had a feeling that I was going into a ‘body horror’ film and, to be fair, there were certainly elements from that specific sub-genre thrown in there.

It’s about a serial killer (who doesn’t really believe he’s actually murdering his victims) who force feeds willing participants to death – and the Interpol agent assigned to bring him in.

The first quarter of an hour is great.  There are definitely some great practical effects in terms of make-up, but that kind of gives way pretty quickly to a story that could probably have been told in half the time.

Scenes drag out and you could even fast forward some of them simply to save runtime.  Then, during the final act, there are character decisions that truly beggar belief.  Back in the first ‘Scream’ film they pointed out many of the tropes slasher movies fall into, only in their case they were referring to ‘blonde bimbos.’ It seems fully grown police officers and mass murderers can also make such daft decisions during life or death situations.

I didn’t hate ‘Feed,’ but I just found it a little slow and a little unbelievable.  Not the premise.  I could get behind that just fine in this mixed up world.  It was how the characters reacted to situations that made me unable to suspend my disbelief any longer.

Nice make-up though on the ‘victims.’ Did I mention that?  It deserves a mention.

6/10 Should probably keep you awake if Freddy Krueger was haunting your nights