The Babysitter: Killer Queen - Not what I was expecting

It's rare that, when reviewing a sequel, I find myself more wanting to talk about the original, but bare with me.  In the first film, a boy gets a babysitter who turns out to be part of a 'blood cult' who worship the devil and want to sacrifice him to become Tik Tok influencers (no, really - I'm only being mildly sarcastic).  Anyway, the lad has other plans and the night becomes a fight for his life.  However, the stand-out (and star) of the show is the babysitter herself, played by Samara Weaving (niece of Elron and Agent Smith, I believe).  And, without wishing to give too much away about the first film, I was kind of expecting her to return for the sequel - that shouldn't be too much of a spoiler as her name was attached to the marketing for 2020's 'Killer Queen' addition.

Anyway, 'Part II' kicks off a couple of years later where the boy is trying to live a normal life, despite no one believing him about what happened on that fateful night (I started to moan about a reason why he had a witness, but this 'plot hole' actually gets cleared up later).  He then takes a trip with some friends to a lake to get away from it all (or rather with ONE friend, the others seem to hate him, but never mind).

Guess what?  Bad things start to happen and much blood gets sprayed in many characters' faces.

Now, I know the original was about devil worshiping, but I never really considered it a 'supernatural' film, more standard horror/teen slasher.  However, 'Killer Queen' leans heavily into the supernatural element, so be prepared for a severe tonal shift in the gore.  Secondly, the story does kind of change some characters' motivations from what we once thought they were (again, if you saw the original).  I didn't really like the change because I thought it was a bit out of character, but in the end I just went with it (and had a much better time when doing so).

And, finally, if - like me - you were expecting a major return from Samara Weaving, you'll be bitterly disappointed.  I'd describe her screentime as little more than an extended cameo, which is a shame as the film would have been better with more of her.

Now, if I'm sounding a little negative it's because the first time I tried to watch this film it was a few years after I'd seen 'The Babysitter' and I'd sort of forgotten the original story.  I therefore turned it off midway through.  However, because I enjoyed the first one so much I watched it again and then decided to watch the sequel back to back.  And that certainly makes it a more enjoyable experience.

Part II is a good film, but feels very different from the original.  It does retain a lot of the black comedy and gore - which is good, but you have to be prepared for many changes to the overall feel if you're going to really get the most out of it.  I kind of think of the two films as two completely separate tongue in cheek horror movies, both with their good points (only the first is probably better).

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

Army of One - Who says your protagonist has to be likable?

I do like a good (or even not so good!) eighties action film and I know that 'Army of One' (aka 'Joshua Tree' in some parts) was technically well into the nineties when it was released, but, believe me, it could well have been made around the heyday of the Stallone/Schwarzenegger era. 

When I sat down I wanted little more than Dolph Lundgren kicking and punching his way through hordes of baddies.  And I guess I got what I came for.  First of all, being a big 'Dawn of the Dead' (1979) fan, I was delighted to see Ken Foree's name in the opening credits, but, sadly, his screentime amounts to little more than an extended cameo/plot device.  So Dolph is framed for a murder he didn't commit and has to escape, get revenge on those who set him up and - possibly - clear his name if he has the time.

Of course he escapes police custody pretty damn quickly and we're well on our way with what little story the film bothers to give us.  All nothing new here and I'd be quite happy if it wasn't for just how unlikeable Lundgren's character is.  Yes, he softens a bit as the film goes on (while killing people, if that's possible), but, overall, he's a right miserable sod with few redeeming features (other than he's slightly better than those he's killing).

If you're a major fan of Lundgren's then you'll probably enjoy the ride a lot more than the casual viewer.  There are some car chases, a bit of romance and one hell of a long shoot-out where he mows down every bad guy in the state without taking so much as a flesh wound.

It's all pretty standard stuff and maybe that's its main fault - it's a little too standard with few moments that really set it apart from other films of the time and genre.  I've - amazingly - always believed that Dolph Lundgren can act better than his critics give him credit for and I think the script could have been better for him.

To me this was quite a forgettable action movie of the era, but, judging by many of the other reviews, loads of people really seemed to enjoy it, so maybe best not to take only my advice and check out some other reviews before you sit down to watch this grumpy anti-hero grumble his way through ninety minutes of screen time.

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

A Quiet Place Part II - Now even quieter!

If you read up on the first 'Quiet Place' film, you'll see that actor/writer John Krasinski never had any plans for a sequel.  And, if you watched the original, you'll probably agree that it was all pretty nicely wrapped up in terms of storytelling and could definitely be left there.  But it was successful.  So successful in fact that a sequel was greenlit before the first movie could even leave the cinema.

A lot of people were worried that any continuation of the story about aliens wiping out humanity due to how well they can hear (seriously, one creaky floorboard and you're a monster's lunch!) would ruin what came before.  Luckily, I'm pleased to say that Part II is a pretty solid sequel - and that's saying something in terms of horror films!  First of all, it helps that the cast (and much of the team behind the camera) have returned and this gives a nice feeling of continuity.  Plus the bleak vibe is still there and the fact that you literally cannot even talk without some giant beast ripping you limb from limb keeps the tension levels high. 

Cillian Murphy is a welcome addition to the cast, but I felt that his inclusion came at the expense of Emily Blunt, who seemed to have less to do in this one.

There are a few moments where - you could say - that 'lore is broken.' I've mentioned that the whole gimmick of this film is that the aliens have super-sensitive hearing and so much as a whisper could give you away to them.  However, sometimes when characters are not meant to be killed at that particular point, they can even go as far as scream when they get their leg caught in a bear trap and live to tell the tale (or live to use sign language to tell the tale, to be precise).  I hear that's called 'plot armour' these days, but - hey - most films are like that, aren't they?

Anyway, if you liked the original, you should enjoy this one, too.  It certainly doesn't deviate from the formula that made the first one so successful and that's no bad thing.  If I had to say which one was better, I'd say the first, simply because it was original and had more John Krasinski in it more.  Either way, parts I or II are head and shoulders over the other similar horror flick, 'Birdbox,' - seriously, don't bother with that one, even if it does have Sandra Bullock in it.

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

Operation Fortune - How is this film not more well known?

I may be a little biased - I've been watching Guy Ritchie's films since 'Lock Stock' and also been a fan of Jason Statham since then, but I'd never even heard of this film until a YouTubers on a live stream made a throw-away lie about Guy Ritchie having a new film out.  Of course I had to check that it wasn't another 'Aladdin-style' movie, so I was delighted when I found it was what he does best - a crime caper with slick direction, snappy dialogue and The Stath himself in the lead.

And yet the film seemed to almost bypass cinemas altogether and find its way to the - sometimes maligned - streaming services.  Anyway, I suppose I shouldn't complain as - technically - I got to watch it for free - and I'm very glad I did.

I know there are some reviews saying that the plot was hardly original and the story was nothing that we hadn't seen a hundred times before in similar spy movies and - to be fair - they may have a point.  But I simply didn't care as I was having too much fun.

In a cinematic world populated with superheros and huge CGI armies of aliens being defeated, it was like a breath of fresh air to find a movie that didn't really take itself too seriously and just did its best to entertain.  Statham plays the leader of a 'privately contracted firm' used by the British Government.  But we'll just call him a 'spy' - it's easier.  And there's a villain who is going to acquire something dastardly which could cause the end of the world.  And, seeing how right now there's no James Bond to save the day, Statham must assemble a team to stop this naughtiness.

So, yes, it's nothing that you haven't seen in every Roger Moore Bond film, but you get the action, you get the witty banter, the colourful locations and you get High Grant doing a semi impression of Michael Caine who manages to steal many a scene.

If you're looking for 'dark and gritty' you won't find it here.  If you're looking for a deep and original plot you also won't get that here.  However, if all you want to do is enjoy a film that is enjoying itself then sit back and have a blast. 

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension - A lot of potential

I missed out on watching the - implausibly-long titled - 'The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension' when I was a kid in the eighties, but I often saw the cover (and title!) on VHS rental boxes and wondered what it would have been like.  Now, after viewing it as an adult, I wonder if I'd have liked it more if I'd had more feelings of nostalgia about it.

First of all, I can see why people now regard it as a 'cult classic' - it does have a lot going for it.  It's about a surgeon-playboy (Buckaroo Banzai, played by a pre-Robocop Peter Weller) taking on aliens hell-bet on invading the Earth and it's got a great cast, a wacky plot, some colourful characters and brilliant practical special effects.  In fact - on paper - it probably has everything I could ever want from a movie.  So why didn't it quite gel with me?

Although I can appreciate all its strong points, I just felt that the overall story was a little bit 'all over the place.' Today, if by some miracle it got made, this sort of story would require a ten part series on one of the big streaming platforms where every character and aspect of the plot can be fleshed out like I felt they should have been.

As it is, every though its runtime is just over an hour and a half, it feels like a whistlestop tour of whatever story the film-makers where originally trying to tell.  All the characters come across like they have a backstory and interesting features, just we don't have time to find out about any of them, including the titular hero who is almost at 'superhero level' of public awareness - and yet, despite the opening text crawl which I guess is supposed to fill us in on his backstory - we don't really find out anything more about him or how he reached such levels of notoriety.

I really wanted to enjoy this as much as I can see by the other reviews online that the public now seem to.  I just wanted to know more about the world and how things came to be with this band of characters.  I know they were planning on making a sequel, but that never came.  I hear a book was released many years later.  Perhaps that gives the world the deep-dive it deserves?

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

Bullet Train - Snatch on the Orient Express

I'll say straight off the bat that I enjoyed 'Bullet Train.' I must have because I continued to watch it past the halfway mark, even though I had little clue as to what was going on.  A lot of people have compared it to 'Snatch' (probably because of Brad Pitt's involvement), but I though its style of story was more in keeping with 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,' due to the way it had multiple characters all with their own weaving storylines which eventually put them all on a collision course with each other.

However, where as 'Lock Stock' was set all over London, 'Bullet Train' is kept primarily to a single location of a train as it hurtles through Japan one night.  Aboard are a multitude of hitmen and general henchmen from the criminal underworld, all with their own motives.  Like I said, the narrative is quite convoluted and I have to confess getting kind of lost most of the way through.  Luckily, the film pulls itself together and nicely ties up the various tales to a satisfying ending.

Brad Pitt is always good value for money, but it's the two assassins 'Lemon' and 'Tangerine' who steal every scene they're in and could almost be the central characters to a spin-off of their own (and I will never think of 'Thomas the Tank Engine' the same way ever again!).

About my main gripe was that the film does feel like it drags a bit near the end.  It seems that it's wrapping up and coming to a conclusion, only to keep on going for a further half an hour.  I'm pretty sure they could have edited it down by about fifteen minutes here or there to keep it a little tighter.

I never saw the trailer before I watched this, but I understand it's cut like some sort of 'Matrix' action film with loads of fight scenes.  I would warn anyone that there isn't that much of this and if you're thinking you're in for a wall to wall action epic then you're going to be a bit disappointed.

Overall, if you like films with multiple (crime?) story threads that weave and twist, before finally coming together, then you should enjoy this one.

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

Black Adam - Why all the hate?

I never bothered rushing out and seeing 'Black Adam' at the cinema - partly because I followed the whole MCU 'Infinity Saga' right up until 'Endgame' and that kind of gave me my fill of superhero movies.  Then there's the fact that the reviews for Dwayne Johnson's long-awaited entry into the genre were average to say the least, plus the film itself serves as part of a 'shared universe' that's effectively been cancelled and is about to be rebooted, courtesy of James Gunn.  I guess those are some of the reasons why the film hardly set the Box Office ablaze.

However, I have to say that it was actually quite fun, despite falling victim to many of the flaws that its bigger 'DC shared universe' created for itself.  The first fifteen minutes you can skip.  It's pretty dull.  Just wait until The Rock comes into it and then it gets going.  Yes, it's your typical superhero film, i.e. it follows a tried and tested formula of having a hero fight a villain with similar powers in the final act, a sky-beam and an army of generic computer-generated soldiers to be fought in an epic battle.  Yet, despite its flaws, I couldn't help but enjoy it.

The Rock himself is almost always good value for money and would have been a decent enough reason to recommend the film, but it's the other characters who help flesh out the story, namely the 'Justice Society.' Maybe die-hard fans of comic books would have heard of them, but they're like the Justice League's B-team - yet the sort of steal many of the scenes they're in.  This left me rather wanting to know more about them, especially Pierce Brosnan's 'Dr Fate' character, who - in a perfect cinematic shared universe - probably should have had a couple of films of his own leading up to his appearance in 'Black Adam.'

So, if you're not completely tired of superhero movies and TV shows by now, this one is - at best - entertaining, rather than anything too special.  Although I would say it's better than 90% of Marvel's 'Phase 4' output, if that's anything to go by.  I get the impression that if it had been released at the time (a few years ago) where every superhero movies was a billion dollar merchandising machine, it would have gathered a lot more traction, as it is, it's sort of arrives too late to really catch on.  There is a mid credits scene that's well worth watching, if only for a glimpse of what could have been - as it's unlikely it will ever come to anything now.  Shame.

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