First Time Viewings: April 2022
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- DirectorPeter SollettStarsJaeden MartellAdrian GreensmithIsis HainsworthTwo friends try to form a heavy metal band with a cellist for a Battle of the Bands.Viewed: 16-04-2022
Very pleasant and likeable coming-of-age comedy based around a couple of misfits at the local school who have started a metal band and plan to play in the upcoming "Battle of the bands" competition. Problems arise when one of them gets a girlfriend who the other doesn't deem metal enough. Fun and energetic with heaps of great music throughout. It certainly could have been better in some areas but I'm happy to take it as it is.
7/10 - DirectorGreta GerwigStarsSaoirse RonanEmma WatsonFlorence PughJo March reflects back and forth on her life, telling the beloved story of the March sisters - four young women, each determined to live life on her own terms.Viewed: 16-04-22
Exquisite adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's famous novel. Affectionately directed and adapted by Greta Gerwig with a pitch perfect cast. Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh and Eliza Scanlen are all wonderful playing the four sisters. The supporting cast headlined by Timothee Chalamet, Chris Cooper, Laura Dern, Tracy Letts and Meryl Streep cannot be faulted either. At 2 and a quarter hours, this is the longest running version of Little Women but it zooms by thanks to Gerwig's skill as a filmmaker.
9/10 - DirectorJake KasdanStarsDwayne JohnsonJack BlackKevin HartIn Jumanji: The Next Level, the gang is back but the game has changed. As they return to rescue one of their own, the players will have to brave parts unknown from arid deserts to snowy mountains, to escape the world's most dangerous game.Viewed: 17-04-22
The same crew from the previous Jumanji entry return, plus Danny DeVito, Danny Glover and Awkwafina gets added to the cast. Just as fun, but also plenty of fresh ideas to not just be a rehash. Has plenty of overblown special effects but the characters are really likeable and funny and it makes it all a worthwhile watch.
7/10 - DirectorKatt SheaStarsGrant GustinScott WolfKaylah ZanderChasing his dream to join an elite K-9 unit, a state trooper partners with a fellow underdog: clever but naughty shelter pup Ruby.Viewed: 17-04-22
You could call this film corny and predictable, and you'd be right, but the actual story about a dog in an animal shelter that is rescued and trained to become a police sniffer dog in the K-9 unit is truly fascinating. It tugs on your heartstrings but I feel like it's earned the right to do it with such a terrific dog at the center of the film. The humans I could give or take but the dog is very watchable and it makes the film not only watchable, but thoroughly (and surprisingly) enjoyable.
7/10 - DirectorAlbert PyunStarsTim ThomersonJackie Earle HaleyKamala LopezA hard-boiled intergalactic policeman lands on Earth, where he is thirteen inches tall.Viewed: 24-04-22
Ridiculously cheesy trash-fest has Tim Thomerson as a rebel cop (think Dirty Harry) from another planet who, after chasing a criminal (played Jackie Earle Haley), winds up crash-landing on Earth. Even though his planet and Earth are remarkably similar in many ways, one big issue is that on Earth he is only 13 inches tall.
They could have had a lot of fun with his size but the small budget restricts any decent special effects and rules out many interesting scenarios. Still, there's some fun to be had along the way and Thomerson is a hoot with his over-the-top Dirty Harry impersonation. If you like trashy films, it doesn't get much trashier than this, and that is (sort-of) a compliment.
5/10 - DirectorJohn FraserStarsPeter FlahertyKrista VendyJack CampbellEugene, a lonely photographer, becomes fixated on a young street prostitute, Josephine, in his rundown neighborhood. She becomes his muse and his photographs could be a way out for both of them - yet is Eugene saving Josephine or is he using her?Viewed: 24-04-22
Confrontational drama about sex-trafficking. A voyeuristic photographer takes candid and uncompromising photos of different people in his neighbourhood and one night photographs a young drugged-out girl in a run-down house. When the editor of a magazine wants more photos of her, he goes back and discovers what is actually happening to her.
This film is mainly solid for a good while but it heavily de-rails near the end. First-time filmmaker John Fraser seems to want to shock the audience for sheer shock value rather than to enhance the story. It all becomes unnecessarily vague and not much adds up. The characters themselves don't have much depth either. On a positive note though, the B&W cinematography is exceptional and the acting is decent and it still makes me intrigued as to what the future holds for director Fraser, as there is enough there to make me feel like he could make a great film some day.
6/10