Before we dive into the review itself, can we just (and by “we” I mean Hollywood people in charge of coming up titles for movies) stop naming movies “Bad _____”? Honestly, this is the third movie and fourth “content” called Bad Education, next to the TV show Bad Education (2012), (hence the word content), the movie based on that TV show called The Bad Education Movie (2015) and Pedro Almodóvar’s Bad Education (2004), which I haven’t seen, but given the synopsis “An examination on the effect of Franco-era religious schooling and sexual abuse on the lives of two longtime friends.” I will take a wild guess and say that isn’t really a comedy, or anywhere near close this movie starring Hugh Jackman. Anyway, how many of these “bad” movies do we really need and when is enough, truly enough? From a really quick search, we’ve had Teachers (2011), Moms (2016 and 2017, twice!!) Santa’s (2003 and 2016, also twice!!), Boys (1995, 2003, 2020 AND just announced another sequel?!) and I bet I could find even more examples. Honestly, at this point, can we just retire this “Bad ___” and don’t use it for anything for at least 20/30 years?

One of the reasons for why I feel so strongly about this, would be this movie. Because it is actually pretty good film, but I bet you plenty of people were not keen on watching it, as the title does not really relate to the film…? I mean, I guess kind of? You know, since he’s not a teacher…? This could have been called “Hugh Jackman is a Pretty Big Dick in This Movie” and that would have described this film more accurately than its current title.

Basically, this movie is about money embezzling that goes on at one school and the movie let’s you guess when comes to who’s involved (even though it’s fairly obvious from the very beginning) and how long it’s been going on for. That’s the basic gist of it. And I know it sounds boring, and with lesser actors, it would have been. But Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney and Geraldine Viswanathan are bringing their A+ game to this, and mainly these three actors make it above average experience. Especially Hugh, who I was surprised by. How he tried to do something, he doesn’t do that often anymore, be a pretty big dick in this movie. But his character is convinced until the very end, he’s not being a dick and everything he does he justifies to himself and the audience, and because of his charm (and come on, Hugh is charming, you know it) you want to believe him, even though you know the truth about his character all along.

As a person who’s never heard of this scandal, I think it was told very well, but there was no major surprise within the movie. Which is a bit disappointing, especially if it’s based on something real you’ve never heard of, but the movie can’t surprise you in any way, as you can tell where everything is going the entire way. But, it is well made TV movie (HBO movies usually know how to bring quality material) so I do think it’s worth watching.

Overall, please ignore the horribly plain title of this movie and give it a shot. Especially if you only know the nice, gentleman-like Hugh Jackman, give this a watch, to see that he can do something, that is very outside of his (usual) wheelhouse. This movie probably won’t change your life in way, shape or form, but it’s pretty entertaining ride, even though you know how that ride will finish.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

The Old Guard is based on a comic book (anybody remotely surprised at this point?) but let’s just get down to the business – it’s Highlander (1986) except without the Queen’s soundtrack, Christopher Lambert or Sean Connery but with Charlize Theron, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Dudley (Harry Melling) from Harry Potter movies, so… upgrade…? Downgrade? I will let you decide. One thing I am clear on is – it brings nothing new to the table and that’s this film’s biggest flaw.

I know, that original ideas are really hard to come by and everything is a recycled idea of something that already existed some time ago. So I am not mad or angry that they have just taken the concept of Highlander, you know what, no. This idea must have existed even before Highlander, so I will just say they have taken the concept of immortal warriors and polished it for a new generation, made it look shiny and exciting and added… a gay couple…? Which, I have no problem with, but thinking back to it, that’s literally the only new(ish) thing The Old Guard does.

Everything else about this movie you can put together in your head before it happens, and the movie feels like the director had a checklist on him, that might have looked like this:

• Immortal soldiers, who are immortal, but only to an extent, which is not defined? ✓
• One of them, who will definitely betray his or her group because he or she is promised death? ✓
• Newbie, who’s just realised she’s immortal, so we can get the important info? ✓
• Vaguely threating bad guy, who just wants to capture them and study them for his evil profit? ✓
• At least one character, who’s hinted at being way older than everybody else, but never specified how old? ✓
• An old friend, who’s separated from their group, mentioned couple of times throughout the movie, so they might make a “surprise” appearance at the end, setting up a sequel? ✓

And I could continue like this for a while, but hopefully, you catch my drift. If you have ever seen a movie, literally nothing about this film will surprise you. Everything is signalled hard, and even the action sequences are nothing special. Yes, Charlize kicks ass, but she’s done this for a few years now, in much better movies, so even that fact won’t give this movie any extra “edge”. I did like KiKi Layne‘s performance and I hope we will see her in more movies to come, as with what she’s been given, I thought she did well, and to be fair, most of the actors did the best they could. I am saying most of them, as I need to name one actor, who (for me) didn’t work at all and that is already mentioned Harry Melling. I don’t why, whether his character was off, or whether he received directions that weren’t that great, but he felt like he’s in completely different movie altogether. Now, I have yet to seen The Queen’s Gambit (2020) where I’ve heard he’s great, so I don’t think the problem was with Harry per say. But I do think the villain character in a movie like this should be either really sinister, or bat shit crazy. He was neither, and kind of just… there.

But here is the thing – The Old Guard‘s issue are not the actors. It’s the template like style or story-telling, where you know what’s going to happen before it happens. You know the next turn, before the movie makes it. But I can’t really blame the director, or the screenwriter for this, as I do think there is something else at play – the medium itself. Let me explain. I genuinely believe this could have been a kick ass TV show. It doesn’t need bigger than life budget, but what it needs is to give us backstories for all the members of this immortal warrior crew, and because the movie can’t be too long, you can’t really dig deep, especially if you have a crew of 5/6 people. This could have been a decent TV show, for maybe just 2/3 seasons, and the great thing about it, you don’t really have to change the story that much! First season can be spread around backstories intertwined with the newbie + the villain, the second season could be around the “surprise” villain, who shows up at the end of season one (or this movie) and their backstory, how that affects the group, and the third season… they can go to space, as that’s where the other franchises seem to be heading to? 🙂 Ok, the last part is obviously a joke, but I think that is why this movie for me couldn’t be any better, because it’s as good as the medium allows it to be. Unfortunately.

Overall, The Old Guard is perfectly fine film, that is probably the best the filmmakers could do within the limitation of the medium. Is it possible, that even the TV show I am pitching would not be any better? Honestly, yes, nothing is ever guaranteed but death and taxes, but to me, it would have been at least experiment worth trying, as this genre (people living throughout centuries) is fascinating and it should be given a proper treatment, so we can watch somebody’s psyche over period of centuries, or even millennium or two… how would that look like? I feel like there are so many ways you could take these characters, the possibilities should be endless.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

I remember hearing really good things about this movie a year ago, when it came out. But then, regretfully, I have forgotten all about it. But couple of weeks ago, some movie people I follow on Twitter started to “argue” that even though it’s really new, Klaus is a Christmas movie done right and will 100% become a new holiday classic for years to come. Yes, Twitter can sometimes do great things! So, being reminded of this movie, I’ve discovered it on Netflix and watched it with my girlfriend. And we absolutely loved it.

The story at first seems to be as cliché as it gets, spoiled son is shipped away to make something out of himself, he hates everything, he’s lazy… you name it. But there are these little things, quirks that differentiate Klaus from other movies. First of all, the animation looks more unique than your “average” Disney/Pixar/DreamWorks so it hits you differently, in a good way. The second thing was the jokes seemed to be more subtle, nothing too “in your face” like animation movies have done over the past couple of years. It’s almost like they have decided that even though this is an animated movie, it doesn’t mean we can’t have better jokes or deeper themes to cover. And that brings me to the most unique thing about this movie – the actual story.

See, Klaus is really about how this legend of Santa started. But it’s done in different way, European way. What does that mean, you might ask? Well, plenty of European legends/fairy tales are actually darker than American ones and are usually not shy from dealing with heavier topics within its stories. Just an example, have a read of the original story by Hans Christian Andersen, The Little Mermaid and you might be shocked to see how much Disney had changed it to be more palatable to Americans. And that is the biggest advantage of Klaus, it is not Americanised in any way. There are some darker elements and the back story behind the actual Klaus and why he has so many toys, is heart-breaking. But don’t get me wrong, this is a movie for the entire family, 100%! Just because it might deal with certain topics that would make you a bit sad (my girlfriend cried her way through most of the second half, either it was too sad, or too cute for her gentle soul to handle) it doesn’t mean it’s not a family movie. I would argue it’s one of the best animated family movies in years!

That’s the other point with your story having some slightly darker or more adult themes – it juxtaposes with the light themes/jokes much better, which only makes sense, if you think about it. That is why I believe it’s a mistake for (mostly) American animated movies to be all jokes, no even remotely adult themes anywhere, as when you have a film, that’s one joke after another, eventually you will feel dull. Whereas with Klaus, one scene might make you a bit more emotional, just so in a couple of minutes, you will genuinely laugh. This movie mixes it perfectly, so it never goes overboard with being either too dark/adult or too silly/cartoonish.

Plus, the voice casting! The main trio is just excellent, Jason Schwartzman as our protagonist was great, Rashida Jones, who must really love voicing Christmas characters, as she’s in the latest “remake” of  The Grinch (2018, my review here) too, is always pleasant to listen, but the main star is J.K. Simmons as Klaus, because he fits this role just perfectly. I love the fact J.K. Simmons is having this late career push, where he is in everything and he’s great, because he deserves it. And his voice, his slightly darker/threating voice, was oddly enough, perfect for this figure.

Overall, I loved this movie. I am always trying to be careful with what I say, as you never know what will happen in the future (remember how we believed 2020 will be great year…? Yeah…) but I am convinced, that Klaus will become a holiday classic, and not only for this generation. The same way we have holiday classics from different eras (the oldest is probably It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) with the latest probably being Elf (2003) as I can’t remember any other mainstream movie that would be considered holiday classic after Elf) this movie has already in my mind joined those movies, where it will be re-watched every holiday season, because it is that great. At least in our household, I will be more than happy to call this movie the new Christmas classic.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time & have happy holidays,

Luke

The Grinch is definitely one of the better movies that came out of Illumination Entertainment. Yes, the studio behind the Despicable Me trilogy, that had also given us minions, and not just the annoying yellow creatures, that somehow became the template for all of your “cool” auntie’s memes (if you don’t believe me, google “Minion memes” and hate me later) but also the movie called Minions (2015), that is somehow slightly better rated than this movie…? Which I do find strange, as you can clearly tell by the animation (and partially by the “humour”) that they are done by the same studio, yet The Grinch at least tries to have a bit of heart to it, whereas Minions… is just a film, that’s one punchline joke. But on that some other time (hopefully never).

Don’t get me wrong, this movie isn’t miles better, not at all. It’s slightly better, as the voice casting is great (from the main character voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, to Rashida Jones and to top it all off, we have a narrator who is no other than Pharrell Williams) and as I have mentioned prior, it’s trying really hard to have a heart, and a feel good message towards the end. Unfortunately, this being a classic tale, you can obviously tell where everything is going, therefore we can only judge this movie based on the way it presents the story and… I don’t think there was anything new, that’s worth it in the long run.

What I mean by that, is it feels exactly the same as the How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) except this one is animated and there is a subplot with the little girl’s mom being overworked. That’s pretty much the difference. It feels weird seeing almost the same movie, except it’s 18 years later and now, it’s animated. And that just seems really lazy to me. It’s almost like the people behind this movie had a conversation about doing something different, just for it to fell apart halfway through and they ended up realizing the first idea someone’s nephew said that one time, that is how random this feels.

The Grinch is not bad movie by any means, it’s just really forgettable. How forgettable, you ask? Well, it has been a week or so since I have seen it, and I can’t honestly remember much of it. I remember watching it, I remember sometimes laughing a bit, I remember thinking Pharell’s voice is really pleasant and relaxing and I also remember thinking the ending was slightly better, than the rest of the movie. Originally, I have rated it 3.5* (or 7/10 on IMDb), but writing this review now, trying to scramble my brain for any one particular scene, funny, serious, or anything in between… I’ve got nothing. Nada. Zilch. I can’t remember a single scene that would stood out to me. So I had to something I sometimes do, re-rate the movie after a bit of time has passed. As this movie might not be as unfunny, or average as Minions, but that’s a really low bar to climb. It’s like being grateful for only catching the “good old COVID-19” and not the new strain of it. Sure, I guess it’s better, but I would rather have neither.

Overall, The Grinch is a movie to watch, if you have kids. They will probably fall in love with it, you can catch a break and everybody wins. Unfortunately for this film, I don’t have kids, so I can’t rate it from that perspective. And from the enjoyment point of view, this movie is just slightly above the absolute average, and I think the main reason is the (voice) talent behind it. This holiday season, you can definitely watch something much, much better. Like the movie I will review this Friday… 😉

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

Ad Astra feels familiar, yet different. It mixes Interstellar (2014), 2001 A Space Odyssey (1968) and Gravity (2013) together to create something that’s not as great as either of those film, but it’s still interesting nevertheless. Also, it take the “best” elements of those movies (space travelling feeling of Interstellar, the slow pace of 2001 and some action-like sequences of Gravity, especially the sequence at the very beginning of this movie) but it doesn’t feel repetitive, it feels like its own unique(ish) thing.

For me, the biggest draw to this movie was Brad Pitt. Especially the last year was really kind to him (it’s easy to forget because of COVID-19, that he’s won his second Oscar in February 2020 (yes, this year!) for Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019), his first for an acting role, as his first Oscar was for producing 12 Years a Slave (2013)) and it seems like people finally are recognising him for his talent and are seeing what he’s doing for other filmmakers in Hollywood, as he’s produced more than 60 movies in the last 14 years. Not bad at all. And in Ad Astra, he gives us something different, as his performance is really subtle. Basically, there are almost no scenes without him, as the entire movie revolves around him, but you never get the feeling like it’s too much. Pitt’s performance is really… approachable…? The best way to describe it is “low key” as it seems like he’s barely acting, in the best possible way. At times, this movie felt more like a documentary about a real guy, who’s actually this level-headed astronaut, whose blood pressure barely goes over 80. Definitely one of Brad’s best performances.

The movie ultimately suffers from a tough competition, as just in the last couple of years, we have had our fair share of truly great sci-fi movies. And while Ad Astra is definitely a good movie, that stands out, it also drags on a bit too much every once in a while. As I mentioned in my previous reviews, I honestly don’t mind movies that take their time to build their world/atmosphere/feeling properly, but there is also being a self-indulgent. And this movie might have been bit too self-indulgent. Yes, plenty of shots were stunning, but plenty of them dragged on. Yes, there were some great action sequences (yet again I need to mention the beginning of this movie) but than there were large chunks of this movie where if you told me you fell asleep while watching, I wouldn’t blame you.

Also, any time we might have another interesting character Brad Pitt can interact with, they either serve as exposition dump for him, or they just die after a few minutes. And look, I understand this movie is ultimately about this dad/son journey, where the son is looking for his dad and in doing so, looking for piece of himself in the process, but sure would be nice to get to know some other characters in this movie. Especially if the film includes actors like Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Donald Sutherland or Liv Tyler (who if I am not mistaken, doesn’t speak a single word in this entire movie, which must be some kind of record…?)

I do understand the division with this movie, as it’s definitely more about the feeling, rather than a simple story/narrative structure. If you are into movies, that make you think about life, and if you want to see how Brad Pitt matures to perfection and can have the entire film basically rest on his shoulders, than you might like Ad Astra. But if you are looking for more “conventional” sci-fi film, I would stay clear of this movie, as you might fall asleep while watching it.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke