After Baz Luhrmann tried to wow us with Elvis (2022, my review here), here comes one of my favourite directors, Sofia Coppola, with her counterpart, focusing on the experience of this young (very, inappropriately young) girl who falls in love with him. And who else could portray a section of her life that must have been so isolated, strange and lonely than the undisputed queen of loneliness, strangeness and isolation? Sofia managed to carve out her niche, and although, thematically, her movies can be similar, they are vastly different when you actually watch them. And Priscilla feels the same, yet different, from all her previous movies.

What I liked almost instantly about Priscilla is how the movie never portrays her as a victim, even though it never shies away from making us aware of how young she was. In today’s climate where everything “must be” either white or black and there seems to be no space left for nuance, here comes Priscilla, a movie that openly shows you how predatory their relationship was and how young she was, but also never fails to show you Priscilla being in love with Elvis. And in certain scenes, straight-up horny. Now, of course, we can discuss things like grooming and how she should have never been in that situation in the first place. But from what I understand, the real Priscilla has never (at least publicly) regretted making any of her choices and has always spoken well about Elvis. And that kind of irony is precisely what this movie managed to balance; it makes you feel icky whilst understanding that she made her own choices. Again, was she “a bit too young” to make some of those choices? Absolutely.

I thought Cailee Spaeny did a fantastic job as Priscilla. Her transformation throughout the film is believable; she pulls off looking uncomfortably young as well as a woman in her almost 30s, and most importantly, her quietness speaks volumes. Due to the nature of this movie, we often see her by herself, in empty big rooms, just roaming around and trying to entertain herself whilst Elvis was out touring, making movies and cheating on her. Where other films would struggle, this one uses those moments well, and they never felt boring, which compliments both Cailee’s performance (I hope to see her in more movies) and Coppola’s direction.

As far as Jacob Elordi, aka Elvis, goes, I thought that was… a mixed bag. Firstly, Austin Butler should have gotten some additional praise retrospectively, as he nailed that performance and Jacob… I won’t say he was terrible. There were scenes where I thought he was good. Mainly, his physical acting (just the height difference between them is over 40cm, or foot and something if you like the freedom units) was spot-on, and him almost overshadowing her in every scene, both figuratively and literally, worked. He’s got that uniqueness that makes you believe he could be someone girls trip over everywhere he goes, however… The accent with the actual Elvis-like mannerisms I thought was… pretty poor. Even if I forget about Butler’s performance, he felt weird in most of the “talking” scenes. Having said that; I am not ready to call him a bad actor as many were after this film came out. I think the jury is still in, and we need to wait and see a few more movies, hopefully, where he has the chance to play some original characters rather than mimic this larger-than-life icon.

My only real issue with Priscilla was, and this will sound ironic as fuck, that I don’t think I understood her character much more after this movie was over. It’s ironic because for the years she’s been with Elvis, she effectively became a supporting actor in her own life. The movie seems more focused on her perspective and how she perceives everything rather than painting her more… like a fully realised character. I understand this might have been an intentional choice and that this isn’t Priscilla: The Biopic, but I still hoped to learn a bit more about her. We get the occasional glimpses of her personality, what she is into and not, but it’s always tied with Elvis. The movie (quite intentionally) comes alive every time Elvis comes back to Graceland, and he and his buddies fill that big mansion with music, energy and life. Again, I get that was the point of the movie, to show us the contrast of her life with Elvis, and then when he was on the road, I just thought that choice of not really giving us anything beyond that was… interesting.

But I can’t fault this movie with anything else. Priscilla is as tender of a film as they come, and when you sink your teeth into it, you will discover how rich and complex it is, even if it might not look like it from the surface. Sofia Coppola must be one (if not the) of my favourite nepo babies, and I don’t mean that as a slur, like many others use it. She was born into a film royalty; she utilised her resources well and found her niche. I am always on the lookout for what she does next, as she has yet to disappoint me.

Overall, Priscilla is a fascinating movie about one young girl, one larger-than-life character and how they tried to make it work. And even if we know they didn’t, Priscilla’s journey and perspective on this particular part of her young life is fascinating. I also can’t wait to see Cailee Spaeny in more movies, as I thought she nailed this performance. If you want a great, meditative film about life, fame, loneliness and everything else that would come with dating one of the most famous people who has ever lived, look no further.

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

Until next time,

Luke

If you read my review for the previous gem of this franchise (I won’t even bother to name the film; my review can be found here), you know I was not a fan, to say it mildly. But I have heard that Fast X has improved slightly and have also heard wild tales of Jason Momoa‘s acting performance, so I had to check it out for myself. Maybe I will at least not hate it, I thought to myself. Unfortunately, the difference between the previous movie and this one is like me asking whether you want to get cancer and die within a week or just die within a week. There is no good option, and it’s a shitty question to begin with.

I think there is one clear distinction between the previous film and Fast X, and it’s Vin Diesel‘s saviour/hero complex. Maybe I am misremembering the other movies, but in this one, it honestly felt like the script was doctored by Vin himself, as everyone is waiting for his approval or to be rescued by him. If there is somebody in distress, he appears to save them, often saving perfectly competent people to begin with and making himself look silly in the process. There were several scenes where other characters were describing Vin’s character and talked about him like this demigod, and again, maybe I do not remember these movies well, but this felt like almost a parody of itself as if he is the best thing to happen since sliced bread, the invention of the wheel and the discovery of fire combined.

Also, in the review I posted almost two years ago, I made a joke about how every dead character will eventually return. When I tell you, I am so mad that I was right… But when this movie finished, we were only missing Paul Walker. Everyone you have ever… liked? Cared for? Saw? Yeah, saw in these movies is back. And here, I will make another prediction – they will bring Paul’s character back as CGI. No shame, no regrets, they will talk about how they need to finish these films with him in it, but nah… If they truly wanted to honour his legacy, they would let him rest in peace rather than keep him alive all these years later. I am calling it and have been for a while; he is 100% coming back, and it will be awkward to watch, and we are all to blame.

The thing is, this movie is a mess. No matter how you cut it, narrative-wise, CGI-wise, plot-wise, logic-wise, life-wise… Nothing matters anymore. Nobody is in any real danger; everyone who has ever died is back, and we all keep on coming back and watching these movies, rewarding this nonsense with our hard-earned money. I didn’t go (purposefully) to watch this in the cinema, but my curiosity has gotten the better of me. Therefore, I am part of this crowd that is keeping this franchise alive, and that’s the part of me I don’t like but have to acknowledge is there. The thing is, I want to love these movies! I am a sucker for a great B/C/Z films that don’t take themselves too seriously and only exist to be fun. But I have never gotten that vibe from these films, mainly the last four or five.

Because even those “it’s just a dumb and fun movie” have to have their grounding in reality or work on some emotional level for me to like it. And if I like it, I am willing to forgive many things. But these films don’t have that and haven’t had it in for a while now. The action is mostly all CGI, so there is no sense of urgency, excitement or anything remotely close to that and the emotional side… Don’t make me laugh. This film ends on a cliffhanger, where it tries to tell you how everyone is dead, but you know nobody is dead. That is why I am not marking it as a spoiler, because is there such a thing as a spoiler in a movie with no stakes? Almost like the forest and the tree, does it make a sound? The tree, of course, makes a sound; don’t be self-centred, and no, this cliffhanger is one of the most infuriating and laughable ones of all time.

And even that Joker-like performance by Momoa wasn’t enough to justify the 141 minutes of CGI fuck fest this movie spews all over you. He obviously understood the assignment and was having a blast, but unfortunately, his enjoyment never really translated into my mood. Did I enjoy the movie slightly more when he was there? Yes. Was my mood improved that much to give this movie a slightly better rating? No.

And that’s the problem with Fast X. The cast is impressive and has some of the best action stars, some of the best actors and actresses, but they are all wasted on Diesel’s ego/power/saviour trip… is he planning to run for a president at some point? Is that the plan to use all the scenes where he saves people and has characters talk positively about him in a supercut when he inadvertently runs for president in 2028? Honestly, at this point, everything is possible. And it’s not one of those great “Everything is possible!” motivational speeches. It’s more like Trump becoming a president again, that kind of “Everything is possible!”

Overall, Fast X is everything you’d expect from a franchise that’s running on fumes, goodwill and some charm and charisma of decent people in supporting roles. For the most of it, you will experience “Vin saves the day, for 17th time in a row!” scenes alongside the “Oh boy, isn’t Vin’s character just the best person ever?” moments that will make you question everything, including the timeline you live in. Because in this timeline, there are many people who love these movies. And look, I am honestly happy for you. These are not for me, and I don’t understand anyone who loves them, but if they make you happy, watch them. I can’t recommend Fast X to anyone but the hardcore fans who have already decided how they feel about this movie before they’ve seen it.

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

Until next time,

Luke

During my many years of watching and rating movies, I got used to being the outsider, not because I wanted to be different, but because my taste often didn’t align with the rest of the movie-going crowd. And then there are instances when you align identically with the rest, and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is one of those because, like many, I wasn’t particularly excited for a sequel to a perfectly fine movie. But when I heard many positive reviews, I knew I had to give this one a try, and as many, I loved this sequel. I don’t think it’s controversial to write that this is the best movie in the Shrek universe since the Shrek 2 (2004).

What made this sequel so great? Well, it’s the themes DreamWorks hasn’t really explored as much in the past and delivered us almost this Pixar-level movie, themes-wise. Everything from Puss exploring the idea of mortality to anxiety and the sudden darkness in this universe gave it that unique “something” all the other Shrek sequels were missing. Luckily, DreamWorks paid attention and didn’t go overboard on it “going too dark”, so your kids will still enjoy themselves whilst having an actually terrifying villain, mixed with the idea of commitments and family that comes in all variations of that word.

I won’t lie; I loved this sequel even before the big reveal (I won’t spoil it, but looking back, it was so obvious). The Big Bad Wolf must be one of the most memorable animated villains of… Well, a good few years, if not longer. I loved every decision they made about him, from his musical theme to the whistling we can always hear just before seeing him… Everything about that character worked wonderfully. I felt that uneasiness our main character was going through every time he was on the screen; I felt there were stakes, even if I knew deep down I was watching a DreamWorks movie, so things would (probably) work out. That’s why I loved that reveal with this character, as great reveals should be like good riddles. It’s so obvious once you know the answer, yet I never guessed it because… Well, I was so much into the movie that I didn’t even think of thinking about anything else.

A big part of why I enjoyed myself was the addition of Perrito, voiced by Harvey Guillén. What would have easily become an annoying side character designated to charm little kids and sell more toys maybe even five years ago became almost a highlight of this film. And not because he was cute and goofy, which he undoubtedly was. It’s the thought about his character and how he talks and thinks about his life but chooses to find a silver lining in everything. It’d be so easy to make him dumb or obnoxious, but they gave him just enough scenes where the emotional ones landed well whilst still being the main comedic relief of this movie. If the Big Bad Wolf is the best player, Perrito is the MVP of this film.

The thing is, even if we omit these two and focus on the rest of the film, it’s still pretty awesome. From the blend of different animation styles and frame rates (the Spider-Verse franchise must be given credit for influencing the mainstream animated movies since 2018) to the main crux of this film, about family and commitment. Whether it’s a chosen family (Goldilocks voiced by Florence Pugh with her storyline) or committing to one person (or, in this case, a cat) for your entire life, the movie tries to give you something more substantial to chew on, and I appreciated it.

The thing about Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is I can’t think of any flaws. Nothing about this movie bothered me. Most jokes landed, and the emotional scene hit me too. Maybe the secondary villain, hunting everyone, wasn’t as memorable…? But that’s really all I could bring up, and even that feels like a weak critique, given how much this film did. It feels almost poetic, as I still remember many people not being excited about this sequel whatsoever. But then it comes, kicks ass and delivers the ultimate message – if you make a great movie, fans won’t care whether it’s a sequel or not. Just give us something new, don’t be afraid to experiment and no matter what you do, ground your film in some sense of reality. I might go even as far as to say this might be the most “mature” movie in the Shrek franchise, and I am writing this as someone who loves and views the first two Shrek films as classics of the animated genre.

Overall, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was a pleasant surprise that proved again that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. In a weird way, this sequel had almost nothing going for it, except for (it seems like) people working on it who cared about every single detail, whether it was the story or the animation style(s). The result shows on screen, and it’s a vivid, funny, touching and charming film that managed to do the unthinkable – get me excited for Shrek 5. The movie that’s been stuck in production hell for a few years now, a movie I don’t even know whether it’s coming or not anymore, but if the same people would be behind it, I will be there, opening day. And I am willing to bet I wouldn’t be the only one.

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

Until next time,

Luke

I think we are too close to call the year 2023 anything yet, but one thing seems for sure. There were a few mainstream raunchy comedies, from No Hard Feelings (2023, my review here) to Joy Ride (2023), which I still haven’t seen but have heard it’s dirtier than your usual comedy to Anyone But You. It seemed that 2023 was the year Hollywood wanted to bring a bit of raunchiness and nudity back into comedies and was testing the waters whether we (the audience) are up for it. For my money, I would say yes, as long as it’s not just about gratuitous nudity.

Take this movie for example. There is some (very light) nudity, but it’s hardly about that. Anyone But You is your typical guy who meets a girl; they immediately fall for each other only for them to hate each other shortly afterwards because of… reasons. That reason is neither of these individuals is mature enough to have a simple conversation. So they go about their life, only to be brought back together again after a couple of months by fate (or the screenplay). Sounds familiar? It should be, as this is the plot of most romantic comedies from the past 30 years. You can find elements of Much Ado About Nothing here too. But, surprisingly, it all (mostly) worked for me.

Firstly, I am but a man, so if you give me Sydney Sweeney and Alexandra Shipp in one movie, I will be happy (almost) no matter what. But I will be even happier when you give them something to do, and Sydney has a lot, since you know she is the leading star of this film. And I thought she was great. Yes, for this movie specifically, she won’t be winning any prestigious awards; however, her character, Bea, never annoyed me, and I think in the hands of a less capable actress, it might have. But Sydney found that sweet spot between comedy and a bit of drama where I laughed with her in some scenes and sympathised with her in others.

The same applies to Glen Powell. He managed to play this on-the-surface flawless character (I mean, this dude is built) with humour, and when it was time for his character to be over-the-top crazy, I believed him that he could be like that in real life. Plus, his chemistry with Sydney was there. Yes, I might be biased as I have seen and read some alleged behind-the-scenes drama/rumours (if you Google this movie alongside Glen and Sydney’s names, you will see what I mean), but I don’t think there was anything else to them but that, rumours. And yet, when you see those two in the movie and how they interact with each other, you can tell where those rumours were coming from.

Besides them, what I thought worked beautifully was the Australian setting. I was afraid of that, as many times, with these destination movies, they tend to overdo jokes about the setting of those films. My worry was we would hear one too many Aussie jokes, bad accents and stereotypes, and despite there being some, it never felt like too much. It feels odd to write this about (at times) crazy, over-the-top comedy, but they really knew when to rein it in.

The only complaint I had with this movie is the side characters are mostly forgettable, and to repeat myself, the story won’t surprise you at any given point. In this instance, I am willing to forgive the predictability of the plot given how many jokes worked and due to my having a good time with these characters. I just wish the family was a bit more memorable because I swear, I don’t remember anything anyone did in this movie besides Dermot Mulroney, and even he was memorable mostly because of his… Mulroneyness (read, he is still a recognisable enough face for me).

But that is where the cookie crumbles with Anyone But You; if you want to see some of the sexiest people in Hollywood right now being all over each other in Australia and having a blast while doing it, then this movie is for you. If you require something more profound from a romantic comedy starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell based on Much Ado About Nothing… I don’t know what to tell you, to be honest. 😉

Overall, Anyone But You is a good time. Yes, it’s a predictable movie where if you googled the definition of “raunchy comedy”, the poster for this movie would display. However, the lead performers had chemistry, most jokes landed, and the story was just crazy enough to work while the movie didn’t take itself too seriously, so I had a great time with this film. Sometimes, predictable is good, mainly when it is mixed with funny jokes. Also, after you watch this film, you won’t forget the song “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield any time soon, which is good as that song has been on my playlist for ages and is a certified banger.

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

Until next time,

Luke

It’s weird writing a review for a movie many have not even heard of, let alone seen. If you think I am exaggerating, on IMDb, “only” around 14 000 people have rated this movie, and on Letterboxd, that number is slightly higher, around 36 000. Even I have only heard about it recently because one of my Internet friends (Rowan Wood, you can find him on Letterboxd or his new website www.knockonwoodfilm.com) has talked about it a few times on Franchise Paradiso, a podcast he co-hosts (also a strong recommend). And since I trust him, I had to look it up, and yes, he was correct to praise it. And now, I am doing my part, hoping I inspire at least one more person to watch this movie.

This movie must be one of the earliest examples of “vibe” films. There is a surprising “amount” of a story (more about that later), but most importantly, The Phantom Carriage understands the atmosphere and how to get you into that head space and vibe this movie has. Because if I am being honest, the film won’t surprise you much, if at all, since it’s more than 100 (!!!) years old. However, that was the surprise to me, how much it surprised me. I know this is as clear as mud right now, so let me explain.

Since I have been watching more “old-school” horror movies (like the Universal Monster movies from the 30s and 40s), I have gotten used to the story being pretty simplistic because that was the norm at the time. They didn’t know any better. There were always complex themes and great ideas in those films, don’t get me wrong, and I liked or loved most of them, but as far as the narrative portion of those films, they were all pretty simple. Naturally, I expected something similar from a Swedish movie from 1921. And for us now, what this movie does isn’t that uncommon. But I always like to put myself into the audience’s shoes at the time. Because I don’t think there were that many movies that played with characters reminiscing about the past, and in those memories, we go back again. Hopefully, it makes more sense now, as nowadays we are used to seeing flashbacks and spending half a movie there, but back then, that was hardly the norm.

I also loved the idea that the last person to die in a year must replace Death and drive Death’s carriage for the following year. I am not a spiritual or religious person, but if you give me something as intriguing as this, I am into it. This idea definitely was something unique and new, as I had never heard of it. And that supernatural element weirdly grounds this movie and clearly defines the stakes. We understand what is happening and why, so we can focus on this redemption journey of this poor soul who lost his way.

This might also be the first movie that deals with this Dickens-like tale of seeing your life as you are about to die so you can reflect on what you have done. Those stories have always fascinated me because we see ourselves (naturally) as heroes of our stories, but often, we can be the villains in somebody else’s story. There is a saying I like that goes: “We judge everyone based on their actions, but we judge ourselves based on our intentions.” Since I read that quote somewhere, I try to remember it before judging others harshly. The Phantom Carriage is one of those movies that might make you think about what if something like this were to happen to you tomorrow, what you would see and whether you would like everything you see.

I also need to mention the special effects that I thought were amazing. Of course, with a caveat that I judge them based on 1921 standards and not today’s ones. But I thought they worked all the transparent ghosts worked for me, but I am a sucker for older horror movies where I can forgive many tiny blemishes due to the age of those movies. There is something charming about the imperfection of early cinema. Also, and this can’t be understated, this movie influenced many filmmakers who became legends and influenced others. Just reading through IMDb’s trivia:

Ingmar Bergman watched this film at least once every summer, either alone or in the company of younger people. He also stated that this film, to him, was once “the film of all films”, and that it was a main influence on his own work.

Source: IMDb.com

Charles Chaplin stated this was the best film ever made.

Source: IMDb.com

And I am not about to sit here and argue about how two of these cinematic titans were wrong. As I stated at the beginning of my review, I strongly hope I may influence at least one person who will search for this movie and watch it because of this review. It might or might not (wink wink) be available on YouTube… but hey, I didn’t say anything. 😉

Overall, The Phantom Carriage is an almost-forgotten masterpiece that influenced generations of filmmakers and continues to have an impact on movies even today. But unlike other films like Citizen Kane (1941), this movie is virtually unknown unless you are a hardcore cinephile, and even then (like me), you might not heard about it. So, I am writing this review hoping that someone reads it, watches this film and then passes it on. I would love for everyone to know about this movie full of ground-breaking stuff, both visually and narratively. Even after 100 years, The Phantom Carriage deserves to be seen.

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

Until next time,

Luke