Do you know the feeling, when you are watching a film, you are really into it even though you know, that logically, it will fall apart the moment you start to dig deeper into it? But you don’t mind, because you are having fun? And then, the movie goes overboard and sets up an unnecessary sequel(s) because that’s how it’s done today and that pulls you out? That was my experience with Escape Room. I was really in the movie for most of it and then, the last 20 minutes happened, that made me… let’s say not as interested, as I was before.

As Sigmund Freud once said: “Let’s talk about it, shall we?” It’d be so easy to see a movie like this as “not as bloody/twisted copy of Saw franchise” and discredit it altogether. Even though to a certain point, you’d absolutely be right. This is nothing new the concept is clearly “Saw-like” it is just re-done for escape rooms that have become popular in the last five years or so. But honestly, I had more fun with this movie than with anything beyond Saw III (2006), and I am saying it as somebody who has seen all the Saw movies except the very new ones.

The main thing I liked about Escape Room was the overall concept, how each room was different (and later on in the movie we find out that wasn’t a coincidence) and how there wasn’t just one piece of the puzzle to solve. This whole movie is people looking to solve clues, so they can move to a different room, and yeah, stay alive. And honestly, for most of the film, I was all in. I was having a blast, I liked the fact they didn’t go over-the-top with blood/violence, that they have tried to do their own thing.

Also, the cast was a pleasant surprise as for me, consisted of mostly unknown actors who did a great job. The highlight was Taylor Russell, whose performance I have truly enjoyed. She was the most intriguing character out of all the people involved with “the game”, where she was smart, but still felt relatable and human. Honestly, she did a great job.

I can’t talk about this movie (or the issues I had with it) without going to spoilers, so before then, let me just reiterate, that Escape Room is a great movie for the first 80% of its length. If I end up watching Escape Room 2 (2021), it will only be because of my morbid curiosity, the fact I am a completionist, and also to see the character(s) who managed to survive the first movie and whether they will have a big impact on the second one. Anyway, here we go…

Beware, SPOILERS are coming!

As stated at the start of my review, I was enjoying the movie, until the last 20 minutes or so came along. The way this movie went, you know they will play the “there is a big, powerful society/company behind all of this” angle which didn’t surprise me. What surprised me, and not in a pleasant way, was everything that followed afterwards. You have one scene, where of course, nobody believes the two characters who survive. Also expected, but ok. Those two meet up six months after, where Taylor’s character manages to persuade Logan Miller‘s character to go with her to an unknown, unmarked building in the middle of New York (?) Then we have a scene of a plane crash, except, SYKE, it was all fake and we are seeing a preparation of a trap (?) for those two characters because of course, they (the big secret company) know the two survivors are about to fly to New York in two weeks. And there is a mysterious voice behind all of this, ordering his minions to make the plane trap harder… and that’s when I was supposed to be in, but I was out.

I understand everybody wants to have trilogies, or better yet, entire universes of movies. But what happened with starting with a solid base? The last 20 minutes of this film didn’t feel like anything else but a cheap setup aka “look what else we can do with this, as long as you give us your money”. And had you closed this properly, answered some questions (how come the big bad company managed to sweep all the evidence so swiftly? Who is actually behind this and why? I know there was a speech, that tried to justify what is happening and why, but who is behind the mysterious voice? Wouldn’t it be more dangerous to keep those two alive? If the company is truly that powerful, wouldn’t they just kill the survivors rather than risking anything?) and then, maybe give me a 5-minute tease for what’s potentially to come, and I wouldn’t complain at all.

This problem is not unique to just this film, I know. But it honestly bothers me how everyone in Hollywood feels the need to “tease us” with what’s there to come, but they fail to give us one full adventure. The way this film is structured it felt like it was a movie and almost a quarter of a new one. And that is the thing that made the very first Saw (2004) so great if we go back to it quickly. They gave us a movie with a beginning, middle, a great twist, and an end. Where you could tell there might be more, but even if there were no more Saw movies released ever again (imagine making more than six sequels, right?) you could still go back and re-watch the first one on its own. You can’t do that with this film.

Overall, Escape Room is a fun movie that knows how to utilize its concept to the fullest. It’s a film, full of different, interesting characters, and as it usually goes in movies like these, one evil company, that just wants to watch people suffer. Had it finished sooner, without that ending that wasn’t really an ending, more of “this is what can you expect in our next instalment(s)” it would have been one flawed yet fun movie to watch. As it is, it’s still fun to watch, just be ready to be taken out of the movie in the last 20 minutes.

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

Until next time,

Luke

After some really strange choices over the past couple of years (I always forget it’s Guy Ritchie who directed the live-action remake of Aladdin (2019, my review here)) he went back to what he does best. The Gentleman is a sleek, yet gritty crime epoch, that proves Ritchie didn’t forget what made him famous. And for me, this is easily my second favourite from him and I only didn’t see three or four of his movies.

What I appreciated the most about this film was the fact, Ritchie can still tell complicated stories, comprehensively. Do you know how they say “often imitated never duplicated?” Well, this could be said about Ritchie’s way of telling complicated stories in a way where if you pay attention, you will understand it at the end. But here’s the thing – you need to pay attention. Oftentimes, he plays with the tiniest details that if you miss them, you will still enjoy the movie, but you might be confused as to what happened to that character, or why did this happen. This is definitely a movie that needs to be watched without any devices (to me, that’s a default, but for plenty of people this is something unheard of) or distractions. Because even if you think you know, where the story is going, Ritchie always throws a wrinkle or two into the narrative, that doesn’t serve as a twist. Especially in this film, and mainly how it ends, it feels almost like a treat, something extra that enhances the story, while also surprising you (definitely surprised me).

Let’s talk about the cast. It’s great. That’s it. I mean it – everybody is perfectly cast, the performances are great, you can almost feel how much fun the performers were having with the material given, it was a genuine pleasure watching all actors involved. If I had to name some standout performances, it would have to go to our main “power couple”, Matthew McConaughey and Michelle Dockery, playing husband and wife. He is the king of the jungle, who needs to act like it all the time (“If you wish to be The King of the jungle, it’s not enough to act like a king. You must be The King. And there can be no doubt. Because doubt causes chaos and one’s own demise.“) and she is the Queen, ruling by his side. But where other movies would end, and wouldn’t give her anything else to do, this one flashes her character really well, where you understand that not only she’s her own person, but if it wasn’t for her, he wouldn’t have become the King. They elevate and compliment each other and you could see somebody like them being in charge. Perfect casting choices, great performances from both.

Sorry, forgot to mention one more actor, who truly shines in this film – Hugh Grant. I have never seen him playing a role like this and I loved his over-the-top character, where he’s the narrator, kind of director (his thing about having a screenplay and reading it, while explaining how it’s going to look like was pure perfection) one of the main players in the story and most importantly, really entertaining. It seems Hugh is having almost a second career now, and I am here for it. Also, I really loved the fact his character was gay, but it was never fully mentioned, it was just… let’s say more than heavily implied. But the movie never made it into a big, or even any, come to think of it, deal.

I can’t really think of anything, that would bother. I am not saying this film is the best movie I’ve ever seen. But you know this feeling, where you are missing something and only after getting that something, you fully realise, what it was? The Gentleman reminded me of that, how much I missed watching smart, gritty action/crime movies, with so many tiny details scattered throughout it. And on top of it, that signature dash of humour only Guy Ritchie knows how to write, to make it work so well, it never feels forced, and most importantly, it never goes for too long. He knows when to stop and get back to the story.

Overall, The Gentleman is here to remind us, how it’s done. How there still can be movies, that blend action, crime, and comedy so well together, you just sit back, relax… wait you can’t really “relax”, because you need that brain of yours to work, to put all the pieces together at the end. But I promise you, it’s not hard work and it pays off to watch this movie carefully, to appreciate the chaotic energy of life, how sometimes you just do something you don’t think is that big of a deal, only for that one thing to start a chain of events, that might either help or destroy you. That is what I mean when I say I missed movies like this because that is where Guy Ritchie makes this movie shine the most. The attention to detail, how something, that might seem like not a big deal, results in your film/story going differently altogether. I can’t wait to re-watch it and honestly, can’t recommend this movie enough.

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

Until next time,

Luke

I have told you. If you read my review for the first The Angry Birds Movie (2016, my review here) I mentioned there was a pretty big chance of me watching the sequel, as I am usually a completionist by trade. I have finished almost every single TV show I’ve started. When watching movies, if I know the movie, I am about to watch, has 3 more sequels, I usually check to see whether I can watch them all in a row. That’s why I watched this film, even though I didn’t really enjoy the first movie that much. I was hoping, that somehow, this will be different, better, or at least funnier. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

The Angry Birds Movie 2 feels like they somehow managed to cram every single animated movie into one. I don’t believe there is a single original idea in this film, we wouldn’t have seen done (and better) before. And yet, or maybe because of that, it really feels disjointed, all over the place and believe it or not, more boring than the first one.

The premise is simple – some time passed since the first movie happened, so there is a prank war happening between the birds and the pigs. But what’s that, a THIRD island…? Who could have seen this comi… everyone. Everybody could have seen this coming. I don’t want to berate a kid’s movie for being too simplistic, as I get it, that this movie knows very well what it is, but Jesus. This sequel is the literal definition of “it’s animated, it moves and your kids will love it while you will suffer”.

My main problem with The Angry Birds Movie 2 is just the overall boredom. I am always fine with some dumb, animated fun. As I always say, there is no need for every animated film to be “Pixar-like”, in regards to learning an important lesson, getting something deeper from a movie, no. Sometimes, all you want is to laugh for 90 minutes and have a good time. But with this movie, I found myself constantly falling to sleep, that’s how “funny” it was.

And here’s the thing – if the movie itself is boring, you can’t even enjoy the pretty stellar voice cast this movie somehow has. As if you are not in it, you aren’t really focused and as a result, most of the voices blend together. So then you take away something, that might have been a saving grace for a different film (“this movie isn’t that great, but Brad Pitt voicing the alien poop was hilarious!” For the record, this is an example, I don’t think Brad ever voiced an alien poop. But I am also sure, it would have been hilarious.) but in this case, it’s just isn’t as you are so bored, you are past caring.

The only tiny (some pun intended) saving grace and one joke, which actually worked for me, was the baby birds’ storyline, about them getting the eggs, they have managed to lose, back on their own. They go on a small adventure throughout the film, and that pay off at the very end of the film was pretty good and I had a decent chuckle. But as I’ve mentioned, that was about 5 minutes from the entire film – if somebody cut that out and made it into its own short, that alone would have been better, funnier and more enjoyable than both Angry Birds movies combined.

Overall, The Angry Birds Movie 2 is an unbelievably precise example of throwing everything onto a wall and seeing what sticks. Every joke, every character you will recognize from some other movie. There is zero to no originality involved and most importantly, it’s really boring. The animation is as always decent and the baby birds’ storyline was pretty funny, but that’s about it. If you have enjoyed the original movie, you might enjoy this one too. If you are more like me and you weren’t that impressed, do stay away from this one.

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

Until next time,

Luke

What started as a really great, one-off action movie (Olympus Has Fallen, 2013) has somehow evolved (does a movie evolve, if neither sequels are as good as the original? Discuss.) into a trilogy, that get’s progressively more boring with each new instalment. Angel Has Fallen is a mere shadow of what 6 years ago was really enjoyable, kick-ass movie with some surprisingly great action sequences (I still remember, how effective was the scene, where they get into the White House, capturing the president). From this movie, I think the last action sequence on the halfway was… alright…? But everything around it was just so… predictable and boring, you really hope nothing will “fall” anymore, so Gerard Butler doesn’t have to suit up for a fourth instalment, where he would have to fight… maybe aliens, or COVID-19, (or get this, aliens infected WITH COVID-19! Let’s make it a super-mega-ultra threat!) as I am sure by now, he killed pretty much everybody else, who ever threatened the government of USA.

This movie could have easily been named “Everything is So Painfully Obvious: The Movie” as you can predict without a single moment of hesitation where everything (story, characters) is going. You can tell who’s the bad guy literally within a few seconds of their screen time, you can tell what happens next before it happens with Gerard’s character… and for the most time, the action is your stereotypical “it’s alright” type, where it’s not horrible, but there is nothing, that would stand out. Again, maybe the very last set piece, but even that it isn’t something, that would have justified not trying to come up with anything original story-wise. Every turn this movie makes, you have seen done better, some place else. And I understand, that expecting some level of originality from a third instalment of something, that I still don’t understand how it became a trilogy in the first place, it’s as silly as listening to a flat-earther explaining why Earth is flat, but still, you’d expect that the film would at least throw you a bone…?

But not this one. So it hits every single beat – the main hero hides a sickness from everyone (family, friends, president of the United States, you know, the usual) that will limit him in some minor scenes, but you can bet most of your crypto, that once he’s needed, he will fight like a 20 year old, who drank 10 Red Bulls at once. And that part of the story, when everybody thinks he’s betrayed everyone? He will prove, he didn’t do it and all those crimes he’s committed, while trying to prove his innocence? Totally forgotten, don’t you worry about that. We know, you had to do them, in order to clear your name.

Angel Has Fallen has only thing going for it and that’s the fact it’s not overly long and even though nothing stands out, nothing really drags on. The movie itself actually flows pretty well, so even though you are kind of annoyed, at how predictable everything is, you are not bored and the movie has the decency to have good enough cast to get you through it too. I am not quite sure, whether Piper Perabo replacing Radha Mitchell (who played Gerard’s girlfriend/wife in the first two movies) is good or bad, but to be honest, these movies don’t really give that character anything to do anyway, so I am guessing it doesn’t really matter who plays it? My guess would be most people didn’t even realise that’s not the same actress (which again, falls on this franchise, as they never have given her any agency besides being Gerard’s girlfriend, who becomes his wife) but she’s fine in this film. The same goes for Lance Reddick or Danny Huston, bot decent enough actors, who have little to do here, as it’s all about Gerard’s character kicking all kind of ass. Which is not a bad idea in theory, but in practice, when this is his (counts furiously) 76th movie with him pretty much playing the same character, it starts to get a bit monotone.

The only reason my rating is still fairly high (for what is arguably just an average action movie) is the fact that I was never bored while watching. Sure, was I surprised by anything? No. But was the movie sluggish, where I’d felt the movie’s length? Also no. That surprised me, to be perfectly honest, that even though you’d need a microscope to find a speck of original idea in this film, I was never bored. Yeah, don’t how that works either.

Overall, Angel Has Fallen is as average of a movie as it gets. What puts it slightly above the mediocrity is the casting of enough decent people and the fact you are not counting down seconds for the movie to be over. I mean, you might, but I definitely wasn’t. That being said, will I be in any kind of rush to re-watch it? Absolutely not.

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

Until next time,

Luke