Before going into the details about why I think this movie isn’t good at all, let me paint you a scene. My girlfriend had never seen a single Matrix movie in her life. And when we went to see Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021, my review here), the trailer for The Matrix Resurrections was on before that film. And she said she would love to watch the previous ones, so we could go and watch this one in the cinema together. I thought that was a great idea, as it’s been a good few years ever since I’ve seen the original trilogy, so we’ve binged them all in one day. She was mesmerised by every single one of them. She absolutely adored it, and I got reminded how even the hated sequels still hold up (for me at least). And that got me slightly more excited for this sequel as I wasn’t before. The trailers showed us a few cool looking scenes but, to quote Master Yoda, I had a bad feeling about this. Nevertheless, we went to see it two days after binging the trilogy and we both left cinema… disappointed, to put it mildly.

The Matrix Resurrections to me felt like, and I will use a technical term, so please bear with me, a hot fucking mess. Do you like these sequels that come after almost 20 years and every chance they get, they replay a moment from the original movie? While telling you how everything is so different now and yet, everything feels the same but so far up its meta ass; you can’t enjoy yourself? Yeah, I don’t like those either. And that is (unfortunately) what this film is.

The problem with this film, in my eyes, was the overreliance on the original trilogy while trying to be “meta” about it. It reminded me of the member berries from South Park. Except in this instance, they managed to fuck the meta-ness of Deadpool movies. But they did it wrong. In this movie, they try to mask this meta thing by talking about the Matrix as a videogame, not a movie franchise. But everything else is the same. And that’s not clever. Just because you acknowledge, this sequel needs to happen with or without the original cast members because the Warner Bros. says so, that doesn’t make you or your movie sound clever or meta – it just makes your film tedious.

And that was my main issue with The Matrix Resurrections – it didn’t feel warranted. The story ended in 2003 in The Matrix Revolutions. Whether or not you liked that ending, that’s an entirely different discussion, but it did end. But in this sequel, they are brought back by…, no I won’t spoil this movie, because you need to experience it yourself. Let me just say this – there is a reason in this movie why everything happens. What happened after the end of The Matrix Revolutions. But it felt so forced it didn’t feel like resurrection, more like zombification of Matrix. And I say this as somebody who always liked the original trilogy but was never obsessed with those films. So if they somehow “messed with my childhood goddamit!” I would somewhat understand why I didn’t connect with this film in any way. But they didn’t, because these films were never a huge part of my life – I thought they were cool, sci-fi films and especially The Matrix (1999) revolutionised (at the time) both sci-fi and action genre.

Let’s talk about the cast because I have some thoughts. I like our Lord and Saviour Keanu Reeves (as he’s known on the Internet, I don’t create the rules), but even he seemed to be over this film/franchise. As much as it pains me to say this, he almost seemed like he was forced to make this film, or it felt like he had an obligation to an old friend to make it… Something seemed off. And I don’t think I am alone in this, compare his acting here to any of the John Wick movies, and you will see the difference. I understand that this sequel wasn’t “his” (that’s another “clever” idea I don’t want to spoil), so I guess those were the direction he’s received to be more… subtle, maybe disconnected? In all honesty, whatever he got from Lana Wachowski, that wasn’t it.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has done the best he could with what he had but Jesus. He is such a charismatic performer and one of the brightest actors of the last couple of years, and even he couldn’t make this “new” character work well enough. The same can be said about Carrie-Anne Moss – she is literally absent for most of the film (well, she isn’t, but Trinity is, but again, I don’t want to spoil anything), so even what they try to do with Trinity’s character in this film doesn’t pay off, because she is hardly in it!

And I could name a few more actors that either play somebody who didn’t return for one reason or another or portray a new (and mostly wacky) character, but I would only be repeating myself. I don’t think I’ve seen a new movie with such a big budget where all the actors in it were either “not great” or “ok, I guess”. But here’s the thing – I honestly don’t blame any one of them – the script is the problem. Because it’s trying to forge a new way by… reminding us of what happened “the previous time, in a much better movie”. And it’s trying to excuse itself by playing it all meta. And that gets old and tiring really fast.

Even the action sequences (the staple of the original trilogy) were forgettable at best and awful at worst. As once all-powerful Neo, he can’t be bothered anymore, so he’s just blocking. A lot. And also, has the Force from Star Wars now? That puzzled me the most – even some hardcore sequel haters of the original trilogy can admit that those films have great action sequences. But in this one, only a few days after I’ve seen it (in the cinema, not at home!) I can’t remember one scene that’d stand out. Everything we see here was done much better by either the original trilogy or films that copied it trilogy years later. And am I going nuts, or does the CGI in the original movie from 1999 look better than this movie from 2021?

Overall, The Matrix Resurrections is a waste of everybody’s talent. For every decent choice this movie makes, they make ten wrong choices. For every line of dialogue that sounds intriguing, 20 lines sound like they were taken from a poor fan-fiction. When my girlfriend and I have walked out of the cinema, she said she was disappointed and would rate this 0/10 (and she rarely is that harsh), and in her words: “It was shit. My hopes and dream were crushed in the first ten minutes. Can never get back those two hours.” I won’t be as harsh as her. Because there were some scenes I liked, but altogether, this felt like it came too late. If this story truly needed to be told, it should have happened way sooner than almost 20 years after it ended. I am open-minded enough to see whether a re-watch would change my mind, but my girlfriend is refusing to even re-watch it. That’s how much she loved the original trilogy and despised this film.

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

Until next time,

Luke

I went into Encanto knowing absolutely nothing about it. I’ve only heard it’s a new Pixar movie, seen the poster, and that was it. I didn’t know who was voicing the characters, what the story/themes were, nothing at all. And maybe that is why I loved it.

I like the approach Disney/Pixar seems to be taking lately, focusing on stories from all around the world, exploring different cultures and giving actors from that culture/part of the world the chance to voice the characters. I am 100% behind this, and Encanto proves; why this is a clever move from Disney. Because if you strip everything down to its bare bones, it’s a pretty simple story about family and the pressure facing kids, specifically if your parents (or in this case, pretty much everybody around you) has something you don’t have. How that can make you feel self-conscious, wrong and how hard it is to “live up” to somebody else’s standards. In this case, it’s more mysterious, as this film deals with magic and how everyone in this big family has magical powers except her.

Strangely enough, this might be one of the most light-hearted Pixar films we’ve seen in quite some time, even despite these pretty weighty themes. The movie is colourful and, for lack of a better term, living. Maybe that is why I haven’t had issues as others had (given by IMDb’s rating of “only” 7.3/10). Yes, Encanto isn’t going to crack my TOP 3 or even 5 of Pixar films. But the thing is, it doesn’t have to. Sometimes it is fine having the conflict resolved fast as we can focus on the family part of the film and how important forgiveness is. To realize just because you aren’t doing what your family thought you might do with your life, that is fine. As long as you are happy, they are (hopefully) happy for you, and more importantly, with you.

I need to go back to the animation style. I know saying: “Look how gorgeous it is” might seem like a waste of time, letters and data on the Internet, but I need to say it because not only this movie looks stunning, it feels alive. I think that is something people are not talking about enough – the magic here doesn’t just serve to “shame” our main protagonist, who has none of it. Everything is magical, including the house. And the animators had a lot of fun with that, and in turn, I had a lot of fun watching this film. I loved how playful everything felt, how the colour tone felt warmer and more personal, and everybody’s powers were unique.

Also, let’s talk about voice casting. I will never get used to the fact Stephanie Beatriz sounds like this. For those of you unfamiliar with her, she played Rosa Diaz on Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013 – 2021, my review here), and she decided for the entirety of that show to lower her voice registry, unbelievably. So every time I hear her actual voice, whether it’s in interviews or here, I can never recognise her. And she’s nailed the performance. I was not familiar with María Cecilia Botero, but I thought she was perfect. Why? Because I believed/wanted her to be my grandma. She seemed to put a lot of warmth in her performance, even in the scenes where it didn’t necessarily show and even though I am not Colombian, I think we could all relate to having a grandma like her. And Diane Guerrero, one of the most stunning women on this planet, portraying a flawless character? Simply a great decision to have her, and her voice is also pleasant to listen to.

I will show my cards here – I have seen the “other” Pixar film that came out in 2021, Luca. And to a degree, you could say they are identical. Not regarding themes or stories, but both are more light-hearted in tone, despite their stories still dealing with some heavier themes. But seeing Luca a few days after Encanto made me realise that Encanto did this better…? Or maybe it’s fairer to say I connected more to this film and the family theme more than with Luca? Yes, I think that’s a bit fairer. And don’t worry, I liked Luca, and a review is coming your way.

Overall, Encanto is a stunning and heartwarming movie about the importance of forging your own path, forgiveness and most importantly, family. How yes, where you come from is important, but at the same time, it’s not everything, and if you want to forge a path of your own, you need to embrace yourself. It also serves as a reminder to stop comparing ourselves to others; it does not matter if they are your friends or family. I will happily revisit this movie as I have enjoyed spending time with this magical family.

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

Until next time,

Luke

I understand I might be in the total minority, but I enjoyed Mortal Kombat (1995) for what it was. Did it make sense? No. Was it cheesy (some might say delightfully, others might say something about too much cheesiness can kill you and your movie) and 90s as fuck? Yes. And I say that as a person who hasn’t played the original games. Maybe that’s the reason I was never too disappointed, or possibly I just wanted to see a film, where people would fight each other while some 90s techno would blast loudly and proudly. I would love to say it’s my guilty pleasure, but I don’t feel guilty watching it.

When I saw the first trailer for this new version of Mortal Kombat, I was delighted. It looked like it would be fun while “fixing” the biggest flow with the 90s version – no blood/fatalities. But then, when the movie got released, the movie got mixed reviews. So my initial enthusiasm faded a bit, and I forgot about this film until it arrived on one of my streaming services. The moment I saw it on there, I immediately knew. I was watching it right then; no more waiting. And I was surprised, how much I have enjoyed myself.

Mortal Kombat has managed to “fix” the issue its predecessor had and delivered a lot of blood and fatalities. But funnily enough (and this might be a bit of a SPOILER, but hey, it’s a Mortal Kombat movie), it created a different “issue” that didn’t bother me but seemed to bother others – there is no Mortal Kombat. Because as we all know, that is the name of the tournament, where everything is at stake. The fate of humanity. Yes, it’s precisely, as it was in the previous one, humans didn’t have great fighters, so they (yet again!) lost nine consecutive tournaments. If they lose one more time, that’s it for planet Earth. Except in this newest reincarnation, the “other side” doesn’t want to wait until the tournament starts, and we watch this movie about the Outworld trying to cheat its way, trying to eliminate the fighters before Mortal Kombat even starts.

And here’s the dilemma for the viewer. You can either complain about the rules not being clear, or the fact that technically the movie doesn’t deliver on its fundamental premise (no Mortal Kombat), or you can enjoy the ride. For example, if the Outworld are not worried about the humans, why not wait and eliminate them at the tournament? Or why would the “Gods”, who are supposed to watch over the rules, allow this to happen? But I didn’t worry about that and enjoyed the ride and what a ride it was. I liked how all human heroes had to discover what their arcana was (each heroes’ ultimate power move). I liked the fight sequences and the fact they weren’t shying away from the blood and gore.

What surprised me the most was how much I enjoyed the cast. Specifically, I need to name the two standouts in my eyes – Jessica McNamee (Sonya Blade) and Josh Lawson (Kano). Ladies first, so let’s talk about Jessica. She doesn’t have a muscular physique like Gina Carano/Ronda Rousey and (as far as I know) doesn’t have their background fighting-wise, but she is no less convincing in her role of tough woman, who could take down pretty much anybody. Jessica commands the screen, and in her fight scenes, I have 100% believed she would be one bad-ass fighter. But and I can’t believe I am saying this, Josh Lawson stole the movie. His Kano is one of those characters who could have easily been so annoying, one punch line figure who is just there to be cheeky and in between good and evil. And he undoubtedly starts this film very much like this. But the more screen time he gets and the more his character gets fleshed out (aka he chooses his alliances), the better he gets. Don’t get me wrong, nobody here is giving an Oscar-worthy performance. But his asshole Kano was so fun to watch; you don’t want to root for him because he is a dick. But Josh plays him so well, and he knows when to lean more into the “goofy/annoying side” and when to switch to the more threatening side of that character; he made him stand out for me. And that is almost a miracle having a character like him, who is the definition of “love to hate him”. Bravo.

When the movie finished, I was hyped. I thought the film delivered on everything I hoped it would… well, minus the actual tournament. And yes, even though it seems silly in a movie called Mortal Kombat to forget to show us the literal tournament, I ultimately liked that decision. Because I enjoyed the journey and wasn’t too worried about the destination. I thought this was a great first film in something I hope could become a trilogy, possibly? Because for my money, they built this world quite well in this film so in the next one we could focus more on our characters, introducing new characters (the fan favourite Johnny Cage, who was “hinted” at the end of this film would be a great addition) and get to the tournament.

Overall, Mortal Kombat delivered on everything I hoped it would. Nowadays, we get a bunch of movies that try to hide behind the “we are just simple action films, switch your brains entertainment”, but rarely do those films entertain you. But there was something about Mortal Kombat that, put it in pretty straightforward terms, just worked, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The action sequences were great, the cast was promising, and the world-building was done well enough that you can easily see a movie or two that could expend on what this one set up. If you are looking for a simple “punch first, ask questions later” film and don’t mind the occasional cliche or two, then Mortal Kombat might be for you.

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 have been watching the live-action Disney remakes, you know it’s been a while since one worked well. For my money, ever since Cinderella (2015, my review here) and The Jungle Book (2016) came out, we’ve gotten average and below the average films. That was the main reason I had minimal hopes for Cruella, even though I adore Emma Stone and Emma Thompson. Because here’s the thing – there was never any shortage of great actors in Disney films, but that didn’t always translate into a better movie. But it did translate it here.

Cruella feels like a punk-rock, rebellious film. Well, as much as it can be those things while still being under the Disney umbrella. I think, if we put aside the acting (which I will praise soon), that is why I enjoyed this film more than I expected – it had a great “vibe”. It felt way different from anything Disney produced up until this moment. It also didn’t lean into the whole “we need to wink at the audience as much as possible because prequel” too heavily; it mainly did its thing. And that thing was – let Emma Stone be a bad-ass.

Yes, Cruella is a one-woman show for Emma Stone. We have known she was a talented actress for a while now, but yet again, she reminds us that she can do little to no wrong. She could have easily done it for the paycheck; she could have phoned it in, but no. She went there, and because of her, I was on board from the first moment. Part of that was it wasn’t the typical “from clumsy idiot to superstar” journey. The movie shows you that even before she gets the job working for Emma Thompson’s character, she isn’t some shy, clumsy person with a bit of talent. You know how that usually is the cliche, so the person we should care about has the “glow-up” afterwards. Instead of that, we see Cruella as this kid who was always getting into problems. But because of her talent, her individuality rather than clumsiness. I liked the fact that they have done something to establish her character from early on. And once she grows up and “becomes” Emma Stone, that’s a winning combination. She’s the perfect combination of talent, sass and attitude you would imagine Cruella to be.

But no “villain” is great on their own, and here, we have Emma Thompson. At first, her employer, who sees something in this young girl, then becomes her rival in the fashion world. That was the part of the film I liked the most – seeing all those designs, how Emma Stone is the new “it girl” on the scene, and Emma Thompson’s character goes through a believable change from “I am not worried about her” to “We need to get on top of the “Cruella” situation”. Their rivalry and scenes of two Emma’s were 100% highlight of this film.

My only real issue with this film was its length. The run time of 134 minutes was definitely “a bit” too long, and the movie could be trimmed by at least 20 minutes. Especially towards the end, when Emma Thompson’s character figures out who Cruella is, the movie seems to come to a halt, and until the last confrontation of the two Emma’s, the film slows down massively. As much as I appreciate the slightly darker and realistic take on this iconic villain, “more realistic” shouldn’t always mean “this movie needs to be over two hours long because it is cinema!”

But other than that, I can’t say anything bad about Cruella. Maybe it was the expectations I came to the movie with. Perhaps it was the simple fact the people behind this film tried something new(ish) and didn’t rely too much on the existing material and made it their own. But one thing is for sure – both Emmas lifted this movie where it belongs. Especially “the main” Emma carries the film on her shoulders, and she does it with such ease, you feel safe. Some actors can be in a bad movie and still make you feel secure about what you are watching and she 100% is one of the finest ones.

Overall, Cruella is by far the best live-action film based on the original Disney property we’ve had ever since 2016. That doesn’t mean the film has no flaws. But except for the longer than necessary runtime, I couldn’t find any because I was enjoying the feel of this film too much. The fashion the soundtrack, and to top it all off, Emma Stone. She commands this film so well that even if you watch this movie and won’t like it as much as I have, it is still worth seeing for her performance alone. If you haven’t seen it because you are like me, “slightly” fed up with these live-action remakes that are usually (below) average, try to watch Cruella. And just like me, you might be pleasantly surprised.

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

Until next time,

Luke