Ever since I watched the first trailer for Alien: Romulus, I was in. I liked the vibe, the grittiness, and when the name Fede Alvarez popped as the director, I knew I would be checking it out in the cinema. He did the remake of The Evil Dead (1981), simply called Evil Dead (2013), which I loved. He also made Don’t Breathe (2016, my review here), which I respected; you could even say I liked it. The thing about him is that he seems to be a very “back to basics” director whose movies feel real, gritty, and raw, and he isn’t afraid to disgust you a bit (sometimes, a bit more). So I hoped he would bring those elements to the Alien franchise, and luckily, my hopes were answered. This movie is almost everything I wanted it to be and then some.

The movie starts on this planet full of people who are effectively slaving away for Weyland-Yutani and hoping to escape it by working hard. But given this megacorporation is as evil as if you mixed Amazon and Apple, they keep changing the conditions, so people stay, work and eventually die there. No inspiration taken from the real world; let’s move on… 😉 And it’s even during this “boring but necessary” exposition I noticed that this movie feels real. It’s a shame that this needs complimenting, but it did feel like they shot this on location and with physical objects rather than being trapped in a green screen studio (or the VFX were THAT good).

I also liked the new group of soon-to-victims/alien birthing chambers. For me, the standouts were a bit obvious – Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson. Their “brother/sister” dynamic at the start worked, and as the events of this film unfolded, I liked how that dynamic changed and got challenged. Whom I always enjoy seeing and who has a tinier but pretty crucial role was Isabela Merced. I think she is sneaky great, and, given a couple of good roles in a row, she could rule Hollywood.

Now, let’s get to the meat of this story – the Alien. You can have the best characters ever, but if your Alien movie fucks up the “Alien” part, you are in trouble. Luckily, Alien: Romulus knows what it wants to do and, more importantly, how to build the tension. There are some predictable things and some questionable things as well (more about that soon), but one thing this movie nailed was the action and horror. Because of its settings (“abandoned” spaceship), we go back to the claustrophobic roots of this franchise, where it seems like Xenomorph or Facehugger can be behind any corner. I also love the shots when, a few times in this movie, the Xenomorph almost blends in with the background, and we can only see it when it moves.

Fede understands this beast very well and makes it (alongside the numerous Facehuggers) scary, ruthless and almost unstoppable, just as we remember from the numerous Alien movies before this one. I also appreciated that this is a dark movie, but I was never confused about where we were or struggled to see any action on the screen. As I always said, there’s a difference between “movies taking place in the dark” and “let’s hide our shitty action/CGI with a lot of shadows and darkness”. Also, Fede does something unique with this franchise, and we have several outstanding sequences. The clear standouts were the zero gravity fight and crossing the room full of Facehuggers undetected.

My only tiny issue with this movie would be the clunky way they bring back someone from the past. I don’t want to mention which movie; I don’t want to discuss spoilers that much, but I don’t know whether it was needed. Especially given who that person is/was within that universe, you could have easily made this movie with some other, unknown character rather than what this movie chose to do. It didn’t pull me out of the film, but it was a weird choice for… numerous reasons. Also, if I was nit-picky, towards the end, they seem to run around this big ship quite quickly, and the timer seemed to be pausing/stopping because, of course, there’s a self-destruct timer, wouldn’t be an Alien movie without it!

But I can’t lie; neither of those two things bothered me as much as to spoil my enjoyment of this twisted film. Especially the last third, where you know some shit will go down and then it happens, and it’s even bloodier and more intense than I thought. And that is why I am fully on board with Fede Alvarez being one to watch out for. Even if he doesn’t do something I would fully appreciate (like Don’t Breathe), I still think his movie has a unique sense of style and grittiness I gravitate towards. We live in an age where many movies look alike, no matter whether you watch comedy, action or a thriller. And his films always have a more “cinematic” look to them. They feel more grounded, and I am including Alien: Romulus in that conversation too, which is saying something.

Overall, Alien: Romulus was a blast. It’s an almost two-hour thrill and horror ride that never bored me. The jump scares (only a few, which is another positive) worked, but what I appreciated more than that was the atmosphere, the willingness to show us something new and Fede staying true to himself and showing us some good old horror fun. I can’t wait to rewatch it and see where this will ultimately end up in my Alien ranking because, at this moment, it’s pretty high. Go and support this movie in the cinema if you fancy a great Alien movie.

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

Until next time,

Luke

For the first time since The Avengers (2012), we only have one MCU movie coming out in the entire calendar year of 2024, and it is this one. The pressure was on to deliver and, to an extent, prove if people are, in fact, sick and tired of comic book films or whether they just don’t like when movies that don’t do anything new. And by the massive success of Deadpool & Wolverine, it seems clear that people still care; you just need to motivate them to show up in the cinemas. The Marvel Jesus (Ryan Reynolds) did it.

I can’t lie; it’s been a while since I have had such a blast in the cinema. This movie throws everything at you and then some; the cadence is roughly 22.5739 jokes per minute, and there are various quips, quick jokes, and references to many things (mostly pop-culture related), but most landed for me. What I loved is how this movie dealt with the idea of “bringing” Wolverine back, as I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that he died in his last film and Hugh Jackman officially retired from playing him. That was until this movie, where what they did and how this movie opened was brilliant. And the laughs didn’t stop for me for pretty much the entirety of this buddy hero movie.

It’s hard to discuss specifics without going into spoilers because there are some amazing jokes, scenes, and characters who I had no idea were coming. So, before delving into spoilers, I will say that I enjoyed this movie and was on the verge of giving it 5/5 stars. The only thing that stopped me was the nagging feeling of whether some of those scenes and jokes would work as much on my second watch. But other than that, I had a good time with this film, as it’s a pretty poignant farewell to a specific comic book era where things weren’t always going great. It’s a love letter to all the “forgotten” comic book movies, characters and some that never even gotten their chance to shine. I have noticed when people discuss this movie, one of the biggest criticisms is that there is “no story”. I don’t get that at all because this movie is about many things; you just need to look beyond the vulgar humour. It’s about finding your place, fitting in and wanting to be something bigger than yourself. This movie talks about how no matter how super you are, you may never reach the heights you want to, and that’s fine. So, I don’t agree with that notion.

I will also give the movie this – the action scenes and montages were executed well. Unlike many MCU films, the action scenes in Deadpool & Wolverine seemed less edited and more fluent. And the montages, whether it’s the finale or the closing credits one, were tastefully done, and I wouldn’t be surprised if many teared up during either of those. Especially the end credit one, where we see behind-the-scenes footage from many comic book films of the past, made me want to rewatch the X-Men movies as it’s been a minute since I watched the first ones. Anyway, let’s go to spoilers so I can talk about some scenes and characters more freely.

BEWARE, SPOILERS ARE COMING!

I expected more cameos, to be honest, but I will say I am not disappointed by “only” having those we got just to clarify something from the start. I imagined, given the fourth-wall-breaking nature of Deadpool, everyone who has ever appeared in the MCU would be in here, even if in a big group scene for a second (like in Deadpool 2 (2018)). Instead, we get a more sensible approach, and the first hint of that is when Chris Evans shows up, but not as Captain America. Instead, he shows up as Johnny Storm from the Fantastic Four movies he made in the mid-2000s. One thing I don’t think people appreciate about this movie is they could have gone for the expected (especially with the subplot of Deadpool trying to join the Avengers) and made him come back as Captain America, but that wouldn’t have worked with the theme of this film. Don’t get me wrong; this movie goes for the obvious jokes when it’s funny. But as far as plot and all these cameos are concerned, they seemed to have more thought put into them than simply: “Hey, we need to bring back this person and that person, just because we can!”

Speaking of which, did I like seeing Jennifer Garner as Elektra and Dafne Keen as Laura back? Yes, I did. Did I expect to see Channing Tatum as Gambit? Absolutely not. The choices they made with his character giving him this goofy… dialect? Accent? Speech disorder? Either way, it worked, and I, yet again, ask for Channing to star in more comedies because he is a low-key underrated and brilliant comedic actor. But, who brought me so much joy and I didn’t know I needed to see back on the big screen was the man, the myth, the tax dodging legend himself, Wesley Snipes. Blade has always been one of my favourite characters ever, and to see him back, be as cool as he was back in 1998 (!) and referencing the fact there is only one Blade (can you believe they announced the Blade movie in 2019 and we still haven’t gotten it?!) just made me so giddy. As much as I loved all the cameos and Deadpool variants, Wesley Snipes coming back in that scene as Blade was something I didn’t know I needed, and it made my day.

What this movie then does with all these cameos is also underappreciated. Sure, Evans is mostly the punchline, but as far as the others are concerned, Deadpool & Wolverine gives them all one last chance to shine, to be cool. And as Gambit himself points out in the movie, it gives him the chance to even exist because his Gambit movie was stuck in pre-production hell for a decade until it got cancelled altogether. And despite making him into “a bit” of a joke, when the action time came, they give him some cool set pieces too where it acted as this glimpse of what could have been. Everyone got the chance to shine in the big battle, and I am glad they didn’t bring them back just to kill them off. Well, except for Johnny Storm, but did you see him shit talking Cassandra Nova? No wonder she did what she did to him.

Speaking of her, Emma Corrin was awesome. Emma goes by they/them, and their character was a nice spin on Charles Xavier’s character. I liked how their journey almost mirrored Deadpool’s, and they also had to live in someone else’s shadow and just wanted to be seen. This film also showcased something we had never seen before – what if Professor X was evil? This movie goes through several things, and they barely manage to stop Cassandra’s character, fully displaying just how powerful someone with those powers would be.

I can’t wait to rewatch it and see how well it plays the second time around. But as far as my cinema visit, I had a blast. I thought MCU desperately needed a hit; they got it, and hopefully, they will understand that they need to mature now. I am not saying every MCU movie from this point forward needs to have this much profanity, but the audience is ready for more mature, darker comic book movies. And if there is one thing Deadpool & Wolverine proved without a doubt, people will show up and make you money, even if the movie is R-rated. If the source material calls for it, don’t soften it; nourish what makes the characters and stories unique.

Overall, Deadpool & Wolverine surprised me with how much fun I had with it. I expected a cameo fest of all the famous people. Instead, we get a few cameos that mean something. I didn’t expect this movie to be a reflection of how far we’ve gotten (comic book-wise) while giving some characters a proper send-off. I think this also will be an amazing time capsule film. In 20/30 years, when you put this on, you will be transformed into 2024, as no matter how much or how little you liked this movie, it is a mirror to the modern pop culture and our current obsession with nostalgia, multiverses and all the other things that make studios money. And sometimes, it’s good to reflect.

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

Until next time,

LUke

When Inside Out 2 was announced, I was less than enthusiastic because, like many, I consider the first movie (Inside Out, 2015) one of the best films Pixar ever made. Also, unlike some other films, this one didn’t never feel like there was much for expansion, as the first movie did everything it wanted to do without setting up any potential sequel. Yeah, they make the puberty joke towards the end that came back at the beginning of this film, but other than that, the idea of a sequel felt more unnecessary than with other films in the recent past. And let me remind you, we live in an era where quite a few movies are sequels, prequels or remakes. Anyway, I was curious, and the film was getting positive reviews, so I had to check it out for myself and honestly… Not bad.

The one thing this sequel did well was utilising the fact it was a sequel, so we jump straight into the story. We get one quick scene of re-introducing all the emotions (just in case you have not seen the original film and felt like going to see the sequel, I guess?), but besides that, the movie starts almost immediately with Riley starting puberty. Well… the puberty buzzer goes off, and they “bin” it. Does that mean Riley’s emotions delayed her puberty? Because that would be wild. Moving on, Inside Out 2 takes place two years after the original when our protagonist hits puberty and is introduced to new emotions – anxiety, ennui, envy and embarrassment. The new emotions quickly overtake her, banishing the old group to the side and taking over Riley’s life whilst she is getting used to the idea that her two best friends will attend a different high school than her.

I thought the movie displayed, yet again, each emotion brilliantly. I can imagine this film helping many younger people to describe what they feel much better, especially anxiety. I also appreciated how much this movie spent on the sense of self-worth and how, at that age, that gets directly tied to a different sense – of belonging to a group. Feeling the pressure to like the things the new group likes, because if you don’t, the chances are, they might not like you as much… I thought this was where Inside Out 2 shined the best in all the Riley scenes and how relatable they portrayed everything she was going through.

My only problem was with the “emotions’ journey”. Not only does it mirror the first movie (the “sensible” emotions get banished and need to find their way back to the control room), but the journey that our old emotions end up on feels a bit off. Because every time they stumbled upon a problem, it almost magically gets solved on its own. In the first movie, Joy had to think on her feet and figure out the way out of problems. In this movie, there were some moments where literal magic helps them out, and that felt “a bit” cheap.

Also, the overall point is the same as in the original movie. It’s been a minute since I watched the first Inside Out, but I am pretty sure the main message is sadness isn’t always bad; it just can’t control your life. And the same point was made here, with anxiety, respectively, with the “planning” part. It’s fine to plan, but if you do it to the point of driving yourself crazy, that’s not helpful. And it was in that way my worries came through and how, ultimately, this world isn’t as large as one might think. Because the “ultimate” message will always stay the same, all human emotions can be helpful if the person lives an examined life. Sure, we follow a teenager who doesn’t understand anything (as everybody their age), so it makes more sense, but from the viewer’s perspective, if you watch these back to back, I imagine it can get repetitive.

Another thing – where the original had a big emotional scene that almost got me (yes, I am talking about Bing Bong), this sequel didn’t have anything like this. They try, don’t get me wrong, and all the scenes hit just right, but there wasn’t one that would stand out as much or hit me a bit more.

I will have to rewatch it at some point to sort my thoughts on Inside Out 2. I might even rewatch the original movie first to see whether I am viewing the first movie through a “nostalgic lens” (that was a great scene with nostalgia, btw), but for now, despite all the tiny issues I had with this movie, I actually had more fun than I anticipated. Pixar didn’t miss with this movie as it’s a beautifully animated, relatable story about a young girl on the brink of puberty. Sure, the “road map” might be familiar, but given the sensible runtime, great voice cast (the clear standout is Maya Hawke, given how much runtime her Anxiety gets) and the fact that I had a good time, I enjoyed it.

Overall, Inside Out 2 is better than I expected, although it doesn’t reach the peak of the original movie, which isn’t a fair criticism, given the original is just on another level. Nevertheless, if you are looking for something familiar, fun and easy to watch, this movie is that and more. And if you have a teenager living with you, this movie might equip them to talk to you about what they are going through a bit better, and that’s never a bad thing.

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

Until next time,

Luke

The more mockumentaries I see, the more I am convinced that if done right, that technique can uplift any genre. Mostly, they are used for comedies and Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. could be another great example of that; if that movie was just a comedy. But this movie is much more than that; it showcases some excellent performances and topics relevant to anything and goes beyond organised religions and mega-churches – ultimate power ultimately corrupts.

Let me start by praising our titular duo, as Sterling K. Brown and Regina Hall are exceptional in this movie. But unlike Sterling, who has received more praise lately (deservedly so) for his Oscar-nominated performance in American Fiction (2023, my review here), it is Regina Hall giving this movie her all and then some. Her character, Trinitie, is our protagonist, and it’s through her you see everything. The movie starts by telling us how this couple is in trouble due to a scandal involving her husband, so she does everything in her power to help him (and herself) back on their feet. Throughout the movie, you question almost everything about her; how much she believes everything she says, her love for her husband and the simple question: “Why won’t she just leave him?” that is posed by a character in the movie too comes to mind. Regina portrays Trinitie so well that by the end of this movie, you almost feel sorry for her. Almost. Because throughout everything, you get to understand her and see her for who she is – someone who is in too deep to quit.

Sterling also does an excellent job playing this sleazy mega-church preacher who is so high on his own supply that you also feel almost sorry for him towards the end. Except in his case, you see him throughout this movie making the same mistakes again, showing little to no growth and being almost always on, where even when he “speaks from the heart” (the great scene in the church, when his character rehearses his big apology speech), his wife doesn’t believe him.

In a way, Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. is more than just a condemnation of mega-churches and these ultra-wealthy pastors, who tell their congregation how God wants them to have expensive stuff like jets, cars and watches. It shows us how these broken people attract and complement each other, and just before they know it, they can’t “quit” each other because that would imply something is wrong. So they put on a charade and live in one big lie, going against everything they (supposedly) stand for.

Regarding the film itself, I appreciated the blend of mockumentary (the characters being aware of the camera) and the shift to a film approach when it seems like we are spying on them. There was a striking difference between how they acted when the documentarians were around and when they weren’t, and it was “just” the two of them trying to tell themselves stories about how happy and satisfied they were.

I also appreciated the up-and-coming young couple that was taking their congregation members away, portrayed by Nicole Beharie and Conphidance. I think their characters go beyond those two being the “sexy and young new pastors in town”. I thought this was this movie’s way of saying: “This is how our titular duo started some time ago.” Young and upcoming, coming (probably) from humble beginnings, offering salvation. And that made me think about the ultimate message of the movie that could be summed up by one of my favourite quotes:

Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Because I don’t think the movie’s point is to judge these people, although many are (in reality) awful. The way I read this movie was that almost everyone in this field starts with somehow good intentions, and it’s the power, wealth and influence corrupting them. But once you have had that at your disposal for a while, it’s hard to get back to not having any; you crave it, need it. And that, of course, goes beyond religion; you can argue that anyone who becomes successful needs to be mindful of that and that young couple, although polite, isn’t actually polite at all. You can tell they understand the “game” already and are getting hungrier, seeing they are becoming more influential. This movie has many things to say, and that is why I loved Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.

Overall, Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. is a fascinating movie about “industry” I, frankly, don’t like. So, in a way, I was pre-disposed to love it, and I did. But I didn’t love it because “religion = bad”. I loved it because there were so many ideas thrown around, and we got to understand someone who would want to become pastor and first lady of a mega church. Also, Regina Hall deserves better, meatier roles like this one. I would love for her to win an Oscar one day; she’s got the chops and should be recognised.

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

Until next time,

Luke

My history with the James Bond franchise is a weird one. I am a 90s child, so “my” Bond was Pierce Brosnan. To this day, GoldenEye (1995) is my favourite Bond film because that also happens to be the very first Bond movie I have ever seen. When I realised I love movies and started my journey to watch as many movies as possible, naturally, I went back and watched most of Sean Connery’s Bond films. And for some reason, I never finished that journey, meaning I had many unwatched Bond movies left until recently. Fast forward to mid-2023, I finally started my physical movie collection, so when the 50th anniversary BluRay box set of all the Bond films until Spectre (2015) was on sale, I grabbed it and started my proper Bond rewatch from the first movie.

I won’t be writing any reviews for any other ones (unless this one does super well, I guess… after all, Never Say Never Again, right?), but I thought I would include my brief history with this unique franchise that spawns six decades now and counting. Because today, I have finally watched the last Bond movie I had yet to watch, Skyfall. Yes, I didn’t watch it when it came out back in 2012 because even then, I knew I had to “fix” my Bond history and get all of them watched before that. The fact I have seen Spectre and No Time to Die (2021, my review here) despite not having seen Skyfall (nor Quantum of Solace (2008) for that matter, but the less said about that one, the better), I will contribute to social pressure as each time I went to see it with someone who wanted to watch that movie. 😉 Anyway, my feelings about Skyfall are as complex as they are about this entire franchise, and that is why I decided to write about this Bond film that has been escaping me since 2012.

The thing about coming “late to the party” regarding such a big franchise as this one is that you are about to hear many opinions about all the films from hardcore fans. You know how each of these movies is generally received, so even though I never looked up any reviews for Skyfall, I knew this movie is considered by many to be the peak of the 007 franchise. Where the old meets the new, some bold choices are made, and yes, I can’t disagree with any of it.

This film might be the most stunning James Bond film ever. However, having Roger Deakins behind the camera should be considered cheating. This guy is one of (if not THE) best there is, and if he decided to shoot a porn one day, it would probably still get a nomination for Best Cinematography. On a serious note, Deakins understands everything, mainly shadows and darkness. If you aren’t new around here, you know I “like” to complain about how dark movies have gotten and how hard it is to enjoy/follow some action sequences in many newer movies. Skyfall has one sequence like that, set in Shanghai, but how that entire scene was shot and lit, where we see silhouettes fighting, not only did it look gorgeous, but I could still tell who was Bond and who was the bad guy… That is what many movies fail to “copy”. You can have an action scene (or any scene) set in the dark, but you must think of the audience and let us see, play with the composition, and give us something we can latch onto.

One thing I can now appreciate about Bond films is how there isn’t any “pure” Bond film, maybe for the first one or two. For the most part, Bond movies simply mirror what was popular at that time of release. That is why we’ve had Bond everywhere, from exotic locations to space. But it goes beyond the locations and trends the filmmaking obviously changes too, and Skyfall can’t deny the Nolan effect. I didn’t even have to read any trivia on IMDb to know with absolute certainty that mainly The Dark Knight (2008) was a huge influence on this movie. Everything from the more realistic action, the villain, and the way, especially the Shanghai/London scenes were shot, were very reminiscing of The Dark Knight. There is nothing wrong about that; I will definitely not be holding that against Skyfall because it only adds to the enjoyment and brings James Bond to the 21st-century world of more grounded action, where it doesn’t have to be cut up like a certain Bond film before this one (again, looking at you, Quantum of Solace).

I also appreciated how this movie blends the old with the new. On top of the technical things I have mentioned already, we have a new Moneypenny (Naomie Harris is great in this role, especially in the later movies), and a new Q (Paddington himself, Ben Whishaw) whilst delving into Bond’s history. The film shows and acknowledges Bond’s Scottish roots; we have a few cheeky lines about gadgets, exploding pens and how that’s no longer a thing, and there might even be a classic Bond car full of gadgets making its re-appearance. But neither of these things felt out of place; everything that happens in this movie makes sense, and unlike some other Bond films that tried this very thing, Skyfall succeeded.

I can see some of you getting confused. I mentioned above that my thoughts about this film are complex, but I am showering Skyfall with compliments only. Well, here’s the thing. If I rate this movie with my brain alone, it’s a simple 5/5. But if I let my gut/heart into it, there was something that never let me be fully in the movie. That is what I meant by the complexity of this franchise, as I can often forgive many things as long as the “adventure” is great. And this adventure, this story was superb, along with the performances, the song, the credits… But I never felt like this movie ever let me in fully. I can’t put it into words what that “it” was, but I feel like every cinephile must know this feeling. You watch a movie that’s technically brilliant, and you enjoy yourself, but you are never 100% immersed in the film for some reason. That’s what happened to me with Skyfall.

If I were nitpicky, I could blame it on the convoluted nature of Javier Bardem‘s (Silva) plan. But even that didn’t bother me at that moment, same as his performance, although it was so obviously Joker from The Dark Knight, he might as well be wearing a name tag saying “Not Joker”. Maybe I have to rewatch it at least once more to fully appreciate it because there is a sliver of something that won’t let me rate this movie with 5/5. It doesn’t happen that often, but when it does, I will always go with my gut. So I will do that in this instance too, however, it bears repeating that Skyfall is an excellent addition to the Bond franchise. It will be fascinating to see when I do another rewatch of all the Bond films in some years and whether my view of this movie changes.

Overall, Skyfall is a near-excellent movie that I can’t fault from the technical side. From the beautiful cinematography to great sound design and awesome Bond song to all the performances, it is as good in adapting to the 2010s way of shooting and telling stories like this one while honouring the history of this unique franchise. It is only my gut feeling stopping me from giving it the “ultimate” rating; however, I will strongly recommend Skyfall to any Bond fan. I can actually see even people who aren’t into Bond loving this movie, as, in a way, the James Bond element doesn’t matter here as much.

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

Until next time,

Luke

Do you watch the show Family Guy (1999 – ?)? Do you enjoy it? And do you like gay people? If you answered ‘yes’ to all of these questions, you should be the perfect target audience for Bottoms. It’s hard for me to imagine an elevator pitch for this movie not being: “What if feature-length Family Guy, but gay and not animated?” What I mean by that is that although we do not follow a family that goes through a variety of adventures, this comedy has the same style of humour, punchlines and even the consequences our main characters face for their actions as any Family Guy episode – zero. And you will either love that or get annoyed by it. I almost loved it, and I can see this becoming a cult classic of this generation, in the same vein as The Breakfast Club (1985) became for the 80s and Clueless (1995) for the 90s.

I will address my only issue with Bottoms straightaway, as it will be mostly praise after. It took me a while to get into it, as you need to get used to everything being over the top. From some performances to action scenes and the finale (where some kids get literally killed, only for our protagonists to shake it off, almost as if they know nothing will happen to them because they are in a movie), everything is tonally sky-high. Where most comedies start at five or six, Bottoms starts at nine and only climbs higher with each scene. When you think they can’t get more ridiculous, the movie does it. When you think they can’t get more unhinged, you guessed wrong. And if you are like me and get into it, you will have a blast, and this one issue will dissolve on your next watch, as you will precisely know what you are in for. It’s almost like this movie begs you to rewatch it instantly, knowing what you are in for.

I believe we will look at Bottoms 10/15 years from now as the movie where these two megastars came together just before (or just as) they hit it big. I am, of course, talking about our leads, Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri. Rachel has been in many great films and seems to be building herself more and more; I have definitely noticed her more often, and I can’t wait for her to be in more projects. Ayo had a wild and successful 2023 with this movie; her success with the show The Bear (2022 – ?), and she is seemingly everywhere with her fame only rising higher and higher. From the little I have seen of her, I am happy and can’t wait to see more of her. But it seems like both will be forces to be reckoned with soon and should be part of this upcoming Hollywood generational shift. Only time will tell how right or wrong I am with them, but I feel pretty safe writing this.

Anyway, in Bottoms, they complement each other so well. I liked how they each had moments when they were “the straight man” and let their co-star shine, and then, they would take over. Many comedies fail because everyone wants to be “the funny one” because nobody wants to blend in. But everyone in this movie plays it straight at some point, and except for our titular duo, nobody stands out. That might sound like a negative, but it’s the opposite, as the ensemble worked together so well they all have at least one great scene, line delivery or moment they sell. Nobody seemed to try to overshadow their scene partner; they all worked and felt like one comedic unit, and that is what made this movie so special.

As far as the style of humour goes, I will repeat myself using different words. If you told me Seth MacFarlane wrote the screenplay, I would 100% believe you no IMDb necessary. Bottoms has many scenes and jokes that feel Family Guy inspired. The only thing they missed was having a cut-away gag. That again sounds like a negative, but it isn’t because this style of humour allows the movie to be wild, without any care for details like consequences to any characters’ actions. That will be a fascinating thing to look out for on my next rewatch because there are moments when this movie wanted me to feel something. But if you have a straight-up murder of several dudes at the end, and the characters just shrug it off, are there truly any stakes to be had/felt? Bottoms will be a fascinating rewatch because when this movie finished, I felt like I witnessed something unhinged, funny, crazy and yet somehow of the moment and potentially generation-defining.

I also loved how almost everyone is gay in this movie. I am talking unapologetically, super-duper gay. I like the representation and the fact how it almost never mattered to the main story, besides one tiny subplot. I wish this is the direction more movies and shows will take, where we have gay characters, but the plot isn’t about dealing with that but they try to live their best life but things just keep getting in the way.

And when I add everything I mentioned above, from the potential star power of the titular duo, to this quirky humour that allows this movie just exist and not be too grounded in reality to it having mostly gay characters struggling with semi-regular stuff, I can see Bottoms becoming a cult classic of the 20s. Well, I guess we should mentioned 2020s, as technically, 20s would 1920s…? Anyway, as a movie fan, I see many movies, often great ones I think they will be become classics of certain genre or “important” movie of that time. But I don’t remember seeing many recent movies that gave me that special feeling, like “this is the movie an entire generation will be referencing 20 years from now.” For some reason, I got that from this movie. As I have written above, only the time will tell how right or wrong I am.

Overall, Bottoms is funny, unhinged comedy that doesn’t concern itself too much with things like “reality”. Instead, it wants you to get to know their characters and have the best time with them and in that department, the movie succeeds. Once I understood the frequency this movie operates on, I had a blast and that makes me think it will only get better and better each time I rewatch it. I will do that at some point, but in the meantime, I need to watch more movies and shows starring Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri.

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

Until next time,

Luke

After the disappointing rescheduling of this movie to March 2024 (when it was supposed to come out in November 2023, but due to the strikes, the studio wanted all stars on deck to promote this movie), we finally got the much-anticipated sequel to Dune (2021, my review here). And almost instantly, it’s been universally praised and hyped as this generation’s Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. Although I have enjoyed this movie a lot, I would wait to make these calls, even though I could see it happening myself. But the hype train is so fresh we need some time, perspective and mainly the distance to see whether this (hopefully sooner than later trilogy) will stand the test of time.

Before I get to my review, I must write why this review might not be the most objective. I watched this movie only once, in the cinema, and two things happened that affected my enjoyment of Dune: Part Two. One indirectly, the other one more directly. The first thing was that I didn’t rewatch the first Dune film, so in the beginning, it was a bit harder to remember how we left things. Yes, this one is on me, so usually, I wouldn’t have mentioned it; however, this, mixed in with my other point, made a tiny difference for me. My cinema audience was… not great. Dune: Part Two is one of those films you need to get lost in; you want to be immersed in it to appreciate it. And due to some audience members directly around me, I could not do that. Thanks, the dad and son, where the son kept asking questions quite loudly, and the dad kept checking his phone every 20 minutes, only to receive a call an hour into the film (you guessed it, his phone wasn’t on mute). And thanks to the lady behind me, who had to pee but would rather shuffle around in her seat wearing one of those “garbage bag” like jackets that makes noise, especially when it’s being moved constantly, and it’s right behind. Honestly, something happened with people after the COVID pandemic, and it seems like we need to bring shaming back, at least to the cinemas, because if you don’t know basic etiquette (phone on silence, try to be as quiet as possible), just stay home, please.

It was mainly the audience factor, I presume, why I wasn’t fully immersed in this epic. But I also thought the first 20 minutes or so dragged on a tiny bit, and there is only so much you can do/shoot with sand. The scope of this movie is ginormous, and the worms are also cool, but it is still ultimately a desert, so once you have seen one (sand) dune, you’ve kinda seen them all. But those are very tiny nitpicks; let me start with why I enjoyed this film.

I think it was a genius idea to see the rise and fall (?) of Paul’s character through Zendaya‘s eyes, respectively, her character Chani. Her role felt bigger in this sequel and much more fleshed out where you understand where she stands and how she wrestles with her love for Paul and believing what she believes. I thought both she and Timothée Chalamet did excellent jobs. Speaking of him, I liked him, especially towards the end, where we see that gradual transformation to this fanatical leader who believes his hype. It was scary, felt real, and he portrayed it well.

Who I think almost stole the entire movie (besides Zendaya), was Rebecca Ferguson. Her character (like pretty much all characters in this film) felt more fleshed out and more grounded, and once you understood her “game”, it was on. There were many subtle things her character did throughout this movie; I was happy to see her every time she was on screen. I can’t wait to see what happens with her character next, especially now that we know new information about the Atreides family. I also can’t wait to see someone who makes a brief cameo appearance and should be important in the third episode (if you watched this movie, you know who I am talking about; if not, no spoilers here).

The entire black-and-white sequence on Giedi Prime (I had to look up the name of that planet) where we get introduced to Austin Butler was visually stunning, but I can’t say it stayed with me for that long. Again, this might very well be my audience experience, and when I rewatch it again, I might be mind blown, but most of the action in this film was expertly crafted and beautifully shot, and it was only the last 20/30 minutes that stayed with me long after the movie was over. Speaking of Butler, I thought he did a fine job, but I wasn’t over the moon about his performance. I have seen some comparisons to Heath Ledger‘s Joker, and that is when I know the hype train might have gone off the rails a bit. He wasn’t bad; I enjoyed his performance and what he did, don’t get me wrong, but making this performance into the second coming of Jesus… I don’t see it.

But, ultimately, I think that there is one thing everyone should see by now – Denis Villeneuve is an incredible director and one of the best of his generation. When I said: “We should wait to see whether these films have the staying power”, that does not reflect on his track record and how near flawless it’s been. Realistically, if it weren’t for Christopher Nolan (who is three years younger than Denis), I could argue that he is the best “new” director we have. That way, he is just a touch behind Nolan; however, that’s not a bad place to be, and we are lucky to have these talented filmmakers around at the same time, and they will 100% be remembered 100 years from now.

As far as Dune: Part Two goes, I am so close to saying I loved it; I feel like it will happen when I rewatch it at home, on 4K. I will order it, and when it shows up, I will watch both the first movie and this one back to back. I think my mind will be much clearer as to whether those tiny things I have listed above are actual issues I had with this movie or whether I was just irritated from my poor cinema experience, and therefore, every tiny thing jumped out a bit more. I will repeat myself, but please, people, just be respectful of others, not just in the cinemas, but in general. Let others enjoy themselves, and if you can’t stay off your phone for 20 minutes, maybe the cinema isn’t for you.

Overall, Dune: Part Two was an epic movie that did most things perfectly. From developing the established characters from the first movie to adding some new ones, I liked what they did with all of them. I found Paul’s journey fascinating, and I can’t wait to see what happens next with him, his family and Chani as something big is coming. As long as Denis Villeneuve is left to his devices, we are in for a treat and possibly a generation-defining trilogy. Only time will tell, but for now, this is a near-excellent sequel.

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

Until next time,

Luke