HAYSEY'S 2018 Good & Bad Cinema Thread

[Haysey_Draws]

Welcome to Haysey's Good & Bad Cinema Thread 2018!
Following on from last years thread (which you can still find Here (http://www.echoingthesound.org/community/threads/4607-HAYSEY-S-2017-Good-amp-Bad-Cinema-Thread) for all of my 2017 reactions) it's time for a new thread for 2018!

I will be trying my best to see as many films this year, and beat last years 41, as possible. I'll post my reactions/mini reviews below and list each film in one of 4 easy category's like last year based on how i rated them, these are Must See, Check It Out, Wait for the DVD and Avoid. Feel free to agree/disagree/recommend films.

Here is a list of films out this year i will be checking out (providing i can get to a cinema showing them all) Orange being ones i'm most excited for (i'll cross them off as i see them)...
Darkest Hour, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, Black Panther, The Shape of the Water, Lady Bird, Pacific Rim Uprising, Ready Player One, Rampage, Avengers: Infinity War, Deadpool 2, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Incredibles 2, Alita: Battle Angel, Venom, Wreck-it Ralph 2, Mortal Engines, Phantom Thread, The Post, The Commuter, Downsizing, Early Man, Tomb Raider, How to Talk to Girls at Parties, Solo: a Star Wars Story, The Spy Who Dumped Me, Mission Impossible Fallout, The Predator, Ant-Man and the Wasp, The Equalizer 2, Halloween, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Bohemian Rhapsody, Captive State, Skyscraper

(http://www.echoingthesound.org/community/threads/4607-HAYSEY-S-2017-Good-amp-Bad-Cinema-Thread)

So far i have seen 33/52 films this year...

Must See
Avengers Infinity War
Spiderman : Into the Spiderverse
Deadpool 2
The Shape of Water
I, Tonya
Ready Player One

Check It Out
Isle of Dogs
Solo : A Star Wars Story
Black Panther
Incredibles 2
A Quiet Place
Blackkklansman
Bumblebee
Rampage
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Early Man
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri
My Hero Academia : Two Heroes
Sorry to Bother You

Wait for the DVD
The Post
Darkest Hour
The Happy Time Murders
The Spy who Dumped Me
Pacific Rim Uprising (only if you like dumb films)
Gringo
Mission Impossible Fallout
Skyscraper
Tomb Raider
A Simple Favour

Avoid
Mortal Engines
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Venom
Red Sparrow

[Haysey_Draws]

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri

First film of the year, went to see Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri last week and...it was good!
Very dark tone but at places very VERY funny. The acting was A+ across the board, story was well paced and just an all round good piece of film making. Only reason i'm not having this as a must see is that, compared to last years must see's, it didn't leave quite the same impression (and with what's out this year i don't wanna blow my loud too soon) but it is worth checking out.

[Haysey_Draws]

Darkest Hour

Not to be confused with 2011's The Darkest Hour (please don't see that one) Darkest Hour was pretty good!
I'm not really big on the Oscar films, they tend to be all about the acting and i can get pretty bored with them, but Darkest Hour held my attention. In fact a good way for me to judge how much i enjoyed a film is how quickly time passes, especially in longer 2-3 hour films, and this did not drag.
Gary Oldman is excellent, in fact everyone is, and i enjoyed myself just as much as i did for Dunkirk (the film, not the event)
It did feel like it ends just as it's starting to get going, but this didn't spoil what was a decent film.

Check it out.

[Haysey_Draws]

The Post

Following on from the other big Oscar films this season i saw The Post, and it was very decent.
And quite timely given the nature of films plot and what's happening in the real world. It was very well shot, acted and written, and keep my attention for the whole hour and 50 minutes (though i was busting for a pee towards the end) It's pretty understandable why this is getting so much critical acclaim.

Worth Checking out.

[Haysey_Draws]

Early Man

Went to see Caveman football Wallace and Gromit at the weekend, it it was very good!
If you're already a fan of Wallace and Gromit, like me, then it's safe to say you'll enjoy this. Also fans of football (or soccer for US chums) will get a lot of the little in jokes. It's still very much in it's British humour, i did get a kick out of one of them being called Asbo, and it was a lot of fun.

Check it out if you can, and take the kids.

...starting to wonder when my first dud of the year will be, hopefully it won't be tomorrow for The Shape of Water.

[Haysey_Draws]

Having to remove a couple of films from my must see list. New Mutants has been pushed back to next year (boo) and Annihilation is only going to be in cinemas in the US and China, everywhere it's on Netfilx...boo! (I don't have Netflix as i have a cinema card to 1) see new releases in a nice air conditioned comfortable room and 2) to get me out of the house at least once a week, so this move has completely nerfed any intention of watching it)

There's also rumours the next Cloverfeild film might be Netflix for outside the states too...again, BOO!

[Haysey_Draws]

The Shape of Water

So i went to a preview screening (in the UK) of The Shape of a Fish Man's Butt and it was freaking fantastic!
I'm not really all that big on Oscar-bait films, i normally see they're good films but i just find most of them pretty boring, with the odd acceptation, and man is this an acceptation! It was so stylish and weird and dark and downright wonderful. The acting is spot on, the sets look fantastic, the music and style all add to the experience, and the dark comedy parts are just so up my street i was grinning the whole time.
By far the best film of the Oscar films (that i've seen) for me and setting the bar pretty high for the rest of this years films.

A must see!

[bobbie solo]

Agree completely. The only spot they lost me was with the musical/dance dream sequence. That was the most egregious example of Oscar-bait crap in the movie, and was completely unnecessary. But it was quick, so it was forgivable.

[Haysey_Draws]

Agree completely. The only spot they lost me was with the musical/dance dream sequence. That was the most egregious example of Oscar-bait crap in the movie, and was completely unnecessary. But it was quick, so it was forgivable.

yeah, that scene was a bit odd, but it was over fairly quickly and i almost forgot about just as fast.

...that cat scene though :eek:

[Haysey_Draws]

Black Panther

I went to catch Marvel's Batman last night and.....................it's good.
The film is very different from other Marvel films of late, it's very much it's own thing, which is a welcome change of pace. It's have cameo's for the sake of cameo's, in fact it has very little reference to the rest of the MCU. The film only use's it's connections to the larger universe when it need's too, and it's all the better for it. It also handles the "why aren't the rest of the avengers helping" question well by keeping the story firmly around Wakanda and it's secrecy.
The action is pretty good too, the bits in South Korea are especially fun. All the characters are well done, but special mention goes to Shuri, T'challa's younger sister, who is the best character in the film! She is super fun. My only criticism would be the End credit scenes which are probably the weakest of all the movies so far and not really worth sticking around for.

Overall it's a good watch and worth checking out!

[Haysey_Draws]

In some rather annoying anime adaptation news, Alita : Battle Angel has apparently been moved from July to December 21st

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/daily-briefs/2018-02-13/alita-battle-angel-film-pushed-back-to-december-21/.127741

[Haysey_Draws]

I, Tonya

Bit late but i went to see I, Tonya last week, and it was pretty freaking good!
I wasn't all that familiar with Tonya Harding's story, so i was kinda seeing it all for the first time, but man did the film do a good job presenting the story. And it's dark humour was on point throughout, as well as the acting across the board (i'm honestly surprised this didn't get a 'Best Picture' nod to be honest, out of all the nom's I've seen, this was better then most...but that's just my opinion)
What made it all the more weird was that, for all the laughs i had, this was a true story (the interview with her 'body guard' for example was played during the end credits and i was amazed IT WAS REAL!)
Margot Robbie and Allison Janney are freaking fantastic, and very believable.

If you haven't already seen it check it out!

Now i'm starting to worry which films are going to be the duds this year...

[thevoid99]

Here is the first great film of 2018 in Black Panther: http://thevoid99.blogspot.com/2018/02/black-panther-2018-film.html

Having just seen Ousmane Sembene's 1966 landmark film Black Girl as well as a short film and a documentary on Sembene as he is considered by the father of African cinema. What Ryan Coogler did is showcase what Africa could've been if it hadn't been colonized or exploited by other countries as it's a political film but also so much more. I'm glad the film is doing well and is having a positive effect. Princess Shuri is my favorite character.

[Haysey_Draws]

Red Sparrow

I went to go see Fifty Shades of Spies at the weekend and...it wasn't great.
It's hard not to compare this with last years Russian spies romp Atomic Blonde, i film a freaking loved, only where that film was awesome in everything apart from a slightly weak plot/twist, Red Sparrow is the opposite. A good twist (that you kinda see coming) and plot but a very dull 2 hours to get there.
It's filled with sex...well the first 30mins are (after that it all but dries up), but that doesn't really help when everything on screen just feels...boring.
That's not to say it's a bad film per say, it's acted well, shot nicely and the plot is well written, but everything that happens on screen was just dull. People have sex, people die...but it was all just boring to watch.

It had to happen eventually, unless you need to see Jennifer Lawrence's boobs, maybe skip this.

[bobbie solo]

Jennifer Lawrence is super hot, but we've all seen everything from her bc of the leaks. Will watch the first 30 minutes when this comes out on HBO/Showtime by the end of the year though.

[Haysey_Draws]

Jennifer Lawrence is super hot, but we've all seen everything from her bc of the leaks. Will watch the first 30 minutes when this comes out on HBO/Showtime by the end of the year though.

Be warned, it's not really worth it tbh, unless you want to see boobs then fall asleep...

[Haysey_Draws]

Gringo

Went to see Gringo at the weekend (in what has to be the smallest cinema screen i've ever been in! It almost felt like i was in someones house it was so small!) and it was fun.
A nice pallet cleanser after the super dull Red Sparrow last week. Gringo is a funny (i think it's billed as a comedy) and quite a lot of fun to watch. It isn't perfect, but it's a good throwaway Sunday film, probably best enjoyed with a pizza and some friends.

Worth checking out.

[Haysey_Draws]

Tomb Raider

So i went to see Shaky Cam Raider at the weekend and...i wanted to like, i really did, shame the film had other ideas...
I know this was getting a mixed reception from critics and fans, but i went in hoping that maybe i'd at least find something to like (who goes to the movies expecting a film to be bad?) but unfortunately i ended up agreeing that it was far from a good film.

Alicia Vikander is fine as Lara (actually everyone seemed to be doing their best acting wise), but everything else was just the worst. The action scenes were either far too dark i couldn't tell what was even happening or had too much shaky cam to follow (seriously whoever came up with shaking the cam in action scenes needs to be fired!) the script was just laughable, the editing was terrible and the plot was so generic and boring i spent the whole film wishing i was playing the rebooted games, which story wise are much MUCH better! But the films biggest issue was...it was all just so forgettable.

If the film makes enough money there are foundations here for a good squeal, but only if they get someone to write a much better film then this!
Skip :(

[Haysey_Draws]

Ready Player One

So i went to see the Funko Pop Movie last night and...i'd be lying if i didn't say i freaking loved it!

It's not the perfect movie by any stretch, it's a tad long at nearly 2 and a half hours (which kinda drags after the big 'fight' scene) and the acting is a bit cringe at times, but it's so much fun to watch! It honestly feel's very much like an 80's Spielberg kids film, more so then anything he has done since (think Goonies in VR)
It also moves away from many of the more problematic aspects of the book, and it's all the better for it.
Also, in defiance of the CGI, i'd be the first to jump of terrible effects (especially from WB who have turned the Oscar winning Wata Workshop into an absolute mess!) but it kinda works here. The characters look cartoony because they're in a VR world with other cartoon type hero's like Chun-li, Sonic and the Iron Giant, if they looked super realistic it wouldn't really work, especially at the end fight...speaking of which... *SPOILERS*
THIS WAS THE BEST PART! Seeing Mecha Godzilla in a big Hollywood film for me was something my inner child has been screaming to happen for year...to see it not only happen but to have him fight RX-78 GUNDAM WAS FREAKING AMAZING! Honestly this is as close as i will EVER get to see a Gundam in live action (and even if it did happen, i'm sure Hollywood would ruin how they look) and this was just so joyous for me. Kinda disappointing Ultraman and the mechas from Evanglion weren't there, but i'd probably have died if i spotted Unit 01.

Would i recommend this?...depends. If the thought of watching a bunch of pop culture hero's and villians on screen in what is pretty much a 2 hour fight between all the school kids action figures in an 80's Spielberg romp then it probably isn't going to win you over. If that sounds like your bag (and it was mine) DEFIANTLY go watch it. It's a film for your inner (or outta) child. Check it out :D

[Haysey_Draws]

Pacific Rim Uprising

So i went to see Pacific Rim : The Saturday Morning Cartoon at the weekend and...i liked it.
It isn't anywhere near as great as the first, and that will put off a lot of fans (the first was a lightning in a bottle passion project from a fantastic director, this is just a kids film) but i went in with low expectations and ultimately enjoyed the few hours of silliness. I can't imagine this'll do well at the box office and that's probably a good thing, rather then dragging this on to the level transformers is now at (and fuck me i hate what those films have become) this is certainly better then the latest Transformers and the Power Rangers film, but it's not anywhere near the level of the first or Shin Godzilla. It's probably in the same level as Kong Skull Island and Godzilla (2014).

If you've got kids that want to see big robots to dumb stuff, or just want a popcorn flick, it's worth seeing, otherwise you'll probably want to pass this one by.

[Haysey_Draws]

Isle of Dogs

I saw Isle of Dogs...on the Isle of Dogs strangely enough, at the weekend and i really enjoyed it!
It's a very strange film (i'm not really into Wes Anderson films myself, but i do get they all have a certain feel about them) but it is also a really charming, well shot film!
Granted i have a massive soft spot for any kind of animation (less 3D animation as some of those are just the laziest/cheapest crap to come out...i'm looking at you Illumination!) and i have a huge appreciation for stop motion (it always feels like a lot more more effort goes into these films then any other) and Isle of Dogs is no different. The characters are really likeable and funny, the sets look interesting and wonderful, the story is fun and strange and it's just an all round really lovely film (oh and the voice acting is A+ across the board)

Defiantly worth checking out!

[Haysey_Draws]

A Quiet Place

I went to see 90mins of silence at the weekend and i surprisingly enjoyed it!
I'm not big on 'horror' films (Ghosts and Zombie films play on my over active imagination) but thankfully this is more a Monster film with an interesting gimmick (i can handle monster/creature films for some reason)
The first 5 mins does a pretty good job of showing what's happening in the world and the films uses the fact the monsters can only find people through sound to ramp up the tension and doesn't just through jump scare after jump scare.
It's well acted, paced and shot. I did have some issues with some plot points (and the monster design) but it wasn't enough to stop me enjoying them movie.

If you like monster films this is for you, worth checking out.

[Haysey_Draws]

Rampage

So i went to see the 3rd film this year with some kind of giant monsters/robots fighting and...it was silly, dumb and a fucking load of fun!
Considering this was based off of a game with so little story (3 monsters destroy buildings...that's it!) it does it really well. The Rock is...well the Rock, you can almost guarantee he'll be a great laugh with these types of films, much like Jumanji, and he is. The whole cast really was having a blast, knowing full well how ridiculous this film is! The story is pretty basic, they know full well the only reason most will come to see this is the monsters attacking buildings and each other...and that's pretty much the entire 3rd act, and it's great.

It's not going to win many awards, but it is one of the better game films, and a really decent popcorn blockbuster (we've had a few of those so far this year)
Worth checking out if you're into this kind of thing. Next film i think is Infinity War next week....

[Haysey_Draws]

Avengers Infinity War

SPOILER FREE

I just saw Infinity War and OH MY FUCK!
This movie...10 years of build up, various films, and characters and stones...and it fucking delivers!
Now there's very little i can say without spoiling, so i won't, but i will say avoid spoilers because it is worth it!
Some slight problems were technikal, i saw it in IMAX and i don't think the effects team had fully finished some aspects for 3D. Certain characters on green screen blured around their outlines (and as someone who has used Photoshop ass much as me it was kinda hard to miss) and it was...annoying. It didn't ruin the experience though.
Also, remember how every time a film comes out they go on about 'the villian is the center of the movie' and they end up just being 'oh they are the bad guy...meh'...well not this time, this is very much Thanos's film. Josh Brolin is FANTASTIC!

All in all...GO SEE IT!

[Haysey_Draws]

Deadpool 2

After a bit of a break from films i went to see Deadpool 2 yesterday and...holy shit balls* it was freaking excellent!

Full disclosure, i'm a big X-men nerd and Deadpool fan, so this was always going to be a good time for me, but it turned out to be a freaking great time. The film will split people, some will think it's better then the first, others might disagree, for me it is better in every sense. The jokes are funnier, the action is more exciting, the story is...well it's a Deadpool movie, but it's the little extra bits that really got me. The cameo's (some are very WTF) the ties to the larger X-men universe and the new characters...mainly Domino! Zazie Beetz (freaking great name!) is on fire in the movie, and next to DP has some of the best lines and action, i'm honestly really excited to see more of her and Cable going forward. Also the X-force, fucking well played movie, i did not see that coming and was struggling to breathe, it was just brilliant!

If Infinity War hadn't come out this would be hands down my fav film this year, it was just perfect! A must see.

*this will make sense if you stay through the end credits

[bobbie solo]

A Quiet Place

I went to see 90mins of silence at the weekend and i surprisingly enjoyed it!
I'm not big on 'horror' films (Ghosts and Zombie films play on my over active imagination) but thankfully this is more a Monster film with an interesting gimmick (i can handle monster/creature films for some reason)
The first 5 mins does a pretty good job of showing what's happening in the world and the films uses the fact the monsters can only find people through sound to ramp up the tension and doesn't just through jump scare after jump scare.
It's well acted, paced and shot. I did have some issues with some plot points (and the monster design) but it wasn't enough to stop me enjoying them movie.

If you like monster films this is for you, worth checking out.

Just saw this and it was excellent. As things go from bad to worse I audibly groaned or went "ooooooh shit" several times. They hooked me.

[Haysey_Draws]

Solo : A Star Wars Story

I finally got around to seeing Han and Chewie : Together at Last yesterday...and i really enjoyed it.
It was far better then it had any right to be, given the well documented issues behind the scenes, but i'm glad they made it work. The cast is fun (Donald Glover especially) the film speeds along at a nice pace and the action was great. In all in all it was great fun to watch, and that's probably the most important thing with films like this.

I do feel Disney should slow down with it's Star Wars films, having one every few years would make these feel more special then every 6 months (As good as Star Wars is it's no Marvel) but i'm happy with how this turned out and would definitely recommend.

Check it out if you can.

[Haysey_Draws]

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

It's been a slow month for films so I’ve only seen Jurassic Park The Lost Worl...i mean Fallen Kingdom and...i was really disappointed.

I really liked Jurassic World, more than most tbh, i thought it was different enough and pretty fun and the right side of dumb. Fallen Kingdom was just dumb, and it really wasted what could have been a great film!
Some of the films ideas were great, the opening scene was perfectly shot and pretty scary (if you're a kid) and some of the later scenes in the Mansion clearly wanted to continue this more scary film...but it was ruined by the Indo Raptor. More specifically the scene with the bad guy hunter (who was so bland and boring i don't even remember his name!) rather than being scary the Indo was smirking at the scene, like some kind of loony toons character, and it just took all the scare out of it! None of the hero's ever felt like they were in trouble of being killed, and all the villains were so badly sign posted as 'this is a bad guy, they’re going to die! Look how evil they are!' that i just didn't care when they did.
The T-rex and Water dino were wasted, only really getting the opening scene to do anything before becoming bit part or not used at all for the rest of the film. Oh and anyone excited Ian Malcolm’s back...yeah if you've seen the trailer you've seen ALL of him, and almost all his lines...in fact the trailer basically shows all the best scenes (apart from the opening...which again was freaking great!)

For me, once the Indo Raptor became a cartoon villain the film was over for me and i just didn't care anymore, the scare and tension were gone, and it killed the film. Personally, whilst this isn't a bad film by any stretch, it's the worst of all the Jurassic Park films.

Unless you're super into Dino's and Jurassic Park, (and it pains me to say this) give this a miss :(

[Haysey_Draws]

Been awhile since i'd been to the movies (i did plan to go a bunch of times but just didn't get the chance too, plus the World Cup was on so many films here were pushed back to after it) so to make up for it i went twice this weekend...

Incredibles 2

First was Incredibles 2, and it was very good.
Not as good as the first, but that was the gold standard of pixar movies for me, so getting close to as good as that is very good in my opinion. Funny, good action, well animated and entertaining. And the opening short animation was very heartfelt and sweet. Perfect day out for the kids (but not if you were like the dad of the family in my cinema who decided from the second he sat down he didn't want to watch the film so started watching Law and Order on his phone...with no headphones! Luckily staff almost straight away told him what a prat he was being!)
Worth Checking out

Skyscrapper

And second was Die Hard : nakatomi plaza in china and it was...meh?
So it's not a bad film, far from bad actually. It's well shot, the effects a good, the acting is OK and the plot is a plot...it's just all been done better before, and nothing is really all that memorable from this one. There are some cool looking set pieces, Hannah Quinlivan is badass (and underused!) and it's quite short running at just over 90mins, but not really worth going all the way to the cinema for (especially is you have vertigo!)

Maybe worth waiting for a dull Sunday with nothing else to watch on Netflix (other streaming services are available)
This is skip able.

[Haysey_Draws]

Mission Impossible Fallout

So i went to see Tom Cruise Running at the weekend...and i really didn't enjoy it!
I have seen all the MI films at various points in my life and this was, for me, one of the low points. The plot was generic and easy to predict, the characters were boring and the staple for this film series (the action)...just didn't wow me. It's telling when a film that has 2 different brunette characters had to tell me (in an obvious plot exposition scene put in to remind people like me) they were 2 DIFFERENT CHARACTERS (one form the last and one, who i had completely forgotten existed, from the 3rd)
The only good point was the chase scene in London, which was effectively my walk home to London Bridge every evening...only i don't run on the roof.
I dunno, i think i'm just getting bored of Tom Cruise playing...Tom Cruise, and the action (which is being praised as the best in the films so far...which it isn't, not even close!!!) just didn't wow me. I think i've been spoiled by the action of John Wick and Atomic Blonde of late.

MIF just felt about as good as Skyscraper for me, and that's the best i can say about it.

Unless your super into Tom Cruise and MI you can skip this :(

[Haysey_Draws]

Ant-Man and the Wasp

Went to see Little and Large at the weekend...it was a good time :)
This isn't a game changer or anything, but it is a well made, fun and entertaining movie (something Marvel has done to a T at this point) You could miss it and catch it on Netflix (other streaming services are available) as it isn't required to keep in the MCU loop, but for a good time at the movies for the kids (and the kids at heart) you can't really go wrong, i did find myself laughing out loud a number of times at the silly humour and the action is great to watch.
I will say don't hang around for the post credits, the mid credits is enough to fill in the gaps for Infinity War, the post credits is just a bit of fun (and annoyingly ITS IN THE TRAILER!) but otherwise grab some popcorn and enjoy this fun movie.

Worth checking out :)

[thevoid99]

Here's my review of what I think is the best film of 2018 so far in BlacKkKlansman: http://thevoid99.blogspot.com/2018/08/blackkklansman.html

It's entertaining yet very thought-provoking about what America was like back in the 1970s and how little things have changed as far as the power of the KKK has been.

[BRoswell]

From what I've seen this year so far...

The Good:
Annihilation
BlacKkKlansman
Hereditary
Isle Of Dogs
Shirkers
Sorry To Bother You
Suspiria
The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs
Unsane
Upgrade

The Meh:
A Quiet Place
Halloween
Jurassic World 2
The Cloverfield Paradox

The Bad:
Freak Show
Sicario 2

[Haysey_Draws]

From what I've seen this year so far...

The Good:
Annihilation
BlacKkKlansman
Hereditary
Isle Of Dogs
Sorry To Bother You
Upgrade

The Meh:
A Quiet Place

The Bad:
Freak Show
Sicario 2

I REALLY want to see Sorry to Bother you, but alas it doesn't look like it'll be getting a cinema run for the UK, and i don't have Netflix :( Seeing Upgrade this week though!

[Haysey_Draws]

Here's my review of what I think is the best film of 2018 so far in BlacKkKlansman: http://thevoid99.blogspot.com/2018/08/blackkklansman.html

It's entertaining yet very thought-provoking about what America was like back in the 1970s and how little things have changed as far as the power of the KKK has been.

Yeah i saw it finally this weekend, it it was very good. Not in my personal must see's this year but that doesn't take away how good it was...and the gut punch at the end!

[Haysey_Draws]

Right, big ol bank holiday weekend (UK) meant i got some cinema going done, and while i'm at it i've done a bit of house keeping on here.
I've decided to change Maybe Skip to Wait for the DVD/Stream as Skipping was essentially the same as avoiding, and there are some films i did enjoy but not enough to go to a cinema to see, so the 3rd is now for films that are OK but just for a Sunday afternoon with a pizza on Netflix. With that being said...

The Spy Who Dumped Me

First film was the Spy who Shagged me and left. This was...OK.
The best comparison i can think of is last years The Hitmans Bodyguard. It has some funny moments, an alright story but was largely pretty forgettable. kate mckinnon is the best part of the film by a mile but this isn't really worth going to the cinema to see. Wait for the DVD for this one, it'll be funnier at home with some junk food and friends!

The Happy Time Murders

Next was The Muppets are fuckin'...again this was OK.
It's pretty much just 90mins of a joke about Muppets being rude, and whilst it is funny...i kinda felt it was a bit tame? I've been rather spoilt with rude Muppets from shows like MTV2's 2005 Wonder Showzen and YouTubes Don't Hug Me I'm Scared, and by comparison this felt really PG (spoilers it isn't PG, there's a muppets fucking scene that i was crying at!)
It's not a bad film, but again it isn't worth running to the cinema to see. It is worth seeing, just wait for the stream!

Blackkklansman

And last was OH GOD THAT LAST 10MINS!!! Now this was ace!
I didn't really know what to expect from this, but what i got was a great film! Acting is fantastic, the story is amazing (and unbelievable!) just a really REALLY good 2 hours at the movies...but that last 10mins...i did not leave leave feeling very good (that's the point i think)

Defiantly worth checking out if you can!

[Haysey_Draws]

A Simple Favour

Finally got back to the cinema (i was meant to see Predator last month but it hasn't been a good time mentally so i struggled to get out much) and went to see A Simple Favour...i kinda wish i'd gone to see Predator.
It's not a bad film, but it was really weird in terms of what it wanted to be. It was billed as a dark thriller comedy...and it didn't do any of those things well. The laughs dried up by the 20 minutes mark, the thriller aspect wasn't very...thrilling for lack of a better word and the dark parts were just...felt like the film was trying too hard.
The film had so many plot holes as well, to the point i kept asking myself "why is that happening?!" every 10-15 mins, but the worst thing was...i was bored. The films nearly 2 hours long and it doesn't really do anything, i came out thinking "well there's 2 hours i could have spent better". I dunno maybe i just wasn't the target audience...

If you like Anna Kendrick you'll probably get something out of this (although nothing from her back story, it's just gross and i cringed every time it was brought up) but otherwise just wait for it on a streaming service. Not as dull as Red Sparrow...but close.

[Haysey_Draws]

Venom

So i just watched Venom...oh boy, get comfy cos this is going to be a LONG one.

So some backstory, i LOVE the character Venom. It's design, it's story, it's enemies, Venom is one of my favorite characters, mainly from the Spider-man Animated show from the 90's and then getting into the comics, so i was excited for Spider-man 3...and that really sucked for me. Seeing a character i really love be treated as an afterthought in a terrible movie sucked hard, but then there was hope...Venom in its OWN film, and the design was sick, what could go wrong...everything apparently.

Let's get the pros out of the way first, Venom's design is great, probably the best well ever see on film. It's menacing and powerful in all the right ways, and when it's on screen it's great to see...and then it all goes downhill fast!

The cons, the film is awful! The script is bad, pacing is off, the dialogue...fuck me, someone fucking wrote this!? The acting is flip flops between OTT and not giving a shit, the characters are barely fleshed out and the best thing, Venoms look, is almost ruined by how DARK the film is. Honestly, in the final battle, i COULD NOT SEE WHAT WAS HAPPENING!!! It was all fast cuts and 2 nearly black looking monsters punch each other at night without lights and WHO FUCKING THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA?! I just couldn't enjoy this movie, everytime Venom was on screen was nice to see but was almost instantly spoiled by the rest of this hot mess of a film. What makes it worse is the fact it's nothing to do with Spidey, and it's really hurts the film for it. The movie makers, i assume, were banking on Venom fans wanting to see it, but not including Spidey AT ALL ruins the experience for fans of the character. And people not familiar with Venom WILL NOT enjoy this mess (which is probably why it's being reviewed so badly, the only people who are getting anything out of it are Venom fans)

I literally sat in my seat as the credits started rolling with my head in my hands. Its not just that its bad, its that i was looking forward to seeing the awesome design from the trailers and being so bitterly disappointed by what it was in. This might sound harsh...but this is one of the worst films i've seen in recent memory (though not as bad as Red Sparrow!) But that's just my opinion.

Avoid.

[bobbie solo]

Haysey, can you explain to me what Tom Hardy is doing? Whats up with the accent(s)? What's his approach to the character? What is he trying to accomplish? Because everything from him in the trailers looks and sounds ridiculous.

[Louie_Cypher]

watched both blue ruin and green room same director, i like him hope he does more
-louie

[Haysey_Draws]

@bobbiesolo honestly i have no idea. I think he was just given free rein to just do whatever he wanted. He is a good actor, but i have a feeling everyone realised this wasn't going to turn out as they were expecting and they just made the most of it by doing...something? I honestly have no idea, and i really don't want to have to watch it again to try and find out.

[Haysey_Draws]

My Hero Academia : Two Heroes

Been awhile since i was at the cinema but the bust christmas film period is now upon me and i have 4 films already booked for the next week, so let's get started with the anime offering of the year, My Hero Academia : Two Heroes.

For those of you who aren't weebs, My Hero Academia is an anime based on a world were 80% of all humans are born with super powers known as quirks, and we follow the story of Deku, someone who wasn't born with a quirk, as he try's to become the worlds number one hero. The show is, for lack of a better word, excellent! We are 3 seasons in and it's already got some of the best action and fight scenes in recent memory. It also has a bloody wonderful cast of charterers. Deku attends a school for the best of the best to become full time hero's, and his class of fellow wannabe hero's is brilliant, all with there own distinct personalities and powers...and this is kinda where the film falls flat for me.

Due to it only being about 100 minutes long we only get to spend time with a handful of them and that's a bit of a shame. It also sufferes from the same thing all anime films based on ongoing shows do...it can't deviate too far from the show so the stacks are low (you know everyone in the main cast will be OK, there won't be any real character progression and nothing in the film will likely ever been seen in the show, though they did do an episode in season 3 to hype up the movie...but it still has the same effect)

BUT this film is a lot of fun. The action is on par with what the show offers, with excellent animation. For a first film in one of the biggest anime's right now it's pretty good. Worth checking out if your into this kind of stuff.

[Haysey_Draws]

Managed to see 2 films back to back Saturday (while still feeling like crap with the last of this bloody flu!) and they were very different experiances! First...

Spiderman : Into the Spiderverse

After Venom my excitement for this took a bit of a blow (bloody Sony) but bloody hell was this a blast!
Sony have FINALLY gone and made a really good spidey film, in my opinion the best spidey film so far! The animation is spectacular throughout (i'm a sucker for good animation) somehow blending perfectly the chaos of the comic pages onto the big screen. The colours, the text, it all looks fantasic on screen! The story is great, the characters are bloody excellent (Spider-Gwen looks fucking awesome!) the voice acting is solid (along with a "WTF is that Nicolas Cage?!")
It's original looking and a bloody great time, even the post credits scene is funny! This is honestly one of the best films i've seen this year, i can't wait to go and see it again honestly! AND Sony have finally done what they've been trying to do for god knows how long, lunch a spidey universe...and all it took was to make a good film that stands up on it's own...WHO KNEW?! A Must See!

I wish i could say the same for the next film mind...

Mortal Engines

Now i've had this on my radar since i saw the trailer back in March, and the premise was interesting, the normal world was destroyed and now cities roam the destroyed lands on giant tank tracks looking for other smaller cities to eat...sounds at least original. Well the film is...a mess.

First the original premise, which was shown in the trailer, NEVER GET MENTIONED AGAIN AFTER THE FIRST 20MINS!?! Seriously, we see one city eat another smaller one and that's it. Second, apart from the effects the film really feels like a made for TV special from 20 years ago. The sets are cheap, the acting is passable to bad, the dialog is so SO clunky. The story is overall forgetful...and the whole film just feel's off. (Also about halfway through a character that feels like they were ripped from one of the Matrix squeals just pops up and feel so out of place!)

The films biggest issue however...it's all a bit boring. How they managed to make something this interesting feel so uninteresting is impressive! Honestly this is only 9 mins longer then Spiderman (which was just under 2 hours) and i felt like i'd been watching it for 4 hours, it just doesn't end!

If i hadn't been at the opposite end of the cinema to the exit i'd have walked out (i didn't want to be that person, although by the sound of the others in there i don't think they were enjoying it either!) Avoid!

[Haysey_Draws]

OK another week and 3 more films...though one of the was Spider-man again because i just enjoy that film so damn much!

Sorry to Bother You

So we UK plebs finally got Sorry to Bother You in cinemas and...it was quite the trip!
Without spoiling it (i'm sure most of you in the US will have already watched it by now anyway) it's a very weird film...and really entertaining! The social commentary is spot on and it's quite funny...but it was just a little TOO weird for me. It's definitely worth seeing for yourself to make your own mind up but that final third was so weird (again without spoiling the big WTF moment is something that really freaks me out in all media, dating back to the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon...yes really) Check it out if you haven't already!

Bumblebee

Well after 7 films they've finally worked out what makes a good Transformer film. That's not to say the films perfect, but it is the best Transformers film!
We finally get a likeable protagonist, gone are all the lingering shots on overtly sexy women and fights between robots where you can't tell what's happening and in are Gen 1 redesigns (which makes it so easy to tell what's happening in a fight) and a film with heart that is guinly fun to watch. It's firmly in the family film category now then...whatever the other films were doing, and its all the better for it...hell i'd love to see more of these kinds of films (the scenes on Cybertron REALLY makes me want one there...if not just to see more Soundwave and Arcee!) the 80's soundtrack is also ON FUCKING POINT!
If you were a fan of the 80's cartoon be warned...you will come out wanting to buy some gen 1 toys...at least i did! Check it out.

[ManBurning]

Sorry to Bother You

So we UK plebs finally got Sorry to Bother You in cinemas and...it was quite the trip!
Without spoiling it (i'm sure most of you in the US will have already watched it by now anyway) it's a very weird film...and really entertaining! The social commentary is spot on and it's quite funny...but it was just a little TOO weird for me. It's definitely worth seeing for yourself to make your own mind up but that final third was so weird (again without spoiling the big WTF moment is something that really freaks me out in all media, dating back to the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon...yes really) Check it out if you haven't already!


I fucking LOVED this movie. I found and bought the blu-ray a few weeks ago when I was in Vegas. Saw it in the theater this passed summer.
This movie and Best F(r)iends are at the top of the list for my favourite movies of 2018.