Mary Poppins Returns (2018) - Cinema Review

Review:

*Originally written January 1st, 2019*

The way Disney is, I'm amazed this isn't the 20th Mary Poppins at this point, which at least a dozen of them being the straight to video sequels I've never watched. Anyway, I'd only seen the original Mary Poppins less than a few weeks ago in prep for this, and I absolutely loved it. Pure joy in film form full of energy and memorable songs. 

This belated sequel nowhere near hits the heights of the first, but it's still a pretty joyous adventure. I'll admit I went into this on very little slip and was nearly nodding off a couple of times throughout, but for the most part, I still enjoyed it quite a bit. It just really lacks most of the charm and magic of the first.

Emily Blunt does a fantastic job as the magical nanny. Bringing her own take one the character without just trying to do a Julie Andrews impression. She's the same sarcastic and charming character and every moment she's on screen is pure joy. It's just a shame that every time the film veers away from her to focus on other things, it loses a lot of momentum.

As much as I like Ben Whishaw and Emily Mortimer as the Bank's children grown up, they're stories really don't carry film, making their scenes without Mary Poppins just drag the film out, and there felt like a lot of scenes without the titular character there. The new generation of Banks children do a decent enough job, they're some of the better child actors I've seen recently, but they just don't live up to the originals.

Returns shines most when the more fantastical elements get involved. An extended scene involving 2D animation is absolutely beautiful and reminded me of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. It's so rare to see 2D animation mixed with live-action these days, but it looked amazing and vibrant. I can't wait to see how this will look on 4K. As a musical, it has a series of energetic numbers that in all honesty are quite forgettable. I'm really having a hard time remembering a single song from this, and I only saw it a couple of days ago.

It doesn't help that Rob Marshall's direction is mostly very flat and drab, but I'm think that might have been so that the fantasy scenes popped out more, but those only account for about a quarter of the film, leaving most of the film feel a little flat and lifeless when we're stuck in the real world. I could have done with a bit of trimming too, this whole thing goes on for a bit too long. Things like Meryl Streep's weird cameo and extended section could have been cut out without changing anything. 

On the villain side of things, Colin Firth is remarkably disappointing and just sort of there as a bank manager trying to posses the Banks house and his motivation is purely evil for the sake of being evil. It's a shame, because Firth is an actor I always like, so it sucks to see him given so little to work with. Hell, at least it was better than Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, so at least he's ended his year on a higher note. 


Mary Poppins Returns isn't as good as I hoped it would be. It's overlong and lacks memorable songs, but Emily Blunt's charming performance carries the film and it still makes for very watchable entertainment. It just could have done with a better director and a bit of trimming. 


7/10 Dans

Mary Poppins Returns is out now in cinemas in the UK
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A Quiet Place (2018) - 4K Review

Review:

*Originally written September 2nd, 2018*

Wow, John Krasinski is a real far cry away from his role in the remarkably overrated US remake of The Office. Both in front and behind the camera, he looks to be a talent worth getting excited for. He crafted an excellent little genre film that fully commits to its premise and runs with it.

For a film that has so little dialogue, I'm amazed it was as popular as it has been. I loved the reliance on sign language visual ques, which is fine by me as I watch everything with subtitles anyway, but I can imagine turning off mainstream audiences. Even without much dialogue, there is a ton of characterisation within the lead family. Despite not even learning their names, they are instantly likeable and easy to root for. 

Even the child casting is solid, none of the children are annoying or over the top, or do the Richard Curtis thing where the kids are punchably smart and smug for their age. Krasinski and Emily Blunt absolutely own the screen, delivering subtle performances that really pack an emotional punch towards the end. I was a huge fan of Krasinski's Logan like look in the third act.

Outside of his performance, Krasinski pulls every bit of tension he can out of the concept. While the creatures themselves are a disappointing work of CGI (I really wish they kept it more practical), they definitely establish how dangerous they are with a very surprising and shocking scene in the first ten minutes. A film that depends on silence absolutely makes for insane tension, you're constantly on edge whenever something minor happens. It's oddly genius, but simple. See this in the quietest environment you can for maximum effect. 

It's also an extremely gorgeous film with a rich colour palette and natural lighting that makes for a beautiful film to look at, which I usually find rare for horror films. It shows that even smaller budget films can look 100x better than ones that cost hundreds of millions to make.

The only major complaint with A Quiet Place is the odd and completely misguided plot reveal early on that completely derails the entire concept. We know early on that Emily Blunt's character is pregnant and we know why these parents would want another kid, but it makes absolutely no sense why they would try in this environment. There's just no part of my brain that can comprehend why these characters would make such a stupid decision. 

Due to the huge and unexpected popularity of this, a sequel has obviously been announced (With Krasinski returning in a creative capacity), but it doesn't really need it. The film outs with a brilliant shot teases a sequel, but in that horror film way, you know exactly what it implies and where it is going, so you don't need to show it. Who knows, maybe Krasinski has something genius up his sleeve. I'm cautiously optimistic.


A Quiet Place is fantastic, a near perfectly executed genre film and one of the best of the year. Excellently directed with great performances all around. There is very little not to recommend with A Quiet Place. And it's also less than 90 minutes long and manages to achieve everything it wants to do within that short run-time. Cinema is alive.

9/10 Dans

A Quiet Place is out now on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD now in the UK. With a 4K steelbook available from HMV
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Edge of Tomorrow (2014) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written May 13th, 2015*

Edge of Tomorrow always surprises me with each watch. I doubt many people asked "What would Groundhog Day be like as a sci-fi action film?". But amazingly, the concept works far better than it should.

It's insanely entertaining and a brisk 2 hour watch with an excellent performance from Tom Cruise who plays against type here as a coward Major who is forced into a battle and obtains the ability to repeat the day every time he dies after an encounter with an "Alpha Mimic". I was surprised at just how funny this was too, Cruise manages to balance both comedy and bad-ass action hero both effortlessly.

Cruises character builds more as the film goes on, going from an incompetent soldier who doesn't even know how to turn the safety of his weapon to a bad-ass who doesn't even have to look when killing an alien. It's almost like a video game, it even feels like a video game at times. It'd probably go as far as saying this is the best video game movie ever made, except it's not based on a video game.

The design of the mech-suits and aliens are really creative and so much better than alien designs we've had from recent films (Battle: Los Angeles). The action is inventive and fun, the opening scene that was very reminiscent of D-Day, but with aliens and soldiers in mech-suits. The whole dying and coming back to life thing could have made for some very repetitive action and scenes, but they manage to keep it interesting all the way through from beginning to end.

Emily Blunt provides the highlight of the film as the 'Full Metal Bitch' a hardened soldier who helps Cruise as she went through what he did at some point. She manages to outshine Cruise at points, making for a compelling co-lead, delivering some great action too.


The only thing that lets Edge of Tomorrow down is its ending, which in all honesty doesn't make much sense. That aside, It is one of the best and most enjoyable blockbusters of recent years. A sequel has also been announced, but I'm not entirely sure what the point would be?

9/10 Dans

Edge of Tomorrow is out now on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK
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The Girl on the Train (2016) - Film Review

Review:

I know a lot of people have said this, but best thing to compare The Girl on the Train to is 2014’s ‘Gone Girl’ which tackles a lot of the same themes as Girl on the Train, but succeeds far, far better than this mess that seemed like it was made as network TV pilot. Honestly, I have no idea what the $50 million budget went on. It looks like cheap TV which is outrageous. There is nothing visually interesting or even competent about this film. It’s embarrassing. I am really curious to see what the budget went on. The score tries to emulate things like House of Cards, maybe even a little of Trent Reznor’s Gone Girl score too.

 Either way it was completely forgettable, like most of the film. In terms of storytelling, it fails too. The story is messy and somewhat predictable. Aside from one surprising twist at the very end of the extremely long feeling run-time, nothing of interest happens. 

Emily Blunt

The big twist itself is lazy in hindsight, it twists the history of the character to pull the rug from under the audience, but it just feels unnearned and lazy. It might be one of the things that worked better in the book, but in film? No. It hits a lot of the beats you would expect from a film like this. The mystery is an interesting one at its core and I am curious to check out the book. It’s just that none of that translated well in the disorganised and bland script.

The police are also a laughable and incompetent force in the film. None of these police act like real police. They misuse suspects, ignore glaring evidence and can’t put together clues that are directly in front of them. It was a lazy way for our lead to be front and centre. If the police in this are like the real police in the US, then god help them all….

Haley Bennett

If there is a saving grace from The Girl on the Train it is easily Emily Blunt’s performance as the lead Rachel. She plays a broken alcoholic which really shows in her performance early on in the film. She looks worn, broken, down pathetic and beaten. It’s easily this films greatest feature, it’s just a shame that it’s in a film that doesn’t deserve a performance of this caliber at all. The rest of the cast do not fare well at all. Haley Bennett in particular tries so hard to copy the nihlism of Gone Girl’s Amy Dunne that it is kinda pathetic. Luke Evans at least conveys some emotion. Everyone else? Forgettable.

I really wish this was better. I am a huge fan of dark and twisted thrillers (Like Gone Girl), but The Girl on the Train just fails on pretty much every level. When one performance is the only reason to see a film, then your film is not worth watching. This is far from 2016’s Gone Girl. A huge disappointment.

4/10 Dans

The Girl on the Train is out now on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK
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Edge of Tomorrow (2014) - Film Review

Review:

Edge of Tomorrow always surprises me with each watch. I doubt many people asked "What would Groundhog Day be like as a sci-fi action film?". But amazingly, the concept works far better than it should.

It's insanely entertaining and a brisk 2 hour watch with an excellent performance from Tom Cruise who plays against type here as a coward Major who is forced into a battle and obtains the ability to repeat the day every time he dies after an encounter with an "Alpha Mimic". I was surprised at just how funny this was too, Cruise manages to balance both comedy and bad-ass action hero both effortlessy.

Cruises character builds more as the film goes on, going from an incompetent soldier who doesn't even know how to turn the safety of his weapon to a bad-ass who doesn't even have to look when killing an alien. It's almost like a video game, it even feels like a video game at times. It'd probably go as far as saying this is the best video game movie ever made, except it's not based on a video game.

Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt

The design of the mech-suits and aliens are really creative and so much better than alien designs we've had from recent films (Battle: Los Angeles). The action is inventive and fun, the opening scene that was very reminiscent of D-Day, but with aliens and soldiers in mech-suits. The whole dying and coming back to life thing could have made for some very repetitive action and scenes, but they manage to keep it interesting all the way through from beginning to end.

Emily Blunt provides the highlight of the film as the 'Full Metal Bitch' a hardened soldier who helps Cruise as she went through what he did at some point. She manages to outshine Cruise at points, making for a compelling co-lead, delivering some great action too.

The only thing that lets Edge of Tomorrow down is its ending, which in all honesty doesn't make much sense. That aside, It is one of the best and most enjoyable blockbusters of recent years. A sequel has also been announced, but I'm not entirely sure what the point would be?

9/10 Dans

Edge of Tomorrow is out now on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK
Watch the trailer below:

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