Halloween (2018) - Cinema Review

Review:

*Originally written October 24th, 2018*

Well, here we are. A film that had a lot to live up to. A film that promised to wipe the slate clean of all the garbage Halloween sequels and be the sequel we deserved to John Carpenter's horror-slasher classic of the '70s. There were lots of question marks as to whether this to work or not, but with a solid crew behind it and John Carpenter returning to produce and score, plus Jamie Lee Curtis back as Laurie Strode, they've not only managed to make a successful sequel to the original, but one of the best slasher films in years.

The Halloween franchise is one of I've held dear since my childhood. I first got acquainted with the series during late night showings of the sequels when I was very young. I couldn't tell you which sequels they were, but there was something about Michael Myers and his cold, relentless brutality that stuck with me. I eventually got to see whole series eventually, and while they got worse with each one, I still liked the mythology and presence of Myers. I even have a soft-spot for Rob Zombies first remake, not the sequel though, that was one of the lowest lows of the series. 

So after a a lot of bad sequels and remakes that killed the franchise for 9 years, we're finally back with Laurie Strode as the lead and its a direct sequel to the original that ignores every following sequel, and it is beautiful. Rather than the overly complicated and increasingly silly backstory behind Michael Myers, he's returning to what he should be, the embodiment of pure evil. A silent killer that brutally murders people without remorse and for no real reason. 

We open with him at a mental institution for the criminally insane as he is awaited transportation for a maximum security prison. He's interviewed by two people who do a true crime podcast, leading to an insanely effective cold open that involves a chained up Michael and his original mask before smash cutting to the opening credits that pay homage to the originals opening, while doing something new with it. 

You know where this is going though, Michael breaks out and returns to Haddonfield for another round of teenager slaughtering mayhem. But the twist is this time Laurie is waiting for him and she's been preparing for 40 years to finish Michael off. I rarely expect excellent performances from a horror film, but Jamie Lee Curtis is fantastic here, playing Laurie as a much more prepared and stronger character that has shades of Sarah Connor from Terminator 2 while having her own tragic back story. Seeing the mental repercussions of Michael's original killing spree on Laurie's friends was a fantastic touch, that really ground the film in some sort of reality and makes Laurie easy to root for.

What makes this sequel of Halloween work is how it doesn't try to over explain Michael or give him a reason for his crimes. His psychiatrist has spent decades trying to understand him, but came up with nothing. He doesn't even seem to have a real vendetta against Laurie at all either, he will simply kill anyone he comes into contact with. He doesn't even seem to care about Laurie, she even comes for him, not the other way around. Making for a great role reversal and an insanely unexpected and expectation subverting third act that involves three generations of the Strode women.

In terms of brutality and gore, Halloween certainly earns its 18 rating, people are stabbed, shot and beaten to death in unflinching and increasingly brutal ways. Michael's penchant for violence has never been more unchained that is has been here, he is an absolute tanking force of nature that makes you feel every uncomfortable moment of his rampage. It even goes to some surprisingly dark places most mainstream horror franchises wouldn't touch. There's even a beautiful series of long takes as Michael weaves in out of houses, killing the inhabitants and getting hold of whatever weapon he can while John Carpenter's gorgeous and varied score blares in the background. It was a moment of pure cinematic nirvana.

Even with the brutality and gore, David Gordon Green manages to direct the film with an insane amount of confidence and tension as all these kills are earned and are built up. It's rare a horror film doesn't rely on multiple jump scares and rather let's the scene build as we know what Michael is capable of, but watching as the characters have no way out of their horrific situation. One of the little touches I loved was that we never saw Michael's face too. While he spends the first act without his mask, we only ever see the back of his head or very out of focus shots of his face, it just adds a little bit more to that mystery of Michael and the only time we see his face is from archive footage from the original after seeing him be unmasked as a 6 year old after murdering his sister.

I was also pleasantly surprised by Danny McBride and Green's script, which I had no idea what to expect. McBride obviously being majorly comedy focused in his career was something I had my reservations about, but they mostly knock it out the park. There are moments of humour spread throughout, but they don't do that Marvel thing by throwing a lame joke into a middle of a scene that's meant to be tense only to ruin it, but they leave all that stuff on the outside, letting the scenes of horror breathe massively. My only real complaint about the script is the bizarre and out of place character turn late into the film that comes out of nowhere and is wrapped up so quickly that I have no idea why it was even there. That aside, it's all pretty great and there are  huge amount of nods to the original that pay homage to it while making its own original take on such iconic imagery.


Halloween 2018 is everything I possibly could have hoped for, it wraps up a story that started 40 years ago perfectly and makes up for much of franchises short-coming while being its own beast. A tense, violent and horrific ride that was a complete blast and might just be the best horror film of the year. It's rare that a film comes along where all I want to do is just watch it again, but here we are. Go see Halloween, support good horror films.


9/10 Dans

Halloween is in cinemas now in the UK and has a 4K Steelbook available to pre-order from HMV
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Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) - Cinema Review

Review:

*Originally written October 19th, 2018*

Bad Times at the El Royale feels like its stuck in the '90s, which isn't a bad thing. This clearly Tarantino inspired feels exactly like the sort of film that came out just after Reservoir Dogs, riffing on Tarantino's formula, and for the most part, it works. 

It's a hard one to talk about without spoilers. A group of strangers arrive at the El Royale Hotel, each with a different secret and complicated past. Some more interesting than others, but it all comes to a head when Chris Hemsworth's Charles Manson like cult leader 'Billy Ray' gets involved.

I'm not the biggest fan of Drew Goddard's work so far. I really wanted to like Cabin in the Woods, but just found it remarkably okay and a bit of a slog to get through (I will revisit it at some point though). Goddard clearly has an understanding of genre film-making that has largely been untapped as I can tell he's so much more capable than the films he produces. I will say El Royale is a huge improvement on Cabin at the very least.

Being a Tarantino style film, Goddard does indulge in some of Tarantino's faults. For instance, this is barbarically overlong. So much is drawn out and felt borderline insane to even exist within the film. We see the same event from several different angles multiple times throughout, and it got a little grating. This could have easily done with another round in the editing room.

But in terms of the good stuff, it's pretty much excellent all round. Every single cast member does an excellent job, even with such a talented and diverse cast, everyone feels on the same level and no one stuck out as wasted or pointless. It was incredible to see a film where I actually understood what Jeff Bridges was saying, which is a huge rarity these days. 

The central mystery is constantly intriguing and helped by the marketing which told us pretty much nothing about the film, but really hurt its commercial performance at the same time. It builds up to a spectacular finale involving Chris Hemsworth who completely steals the show. It was so great to see him as the villain and I instantly wanted to ravage him and join his family every moment he was on screen. He just oozed charisma and brought alive every second of his brief performance. I just wish he was in it more, as he completely dominated every scene he was in, despite only showing up in the final act.


Bad Times at the El Royale is a step the right direction for Goddard. An overlong, but intriguing mystery thriller with an excellent cast and gonzo final act brought alive due to the pure psychotic charisma of Chris Hemsworth.

7/10 Dans

Bad Times at the El Royale is out now in cinemas in the UK
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First Man (2018) - Cinema Review

Review:

*Originally written October 16th, 2018*

I had really high hopes for Damien Chazelle's First Man. Whiplash and La La Land were some of my favourite films from the years they came out. There was high buzz, critical acclaim and Oscar talk for this, but when I saw it, I was sadly just pretty underwhelmed. It exceeds on a technical level, but a lot of the film is sadly just a bit of an overlong slog to get to.

I wanted to love this Neil Armstrong biopic, but I was just left cold, but I cannot deny some of the amazing craft that went into making it. With a title like First Man, it's pretty obvious what this is. A biopic leading up to Armstrong's successful mission to the Moon as he becomes the first man to set foot on it.

There's a ton of focus on Armstrong's relationship with his family. Opening with a heartbreaking event that the film just doesn't manage to come close to through its run-time. I have my problems with biopics, they often feel very Oscar baitey, especially the cradle to grave ones. Thankfully, this focuses on a very specific period in Armstrong's life, hitting all the things you'd want to see. 

I was unsure about Gosling's performance as Armstrong at first. He plays it in that same way he did Drive, where he does long pauses and stares before answering a question he's asked. Making him seem possibly autistic. But once I was informed this is what Armstrong was really like, it made a lot of the scenes a lot better in reflection. A particular scene where he has to tell his kids he's leaving and the way he goes about telling them is a huge highlight. I'm gonna be very surprised if Gosling doesn't at least score a nomination for this.

Claire Foy also does an excellent job alongside Gosling as Armstrong's wife, who has to go through the emotional ringer as an astronauts wife, wondering if he'll ever come home and dealing with emotional distance he keeps while training for the history changing mission. Making her such a prominent focus in the story was a smart move and brought a lot more humanity to Gosling's stoic performance. 

I'd mentioned the technical aspects of First Man, and once those moments in space and the training hit, they hit hard. Chazelle makes space seem so cold, empty and terrifying. It's helped by the use of amazing camera work that rarely leaves the from the viewpoint of the Astronauts, making the shuttle seem claustrophobic and scary, especially with the incredible sound design. I'd recommend seeing this on the biggest and loudest screen possible. 

I'm sounding hugely positive towards First Man, but in all honesty, it is let down by some really poor pacing. This thing feels extremely dragged out, you feel every moment of the 140 minute run-time and I'm ashamed to say I did nod off for a brief few moments, which is probably my fault for going to see a film like this on very little sleep. But I just can't help but feel this could have been much tighter if they cut out a good 20-30 minutes of footage.

The buildup to the event itself is honestly worth the wait though. Once they get to the moon it really is some of the most spectacular sights cinema has had to offer in 2018. Everything felt genuine and real, this only could have felt more realistic if they actually went and filmed on the moon itself. It's even capped off with a scene of genuine emotion as Armstrong pays tribute to the opening event of the film that turned him the way he was. 


First Man isn't the masterpiece I wanted it to be, it's too long and a little dry, but it more than makes up for this in the technical department and I'm sure it'll sweep up at the Oscars. It might be something I'll enjoy more on a rewatch, but for now I'm both a little disappointed and impressed. Can't wait to see what Chazelle and Gosling do next.

7/10 Dans

First Man is out now in cinemas in the UK, with a 4K UHD Steelbook available to pre-order from HMV
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Apostle (2018) - Netflix Review

Review:

*Originally written October 12th, 2018*

It's a rare thing to get a good Netflix Original film, it's even rarer to get a great one. Despite the inclusion of Gareth Evans, Dan Stevens and the atmospheric trailers, I had my reservations about Apostle. Netflix have the supreme talent of wasting excellent crews on films that end up being utterly mediocre. To my surprise, Apostle is one of Netflix's best films and one of the best horror films of the year so far.

Thomas Richardson (Dan Stevens) finds himself on a remote island populated by a cult run by Prophet Malcolm (Michael Sheen) as he attempts to find his kidnapped sister as he uncovers the more insane and disturbing goings on on the island. There's clear inspiration to The Wicker Man here, but with Evans kinetic direction, it feels like a Wicker Man homage on crack.

I was unsure at how Evans would do with horror after doing so well with action. Thankfully though, he is a very safe pair of hands, his direction reveals some shocking and horrific moments of brutality and he really knows how to build suspense and create an atmosphere. The design of the island is gorgeous, filled with some incredible cinematography. This is one of those Netflix films that actually looks like a film too, not a glorified, made-for-TV film with a budget. It also looks fantastic with Netflix's 4K output. I really wish they'd release some of their films on UHD. 

There's a slow build up to the action and gore heavy second half, but it's all worth the wait. Evans stretches every moment of tension out as long as he can without it feeling unwelcome. I could argue the film is a bit too long, but I was pretty engrossed most of the time to argue that. I just wish I got to see this on a big-screen and not at home. I imagine I would have loved this even more in a cinema.

Once things do kick off in the second half, it is extremely nasty and grotesque. When people die in this film, they die. There are some utterly vile and painful to watch kills in Apostle and it really justifies that lovely 18 rating it got the UK. Evans does not shy away from any of the brutality, even some of the close to martial arts stuff is pretty brutal. It's not quiet as frantic and choreographed as The Raid 2 for instance, but it's a very welcome addition to a horror film.

Where Apostle does falter a bit is with its characters, there's not really a lot there in terms of character. Dan Stevens does a wonderful job with his performance and with some of the more physical stuff, but I just there was more there with his character. His motivation is pretty sound and easy to get behind, but some forced flashbacks are a bit shoe-horned in to flesh out his character, but don't always work.

Some viewers might find things a little too weird and ambiguous with the goings on in the cult.  The final shot is bound to raise questions and leave the viewer wondering what the hell just happened (As it did with me), but it made me want to rewatch it again in the future. World building and mystery is definitely something Apostle does very right.


Apostle isn't without its problems, but for a Netflix Original film, it is damn excellent. A dark, brutal and involving mystery horror with gorgeous direction and a solid lead performance from Dan Stevens. I'll always just wish I got to see it in cinema though. 

8/10 Dans 

Apostle is streaming now on Netflix worldwide
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A Star is Born (2018) - Cinema Review

Review:

*Originally written October 9th, 2018*

I'd never seen a previous adaptation of this story, but with Bradley Cooper directing his first film and being very impressed by the trailers, I was intrigued, but nothing prepared me for a film of this maturity, honesty and craft. I was unsure going in, I just didn't expect to be this blown away going out.

I've got a real soft spot for these music set dramas. To my surprise this isn't really a musical in the traditional sense, there's musical performances, sure, but it all feels fluid and organic. No one just jumps into song and dance, which I honestly find a little grating and why I'm not the biggest fan of musicals. I much preferred the music being reserved for actual scenes taking place on a stage.

Instead this is just a powerful and honest story about an aspiring star getting into a relationship with a fading country singer. It goes to some very dark and uncomfortable places as Bradley Cooper's Jack starts to succumb to his addictions, putting Lady Gaga's Ally's music career in a compromising place.

I had this concern it might go to drama for dramas sake. Making the film over 2 hours was a really smart choice. We see Jack and Ally's relationship start as he discovers her singing in a drag bar and chooses to launch her career as it begins to overshadow his. Cooper's performance is incredible, an utter powerhouse of emotion and some of the best and hard to watch drunk acting I've seen. It was depressing and uncomfortable to watch, but it was effective. I'd be amazed if he doesn't get at least an Oscar nomination.

As a first time director, Cooper is also creating some of the best work I've seen from his career. He has the craft and care of a director who's been working for decades. I couldn't believe for his first film he managed to balance so many plates and deliver such a compelling and hard-hitting drama. He's a real talent and I cannot wait to see what he does next. He hits at relevant themes of fame, jealousy, depression and alcoholism in ways that feel shockingly real and honest. I can never see this one ageing badly.

My biggest question mark behind A Star is Born going in was Lady Gaga's performance. A tiny role in Sopranos aside, I'd only ever seen her act in American Horror Story, which was tacky trash. but she pulled off an over the top villainess in the context of the show, so I was interested to see if she could pull of a serious drama. And she does, she really holds her own and has real chemistry with Cooper, bringing natural emotion to the proceedings, making things feel real and making that ending so damn hard to watch. It helps she's also a natural talent when it comes to singing and she shines in the much earlier songs before her career turns to tacky pop crap. Which I assume was the point.

The earlier songs in the film are so great. This is easily the best original soundtrack of the year and I know I'll be listening to a lot of these songs again. I loved all the country and rock stuff in the first acts, but while I wasn't keen on the later poppy stuff, it was natural to the film. I was also surprised at how strong Cooper's singing voice was too, he really held his own and delivered some genuinely great songs.

I can't get over how beautiful this film was too. It's filled with gorgeous shots with incredible lighting that won't leave my head for a while. The cinematography was something being rightfully pointed out when the trailers first started dropping, but I was pleased to see the film was incredible to look at all the way through. I can't believe Matthew Libatique was the cinematographer on this and Venom released in the same week. What a contrast.


A Star is Born is a masterwork, a timeless and powerful tale that gets the best of everyone involved. It's a beautiful, bleak and depressing masterpiece and might just be the film of the year by the end of it. This one is gonna sweep at the Oscars. Deservedly.

10/10 Dans

A Star is Born is out now in cinemas in the UK
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A Simple Favor (2018) - Cinema Review

Review:

*Originally written October 9th, 2018*

Wow, what do I say about A Simple Favor? It's utter trash on every level, but at the same time it has so much fun with its mystery, concept and absurd amount of plot twists that I couldn't help but have so much fun with it. It feels like the Scary Movie spoof of Gone Girl, and it knows that, so it embraces it, while at the same time creates an oddly compelling mystery.

It always helps when you go into a film knowing nothing about it, apart from hearing the reviews were positive, I'd not seen a trailer or even known what the film was about, all I knew that is was directed by Paul Feig and stars Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively. I had seen the poster, which for some reason gave me flashbacks to last year's Unforgettable....

Thankfully, this is much better than that, it's trashy and looks cheap, and it feels like it belongs in a different decade. I could easily see this made in the '90s adding to the list of films like Basic Instinct or Fatal Attraction. There's clear inspirations to Hitchcock and Fincher that Feig wears on his sleeve. At one point I genuinely thought the twist at the end was going to be Fight Club. 

Anna Kendrick is an actress I've never really liked, her presence just annoyed me and I don't know why, but here she is the best I've ever seen her, carrying along this mystery to find out what happened to her mysterious friend and dig up her past, finding increasingly insane and outrageous twists. 

The mysterious friend in question, I'm not sure quite how to feel about. Blake Lively completely dominates the screen with her presence and outfits whenever she appears, playing the most psychotic and deranged character of her career. Imagine Gone Girl's Amy if it was a Lifetime film directed by Paul Feig. Her performance goes a little over the top towards the end, but I'm sure that was intentional with the tone and how absurd things got. 

And boy do things get absurd by the end. There's a bit of a lag in the middle, but once that third act hits, it is full throttle chaos that spits a new plot twist at you every couple of minutes. I was shook at just how insane this got. It was utter trash and a lot didn't make sense, but it carried me along for the ride and I loved it for that. 

I was pretty surprised at how toned down the comedy was for a Paul Feig film too, while it is primarily a mystery thriller, there are a few genuinely funny moments to level out the tone of A Simple Favor, without sinking to the overly crude tone of his other films. I'm even pretty sure the absolutely atrocious performances from the children was intention for a quick laugh. I couldn't comprehend how child acting this bad made it into the final cut of this film.


A Simple Favor is a hard film to judge, it's trash and it knows it, but at the same time it has so much fun with it and so does the audience. Plus it's got one of the most interesting performances of Blake Lively's career. I hope Feig continues to make more films in the tone of this.

7/10 Dans

A Simple Favor is out now in cinemas in the UK
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Johnny English Strikes Again (2018) - Cinema Review

Review:

*Originally written October 9th, 2018*

We live in a society that now has 3 Johnny English films. Yes. 3 of these things. I'll admit, as a child, I loved the first one, I rented the VHS pretty frequently to the point of annoyance. I remember being so excited for the second one, but it turned out to be a piece of shit. Then I rewatched the first one a couple of years ago, and that did not hold up as well as I'd hoped. 

Johnny English Strikes Again is at the very least better than the previous film, yet that doesn't stop it from being a low effort spy spoof full of lazy jokes and strange moments. That said, there is still the odd moment of creativity and a couple of genuine laughs that keep this from being a total dud.

Now retired from MI7, Johnny English Strikes Back finds Johnny English coming back into the game after a cyber attack on the government leaves every known agent exposed. It's a pretty easy story for them to come up with, it feels eerily similar to Skyfall. An analogue agent in a digital world trying to adapt to the modern spy life.

It's all just very serviceable, predictable and straight-forward. I can't be too massively harsh on this, I have to remember this is a kids film and not a character study about a clearly mentally challenged man who became a secret agent. I wasn't expected Mission Impossible: Fallout in terms of action, but everything felt pretty cheap and forgettable, but like I said, there is an odd moment of inspired genius. A scene involving Johnny going bananas during a VR exercise was a real highlight, as was a surprisingly creative scene of a car chase in a learner car.

Atkinson still does slap-stick humour really well, it's exactly what you'd expect. English is remarkably stupid and I genuinely believe he's mentally challenged. I just feel I've grown out this sort of thing and it starts to get pretty grating before thankfully ending after a brief 90 minute run-time. So at the very least, it barely outstays its welcome.


Johnny English Strikes Again is exactly what you'd expect from the third entry in the British spy spoof. I don't know what else to say. It's merely fine and an easy way to kill 90 minutes as a long as you can put up with some painful and outdated jokes (Someone actually plays Temple Run in this). I just hope Johnny English 4 is a more grounded character study about what it means to be a mentally challenged secret agent. 

5/10 Dans

Johnny English Strikes Again is out now in cinemas is the UK
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