Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

Official Australian release date: 22/6/23. Viewed: 26/6/23.
Director: Steven Caple Jr
Actors: Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, Peter Cullen, Pete Davidson
Genre: Action / Sci-Fi
Rating: M

‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ is maybe the 7^th Transformers film and a reboot (also maybe) – I gave up watching them a while ago, but making this a film version of the great 1996-99 TV show ‘Beast Wars’ made it worth a watch. While we get Maximals, there’s no Predacons – I assume they’ll be the plot for the sequel. This is set in 1994 for some reason, so we get plenty of 90s hip-hop and two new human characters – Noah (Ramos) & Elena (Fishback). They find the power-stone-thing, which is a space/time portal, which brings the Autobots and the Terrorcons (not Decepticons).

The plot is then to either destroy the power-stone-thing, or the Autobots use it to get back to Cybertron. The Maximals got sent back in time to Earth 5,000 years ago, escaping Unicron (the Galactus of Transformers). They then go to Peru to try to stop Unicron coming to Earth. As with all alien films, too much time is spent on humans, as after the 5min prologue, there’s probably 40min with mostly just Noah and Elena and giving them backstory. I know they think we relatable characters, but we’re mostly here to see robots fight!

Which does pay-off solidly in the final act. It’s good to see Optimus still voiced by Peter Cullen and Bumblebee is still there, with Mirage (the Porche) voiced by Pete Davidson. There’s also Arcee, Wheeljack, Optimus Primal, Air-razor, Rhinox and Cheetor. The main bad-guy, Unicron’s right-hand-man, is a Ultron rip-off, Scourge (Dinklage). Ending is predictable, but obviously leaves open further films. Some solid jokes and action throughout. I think if you’re a 7-14 year old kid, you’ll love this.

Overall: Lacking in many ways, but fun enough

Gav's Rating: 3 stars

The Flash

Official Australian release date: 15/6/23. Viewed: 14/6/23.
Director: Andy Muschietti
Actors: Ezra Miller, Sasha Calle, Michael Keaton, Ben Affleck
Genre: Action / Sci-Fi
Rating: M

‘The Flash’ has been a long time coming, when you consider that Miller first played the character in ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ in 2016 and this version of the film starring Miller was announced in 2014! It’s interesting that they still try to make him the “funny one” of the Justice League team, when DC have kind of done that with the two ‘Shazam’ films already, and at it’s core, this film asks the serious question – if you could go back in time, would you save a loved one who died?

Due to the time-travel & parallel universe aspect of the film, we get to see many multiples – Barry/Flash (Miller), Batman (Keaton & Affleck) and Superman (no spoilers!). I’d say Keaton actually gets more screentime than Affleck and does really well, especially considering he’s 71 and hasn’t played Batman for over 30 years! The main plot is basically ‘Back to the Future’, which gets plenty of nods, with Batman and Kara (Calle) helping Barry to get back and overcome the changes of where he’s ended up.

Some of the “speed-force” CGI is pretty bad and the main problem the film has is trying to tie together a decade of DC films that haven’t had the same interconnectedness/planning as the Marvel films. This film uses Zod (Shannon) as the villain again, taking it back to 2013’s ‘Man of Steel’. While there’s not a crazy amount that’s new, there’s some funny/nice/good moments, but probably not enough to elevate this to something special, and it’s not quite as good as ‘Wonder Woman’ or ‘Man of Steel’.

Overall: Decent time-travel caper

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Official Australian release date: 1/6/23. Viewed: 2/6/23.
Directors: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin Thompson
Actors: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac, Jason Schwartzman
Genre: Action / Sci-Fi
Rating: PG

‘Across the Spider-Verse’ is the 4 and a half years later sequel to ‘Into the Spider-Verse’, with the third part of the trilogy – ‘Beyond the Spider-Verse’ – thankfully only a 9-month wait. It doesn’t pick up right where the first one finished, but starts with Gwen Stacy (Steinfeld) in her universe, before we get re-introduced to now-15-years-old Miles Morales (Moore). It’s probably not essential to have seen the first film, or any of the other ‘Spider-Man’ films, but it definitely helps – lots of little nods and references throughout.

This time the seemingly-innocuous villain is “The Spot” (Schwartzman), who has a cool power and makes some good jokes, but actually has a solid arc, which sets up the next film. Worth noting this is basically half a film (even though it goes for 2 hours 15min), intentionally split in two. When Miles and Gwen try to stop The Spot across the multiverse, they encounter a universe full of Spider-Men, including the familiar Peter Parker (Johnson), with the 2099 version Miguel (Isaac) trying to act as the safekeeper of the multiverse, which sets up a disagreement.

There’s a fair bit going on, obviously, and so many inside jokes and references when we meet some of the various Spider-Men (would reward repeat viewings), but at it’s heart it’s still a coming-of-age story with Miles and Gwen at it’s centre, trying to do what’s right and prove themselves in the world(s). Soundtrack will appeal to teens. I think the universe-hopping is handled well, but the standout, as with the original, is the various types of animation and how they change and fit each scene. The watercolours complement the CGI and classic cartoon styles superbly. Some great new sidekick characters and set-up superbly for the third (final?) film.

Overall: Still plenty of action & fun – bring on the finale!

Gav's Rating: 4 stars

Evil Dead Rise

Official Australian release date: 20/4/23. Viewed: 7/5/23.
Director: Lee Cronin
Actors: Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Gabrielle Echols, Nell Fisher
Genre: Horror
Rating: R

‘Evil Dead Rise’ is not a direct sequel to the 2013 reboot, but rather a continuation of the demonic possession horror series. No real links to ‘Ash vs Evil Dead’ or Bruce Campbell, but it is produced by him and Sam Rami. It’s filmed in New Zealand, but presumably set in California. The main difference is that this is not set in a cabin in the woods, but rather an apartment building, where Ellie (Sutherland), her kids Bridget (Echols), Danny (Davies) and Kassie (Fisher) live, when their sister/aunty Beth (Sullivan) visits.

Once an earthquake leads to an unearthing of the Book of the Dead, we’re set on a familiar path of demonic possession and horrific gore and violence. While nothing particularly new, the top-level apartment setting opens up new possibilities and the young family with two strong female protagonists is a nice new take. All the actors are good, including the three kids. Soundtrack is appropriately violin-filled and on point.

There’s 12 characters in all, so enough for a good kill-count, with just enough time to get to know the family of 5 and care about them. It’s a tight 95min, so not much fluffing around, which is great. Plenty of vomiting, blood, gore, contortion and the speedy-camera-like-the-wind we’ve come to expect. Nice little nod to ‘The Shining’. While not being tongue-in-cheek, there’s definitely still some laughs and inventive deaths, but genuinely scary and gross in parts.

Overall: Really delivers on the horror to new or old fans

Gav's Rating: 4 stars

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Official Australian release date: 4/5/23. Viewed: 4/5/23.
Director: James Gunn
Actors: Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Karen Gillan, Chukwudi Iwuji
Genre: Action / Sci-Fi
Rating: M

‘Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3’ is the fifth MCU trilogy to wrap up, but the difference here is that it feels like we’ve been waiting a long time, as it’s almost 9 years since the original film showed us how fun and unique a ragtag bunch of semi-superhero aliens could be. Following the events of ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (and, to a lesser degree, ‘Thor: Love & Thunder’ and the Holiday Special), we pick up with Peter (Pratt), Rocket (Cooper), Groot (Diesel), Nebula (Gillan), Mantis (Klementieff), Drax (Bautista), Cosmo (Bakalova) and Kraglin (Gunn) when they’re attacked by Adam Warlock (Poulter) and Rocket is injured, sending them on a journey to save him.

We see a lot – maybe too much? – of Rocket’s history via flashback and how he came to be. While a lot of this is emotional and builds his characters, the other characters – including the “new” Gamora (Saldana) – somehow seem to not have as much to do, or somehow just a little off. The “bad guy” they’re out to defeat is The High Evolutionary (Iwuji), who has undefined powers, but needless to say, likes experimenting on animals trying to perfect evolution.

There’s some cameos, another good soundtrack (including a nice call-back in the mid-credits scene), top-notch CGI and some funny moments throughout. But for all the good moments, they’re almost balanced with not-quite-right parts – the melancholy version of Radiohead’s Creep that sets an odd tone, Rocket’s whole arc, the organic space station, the High Evolutionary’s mask, Gamora’s character, Warlock’s near pointlessness and the inevitable ending. It’s not that it’s bad or that they don’t work, it’s just a lot darker and less exuberant than the other two films.

Overall: Bit of a different adventure to conclude the trilogy

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars

A Good Person

Official Australian release date: 20/4/23. Viewed: 25/4/23.
Director: Zach Braff
Actors: Florence Pugh, Morgan Freeman, Celste O’Connor, Chinaza Uche
Genre: Drama
Rating: MA

‘A Good Person’ is Zach Braff’s fourth film as director, and for mine, his best yet (yes, even better than ‘Garden State’). As much as I like him, his films might be better without him in them! This is a well-written and superbly-acted investigation of grief and love. Allison (Pugh) and Nathan (Uche) are engaged when tragedy strikes, leaving Allie addicted to painkillers. What follows is the story of how each cope with their grief.

The acting is exceptional across the board – Nathan’s Dad, Daniel (Freeman), niece Ryan (O’Connor), Allison’s Mum, Dianne (Shannon) and sponsor, Simone (Lister-Jones). All have significant roles in how they interact with Pugh, who puts on a masterclass, at times trying to be brave, others completely at a loss – and you feel it all with her. I think she’ll be around for a long, long time. Even her songs are good!

The score overall is solid, and New Jersey serves as a nice setting, with some New York thrown in, as is always the case. This is certainly not a typical romantic drama, or “sad film”, with plenty of moments of humour, as well as some subtle warnings about drug-use and using phones while driving. Pacing is good and it’s not too long. But it’s a story of love and forgiveness at it’s heart and does an exceptional job of making you care about Allison and Daniel in particular. Certainly not many dry eyes in the theatre at the end!

Overall: Excellent story of grief and humanity

Gav's Rating: 4 stars

 

Air

Official Australian release date: 5/4/23. Viewed: 7/4/23.
Director: Ben Affleck
Actors: Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Viola Davis, Ben Affleck
Genre: Drama
Rating: M

‘Air’ (as in “Air Jordan” shoes) is Ben Affleck’s 5^th time directing, and while not as good as ‘Gone Baby Gone’, it’s slightly better than ‘The Town’ and ‘Argo’, and certainly better than ‘Live by Night’. In my opinion, he’s a far better director than he is an actor. Which is good, because he has an important role as Phil Knight, CEO of Nike, but too much screentime. The main star here is Sonny (Damon), who’s Nike basketball talent scout, and works with Rob (Bateman, mostly-serious), Howard (Tucker, good to see him back) and Peter (Maher) in Nike’s Portland headquarters in the mid-1980s.

Together, they set out to make something of Nike’s floundering basketball division, with all their revenue coming from selling running shoes, and being out-performed by Converse and Adidas. While Michael Jordan is central to the story, they specifically don’t show him at all, as this is the start of his journey to super-stardom – he’s represented by his mum, Deloris (Davis, always great), dad (Tennon) and agent David (Messina).

While it’s about negotiating a deal, that’s not the only focus, with most emphasis on Sonny and his relationships with his bosses, Jordan’s agent and parents and others in the real-world. Reminds me a bit of Damon’s performance in ‘Ford v Ferrari’ and how the film brings to life the passion and drama behind professional sports. It’s serves as a good companion piece to ‘The Last Dance’. Some good moments of levity – including the ending – some good 80s songs, some touching moments and all over in under 2 hours.

Overall: Solid acting, directing and writing make a film about a shoe interesting

Gav's Rating: 4 stars