Mortal Kombat

Official Australian release date: 22/4/21. Viewed: 23/4/21.
Director: Simon McQuoid
Actors: Lewis Tan, Joe Taslim, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson
Genre: Action / Fantasy
Rating: R

 

‘Mortal Kombat’ is a reboot of the 1995 film based on the early 90s arcade game. As such, the bar is quite low! The story revolves around Hanzo (Sanada), who battles Sub Zero (Taslim) in samurai-era Japan. We then cut to 500 years later and Hanzo’s heir, Cole (Tan) is a semi-washed-up MMA fighter trying to support his family, when he’s approached by Jax (Brooks) and Sonya (McNamee) to inform him that he’s a Champion and needed to defend Earth. Fighting ensues!

We never really learn where or when it’s set, but it doesn’t really matter and the outback South Australia scenery is great to see on screen and gives it an otherworldly vibe, as it’s not the standard “American West”. There’s some allusions as to the why/what “Mortal Kombat” is and we then get to see Raiden (Asano), Kang (Lin) & Lao (Huang), as well as the “bad guys”, Nitara (Jarnson) & Tsung (Han) + Sub Zero in full costume, as they set out to destroy Earth. Special mention to Kano (Lawson), who brings comedic relief and is super-annoying – hopefully on purpose!

With the solid pacing and OK set-up in the first 15min, the film definitely meanders all over the shop and seems like it’s episode 3 of a 10-part TV series, before it gets 70min and realises it needs to make something happen, so suddenly there’s heaps of fighting and individual battles, before the big sequel-setting-finale. For an R-rated film, probably not as gory as I was expecting, but still some laugh-inducing deaths.

Overall: Semi-tongue-in-cheek action silliness.

Gav's Rating: 2.5 stars.

Godzilla vs. Kong

Official Australian release date: 25/3/21. Viewed: 6/4/21.
Director: Adam Wingard
Actors: Kaylee Hottle, Alexander Skarsgard, Rebecca Hall, Millie Bobby Brown
Genre: Sci-Fi / Action
Rating: M

‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ finishes (hah!) the Godzilla reboot trilogy (2014’s ‘Godzilla’ & 2019’s ‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters’) and links with 2017’s ‘Kong: Skull Island’ in Legendary Entertainment’s “monster-verse”. The plot is: Godzilla and Kong are the only remaining “titans” from myth and therefore must fight. It brings back Madison (“Eleven”/Bobby Brown) and Dr Russell (Chandler) from ‘King of the Monsters’, for some reason. But besides the two CGI centerpieces, the only other character of substance is Jia (Hottle), the deaf orphan that can communicate with Kong.

The B plot, revolving around Nathan (Skarsgard), Ilene (Hall), Jia & Walter Simmons (Birchir) trying to get Kong to the “hollow core of the Earth” – ridiculous not-worth-mentioning physics – and C plot following Madison, Josh (“Ricky Baker”/Dennison) & Bernie (Hayes) about trying to prove Godzilla’s innocence, are just padding to get to the required runtime. Otherwise it’d just be a 40min film of two giant monsters fighting!

Which is why it’s not a terrible film – it delivers what it sets out to do. The soundtrack is odd, and when they get to Hong Kong, it turns into ‘Tron’ – including the lighting of the buildings. Not sure why... Some good CGI, with what I imagine a Komodo Dragon fighting a gorilla might be like in real life. A few laugh-out-loud moments and oddly you end up empathizing with Kong as a fellow mammal. Needless to say, I’m sure further sequels will follow.

Overall: Dumb fun popcorn flick.

Gav's Rating: 3 stars.

Nobody

Official Australian release date: 1/4/21. Viewed: 5/4/21.
Director: Ilya Naishuller
Actors: Bob Odenkirk, Christopher Lloyd, Aleksey Serebryakov, Connie Nielsen
Genre: Action / Thriller
Rating: MA
 

 

‘Nobody’ is a unassuming-man-becomes-vengeful-killer film, in the vein of ‘Taken’ and ‘John Wick’. However, it definitely has a little more tongue-in-cheek thanks to Bob Odenkirk and his comedic timing/delivery. Hutch (Odenkirk) is an accountant, with a wife, Becca (Nielsen) and two kids and regular visits to his elderly Pops (Lloyd) – nothing to see here. Until their home is broken into, which leads to a string unravelling and Hutch reverting to some long-buried tendencies.

Does a good job of setting the scene, showing that Hutch has been leading a normal life and not working undercover for the CIA or anything – it’s just unfortunate that he’s led into a war with the Russian mafia and Yulian (Serebryakov). There’s not a whole heap that’s new or revolutionary, and there’s plenty of action and violence, but nothing too gratuitous or insane.

It’s fast-paced, doesn’t overstay it’s welcome, with a satisfying ending a a great soundtrack, adding to some of the underlying not-too-seriousness. Great support cast of Nielsen, Munroe, Cadorath, RZA, Mengesha, Ironside and the always-a-pleasure-to-watch Christopher Lloyd, still going strong at 82. Also, kudos to Odenkirk for his action scenes at 58!

Overall: Fun action shoot-em-up.

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.

Chaos Walking

Official Australian release date: 4/3/21. Viewed: 9/3/21.

Director: Doug Liman
Actors: Tom Holland, Daisy Ridley, Mads Mikkelsen, David Oyelowo
Genre: Sci-Fi / Action
Rating: M

‘Chaos Walking’ is a near-future humanity-trying-to-colonise-a-new-planet film, based on the book ‘The Knife of Never Letting Go’ by Patrick Ness, which I haven’t read. I may have to read the three books, as the unique “power” all the men on this new planet have is that their thoughts are visible – called “the noise”, shown as multi-coloured clouds around their heads. No secrets here! Or so you’d think. Todd (Holland) is a teenager raised on this planet, guided by the mayor, Prentiss (Mikkelsen) & preacher (Oyelowo), when Viola (Ridley) crash lands from the 2^nd fleet from Earth.

It’s directed by Doug Liman, who has a very interesting CV now (‘Swingers’, ‘Bourne Identity’, ‘Mr & Mrs Smith’, ‘Edge of Tomorrow’) and does a good job to keep things moving, while slowly fleshing out the characters. It’s essentially a chase film, with Todd & Viola on the run the whole time. Quebec does a good job of standing is as not-unusually-seen terrain. The “noise” can get annoying at times, but Holland’s charm helps.

I should highlight that some won’t like the few instances of animal cruelty shown on screen, so be warned. Good to see Spider-Man and Rey acting together – you can see the studio trying to cash in when they filmed this 3.5 years ago! Why there are some quite obvious reveals (reminds me more of ‘The Chrysalids’ than other sci-fi novels), and there is a little more world-building needed (I’m sure we’ll see sequels), it offers enough to leave you satisfied.

Overall: Solid, if unspectacular, sci-fi.

Gav's Rating: 3 stars.

Raya and the Last Dragon

Official Australian release date: 4/3/21. Viewed: 6/3/21.
Directors: Don Hall & Carlos Estrada
Actors: Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Izaac Wang, Gemma Chan
Genre: Fantasy / Adventure
Rating: PG

‘Raya & the Last Dragon’ is another excellent Disney Animation film (not Pixar), with strong female characters, a well-plotted story and some breathtaking animation. We’re introduced to the fantasy world of Kumandra, which is an imitation of Thailand, Cambodia, China, Malaysia and Vietnam, where benevolent dragons once lived in harmony with humans. Raya (Tran; “rie-a”, not “ray-a”) is a princess in the now-divided Kumandra, as is Namaari (Chan). To restore peace and Kumandra, Raya sets out to find the last dragon – Sisu (Awkwafina) – and the gem.

Awkwafina provides lots of the comedy as Sisu and works really well, as does Raya’s armadillo, Tuk Tuk. Along the way, Raya & Sisu are joined and helped by Boun (Wang), Tong (Wong) and some cute monkeys. Needless to say, there’s a big showdown with others that are selfishly keeping parts of the gem. Lots of great sword battles!

The pacing is great, and there’s plenty of subtle and not-so-subtle lessons laid in. Some nice character growth for Raya and Namaari. The CGI is exceptional – I don’t think kids these days appreciate it how good they have it! What they’re able to make happen on-screen is a joy to watch. Totally satisfying experience.

Overall: Visually and emotionally superb story.

Gav's Rating: 4 stars.

The Little Things

Official Australian release date: 18/2/21. Viewed: 21/2/21.
Director: John Lee Hancock
Actors: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto, Chris Bauer
Genre: Drama / Thriller
Rating: M

‘The Little Things’ is almost a straightforward murder-mystery, with Deacon (Washington), a deputy sheriff in Northern California, picking up some evidence from LAPD, where he runs into Baxter (Malek) and Sal (Bauer) and ends up helping them with a murder investigation. We slowly learn more about Deacon’s past and how there might be some links between recent murders and cases that Deacon & Sal were investigating in the past.

It’s certainly not a thrill ride or full of excitement, but is a decently paced moody film, with a great score. Sparma (Leto) comes into it as a potential suspect. Each of the main three actors get a chance to shine in their own way, with Washington able to convey so much without words multiple times, and Leto does an excellent “creepy” with his gait & I assume contacts to make his pupils larger.

There is constantly little reveals which keep things moving. The third act is truly surprising and makes you ask “why!?” a few times and certainly doesn’t wrap up as you might expect. Nothing revolutionary, but an assured film that showcases some great actors showing off their chops.

Overall: Solid murder mystery, without any pizazz.

Gav's Rating: 3 stars.

High Ground

 

Official Australian release date: 28/1/21. Viewed: 7/2/21.
Director: Stephen Johnson
Actors: Simon Baker, Jacob Junior Nayinggul, Callan Mulvey, Sean Mununggurr
Genre: Drama / Thriller
Rating: MA

‘High Ground’ is a fictionalised glimpse into events that would have happened all the time in the 18^th, 19^th & even 20^th century, as the British colonised Australia. This film is set in the 1930s, in Arnhem Land and Kakadu, and follows one Aboriginal tribe’s fight for survival, particularly Gutjuk (Nayinggul), his uncle Baywara (Mununggurr) and grandfather Dharrpa (Marika), after the shocking intro scene we see in 1919.

Involved in the 1919 attack are Travis (Baker) and Eddy (Mulvey), both NT Police who report to Moran (Thompson). It’s interesting to see their varying amounts of tolerance for the locals, including when Walter (Pedersen) comes in from Queensland to help. Thompson does a good job of pretensions Monarch-loving toff, while Baker is understated. The film starts to move when Travis and Gutjuk are sent to find and bring in Baywara, where allegiances are tested.

The film’s rated MA for a reason and there are a few devastating scenes. But they’re put there to make us confront and acknowledge what happened in Australia for 150 years after white settlement. The film does this well by letting us see through Gutjuk’s eyes – Nayinggul does well as both a literal and metaphorical translator. Drones are used to great effect to capture the stunning scenery and the score and soundtrack are both good. Certainly not fun, but a well-made film and story.

Overall: Australian racial tension contrasted with natural beauty.

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.