TV Review: Westworld - Series Two Episode Six "Phase Space"

"We Each Deserve To Choose Our Fate. Even If That Fate Is Death..."

Arriving with a steadier, more productive narrative pacing than previous episodes so far this season, this week's chapter of Westworld was undeniably the best entry within its' second season so far, mixing superbly choreographed action set pieces with interesting core story developments and a surprising character return which ended the episode on the most thrilling cliffhanger yet, and whilst most of the action primarily occurred within the Shogunworld portion of the various narrative strands, each of the core character arcs did manage to be examined this week in a fashion which pushed the story further ahead in riotously entertaining fashion. With Maeve and co. wishing a fond farewell to the antics of Shogunworld for the time being, the episode at least managed to produce a swashbuckling samurai duel before returning to Maeve's long lost home, where upon discovering the rules of Westworld at its' coldest and cruellest, was seen to bear a similar path with that of the wildly unpredictable Ghost Nation. 

Elsewhere, the fundamental changes implemented by Delores onto Teddy paid obvious dividends with a newly found murderous streak which even Delores seemed to find surprising, and with the first real productive attack on Westworld HQ, the endgame of Delores' plan seems to be somewhat put in motion, but with an opening scene which detailed a test outlining the "fidelity" of Bernard's host, this particular scene is yet another which hasn't yet identified its' place in the wandering time strands within Westworld's storytelling technique, outlining that there is still many more secrets to be let loose before anything can be taken as a certainty. Of course, the most interesting plot thread this week lands with Bernard and Elsie's attempts to crack into the Cradle, a hybrid hive mind which seemingly acts as the home hub for everything within the park, including the mind of every single active host, defective or not defective, and with Bernard jacking himself into it in a The Matrix influenced sensibility in order to locate the source of a mysterious contact attempting to communicate with the Cradle, the episode ends with the ghostly reflection of Anthony Hopkins' Dr. Ford and a cliffhanger which results in "Phase Space" being the most rewarding and deliciously entertaining hour to come out of Westworld season two so far. 

Overall Score: 9/10

Film Review: Solo: A Star Wars Story

"Let Me Give You Some Advice. Assume Everyone Will Betray You And You Will Never Be Disappointed..."

Within the space of just one blockbusting cinematic month, audiences across the globe have been joyously rewarded with big release after big release, with Infinity War and Deadpool 2 both hotly anticipated franchise follow ups which have seemingly succeeded to staggering degrees in terms of both their critical appeal and eye-watering box office figures, particular in regards to the former which has managed to cement its' place quite rightly into the top five highest grossing films of all time. Another week therefore brings with it yet another Disney backed big budget extravaganza in the form of Solo: A Star Wars Story, the second spin-off in the ever expanding space opera franchise after 2016's Rogue One and a movie which explores the early undertakings of Alden Ehrenreich's (Hail, Caesar!) young, cocky and confident take on the titular space pilot. With high-profile production issues, including the firing of original director's Phil Lord and Christopher Miller of 21 and 22 Jump Street fame after "creative differences" and mumbling's regarding Ehrenreich's on-set acting ability, a strange rumour if ever there was one considering his superb performance in Hail, Caesar!, Solo seemed doomed to fail from the outset, and with fan expectation an all-time low for a cinematic release with the Star Wars branding after mixed responses to its' fundamental existence, does Solo manage to fend off its' many steely-eyed critics?

Thankfully, and somewhat surprisingly, the film does exactly just that, swapping the melancholic and controversially bold tones of Rogue One and The Last Jedi respectively for a more conventional science fiction romp, one stuffed full of exhilarating action set pieces, interesting new characters and a youth-infused charm thanks to the steady handed nature of its' well-formed cast who have gripped tightly the chance to step into the shoes of iconic franchise personas. With Ron Howard taking over directorial duties halfway through the filming process and capturing a reported seventy percent of the finished article on his own say, for a man whose back catalogue varies from greatness (Rush, Frost/Nixon) to outright blandness (Inferno, In The Heart of the Sea), the "steady handed" approach of Howard's film-making abilities isn't exactly the first name to spring to mind when attempting to rebuild a reportedly sunken ship, but credit of course should be handed when its' due and whilst its' hard to gauge perhaps Howard's stamp on the final product, Solo is undeniably well made and makes up for its' somewhat straightforward hero narrative by having the most fun possible with its' strong points, akin to say the more low-key Marvel releases such as Ant-Man and Doctor Strange which play to a sense of familiarity but succeed due to the commitment showed by all involved. 

With Ehrenreich easing into the inexperienced, swaggering nature of a hopeful Han Solo, the film begins by presenting the central relationship between Solo and Emilia Clarke's (Game of Thrones) Qi'ra, a fellow low-born survivor who like Han himself, will do anything to survive the perilous world of slavers, gangsters and thieves which the film resides in. With Solo's journey resulting in introductions to Woody Harrelson's (Three Billboards) father figure, Tobias Beckett, Paul Bettany's (Infinity War) scar-ridden criminal, Dryden Voss, and of course, Donald Glover's (The Martian) charming interpretation of Lando Calrissian, the range of bright, fascinating characters allows the limited amount of time spent on deep, meaningful characterisation to be somewhat overlooked, with Howard at times more interested in a rapid, relentless editing pace which moves from one well designed planet to the the next without ever really having the chance to breathe. Whilst the relationship between Qi'ra and Solo is somewhat generic and functional, the real bromance of the piece is of course between Solo and Chewbacca, the furry, murderous Wookie who is as charming and fundamentally likeable as ever, and with the interactions between the cast effective and wickedly humorous, the Disney stamp which has made most of the entries in the MCU so great is vividly on show to see. With it meant to be the undisputed train wreck of the year, Solo: A Star Wars Story turns out to be anything but, a splendidly ludicrous popcorn fest which ties into the franchise's space opera mantra with ease, a movie which will hopefully appease the fans left cold by The Last Jedi and one which proves that when in doubt, get the right guys in to get the job done. 

Overall Score: 8/10 

TV Review: Westworld - Series Two Episode Five "Akane No Mai"

"Welcome To Shogunworld..."

With the ever expanding Westworld universe opening audiences' eyes to the possibility of a samurai-inspired section of the park two weeks ago, the tantalising prospect of seeing sword swaying hosts in action was completely disregarded last week after leaving keen observers such as myself without a resolution to the cliffhanger the previous week, but with no time wasted this week, the half way mark of the second season brought with it action aplenty, mysterious god-like powers and the introduction to Shogunworld, a hostile laden territory designed for those who found Westworld "too tame". With the hosts seemingly similarly malfunctioning within a land consisting of ninjas, ronin warriors and beautiful geisha's, the episode focuses on Maeve's struggle to remove herself and her party away from a narrative which bears an aching similarity to her own, with parallels between both Westworld and Shogunworld not only limited to host story-lines but their own personal characteristics too, evidenced by an excellent familiar set-piece in which Rodrigo Santoro's Hector gets to see his own brand of infamous and criminal escapades played out in front of him. 

With the real talking point of the episode landing on Maeve's sudden ability for total hosts control without the use of speech or movement at all, her newly found "witchcraft" paints a clear picture which points to her as the most powerful corrupted host within the park, particularly in regards to her eagerness to dismantle many of her fellow hosts as possible, and with a concluding dance routine which features undoubtedly the season's most violently beautiful host kill thus far, the introduction of Akane, a host bearing more than one similarity to Maeve, creates a wonderfully murderous double act for the continuation of their respective journey. On the other side of the park, the build-up of Delores' deception against Teddy after she declares him to not be fit for her new world due to his fundamental empathetic and caring nature, ran parallel's with the "present day" in which we see Teddy's deceased corpse after it was fished out of the water by the Delos recovery team, and with Delos more than eager to be re-acquainted with Delores' father, the missing Peter Abernathy, the narrative gaps are still plain to see but still interesting enough to be constantly engaging. With sword fights, gruesome deaths and the exploration of a fresh, if familiar, new park, Westworld was on excellent form once again this week and continued the strong start to a first half of a season which continues to make audiences think above all else. 

Overall Score: 8/10

Film Review: Deadpool 2

"Doing The Right Thing Is Messy. You Want To Fight For What's Right, Sometimes You Have To Fight Dirty..."

With Avengers: Infinity War concurring global box office domination for the past four weeks or so, it seems only fair that another highly anticipated superhero sequel should try and chip at the financial willingness of a 21st century, comic-hungry audience, and whilst that sequel this week is of course Deadpool 2, it comes at no surprise that Marvel, and more unsurprisingly, Disney, feel the need to make even more eye-watering sums of cash with yet another hot release. I mean come on, it almost feels like yet another Star Wars should be coming out soon, right? Right? Swapping mass universal destruction and gut wrenching superhero genocide for the 15 rated oeuvre in which 2016's Deadpool graced its' successful presence, Deadpool 2 swaps original director, Tim Miller, for Atomic Blonde and unaccredited John Wick director, David Leitch, as it attempts to build on the meta-referencing, fourth-wall breaking shenanigans of its' predecessor and proving the joke of R-rated comic book carnage isn't as one note as one might expect. With the original Deadpool described in my own review as "not amazing, but enjoyable nonetheless" and a movie which "goes in one ear and carves its' way out the other in the most violent and adolescent way possible", it's ironic how such sentiments echo the feeling of its' sequel, a movie which takes the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 approach of playing to its' predecessors strengths and attempting to expand upon them to successful degrees, and whilst Vol.2 never was going to match the success of its' respective predecessor, Deadpool 2 does manage to complete such a task and whilst Leitch's movie still isn't on the same level of excellence as other Marvel alternatives, it's still a expletive laden ride. 

With Ryan Reynolds (Life) returning as the invincible and titular figure of Wade Wilson, the added inclusion of 2018's man of the year, Josh Brolin, as the time travelling, futuristic cyborg killer, Nathan Summers/Cable, is undeniably one of the more pressing reasons for the sequel's existence, but with Brolin's superbly crafted digital performance of Thanos in Infinity War setting a new bar for superhero villains, it's surprising how little character development Brolin's Cable is afforded in the movie's extended two hour runtime, resulting in his character somewhat lacking in memorability even when Brolin is as cool and imposing as ever. With an added level of sentiment within a Looper inspired narrative, particularly aided by the inclusion of Hunt for the Wilderpeople's, Julian Dennison, the tonal shifts between shock value comedy and gut punching loss does not work well at all, with the early death of an important character not entirely suiting the film's overly silly sensibility, but with at least eighty percent of the quickfire puns and sharp, slick in-house references resulting in effective laughs, Deadpool 2 feeds the paying audience exactly what they want without ever stopping slow enough to fall out of the carnival-esque state the movie straps you into, and with solid enough action and comedy set pieces, a quickfire editing pace and a combination of brilliantly designed pre and post credit sequences, Deadpool 2 is flashier, more experimental and much more rewarding that its' first incarnation, but too a movie which begs the question how much longer the joke can be stretched out before it begins to feel slightly tiresome. I'm sure the box office will have the final answer on that one. 

Overall Score: 7/10

TV Review: Westworld - Series Two Episode Four "The Riddle of the Sphinx"

"My Memories, I Get Lost In Them. I Can't Tell If This Is Now Or Then..."

With gunshots and spectacle taking centre stage last week to a solidly effective degree within an episode which not only offered up new characters, but fresh environments too, it comes as no surprise that this week's trip into Westworld offered more of the baffling, brain-aching twisty narratives which the show is renowned for, utilising once again the power of uncertain timescale jumps as one of the more interesting questions of Season Two begins to unravel and the history and troubles of characters both old and new are efficiently examined. With a huge percentage of the episode focused on Bernard, both in the past and in the "present", his reunion with long lost work counterpart Elise, returning after her unsatisfying mysterious disappearance in Season One, leads to one of the more interesting notions within the Westworld environment being slowly picked apart, and with guest star Peter Mullan brilliantly returning as James Delos, the father in law of William who was introduced earlier in the series, his seclusion within the confines of Groundhog Day style set up is superbly repeated throughout the episode as the layers of his existence begin to unravel, accumulating in an expertly crafted crossing of paths come the latter end of this week's extended episode.

With Bernard and Elsie discovering the possibility of what seems to be a human/host hybrid project, one originally designed to house the mind of James Delos, the question now resides on who the latest choice for this particular endeavour is, one started by William himself and one which seems to be part of the many regrets torturing such a character, and with a strange, darkly nihilistic tone creeping over the mood of the episode this week, aided of course by the ever creepy drone hosts, the fundamental strangeness of the show was their to be seen in spades. With William/The Man in Black absent from proceedings last week, his explosive return explores his deeper sorrow at the loss of a loved one and his determination to continue on the hunt for Ford's endgame. Crossing paths with the vengeful Lawrence after his betrayal by Delores/Wyatt, the usage of nitroglycerine was a key part in a couple of strongly orchestrated set pieces, one a slow, measured attempt to walk away without losing a limb and the other, the most rewarding exploding death of a host you'll see all season. Concluding with a unexpected familial reunion, which in hindsight, makes complete sense, "The Riddle of the Sphinx" was a challenging, bizarre but overly rewarding slice of science fiction which shows that sometimes, brains over brawl is indeed the successful choice. 

Overall Score: 8/10

Film Review: Breaking In

"I Know This Is Not How You Wanted To Spend Your Weekend..."

Directed by James McTeigue, a filmmaker who has never really eclipsed the success of his debut big-screen feature in the form of the rather excellent V for Vendetta, Breaking In, starring Gabrielle Union (Sleepless) in the leading role as mother of two, Shaun Russell, is essentially a hybrid crossover of a wide range of famous, historic movies, one which sees Russell attempt to save her children after they are locked inside a ultra-secure familial home with violent burglars who have come to claim a large monetary stash for their own. With a strange shadow of Panic Room airing over it, McTeigue's movie is undeniably wrapped in B-Movie sensibility, and as the action moves from paranoid thriller to Die Hard territory and arguably even more so onto Hostage territory, a movie which in itself was a rather perfunctory rip-off of Die Hard anyhow and a film which too featured Bruce Willis, Breaking In is a movie which ultimately knows its boundaries, its' flaws and complete lack of substance but runs with it anyway, and with a kick-ass leading heroine in the form of Union undeniably audience winning, McTeigue's movie surprisingly falls into the category of enjoyable silliness.

With dialogue so exposition heavy throughout it seems to have been churned out in a cliched text machine, the first twenty minutes highlights the rather extreme security capabilities of the household in which Union's Shaun has been tasked with selling after the sudden and unexpected death of her powerful father. With drones, bulletproof wall coverings and more CCTV coverage than the city of London, the stage is set for the action to unfold, and whilst the movie does fall rather heavily into generic conventions in regards to its' typeface leading villain, lack of real tangible peril and an overly predictable Hollywood ending, the real interest resides in Union's portrayal of a mother figure who will do absolutely anything in order to be re-united with her children, no matter what the consequences and how violent they may be. With laughable editing of obvious foul language and a mixed degree to which on-screen violence is approached, it seems obvious the filmmakers opted for a Taken 3 sensibility by aiming for the 12A threshold which ultimately was rejected, but with a classy eighty minute runtime and enough twisting, narrative turns in order to get to the film's inevitable conclusion, Breaking In isn't exactly groundbreaking but it does the job comfortably enough and for that I'm more than happy with. 

Overall Score: 6/10

Film Review: Life of the Party

"Somebody's Mum Just Enrolled In College..!"

Following on from the release of the Amy Schumer led I Feel Pretty this week, America's second favourite female comedian of the moment, Melissa McCarthy (Spy) feels the need to grace us with her presence upon the big screen too within Life of the Party, a morbidly unfunny back-to-school drama which sees McCarthy's recently divorced mum Deanna Miles feel the need to attend her daughter's college in order to finally complete her degree after dropping out previously in order to care for her family. Cue dance offs, excessive drinking and sleeping with minors of an uncertain age and what we have with Life of the Party is yet another swing at attempting to create the legacy and enjoyment of a film such as National Lampoon's Animal House albeit with a narrative twist which attempts to showcase every child's living hell when their respective parent drops in uninvited at a party, jumper and rucksack in toe, and with contemporary coming-of-age comedies such as Richard Linklater's Everybody Wants Some!! an example of smartly written and successful on-screen American frat house debaucheries, McCarthy's latest manages to at least capture that sense of awkward family reunions by being a film which no-one in their right mind really wants to admit to having enjoyed let alone be a part of. 

With McCarthy one of the many contemporary U.S based comic actors who have failed to ignite any sense of interest thus far thanks to less than spectacular performances within the likes of The Boss and Ghostbusters, her reunion with husband Ben Falcone once again proves that her supposed potential has been put tragically to waste, with Life of the Party a soulless, cringey and overly annoying attempt at a comedy which aside from one stand-out set piece, is rather quite unbearable from beginning to end. With a whiny, screechy voice and totally awkward sensibility, McCarthy's Deanna holds solid ground for most annoying character of the year in film, with the first hour in which we see her attempt to embed herself within the college lifestyle simply torturous to endure, and with the younger actors, particularly Molly Morgan's Millie and Gillian Jacobs' Helen, not only much more interesting but universally more entertaining and comedic than their elder leading star, there is indeed a somewhat successful movie embedded within the action, but just one that doesn't happen to feature McCarthy in any shape or form. With a shock-tastic set piece towards the latter end of the movie offering the one real taste of interesting implausibility, by the time it gets around the damage has unfortunately already been done, with Life of the Party failing pretty miserably as both an example of contemporary American comedy and a project for McCarthy to thrive within, something of which backfires rather spectacularly. 

Overall Score: 3/10

Film Review: I Feel Pretty

"I've Always Wondered What It's Like To Be Undeniably Pretty..."

Following on from the mediocrity of Trainwreck and the sheer awfulness of Snatched, the latest face of American comedy in the form of Amy Schumer returns this week with I Feel Pretty, an attempted idealistic comedy written and directed by the film-making duo of Abby Kohn and Mark Silverstein, whose previous work together includes Valentines Day and How To Be Single, which sees Schumer as Renee Bennett, an inspiring low-level worker for cosmetic giant, Lily LeClaire whose concerns regarding low self-esteem and sweeping generalisations regarding society's reaction to those not considered "perfect" are suddenly vanquished after an accident which results in her seeing her own body image in a completely different light. With the film's trailers pretty much giving away the entirety of the narrative from beginning to end, Schumer's latest is a movie which relies too much on the supposed talent of Schumer and the underlying message of the film, but with a severe lack of comedic elements whatsoever and a convoluted, confused and mistreated discussion regarding beauty being on the internal rather than the external, I Feel Pretty is somewhat majorly out of fashion. 

With Schumer attempting to juggle a wide range of narrative strands which range from her fortunate psychological switch, a relationship with Rory Scovel's (The House) Ethan and her blossoming career path, one aided by the ever radiant Michelle Williams (Manchester By The Sea) as the highly pitched Avery LeClaire, a similarly confused fashion mogul whose freakishly kooky performance is undeniably the best element in the film, I Feel Pretty primarily fails to warrant its' nearly two hour runtime and unsurprisingly outstays its' welcome come just before the eighty minute mark. With the middle section of the movie in which Schumer manages to embrace her sudden boost in confidence actually managing to develop her leading character into someone resembling more of a walking punch bag than a redemption punching martyr for societal freedoms, the underlying themes regarding the expression of our individual beauty just becomes totally tedious, concluding in a cringe-laden final speech in which female liberation is expressed whilst conducting a pitch for high-end beauty products which attempt to make the lay person much more attractive. With no laughs, a lack of diligent editing techniques and Schumer yet again failing to impress, I Feel Pretty should have just focused on Michelle Williams' character, something of which I would happily have enjoyed much much more.

Overall Score: 4/10

TV Review: Westworld - Series Two Episode Three "Virtù e Fortuna"

"There Is Beauty In What We Are. Should We Too Try To Survive..?"

With this week meaning that we are already three episodes into the latest season of Westworld, one could argue that in terms of contrasting series tones, HBO's flagship show of 2018 bears an aching similarity to Netflix's maddeningly enjoyable adaptation of Marvel's Daredevil, with the first season of each both being outdone in terms of adrenaline fuelled action by their follow up sisters, and what episode three of Westworld proves this week is that not only is the blockbuster budget being well and truly dug into in order to showcase much more expansive action set pieces, but the sense of widening exploration evident in the first two hours of the season is an element which continues to be thoroughly enjoyable and genuinely intriguing. With an Asian inspired rendition of "Seven Nation Army" opening the episode, we are swiftly introduced to the first real dip into wider Westworld territory, with Katja Herbers' Grace violently coming across the host's defection in a British Raj-themed park in which the introduction of creaky CGI Bengal tigers attempt to fill the narrative gap left at the end of the premiere episode's interesting cliffhanger. 

With the majority of the episode following on from the discovery of a new park primarily focusing on the giant action set piece at the militaristic Confederados fort between Delores' quickly assembled band of hosts and the hunting party of Delos soldiers, the action unfolds heavily in the "present day" this week, with no time at all whatsoever for pre-park flashbacks or even the inclusion of Ed Harris' Man in Black. With an electrifying, flashy pacing chugging the action on much more rapidly than any episode within its' first season, it seems very obvious that show-runners Johnathan Nolan and Lisa Joy have taken it upon themselves to arguably make the second season more "appealing" to a larger audience, one who may have been put off ever so slightly by the first series' somewhat alienating, complex tones and prefer action over dialogue heavy monologues. Personally, I'm happy for a heavy dose of both as long as the mix between them is substantive and necessary, and whilst I enjoyed this week's gigantic host versus human shoot-a-thon, the more interesting developments were indeed elsewhere in the discovery of the park's wider alternatives, and with a concluding shot which resulted in a squeal of joyous excitement, "Virtù e Fortuna" at least made me ready for more sooner rather than later. 

Overall Score: 7/10

Film Review: The Strangers: Prey at Night

"Is Someone Else Staying Here? I Thought We Were Alone..?"

With it being an entire decade since the release of Bryan Bertino's mildly successful 2008 American horror, The Strangers, the follow up sequel, subtitled Prey at Night, finally hits the big screen under the direction of English filmmaker Johannes Roberts, whose previous credits include 47 Metres Down and The Other Side of the Door, with Bertino still attached to the project by supplying the screenplay for the movie alongside American pen pusher Ben Ketai. With the original film based on a culmination of the infamous Manson Family murders and a personal experience of break-ins in and around an area to which Bertino lived within, the 2008 release was nihilistic oddity with a genuine nasty streak which paid tribute to the likes of famous video nasties including Straw Dogs, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Last House on the Left, and what Prey at Night offers is a very familiar, ultra violent slasher flick which overcomes a wide array of weaknesses thanks to a stylish, retro tone and various interesting and well orchestrated set pieces which offers the case for Roberts' movie being a case of a sequel which improves upon the basis set by its' predecessor. 

With an opening act which introduces the quartet of leading familial victims including Christina Hendricks' (Drive) mother figure, Cindy, Martin Henderson's (Everest) Mike, and the two teenage children played by Bailee Madison and Lewis Pullman, the attempt to flesh out any reasonable characterisation within the first twenty minutes fails pretty spectacularly, with the reasoning behind the families sudden venture to the most vacant of caravan parks not really expanded upon, resulting in a complete absence of empathy for when the inevitable violence eventually occurs. Thankfully however, once the action begins, Prey at Night continues the overly hyper-violent tone of the original to impressive means, utilising a surprising early character death to set the pace for remaining hour or so of the piece, and with the aid of the creepy masked killers, the iconic image of the series so far, the murderous rampage which the film embarks upon is surprisingly entertaining. Central to the film's success however is a strangely ironic and satirical undertone, one which is beefed up by a wholly comedic and off-kilter 1980's jukebox soundtrack, and one which allows individual set pieces to blossom with a heavy sense of style, particularly a latter act scene involving a superbly manoeuvred confrontation at a swimming pool which for me, took the film to a higher level than it possibly should have ever been, and although Prey at Night does indeed fall into a realm of cliche and predictability when looking back as a whole body of work, its' the film's style and nasty streak which makes the sequel work to an entertaining degree. 

Overall Score: 6/10