Film Review: Annabelle Comes Home

"Everything You See In Here Is Either Haunted, Cursed, Or Has Been Used In Some Kind Of Ritualistic Practice. Nothing’s A Toy..."

Following on from the most anti-horror horror movie of the year so far in the form of the excellent and magnificently barmy, Midsommar, your local cinema screen this week is once again reunited with the more mainstream, financially friendly sight of the Conjuring universe, with everyone's favourite and overtly nightmarishly designed porcelain doll gracing the big screen once again just in time for the summer holidays. With the tangential Annabelle series beginning particularly sloppy and then improving rather nicely for 2017's nicely worked, Annabelle: Creation, the financial success of both ultimately results in yet another very familiar threequel in the form of Annabelle Comes Home, the seventh installment in Warner Bros' horror series banker which sees returning screenwriter, Gary Dauberman, bumped up to directorial duties in his big screen debut for a movie which is the definition of a very safe pair of cow-poking and slightly creepy, fog covered hands. 

Whilst the leading antagonistic figure of "Annabelle" itself is fundamentally creepy on first glance, conveying to the rules of horror by inverting objects which are meant to bring joy and happiness, the sheer amazement that only one, rather unkempt doll has successfully landed a trilogy of spin-off movies is rather impressive in its' own right, and whilst Creation was the first movie aside from the central Conjuring pictures to really have its' own voice, Dauberman's movie does annoyingly take a slight step back, offering less of an enjoyable cliche and more of a semi-talented, copy and pasted template with only minor delights. Of the more positive elements, the cinematography and set design is actually pretty darn neat, with nice inventive set pieces, including one referenced in the movie's trailer involving a multi-colour night light, offering a certain level of creepiness, something of which can be somewhat lacking from the weakest of the series' offerings such as The Nun and The Curse of La Llorona, and with yet another standout performance from Mckenna Grace (I, Tonya) in the film's leading role, Annabelle Comes Home is not exactly the worst horror genre film, it just happens to be one which screams "PLAY IT SAFE." 

Overall Score: 5/10

Film Review: Godzilla: King of the Monsters

"Our World Is Changing. The Mass Extinction We Feared Has Already Begun. And We Are The Cause. We Are The Infection..."

With Gareth Edwards having the chance to bring the infamous sight of cinema’s most versatile monster to the big screen once again in 2014’s visually stunning, Godzilla, Legendary Entertainment’s so called “MonsterVerse” was thus born in an attempt to choke audiences and critics alike with yet another extended universe. With the so-so success of Kong: Skull Island back in 2017, this week sees Godzilla: King of the Monsters be released, acting as the second chapter in the fire-breathing legend’s repertoire before taking on Mr. Kong himself in Godzilla vs. Kong next year. With Edwards choosing not to return for a second outing, the directing mantle is instead handed to Michael Dougherty (Krampus) who along with an endless digital effects and explosives budget, has the absolute pleasure to work with an absolute top-notch, A-list cast, with the likes of the returning Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water) and Ken Watanabe (Batman Begins) joined by the ever-reliable presence of Vera Farmiga (The Conjuring) and Kyle Chandler (Manchester by the Sea) for a movie which in all honesty, completely wastes the army of talent involved as it pummels you to death with endless carnage, ear-grating dialogue and a central story which rivals Geostorm for having the stupidest screenplay of the past five years or so.

Whilst it may be slightly highbrow to head into a Godzilla movie wanting something much more than just two plus hours of entire cities being dismantled by gargantuan, irresponsible titans, the fact remains that Edwards' own interpretation of Godzilla was first and foremost primarily interested in its' characters, with his movie essentially a family drama which just happened to include world destroying monsters, and whilst Dougherty's movie seems to have similar desires, woeful characterisation and exposition heavy dialogue means that in terms of an empathetic level, his movie is completely lifeless and unengaging come the forty minute mark when the army of superb acting talent is left behind in favour of endless and ridiculously overblown set pieces. With the likes of Farmiga, Chandler and the now heavily typecast, Charles Dance, all wasted, with the latter essentially playing a high-tech version of Tywin Lannister, the only two redeeming features of the piece is rising star, Millie Bobby Brown, of Stranger Things fame, who with her extended level of screen time undoubtedly gives the best performance of the lot, and of course, the monsters themselves, with the titular 'Zilla, the three headed Ghidorah and the beautiful Mothra all actually incredibly well designed, resulting in a couple of epic shots which deserve to be witnessed on the biggest screen possible. Whilst King of the Monsters doesn't hit the sordid lows of Roland Emmerich's version, Dougherty's vision is a messy, palm-inducing two hundred million dollar B-movie which should be a guilty pleasure but instead, is immediately forgettable.

Overall Score: 4/10

Film Review: The Front Runner

"This Campaign Is About The Future. Not Rumors, Not Sleaze, And I Care About The Sanctity Of This Process, Whether You Do Or Not..."

In an era when scandal, rumour and sleaze is the hot topic bound to sell newspapers or boost twitter headlines to pretty much everyone in today's knowledge obsessed society, even to those too embarrassed or tight lipped to admit to enjoying such nonsense, one could argue that The Front Runner follows on nicely from the likes of Colette and the hotly anticipated, Vice, by being a particularly timely piece of cinema which above everything, proves that the world we live in today will undoubtedly be trivialised and dramatised onto unaware younger audiences in the future who will look up to their parents and ask with readying intrigue; "did that really happen?" In the case of The Front Runner, a dramatic big screen portrayal of the infamous Gary Hart 1987 presidential campaign, the central events at the heart of the drama most definitely did occur, occupying a time in which a shift of political focus in regards to the purpose of the media created one of the most infamous and talked about character assassinations in recent history. Directed by Jason Reitman (Juno, Tully) and based on the 2014 novel, "All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid" by American journalist, Matt Bai, The Front Runner is an interesting yet flawed political drama which somewhat buckles under the pressure of too many talking points, but ultimately is saved by some swift, sharp dialogue and a Hugh Jackman on top dramatic form. 

Working around a screenplay from the combined talents of Bai, Reitman and House of Cards supervisor, Jay Carson, The Front Runner on the face of it and from the point of view of the trailers pushes forward a movie with a central focus on the rise and fall of Jackman's Hart, a charismatic, well spoken and most crucially, refreshing change of leadership for an American public all ready well versed in the ways and means of enormous political scandal. Set primary in 1987, Reitman's movie follows very familiar genre conventions from the start, showcasing the inside of election campaign headquarters, creaky, sweaty coach rides and of course, the smokey haze of twentieth century media rooms which immediately evoked All The President's Men and last year's, The Post, in more ways than none, with the film feeling the need to add the likes of Ben Bradlee and Bob Woodward into the mix with no real purpose other than to solidify the obvious connection between all three movies. Whilst there is indeed scandal, late night photo opportunities and the usual immediate panic when the story first breaks out, The Front Runner is arguably more interesting when it focuses on the underlying notion of shifting allegiances from the point of view of the media, a particular idea in which the source material was wrapped around, with Bai himself stating his words acted as a scathing critique of his own industry, one which had shifted from a high level of professionalism to essentially being gossip-laden papers rags in order to appease those ultimately paying the money to keep the news rolling. Whilst the film also suffers from a wandering and conflicted portrayal of the central figure, with it never really having the balls to delve deep enough into the central scandal to paint Hart anything more than a symbol of ambiguity, Reitman's latest has just about enough as a whole to hold its' enormous weight together but still feels rather like a big opportunity slightly missed. 

Overall Score: 6/10

Film Review: The Commuter

"Someone On This Train Does Not Belong. All You Have To Do Is Find Them..."

Whilst many took to the idea that Liam Neeson had adhered to his word of refusing to star in any future action movies, something of which which he stated profoundly across media lines last year, it comes at no surprise that this week audiences are treated to The Commuter, the latest from Spanish director Jaume Collet-Serra, whose reunion with Neeson follows on from their previous work together on Non-Stop and Run All Night, with the word of the Irish actor much more uncertain and dishonest since he laughed off the possibility of Taken 3 in 2013, a sequel which was then swiftly released only two years later. Whilst the obvious similarities to previous action movies are inevitable for a movie starring an actor recently renowned for jumped-up, high octane nonsense, Neeson's latest is a movie both ridiculous and enjoyable in equal measure, a laughably absurd ideas thriller which although suffers from a wide range of clearly defined issues, is indeed up there with the better Neeson action movies to be released since his turn as the revenge seeking killer in Pierre Morel's 2008 cult classic, Taken, a movie which launched a latter-stage chapter of the actor's career to ridiculous levels of newly found action hero fame. 

Approached by the mysterious Vera Farmiga during his daily commute, Neeson's Michael MacCauley is tasked with attempting to hunt down a particular unknown fellow passenger without truly understanding the reasoning behind such, aside from the offer of excessive monetary reward. Jumping in and out of the shadow of previous film ideas as swift as the film's chaotic editing, The Commuter is the type of movie which evokes so many previous stories that the film almost becomes a entertaining ferris wheel of bingo in which you tick off every film that comes to mind as the carnage unravels in the loudest and silliest way possible. Switching from Red Eye to Source Code to Under Siege 2 as quickly as possible within a completely manic first act which does manage to contain a rigid element of threat and mystery rather entertainingly, The Commuter then concludes with a amalgamation of Unstoppable and 16 Blocks with added predictability and cheesiness, and whilst Neeson's latest is obviously not as smart or original as it may think it is, the action is decent enough and the tone is welcoming and undeniably crowd pleasing, and for a man who may have given up on action movies for good, you can't deny Neeson does look like he's enjoying himself. As are we. 

Overall Score: 6/10

Film Review: The Conjuring 2

"This Is My Home. Get Out Now..."

When it comes to originality and genre-bending ideas within the realm of horror cinema, perhaps such a genre is the hardest in which to grasp a concept of freshness with cliches and tropes alike being ever present within recent examples of what makes a 21st century horror movie. With The Conjuring, the unbelievably successful 2013 horror directed by Saw creator James Wan, the genre of horror was never more boosted into the spotlight, where although the film suffers from a sense of rehashing ideas from other, better and more influential movies from the past, there was indeed a sense of enjoyment that the horror genre has not completely vanished into nonexistence. As per the norm in the land of Hollywood, the success of the original has now sprouted a sequel, once again led by director James Wan whilst switching from the rural environment of Rhode Island to the working class locale of Ponders End, Enfield. Much like its' predecessor, The Conjuring 2 is a cliche ridden blockbuster, the horror equivalent of the Marvel franchise where the same blueprint is laid down to satisfy the masses but ultimately something of non-importance and irrelevance but also something that is inherently good fun with some major jump scares thrown in for good measure. 

After being criticised for their involvement in the Amityville murders, Ed and Lorraine Warren are left to wonder whether their occupation as demonologists are becoming subject to irrelevance in a time where science has overtaken the beliefs of the supernatural and the unknown. Reluctant to carry on their duties, Lorraine becomes transfixed with the notion that if they continue, Ed may indeed die at the hands of the insidious entity that has been stalking her within her visions. Against all warnings however, the Warrens are asked by the church to travel to London to investigate supposed paranormal activity in the home of the Hodgson's, one of the most notorious real-life cases in the history of paranormal research, yet they soon realise their involvement within the case may be part of a larger picture, one that threatens the lives of both Ed and Lorraine. Creaky doors and windows? Check. Huge spine-tingling jump scares? Check. Creepy children and spooky entities? Oh yeah. Of course The Conjuring 2 is not exactly the most original horror movie, with nods to The Exorcist, The Evil Dead and a severe likeliness to films such as Insidious and Sinister from recent years, but what it is is entertaining, entertainment that although is way too long, with a ridiculous two hour plus run-time, is guaranteed for success. There's one thing you can rely on from the general public; they love their creepy movies. Good on them.

Overall Score: 7/10