Categories: Movie and Series Reviews

I wanted to like Kraven, I really did. Watching Aaron-Taylor Johnson punch windows is an enjoyable way to spend time. The problem is, nothing is gained here. I have no more faith in Sony to make anything solid with the Spider-Man villains than I did before. The writing is atrocious, and the visual spectacle, in a sea of visual spectacles, doesn’t really impress.

That is a large part of the problem with Kraven summed up. Everything feels like it has been done better elsewhere and with better sense. Simply being less egregious than Madame Web is not enough, nor should anyone use that metric. If you put together a capable cast like Kraven did, then you should bring a script and direction that makes something not immediately forgotten after viewing. Russell Crowe is a very capable actor, but he feels wasted here, and everything you think is going to happen is mostly what happens. It is unbearable.

I really wish there was some common sense in the writing most of all. This is Kraven, and him being a bit naughtier would have been a welcome thing. Like when Kraven asks what the magic juice—the source of his power—is, maybe wrap that around the idea that he wants more power, he is… craving it. The visuals also imply a movie that wants to be edgy but then pushes back against itself. Why go for an R rating if it is just to knock off a few goons and then contrast that with PG-13-style displays of Kraven getting tossed around? The blood and violence never feel truly integrated into the world around them, as they appear and vanish instantly. There is a helicopter scene that gets close to cool, but while doing more, it somehow feels a lot less than Captain America: Civil War and its helicopter-wrangling. That is the whole movie though, making you wish you were watching something else.

The villains are just there in Kraven, and the setup for familial conflict—both within the film and for its high-hoped sequel—is exhausting and often feels unearned.

The Day of the Jackal feels like cheap TV, but with a bigger budget. The story is not particularly great so far if you do anything other than swallow everything that is presented to you, a hard pill when a lot does not make sense. Fitting of daytime network TV, there is an army of one British intelligence officer who does it all. They come up with the ideas, know which individual in the entirety of the world is likely to have the answers they seek, do the CPR themselves in an ambulance, go on site and chase the baddies themselves, and they aren’t afraid to raise their voice to their superiors.

In a world of police procedural shows, there is nothing special here in the first two episodes and I don’t think it deserves more of my time in hopeful improvement. The edge to the show, that it deeply wants, feels heavily manufactured and hamfisted into a blah existence. This is not the spy thriller for grown-ups some would have you believe.

I think people are going to be harsh on the portrayal of Bianca by Lashana Lynch, but I think her consistency shows she is capturing what the show probably asked for. The layers of tropes were written in. Eddie Redmayne gets it a bit easier as Jackel, who is likable despite his chosen profession. The choice to go that rout, mirroring one another and who is and isn’t likable, is one of the more interesting choices of the show. However, all good will bought is then sold for nonsense events and smart characters not asking basic questions.

Apocalypse Z, with its slower patient beginnings, makes you think it may offer unique insights. Those never come though and everything the movie does is completely predictable to even the most undiscerning of eyes. However, as a dumb zombie flick there is still something here. A lot of tired repeats of the genre are avoided and those that are there are fleeting, so it is not an offensive outing in a well worn path.

On the audio side, I feel the need to speak out against the use of pig sounds for zombies as it completely ruins any enjoyment of those moments. Visually it is up and down, with most sights being solid and others feeling like old Syfy channel flicks made on pocket change. The cast is great though, from little old ladies to our lead.

If the movie were a bit more clever and less by-the-numbers then maybe it would be more than middle of the road. However, I have read that this is a part 1 of a series, so perhaps we will get to see a bit more ambition in a sequel. I certainly have enough good will to watch another.

Oddity is excellent at building tension and has perhaps one of the creepiest scenes I have seen in a movie. However, I can’t help but feel it would have benefited from telegraphing itself a little less. That being said, I think the story is strengthened by its patient telling through a carefully constructed atmosphere that chills.

I am also pleased by the handling of jumps and visual horror. I am not to keen on being startled but I felt like each was led into rather than cheaply surprised. I also find a lot of visual violence hard to appreciate, and so I enjoyed that only the aftermath is ever shown.

Ultimately, I am in a bit of a spot on how to rank this movie. I want to say Oddity is a flawless movie, but I find myself longing a bit more for the cards to be held a bit closer to the chest and for characterizations to be little less on the nose.

You will benefit a lot from skipping the trailer or synopses for this one, I know I did.

Old Henry feels like a throwback to rarely seen westerns. It lacks a lot of flash and for some that could feel as tired as Henry himself feels, but I think this western works so well because it keeps things simple.

Tim Blake Nelson gives an amazing performance, capturing a look and feel that sells the character. The supporting cast is no slouch either.

If anyone has patience for an economical story like this, then they will not regret it. The director and writer, Potsy Ponciroli, is someone to look out for. This is a movie that could bridge the gap between grandmas wanting to watch their westerns and the modern movie goer.

Whedon does not get a pass for this. I had to search for this, he commented that the movies script was mostly intact but the direction was bad. Then he commented the casting was bad later. Everything was bad except his script.

Don’t get me wrong, the direction is extra bad and there are bits where you could see the writers intent vs what we got, but its bad. A tone correction to pronouncing fork would not have fixed this mess. I don’t think this would have been a Serenity, and I don’t think jokes about Walmart show any appreciation for the setting. Whedon is not one to take blame though, clearly.

It is amazing how many recognizable faces are in this and yet how squandered it all is. Whedon complained about typcasting but I think actors who know how to play a type is a small issue in the grand scheme. Winona Ryder is the only one who seems to struggle a bit, with any other issues being down to directors interpretation of scenes. That direction will definitely be noticeable though, as at the time the director did not speak english and I believe this is why jokes are often said loudly or seriously.

There are just far too many nonsense things that happen and make no sense. Also, basketball. In general though, it feels as though Whedon didn’t really get what came before. Established things are not taken seriously, like if a face-hugger gets on you all the way then you probably aren’t getting it off.

Being brave with a series isn’t the worst. A franchise like Scream has suffered from beating the same drum over and over again in my opinion. I think the idea of injecting more humor, as the script seemed to want to do, isn’t necessarily wrong. The first movie was horror, then action, then whatever the third was (worse action?), and this could have been a blend or some such. It needs to respect the foundations though, and it struggles to find any footing.