The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024) Film Review

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and a group of military officials hatch a daring plan to neutralize Hitler’s fleet of German U-boats during World War II. Made up of a motley crew of rogues and mavericks, the top-secret combat unit uses unconventional techniques to battle the Nazis and change the course of the war.

The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare is directed by Guy Richie who previously directed The Gentlemen (2019), Aladdin (2019), The Covenant (2023), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) and a few others.

The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare sure is Guy Richie movie, this time around Guy Richie attempts to go for an Inglorious Bastards (2009) type of style which I will admit makes for a decently fun movie. In a lot of ways someone can easily see this as diet Inglorious Bastards and you would be absolutely correct, the movie does have a lot of what made Inglorious Bastards so great such as the action. But doesn’t quite pull the same punch.

The performances are pretty decent all around Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson, Alex Pettyfer, Eiza González, heck even Hero Fiennes Tiffin manages to pull a solid performance. Nobody here gives a bad performance they do what they’re supposed to and it gets the job done well enough to keep the viewer engaged with what’s going on screen. What is great is that the cast does seem like they are having a blast on screen, which is always extra nice to see!

I definitely think the movie goes on for a bit too long being just 2 hours long and you can really feel that with the pacing during the first act of the movie. Which is painfully slow at times, but the movie does pick up the pace as it goes on. Plus the action scenes really do help the pacing in the long run, they have this special flare to them that makes them energetic which in turn gives it a bit of a way to standout.

Honestly the best way to describe this movie is it’s one of those first person shooter games that has shoot a ton of bad guys and that’s really about it, it is not trying to be anything more than that or say anything impactful it’s just there to be fun. Sometimes that’s just what you need and The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare does that incredibly well. It’s not one of my favorite movies by Guy Richie but it’s still quite a fun one and I appreciate him going for a different action style.

The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare is available on all VOD platforms.

6/10 C+

Firebrand (2024) Film Review

In Tudor England, Katherine Parr reluctantly agrees to become the sixth wife of the tyrannical King Henry VIII. Her consent to marry him carries great personal risk, given her predecessors are either vanquished, beheaded or dead. Perceived as a threat by Henry’s courtiers, they start to cast doubts about her fidelity and turn the increasingly paranoid king against her.

Firebrand is directed by Karim Aïnouz director of Invisible Life (2019), Mariner Of The Mountains (2020), Futuro Beach (2014) and a few others.

Really not much to say about Firebrand unfortunately, I appreciate it for trying a few different things but a lot of it is really holding it back from being anything particularly memorable.

Honestly the best thing about this movie are the performances Alicia Vikander is really solid here (although there is a bit more to be desired with her performance) and Jude Law’s performance is sort of chaotic which doesn’t make sense yet it does at the same time. In certain scenes he goes off the rails which I do think is some of the movie’s better moments, there’s one scene in particular that definitely feels straight out of a horror movie that I think Jude Law perfectly nailed.

The rest of the movie is fine enough historical drama that has great costume design and solid acting. The writing unfortunately is a bit of a mess that while it explores some neat ideas the movie itself really doesn’t do anything with them. The last half does become a bit of a slog to sit through and ultimately really does not do much in the end.

At the very least this was better than Jeanne Du Barry

Firebrand is available on all VOD platforms.

5/10 C

Space Cadet (2024) Film Review

Rex, a Florida party girl, turns out to be the only hope for the NASA space program after a fluke puts her in training with other candidates who may have better resumés, but don’t have her smarts, heart, and moxie.

Space Cadet is directed by Liz W. Garcia who previously directed The Lifeguard (2013) and One Precent More Humid (2017).

Every now and then during the year you get those handful of movies that come out and are universally mocked online or in general such as Madame Web, Unfrosted, Nightswim or Atlas. Well Space Cadet is one of those movies and it’s not hard to see why.

For starters this entire movie really seems like it was originally supposed to be a Disney Channel original movie but somehow adults got casted instead of kids and Amazon decided to release it. Second this movie is a Legally Blonde (2001) wannabe it tries to capture what made the movie so likable but fails miserably. It’s as if you took out all the personality, likability or fun that Legally Blonde (2001) had and you get this movie.

The performances are not good here including Emma Roberts which is just another addition to her long line of terrible performances from the last several years. The movie doesn’t even bother to tell an interesting story as you can already guess what happens within the first 10 minutes, the movie tries to have emotional depth towards the end with Rex’s deceased mother but completely forgets to make the viewer actually care about Rex (played by Emma Roberts). She’s about as interesting as a terrible Disney channel movie main character and often times really feels like she was supposed to be one when you look at the writing.

There’s maybe one or two enjoyable moments in this movie them being Emma Roberts wrestling an Alligator and making a girl fall off a treadmill by singing Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen. Is that exactly funny? Not really, is it far more entertaining than anything else in this disaster? Absolutely which is probably the reason why it gave me a laugh, which kind of shows the exact problem with this movie. It has to rely completely random events to get some semblance of a good moment.

I really got nothing else to say here, Space Cadet is exactly what you think it’s going to be. A movie that uses the whole “follow your dreams” type of plot but doesn’t do anything meaningful or interesting with it. You are better off watching a bad Disney Channel movie.

Space Cadet is available on Amazon Prime Video.

1/10 F

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024) Film Review

After his daughter’s life is threatened, wisecracking Detective Axel Foley teams up with a new partner and some old pals to turn up the heat on a conspiracy

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is directed by Mark Molloy which is his directorial debut. The film is the fourth installment in the Beverly Hills Cop series and serves as a sequel to Beverly Hills Cop III (1994).

After the disaster that was Beverly Hills Cop III (1994) the series stayed dormant for 30 years and luckily Axel F is a far better film than it’s predecessor, it’s more in line with the first two films and does a pretty decent job of complimenting and celebrating said films.

Admittedly this is a nostalgia fueled legacy sequel but that really does not take away from it at all. First off the performances are quite great, seeing Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser and Bronson Pinchot again is just truly exciting and they all do excellent in their respective roles. Even if some are given more to do than others it’s still great to see them interact and only adds to this installment’s celebration of the series in general. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige and Kevin Bacon are great additions to the series and are able to easily blend in with the rest of the cast, together this cast is really strong and is just overall a lot of fun.

The humor, camerawork and soundtrack were all pretty strong as well, granted they weren’t anything groundbreaking but they all fit the nostalgia theme and celebration of the series the movie was going for. They even got Crazy Frog into the mix which usually would be a negative but in this case it’s used well and the movie puts its own twist on it.

The action scenes are quite great here as well, for a first time director Mark Molloy manages to really give some quite solid action scenes and keeps up with Axel’s rapid fire repartee it’s fantastic stuff and moments like those that really do make this installment special.

Overall there really isn’t much else to say about Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is a very solid installment to the series, it might not be doing anything for the series or anything groundbreaking. But at the very least it’s fun, well acted and greatly crafted.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is available on Netflix.

7/10 B

The Watchers (2024) Film Review

A 28-year-old artist gets stranded in an expansive, untouched forest in western Ireland. Finding shelter, she unknowingly becomes trapped alongside three strangers who are stalked by mysterious creatures every night.

The Watchers is directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan which is her directorial debut.

When I heard Ishana Night Shyamalan was going to direct a horror film I was definitely interested, even though I’m not huge on a lot of her father M.Night Shyamalan’s work I was still interested to see what she can do…and well The Watchers definitely exists.

The best way I can describe The Watchers is like an essay that starts out quite well written has all the right punctuation, has the right capitalization and then suddenly during the second half of the essay feels like it was written by a completely different person with bad grammar, terrible punctuation and is very nonsensical.

The Watchers has a solid setup with some interesting folklore attached to it that does get the viewer engaged with the movie, the performances are mostly pretty okay! Olwen Fouéré is definitely the best here she gives a genuinely creepy performance at times and while her character is on the cliched side of things, Fouéré really makes it work especially during the first half of the movie combined with the atmosphere. Her performance blends in with the atmosphere quite well which really helps. Georgina Campbell isn’t too bad here either, again not a whole lot to her character but she plays the part well and she is quite likable so I guess that’s something.

Dakota Fanning is fine enough, it’s nice to see her back in horror but unfortunately as the main lead she’s really held back with such a confused script (especially towards the end) we get very little about her character outside of a few flashbacks. The movie tries to connect the plot to her past but it really does not fully explore any of that at all, it’s much more slapped on than anything else and doesn’t take the time to actually connect the two together in a way that wouldn’t feel so clunky.

The first bit of the movie as I said before is pretty decent, the setup is solid and the atmosphere is genuinely creepy at times. Ishana Night Shyamalan definitely has an eye for a great setting, the because the forest is quite effective in bringing out thrills and some creepy moments. It almost feels like one of those indie horror games and I mean that in a positive way, where it feels like there is so much more to explore than meets the eye. Plus the rules of The Watchers themselves are pretty creepy as well, the sound of banging on the glass is effective and really does get you on the edge of your seat.

Unfortunately the second half of the movie is a complete and total mess, the movie suddenly feels the need to over explain itself plus the movie gets incredibly stupid and not in the good way. A lot of the creepy imagery that was present during the first half is traded in for incredibly goofy lines, nonsensical new rules about the lore of the watchers and just a completely forgettable second half that really does not compliment anything that came before it.

Overall The Watchers is definitely one of the more disappointing films of 2024 so far, there was a lot of potential here for a thrilling ride but a lot of pieces were missing to make this work.

The Watchers is available on all VOD Platforms!

4/10 D+

Ezra (2024) Film Review

Divorced stand-up comedian Max Bernal struggles to raise his autistic son, Ezra. Forced to confront difficult decisions about the boy’s future, Max and Ezra embark on a cross-country road trip that has a transcendent impact on both of their lives.

Ezra is directed by Tony Goldwyn who previously directed Conviction (2010).

Credit where credit is due they casted William Fitzgerald who actually is autistic to play an autistic character which does end up making the film a bit more grounded and can connect more with the viewer as well.

The performances are quite solid, William Fitzgerald is a lot of fun and delivers some quite humorous lines plus is overall incredibly charming as well. Although his character Ezra is admittedly used as a plot device to move things a long in the later half of the movie, which is quite unfortunate and does end up hurting the movie in the long run. Bobby Cannavale and Robert De Niro are both solid here as well, Cannavale has lot of moments where his character Max bonds with his son and those moments do end up being charming. De Niro as usual delivers a great performance that is quite raw, it’s not heavy performance that has a lot to it but it works in the context of the movie.

The writing is decent, there’s definitely some inspiration porn cliches thrown in there but it isn’t nearly enough to really take away from the movie. Although the subplot of Max landing a spot on Jimmy Kimmel is very out of place for a movie like this, it ended up feeling like a setup for a mid-credits joke which doesn’t work (the joke itself is not even worth it). Having that said I do think the performances truly make this film and really make the script come together. There’s this earnest feel to the performances that’s present throughout the movie you can’t help but love and that ends up being the case with the script as well.

Overall Ezra is a perfectly passable drama that I’m glad exists, although it’s heavily flawed I do appreciate the careful attempt by everyone involved!

Ezra is available on all VOD platforms.

6/10 C+

IF (2024) Film Review

After discovering she can see everyone’s imaginary friends, a girl embarks on a magical adventure to reconnect forgotten imaginary friends with their kids.

IF is directed by John Krasinski director of Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (2009), The Hollars (2016), A Quiet Place (2018) and A Quiet Place Part II (2020).

I really do not have a whole lot to say about IF it’s a kids movie that is very well intentioned and even has some genuinely heartfelt moments, but is surrounded by some clunky execution especially during the last half of the movie.

Steve Carell is by far the standout here, while not every single joke lands and the character of Blue is sort of standard. Carell still manages to be entertaining as well as charming, it’s sort of hard to really mess up when it comes to Steve Carell (heck I don’t a lot of the Despicable Me movies but really like Gru) plus I do think he fits the charming imaginary friend feel the movie is going for. Cailey Fleming is also not bad here, while she isn’t perfect, much like Carell she gives a sweet and charming performance that is effective and matches the tone of what the movie is going for. Ryan Reynolds strangely feels miscast here, he sort of just exists and his character Cal is incredibly forgettable who while does have a few strong scenes really fails to connect with the viewer.

The idea of the movie surrounding the imaginary friends is solid and isn’t as much as a repeat of the Cartoon Network show Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends as the trailer made it out to be. Having that said the main problem with IF is a lot of the Imaginary friends being voiced by Hollywood celebrities, it takes away a lot of the whimsical and magical feeling of imaginary friends and becomes a cameo fest. A bunch of moments where you point at the screen and say “oh I know that person’s voice!” Had this been one or two times it would not be so much of a big deal, however this is a common occurrence throughout the movie and that sort of becomes the imaginary friends’s whole character that they are voiced by Hollywood stars.

It’s a shame too because there are some genuinely heartfelt moments here that do actually work, but are unfortunately not exactly the main focus. The movie works best when it focuses on the bond of Bea and Blue and the more human moments, which is incredibly surprising to say given that this movie is about the imaginary friends.

I think IF will do well for younger audiences since it does immediately have bright visuals and creature designs are admittedly quite fun, IF is not necessarily a terrible movie but this is a very forgettable one that could have been a lot more.

IF is available on all VOD platforms.

4/10 D+

A Family Affair (2024) Film Review

A surprising romance kicks off comic consequences for a young woman, her mother and her movie star boss as they face the complications of love, sex and identity.

A Family Affair is directed by Richard LaGravenese who has directed P.S. I Love You (2007), Beautiful Creatures (2013), The Last Five Years (2014) and a few others.

Yet another Netflix original film from this year that completely falls flat, you would think with a pretty solid cast there would be some attempt to try and make this work. Unfortunately that’s not really the case here, while I don’t think the movie is as bad as say Madame Web, Night Swim or Unfrosted that really is not saying all that much.

The cast is fine enough and really tries the best they can with such an unfunny script, Nicole Kidman and Kathy Bates are definitely the best of the bunch. Zac Efron is really trying but unfortunately the comedic timing really throws him under the bus and Joey King while actually not terrible here (this is one of her better performances) really does not have a whole lot going on with her character.

The first 20 minutes or so aren’t bad, the movie has a decent setup and actually some okay jokes in the mix. However after that things fall apart very quickly, the movie turns into a very typical bad Netflix romantic comedy movie that throws just about every cliche in the book it possibly can until the movie ends.

There’s bound to be comparisons to The Idea With You which came out a few months ago and while the two movies are different genres (Idea Of You being a drama while Family Affair being a comedy) A Family Affair really does feel like The Idea Of You but worse, The Idea Of You was not perfect (far from it) but at the very least the performances were incredibly solid, the writing was interesting and the characters were enjoyable. You really don’t get that from A Family Affair outside of the first 20 or so minutes. Instead you get a very repetitive 114 Netflix romantic comedy that feels like it should have ended ages ago.

A Family Affair is available on Netflix.

3/10 D-

Jim Henson Idea Man (2024) Review

A look at interviews of fans of Jim Henson, interspersed with footage from his works, including Wilkins and Wontkins Commercials that were previously lost.

Jim Henson Idea Man is directed by Ron Howard who has directed A Beautiful Mind (2001), Rush (2013), Apollo 13 (1995), Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), Cinderella Man (2005) and many others.

Jim Henson Idea Man is a documentary that talks about the career of Jim Henson the man who created The Muppets, Sesame Street, Dark Crystal and many other incredible pieces of work that have gone on to be beloved to this day. The documentary mostly focuses on Henson’s early career and does go over some works that aren’t as popular which is always nice to see.

Ron Howard’s style works quite well here with even some very nice experimental nods to Henson’s creative energy, the use of footage that was previously lost such as some of the Wilkins Coffee ads was a nice touch. The documentary also manages to capture the spirit of Jim Henson, what really makes this special is the editing incorporates the style and art that Henson really liked to use in his work, which really does give this documentary the extra push to standout.

The documentary isn’t really saying anything groundbreaking but it really does not need to, it focuses more on celebrating Jim Henson’s life, his impact on art in general and the many people interviewed (family members and collaborators) such as Frank Oz.

There really isn’t much else to be said, if your a fan of Jim Henson and his work you will definitely appreciate this very straight to the point documentary that isn’t trying to be complex it’s a tribute to such a beloved artist.

Jim Henson Idea Man is available on Disney+

7/10 B

Ultraman Rising (2024) Film Review

When Tokyo is threatened by giant monsters, an all-star athlete reluctantly returns home to take on the mantle of Ultraman, and become a legendary hero.

Ultraman Rising is directed by Shannon Tindle which is his directorial debut.

I don’t know much about Ultraman I’ve seen maybe one or two of the films, so I went into this one blindly. Luckily it does seem like (from what I’ve read from people who are fans) is that this movie takes place in a new timeline.

What sticks out immediately is the animation which is quite beautiful and incredibly fun to look at, there’s a lot of attention to detail with the character designs that add to the film’s characters. Plus the world the film takes place in has a lot of style, which only adds to the film’s already high level of charm. So when it comes to style Ultraman Rising nails it completely but what about script and character wise?

Well the characters and script are quite fun as well, there’s this whole parental/child story that’s quite charming. Ken (voiced by Christopher Sean) is quite an interesting character he juggles around being a father, a baseball player and Ultraman during the course of the film. Which ultimately leads into some quite touching moments.

The film is much more about parents and children than it is about fighting monsters, which was actually surprised about but it’s a very welcoming choice that while not every single viewer will get behind if you dig these types of stories and are looking for more than just fighting giant monsters you get that here.

While I don’t think the film is doing anything brand new with the parent and children plot line, it’s charming enough to grab the viewer’s attention and really invest into these characters.

Ultraman Rising is available on Netflix.

7/10 B