Aftersun is a beautiful heartbreaking film with several themes.

Twenty years after their last holiday at a fading vacation resort, Sophie reflects on the rare time spent with her loving and idealistic father Calum. At 11-years-old, as the world of adolescence creeps into Sophie’s view, Calum struggles under the weight of life outside of fatherhood. Sophie’s recollections become a powerful and heartrending portrait of their relationship, as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the man she didn’t.

Aftersun may seem simple on the surface but as you explore the film and notice the several hints or themes and where the film is going, it hits so much harder in all the right ways. For starters the performances are truly fantastic here Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio give some of the best performances of the year hands down, they also portray one of the most real father and daughter bones ever put on film. Every single emotion, action and behavior is there and truly pushes this film into something much bigger. The film takes place during Callum and Sophie’s holiday vacation, a vacation that’s remembered as sweet yet filled with tons of emotions that you wouldn’t expect. There’s themes of mental health, nostalgia, connection to time and much more, the film drops hints as it goes on to let the viewer know where it’s headed. The thing is that even with the little hints the viewer isn’t completely sure where the film ends up going, it’s a masterfully done way to get the viewer ready for the final moments of the film while also keeping it a mystery. The two different perspectives the film switches back forth to are both handled wonderfully, there’s Sophie’s perspective which is childlike yet notices that there is something bothering with Callum. When Callum says “I’m okay” Sophie would naturally believe him since she’s a child, this is where the nostalgia and mental health come in, Sophie now an adult noticing the signs that Callum was not okay is a very dark moment to face. It’s implied here that Callum ended his life the film doesn’t end up saying whether he did or not it leaves that up to the viewer. Callum’s perspective captures what it feels like to have a lot of depression, you are trying to have a good time at an event, with family and much more. But something is bothering even though there really isn’t anything to worry about, these subtle moments are dropped carefully throughout the film some even using some clever camerawork. The use of certain songs is truly fantastic especially Under Pressure which is a very touching scene as it’s towards the end and shows the final moments of Callum and Sophie being together, the ending is truly hard hitting and unleashes everything that has led up to. All of this is wonderfully done due to director and writer Charlotte Wells, Wells really makes Aftersun her directional debut film into something absolutely special that is very unique. Aftersun is truly one of the absolute best films of the year.

Aftersun is available on all VOD platforms.

10/10 A+

Strange World is a forgettable sci-fi adventure.

The Clades are a legendary family of explorers whose differences threaten to topple their latest and most crucial mission into uncharted and treacherous territory.

I know this is a common cliche to say in movie reviews of movies that had a lot of potential but I’m going to ask it anyway…what happened here? I will say the animation is very colorful and has a lot of detail to it plus I really liked Ethan (voiced by Jaboukie Young-White) as well as the rest of the cast. They all give pretty solid voice work that adds to their characters quite well, even if some of the characters aren’t exactly that well written. Which is when the problems start to occur…the writing, what you have here is a pretty strong cast that unfortunately has to work with a very lackluster script that really doesn’t offer anything new to the table. A lot of this is a very basic Sci-Fi story of a group of people who get stuck on a planet, there’s some nice representation here (at least when you compare it to Disney’s other films) but that doesn’t help the movie all that much. Ethan is a great character that’s surrounded by a very bland movie that unfortunately doesn’t take the opportunity to explore the movie’s themes, there’s a few scenes that dance around the movie’s themes but don’t flat out want to tell them. Having that said I do think there’s some cute father and son bonding moments here that are effective and are by far some of the highlights of the movie. Strange World is just one of those Disney films that sort of exists, it’s not particularly bad but it’s a very forgettable and uninspired movie that could have absolutely been great had the writing been far better.

Strange World is available on Disney+

5/10 C

Beauty and the Beast 30th Celebration is half a movie.

In honour of the 30th anniversary of the animated classic, the cast and crew put on a blended special showcase of “Beauty and the Beast”, along with new musical performances, sets and costumes inspired by the classic story.

I was debating on whether or not to give the Beauty and the Beast 30th celebration but decided to since I love the original film so much, anyway this celebration isn’t exactly good. H.E.R. has her debut acting role here and she does quite a great job as Belle, her performance isn’t anything groundbreaking but she does capture some of the charm of the movie and makes it her own, Josh Groban has the excellent voice to back him up from the terrible Beast costume, Martin Short is fun as always, the songs are pretty great and stay quite true to the original movie. All the classics are here from Beauty and the Beast, to The Mob Song, Something There and heck even Evermore is here that one song that completely stole the show from the 2017 live action version that’s really neat! Everything else however is pretty rough, for starters I’m not entirely sure why they weren’t committed to making this into a complete live action stage show, half of the movie is just scenes from the animated film. We miss out on a lot of moments that I’m sure the cast would have nailed had they been given the opportunity, it’s just sort of that moment where if I wanted to watch the animated film I would put on the animated film. It’s nice to see Rita Moreno here and she tells a little history about Beauty and the Beast however all of it is common knowledge that can be easily looked up with Wikipedia articles, the storyboard art was at least pretty interesting and not something you see everyday. As for the rest it plays out the story we all know and love, I wouldn’t say this was bad but this was a very lacking 30th celebration that could have went a lot harder.

Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration is available on Disney+

5/10 C

Avatar: The Way Of Water a masterfully crafted and written film that surpasses the first film.

Jake Sully and Ney’tiri have formed a family and are doing everything to stay together. However, they must leave their home and explore the regions of Pandora. When an ancient threat resurfaces, Jake must fight a difficult war against the humans.

I’m not someone who was a huge fan of the first Avatar, it was a gorgeous film that I absolutely respect what went into making it, having that said I absolutely loved Avatar: The Way Of Water. I guess this is James Cameron’s whole thing of making sequels that a lot of people could consider better than the first film (depending on who you ask of course), The Way Of Water fixes all of the problems that were present from the first film. First off the characters are a lot more fleshed out to the point where the viewer can grow a connection to them, there’s so many character moments here that really give these characters so much development and personalities. The overall theme and connection of the characters is family, which yes is done quite a lot in film, but James Cameron gives it this very human like feel, as well as it feeling very natural rather than making it seem like a plot device. The story is the other major part that this movie really improved, all three acts are exciting, beautiful and masterfully done in there own ways turning this film into a huge powerhouse. The story much like the characters goes into the family element and really nails it down well, this isn’t much of a surprise but the film is absolutely gorgeous. If you thought the first film was breathtaking Way Of Water ups it by really being such a good word building film that captures the beauty of Pandora, the underwater technology is just incredible it’s by far some of if not THE most beautiful underwater shots in film. The action scenes are truly fantastic and have so much detail to each of them, there’s this huge adrenaline rush feel to the action scenes that are truly exciting. The cast does such a fantastic job of bringing these characters to life each of them brings so much beauty into the film that completely captures why this film completely works. It’s the human connection between the characters that really makes the film shine, a huge amount of detail to each scene and just the overall fairy tale like atmosphere that gives the film a whimsical feel.

Avatar: The Way Of Water is available in theaters.

10/10 A+

Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths is beautifully made but lacking in direction.

A renowned Mexican journalist and documentary filmmaker returns home and works through an existential crisis as he grapples with his identity, familial relationships and the folly of his memories.

I can absolutely respect the craft that went into Bardo as it has some of the most exciting cinematography and camera movement of the year, Darius Khonji did a really fantastic job with the cinematography and really deserves a huge round of applause. Everything else is a huge mixed bag unfortunately, Alejandro González Iñárritu clearly has a lot of talent but the writing just did not come together all that well here. Daniel Giménez Cacho gave a great performance and there were parts of Silverio Gala’s story that were pretty investing, there’s some chaotic energy to the movie that is pretty neat and very welcoming. But for the most part the movie is way too self-indulgent for it’s own good and never settles on what it’s trying to say themes of Mexican culture identity, filmmaking, journalistic ethics In documentary filmmaking and more were explore but not nearly enough to give the idea of what Iñárritu is trying to really say here. The 160 minute running time doesn’t exactly help either, there’s times where the viewer becomes very tired and checks the nearest watch. It’s unfortunate because I’m sure there is a good movie here it’s just not showing up unfortunately.

Bardo is available on Netflix.

5/10 C

Violent Night is a Die Hard clone done right.

An elite team of mercenaries breaks into a family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone hostage inside. However, they aren’t prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus is on the grounds, and he’s about to show why this Nick is no saint.

I guess the makers of Violent Night so people debating whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie, so they said “let’s make our own Die Hard Christmas movie.”

Violent Night is one of the many reasons why i give almost any film a chance to impress, surprise or disappoint. Because this was definitely a huge surprise, when you really boil down to it Violent Night is essentially a Die Hard clone which is nowhere near a new concept. However what makes Violent Night actually standout among the rest is it’s actually really entertaining and genuinely great. David Harbour absolutely nails his performance as Santa Claus sure there have been versions of Santa being a badass before but Harbour brings this classic action movie protagonist charm to it that gives the film the extra push. Violent Night really went for the classic action movie feel and succeeded pretty well, the action scenes are pretty neat, the characters are fun and the gore is actually pretty gnarly. There’s so much entertainment factor here that really makes the film all the more enjoyable, plus the theme of Christmas just gives the film the extra charm. I can easily see Violent Night going on to be a modern Christmas movie classic that a lot of people will watch every year, if you weren’t so sure before on Violent Night. I recommend giving this one a go!

Violent Night is available on all VOD platforms.

8/10 B+

Scare Package II: Rad Chad’s Revenge has nice callbacks but lacks in everything else.

When horror guru Rad Chad Buckley’s funeral turns into an elaborate series of death traps centered around his favorite films, the guests must band together and use the rules of horror to survive the bloody game.

Honestly there isn’t a whole lot to say about Scare Package II: Rad Chad’s Revenge, the first Scare Package was nothing more than a bad anthology horror movie that was way too meta for it’s own good. While this one drops the meta elements it adds a lot of callbacks to other horror films which is perfectly fine. The problem is it really takes away from the story being told, to be absolutely fair the story being told isn’t particularly interesting either it’s just a giant parody of the Saw movies. Which again is perfectly fine but hasn’t that been done quite a few times already? Its not even done particularly well outside of the practical effects and the kills that are quite entertaining, it’s very clear that the people behind this movie have a deep love for the horror genre, mainly due to a ton of references being shown. The problem is just putting a bunch of callbacks to the original movie and other horror movies doesn’t make a good movie. The writing is very bare bones, the acting is bland and the direction is very messy especially towards the end. I’m sure fans of the first movie might like this one.

Scare Package II: Rad Chad’s Revenge is available on Shudder.

3/10 D-

Pinocchio is a dark and beautiful film with the theme of life.

A father’s wish magically brings a wooden boy to life in Italy, giving him a chance to care for the child.

Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio was a project that I have been following for a very long time now, Del Toro is one of my favorite filmmakers ever and hearing him take on Pinocchio is just a match made in heaven. Let’s start out with the obvious…the stop motion animation, it’s absolutely gorgeous in every single way possible. There’s so much detail to the backgrounds, the characters facial expressions that really tell the story even with the more quite moments they don’t need to say any words to tell the viewer how they feel at all. There’s truly this magical aspect to the stop motion animation that’s both gorgeously dark yet filled to the brim with heart. That’s a huge running theme about Pinocchio it’s a beautifully dark film with a lot of heart that’s main theme is life itself. The film takes place during fascist Italy during the interwar period and World War II which it makes that clear in the beginning with a very sad but truly powerful scene that David Bradley absolutely masters, speaking of which the voice cast is truly brilliant here Gregory Mann, David Bradley and Ewan McGregor give some of the best performances of the year, they each bring so much heart into the film that just moves you to tears. There’s so many scenes here that truly have a human feel to them Tilda Swinton who plays The Wood Spirit has some of the best scenes of the film, her interactions with Pinocchio are truly thought provoking and really make the whole film’s theme about life that much more interesting. There’s so many moments that truly move the viewer to tears, there’s this element of wanting to be belonged that I’m sure many people have felt at some point in their life. Guillermo Del Toro and Mark Gustafson truly reflects this with their direction, they create a very spiritual fairytale yet at the same time create something very human like with a lot of very real themes that a lot of people tend to think about.

Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio is available on Netflix.

10/10 A+

Emancipation has strong performances but weak writing.

Peter, a slave, flees a plantation in Louisiana after he was whipped within an inch of his life. He has to outwit cold-blooded hunters and the unforgiving swamps of Louisiana on a torturous journey north.

I watched Emancipation a few days ago and to be quite honest I still have no idea how exactly I feel about it. This is definitely one of those cases where you can easily tell there is something here and the movie wants to say something, it’s just not doing it all that well. Will Smith and Ben Foster do a really great job and give some quite effective moments, Ben Foster is even downright horrifying at times and Will Smith gives this strong performance of wanting to see his family again. While the movie is well intentioned there are some serious flaws here that are a bit baffling, the movie is about slavery yet sort of plays out as a survival thriller movie. It attempts to try and combine the two but given the brutal violence that comes off more as shock value rather than trying to educate on how horrible slavery is, the problem is this movie is the very bare basics about slavery. Yes there are some very powerful moments from Will Smith about wanting to reunite with his family and really puts up a fight against his captors, however those moments are surrounded by stuff that has been done far better in other films.

Emancipation is available on Apple TV+

5/10 C

Prey For The Devil a cliched exorcism movie with nothing new to offer.

The Roman Catholic Church combats a global rise in demonic possessions by reopening schools to train priests to perform exorcisms. Although nuns are forbidden to perform this ritual, a professor recognizes Sister Ann’s gifts and agrees to train her. Thrust onto the spiritual frontline, she soon finds herself in a battle for the soul of a young girl who’s possessed by the same demon that tormented her own mother years earlier.

2022 has been a fantastic year for horror films there’s so many titles that I can go on about (I’ll save that for the best horror films of the year list) but one movie that next to nobody talks about is Prey For The Devil and for very good reasons. Prey For The Devil is a by the numbers terrible exorcism movie is identical to a lot of those other exorcism movies that a lot of big studios were sending out like there’s no tomorrow in the late 2010s. And much like those ones this one is also really bad, the only major positives are Jacqueline Byers and a few scenes that are actually filmed decently well. Jacqueline Byers does the best she can with such an empty script that ultimately amounts to absolutely nothing, the writing is what seriously bogs this down. There’s absolutely no suspense and the atmosphere is just nonexistent which is mainly due to just how predictable the writing is, if you have seen a single exorcism movie in your life you have already seen Prey For The Devil. There’s also a scene where the movie is really trying to borrow a scene from The Conjuring, it doesn’t work here mainly due to atmosphere not being there at all and the other characters having no development. What else is there to say? It’s a terrible exorcism movie that is so forgettable that you will forget you watched it as soon as the credits roll.

Prey For The Devil is available on all VOD platforms.

3/10 D-