Rambo: Last Blood (2019) movie review

Overall verdict: 6/10

The Good: Emotionally impactful, terrific acting, excellent music, explores the plight of illegal sex trafficking victims.

The Bad: shoddy editing, mediocre filming style, small scale action, ultimately fails to give proper closure.

***********Review***********

On first viewing, RAMBO: LAST BLOOD feels like an unnecessary sequel, undoing the near perfect closure that 2008’s JOHN RAMBO gave us. In terms of scale, it is certainly the “smallest” Rambo movie and one chock full of issues.  But after a while it sunk in how much like a Rambo movie this is.

RAMBO LAST BLOOD seems like a deconstruction of Rambo 3 the same way i felt JOHN RAMBO was a deconstruction of Rambo 2. Rambo has accepted a peaceful life in the countryside when someone personally close to him embarks on a dangerous Mission and gets captured. 

Rambo attempts a rescue, fails in the first attempt, gets hurt bad but bounces back, succeeds in the second, and there’s even a battle in an underground location. The only thing missing is the large scale land battle at the end. On a whole, it presents a more personal stake for John as compared to the last movie.

The deconstruction comes in how the familiar scenes play out from Rambo 3 and the dark twists they take. Rambo infiltrating an enemy stronghold: you’d expect him to get in, silently taking down all opposition, and then blow stuff up on his way out. But what you get is Rambo being left a broken bloody mess because he went in with no backup or prep. The rescue? You’d expect a tense running battle and Rambo successfully extracting the captive. But what you get is a somewhat uneventful drive home that ends in tears. If anything, this movie rivals FIRST BLOOD in terms of personal tragedy for John Rambo making Rambo 3 seem like a cartoon in comparison. 

The movie itself does what past Rambo films do: bring attention to a social issue overlooked by mainstream media. In the first and second it was the plight of Vietnam veterans, in the third it was the afghan people, the fourth was the conflict in Myanmar. In this one, it’s the illegal cross border prostitution by Cartels. There are parallels drawn between this modern “war” and wars of old such as the abuse of the kidnapped girls mirroring the demeaning treatment of POWs, or the strike against Rambo’s ranch being this flipped call back to the Vietcong’s infamous use of tunnels against foreign troops.

While I love the sometimes too real performances by the various actors, particularly Stallone’s more vulnerable take on Rambo, along with the aforementioned deconstruction and the themes, RAMBO LAST BLOOD is far from a perfect movie. The performances are often marred by the director’s obsession with having the camera way too close to the characters’ faces for no apparent reason. Camerawork is nothing special and lacks any “wow” factor.

The overall look and feel of the movie resembles a direct to video sequel at best. The opening forest rescue in the storm is murky dark probably to hide the sub par CGI used for the avalanche and flood. Same goes to any other sequence that relies on CGI like computer generated explosions straight out of a tv show. For the action scenes, they typically consist of quick cuts and shakey cam along with some scenes where the footage was obviously sped up to make the stunts look more impactful. Again, it feels small, shuttling back and forth between Rambo’s ranch, a Mexican border town, and back again.

Not helping matters is a slip shod editing of the movie. You can have a scene developing, building tension, like when Gabriella is wandering deeper into gang territory across the border and then it suddenly cuts to a totally unrelated scene of Rambo tending to his horse for like 20 second before cutting back to Gabriella. New characters like an undercover reporter with a personal grudge against the Mexican cartel gets introduced half way and then forgotten by the third act.

All these factors combined makes this only my second least favourite Rambo movie just ahead of RAMBO 3. It makes up for the less emotional JOHN RAMBO and I can understand how overriding the happy ending of that movie with this movie might upset many fans. For me, I just wish this movie was given to a more competent director and production team. I liked it, but I definitely did not need it.

***********Review***********

Entertainment: C+

Story: C-

Acting: A-

Characters: B+

Music: B+

Replay value: C

"Brains": B-

ULTRAMAN (2019) season 1 CGI animated series review

Overall verdict: 6.5/10

Ultraman in name only 

The Good: Amazing designs and artwork, timeless hero's journey narrative, great Japanese and English voice acting, great tone of mystery and intrigue, decent character development

The Bad: cliched character portrayals, simplistic storyline, inconsistent CGI animation, unoriginal premise, overall "safe" feel to the episodes

***********Review***********

ULTRAMAN is a “broad strokes” sequel to the original ultraman tv series from 1966 but outside of familiar names, it serves more as a reinvention than a sequel. We follow main protagonist Shinjiro who has inherited super strength and speed from his father, the host of the original Ultraman. He is made to join up with the Science Patrol, an organisation who serves as law enforcement for alien activity on earth. Aliens now live among humans, and with the backing of the organisation, Shinjiro dons a power enhancing armour to become Ultraman, defender of justice. But balancing super heroics with teenage school life is no easy feat as Shinjiro’s personal values and idealism are continually put in conflict with what he is required to do.

Ultraman is a safe, familiar series that checks off on as many typical superhero story tropes as possible. Perhaps such familiarity may help it to reach out to a western audience already familiar with comic book superheroes. Inherited special abilities, powered armour right out of an iron man comic, different heroes with stereotypical personalities, deliciously devious bad guys, and our main character is a high school teen to boot.

Shinjiro as a character is clichéd to say the least. There is nothing that really sets him apart from the typical high school comic book hero protagonist we have seen so many times. He’s got a good heart, idealistic outlook, wants to help people, comes from a single parental figure family etc. Again, safe. Similarly, most of the characters are not given much depth beyond archetypes. Their personalities are simple, uncomplicated, with straightforward motivations. There is even the annoying cutesy acting idol girl that serves as a sort-of romantic interest for our protagonist. To call her irritating and superfluous to the plot is an understatement.

The episodes themselves do not particularly stand out, at least for the first half of the season. Each retain that element of mystery from the original Ultraman series that appealed to me. At the same time, the show crafts a nice identity feeling like a cross between MEN IN BLACK and a cartoon like IRON MAN ARMOURED ADVENTURES. The story is played mostly straight with clear good guys and bad guys. Again, very safe. Only around episode 7 does the series start to pick up.

After the clichéd comic book hijinks of previous episodes, deconstructive elements start to be incorporated from episode 7 onward. Idealism does not always solve problems, creepy looking creatures are not always bad, good guys may have darker agendas and your greatest supporters may turn against you at any moment. You could say that this is when the show finally grows up out of the whole “superheroes are for kids” thing.

The animation was a mixed bag for me. It never seems to decide if it wants to mimic the style of 2D animation, or embrace 3D CGI animation. Cel Shading is applied inconsistently with human characters and some alien characters benefiting from the toon shaded look. Other aliens, the armoured Ultraman forms and especially the backgrounds seem to be in regular 3D CGI which clashes with the cel shaded human characters.

There is something uncanny and lifeless about the way the human characters move and talk. The way their mouth flaps are timed or how they tend to hang open when there is no dialogue. This again was likely an attempt to mimic 2D traditional animation with 3D CGI but with less than stellar results. Then there is the framerate issue. Whenever characters move, it alterates between the overly smooth movements of 3D CGI, and what looks like a laggy video game.

In aiming conservatively, ULTRAMAN will no doubt have wide appeal for how safe it takes itself. Visually, it is unrecognisable as an Ultraman show, lacking much of the franchise’s trademarks like giant Monster battles. Taken as it is, it is a decent anime series. Just decent. The narrative risks come too little too late and leads up to a disappointing finale that only serves to tease a next better season. It is adequate but in no way as ground breaking with its themes and narrative as, say, SSSS GRIDMAN or the GODZILLA anime trilogy.

***********Review***********

Entertainment: B+
Art: A-
Animation: C+

Story: B-

Voice Acting (Japanese): A 

Voice Acting (English): B+ 

Characters: C+

Music: C+

Replay value: B-
"Brains": B-

Dark Phoenix (2019) movie review

Overall verdict: 6/10

A decent though disappointing sendoff for the First Class

The Good: A more personal portrayal of the phoenix force manifestation, great acting, decent action, excellent music, good closure for the "First Class" cast

The Bad: bland directing, lacks narrative focus, lacks thematic depth, inconsistent execution of story, cannot decide if it should be a character driven drama or a team based action spectacle.

***********Review***********

DARK PHOENIX ends the Fox Studio’s X-MEN franchise with a train wreck. No this is not a critique of the movie's quality. An actual train wreck is the centerpiece for its climax. I for one did not find this movie to be the "train wreck" so many claim it to be. But it does have its issues.  In DARK PHOENIX, set 10 years after the events of X-MEN APOCALYPSE, Professor Xavier has marketed the X-men as publicly visible superheroes. On a mission to save a space shuttle, one of the X-men, telekinetic Jean Grey, merged with a mysterious cosmic entity. She becomes erratic, unsure of herself, impulsive; qualities shared by this movie as a whole.

This movie is unsure of itself. It seems unable to decide what it wants to be. The overall tone is befitting of a smaller, character driven piece centering either on Jean’s slow descent into madness grappling with her new abilities, or Charles Xavier’s pride before the fall where some of the questionable actions he did in the past have come back to bite him. I appreciated this serious darker tone very much. 

Another aspect i loved was the portrayal of Jean and the phoenix, contrasting with how they were portrayed in X-MEN 3: THE LAST STAND. In X-Men 3, the phoenix was this sort of hollywood split personality; a completely different side of Jean that she has no control over and is unaware of until it is too late and the personality of the old calm Jean is completely subsumed by the more violent, vengeful phoenix personality. 

In DARK PHOENIX, Jean is completely aware of what the phoenix force does. There is no split personality, no excuse for any of the horrors it unleashes. All of it is Jean, whether it be due to losing control, or just lashing out in anger. We see how the power tempts her and how she slowly gives in to the temptation. 

The performances by the cast are great, particularly Sophie Turner as Jean, and James McAvoy as Xavier. Every cast member brings their utmost professionalism to their role, imbuing the dialogue and interplay with heightened emotion and gravitas. Sadly, the performances seem wasted thanks to the erratic focus of the movie. In giving more focus to the overall x-team and even a mid movie reintroduction of Michael Fassbender’s Magneto, DARK PHOENIX instead tries to market itself as this big team based action spectacle instead of a character focused piece. Which wouldn’t be so bad if it also didn’t fall short in that aspect.

After past movies with big action set pieces, a pitched naval battle, killer sentinels in the future, and worldwide destruction, DARK PHOENIX movies too slowly for an action movie and only delivers two bland action set pieces; one on an uptown New York street, and another on a moving train. And even with the latter, most of the fighting takes place in the train itself.

Contributing to its blandness is Simon Kinberg’s inexperience with directing such a movie. His camera angles, how he sets up action and even how he films a dialogue seems so cookie cutter like someone ticking off a checklist. If it weren’t for the polished cinematography and special effects, the way DARK PHOENIX is shot reminds me of a tv show. Conversation? Cut back and forth from each character’s close ups. A fight? Jostle the camera a bit to make it seem more intense. There is hardly any creativity or distinct style at play in how the movie is shot. Hans Zimmer’s musical score does a commendable attempt to elevate the movie but his energetic synth and orchestral blend can only do so much.

This movie, in a word, is just “serviceable”. It has too little of emotional depth and intensity to be something like LOGAN, and at the same time it had too little visual and action spectacle to be a big ensemble blockbuster like X-MEN DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. It does give some closure to the character arc of Charles Xavier, so if you are fan of James McAvoy’s portrayal since X-MEN FIRST CLASS, as I am, then this was a satisfactory sendoff. Other than that, while this is better than the previous live action portrayal of the Dark Phoenix story, it is only a middling entry at best in the 19 year old franchise

***********Review***********

Entertainment: B+

Story: C-

Acting: B

Characters: B

Music: C

Replay value: B+

"Brains": C-

Hellboy (2019) movie review

Overall verdict: 7/10

The "heavy metal remix" version of Hellboy.

The Good: awesome action, dark humour, witty dialogue, new fresh take on the character, features many rarely seem creatures from english folklore

The Bad: seemingly fragmented narrative, many flashbacks break flow of story, little development of main character, 

***********Review***********

Hellboy does not deserve its negative reviews. It is a competently made, thoroughly enjoyable adaptation of Mike Mignola’s “Hellboy: The Wild Hunt” “Darkness Calls” and “The Storm and the Fury” comic stories. It is a briskly paced film, with a tone that combines CONSTANTINE with DEADPOOL.

David Harbour portrays an angrier more quick tempered Hellboy which he describes as being more adolescent compared to Ron Perlman’s previous version. Not necessarily darker, but less at ease with himself, more rebellious, and swapping out Perlman’s more laid back attitude with a more tight wound angsty one. His performance and make up are fantastic, looking much more natural than the previous portrayal and less cheesy.

Our story starts with Hellboy in Mexico on a mission to retrieve a rogue agent. He ultimately fails but receives a dire warning which brings him to Britain. There he runs into Guargach, this fearsome boar man, who is working for the blood queen Nimue. But before he embarks on his quest to slay Nimue, requiring him to dig deep into ancient legends of King Arthur, he has to contend with The Osiris Club who are a posh uppity society who hunts giants on what they call “The Wild Hunt”. A twist of fate brings Hellboy together with Alice Monoghan, a british girl with a supernatural gift who he saved when she was still a baby. Saved her from Guargach, for that matter. Her story is fleshed out in flashbacks. Then there is the UK arm of the BPRD organisation, and the abrasive agent Daimio, whom Hellboy is forced to work with.

Already this narrative may seem fragmented, despite slowly coming together by the end. It feels like separate stories that detract from the main plot of the blood queen. However I will posit a counter argument and say it replicated the feel of reading the comic more so than any of the previous movies. Each story is like a monthly single issue. Unfortunately, unless you can appreciate this aspect, the comic style of storytelling might not be to the majority’s preference.

Thanks to the brisk pace of the movie there is little room for character development of Hellboy himself. It fleshes out its side characters through flashbacks, we see Hellboy’s origin in a flashback, Nimue and Guargach origin in a flashback. So many flashbacks that it takes time away from our main character. At times it seems he gets no development at all and is just a player put in different situations to see how he would react. The climax of this movie where a Hellboy realises his true power should have been an emotionally powerful turning point but ultimately feels too similar to the climax of the previous HELLBOY movie with less of the emotional impact.

It is not my typical style to compare a new movie with a previous incarnation featuring the same character, but HELLBOY replicates one too many story beats from Guillermo Del Toro’s 2004 HELLBOY movie. An ancient enemy resurfaces intent on unleashing Hellboy’s full power and turning him against humanity. Meanwhile, Hellboy is dealing with his personal problems, gets sent on a disastrous mission, and gets saddled with new teammates that he would rather not have. He gets separated from his adoptive father Professor Bruttenholm at one point thanks to his own emotional falling out with his father. At the climax Hellboy’s full power is unleashed and he makes a choice to not give in to his demonic nature and defeats the big bad. These plot points apply to both Hellboy movies! That is how similar they are.

Where this movie falls short in character and emotional impact, it makes up for it with some great action. The CGI is decent considering the movie's modest budget, but the action is a real thrill to follow; clearly shot and well paced. There is a lot more superhuman feats of strength compared to the movies that came before in which the action tended to be more grounded in reality. Fight scenes are intense when they have to be, and epic where it fits. The humour too falls into black comedy most of the time and it is genuinely funny. The witty dialogue adds to the energy of the script and does not feel forced. My favourite aspect is definitely the make up and prosthetics on Hellboy himself. It looks real, raw and never once feels like a man painted red with stuff stuck all over him. It looks amazing. 

So is this the worst movie of 2019? Hardly. HELLBOY 2019 is a solid action movie replicating the experience of reading a comic book, almost to a fault. Splitting a movie like issues of a comic book might not work for everyone. Although director Neil Marshall revels in showcasing UK landscapes, london and old english folklore, there does seem to be an overall lack of the same passion the director brought to previous movies like DOOMSDAY and THE DECENT. It looks great, sounds great and is thoroughly entertaining but it does feel superficial in thematic or emotional depth. Like the soundtrack by Benjamin Wallfisch, this Hellboy is to the previous Hellboy movies what heavy metal is to classic rock music. 

***********Review***********

Entertainment: A-

Story: B-

Acting: B+

Characters: B-

Music: B-

Replay value: B+

"Brains": D-

Bright (2017) movie review

Overall verdict: 8/10

What if Warcraft became a cop drama?

The Good: Amazing production design, excellent cast, unique urban fantasy setting, good action, great cast chemistry, interesting villains

The Bad: uninspired music, simplistic storyline, a lot of backstory goes unexplained

***********Review***********

BRIGHT is a movie that deserves a big screen theatrical debut. It’s got a great premise and delivers it through David Ayer’s signature gritty realism playing on racial politics, social segregation, gang culture and polar opposite individuals coming together for a common good despite their differences. All this set to a familiar yet unfamiliar urban fantasy Los Angeles where elves live the high snobbish life, orc gangs run the streets, and humanity is right in the middle with all races just trying to get along despite seething tensions.

Where some reviewers saw the whole orc/human/elf segregation as a story of racial prejudice that was being too on the nose, I merely saw the fantasy setting as the medium and not the message. David Ayer isn’t using the fantasy races to bring an anti racism message. Instead he is making a statement that with all the magic, all this fantastic stuff happening right out of fairy tales, the resulting society will be no different than how our society is in real life. Cruel, violent, prone to all the social failings that we see everyday.

Into this setting comes policeman Ward who is basically Will Smith playing Will Smith in a cop uniform. Smart mouthed, cocky, and just trying to get by day to day, Ward is suddenly saddled with officer Jakobi, an orc, as part of the department’s initiative to hire more minorities. A foiled shooting by an orc gangster and his subsequent escape despite Jakobi giving chase places him squarely under suspicion of aiding an escaped felon. Despite half the police force distrusting the orc officer, Ward sticks by his guns and continues his patrols with Jakobi at his side despite his own personal misgivings.

The unlikely duo get caught up in a clandestine plot by a cult to resurrect a dark lord that almost plunged the world into chaos millenia ago. A former elf cultist named Tikka (not at all related to Chicken or Masala) has escaped with the magic wand capable of granting its wielder anything they so desired as long as they were a “Bright”: a one in a million being with a unique ability to wield a wand and not be obliterated by the magic. Twists, turns, betrayals and hijinks ensue, taking Ward and Jakobi deep into the fantasy criminal underworld and face to face with forces well beyond their police paygrade.

BRIGHT balances the main plot with the world building setting up the rules of this unique universe without too much exposition. The acting is excellent with the characters of both Ward and Jakobi being easy to relate to. Jakobi, played by Joel Edgerton (Star Wars: Attack of the Clones) is especially endearing in his idealistic dedication to upholding the law and doing the right thing despite the overt prejudice against him.

Minor nitpicks would be the the run of the mill action movie music by David Sardy (Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance), and the haphazard way the action is shot and edited. Other than that, BRIGHT boasts excellent performances, production values and equally excellent makeup in bringing this realistic fantasy world to life. I for one would love to see a sequel or at least a spinoff taking place in the same world.

***********Review***********

Entertainment: A-

Story: B

Acting: A

Characters: B+

Music: D

Replay value: B+

"Brains": C

Godzilla: King of The Monsters (2019) movie review

Overall verdict: 8.5/10

The ultimate gateway movie into the Godzilla franchise.

The Good: Magnificent monster battles, well acted relatable characters, memorable supporting cast, simple human centred storyline, great visual effects, probably the best soundtrack ever by composer Bear McCreary. 

The Bad: rushed plot with little breathing room, seemingly light on underlying themes or philosophical depth.

***********Review***********

The sequel to 2014’s GODZILLA and third installment to Legendary Studio’s “Monsterverse”, is a non-stop, edge of the seat thrill ride in the vein of classic worldwide disaster movies like INDEPENDENCE DAY. Building on feedback from the previous installment, director Michael Dougherty delivers a spectacular love letter to the entire 65 year old (as of this year) franchise. It is exciting, it is beautiful, tragic, grand, an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish.

We start off in real-time 2019. In the years following Godzilla’s battle which leveled San Francisco back in 2014, the world is divided over the knowledge that more of these so called titans exist and that the organization”MONARCH” desires to protect them despite the destruction they may cause. Amidst this chaotic backdrop, a MONARCH facility in China is raided by an eco terrorist cell who kidnaps scientist Emma Russell along with her daughter Madison, so as to use her invention called the “orca”; a machine that is able to record and mimic the titans' bioacoustics signals which they use to communicate with each other. 

Led by the enigmatic renegade Alan Jonah, the eco terrorists plan to use the orca to awaken the hibernating titans in hope that they will restore the earth to its former glory. But there is more to this plot than meets the eye. Meanwhile, MONARCH engages the help of Doctor Mark Russell, Emma’s estranged husband, and co-inventor of the orca, to try and locate the stolen device, his kidnapped ex-wife and child.

If it starts to sound like a human focused “angry dad rescuing family” kind of movie, rest assured it is not. Our giant monsters, the titans, they are not just the backdrop, they feature front and centre from the get go. The target of the terrorists plot is to awaken “Ghidorah”, a three headed dragon who had been the basis of myths. They hope for Ghidorah to establish dominance over the other titans and control them. Unfortunately, Ghidorah himself has other plans. With seemingly alien abilities and power beyond measure, the only titan that might stand a chance against the multi headed monstrosity, is Godzilla.

From the very first on screen appearance of Mothra, to Ghidorah, to the bird-like Rodan, and of course Godzilla, the whole movie goes full throttle with its plot. There is never a dull moment as we follow Mark and the MONARCH scientists led by Dr Serizawa across the globe trying to prevent an end-of-the-world scenario. You could say that it moves so fast that there is hardly any breathing room. Plot developments and characters development happen simultaneously and it’s easily to get lost in the details if you do not pay attention. At times, it feels like there may have been a scene or two which was cut out which may have eased the flow of the movie, but this is a minor complaint.

At our story’s core is a tale of a broken individuals dealing with loss at the expense of a loved one. The Russells were victims of the San Francisco Godzilla battle. Their ordeal drove Mark to drink and become abusive leading to his divorce with Emma who in turn buried herself into her work, all while Madison suffered the fallout. In their journey towards making peace with the past, we see two hurt individuals who had let their loss fracture their family,  now choose to put aside their differences for the sake of their child and the world. It is a simple plot thread but with a heartwarming message.

The cast play their roles perfectly; especially Kyle Chandler as Mark Russell and Serizawa played by veteran actor Ken Watanabe. The latter‘s role in the story becomes even more poignant if you watch the first movie and read both prequel comics “Godzilla Awakening” and “Godzilla Aftershock”, knowing more about his history and a his connection to both Godzilla and nuclear weapons.

However, the ones I found the most memorable were the G-Team led by badass lady Colonel Diane Foster. They are side characters with minimal development but the situations they are called to deal with, suppressing a terrorist attack, evacuating a city, luring an enraged Rodan away from a populated area, they do all that with guts and a strict dedication to their duty. The best part of it all? The human element is sufficient and never overstays it’s welcome.

Equal focus is given to the star attraction themselves: the giant monsters. All of them, Mothra, Rodan, Ghidorah and Godzilla all feature cool redesigns that pay homage to their original looks while taking it to a whole new level of badass. Moving Pictures Company (MPC) has outdone themselves once again in the CGI department. Special mention goes to the performance capture used for Ghidorah and Godzilla. Their expressions showcase clear human-like emotions and traits. Their body language blending the actor’s performance with animalistic like movements. This motion capture is truly the descendant of traditional rubber suit monster performances.

And when the titans clash, the visuals and cinematography effectively convey the immense scale of their battles. Thanks to Director Michael Dougherty and cinematographer Lawrence Sher, the movie is spectacularly shot with dark apocalyptic visuals, heightening the surreal spectacle of these massive clashes. We are truly witnessing war among gods! Pulse pounding music by composer Bear McCreary reproduces many of the iconic tunes from past Godzilla movies while giving his own unique spin, with drums and chants, imbuing an almost operatic feel to the movie. This is easily his greatest work to date.

From the music to the characters to the monsters themselves, everything! The passion and love of the genre coming from the cast and crew is evident in every minute of this film. I would have liked a bit more time and focus spent on its underlying themes but perhaps the underdevelopment of such themes was the result of the movie's fast pace. 


That being said, it is great for Newcomers to the Godzilla franchise thanks to the simple story, memorable characters, decent actors, and tight script. If you needed a gateway into the Godzilla or giant monster franchise, this is it! For long time fans, there are numerous Easter eggs, references, callbacks, and parallels to past films. See if you can recognise them all. All in all GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS distills everything cool about Godzilla into a single modern movie. Highly recommended.

***********Review***********

Entertainment: A

Story: B

Acting: A

Characters: A-

Music: A

Replay value: A

"Brains": C-