After Mona Lisa (Jeon Jong-seo), a young woman with telekinetic powers breaks out of an asylum in Louisiana, she makes her way to New Orleans where she meets fellow misfits and outcasts.
Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon starts off strong with this neon-infused New Orleans setting but everything does peter out in the second half. It’s a film that has both comedic moments and more serious ones and the blending of those two doesn’t always work. When it’s focused on the more eerie side of things that’s when it really worked for me.
There’s a level of tension throughout the film as though Mona Lisa has these powers which allow her to make people do whatever she wants, she’s been locked away from the world for so long that she doesn’t really have many social skills or awareness of how the world works. She’s naive in some ways and it’s easy for her to be taken advantage of. Especially at the beginning when she’s just got out of the asylum and is just wearing a straight jacket, because of Jong-seo’s size it makes her look even more vulnerable. (more…)
My original Deadpool review from when it was first released.
After experimental cancer treatment left ex-mercenary Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) with full-body scarring and accelerated healing, he sets out to find Ajax (Ed Skrein), the man responsible.
Yes, I decided to include the Deadpool films in my big X-Men rewatch as they are technically part of the same universe. This is also one of the films that I haven’t seen since the cinema five years ago, so I was interested to see if it held up.
In short no. While there were some chuckles and smiles there wasn’t the full belly laughs I remember it giving me in the cinema. I think this is a problem for comedies in general. My enjoyment of them can vastly depend on where (and who with) I watch them if the comedy is mediocre. With Deadpool five years ago, it was a surprise. The referential humour, the fourth wall breaks, and gracious violence wasn’t something we’d seen before in a superhero movie so that combined with seeing it in a packed cinema with friends probably made a lot of the films feel funnier than it was. Now having also seen Deadpool 2 and being five years older, once you’ve had thirty minutes of the references and violence you know exactly what Deadpool as a film is doing so there isn’t the surprise factor and not as many jokes land as you thought.
That being said, while the comedy element of Deadpool doesn’t always work as well on rewatch the action still holds up. The opening fight sequence as Wade literally drops into a motorcade and proceeds to maim and/or kill everyone in the vehicle is well shot and easy to follow even with the added crotch shots. Likewise having Wade only having a set number of bullets in the freeway shoot out makes his kills more innovative.
Deadpool works as a story because the action and motive are all small scale and personal – especially compared to a lot of the other superhero films released then and since. Deadpool is a revenge story bookended by a love story. Wade is in love with Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) so in order to have a life with her, he submits himself for the experimental treatment. Then it’s a revenge story after what the treatment does to him which then turns back into a love story as Wade has to go rescue Vanessa from the bad guys. There is CGI in Deadpool and the final battle in an old shipping yard doesn’t look quite as good as some of the previous sequences but on the whole the action is bloody and brutal and with Wade cracking jokes all the time it’s often funny too.
Speaking of CGI there is the proclaimed CGI Character with Colossus (voiced by Stefan Kapicic) one of the two X-Men featured in Deadpool who is more of a pacifist and keeps trying to convince Wade to stop killing people and join them. The other is Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand), a moody teen who makes fun of Wade and doesn’t say a lot. Personally, Wade’s referential jokes about the X-Men movies and actors were my favourite because it really is so hard to keep track of these films’ timelines.
All in all, Deadpool is a bit funny with decent action and a tight story. The fact that it is still so different to the majority of superhero movies today does stand in its favour and maybe one day studios (namely Disney as they now own everything Marvel) will put out the odd film that doesn’t follow the usual narrative and ratings they’ve gone for so far. Though to be honest those films make them a lot of money so in their mind they’re probably like “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” 2/5.
The story of the soldiers and aviators who helped turn the tide of the Second World War during the iconic Battle of Midway in June 1942.
The first 20 minutes or so of Midway are honestly thrilling as the film opens with the attack on Pearl Harbour. Unfortunately, that sense of urgency and pace doesn’t continue for the rest of this almost two and a half hour-long film.
There are a lot of military characters and names to keep track of. The main pilot is cocky Dick Best (Ed Skrein) whose cavalier attitude towards death puts his superiors including Rear Admiral Wade McClusky (Luke Evans) on edge, but naturally when things are at their breaking point he’s just the kind of guy they need.
It’s a pleasant surprise that the film spends time with the Japanese characters, the admirals and soldiers who planned and carried out the attacks on Pearl Harbour and Midway, and tries to elevate them from just being the Bad Guys. Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi (Tadanobu Asano) is the main character we follow on that side of the battlefield as he tries to bring glory to Japan without taking undue risks. In fact, the Japanese are almost three-dimensional characters, especially compared to their American counterparts that are largely comprised of clichés and strong accents.
The most interesting character is reserved intelligence officer Edwin Layton (Patrick Wilson) who had warned the Japanese were planning something big before the attack on Pearl Harbour, but his superiors failed listened to him. Now with Admiral Nimitz (Woody Harrelson) taking command, he is charged with predicting the Japanese’s next move. Their working relationship, as Nimitz slowly puts his faith into Layton and his team of codebreakers, some of whom are a little eccentric, is perhaps the most compelling element in this sprawling account of military underdogs.
The last third is full of aerial battles that are a sight to behold – seeing the pilots dive headfirst towards aircraft carriers in order to drop a bomb on target are nail-biting moments – but the spectacle becomes overwhelming and the various characters, the majority of which you know little about to care about them, are hard to follow in the carnage.
Midway does it’s best to offer a respectful account of events that took place and the men, both Japanese and America, who took part and risked their lives. The action is big and bold but that doesn’t allow any room for nuance. 2/5.
When Julia (Maika Monroe) wakes up in a house controlled by an Artificial Intelligence system called Tau (Gary Oldman), she must figure out what its creator (Ed Skrein) wants with her and find a way to escape.
Having 99% of the film set in one location, scientist Alex’s home, gives it a claustrophobic feel as Julia begins to converse with Tau and the two of them form an unlikely connection as they learn from one another. The lighting has an influence on each scene as when Alex is home, everything is in shades of blue but when he leaves, and Julia and Tau are alone, the lighting is in shades of red. It contrasts the differences between Alex and Julia, Alex is logical and strives for control, while Julia is quick-thinking and strives for freedom.
Both Monroe and Skrein are great in their roles and when the two of them are caught in almost a battle of wits, the tension is at its peak. Julia is a memorable “final girl” who combines grim determination with hopefulness and a caring side.
Tau is a creepy horror-sci-fi hybrid that offers another take on the man verses AI dilemma we’ve seen in countless films over the years. However, Tau doesn’t really offer anything new in terms of commentary on AI’s and how as they become smarter, people may abuse them. There’s parallels made between the trauma Julia faced at the hands of her parents and the restrictions Alex puts on Tau, but it lacks any real depth. Still, with its 90-minute runtime, Tau is an engaging small-scale sci-fi flick. 3/5.
After Mona Lisa (Jeon Jong-seo), a young woman with telekinetic powers breaks out of an asylum in Louisiana, she makes her way to New Orleans where she meets fellow misfits and outcasts.
Elena Square Eyes 