Movie Review -- Us

  Us. Yes, another movie with an incredibly short and non-descriptive title has been bequeathed unto the general public so that the good people can ask one another “which one is that?” whenever it is mentioned in conversation. So what is Us? Is it as good as the critics say it is? And is this really my 100^th movie review? Let's take a look.

  Written and directed by Jordan Peele, Us follows Adelaide Wilson, her husband, and her two children who vacation at their beach house in Santa Cruz where Adelaide once had a frightening experience as a child. Her fears come back to haunt her as the Wilsons are attacked by doppelgangers of themselves known as the Tethered. Think of it as The Purge meets a zombie apocalypse movie, and you've got a pretty clear idea of what Us is like. As far as home-invasion movies go, it's decent; it's only towards the end where Us starts to lose steam. Although some of the kills come a little too easily, the film has a good amount of tension and suspense, especially during its opening scene. It also has a commendable sense of humour, with quick little jokes poking fun at the situation the characters find themselves in, and yet these jokes avoid distracting or clashing with the scene's tone.

  However one moment that really didn't work was the pointless twist ending; not only does it add absolutely nothing to the story but it makes no sense whatsoever. Without spoiling too much, let's just say that this twist completely screws up some backstory.

  That's not the only plothole here; Us has loads of them! How did the Tethered know how to mimic their true counterparts? Are they psychic? What's up with their names? What is their goal? Why did some attack the Wilsons but not the others? There's also a Bible verse that's referenced several times throughout, but the film doesn't have the courtesy of actually letting the audience know what it is. It's something I had to look up myself and since doing so this verse's significance to Us is just as dubious as before. Perhaps Jordan Peele simply tried cramming too many ideas into one film.

  The acting is done rather well. Winston Duke gives a fun performance as the enthusiastic try-hard dad, Gabe. And of course Lupita Nyong'o is riveting in her dual role as Adelaide and her doppelganger, Red.

  All in all, Us is alright but it's not as glorious as the critics say it is. From the reviews I've glanced at it seems as if critics are projecting grander themes upon the film that aren't truly there (at least, not in any substantial or meaningful way). The only argument I got from Us is that we need to support the proliferation of firearms – seriously, there isn't a single gun in this whole movie! But no, Us is an adequately entertaining thriller with a good sense of humour, decent acting, and professional direction but also a script riddled with logical fallacies that would have benefited from another round of editing. I can see why it'd be easy to fall in love with it if you don't think too hard about it... but you know me by now. We've been over this one hundred times, you know.

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Movie Review Repost -- Avengers Age of Ultron (2015)

Avengers: Endgame isn't far away and so I think this might be a good time to take a look at my old review of the second film in the Avengers series: Age of Ultron, which according to the film's story turned out to be more of a Weekend of Ultron. Anyways, I still think the film is fine, maybe not 4.5/5 fine, but fine nonetheless. You can tell that this review was written just before I came down with a serious case of franchise fatigue with the MCU. Anyways, enjoy!

  Avengers assemble! And I mean really assembled; Age of Ultron's cast is huge, recalling all of The Avengers' cast as well as the addition of some new characters and even the supporting casts of other film series like Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. It made me realize, this is now a huge cinematic universe.

  “But not big enough for the two of us!” exclaims the film's main villain Ultron, an artificial intelligence inadvertently created by Tony Stark that uses robots to further his goal of eradicating all human life from Earth. What I particularly like about Age of Ultron is that we get to see more of how the Avengers characters interact. And it's not just a bunch of arguing like in the last film, they're actually hanging out and having fun. There's no Loki in this film, but we do get a look into Hawkeye's personal life, giving his character some sorely-needed insight. There's also a rather interesting romance, though it does make me scratch my head; I guess Betty Ross no longer exists in this universe? The new characters are pretty cool and they make the cinematic Avengers roster more closely resemble that of its familiar comic book counterpart. Just keep in mind that this Quicksilver is definitely not the same one from the X-Men universe.

  All actors do a fantastic job here, especially James Spader who voices Ultron. His performance gives the character an intelligent Frankenstein sort of quality to it with a bit of humour, of course.

While the first Avengers movie was full of great jokes and one-liners, this one goes for a somewhat more serious approach. Though it still has some great jokes – even a few adult jokes – Age of Ultron is less flashy and peppy than its predecessor. People are actually seen dying this time around.

But there were a few moments that left me dumbfounded. Like why did the Hulk just leave? If SHIELD is disbanded then where did that helicarrier come from? And no, I have no freakin' clue what the point was of that scene of Thor in the cave. (Also, the 3D was OK, but not necessary.)

  Overall, Avengers: Age of Ultron is an excellent addition to the Marvel cinematic universe. While I still prefer the first one, this one was still a load of fun. And for those of you who wanted a large-scale superhero team film that feels less like a cartoon, this one may be for you.

Rating: four and a half stars out of five.

Movie Review -- Cold Pursuit

  Oh yeah, that's right: there was a Liam Neeson action movie this year about him killing people over problems with one of his children. Because we don't have enough of those, right? To be honest, I haven't seen any of the Taken films but I think I've got the gist of them: don't mess with Neeson's kids. Although Cold Pursuit isn't in that series, one can certainly be forgiven for believing it is after seeing this film's trailer. So does the latest entry in this particular set of genre films – films that have been produced over a very long career, films that are a nightmare for people who don't like action – have anything different to offer? Let's take a look.

  Cold Pursuit is centred around Nelson Coxman, a soft-spoken snowplow driver in a ski resort town in Colorado. After his son turns up dead from a suspiciously out-of-character drug overdose Nelson begins his vengeful campaign against local drug dealers. However this gets the attention of the guys at the top and things quickly spiral out of control. It reminds me a lot of Fargo, just swap out the kidnapping and ransom for good old-fashioned revenge. Not only does Cold Pursuit share that film's snow-covered rural setting but it also shares an interesting sense of dark humour. I like it; the black comedy is what keeps this film from being just another generic action movie. There's even hints of slapstick and self-aware humour as well. The only downside to this is that in the wake of the swift ending the viewer is left with a bunch of unanswered questions: was that one guy paragliding all night long?

  Cold Pursuit is populated by lots of relatable characters who seem normal at first, but each have their unusual quirks. Chief among the oddballs is the main villain Viking played by Tom Bateman. Bateman does a delightful job playing a psychopathic drug lord who's also an unusually uptight father. He steals whatever scene he's in. The other grand performance is of course Liam Neeson's as Nels Coxman. This character truly is an ordinary guy in every sense of the word; he's a small-town, middle-aged man who has no witty quips or noble speeches, is not a convincing liar, and is a stranger to brutal violence. Watching him go through his quest for vengeance and deal with its consequences – and oddities – makes for a fascinating trip.

  In terms of direction, Cold Pursuit is a good-looking movie with plenty of landscape shots, both beautiful and ominous. Editing is handled in a way that enhances the comedy, such as cutaways after certain characters deaths for example. (Revealing anything further would be spoiler territory.)

  In conclusion, I'd say that if you like Quentin Tarantino movies then you'll enjoy Cold Pursuit. It's got all the action-thriller fare of a usual Neeson-type flick but with some quirky gallows humour and sophisticated direction to elevate it into above-average territory.

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