Hush – Film Review

Posted on June 11, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Mike Flanagan

Writer: Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel

Starring: Kate Siegel, John Gallagher Jr., Michael Trucco, Samantha Sloyan, and Emma Graves

Rating: ★★★1/2

Hush is a 2016 slasher film directed by Mike Flanagan, who also co-wrote the screen play with the star of the film, Kate Siegel. Flanagan would also go on to make several modern horror classics, from Stephen King adaptations Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep, to Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House, Bly Manor, and Midnight Mass. The second you see Flanagan’s name on something you know it’s going to be good, and Hush isn’t an exception. It’s a very strong and chilling modern slasher film that takes the genre right back it to its roots, cutting out anything supernatural and creating something fuelled by pure terror.

Siegel stars as Maddison Young, a writer who was left deaf and mute after suffering from meningitis as a child. She’s recovering from a bad relationship by moving out into the middle of nowhere, while working on her next book. She’s become friends with her next-door neighbour, Sarah (Samantha Sloyan), who’s also become a fan of her work. While Maddison is struggling to select an ending for her latest book a random man (John Gallagher Jr) murders Sarah right outside her house. He then chooses Maddison as his next target, taunting her slowly.

The film essentially becomes a cat and mouse game, with Maddison trying to escape from the house while the unnamed man stalks around outside waiting to strike. There’s no given motive for why he’s attacking her, other than he wants to. Unlike a lot of slashers there’s nothing supernatural about him and there’s no traumatic past. This is a completely random killing, and it makes everything that much more suspenseful. The mask that the man wears initially is also incredibly creepy.

Both Kate Siegel and John Gallagher Jr. are really great in their roles. Gallagher Jr. is menacing and fells scary, while you’re completely invested in Siegel’s character willing her to survive. The writing is really great, especially at the beginning when it sets up Maddison. You’re never told the full story of why she’s there, but there’s more than enough hints through dialogue and actions that make it obvious. It’s subtle and feels completely natural. There are some incredibly tense moments throughout the film as well as the man attempts to kill her. Long sequences of chilling terror that’s masterfully created. The way that the power balance slowly tips is really well done.

What really lets it down is, despite only being an hour and twenty minutes long, it really struggles to fill that time. For a lot of it you’re just wandering why isn’t the man breaking the windows? Especially since she wouldn’t be able to hear it. Why doesn’t he just kill her right away without taunting her? It’s not the biggest issue, because the rest of the film is so good, but it is a constant niggle.

Hush is a really good horror film, let down by just a few bits that feel forced just to keep the plot moving. The cast and characters are great and when it’s in full force, it’s great. Definitely worth watching.

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Jurassic World Dominion – Film Review

Posted on June 10, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Colin Trevorrow

Writers: Emily Carmichael and Colin Trevorrow

Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill, DeWanda Wise, Mamoudou Athie, BD Wong, and Omar Sy

Rating: ★★1/2

After what feels like a lifetime, Jurassic World Dominion is finally here. The conclusion of the second trilogy in the Jurassic Park series, which also brings both trilogies together with characters returning from both. It picks up a few years after Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom ended with dinosaurs starting to integrate into our day to day lives.

With all the delays due to Covid, as well as the legacy characters, there’s been a lot of hype for this film, and that was always going to be hard to live up to. Sadly, it really doesn’t. It’s brought down by a runtime that’s just too long, as well as having a few of dumb moments in the story just to move the plot along. There are ideas that don’t really go anywhere and it’s a massive failure to live up to the tease of the last film’s ending.

Even though there are dinosaurs running around cities and villages, the idea isn’t used to its full potential. Apart from one, pretty good scene where dinosaurs are chasing the main characters through crowded streets, most of it is set in a dinosaur enclosure, that substitutes for the parks of previous films. The plot is okay, but really just a simple rescue mission, with nothing really that surprising. The action is pretty good, although not as tense as it should be, and It never feels like the main characters are in real danger.

Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howards are both back and are great in their roles, but the main attraction is that after a glorified cameo in the previous film, Jeff Goldblum is back as Dr Ian Malcolm along with returning legacy characters, Dr Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Dr Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern). The trio fit right back into their characters and nicely tie the current trilogy with the original. Goldblum is the best of the returning characters, just being his usual self. Laura Dern is also great, propelling the plot forward at the beginning. While Sam Neill is good but is mostly relegated to looking grumpy in the background, which is a waste.

There are simply too many people in the film, with the characters from both trilogies plus a few newcomers. It feels like not all of them have a lot to do and are just there for the sake of nostalgia at points. It makes the film feel really baggy, just to come up with excuses for them to do things and it’s just too long. The CGI is also all over place, some of the dinosaurs look really bad, especially at the start, while others look incredible. It’s a real shame considering how great the effects of the first film still look today.  

Overall, Jurassic World Dominion feels like a wasted opportunity. It doesn’t really fulfil the teasing ending of the previous film, and there are far more characters than the story needs. It’s not the worst film of the series (that honour is still held by Jurassic Park III), but it’s far below the original masterpiece.  

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Ms. Marvel – Episode 1 Review

Posted on June 9, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Adil & Bilall

Writer: Bisha K. Ali

Starring: Iman Vellani, Matt Lintz, Yasmeen Fletcher, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Saagar Shaikh, Laurel Marsden, Azhar Usman

Rating: ★★★★½

I’m going to start by saying that I’m not familiar with Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel in the comics at all. I remember her being introduced, but I’ve never read a single issue with her in it. Not for any particular reason, there’s just too many comics and as I’ve gotten older, I read a lot less superhero comics. So, I went into Ms. Marvel blind, seeing no trailers or knowing anything about it in general. Saying that, the first episode is absolutely fantastic. It feels like a comic, in the best way possible, with flashy and playful visuals. Lots of quirky and off-beat moments, with Khan’s imagination playing out as doodles on the background.

The first episode shows Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) preparing to attend AvengersCon with her best friend, Bruno Carrelli (Matt Lintz). Kamala’s parents don’t want her to attend, instead wanting her to focus on her school work and future.

This is an origin story for Ms. Marvel, without any of her powers on display for the majority of the episode. Instead, it’s really more about Kamala going through her normal life with the backdrop of superheroes. She struggles with other kids at school and drifting off in class. There’s also a lot of pressure put on her by her parents, who want the best for everything. It’s a coming-of-age story, where Kamala doesn’t want to be rebellious, she just wants to find out who she is outside of her family. The vibrant visuals make this feel special though, you can feel the passion from behind the scenes leaping out the screen. Directors Adil & Bilall (who also directed the surprisingly excellent Bad Boys for Life) do a great job at setting up a new slice of the MCU in the opening episode.

The whole cast is fantastic, especially Iman Vellani as Kamala, who is completely relatable and Vellani does a great job as making her a believable character. Zenobia Shroff is also really great as Muneeba Khan, Kamala’s mother, who is completely overbearing and bring a lot of humour to the show. There’s a great moment when she offers dinner to Bruno, and when he declines, she brings a bag of filled tupperware containers almost instantly, without explaining how quickly she did it.

Later in the episode, when her parents try to be lenient and let Kamala go to the con, she accidentally upsets them by rejecting the Hulk costume her mother made for her. It’s a very relatable moment, and everyone’s upset someone without meaning too and the image of hurt on their face haunts you for a long time. The first episode is very grounded with these little moments of humanity, which will probably be replaced by the loud and flashy action that we expect from the MCU in future episodes, especially if the small glimpses that we get of Ms. Marvel’s true powers are anything to go by.

Ms. Marvel episode one is an absolute blast from start to finish. It’s filled with high-energy antics and the way it is presented is really quirky and stylish. If you’re put-off by not really knowing the character then give the first episode a go, it’s really worth it.

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Hustle – Film Review

Posted on June 9, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Jeremiah Zagar

Writers: Taylor Materne and Will Fetters

Starring: Adam Sandler, Queen Latifah, Ben Foster, Juancho Hernangóme, and Robert Duvall

Rating: ★★★½

Adam Sandler’s latest Netflix film is sports drama Hustle, in which Sandler stars as basketball scout Stanley Sugerman. While Sandler is best known for his over-the-top comedy, he’s also played a few serious roles, such as with Uncut Gems and the excellent The Meyerowitz Stories (Net and Selected). Hustle is a mix of the two. It’s a grounded drama, with a little hint of humour, but not the outrageous or crude comedy Sandler is known for. Instead, it is a simple feel-good underdog tale.

After years as an international scout, spending most of his time in hotels with fast food (and there’s enough product placement in the first few minutes to cover more a few Netflix passwords being shared), Stanley is promoted to assistant coach of the Philadelphia 76ers by his boss, Rex Merrick (Robert Duvall). The promotion is short-live though, as Rex dies and his son takes over, moving Stanley back to being a scout and sent to Spain to look for a new player.

Adam Sandler is surprisingly very good as Stanley, the aging coach who feels that his chance to follow his dream has passed. There’s none of the anger and intensity you’d expect from him, instead he’s level-headed and completely believable in the role. He’s instantly charming and you’re invested in what happens to him. While in Spain, Stanley discovers unknown player Bo Cruise (Juancho Hernangóme). His skill shocks Stanley, and when his new boss doesn’t share his enthusiasm, Stanley brings Bo back to America in order to get him a position on any team, even if the 76ers don’t take him.

You can probably guess how the film plays out, as it sticks to the same formula as most sports/underdog dramas. Bo and Stanley go through highs and lows together, with a lot standing in their way to achieve their goal. It’s a tried and tested story, and it really works here. Both Sandler and Hernangóme are great, and there’s a real focus on the struggles that Bo has gone through to get where he is today. It’s as much about overcoming your past as it is about basketball. There’s a pretty great montage (which is mandatory for any sports drama) and even a reference to Rocky (again mandatory, especially since it’s set in Philadelphia for the most part).

Most of the films Sandler has released with Netflix have been mixed, but this is one of the better ones. It’s mostly predictable, but there’s a lot of heart in the story. It may not be the best of the genre, but a really strong one. The perfect Sunday afternoon film.

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Obi-Wan Kenobi – Episode IV Review

Posted on June 8, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Deborah Chow

Writers: Joby Harold and Hannah Friedman

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Moses Ingram, Vivien Lyra Blair, Hayden Christensen, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, Sung Kang

Rating: ★★★

The fourth episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi continues Kenobi’s (Ewan McGregor) attempt to rescue young Princess Leia (Vivien Lyra Blair). At the end of episode three Leia was captured by the Third Sister (Moses Ingram) and is now being held at their base. At the same time Kenobi is healing from the wounds he suffered in his re-match with Vader (Hayden Christensen) and without enough time to heal fully sets of to save Leia.

Compared to the first three episodes, this one feels a little weaker. After the brilliant ending to episode three, it’s a little more subdued, with most of the episode focusing on Kenobi and Tala (Indira Varma) navigating their way through the Inquisitor base. It takes a long time for the action to pick up. There are still some great moments, with the Third Sister starting to question Leia and Tala using her undercover position to get further into the ship, but nothing like the previous episodes. It does, thankfully, really picks up towards the end. So far this is also the shortest episode of the series, running at around half an hour once you’ve cut out the re-cap and credits.

There are a couple of moments that feel a little silly in this episode, and it’s hard to ignore them. There’s a bit when Kenobi hides from stormtroopers but there is literally no way they didn’t see him as he hid. Then Tela is captured at one point and manages to escape without any resistance. The idea that stormtroopers are this bad at their job is kind of annoying. The final twist, without spoiling anything, is also a little unconvincing.

Episode four feels a little bit like filler and hopefully the final two episodes will really pick things back up again. After the spectacular opening episodes, this feels a lot more ‘made for TV’, and not in a good way.

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