At best, it is retreading old ground. Jessie fears she is losing her human friend Bonnie to technology when Lilypad, a sentient touch screen computer, arrives. It would seem toys everywhere are being abandoned in favour of “tech.” Can the toys turn things around? The now 31 year old franchise has a new entry, co-written/co-directed…
Tag: sequel
Review: Star Wars – The Mandalorian and Grogu
A superfluous jaunt, full of CGI monster battles. Despite the fall of the Galactic Empire, evil separatist movements still exist. The New Republic sometimes needs mercenaries and bounty hunters to mop up problems. Din Djarin, a Mandalorian, and Grogu, are tasked in aiding the Hutts crime syndicate in exchange for information on the whereabouts of…
Review: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
A movie made for a very specific audience. It is fun, but it is largely “Illumination noise”. After the defeat of koopa king Bowser, the Mushroom Kingdom is in relative peace. However, when the villain’s son kidnaps another princess, he has the power to not only rescue Bowser, but terrorise the whole galaxy. The Super…
Review: Avatar – Fire and Ash (3D)
What is this all for, James? While Jake Sully and his family grieve for the losses from their last battle, war escalates as Quaritch allies with the violent Ash Clan. Three hours and fifteen minutes, summarised in a single sentence. I want to get on board with what director James Cameron is doing with Avatar,…
Review: Wake Up Dead Man – A Knives Out Mystery
The Knives Out anthology continues with excellence. A young, optimistic priest is the top murder suspect in a small rural town, after its aggressive head priest is found dead. Only detective Benoit Blanc can possibly solve this “locked room” mystery. Director Rian Johnson appears to have found his calling, alongside star Daniel Craig. The 2019…
Review: Wicked – For Good
How does wickedness come to pass in the final part? Awkwardly. But with flair. Having been outcast from society, Elphaba is now a rebel, hoping to reveal the Wizard’s true machinations. Meanwhile, Glinda is titled “The Good”, and revels in her social climbing. But these two friends are fated to clash again and again. Can…
Review: Predator – Badlands
Is this the gentrification of the Predator franchise? A young warrior from the Youtja clan seeks to prove himself worthy by defeating a ferocious beast on a deadly planet. But his skills are lacking, and he is forced to work beside a mysterious synthetic lifeform. Predator: Badlands is directed by Dan Trachtenberg, who has taken…
Review: TRON – Ares
Well, that’s the TRON era over I guess. Short lived. Two competing tech companies race to unlock Kevin Flynn’s “permanence code”; a way to make AI last forever in our world. Ares, a defence and hacking program made by Dillenger corp, is one such AI. But he has started to question his master’s motives. “Sequel”…
Review: Prey (2022)
Making me a believer of the Predator series. In the 1700s, an Apache tribe finds itself at the mercy of an otherworldly hunter. Released in 2022, mere months “after” the Covid pandemic, Prey was and continues to be a Disney+ exclusive. It was never released in cinemas. The rather teasing title betrays that this film…
Review: M3GAN 2.0
Genuinely, Pixar’s Elio had scarier scenes in it. When a military-grade robot goes on a rampage, Gemma and her niece are roped into further turmoil. Not only does this robot have uncanny similarities to M3GAN, a robot Gemma designed, but M3GAN herself has something to say about it all. Director Gerard Johnstone and his writing…