Call me Mr. Pool
- Deadpool 2 (2018): The anti-superhero you love to laugh with is back and aiming for new heights. And lows. With its particular brand of meta-humour up a notch, Deadpool proves just about as fun as its predecessor – which was fun enough for me. Sure, it can get tiresome, especially if you’re not into all the references and nudges, but I can proudly claim that nothing went over my head! Well, except the things which dead and I am unaware of, I suppose. Anyhooow, there are a bunch of really good moments cramped mostly in the middle of the movie, with the rest proving an uneven affair. But Deadpool pulls no punches, often aimed at itself, which is refreshing – for a while. I guess I’m easily pleased by the comic-book movies which don’t take themselves seriously, which is why I enjoyed this one. So give it a go and wait for the post-credits. 7/10
P.S. Rob Delaney!!!
P.P.S Yes, I would totally go for ‘luck’ as a superpower!
As if the universe needs more EL James
- Book Club (2018): Gathering a memorable cast of actresses around their seventies just about makes Book Club a passable experience – well, passable if you don’t care that it feels like someone pitched it as a vehicle to get an undertargeted, older generation jump onto new-tech and new-lit. I guess you can’t have any expectations of a movie which recommends 50 Shades of Grey as an integral element in improving our world. Thankfully, there’s some virtue in showcasing the potential of romantic life beyond your sixties, even if the script is about as imaginative as a broke accountant. Sooo…yeah, I don’t know, maybe if the trailer appeals to you? 5/10
P.S. Jane Austen Book Club – better.
‘Good breeding gone bad’
- Thoroughbreds (2017): In his very first movie, which Corey Finley wrote and directed, the filmmaker manages to create and capture a spectacularly tense atmosphere, vividly portrayed through the eyes and souls of two emotionally dejected youths. The atmosphere borrows articulately from Chan-wook Park’s Stoker (2013), but Finley’s characters stand out more. Amanda, a girl devoid of emotions, is sent by her mother to get tutored by Lily, an emotionally ambivalent character, with both treading deeply into dysfunctional territory. The movie wraps around your throat with the ominous delight of white privilege and a boa constrictor, without making any concessions. Might need a rewatch to promote it to ‘delight’ level, but it’s really close regardless! 8/10
The Mexican themed joy-ride
- Gringo (2018): Director Nash Edgerton steers his brother Joel for two hours into the land of convulsive, bloated storylines during this wannabe cool-ass movie. In spite of its great cast and an utterly alluring Charlize Theron, Gringo becomes overly-complicated in a stupid ways really quickly. It even includes one subplot that’s totally superfluous – like, totally! Whatever Charlize and, particularly, David Oyelowo do to keep this afloat, their efforts are poorly rewarded, leaving you with an underwhelming ending to better suit the underwhelming middle and the just-about-normally-whelming beginning. 4/10
Enjoying school like every other fool
- Love, Simon (2018): Greg Berlanti, forever of Everwood to me, is behind the much lauded Love, Simon, a high-school tale of coming out. As far as compassionate movies about the cheesiest times of our lives go, there’s little to be criticized about dear, old Simon. However, there are only few stand-out moments in the movie, which, for the most part, doesn’t do too much to be in the least daring or controversial – well, beyond the coming out part, but that has already had its share of Hwood treatments. If anything, I felt frustrated by how picture-perfect Simon’s potential love interests were, with one particular scene where he treats some less attractive options with actual dismay feeling hypocritical. 7/10
tributarystu 