Month: March 2023

A Good Person

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From writer and director Zach Braff comes A Good Person. Allison (Florence Pugh) is about to marry Nathan (Chinaza Uche), the man of her dreams, when she is involved in a car crash that kills her would be sister and brother in law. While the accident is what starts the events that causes Allie’s life to fall apart, it is ultimately her addiction to opioids that causes her to hit rock bottom.

There are some dark moments that occur throughout the film. This is an addiction that many people struggle with in the US and I considered this to be an interesting glance into someone’s potential reality. But through the hardships, there are also some much needed moments that will make you laugh out loud and root for these characters. I have to commend Braff here for perfectly balancing the two with his script.

At the helm of the film is Pugh. In arguably the best performance of her career to date, I was completely encapsulated with her. She does everything she possibly can to be a convincing addict, going to places that sometimes scared me and she sings! If someone doesn’t give this woman an award soon, I don’t know what I’ll do. Opposite Pugh is Morgan Freeman, who portrays Nathan’s father Daniel. His chemistry with Pugh is delightful to watch and his poignancy in the role was so appreciated. And of course, I cannot leave out Molly Shannon as Allie’s mom Diane who provides a lot of comedic moments and Celeste O’Connor as Ryan, Nathan’s niece and Daniel’s granddaughter who is a scene stealer.

While I may not go rushing back to watch A Good Person anytime soon only because of how heavy it was, I have that it was one of the best surprises I have had at the cinema all year. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did, but with its brilliant performances and the way in which it dealt with the subject matter, it was an important watch that I will always remember.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️♥️

Shazam! Fury Of The Gods

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Learning how to juggle the superhero powers that were bestowed upon them at the the end of 2019’s Shazam!, Billy Batson (Asher Angel) and the rest of his foster siblings (Grace Caroline Currey, Jack Dylan Grazer, Faithe Herman, Ian Chen and Pedro Peña) are enjoying their alter egos (Zachary Levi, Adam Brody, Ross Butler, D. J. Cotrona and Meagan Good) while looking after the people of their hometown. But when the Daughters of Atlas arrive on Earth in search of magic that was stolen from them long ago, the Shazam! team will be tested more than ever before.

I was a huge fan of first Shazam! film. To this day, I think it is one of the stronger entries in the DC universe with its found family trope, funny one liners and great ensemble cast. I remember wanting to be a part of this group and couldn’t wait for more. With many delays, the sequel Fury of the Gods finally hit theatres this weekend and I can say that it was mostly worth the wait.

Where the film excels is once again in the aspects that I appreciated so much the first time around. The cast, helmed by Levi, is top notch delivering many laugh out loud and heartwarming moments. As for the kids, while the focus was more on Freddy this time around, I feel like it fit with the overall story. We already know a lot about Billy, so it made sense for us to learn more about some of his siblings. I also really liked having Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu and Rachel Zegler come to play as the villains. They completely owned their roles and Zegler, in particular, was a welcome treat that I hope we will have more of in the future.

With some pretty good CGI and never ending action, Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a good time for the whole family. Sure, they try to cram in too much into the two hours and ten minutes and there are a lot of characters to keep track of this time around, but it is still true to its predecessor. The future of DC may be up in the air at the moment, but I do hope this isn’t the last we will see of these characters that we have come to know and love.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️

Scream VI

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The four survivors of the previous Ghostface killings Sam (Melissa Barrera), Tara (Jenna Ortega), Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Chad (Mason Gooding) leave Woodsboro behind for a fresh start in New York City. Their hopes of life returning to normal are quickly dashed when a new foe dons the Ghostface mask. Once again, it is up to the gang to find out who it is and put a stop to them before it’s too late.

As someone who only recently got into the Scream franchise, I was beyond excited to watch the newest instalment in cinemas. There are some movies that deserve to be seen on the big screen and this is one of them. With early critics boasting that this is the strongest entry to date, I knew I had to witness it for myself; and I have to say that I agree!

The story kicked off rather quickly and with it the blood, gore and jump scares. It’s like they were all amped up to a million and at times I could barely hold my breath at what was unfolding in front of me. Just when I thought the situation was going to calm down, something else would happen that would completely throw me off again.

While I was initially concerned over the fact that our beloved scream queen Neve Campbell would not return for the film, I have to admit that the way in which they explained her absence worked well. Sidney does deserve a happy ending and I’m glad she finally got one. I’ve become quite attached to our new ‘core four’ – Barrera has proven herself as a worthy leading lady and I love everything and anything that Ortega does. It was so great having Kirby (Hayden Panettiere) back as well as Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) who really shined this time around.

Scream VI had big shoes to fill. As a new fan, my expectations were sky high and I’m so glad they were exceeded. There were a lot of thrills, chills and unexpected moments and while part of the big reveal was predictable, I still enjoyed the shit out of it. You don’t expect franchise films to get better over time, but this one is constantly surprising me and I hope we have many more instalments to come in the future.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️♥️.5

What’s Love Got To Do With It?

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From the people who brought you Love Actually and Bridget Jones’s Diary comes new romantic comedy What’s Love Got To Do With It? Zoe (Lily James) is an award winning documentary maker whose next project is to film lifelong neighbor and best friend Kaz’s (Shazad Latif) journey into an assisted marriage.

I loved every single thing about this movie.

It was charming and funny, which wasn’t a surprise. The cast lend a hand in that, particularly with the likes of Emma Thompson who stars as Zoe’s mom Cath and Mo the Matchmaker (Asim Chaudhry) who has a couple of scene stealing scenes. The script is witty with many laugh out loud moments as well as some heartwarming ones too.

In addition, it was very educational. I learned about the Pakistani culture which is super vibrant and colorful; it’s people bursting at the seams with pride. I also took in all the information about assisted marriage. Like Zoe, I thought this was something that was outdated and old fashioned. Turns out I was wrong – not only is it still very much a thing, but it has had quite a high success rate over the years. I don’t blame Kaz for wanting to follow in his parents’ and brothers’ footsteps in that regard.

What also worked was the chemistry between James and Latif. I’ve been a fan of the former ever since I saw her in 2015’s version of Cinderella and I always wish she’d star in more projects. As for Latif, he nicely balanced her out and I was waiting in bated breath for them to realize their true feelings for one another.

What’s Love Got To Do With It? ticked all the boxes for me. I had the biggest smile on my face throughout and I definitely think it will become one of those British classics that I will revisit time and time again.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️