MovieRankingReviews

  The premise of a Battle Royale but with Samurais is an incredibly fun idea! The fight scenes are incredibly well-choreographed, bloody and a visual treat to watch! There is also some wonderful cinematography and it genuinely feels like they brought the Meiji era to life! The music score is also excellent. I found that all the actors did a terrific job and special praise has to go to Junichi Okada as the main character Shujiro Saga. He does a great job in bringing depth to the character and also performing the fight choreography. While the story sounds generic on paper, I do love how they explore conflict between the old Samurai era and the new one while also handling some of the politics in a digestible way. It does have a lot of generic tropes including the old broken down man, the young naive girl who can be quite annoying and overly silly bad guy. However, I enjoyed a lot of this show and it is a great start for Season 1. I am most definitely looking forward to w...

  28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is the fourth entry in the 28 Days Later film series and the second in the 28 Years Later trilogy. I did enjoy aspects of the previous entry, 28 Years Later, but I admit that I came away feeling somewhat disappointed. With this next installment not being directed by Danny Boyle but instead by Nia DaCosta, I had some concerns. Were these worries unfounded, or is this a worthy sequel? There are two main plotlines: the Jimmy Gang and Dr. Ian’s research. The tonal-whiplash cliffhanger involving the “Jimmy Gang” from the previous film had me concerned, particularly with how ridiculous they initially appeared. However, this film succeeds in making the Jimmy Gang feel genuinely disturbing and threatening. There is a strong focus on one of the gang’s raids on a human settlement, and it results in a truly unsettling sequence of scenes. This contrasts sharply with Dr. Ian, who returns as a much more prominent character in this entry and anchors...

  Sisu 2 is a huge setup from the first film! Firstly, the pacing is significantly better as it doesn’t take as long to get into the action. Secondly, the antagonist is more enjoyable with them being played by the wonderful Stephen Lang. Lastly, the film leans even more into the insane, nonsensical and bonkers action! There is a wonderful Mad Max Fury Road style chase sequence and an incredibly entertaining last act. A great sequel!

  Sisu is another action film involving the trope of the bad guys “pissing off the wrong guy”. What this film has going for it, is how ridiculous, nonsensical and absurd the film is. The main character survives the most ludicrous scenarios! You really got to suspend your disbelief a lot. If you’re coming in looking for a mindless, short 90-minute action film, Sisu absolutely delivers. Don’t go in expecting anything more than that.

  Who knew that a series in 2016 about a group of very larger-than-life characters dealing with weird things in their town would be the start of such a phenomenal show? It has been three years since the jarring cliffhanger of Stranger Things Season 4, and the show is now coming to an end with its final season. Will it stick the landing, or will it unfortunately become another Game of Thrones situation? In terms of what this season does well, I enjoyed that Will actually has a lot more to do. Despite being a very important character in Seasons 1 and 2, he sort of had little to nothing to do in Seasons 3 and 4. He also has a proper bonding moment with Robin that I genuinely enjoyed and found very heartwarming. Jonathan was a character butchered in Season 4 by turning him into a lame pothead. His and Nancy’s relationship seemed to be in trouble, but this season actually gives their story a nice resolution. The moment where they finally communicate honestly about their r...

  Wake Up Dead Man is the third instalment in the Knives Out series. I absolutely adore murder mysteries, and this series has been consistently stellar. The first Knives Out was phenomenal, and while the second film Glass Onion was enjoyable, it was admittedly a bit of a step down from its predecessor. Because of that, I was incredibly excited going into this entry. Does the series continue to deliver, or is this a case not worth solving? Daniel Craig returns as Benoit Blanc, and once again, he delivers a terrific performance. A Sherlock can’t be without his Watson, and this time Blanc is accompanied by “Priest Jud,” played phenomenally by Josh O’Connor. Jud is easily the most layered partner character the series has had so far. He has a meaningful past and a compelling reason for becoming a priest. You truly understand why he wants to solve this case, and as an audience, we genuinely root for him to succeed. His dynamic with Blanc is also a lot of fun, as the two of...