I Just Watched (Films)

[Hatredsheart]

I've never read to original story but it seems to change from telling to telling about what the monster can do. The version in Penny Dreadful tv is very good, I got the impression that Del Toro may have used it as a template.

The Penny Dreadful version is my favourite of all of them, Rory Kinnear was superb.

[Wrathbone]

F1
AKA Days of Thunder 2, in which Brad Pitt is both Cole Trickle and Harry Hogge rolled into one. It's predicatble but enjoyable - it could have benefitted from having a little more bite, though that was never on the cards as it's intended as an advert for the sport.

I found the commentary from Crofty and Brundle a bit unnatural and jarring at times, which isn't entirely their fault as the dialogue is written to explain certain rules and strategies to the audience. I'm not sure non-F1 fans need to understand things like DRS and tyre deg while watching the film, when they're probably just enjoying the on-track action. Still, a decent and somewhat authentic presentation of my favourite sport.

7/10

[Raid]

Yeah, I think 7/10 is a fair score for it. It's a perfectly adequate film that accomplishes what it sets out to do, and as a massive fan of the sport, I really appreciated how much effort went in to representing it properly. For those that don't know, the FIA gave them a huge amount of access to the real events; the fake Apex GP team really did have their own garage at Silverstone and I think Spa, and their fake car was on the real grid surrounded by the real competitors during the race buildup. It's just a shame it was such a trope-heavy story, and they had that Hollywood attitude of "most people won't realise this is wrong, let's not put too much effort in" when making silly edits like putting Mexico before Spa when they're trying to represent the real 2023? season. And the less said about the line "we need to build our car for combat" the better. There are just so many things wrong with it.

I will say that I'm still in two minds about them using the crash footage from Martin Donnelly's 1990 accident as the basis of the backstory for Sonny's character. The real accident was so severe that Donnelly was given the last rites before eventually pulling through. Granted, Donnelly was involved in the discussions about using it, so it's hardly been entirely co-opted, but using footage of a real-life horrific accident as a story beat for a fictional character rubs me slightly up the wrong way.

Still, I think I'd be happy if they did a sequel. I'd watch more of it if it keeps or improves upon that level of access to the real sport.

[Wrathbone]

And the less said about the line "we need to build our car for combat" the better. There are just so many things wrong with it.

Oh god, the scene where he goes for a pint with the technical director to insist that they need to find a way for the car to handle dirty air better was painful, delivered as though his racing genius had given him an insight that nobody had ever considered. He may as well have asked her if she'd considered trimming some weight off the car.

[Raid]

And the less said about the line "we need to build our car for combat" the better. There are just so many things wrong with it.

Oh god, the scene where he goes for a pint with the technical director to insist that they need to find a way for the car to handle dirty air better was painful, delivered as though his racing genius had given him an insight that nobody had ever considered. He may as well have asked her if she'd considered trimming some weight off the car.

Exactly. I'm surprised he didn't say "We're carrying around this big battery that makes my steering wheel light up, maybe we could use some of that power to make the car faster" in the same conversation. I get that it sounds good to non-fans, but F1 is as interesting as it is because some of the very best engineers in the world are working flat out to make tiny fractions of a second's difference to the car's lap times. In reality, she probably would have thrown her pint over him, said something along the lines of "Perhaps you could hold onto the steering wheel better if you weren't soaking wet" and stormed out.

[Wrathbone]

Been catching up on MCU movies.

Deadpool and Wolverine
I'm not a huge fan of Deadpool in general, but this was really great and succeeded in making me laugh quite frequently. The self-deprecation of how shit the multiverse saga has been was brutal.
8/10


Thunderbolts*
First half is dull as dishwater, second half grew on me to the point where I began to very much enjoy it. The MCU seems to be slightly obsessed with misery and mental health stuff at the moment, but this at least did it in a semi-meaningful and poignant way. It has a genuinely high-stakes antagonist, too. Still, it's essentially this image made into a movie:

Spoiler

6/10


The Fantastic Four: First Steps
This is it - this is the return to form I've been waiting for. A no-nonsense, high-stakes, fun-filled superhero romp that delivers on all fronts. Loved it from start to finish and I consider it among the best the MCU has ever produced.
10/10

[Raid]

I'm not sure I'd agree with a 10/10 and "best ever" title for Fantastic Four, but it was noticeable how good it was by not being weighed down by the rest of the MCU continuity. It's funny how what was once the series' best feature now feels like a rod for its own back, with just *so much stuff* you need to remember to get the most out of it. I don't recall whether it had anything explaining how exactly it connects to the rest of the franchise (alternate timeline / quantum dimension, that sort of thing), but from the "Fantastic Four will return in..." line in the credits, I assume it's going to get folded into it in the next film. I'm sure they'll feel the need to offer up a tedious explanation as to why Reed Richards was played by a different actor in the Doctor Strange multiverse film.

I think I'd rate both Thunderbolts, and Deadpool and Wolverine a point higher each. Thunderbolts is very much carried by how entertaining I find David Harbour's comically over-the-top Captain Soviet Union, or whatever his character's name is (I think It's telling on my opinion on recent MCU output that I can't remember), but it's a nice coming-to-terms story that, I agree, the MCU has been focusing on maybe a little too hard recently. Deadpool though was the best of three very funny films (my favourite moment was definitely the Captain America rug-pull), and a great way to (I imagine) end the series. I wouldn't object to Deadpool making cameos in other series, but he needs not to be used too much, as I think he'd absolutely steal every scene he's in purely for his fourth-wall breaking, and I can't see many opportunities for that to be a good thing.

Dracula (1958) - I don't think I was expecting this to be quite so watchable, nor did I think it was actually this old (in my head the Hammer films were early 70s). I think the dialogue is what makes it; everything has a nice rhythm to it, it's quite charming. It's obviously made on the cheap, but it doesn't actually look it - the sets and location shoots are actually pretty good, but you can tell they didn't want to spring for fighting stunt-doubles or training for the leads. There are plenty of what I'd consider missteps in terms of direction for Christopher Lee, and it's a testament to how far dramatic presentation has come in the better part of 70 years. He's never quite as menacing as I think he should be, and you do have to wonder why exactly the world has struggled to deal with him up 'til this point, but he still has a lot of presence when he's on screen. I think maybe go into this with low expectations (it's obviously going to feel pretty antiquated to a modern audience) and there's plenty to enjoy.

[Wrathbone]

The Naked Gun (2025)

Well... it's not the disaster I feared, nor is it remotely as good as the originals.

Pros:
- It did make me laugh, reasonably often. Taken on its own terms, there are some funny moments.
- About 30% of the time, they nail the tone.

Cons:
- The remaining 70% is either a close imitation of true Naked Gun humour or completely off the mark.
- Liam Neeson can't hold a candle to Leslie Nielsen's delivery. To be fair, nobody really could, but it's hard not to constantly make the comparison.
- The iconic theme tune and flashing lights sequence only comes in at the end, and it's a compilation of the old ones. Baffling as to why they didn't make a new one.
- Too much CGI used to produce scenes that go beyond silly into the surreal.

I can't complain about it too much as a comedy given that it made me laugh. It's just not a patch on the originals and it was never going to be. Some of the stuff in it is so weird and stupid that it goes full circle from dismaying back to kind of funny. They so often almost get it right and the misses are frustrating. Case in point:

Spoiler

The owl representing OG Frank Drebbin could have been funnier if they hadn't had him using it as a handglider. And that's the thing - even writing that makes me smile because it's so dumb, but it doesn't work on screen. But then somehow it ends on a funny note with the owl flying off hooting, with the subtitles "I'm proud of you, son."

I'm quite torn on how it sits with me. I almost feel daft admitting I enjoyed it, because it's so bad at times. I guess we don't choose what makes us laugh!

I'm feeling generous, so 6/10