Annabelle 3 review

When Annabelle 3 was first announced, it left me very excited but also nervous. Annabelle has always left me with chill with just once glance at her but also because the conjuring franchise has had some hit n miss films. I do love Annabelle 1 and The Nun but I'll agree they're not the best installments of the franchise and after seeing Annabelle Comes Home, I am majorly happy with what I saw.

Annabelle still has the ability to be scary just by looking at her. When the film forces you to look at her, you start theorizing what could be about to happen. In this film, McKenna Grace steps up as the Warrens daughter Judy being babysitted whilst the Warrens are away. Unfortunately things go wrong when the babysitter, Mary Ellens friend manipulates her to invite round to the house.

Daniela is first seen as a nosy teenager who wants to cause trouble but it's soon revealed she has an ulterior motive for wanting to go to the Warrens house which is actually really unstandable. She blames herself for her dad's death and wants to contact his spirit to apologise but ultimately she causes all the events that happens. For this movie, the scares are at times predictable but other times genuinely surprise you. The Warrens house is perfect for the movie because at night, especially in there secret artefacts room, it's so atmospherically chilling. Just imagining being on your own in that room really gives you the creeps.

The acting is fantastic and very believable. McKenna Grace is perfectly cast as Judy and the other main stars get a chance to show what they can do. Gary Dauberman does an impressive job at delivering these scares very creatively and by the final act, he has a lot to juggle around but he does a very good job. Not as good as James Wan but good enough. Now as much as it pains me, there were some missteps.

First off, the character of Bob was extremely pointless. He's nice but dull. Bob provides nothing interesting to the movie and it's a wonder why he was even given an extended role. The movies biggest flaw though is, although it doesn't seem possible, Annabelle gets overshadowed in her own movie. At times, this doesn't feel like an Annabelle film. It feels more like another conjuring film with Annabelle in it and introducing all the spirits from the Warrens cases, it makes them more intriguing and interesting than Annabelle herself. I really wanted to see more of the fairyman, the wedding dress demon and that samurai armour.

Generally this is a very good horror film with plenty of scares and a good plot but as well as Annabelle brings this film up, she also drags it down. 3/5 stars.

Godzilla: king of the monsters review

This movie had a lot of potential but I always had fears it would be an all action, no plot film and when I finally watched it, I was right. Now this isn't necessarily a bad thing since there are lots of action fans out there. And this film does provide some fantastic action. Most of the time, you'll be wondering how the film was actually made. The action scenes are fantastically done, we see a lot more Godzilla than the first film, the special effects and CGI are beautifully constructed and the cinematography is spectacular.

Now it's time for the criticisms. Sometimes during the first and this film, I've wondered if it's worth having human characters because they either have nothing to do or overshadow the main plot. Vera Farmiga does a great job at playing another unlikable character who believes humans and monsters can co exist peacefully even if her motivations are questionable. Kyle Chandler is also fantastic but Millie Bobby Brown is so underused, it's a real shame. She is fantastic in Stranger things but in this film, she has nothing to do but get in the way all the time.

The same goes to Charles Dance. He is a fantastic actor who plays the human villain well but he is also an unnecessary character. Take away all the human characters and I believe the film will have the same plot and ending. Another problem the film has is that it's extremely overstuffed. Introducing all the titans feels like they should have saved it for another Godzilla film.

It just feels all too much to take in and introducing Atlantis as Godzillas home really doesn't help as that felt it was part of another film. Ultimately this is an action packed visually stunning film let down by useless characters and no plot. 2/5 stars.

Child's play review

Child's Play Review: When it was first announced there would be a child's play reboot, I was worried instantly. So many reboots rely on lots of scenes from the originals and are often shot by shot remakes.

This remake however, though does has some reminiscence from the original, also has new ideas and creativity. It does suffer some character cliche setbacks such as the abusive stepfather and the overweight perverted Janitor but what overcomes it is the rest of the film.

First the cast is absolutely superb. Gabriel Bateman won our hearts in Lights Out and he is proving to be a rising star as Andy Barclay, a shy lonely troubled teen. Mark Hamill, who has had a successful career in voicing villains mainly in animated shows, is perfect as Chucky. You instantly know it's Hamill. The most surprising casting for me was Aubrey Plaza. I have always seen her as a comedy actress and wasn't sure if she could do horror. However I was happily proved wrong as she brought comedy and tension to her role and Gabriel and Aubrey have fantastic mother and son chemistry. You feel it from their first scenes together.

If I had to criticise anything, it would be Andy being suspected of the murders sounds good to bring back nostalgia and be faithful to the original version but it feels a bit shoehorned in and underdeveloped. But the biggest risk was the pacing. It does take it's time to get to the main plot but that's what made the film work.

The films developes the friendship between Andy and Chucky and at times it seems really sweet. They have fantastic chemistry as friends until Chucky does something silly like tormenting and killing the family cat and killing the abusive stepfather before cutting off his face and giving it to Andy as a present. It's always the little things isn't it?

The development of Chucky is also impressive because you start to see why chucky starts killing people. Being insulted, tortured and rejected does that to a person or in this case AI (Artificial intelligence) doll.

Child's play is a risky reboot that could have fallen flat but instead boosts a strong cast, tense scenes and lots of gory and sadistic scenes. That Janitor scene is still in my mind. 3/5 Stars