The Grudge

I have anticipated this movie for a while when I saw Sam Raimi produced it but I did have doubt. Most movies released in January aren't generally well received but I was staying hopeful but then I saw it and god what a disappointment it was.

This is a perfect example on how not to make a horror film. Everything about this film is generic and predictable. It is filled with horror cliches and jump scares which weren't even jumpy or scary themselves. There is no atmospheric horror elements in the film, even the main house setting doesn't seem that scary. What's worse is there's no logic within the film and is very lazily written.

Also there's one scene where a man is possessed by the movies ghost and murders his pregnant wife and for me, that was so unsettling to watch so it pushed the boundaries a bit too far.

However I can praise is the acting and characters. The characters seemed very interesting to watch but what overshadows that is the storytelling and amount of screentime that's used for them.

Now I can appreciate it's taking homage to the original films by exploring several families lives in different time periods but I would have liked it if it just centred on the main character and her son. When you add in too many interesting characters with a limited amount of screentime, it leaves you wanting more and we didn't get that and what doesn't help is the really clunky storytelling and how the scenes are edited together.

Overall this is a dull abomination of a horror film filled with predictability, bad storytelling and just really lazy jump scares and horror elements.

⭐

Bad Boys for life

I was very hesitant whether another bad boys movie should be made. The first one was good but not exactly great and the second film was very messy so I had plenty of reasons to worry for this movie and I honestly didn't think it'd be that good and if it was well received, then it would be on par with the first instalment at least. So imagine my surprise when I start hearing fantastic things about it especially when it's hailed as the best film in the series and after seeing it, I have to agree.

What this movie does better than the first two is really delve into the relationship between Mike and Marcus. In the first film, they had great onscreen chemistry but I found it hard to believe they were friends and the second film, they spent so long at each other's throats, even when they made up, I struggled to feel their same chemistry. In this film, I could buy their friendship and feel their chemistry.

Another thing this film does really well is extend Mike and Marcus's development as characters. Mike wants to be a hot shot cop and Marcus wants to retire and be a family man and we get to understand it from their point of view which leads to some really beautiful performances from Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.

What also impressed me was the story was extremely compelling and really interesting to watch. I won't reveal to much but there are plenty of twists that will shock you. I can't remember their names but the two directors of this movie really knew what they were doing. They directed the story really well and the action scenes were really well choreographed and very believable and the development of the main villain was very well done. You could understand everything from his point of view.

Finally we need to mention the humour and it is a lot funnier than the first two movies. This is the first film where I was actually in stitches laughing rather than the odd chuckle or one big laugh with the previous two films. As well as dramatic and compelling, this is also a very funny film which makes me dread what Michael Bay would have done if he had touched this film.

Now I wasn't crazy about the AMMO subplot. At times they seemed to be inferior to the main story with Mike and Marcus and at times underused but honestly that's just a bit of nitpicking because I can easily get over that with the quality of this film.

Overall this is a fantastic addition to the bad boys franchise that redeems itself and proves you get make a great film out of an average franchise and shows with the right material, will Smith and martin Lawrence are brilliant actors.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Jumanji The Next Level

When a third film was announced to Jumanji: Welcome to the jungle, I was excited but curious how they could continue the story. Then the new cast was announced and I became more and more excited and for me, the film is entertaining and funny throughout but I felt it wasn't as strong as the others.

Now before I go on, I just want to clarify something. This is a 3rd film sequel to Jumanji and Jumanji: Welcome to the jungle. There is no reboot. They are all in the same universe just a different cast with a big time gap.

Now let's start with the good and by far the best thing about this film is Kevin Hart. He is comedic gold. His scripting and acting is phenomenal in this film. He portrays Danny Glovers Milo so perfectly and realistic. You instantly believe he's Danny Glover trapped in Kevin Harts body. The rest of the cast are great but if I had to choose a runner up, it's got to be Awkwafina. She is so believable as Spencer and another character her avatar incaptures later on in the movie.

Another great thing to movie does is it keeps the lighter and adventurous tone and provides such great comedy. This is definitely one of the funniest films this year. I also like we explore different locations of the world of Jumanji.

Now I have one mixed aspect for this movie and it's we don't see much of Danny Glover at all. He's in the movie for about 5 minutes and that's it. I felt he deserved to be in it for at least a little longer but at the same time, I don't remember him being marketed in the film much so perhaps that's probably why.

And finally it's time for the negative and the big thing here is I felt this movie wasn't as new and refreshing as the last film was. In fact, it basically repeats the same storyline as the last movie did but makes slight changes. Also some of the deaths are written really oddly like they're only written for the avatar to lose their lives which is good to provide comedy but it doesn't provide much for the plot.

There's also a subplot involving water that can be used as a body swapper which is an interesting story and can help the team plotwise but I didn't feel it was used right in the movie.

Ultimately this is still a funny and entertaining imstallments to the Jumanji franchise with some disappointing moments but not enough to be considered bad.

⭐⭐⭐