Ambulance

This is one of my most anticipated films of the year. I love Jake Gyllanhael as an actor, this felt like a high action blockbuster and just the concept itself had me excited and wow. Was this film disappointing!

But I will be kind first with some positives. The cast overall are really good. Jake Gyllanhael just chews up the scene as this deranged character, Yahya Abdul-Mateen brings a lot of complexity and moral to his character and Eiza Gonzales is a great strong Co lead and her and Mateens characters were my favourite parts of the film.

I also liked the some of the ambulance procedural stuff that gets introduced to the film. It's used very efficiently and at a point of the film, it becomes a crucial stage of the film with the few bits of tension that we get in the film.

And with the aerial shots that we get and the driving sequences, the city of Los Angeles feels like a character within itself. In fact the city has so much screen time and feels so prominent to the film, I'm surprised it didn't appear with the lead cast during the credits. At one point I started wondering who we saw more of? The characters or the city of Los Angeles! There's also some nice usage of stunt work and practical effects.

Unfortunately now its time to delve into the negatives and I will be honest. I don't even know where to begin with this film. This is one of the messiest films I've seen in a long time. On concept and on a character based level, this should be a film with a lot of complexity and high stakes to it and yet it becomes such an incomprehensible mess.

First of all, who the hell filmed this film? Did Michael Bay become desperate and hire a child or was the camera man drunk throughout this film? The film making is terrible. There's so many shots that appear out of frame and so much shaky cam involved as well. It baffles me that this actually made to the release stage of the process. And with the amount of aerial shots and camera maneuvers, it actually starts to become a little disorienting. I also started wondering at one point who had more screen time in this film.

And with this being a Michael Bay film, you'd expect to see at least some decent action right? Unfortunately not because it is horrendously edited to the point of so many quick cuts, you can't make out what is happening. You can't feel the stakes because you can't see who's getting shot at. You can't get invested into the action because the editing is so bad.

The tone is a bit of an issue as well because it tries to be this serious action packed film but it has a lot of unnecessary humour that makes it feel tonally confused.

Now let's talk about Jake Gyllanhaels character. His performance, great! His character though is very one dimensional and lacked a lot of development and when it seems he is going to get some, I never really bought it and it never felt earned. 

There's also some really weird choices of music involved as well that does not fit the film at all and just feels incredibly random. And speaking of music, the score to this film is just as bad. It just feels like musical noise rather than a film score.

I also felt this film had a lot of logic issues as well from the ambulance never running out of fuel, to the medical procedures, it just never felt like the writing was ever at thought during this film.

And finally because this film is so chaotic, you don't ever feel the stakes, you don't think anyone is in danger and eventually you start to feel bored and mostly because this film is 136 minutes long where the concept itself feels it should be a little under 2 hours so this really stretches its runtime to an extreme.

So overall save your money because this is a film that is not worth it. This was such a disappointing experience and is so far the worst film I've seen this year. Do not waste your time with it because even the worst Transformers film is a better film than this. I just can't recommend it at all.

⭐️

X

This is a film that has had me curious since I first heard about it. Now I love slasher films and I liked the idea of the premise but I had one major worry and that was this is a film made by the studio A24. Now if you're unfamiliar with that studio, they are known for making very slow artistic styled films and despite a couple here and there, I haven't really enjoyed much that they've released. However on this occasion, that is not the case.

Starting off with the positives, the best thing about X is that this is a film going for a more ambiguous story. A lot of slasher films end up just going for a cheesy B movie type experience and whilst I do naturally enjoy those sorts of films, it's nice to see a slasher film go for a more prestige direction and taken seriously.

And what helps enhance the story is that we spend time with the villains of the film. We get to explore things from their point of view and their world differences and you get to a point where you actually understand and sympathise with their motivations. With the villains, you eventually get an understanding for the story this film is going for and in a weird way and without going into spoilers, you feel a mix of sadness and heart towards the villains.

Next we have to talk about the characters and now I will say these are not the best characters I've seen but they definitely standout in this film and are very entertaining due to their personalities. You have the over the top alpha male who had me laughing throughout the film, the shy quiet girl type who's trying to come out of her shell, the cameraman who feels like he's out of the A24 archives, two women who are, putting it nicely, the more sexually active of the group and there's a good cast assembled as well. No one was badly acted or the weak link.

Now there's one character I want to talk about who I didn't include with the main cast and that is Kid Cudi's character. This guy had me cracking up throughout this film. This guys starts the film looking like a 70s disco tribute act then later on, this guy is naked pretty much the rest of the film and it made me laugh so much how often this guy would happily walk around fully nude.

And as this is an A24 film you have to talk about the filmmaking itself and the camera work is great. Unlike previous times where it felt pretentious, the camera work in this film actually helps increase the tension, depending on whether it zooms out or makes quick cut edits, the cinematography just makes this film feel more eerie and tense. Even when the colour correction is used, it makes certain elements feel creepy and will make the audience uncomfortable.

Speaking of creepiness, I really liked the farmland setting. This is a great example of a setting that feels so open yet so enclosed. Its a great big area that never makes you feel safe and has you on edge. The moment the characters arrive, that's the moment everything just feels unsafe.

Of course, as a slasher you have to talk about the kills and for a film that is staying grounded, the kills are very good. Not the goriest I've ever seen but like I said, for a grounded film, they are effective enough and there's a really nice buildup towards the first kill. Throughout the film it sort of has a macGuffin moment of who will be the first victim and once that kill happens, I never thought I'd say this regarding a slasher but it feels earned and sets the carnage in motion.

And just a couple of small details, this film had a good use of foreshadowing whether its based on dialogue or events set in motion, there's some nice 70s references and aesthetics used that help you believe this is set in the 70s and there's some nice homages to previous slasher films as well.

Now let's move onto the mixed aspects of the film and these aren't necessarily good or bad points, these are things you should know going in. First I would avoid the trailer, it doesn't reveal the whole film but it definitely reveals moments that the audience can work out for themselves.

Second there's a lot of nudity in this film and if you don't like that, this may not be the film for you but if you can look past that, it shouldn't affect your experience too much.

Finally there's a revelation about one character that is good for development but the placement of the twist just felt like it had no affect for the character or the story.

Now onto the negatives and this won't take long because I don't have many. First as typical for an A24 film, this film does take a while to get going. It doesn't drag too much but just enough to wonder where events are going.

And my only other negative is there's some clichéd contrived moments where in order for something to happen, a character needs to be in the right place, has to make a specific decision etc. There one kill especially that though its set up earlier, the timing of it felt very convenient.

But overall I loved this film. Now whilst I don't think every A24 will ever be for me after this film, if they continue to make more like this then I will be happy. This was a pleasant surprise and a film I would recommend to all horror fans.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Batman

I've been looking forward to this film for so long even after Ben Affleck dropped out of the film and role. All you would have to say to me is Matt Reeves is directing and after his work on the Planet of the Apes films, he's shown to be a incredible director so this has been so anticipated for me and I am pleased to say I loved this film.

Starting off with positives, this is a tightly crafted grounded mystery film that feels inspired by the movie Seven yet being its own thing and not being derivative. This film gives us a Batman that we've seen elements of but this film allows us to see Batman as a true detective and not just a brawler. You see him mentally and psychologically tested as well as physically tested. It gives us a interesting story to watch and get invested in. The clues are written really well and the answers are cleverly hidden. This feels like a film that once Matt Reeves was brought in, he wrote every aspect of it first and waited until the final draft was perfect before filming.

Talking about the fantastic ensemble cast, Robert Pattinson delivers, I believe, to be the most intense and menacing Batman we've seen. I loved every aspect of his Batman so much from his subtle voice work to his nicely designed Batsuit. Even the way he walked, so slowly yet with an intimidating presence. Zoe Kravitz gives us another sassy, sexy version of Selina Kyle and is so well cast in the role. Paul Dano brings the darkest and eeriest Riddler we've ever seen and brings a lot of mystery to the character and as you get further into the film, we get some great moment that cements him as one of the best villains we've had in film. There's even a scene that could challenge the incredible Joker interrogation scene in the Dark Knight. The rest of the cast are just as great especially an unrecognisable Colin Farrell but those were my main three standouts.

The action is also really nicely handled. We see everything that happens onscreen and it's choreographed really well. We see Batman as a brawler but we also see him as a skilled fighter and someone who can take a beating and still get back up. I also loved the use of practical effects that are clearly used throughout, effective stunt work, wire work etc.

Now let's take about the aesthetics because wow that is what impressed me the most. This film has some of the best use of dark lighting I have ever seen. Dark lighting is hard to do sometimes because a lot of the time you can't see whatever happening onscreen but it is used so well in this film. I won't spoil too much but let's just say the tag line "Batman wears black because he doesn't want his enemies to see him coming" is used very efficiently and that is helped by the incredible cinematography. I really loved the way the Batman walking moments were framed and during a car chase especially you feel how dangerous it is despite the camera just leaning in on the two characters it centers around.

This is also probably the darkest Batman movie and I mean that tonally and visually. Gotham looks like a darkened lived in city and weirdly enough, the darkness in places feels like a character in the film as well.  This also goes for a noir thriller tone but this is the closest Batman film we'll get to a horror film. Some of the imagery and especially the presence of Riddler is just horrifying to watch.

This film also has a great use of sound design. The roaring sound of the Batmobile is the easiest standout but even little things that stood out, particularly the sound of tape ripping had a painfully sharp sound to it.

The production is just brilliant to watch. This does not feel like a film made km a studio, this feels like a movie filmed within a massive city that has been Gothamised. The aspects of Gotham City looks gloomy but in a great way and at times does feel like a character itself within the film.

There's also a nice sense of humour in segments of the film. It's not overused and it doesn't tonally change the scene but it's very cleverly placed within the dialogue. One moment involving Penguin had me laughing out loud.

And how this film meets its climax, some may feel disappointed, I felt satisfied as it fits the story and tone and also breaks the superhero formula and template. Also I have to say, this is a nearly three hour long film and for me, it really didn't feel like it. When it ended, it felt quick, I checked my phone and it fit the time frame. This is a very well paced film that, for me, never caused me to feel its length.

Now I just want to state I loved this film but I did have some issues so let's move onto the mixed aspects of the film and I only have one. There's a character who appears in the film that made me roll my eyes because we have seen multiple versions of this character a lot across the years and the reason it'd mixed for me is because I know a lot of people will be excited for this character so it feels unfair to refer it as a negative.

Also just to say, there is not a post credit scene but there is a little something at the end that you can wait for if you'd like to but it's not worth watching the credits for like seven minutes.

As for negatives, I also only have one and for me, whilst I found Robert Pattinson to be a great Batman, I found his version of Bruce Wayne to be very dull. Now I will say Bruce Wayne is not in this film for long so this has time to be fixed in the next film and this negative could change upon rewatch but for me, he's a great, intimidating Batman but a very boring Bruce Wayne.

But overall, I knew this film would be safe in Matt Reeves hands and this is easily my favourite film of the year. It met my expectations and could go up within rewatch. Now I will say do not go in with the expectations of this being better than your favorite Batman film because that is ridiculous. Just expect this to be a great Batman film and look forward to the sequel which I am.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️