Senior Year

I'll be perfectly honest, I had no intention of watching this film because I sort of knew I wouldn't like it but I wanted to be optimistic and give it a chance. It had also been a while since I watched a new Netflix film so I just figured why not. I've seen some bad or distasteful films this year so this couldn't be as bad as I thought and I was wrong. This was so much worse.

But I will be fair and start with the positives first as always (trust me, this will not take long) and in all fairness, Angourice Rice gives a really good performance in this film. She was my favourite performance in fact. It helps that besides Rebel Wilson, she's someone who I'm very familiar with and I do enjoy her as an actress. It was also a nice surprise to find out she's actually Australian. I always thought she was American but besides her, the rest of the cast, besides one who I will talk about, are fine. Just fine. No one in particular standouts but no one is completely terrible either.

And my final positive for this film is its on Netflix so if you really get tired of it that much, you can stop it whenever you want and never watch it again. It won't charge you anything besides your monthly Netflix charge and you do feel a big sense of achievement that you actually managed to make it through the film. Yeah I was just desperate for a positive at that stage.

Now onto the negatives. My god this film is insufferable to the point where I wanted to take a cheese grater to my head because that would have probably been more fun. But onto why, let's start with the biggest reason: Rebel Wilson. I have never liked her as an actress in any way and this film just affirms it for me. She is just cringe worthy all the way through and when she tries to go dramatic, I don't like to criticise acting but she's really bad. She attempt to cry and she looks like she's being blinded by a light whilst suffering from a toothache.

And it does not help that her character is equally just as bad. She is one of the most unlikeable protagonists I've ever seen. She's self indulgent, selfish and even though she does have an arc, it doesn't feel like she undergoes any sort of transformation.

And the characters in general are just as bad. They don't act like normal human beings at all. They feel so cartoonish is every scene they're in. The students feel like an exaggerated stereotypical definition of a typical student and the teachers are either bland or embarrassing to watch.

Now let's talk about the comedy. Where is it in this film? The comedy is nowhere to be seen and when there's attempted comedy, you are just cringing at the screen or just not laughing. There's just nothing funny about this film and that saddens me because the comedy genre does feel like its dying nowadays. Comedy is always going to be subjective but it feels like nowadays we just get the laziest possible jokes or attempts.

The writing in this film is also pretty terrible. First yes I know I'm watching a comedy but the concept of a cheerleader falling into a coma and waking up 20 years later just feels cheesy like it's from a Disney channel film. Then you have the school scenes which if you are bothered by a films interpretation of high school before, this one will bother you even more. Two students make out in class and the teacher just kindly asks them to stop like he's intimated by them and that's in the first 10 minutes.

The choices of music is also very odd. This is a film set in 2022 yet the music choices feel quite outdated. The first 20 minutes make enough sense but after that, the songs playing feel like they're in the wrong time period. I know this is a nit pick but when you're really not enjoying the film, you start to pick up on certain things.

And finally this film has some of the worst uses of political statements I've seen in a film. Now I would like to point out I am not against a film having something to say on society so please don't twist my words but the best way to do these sorts of messages is to interwoven it with the theme, tell it through story, make it relevant to the film. Senior year decides to make these statements by pausing for 5 minutes and talking about different subject matters like they're reading lines from a Wikipedia page and what's worse about that approach is you make the audience feel they're being preached at but not only that, the fact that this film is talking about multiple subject matters just make the film feel thematically unfocused.

There's one sequence in particular that got me the most. The film in one section wants to talk about consent which again is such an important issue to address and should be done more carefully than this film approach. I won't spoil it but the sequence in question feels quite offensive to the subject matter itself and what it's supposed to stand for and I've even spoken to women who were equally disgusted with this films approach.

So overall I hated this film. This is the first film this year I finished and just hated watching. I do not recommend it at all and this is also a film that I'd love to be a fly on the wall and just watch the actors reactions to the scenes they had to film. It's just baffling to me what the actors actually had to do.

⭐️

Firestarter

When this remake was first announced, I was very intrigued by the concept and the potential the story could have but my main worry was that it was under the studio Blumhouse and they have one of the most inconsistent quality controls of any studio out there. They have made films that are regarded some of the best of all time but they also have films that are some of the worst of all time so this was a nervous factor. And the fact that all the reviews claimed how bad this film was, my expectations were very low

But I was optimistic, I never watched a trailer and I will openly admit I have not seen the original so whatever I think of this film, Its purely based on what I watched but to my surprise and I may be in the minority here but I really liked this film.

So starting off with the positives, I really loved the main two stars of the film. Ryan Keira Armstrong is proving to become one hell of a rising star. I have only seen her in little parts but this is the first time I've seen her in a lead role and she completely holds her own in this film. Zac Efron actually surprised me a bit. He seems to be an actor who everyone, even me, forgets just how talented his really is. I never once saw him as a horror actor and was intrigued how'd he do in this film and he did really well. I would interested to see him do more horror work in the future.

Now the story was my main intrigued to this film and that did not disappoint. Now this is a similar concept to the film Carrie. A young girl with powers who gets made fun of and has no control over them. But this film does a good job at going in its own direction and not become a carbon copy of Carrie and in fact, ultimately this is a story about a man trying to protect his daughter and help her control her powers and as a fan of Sci-Fi, fantasy, superheroes etc, there are some scenes where I felt those moments. You get invested that this young girl could either use her powers for good or has the ability to cause global destruction unless she has proper guidance.

My biggest surprise with this film however is the world building. Without going into spoilers, as we get to learn the characters more, the world surrounding them starts to get more interesting and I'm unsure if this is  a change for this version or if it was in the original film but it was a pleasant surprise.

As a film that's just over 90 minutes, I think it's paced very well. There's never a moment where you feel the film is dragging and you're always engaged. Even when there's not a lot happening, you get some really nice heartfelt scenes.

As for the action, it's pretty well handled, there's a very good choreographed massacre scene at some point during the film, there's some decent kills and good injury detail and that is satisfying as a gore fan.

I also really liked the score to this film. It's composed by John Carpenter who can do some really iconic scores and whilst this isn't his best, it fits the film really well and sticks with you even when the film ends.

And finally this is a film that I can see at some point becoming a franchise. In an era where horror sequels feels more forced just for money, this film feels like its laying down the foundation for at least one sequel or a spinoff to explore more of the world that has been built up in this film.

Onto the mixed aspects, for me, its the ending. Without going into spoilers, I liked most of it but there are some choices made during the ending that had me a little frustrated and touching onto something I'll mention more in the negatives, one moment didn't feel fully earned.

Onto the negatives now and the first thing is besides the main two characters, the rest of the characters are pretty forgettable. They feel like they're there to fit the purpose of the story rather have their own arc. Even when it comes to the mother of the film, she's essentially a plot device to serve Armstrongs character development.

This is also a film where it felt very unfocused at what it wanted to be. First of all, this film never once felt like a horror film. It feels like a mix of drama, Sci-Fi, thriller but never once did I get any horror vibes which was disappointing.

And finally I think this film should have been close to 2 hours rather than 90 minutes as some story elements feel rushed especially when it comes to exploring the characters powers and abilities.

So overall this is nowhere near the inferno (excuse the pun) I expected it to be. This is not the best horror film I've seen this year, mainly because it never felt like one but it's certainly not the worst or even in my bottom 10 of this year and I would urge people to give it a shot.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Doctor strange in the multiverse of madness

Now going into this film, I wanted to be as blind as possible. I avoided all the trailers I could, I logged out of social media, I even went as far to cover my phone and tablet screen when I went on YouTube in case of any leaked footage and I think it's a shame it has actually come to this in this day and age. Its hard to market movies nowadays due to trailers showing the entire film but then to have trolls intention leak spoilers for their enjoyment is a really crappy feeling for people who want to be genuinely surprised by these sorts of films.

But it's now time to talk about the positives of Doctor Strange 2 and I have a lot. For me the best thing about this film is this is the first time probably since Captain America: The winter soldier I felt such freedom from a director to tell their own story. I love the MCU but even I have to admit a lot of the films feel very similar due to the tone. A lot of directors styles get sacrificed to fit with the MCU tone and brand. However Sam Raimi has his own freedom and ability to change all that. His brings his own style to this film with plenty of goofy and dark moments.

And when he goes dark, as a horror fan, it is just beautiful. There are a couple of moments where there's a couple of jump scares and not only do they feel like fun call backs to his earlier films, they also feel very earned. It also surprises me how much freedom he had. This is also the first time since The Winter Soldier I have felt such genre blending within the MCU. Its part superhero and part horror but explores a lot of elements within the latter genre. One scene in particular had me really excited as a slasher fan. I will say no more. But most of all, this is a film with a lot of heart to it and can be quite thought provoking I have to say and I love it when a film can blend multiple genres but can still feel tonally consistent.

Moving past that, I think this film improves amomg the characters and the dynamics between them. The first film suffers from bland characters and an severely underused Rachel McAdams. This film changes that. The bland ones are either not in this film at all or are regulated to cameos and Rachel McAdams becomes a main part of the story in a great way. Wong also gets some great moments within this film.

America Chavez is also a great addition to this film. Now she is the main narrative driving this film and that does risk her feeling like a plot device but she is also able to stand out on her own as a character and there's some really touching scenes between her and Doctor Strange and I wouldn't oppose to her starring in her own solo film.

Now let's talk about the main two stars, Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen. Cumberbatch is incredible as Doctor Strange and his characters feels so much more utilised than the first film. From his development as a character, to his power ability to his placement in the story. But Olsen actually steals the show for me personally. She has the best standout moments in my opinion but the best thing about her is it feels like she has a true character arc across her journey in the MCU.

Now talking on a technical basis, I really like the colour pallet throughout the film. From bright colouring to a sort of dull look at times but dull in a good way, I cinematography is very creative at times with its shot transitions and the score feels more fleshed out thanks to Danny Elfman. Its been a while since he's done a score that has stood out to me. The visuals are also outstanding, I love how technology has gone forward we can have visuals and special effects as good as these are.

Now there are some cameos but I am not saying anything other than they are welcome to the film, there are some nice surprises, they fit among the story and they don't feel like glorified eye rolling moments.

The humour is still there as always and thankfully the humour feels more organic in this film. Again in the first film, the humour felt incredibly forced but in this film, there was some genuinely funny moments due to the dialogue or character interactions.

This is also quite a thematic film brought on from the consequences of The Blip in Infinity war and is current throughout the film. Is the hero the danger of the story, that is a very interesting subject brought to us and I love it when a film has a film going through it.

To my surprise as well, for a film that's is just over two hours, it actually felt longer and I say that as a good thing. It doesn't feel rushed to me, at one point I felt this must be secretly more than 2 hours but no. Its just over two hours long and it feels evenly paced out.

And my final positive for this film is this genuinely feels like the first film on the MCU that feels different and I appreciate that so much. I do hope Marvel Studios learns from this and allows directors to inject their own style in their films to be more versatile and evolve even more.

However now it's time to move onto the mixed aspects of the film. Now the MCU is known to be more targeted for families due to the Disney brand, not thats a bad thing but this is the first time where I do think parents should see this film first before taking their kids due to the horror content. It's not nightmare inducing but horror is subjective amongst people.

Also because this is starring Wanda and takes place after WandaVision, I do think you need to watch WandaVision before seeing this film. You can work out the main plot in context if you really watch and think about it but it will help you understand the story if you watch WandaVision first.

Finally there are two post credit scenes, one sets up a future film and is very exciting to watch, the next is very fun and quite clever but not really worth sitting through the credits.

Now onto the negatives, Mordo felt wasted in this film. Story wise, his presence kind of made sense but his placement could have been any other character in this film. He doesn't add anything to the story in my opinion which is a little disappointing given the character comic counterpart.

There also feels like a bit too much is going on at times within the story. Certain story elements feel they could have dedicated a bit of extra time to them or cut them out and save them for a third film that we are getting.

But overall I loved this film. Now granted this is a first time watch and I'm almost finished with an MCU film ranking and I do want to rewatch it but I think this could potentially be top 5 MCU for me personally. I loved so much of this film and I think it will win the hearts of those who weren't fans of the first Doctor Strange.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️