Film: Deadpool & Wolverine

Deadpool is THE gimmick movie. You don't come here for the story, or even the drama or acting. You come for the gags, the adult-rated violence and how the films always want to take you with it.

This is both good and bad. After two films, the danger is that the gimmick wears off, the jokes labour and the whole thing just gets stale and annoying. And given the state of the MCU right now you start to wonder if now's actually the time to try something like this.

Well folks I'm glad to say that it is. D&W was great. On so many (and very familiar) levels. The action was great, the gags were great, and all of the fourth wall breaking stuff landed brilliantly. Not only did it take the mick out of itself, but also Disney, Marvel and Fox - it seems that nothing was off limits here.

It's hard to talk too much about the film without revealing spoilers so I'll stop here with nothing less than a huge recommendation. It's hard to say where D&W ranks in the trilogy but in some ways that's okay in what might be a wonderful superhero trilogy anyway.

Film: Twisters

How does one make a sequel to a film about tornados? Turns out the answer is that with great difficulty; what we have here is more or less a scene by scene remake... okay fine, reimagining of the disaster movie from 1996.

That doesn't make it a bad film per se - but it was as good as any film about tornados can be really. Sure the effects have moved on but ultimately a tornado just doesn't have the villainy of an earthquake or comet or ice age.

And I suspect Twisters knows this, and so over compensates with some panto level drama, running amok with its plot and characters. Oh look, the smug condescending cowboy actually has a heart after all. Puke.

I will admit that the grand finale was pretty great and almost enough to save the rest of the film. But at almost two hours long it doesn't quite get over the line and so unfortunately is one to watch later.

Film: Kill

Well wasn't this a surprise? Yes, you could just call it "an Indian John Wick" but that would actually be a bit unfair - Kill really does manage to stand on its own two feet and if anything the action and violence comes second to the simple-but-broad plot - the turn in this film ranks up there.

But an action film it is first and foremost and it doesn't fall short of that either. The acting otherwise is what you would expect from Bollywood (melodrama and all), but gone are the item numbers or filler. As a result the 1.45 hour runtime is a boon.

Recommended!

Empire - Live

The only non-boardgame podcast I listen to is Empire, hosted by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand. I don't really have anything to compare this podcast to, but the conversational style seems to be unique (and dividing) amongst history podcast enthusiasts, and is exactly why I enjoy it so much. That and the robustness and depth with which the hosts explore a topic.

Seeing them live was rather like listening to the podcast and so there weren't really many surprises here. This being an event, the topic had to be standalone ("Booze and Brews") which although not personally relevant was fun and interesting nonetheless. And in typical Asian fashion the event started and ended late (although it did run at a generous length) and we even had a costume change.

There really isn't much more to add to this review - if you are interested in more the first place to check out would be the podcast itself. Both that and watching them live come thoroughly recommended.

Film: A Quiet Place: Day One

I guess it was bound to happen. After such strong episodes in The Quiet Place(s?) Parts One and Two, trying something "new" was always going to disappoint.

What's really upsetting is that there's nothing actually wrong with the film itself. It's well made, acted and even the dialogue plays its part. What little action there is is also effective. But where the previous instalments were more than that - strong stories of overcoming a particular obstacle, Day One is very much a character piece. Unfortunately this episode in the franchise suffers for that.

As a prequel I suppose there wasn't much new that they could have brought to the universe, but that doesn't make this any less of a shame. One to leave until that boring rainy day.