Have You Been Watching...? Rebel Moon - Part 1: A Child Of Fire (2023)

 

On a recent flight, I'd read in a magazine that writer and director Zack Snyder (Justice League) had pitched the idea of his Rebel Moon movies as “Game of Thrones in Space”. Now, I quite liked Game of Thrones, but the idea of investing so much time into another franchise didn’t appeal, but I’ve liked his other work and wanted to give this new Sci-Fi adventure a go. The script for the movie was co-written by Snyder with Kurt Johnstad ("300") and Shay Hatten (Army of the Dead, John Wick 3) and directed by Snyder. 

As it’s a relatively new movie so I will try not to be too spoiler-ific.

Our story opens with a narration explaining how there is a Motherworld, and when it’s King and Queen are assassinated, a prince regent steals the throne while everyone else is bickering. A revolution begins, and the empire (oops!) tries to stamp it out. Our story then moves to a small farming village on the planet Veldt. It is visited by a group from the Empire in their Dreadnaught ship The Kings Gaze, under the command of General Atticus Noble (Ed Skrein from Deadpool and Tau) wanting grain to feed their army as they hunt the revolutionaries. One thing leads to another and our hero, Kora (Sofia Boutella from Kingsman The Secret Service and Star Trek Beyond) who is secretly an ex-member of the empire, sets off to create an army capable of protecting the village from the Empire.

It's very much a space saga, but Game of Thrones it is not. In fact, plot wise, it’s less Star Wars and more Battle Beyond The Stars. I fail to understand why a Dreadnaught ship arrives and threatens a simple village, when there is a whole city called Providence on Veldt which would make more sense. Despite all the tech on show in the movie, everyone and everything is dirty. There are no bright whites and sleek lines in this universe. Even Star Wars had a mixture of the two, but by the end of this one, I’m fed up of the dirt and grime.

Much must be said of the universe building in this movie. Great strides are made with diversity and a mix of accents giving real credence to different cultures, although the less said of Charlie Hunnam’s (as Kai) dreadful Northern Irish accent. I can't understand why he didn’t just use his natural Geordie accent.

Kora's ragtag bunch of revolutionaries are gathered together much too quickly and with little backstory provided to any, it’s hard to feel anything for them. The only characters that feel developed with genuine motivation are Kora and Noble, and bizarrely, Kora’s fellow villager Gunnar (Michiel Huisman from World War Z and the Haunting of Hill House). The others just feel like they’re along for the ride and each are introduced in various little scenarios. Some of these don’t even make a lot of sense, particularly Tarak (Staz Nair from Game of Thrones and Supergirl), he has a special ability, but I had to go online to understand why this was a thing in the movie. Maybe it’ll be apparent in part two. Given the clear drive to be a new Star Wars type saga, the lack of a robot crewmember is apparent, especially as a prime candidate “Jimmy” is introduced early on, voice by Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins. Other unanswered questions include why they think a small army can take on the dreadnaught ship? Even if they did win, they’re fighting an empire who would just send another.

Unfortunately, it’s so formulaic that it feels like there is nothing new here. Yes, it’s nice to see a new Sci Fi big budget movie, but it just makes me want to watch Star Wars. Maybe things will change in Part 2, but this leads to another disappointment. We know from the outset that this is part one, so we expect a cliffhanger and plots not to be resolved by the end. This robs the viewer of any sense of peril for our band of heroes.

Further reading indicates there will be more sequels. While the name Rebel Moon sounds cool, what happens after the moon is “liberated”? Will there be more moons to liberate? I think the beginnings of something good are here, but I wonder if it will become something more, with its own identity.

Snyder has also commented that there is a more adult orientated “R” rated extended version to come out later. This could be the road forward for this franchise. Even in its Netflix edited form, its hard to tell who the movie is aimed at. It’s too formulaic for discerning sci-fi fans and too adult for children (there is one particular scene where the baddies discussing deflowering a young woman which is unpleasant but definitely shows us how bad the baddies are, and there are moments of bad language).

Overall, the movie is not a bad watch and enjoyable enough as a yarn. I certainly want to see part two.

Year: 2023

Availability: Streaming on Netflix at the time of writing

Rating 7/10

Have You Been Watching...? We Have A Ghost (2023)

 

I’d seen some of the pre-publicity for the Netflix original movie “We Have A Ghost” and it certainly contained enough to warrant inclusion on this blog. A family comedy about a ghost haunting a house? Absolutely! A cast full of cult TV & Movie stars? YES!  It stars genre icons David Harbour (Stranger Things, Black Widow, Hellboy), Tig Notaro (Star Trek: Discovery, Army of the Dead) and Anthony Mackie (Marvel Cinematic Universe as The Falcon). Is it the winner I think it should be? Read on…

Besides the big names, this comedy also stars Jahi Di’Allo Winston as the movies main character Kevin (also from the rather poor genre movie The Dead Don’t Die with Adam Driver and Bill Murray) and Erica Ash (Kendra from Scary Movie 5).

Our plot is that The Presley family, of whom Ash and Mackie portray the parents and Winston as their son (the other brother played by Niles Fitch whose credits include St Vincent – again with Bill Murray) who all move into what can only be described as a “fixer-upper” of a house. Kevin, a bit of a loner, finds a ghost in the attic. The ghost, portrayed by Harbour, can’t speak but his bowling shirt bears the name “Ernest” and despite trying to scare Kevin, the ghost and the boy become friends. Once Kevin’s brother and father find out about Ernest, they start posting videos online and the family, via Ernest, become internet sensations. This draws the attention of Dr Monroe, who once worked for a now-defunct government department researching ghosts. This further leads to more young teen movie escapades as Kevin and best friend Joy (Isabella Russo) try to explore Ernest’s history and resolve his issues so he can move on.

I will TRY not to spoil things here, but I’m putting a spoiler warning anyway as it’s going to be difficult in a movie like this.

Harbour is nothing short of brilliant in a role that brings him very close to Nicolas Cage in a certain category (you will understand this if you have ever seen Willy’s Wonderland* or see the very bottom of this review), how he manages to convey so much with so little really shows he is way more than just Sheriff Hopper. The always wonderful-to-watch Tig Notaro plays quite an important role in this movie, but once she fulfils her role’s purpose, it’s a shame she just disappears from the movie, after a rather startling change in character. Anthony Mackie, unfortunately, plays a generic dad character and doesn’t get much of a chance to shine. However, Winston is absolutely endearing, bringing a genuine vulnerability to Kevin. The always watchable Jennifer Coolidge makes a brief appearance as a medium and she steals all the scenes she appears in.

So, those are the plusses. As with a lot of Netflix movies recently, there are a bunch of negatives to go with the positives. In this case, the movie is far too long. Running at 127 minutes, there are huge chunks of this movie that can easily be excised (pun intended) and still tell a coherent story. Most obviously, to me, is the rather uncomfortable Motel scene, which bearing in mind we are watching children, is creepy and not in the spooky way. The whole Government Department material brings nothing to the story other than give our heroes something to do and what happens to Tig Notaro’s character is a total travesty. There is also one other scene involving out heroes in a car chase with the police that sits awkwardly too. The scene shows the clear death of one of the police, caused by our heroes, but then next scene shows the officer up and about. Maybe I’m nit-picking but there is no way that character walked away from that incident(or maybe they didn’t and that last shot of them is their ghost?). As a writer of a certain age, I found the Social Media section a bit boring and unrealistic. If there really was evidence of ghosts, I think it'd draw more attention that a few fans and a solo department from the government (although the "Jesus" moments ARE hilarious!)

Apparently, the film is based on a short story called “Ernest” by Geoff Manaugh. I haven’t read it so I have no idea what the movie does differently.

As it stands, the movie is “okay”, but if it had been tightened up, maybe by 30 minutes or so, it could have been great. It is frustrating that such an opportunity is wasted. You would not regret spending time in watching this movie, but you may feel that you could’ve done something more constructive in the time.

Year: 2023

Availability: currently streaming on Netflix (as of Feb 2023)

HYBW rating: 6/10               

 

*The Willy’s Wonderland reference: Both Nic Cage and David Harbour don’t speak in either movie. Although Harbour does make moaning noises in this one.

Have You Been Watching...? Wednesday (2022)

 

The Addams Family has been around for ages. Firstly, a comic, then a fondly remembered 1960s sitcom, two amazing 90s feature films (less said about the third, the better) two recent animated features (which I’m not too bothered about) and now this, a spin-off centred around Miss Wednesday Addams.

When I heard of this project, I was wasn’t sure it would worth my time, but then Tim Burton was linked to it and Christina Ricci (who played Wednesday in the 90s movies), Catherine Zeta Jones and Gwendoline Christie all attached to it. This began to sound like something special.

The 8 part limited series, “Wednesday”, is a triumph. The new Addams family cast are wonderful. Catherine Zeta Jones is truly a great luscious and mysterious Morticia, and Luis Guzman is literally perfect as Gomez, not as traditionally handsome in the mould of Raul Julia, but more in keeping with the comics. Their insane lust/love for each other makes for great comedy. Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley brings a sweet vulnerability to the role that was missing from the movies and he’s a very sympathetic character. As great as they are, it’s Jenna Ortega’s show as the new Wednesday. She is magnetic to watch. Dour, but full of humour and she doesn’t blink in her scenes, adding a great otherworldliness to Wednesday. The “internet” was full of criticism for some of the casting choices, but needless to say, don’t believe all you read on the web.

The new series strips the show of the main family, although they appear throughout (one of the family is practically a regular), but moves Wednesday to the Nevermore Academy. This is a special school for special students of which Morticia and Gomez have been previous alumni. This is a home to werewolves, sirens, gorgons and all sorts of creepy and kooky monsters in the form of human teenagers. While I have little interest in teen supernatural dramas, this one has just the right blend of humour and horror to satisfy even the most ardent of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans.

Having watched Episode 1, directed by the legend that is Tim Burton and scored by Danny Elfman, I felt I had tired of Wednesday’s behaviour. I wanted more of the residents of Nevermore Academy, led by the delicious Gwendoline Christie as the head teacher Larissa Weem, an old rival of Morticia’s. I wanted to learn more about the town of Jericho and how they live side by side with this world of mythical creatures. However, as the story progresses, my appetite was well and truly fed.

The crux of the series is that having been dispatched to Nevermore, Wednesday finds herself caught up in a mystery and a number of deaths. The mystery isn’t the deaths themselves, its clear early on how they die, it’s the who and why that forms Wednesday’s investigation. Along the way we meet her fellow classmates including the impossible to dislike, permanently chipper Enid, a werewolf who hasn’t reached wolf-out stage yet.  Enid is played by Emma Myers who on the face of it should be an irritating character due to her constant perkiness, but really is a sweet and kind girl. Hunter Doohan  plays Wednesday’s “will they wont they” love interest Tyler, Joy Sunday plays Bianca, a siren who is keen to knock Wednesday down a peg or two and ex-Wednesday herself, Christina Ricci plays Marilyn Thornhill, one of the school staff, almost unrecognisable from her Addams Family days (I didn’t even realise who she played until episode 2).

Our mystery is evenly paced, and intricately plotted which, if the series ran for a longer run that 8 episodes, could have been a problem.  However, in this bite-size series, it just fits tidily, although the last episode does rattle along at an incredible pace.

As the Wednesday series is still incredibly current, this report will stay spoiler free. Is it worth almost 8 hours of your time to watch? Yes. You may be pleased to know in advance it IS a self-contained story. I don’t think that’s a spoiler, none of the pre-publicity suggested it was an on-going series. This new series has created such a great new world for the Addams’ that any further instalments need not even have to be centred around Wednesday at all. Die-Hard fans will enjoy all the subtle (and not to subtle) easter eggs littered throughout.

Year: 2022

Episode count: 8

Availability: Currently streaming on Netflix.