REVIEW: Creed III (3)- Starring Michael B. Jordan

Review by Jon Donnis

I know I am a bit late to watch Creed 3, but I've been busy! Anyway I thought I would check it out, better late than never.

In 2002 Los Angeles, a youthful Adonis Creed, nicknamed "Donnie" (played by Thaddeus J. Mixon), sneaks out with his friend, Golden Gloves champion Damian Anderson, also known as "Diamond Dame" (played by Spence Moore II), to watch him compete in an illegal boxing match. After Damian's triumph, he shares with Donnie his dream of becoming a professional boxer and a world champion. During a detour to a liquor store, Donnie impulsively attacks a man named Leon, leading to Damian's arrest while Donnie flees.

In the present day, Donnie (Michael B. Jordan) has retired from boxing to focus on his wife Bianca (played by Tessa Thompson) and their daughter Amara, who has a hearing impairment, causing the family to learn American Sign Language. Donnie runs Delphi Boxing Academy with Tony Evers Jr. (played by Wood Harris) and is promoting his protege, world champion Felix Chavez (José Benavidez Jr.), in a match against Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu). As Donnie watches his adoptive mother Mary-Anne's (Phylicia Rashad) deteriorating health, Amara (Mila Davis-Kent) expresses her desire to follow in Donnie's footsteps and become a boxer, which results in her getting into trouble at school for punching another student.

After his release from prison, Damian (Jonathan Majors) reconnects with Donnie and expresses his wish to resume his boxing career. Despite resistance from Chavez and Duke, Donnie reluctantly allows Damian to train at the gym. Damian later visits Donnie's home, where he meets his family and recounts their shared past at a group home, a story that Bianca had never heard. In private, Damian asks for a title shot against Chavez, but Donnie declines. When Viktor Drago is attacked by an unknown assailant at a party for Bianca's record label, which puts his upcoming fight in jeopardy, Donnie nominates Damian as his replacement. In the end, Damian wins the undisputed heavyweight championship in a fight against Chavez.

The rest of the film is basically about Damian trying to get Creed out of retirement, they then have the big fight, end of film.

The biggest problem that Creed 3 has is that there is no underdog story here. If you compare this to Rocky 3, Rocky had won the championship, was fighting bums to build up his record, and then when he fought Clubber Lang, he got beaten easily, he realised that money and fame had gone to his head and he wasn't as good as he thought he was, so trained hard so he could beat the monster. In Creed 3, you have Creed who has retired on top of the world, all the money in the world, perfect home life. When Damian turns up, if anything he is the underdog, yet he is supposed to be the baddie in this despite him having just 1 fight and becoming world champ after spending 2 decades in prison. But when you see him shirtless he is like a body builder. Same with Creed. You just have too incredibly well built men fighting each other and being seemingly pretty well matched physically, and the bad guy who is the champion, has all the disadvantages, he is older, he has spent decades in prison, he is the one with a chip on his shoulder. He finally gets his dream to be world champ, and now Creed comes out of retirement to take it off him! The whole plot is just poorly written. You wont care about Creed cause he has everything, you wont care about Damian because he is supposed to be the bad guy, but if anything you will feel sympathetic towards him, so what is there ultimately to care about?

Despite the glaring plot issues, the actual boxing matches are incredibly well filmed, some nice visual effect touches, everything looks realistic, even if after 12 rounds Creed and Damian barely have a scratch on them. The music is ok, and we do get a version of the classic Rocky theme too. It was nice that we get to see a deaf character in the film, Creed's daughter, it is not overly pushed down your throat, she is just his daughter with hearing issues, so I thought that was a nice touch.

The Good

Really well filmed boxing scenes, which lets be honest, that is usually the best thing in any boxing film.

The Bad

The film has no true underdog character, Creed is never really fighting the odds for more than just a minute here and there of doubt.

Overall

The film is ok, it is perfectly watchable, it is a bit long at 1 hour and 50 minutes, as usual they could have cut 20 minutes off the runtime and the film would have been basically the same.

If you like the previous Creed films, you will like this, but for anyone new to the franchise, or perhaps watched the Rocky films and thought you would give this a shot, you might be a little disappointed.

I score Creed 3 a fair 7/10. I expected more, but the boxing scenes were cool.

Out now in Cinemas and on digital at https://apple.co/3zL9beT

REVIEW: Inside (2023) Starring Willem Dafoe

Review by Jon Donnis

From Vasilis Katsoupis in his feature directorial debut comes Inside, a psychological thriller starring the always excellent Willem Dafoe in a pretty much solo role.

Nemo (Willem Dafoe), an art thief, recounts a childhood memory in which he was asked by his teacher to choose three items to save in a house fire. Instead of his family, Nemo picked his cat, an AC/DC album, and his sketchbook, but unfortunately the cat died and he never got the album back from a friend. However, he still cherishes his sketchbook and believes that "art is for keeps".

In the present day, Nemo, disguised as a handyman, he breaks into a wealthy art collector's penthouse to steal three pieces of art by Austrian painter

Egon Schiele but is unable to find one of them, a self-portrait. As he tries to leave, the security system activates and seals the apartment, leaving Nemo trapped.

 

His contacts abandon him, and his attempts to escape fail due to extreme temperatures, lack of food and water, and injury. He survives on timed sprinklers and witnesses the death of a trapped pigeon.

Over time, Nemo constructs a scaffold from furniture and gradually disassembles the frame around a skylight using makeshift tools. He becomes obsessed with the housekeeper, whom he calls "Jasmine" (Eliza Stuyck), and watches her through a security camera feed. Despite being outside the front door on several occasions, Jasmine doesn't hear Nemo's attempts to get her attention due to wearing earphones while vacuuming, causing Nemo to become increasingly frustrated.

This is a very claustraphobic type of film, even though Nemo is in a large Penthouse, it makes you wonder what you would do if you found yourself trapped in a seamingly unescapable, futuristic type of house. Dafoe does a great job of conveying the panic, the desperation and ultimately the descent into madness that such a situation might create. Outside of early narration by Dafoe, and a couple of dream sequences and memories, there is very little dialog in this film. Nemo is on his own, and needs to escape, but everything he tries fails.

This entire film rests on the ability of Dafoe to make the viewer believe, and I think he does a good job.

The ending is satisfying if a little predictable, but the directing by Vasilis Katsoupis needs a special mention, as this is his film, and he has done an excellent job on a limited budget getting his film out there.

The Good

Really well made film, well directed and Defoe is the perfect choice to play Nemo.

The Bad

At about 1 hour 40 minutes without credits, the film feels a little long, runtime is very important in a film, and I feel this film could have easily shaved betweem 15 to 20 minutes off the run time without affecting the story. I know I complain about run time a lot, but it really is important.

Overall

I thoroughly enjoyed Inside, I thought it was well made, well acted, and although a little long for what it was, it really did a good job in getting across the feeling of being trapped.

I score Inside a solid 8.5/10

Out Now on Digital and in selected cinemas. Watch at https://apple.co/3msjtO1

REVIEW: 65 (2023) - Starring Adam Driver & Ariana Greenblatt

Review by Jon Donnis

"65" is an American science fiction action-thriller film written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods.

At just 86 minutes, minus credits, this film has already ticked a huge box for me regarding runtime. But is the film any good?

Let's first take a look at the plot.

On the distant, technologically advanced planet Somaris, pilot Mills (Adam Driver) convinces his wife (Nika King) that he should take on a two-year space expedition to earn money needed to treat their daughter Nevine's (Chloe Coleman) illness. However, on the journey back to Somaris, their spaceship is hit by a mass of asteroids and crash-lands on an uncharted planet. With his ship damaged and split in half, he finds that his passengers have been killed and contemplates suicide until he finds a lone survivor, a young girl named Koa (Ariana Greenblatt). Mills decides to take care of Koa. However, the two have difficulty communicating due to differing languages and a broken translator. The unknown planet is then revealed to be Earth 65 million years ago during the Cretaceous period.

Mills later discovers that the other half of the ship contains a functioning escape shuttle and sends a distress beacon for rescue. Mills tells Koa that they're going to the mountain where the shuttle is located, although he lies about her parents being alive to encourage her to go with him. As they traverse the planet, they bond, while Mills protects Koa from dinosaurs. A long time ago before mankind's history, this event took place on the distant planet Somaris.

Now the first thing you need to do is throw logic out of the window. For example, a film set 65 million years ago that starts on a planet with Homo sapiens (humans) speaking English and dressed in modern Western clothes seems a bit unlikely, but okay, I get it, whatever.

The first 20 minutes of the film are pretty decent, and the last 20 minutes are really good. The problem is the middle 45 minutes, and it seems that this is what has divided viewers the most. The problem is that this is advertised very much as an action thriller, but that description only really covers the last 20 minutes as the characters fight against dinosaurs to escape the planet. Much of the middle of the film is more of a survival film, and because the Mills character and the Koa character do not both speak the same language, they barely talk, which makes it hard to take much interest in their character development. I think the film would have been much better if it took a "Lost in Space" type of plot, with Mills and his family being stuck on an ancient Earth with dinos. We never really learn much about the Koa character, so there is no reason to care about her.

Now, don't get me wrong, I mostly enjoyed the film. As mentioned, the first 20 minutes and the last 20 minutes, especially, were very good. I liked the setup to the main story, and escaping the planet is really well done. Tension is built perfectly, the visual effects throughout are of the highest quality, I liked the dinosaurs, and the Mills character is likable; you want him to succeed.

The film, as mentioned, is just 86 minutes, which is a really nice runtime, and I am so glad they never tried to stretch it out much further.

The Good:

Strong visual effects, a nice beginning and ending, and a likable Mills character played by Adam Driver.

The Bad:

The middle part of the film drags. There is little character development, and it is hard to care about Koa.

Overall:

It is rare I say this, but the short length of the film saves it, the middle bit is bareable to get to the great ending. In general I like Adam Driver too, and he puts in a strong performance here.

I score 65 a fair 7/10.

Out Now in Cinemas and on digital at https://apple.co/3UoqBI4

REVIEW: Shazam! Fury of the Gods - Starring Zachary Levi, Lucy Liu and Helen Mirren

Review by Jon Donnis

Shazam! Fury of the Gods sequel to Shazam! (2019) and the 12th instalment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) has just been released on digital, despite still being in cinemas. I have no issue with this, as not everyone can get to cinemas these days, so why make people wait?

Two years after Thaddeus Sivana's defeat, Hespera (Helen Mirren) and Kalypso (Lucy Liu), two of the daughters of the Titan Atlas, break into the Acropolis Museum in Athens, Greece to steal the Wizard's broken staff. The two then take it to the Wizard, who is imprisoned in the Gods' Realm, and force him to repair the staff and activate its powers.

In Philadelphia, Billy Batson (Zachary Levi & Asher Angel) and his "Shazamily" of foster siblings save people on the collapsing Benjamin Franklin Bridge, but are called out for its destruction. The group is drifting apart at home due to them growing up and having personal interests. Billy is worried about being kicked out of the Vasquez family after he ages out of the foster system. In a dream, Billy is warned by the Wizard about the Daughters, prompting the Shazamily to begin researching them.

Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer and Adam Brody), still bullied at school, falls for a new girl named Anne (Rachel Zegler), to whom he shows off his superhero self. Hespera and Kalypso arrive with the staff and steal Freddy's powers. Anne is revealed to be their youngest sister, Anthea. Billy and the Shazamily attempt to save Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer and Adam Brody), but the daughters kidnap him and place an indestructible dome around the city, trapping everyone inside. Freddy is imprisoned along with the Wizard in the Gods' Realm. The Daughters reveal that they want revenge because the Wizard killed their father.

Meanwhile, the Shazamily enters the Rock of Eternity, where they encounter a sentient pen named "Steve", which they use to draft a letter to Hespera as a negotiation for Freddy's release. Billy meets Hespera, and, while the meeting is initially cordial, she and Kalypso soon fight the Shazamily. Pedro loses his powers during the fight, while Hespera is captured and taken to the Rock. Hespera easily breaks out and steals the Golden Apple, the seed of the Tree of Life. Meanwhile, Freddy and the Wizard attempt to escape the Gods' Realm with a sympathetic Anthea's help, just as Hespera returns with the Apple. The Daughters argue as Hespera and Anthea want to use the Apple to revive their realm, while Kalypso wishes to plant it on Earth to destroy it. Freddy steals the Apple but is discovered, though Billy and the Shazamily show up, and Freddy reacquires his powers.

Will the Shazamily save the day? Well you will have to watch the film to find out, but spoiler alert, yes they do.

I think one of the reasons that Shazam! Fury of the Gods has underperformed at the cinema is that it is advertised as another DC superhero film, but is very much a kids film. This could have been made by Nickelodeon. The main characters are all kids, who then transform into adult superheroes, this is literally the dream of every young kid. It is hard at times, for an adult DC fan to really connect to the characters because of this.

The plot is relatively straight forward, nothing really original. I honestly cant even remember the first film as it was released 4 years ago, so I am not sure if I even watched it. I think that this film needed a much better intro for people who either didn't see or cant remember the original film. For example it starts off with super heroes then I am watching a bunch of kids play video games, and I had no idea who they were, as the film never told me, and just assumed I would know.

This is a big budget film, so the visual effects are all amazing, the sound effects, music etc is all great.

I would argue that the stars of this film are in fact Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu, they came across very well on the screen, and both played their parts great. Their characters are so much more interesting than the Shazamily

Zachary Levi is always likeable, but I just think he is a bit mis-cast in this.

A decent film, but definitely one for the kids, there are some fun moments for adults too, but this is a kids film.

The Good

Strong perfomances by Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu improve this film massively. Great visual effects, and a decent enough story.

The Bad

It is a kids film that is advertised as the next big DC release, and that will hurt it massively. Oh and it is way too long at 2 hours. Easily cut 35 minutes off that.

Overall

I blame the marketing for this film underperforming, it is simply not an adult DC film in the style of The Flash or Superman, in fact it comes across more like a big budget version of a Disney show like The Villains of Valley View.

Take your kids to see this and they will love it.

I score Shazam! Fury of the Gods a fair 7/10. Great for kids.

Out Now in Cinemas and On Digital at https://amzn.to/3MqSZqT

TRAILER: Love Without Walls - Starring Niall McNamee

 

Love Without Walls stars Niall McNamee (The Foreigner) & Shana Swash (My Feral Heart) as well as Paul Barber (Only Fools & Horses, The Full Monty), Adam Deacon (Kidulthood), Sheila Reid (Benidorm, Brazil), Theo Ogundipe (Top Boy), Amy Molloy (Animals) and Ricci Harnett (28 Days Later).

Sophie and Paul, who dreams of becoming a musician, are struggling to afford their rent in London. As a result, they seek help from their loved ones.

As the summer progresses, their situation deteriorates. They lose all their possessions and end up living on the streets, struggling to survive. Despite their frustrations, their positive outlook and sense of humor help them secure odd jobs and a temporary place to stay.

Their tale is one of enduring love, hope, and perseverance through the bleakest of circumstances.

Love Without Walls, will be released in UK & Irish cinemas from 9th June