Sometimes all you need to do is go back to the basics. Thunderbolts* does this well, and is a solid, safe, and stable movie as a result. The plot goes from A to B to C, doesn't take many risks and instead leans in on its character and chemistry to power through.
That's not to say it isn't irrelevant - there's plenty of core MCU here. It just didn't feel like homework watching it, and for that it gets a great recommendation from me.
I found the first Accountant (2016! Yelp) to be a great film. It was tight, multilayered, as much of a puzzle as the themes were in the movie itself and was actually a pretty decent bit of outreach for autism.
The sequel was not great. They laboured the autism and even went as far as making brain damage a Marvel-esque super power origin story. Affleck did his best with a script that made a bit of a clown show out of the main protagonist and his brother, and the plot appeared to be window dressing for a couple of okayish set pieces.
I'm more upset that this film tarnishes the memory I have of the first rather than because it's a bad film itself. Either way though this is one to skip.
Although I was already planning to attend this, I was looking forward to it even more as a counterpoint to a recent comedy gig I attended. The link of course was Palestine, but whereas Sundeep was a new voice on the scene (and doing a job), this was a fundraiser which for me made it more authentic and of a greater depth than previously. Of course Aamer Rahman was the main ticket but I was also looking forward to the "variety show" line up it promised.
And on that it delivered. All the acts were great, educational and moving - albeit in different ways. It had Rebel Music vibes, where you could enjoy the material at whatever level you wanted (or were ready for). Aamer Rahman stood out of course - but in a lot of ways his higher profile made him seem a little out of place with the rest of the ground roots being laid. Of course, that didn't take anything away from the power of his content.
Which brings us to the ELSC. We were told a lot about the charity and its work, and it seemed very important to support during the days in which we find ourselves living. Knowing that this was all in support of that greater cause made the evening even more special, and I hope they managed to hit both their fundraising and word-spreading targets.
The evening ended at 10.45pm which made it quite the long night, and indeed some acts did feel like they were overly long. Otherwise it was a great evening out and I'm glad I got the chance to attend.
Between needing to catch both Jummah and our flight home today, we didn't hold much hope for our activities today. That said, given some careful planning we could have optimised and made the most of staying in Frankfurt, but it turns out that even after having a dead morning in our hotel room waiting for prayers there was ample time in the afternoon to wander around and soak in a little of Frankfurt.
After yesterday we decided to keep things a little closer to home and spent the day thirty minutes away in Wiesbaden. This was yet another quaint city (as well as the capital of Hesse, the German state we were in), and between having seeing a lot of the same yesterday and the atrocious weather we took it easy on the walking around and itinerary stuffing, and even stopped for a coffee at one point. Apart from the casino, the Neroberg offered some things to see, including a view of the city.
As we were time rich, we decided to squeeze in a look at Mainz across the river from Wiesbaden. This had a couple of quick wins, including wooden beamed buildings (you know the type) and even some Roman ruins embedded in a shopping mall. It was just the thing to tidy over the day as we headed back to Frankfurt.
Having a car meant that we could go on day trips, and there were a few options given our base in Frankfurt. We settled on Heidelberg as a good solid choice - it was only an hour away and seemed to have enough for a day.
And it did seem to have everything you would want from a quaint German town - some great hilly views, a rustic bridge over a river surrounded by beige and brown buildings, a cathedral and a castle.
Given that a couple of relatives had moved to Germany recently we felt it was our duty (you know, as existing and veteran European citizens) to see them and let them know that "we're there". However in what is a great real life example of scope creep, our cheap and quick same-day £35 return to Frankfurt grew to a three night jaunt, which in hindsight was a little long for a city break really. Due to us flying into Hahn (remember: £35 return), we needed to hire a car to get into Frankfurt proper. This in turn changed the nature of the trip as a whole... but more on that later.
Our first day was orientation: checking in, finding the boys, doing an Aldi shop. There wasn't really much time for any sightseeing after that so we grabbed dinner in town at an Afghan place which was pretty wonderful given how generic it was. Chai was then had at "Taste of Pakistan" which made me chuckle a little.
First impressions of Frankfurt though: a bit boring but in a way that seemed positive for these guys.
Although well made and acted, Sinners suffers from some structural issues that stop it from being a brilliant movie. It's a shame because even though it doesn't really push the genre much further than, I dunno, a certain Tarantino flick from the 90s, there was enough basic ingredients and class here to really have produced a class act. This is definitely a film with more hype than substance.
It is fun and scary I guess, and as a timepass you could do much worse. But its a film that I ultimately wish I had saved for a cosy home viewing (if only so I could use subtitles).
Although I was disappointed that the main gimmick of the movie - the airdropping by an unidentifiable blackmailer - ultimately doesn't have any impact, Drop was a great example of a closed room mystery that doesn't overstay its welcome.
Apart from the thrills, the dreamy chemistry between Violet and Henry elevates the film in that way contrasting tastes do. The upshot is that even though there's not much originality here, it does manage to scrape up some novelty.
Fun, thrilling and engaging, Drop comes with a recommendation here.
Okay full disclosure: I didn't know who Sundeep was before I accepted the invitation to go see him. I am not ashamed of this (well, not at this basic level) as I quite like how I've begun to miss various social media hype trains over the past couple of years or so (and as an aside, I'm not quite sure what I did to achieve this but I hope it remains).
But the tickets were cheap, and of course the theme was important and overall we had a great night out (I may have laughed the most unreservedly from our group). Sundeep had some great bits, and some not so great bits: this was as demonstrative of being "hit and miss" as you could get. It was also quite raw at times - and not in the way stand up is supposed to be.
Going to a pro-Palestinian gig did make me wonder exactly how much Sundeep has monetised his (clearly authentic) take on the issue. I understand that this wasn't a charity or fundraiser, but anyone could see how empty the room would have been if Sundeep didn't have such a strong position on things.
To be clear this is a comment on my own position and the ways in which I can show support for this (or any) cause. It's a mild struggle and I've landed on the conclusion that any kind of show of solidarity ultimately counts, as long as the stronger gestures aren't compromised for the smaller ones.
Overall though it was Sundeep's energy and charisma that propped up the show the most - this is clearly someone on a bigger journey and I hope I get to see it as he progresses.
To qualify: I do not understand Minecraft. It feels like the ultimate sandbox, like MS Paint but 3D. I'm happy to put this down to my own ignorance, but nevertheless I had misgivings about this flick before we stepped into the theatre.
There's a subtle difference between this, "A Minecraft Movie" and another hypothetical film called "Minecraft: The Movie". It's almost like that producers of this film knew that their source of inspiration was as shallow as the film they were going to make. That's a long paragraph to say "I was right". This wasn't a painful film, but it was pretty shallow. No, worse, it was devoid of much substance at all.
I guess everyone turned up and played their part, and if I'm being charitable some of the effects were pretty cool and cutesy. It wasn't enough to save it for me though... but then again this wasn't a film for me. You'll know if you'll have to take someone to watch this or not. If you're lucky you'll get to catch a nap or two during its runtime.
Sometimes the worst thing about watching a bad film is having to relive it while forcing yourself to write about it. If that's burying the lede, well tough, because frankly the longer I can put off actually writing about A Working Man, the better.
There was a time where I thought anything Statham did would be solid on a fundamental level, but this film makes me wonder just how the movie industry works in a way that produces such tripe. It was just bad.
I actually left the cinema bummed and disappointed. Please avoid.
As convenient as the Eurostar is, I blame exactly that for mistaking our return to London this day. Where I though we would have to wrap up at around 2.30pm for a 4pm departure, we actually had a 6pm train to catch. Two hours might not seem like a long time, but given how empty our list of things to do was I was a bit worried that we'd be loitering around. I guess subconsciously at least we decided to make this a bit of a chill day. And on that note we started the day with breakfast as ZouZou's, a cute (in the insta sense) Moroccan run food place in the heart of Brussels.
That's not to say we were lax in the sightseeing at all - I made sure we passed by the Cathédrale Saints-Michel-et-Gudule and Grand-Place on the way to our next stop. The cathedral was worth checking out in it's own right, but it was the Grand-Place that really gave me a unique impression of Brussels, and quite possibly Belgium as a whole.
Which then brought us to our departure time - all in all a great day of walking, eating and gup shupping with a side of sightseeing thrown in. I guess in many ways that sums up the past 2 and a bit days - I can't say that Belgium is my favourite country in Europe but this was a great little treat to have had just before Ramadhan kicked off. Case in point - even though our train arrived at 7pm I was home by 8. That's just something you can't pull off when travelling by plane or boat.
Our B&B was comfortable and very cute, and I agreed with the host's claim that we were staying for far too short amount of time. Still, well rested we set off to check out the town (for me, the first time during the day).
My travel partner was a coffee head, and so visiting independent cafes was always going to be a part of this trip - not that I minded given how short my lists of things to do in each place was.
The star of the show however was the Belfort, and although entry to climb the tower wasn't the cheapest we decided to go for it as the thing to do in Bruges. I'd say it was worth it, not only for the views but for the climb itself. The bells were in full song, with us even catching a rendition of Killing Me Softly.
Possibly due to the train strike we didn't have many options for our ride to Antwerp, and so we had to take the 1300 train. Although this sounds like we had to cut short our time in Bruges, we were both satisfied by what we got to see and do, and so in some ways the timing worked in our favour.
One of the top things to check out in Antwerp is the Central Station, which is lucky considering that's where we arrived. It was definitely something and easily worth the few minutes wondering around.
After stashing our luggage in the lockers, and grabbing a quick lunch, we realised that we were up against time (not really a surprise given the ambition on this trip), so had to prioritise the rest of our time in Antwerp.
Our final sight to see was the Sint-Annatunnel, a pedestrian foot tunnel that traverses the Scheldt River underground. It was a fair bit more interesting that the London equivalent (and certainly less smelly), the wooden escalators alone making the tunnel quite the curiosity.
I've always wanted to visit Belgium, although that's mostly because I knew it was only ever a train ride away. Apart from popular references to certain films and chocolate it wasn't ever on my list. But the nudge from a friend to have a cheeky pre-Ramadan trip was enough to get me on the Eurostar today.
I may have written about this before but the dissonance us islanders get by riding a train to a different country is real, and although the Eurostar is decades old now, leaving the country in a manner other than a plane or a boat never quite gets old. That it connects capitals, can take liquids, and is super fast just add to the overall novelty.
So two days and two nights was supposed to be an easy going couple of days in Brussels, but of course we also had to go and see Bruges. Rather than day trip it, we decided to book our first night in the latter and go straight there after arriving, and spend the last day in Brussels, close to our Eurostar back. But of course this being me and with my particular relationship with travel (trigger warning: it's overrated), the plan ever expanded.
All this preamble is to say that after learning that a train ticket to Bruges (or anywhere) allowed us to stop off at any stop as many times as we wanted to on the way, we figured it would be a good opportunity to see Ghent - we had some concerns that the week long train strike would force some of our options but it says a lot about the resilience of the train system here (or in Europe?) that we didn't even notice anything.
So, Ghent then. We got into the town around 5pm, and immediately made a beeline to a masjid to offer our daytime prayers using a tram and our legs to get there in good time. On the way we were (unreasonably it seems) surprised to see the odd halal kebab shop and "Free Palestine" sticker, so the vibes were definitely on.
Otherwise what we had was a quiet pretty town centre, maybe a bit dead, but worth the stop.
Getting into Bruges at around 8pm, I thought it was a bit too early to call it a night so took the opportunity to check out the deserted centre at night. Okay, fine, I was actually looking for some food and although I did manage to, it became clear that Bruges was going to be even more limited in options than Ghent was.
By my most recent standards, this trip to Karachi has been a long time (okay, maybe a month or two) coming. Four weddings (as in four different couples) lining up across three weeks made it an easy date to fix, even though these three weeks would be more than the usual two we tend to come for.
Of course each wedding had at least three events, with some pushing it to four. It seems we now have Nikkah Parties separate from Rukhsatis, and I even attended a Qawwali Night (although admittedly that wasn't the first time for me). So opulence abound, but it was all good fun.
Well until the stomach bugs got me. I guess wedding food over here is like playing Russian Roulette, and I was bound to pay for attending twelve-plus events at some point. Thankfully (?) I was taken out earlier than later (yes, that's both ends), and I like to think I came out stronger for the remainder of my trip.
Speaking of food, it seems that Karachi just keeps getting better and better when it comes to the social food scene. I have mixed opinions about this, given it both relies upon and is an indication of the widening inequality... but it's still kind of impressive to see I suppose. What's also great is how well local brands and businesses seem to be doing - no one goes to KFC anymore, choosing to spend Rupees at Kababjees Fried Chicken instead.
So another good trip, if a bit too long and busy. Oh and yes, sadly there was also a funeral... in case you were wondering.
If I ever had a complaint about The Cosmere, it's that Sanderson refuses to help us out with his world. He teases and baits, but very rarely tells. Some people dig that, but my school homework days are long over and sometimes I just want to be told what's going on.
The Sunlit Man tells us a lot. I might even say too much. I promise that this isn't an obvious case of never being happy, but more because the novel is set so far in the future that any exposition it provides does more to confuse even more - I think I now have ten more threads in my head to juggle.
Getting over that though, Sunlit is a great novel in the line of the other Cosmere novels, and as such I can't stay mad at it for too long. It's certainly more essential that the last few "secret projects", not that that gives it more value, but the contrast is definitely welcome.
The real genius in Sanderson lies not just in his ability to create rich worlds, but to do so tremendously concisely. This isn't just a good thing on its own - I actually think it makes for far more wonderful books, particularly in the Cosmere. It's not surprising that Elantris, Warbreaker, Tress and the other standalone novels are my favourite in the franchise - as impressive as The Stormlight Archive is (so far) there's just so much of it that it sometimes falls under its own weight.
Yumi is another great example of this effect. In just 500 pages we have yet another planet in the Cosmere, with a rich yet easily accessible system of fantasy and lore, and characterisation aplenty - all wrapped up in a decent romance to boot. There really is little to complain about here.
And yet it doesn't quite reach the upper rankings, not because it's not good, but more because it's not as good. That's no mean feat for sure - make no mistake, I enjoyed Yumi a lot, it's just not my favourite. Otherwise it's just the ticket to tide me over till the next book in the Cosmere... coming up next.
It what might be of little surprise to everyone, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was... fine. It hit expectations like a bland dart striking an average bullseye. This might sound like shade but in this day and age of disappointment and cash-ins, having something that isn't offensive is actually a bit of a win - the truth is that Sonic 3 was entertaining and fun.
What's actually depressing is how we're now firmly in 2000s Dreamcast canon, which means this was a film two decades in the making. That makes me feel sad.
I have to admit that I wasn't familiar with Ghosh until today, and it was only in a fit of post social momentum that I ended up attending tonight's fully booked talk by the author. I didn't know what to expect - well apart from what I gathered via osmosis while tagging along with some intelligent friends.
There's a special quality in some people - most of the time authors - in how they're able to communicate complex ideas in both an accessible and deeply nuanced way. That Ghosh is also concise only serves to enhance this ability of his, and it was astonishing (and enjoyable) witnessing him weaving in 30-40 minutes the topics of the environment, colonialism, military elitism and (I'm sure) a few more that I missed. It was kind of like watching a magician spin a trick.
That said, Ghosh suffered from the same strange contradiction good speakers demonstrate in that his Q&A session was even better than his prepared talk - not just because of some of the answers he gave but especially because of how he handled some of the more awful questions (did the contributors in the audience even realise this?)
All in all it was a bonus of a talk (since I had no previous intention of attending) and I look forward to reading some of his more popular work.
Wicked was possibly the last show that I really really liked and so it was with some trepidation that I approached this movie - of course it would never be as good as the musical it was based on, so why even bother?
Well I'm very happy to admit that I was wrong. I wouldn't say it was better, but it most certainly did not mess it up. It was just as colourful, lush and joyous as the show, while adding just enough movie magic to make it its own thing.
And it wasn't just a cash in either, with both leads as well as the supplemental cast doing a great job - I have to especially note at how surprised I was at what Grande brought to the movie.
Some criticisms include the run time (2h 40m and this is only part one?) and some of the rearrangements of the music - although perhaps my memory was playing tricks on me?
Overall though Wicked was fabulous and definitely recommended.
Okay so now this is actually finally it - my reading of The Expanse is finally over with the final short story released. As before all the short stories (with the exception of the RPG) were read from Memory's Legion, a compendium that all series like this should have available (I'm looking at you Cosmere).
The novella itself was not what I was expecting. Rather than an epilogue of sorts, it was another side story, albeit one set after the events of Leviathan Falls. This shouldn't have come as a surprise given how tangential the other short stories were, and I can only blame myself for expecting it to offer any kind of closure.
That said, it was actually one of the better short stories available, paced just right as well as adding flavour to the small amount of the post-ring world we were given. In that sense it is actually a decent way to exit the books, again with its non-essential nature proving to be where its value lies.
There are few worthy champions to the Palestinian cause than Francesca Albanese. It's clear that she didn't become such a force off the back of a UN mandate, but there's little doubt that we (I?) probably wouldn't have heard of her if she wasn't the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories. So it was a simple enough decision to jump on the chance to see her speak in person at Greenwich University even if it was only with a few hours' notice.
Most viral content on Albanese have her shooting down yet another errant journalist or questioner, an impressive skill but also telling in that we don't really tend to see much of her pre-canned stuff. And so it was tonight, with the actual presentation lacking slightly - possibly because it wasn't telling an informed audience anything new. That said there were still insightful gems like how the original colonialists happen to be the main beneficiaries of post war peace.
A timely fire alarm went off as the main presentation finished, ringing as loud as the paranoia in the audience. Luckily (?) it turned out to be a genuine false alarm (you know, as opposed to Zionist sabotage), so was as amusing as it was annoying, not least because of the awful scenes of idol worship, selfies and sycophancy on display during the interval by many attending. Ironically Albanese shot it down in her razor sharp yet non-patronising way, making the point that some were missing her point.
Of course the Q&A more than made up for the wait. Albanese was more human than she appears in her tiktoks, and as impossible as it might sound, far more wise. Of course at this point of the more recent developments we're not going to hear any truly novel points, but it was enthralling to see how she was able to connect the war in Gaza (as well as the occupation as a whole) to more wider debates like socialism and capitalism.
I was lucky enough to ask a question about whether domestic policy in Western countries were in the scope of her work (and generally the definition of genocide) and although it wasn't answered directly (probably because it's a no), it did lead to further points about our own respective responsibilities with respect to Palestine and elsewhere. A particularity pertinent point was how boycotts were more essential than protests, and wider financial leveraging was more important than boycotts.
Overall the evening was exactly what I was expecting and in no way disappointing. I am pleased to say the internet hype is real and Francesca Albanese is the real deal.
Oooh now this is a film that's probably going to be more controversial in some circles than others. Religious commentary is always tricky unless done with expertise and although Heretic presents some of the better philosophical debates, it might still be uncomfortable viewing for those who consider themselves of a faith.
Trigger warnings aside, Heretic was still a great film. I've never hated Hugh Grant, but in this he was quite amazing (as were the rest of the cast). The film itself was well paced (where even the slow bits felt great), engaging and well produced - the finale may have been a bit blunt compared to the sharpness of the rest of the movie but that also gave the religious discourse a bit of escape too so I managed to forgive that.
Interesting, fun and creepy enough, Heretic definitely gets a recommendation from me.
Aaaaah, it's always difficult to review the last volume of an epic such that was The Expanse. Is it even possible to pay off so many books, chapters and words? Maybe, but such a beast would be a rare thing indeed. Unfortunately although Leviathan Falls does its best... It just about falls short.
But this isn't a symptom of this, the ninth book in the series, but a reflection of the series as a whole. The flaws - no, weaknesses - were glaring, the labouring as visible as the labour, and the magic kind of muted.
Maybe it could have been trimmed down a bit? Maybe some of the harder science fiction could have been polished off a bit? The truth is that The Expanse will not be a classic, and that's a tough pill to swallow considering how on paper it's far better and complete than most of what passes as sci-fi media these days.
I suppose The Expanse was always doomed to fail, having set up an ambition that was out of the reach for anyone but the masters. That said, the fact that it's even being compared to the best of examples says enough to recommend it.
Oh and yes, I know I'm writing as if there's nothing more to say. Well no, because there is one last short story to read before I'm completely done with The Expanse.
A good sequel expands on the original along many axes. It's more extreme (which is particularly in the case of horror), it adds depth to the world and finally it derives a more complicated plot on the foundations set before it.
On these measures, Smile 2 is a great sequel. It is of course more of the same, but it's more creepy, polished and deep than the first, although this may come at a cost to its authenticity... but only if you're really paying attention.
The biggest flaw is also carried over from the first movie - at over 2 hours it's too long for a horror movie and the otherwise excellent set pieces suffer for it as they're diluted down.
Overall though Smile 2 gives a fair whack and just about gets a recommendation.
Even though Transformers have been done to death in recent history, they were so overtly different from the Gen One Transformers of our youth that it was largely forgivable that they sucked so badly. They weren't really Transformers movies so who cared? So it was pretty ballsy to approach the almost holy original source material, included the coveted Transformers: The Movie from 1986.
I'm ecstatic to say that they managed to pull it off. The level of respect, novelty and evolution that Transformers One managed to pack into its 104 minutes was striking in an age where nostalgia is a thing to be exploited. This was a treat at least for fans of old - and I think even for those whose initial foray had been delivered by Bay.
It's funny, dramatic, action packed and full of plot and character. It's by no means a perfect movie, but it was good enough to make me smile throughout. Much recommended.
Nothing could have prepared me for this film. That's not to say it was totally out there, more that the premise didn't quite lend itself to what we finally got. An almost unrecognisable (to me, but still great) Demi Moore stars as the insecure star desperate to cling on to her perceived value.
The film is zany, maybe even a little gonzo and very graphic - at times uncomfortably so. It even threw back to some 80s classics at times (I'm looking at you, The Fly).
One criticism is that it might have laboured its point a bit too much, and as such felt overly long at times. Other than that, The Substance is a curious movie that's worth the time it asks for.
One of the nice things about the novellas in this series is how they're not afraid to jump out of context. Aurberon for example goes right back to the start of the Laconian take over of the human worlds, and the struggles with governorship that comes with such expansion. As such it's a very political story, and one that makes its point succinctly.
It's a nice break from some of the more wild science fiction that's going on elsewhere in the epic, while also showing the cracks in the empire that were there from the start.
A quick win then, and a nice little palate cleanser before the main event and finale to come next.
The first Beetlejuice had no right to be as good as it was. It was culty yet accessible, plot weak but full of character, and just an all round fun time Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is thankfully just more of the same. In fact, it might actually be better.
Sure, maybe it's a bit of a nostalgia fuelled cash in, but the team seemed to have given it a decent shot and further knew what gave the first film the goods. Keaton (perhaps helped by makeup) reprised his role perfectly, and all the random components making up the film came together in the random way that made an overall kind of sense.
If you liked the first you'll likely enjoy this one too. Recommended.
