Guilty Pleasures #50 - Kingsman: The Golden Circle

Last year, I reviewed Kingsman: The Secret Service. An over the top and flamboyant movie but with clever humour and dialogue, with good actors delivering it that made it all seem worthwhile. It spoofed some of the spy clichés, although it did revel in plenty of its own. But I was on board for every second of it.

A sequel is out, and it made about the same amount of money, around $410m although this had a slightly higher budget of $104m. Critically this movie was less well received, 52% on Rotten Tomatoes and an audience score 65%, with average ratings 5.3/10 and 3.6/5 respectively. But where do I stand? Let’s take a look:

Mini Review - Blade II

The original Blade was a fun time, and it was successful, so in Hollywood tradition a sequel was green-lit. Now, I’ve spotted a problem with Blade’s longevity, he is a Vampire Hunter, and as such he doesn’t have a variety of rogues like other comic book characters, generally either someone from the hierarchy of vampires or random Avengers villains. As such I worry the action can get a little stale, something I’ll come back to in the review.

Wesley Snipes and David S Goyer were both involved as star and writer respectively, with the directing this time handed to Guillermo del Toro, last seen here when I did Pacific Rim but also known for the the Oscar winning The Shape of Water. The film gathered a mixed reception with a 57% on Rotten Tomatoes, just below the Fresh threshold of 60% with the average score being 5.9/10. That said, it was successful, earning over $150m on a $55m budget and sadly ensuring the green-lighting of Blade Trinity, we will get to that.

This review was originally scheduled for back in July, but got pushed back as my DVD was skipping moments and I felt I’d be rushing to judgement.

#67 - The Emoji Movie

This little black mark in the history of pop culture was a long time coming. I promised myself I’d never pay money for this movie, so I’m going to be streaming it on Sky Cinema instead. That’s why this review has taken so long.

But here we are, here we are. The Emoji Movie was released in 2017, and still haunts the nightmares of everyone who watched it, earning an 8% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which puts it at Fant4stic levels… yeah, this is gonna be a tough one.

It did make money, $250m on a $50m budget but when you find out that Incredibles 2 broke $1bn worldwide this summer, this is relatively pathetic by comparison. Still, it’s sad this movie made money, we’re to blame people. But let’s just dive in and see how bad this is…

Netflix Retrospective - Voltron: Legendary Defender - Season 3 Episodes 4-7

We’re back, so let’s finish off season 3 of Voltron

Mini Review - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Alright, let’s start with my history with this group

Yeah, I’ve not seen any of the shows, or any of the movies, I just happened to hear all the buzz for this one, in particular an element I’ll discuss later. Released in 2014, it made nearly $500m on its $125m budget, earning a modest profit for the studios involved and enough to get a sequel, but a story for another day.

Critics were less than happy with it, it holds a 22% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average 4.2/10 score, audiences took to it a bit better, it holds a 51% audience rating with an average 3.3/5 score, still not fantastic by any means.

Netflix Retrospective - Voltron: Legendary Defender - Season 3 Episodes 1-3

Netflix wanted to get the show out faster, and so began splitting the planned seasons into smaller mini-seasons, the next 4 seasons are either 6 or 7 episodes long, and as such seasons 3 and 5 don’t feel entirely complete. That said, it does mean I can do season 3 in 2 retrospectives before we hit the Christmas hiatus so… Here’s season 3 of Voltron

Netflix Month - The Defenders - Fish in the Jailhouse/The Defenders

Let’s finish this series, and Netflix Month shall we?

Netflix Month - Stranger Things Season 2 - The Lost Sister/The Mind Flayer/The Gate

We’re gonna look at the last 3 episodes of Stranger Things. Since the first episode of the 3 is the controversial standalone episode, I’ll just recap that El found her mother and saw in her memories that there may be someone else like her, someone like 8, who we saw aiding a gang of thieves in the first episode.

Netflix Month - The Defenders - Take Shelter/Ashes, Ashes

We return with the next quarter of the Defenders

Netflix Month - Stranger Things Season 2 - Dig Dug/The Spy

Welcome back to Netflix Month

And we continue our retrospective on Stranger Things. 3 main plot-lines to remember. First off, Dustin has discovered his little Dart is in fact a baby Demogorgon. Second, Jonathan and Nancy have come out of Hawkins Labs with a recorded confession of their involvement with Barb’s death. And finally, Will has been overtaken by the Mind Flayer, in trying to help him, Hopper has looked underneath the dead crops and as in now in The Upside Down. Also, El is looking for her mother.

Netflix Month: The Defenders - Worst Behaviour/Royal Dragon

Welcome Back to our retrospective on the Defenders. I’m only doing recaps for Stranger things, alright, let’s get straight into this

Mini Review - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Because the sequel is coming out next week, I've brought this review forward in the schedule.

Harry Potter has seen a resurgence in recent years. And why wouldn’t it? It’s one of the most successful book series and film franchises of all time, of course everyone would be wondering what else they’ll come up with.

Netflix Month: Stranger Things Season 2 - The Pollywog/Will the Wise

It's Netflix Month

And we continue our retrospective on Stranger Things. Last time, Mike was missing El, Will’s keeps flashing and seeing a creature in the Upside Down, Nancy said some words she’ll regret to Steve, and Hopper, whilst partaking in being El’s child-minder has stumbled across some rotten pumpkins with black goo. Oh and there’s a girl named Max and Lucas and Dustin have the hots for her, Dustin also found something in his trash can.

Netflix Month: The Defenders - The H Word/Mean Right Hook

Phew, it’s a been big year for Marvel’s Netflix series. In 2018 they’ve brought all their individual shows up to s2 with new series of Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and a shorter season of Iron Fist. And they’re yet to slow down with third series of Daredevil and Jessica Jones and another Punisher series (I’m not interested enough in the Punisher to review him, not the fault of the actor, but just the character himself)

We’ll look at Jessica Jones and Luke Cage’s second seasons next year and Iron Fist in early 2020, assuming I’m not burnt out. But before we get to that, here’s the moment this was all building to: The Defenders

After the initially positive but later mixed reception of Luke Cage and the initially negative and later mixed reception of Iron Fist, this series received mixed reception. Has Netflix lost its spark? Let’s find out as we begin Netflix Month

  

With the first 2 episodes of the Defenders.

Netflix Retrospective: Stranger Things Season 2 episodes 1-2 (A Strange Halloween)

A missing boy in a small town

In another world, the Upside Down

A frantic mum, a worried brother

A sinister lab that’s like no other

From a drugged woman, a girl is born

And from her mother, she was torn

Through the void, she can see

But the void is not empty

Experimentation takes its toll

Scared, her powers go out of control

She opens a portal into the void

Out comes a monster that must be destroyed

It seeks out blood, fresh and warm

Conventional weapons do it no harm

It killed so many, again and again

Only her sacrifice could make this end

The boy is saved, the monster’s gone

The scientists dead, the world moves on

But all is not quite as it seems

As Stranger Things happen on a Strange Halloween

This Halloween we continue our retrospective on Stranger Things, now for season 2

Netflix Retrospective: Stranger Things Season 1 Episodes 7-8 (A Strange Halloween)

A missing child is a thing of dread
As the night went on, another was dead
What they seek is beyond the void
A thing that wants them all destroyed

Police and Mothers cry in vein
A child of power feels their pain
Friends and danger, she stands between
Stranger Things happen on a Strange Halloween

Guilty Pleasures #49 - IT (2017) (A Strange Halloween)

A scary clown in a sinister town
Unfurls a truly dangerous world
Kids must fight, or death by fright
As if on cue, it begins anew

Now a reboot takes the stage
IT again released from its cage
Scary and funny and all things between?
The time approaches: A Strange Halloween.

OK, so what happens when you take half of book and this time give it an actual budget, well let’s find out as we conclude our ITrospective

And when I say budget, it’s not exactly high at only $35m, which it far exceeded with a $700m haul at the box office. Damn that’s good! It’s also been lauded critically with 85% of critics and 84% of audiences liking it, according to Rotten Tomatoes. With average ratings of 7.2/10 and 4.2/5 respectively.

Netflix Retrospective - Stranger Things Season 1 Episodes 5-6 (A Strange Halloween)

Will is missing in Hawkins Town
Elle says he's in the Upside Down
But inside a monster dwells
It's purpose? Who can tell

A lab faked a body, made of wool
But Chief Hopkins is nobody's fool
Into the lab he sneaks unseen
For Stranger Things happen on a Strange Halloween

Guilty Pleasures #48 - IT part 2 (A Strange Halloween)

Derry Maine is a dark town
It has its ups, and has its clowns
But when 7 kids enter the fray
They'll face their fears and save the day

Years have passed since the creature was slain
And now they must face their fears again
For the truth of the creature is yet unseen
IT has returned on a Strange Halloween

Last time on IT… You got the decent part of this mini-series, now for the weird part. Let’s dive into the second part of IT.

Netflix Retrospective: Stranger Things Season 1 episodes 3-4 (A Strange Halloween)

In the Town of Hawkins there's plenty to see

But at the centre lies a dark mystery

A boy has gone, into the unknown valley

And a girl is pursued without mercy

The mother, distraught, she can barely cope

His brother, a photographer, holds onto hope

His friends hold too, and begin their search

But for a girl named Barb, things have got worse

Love, at the centre, Nancy and Steve

A dope, a bully, his nature deceives

But the scariest things are as yet unseen

We'll see Stranger things on a Strange Halloween

Guilty Pleasures #47 - IT part 1 (A Strange Halloween)

Tracking its pray like a well-oiled machine

IT is coming on this Strange Halloween

How better to compliment a series about kids going up against a monster than another one. This is IT, and it’s seriously it, because we’ll be doing all of it over the next 3 weeks.

The popular Steven King Novel has received 2 notable adaptations, before we get to the movie, let’s start with the mini-series. And it’s a long one so we’re going to be doing it in 2 parts. The disk I have is double-sided, we’ll do each side separately. Unlike with the Secret Empire review though, I think it’s fairer to grade them separately. You’ll probably see why in part 2

But enough of the chit-chat, let’s start this ITrospective

Netflix Retrospective: Stranger Things Season 1 episodes 1-2 (A Strange Halloween)

Evil lurks in a realm unseen

In Stranger Things on a Strange Halloween

Stranger things is a series on Netflix, and has run for 2 seasons and 17 episodes, we’ll be looking at all of them over the months of October and November, but where better to start, than the beginning. Just a head’s up. I have only skimmed through this series before so there may be some errors in the descriptions. With that said...

#66 - Happy Death Day (A Strange Halloween)

The worst of evils are as yet unseen
But they come to light on a strange Halloween

This thing made over $100m on a budget of kitty litter (around $5m, kitty litter by Hollywood standards you understand) for example

Let’s just get on with it, shall we?

Netflix Retrospective - Voltron: Legendary Defender season 2 episodes 10-13

We’re back exploring s2 of Voltron (1 day late)

Guilty Pleasures #46 - Justice League

Over the course of 10 years and over a dozen movies, it’s all been building up to this, this is… wait no, that was Avengers: Infinity War, let’s take a look at Justice League

DC comics do not have a good track record with movies. Since launching the DC Cinematic Universe, only one of their movies has a been a critical success. But most made money at the box office, here we’re looking at DC’s first bonafide flop. The movie was a bit of a mess behind the scenes thanks to Zack Snyder quitting the project and being replaced by Joss Whedon, who rewrote parts of the script and that entailed intensive reshoots.

For the record, I hold no ill will to Zack Snyder for his decision to step down. The loss of a loved one, especially under those circumstances, is a horrible thing to go through and I totally understand his decision to step aside. Then studio then mandated the film be under 2 hours long and wanted it released by the end of 2017 so executives could get their bonuses before the merger of WB and AT&T, this in spite of some hiccups in post-production.

The extent of the reshoots brought the budget up to $300m, making it one of the most expensive movies ever made. It made $657m at the box office; once marketing was factored in that lead to an estimated $60m loss for the studio. So, where did this movie go wrong? And did it deserve to fail?

Guilty Pleasures #45 - Spider-man: Homecoming

Time to go back to Spider-man in his third iteration of the 21^st Century. I took issue with the Raimi Spider-man stories, mostly because of the dialogue which has aged terribly. I also don’t like the direction they went with the relationship between Peter and MJ (although it’s a million times better than selling their marriage to the devil)

The Amazing Spider-man movies are less cringeworthy when it comes to dialogue but have issues when it comes to storytelling and tone, with the second movie in particular being too busy setting up multiple plotlines and attempting to establish an expanded universe, rather than being a smaller self-contained story.

Sony were knocked back by the ‘poor’ performance of the Amazing Spider-man 2, dropping its sequels and I have no idea what they’re doing with Venom. They made a deal with Disney to incorporate Spider-man into the Marvel universe. My understanding of it, beyond merchandise which is another can of worms is this: Spider-man can become a part of the Marvel cinematic universe. Sony are still responsible for making (and financing) the movies, but with Kevin Feige, overseeing it as producer, as he is with all MCU movies. Sony do not have to pay Disney for any MCU characters they use, but at the same time, Sony do not get paid when Spider-man appears in any other Marvel movie. 

So, after making his debut in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, Spider-man would be in his first MCU solo movie with Spider-man: Homecoming.

The movie was well received with a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (average 7.7/10) and made $880m on a modest $175m (well, modest by Marvel standards) budget. Is it deserving of all that praise? Let’s take a look