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A film that doesn’t rly know what it wants to be and is all over the place but lands in a few areas.

This review may contain spoilers.

Smile is a tense and dramatic horror that really builds the tension and desperation, surprisingly not relying on jumpscares to much for shock value. Sosie Bacon kills the deconstruction of the human sanity as further and further along into the film she becomes more unhinged to the rest of the world. The smiling entity appears just enough in the film so it’s presence is felt but has that great element of mystery. Last praise is the score by Cristobal Tapia De Veer is absolutely amazing. It’s way to build tension while adding to the eerie ness of the scenes was brilliant. The only flaw I would give the film was the ending was generic and slightly leaves it less in your mind as you finish  but apart from that amazing film, would recommend!

This review may contain spoilers.

Amsterdam is a murder mystery film that turns into a film about 3 friends who meet and fall apart that then turns into a anti fascist propaganda film. It never seems to know what to focus on which left me bored and confused. I have never seen a star cast be wasted so hard. Bale manages the carry the film (like in most) but even he can’t save it. The twist at the end was predictable and didn’t leave many other options for the twist villain. The film literally had to spell out the message and twist to you at
the end of it. Very disappointing.

Never cursed is a great journey in existential crisis. However, by It’s self it can be left too much to the imagination for its own good. I loved the sounds design and old timely eerinesses that had creepy scenes at any direction but I felt that if that I could have understood narrative perspective I would have felt more from the horror. I’m looking forward to more from Connor May as you can see the ion and that he wants to pursue greater heights in filmmaking, so how can you not want him to make more.

This review may contain spoilers.

Matt reeves The Batman is a masterpiece of tension and mystery while to date is the most accurate Batman film put to cinema. 

Narrative: Gotham has a mystery killer come to light by the name of the Riddler and he reveals corruption of Gotham while Batman has to figuring out his riddles to prevent further crime. Such a simple and intriguing premise that is very similar to the movie Seven, we always feel that while Batman is solving these riddles the Riddler is one step ahead giving a cat and mouse game of intelligence and wits that has us asking what Riddlers end game is. This also being the first film that frames Batman as a detective that he is seen from the comics but is surprisingly not seen on the big screen. It’s a refreshing take on the character leaning into what made interesting in the comics.

Batman: The story revolves around Batman in his early days figuring out what he needs to be for Gotham which is a nice change of pace from the invincible Batman we see in so many other pieces of media nowadays. Watching Batman fail and take hits is interesting to watch as we don’t get the feeling he’s invincible and figured out what the Batman needs be yet. Bruce Wayne is actually not seen much through out this film as it’s set mostly at night when he’s Batman and this done intentionally. At this point in Bruce’s life he’s consumed by his mask and cowl with his persona of Bruce Wayne not being all to different to Batman as we are used to in other films. This contrast brilliantly to the Riddler who is the same but in a more extreme way making Batman realise what kind of life he could have if he’s all consume by the path of vengeance and living his life only behind the mask. Batman realises this at the end of the film when he needs to be less vengeance for the city of Gotham and more of a hero, a symbol.

The Riddler: The Riddler is an excellent villain who always puts me edge whenever I witnessed him in the movie. As we get the feeling that while at times he’s calm and intelligent he could instantly change his personality into psychotic lunatic taking pleasure in what he does and acting criminally insane. This increases our tension of him because we never know how he’s going to react or articulate. 

Other characters: Penguin, Catwoman, Falcone and Jim Gordon are all played incredibly well in this film as well as they all help move the story forward and feel acutely represented from there comic book counter parts. Catwoman is a thief who’s street smarts counter Batmans naïve outlook on some parts of Gotham, making there out looks and contrast interesting to watch. Penguin while barely in the film is always a treat to watch as he brings a more comedic aspect to film while being played as a red hearing in the mid part of the film. Gordon plays the simple man role as a man just trying to do his job and come face to face with the corruption Gotham has always had and change it moving forwards. Falcone is a cold calculated crime lord as the more the film goes on get a understanding how much power he has in Gotham as well as why he’s so terrifying. Making his fall from power ever so satisfying.

The flaws of the film: While the film has always kept at the edge of my seat there were some scenes that I believe lasted too long which kept me wanting to move on to the next one before the scene was over. This became more jarring on my second watch as I already knew the way the film was going to go. While the OST was amazing for the film the choice of music for certain moments in the film was in my opinion not suited.

Overall, The Batman is an amazing film the first time around and I had an amazing time in cinemas watching it unfold however, watching it the second time around was definitely worse because the mystery was gone was not as enjoyable but the riddles were still interesting with a new perspective of having known where they lead. 4 and a half out of 5. Almost a flawless experience. With it dragging in some scenes making it not quite a 5 for me.