Film

Random Rankings – Steven Universe: The Movie Songs

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Steven Universe: The Movie

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After watching the Steven Universe movie, I immediately went to check if the soundtrack was on iTunes. And I was very happy to find that it was. The movie is far from flawless but I thoroughly enjoyed what it offered, and I think we can all agree that its songs are undeniably good, though I wasn’t expecting it to have so many of them (which, in hindsight, is really silly of me considering it was being advertised as a musical). I also wasn’t expecting to fall in love with many of them. I had previously written about my favourite songs from the show and I’m really glad I did that list before the movie came out because a lot of the movie’s songs would’ve ended up on there.

But while the soundtrack is overall great, which ones am I rather indifferent towards (because there are NO bad songs here) and which ones are my new absolute favourites? Well, to find out, let’s subject them to a Random Ranking! Continue reading →

Five Ideas for MCU Team-Ups

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

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One of the best things about the Marvel Cinematic Universe is seeing all our favourite comic book heroes recreated on the big screen. But one thing that’s better than that is seeing them all interact with each other. After all, when you have a universe filled with such a colourful cast, not having them hang out is just a waste. Why have all these characters in a shared universe if they’re not gonna team up once in a while? And Disney and Marvel clearly know this. The Avengers movies were all huge successes primarily for this very reason. But while we’ve enjoyed these awesome cross-overs, we’ve never had any proper team-up movies.

Sure, Black Widow helped out Captain America in The Winter Soldier, but that was still Steve’s movie. And while Hulk showed up in Thor: Ragnarok, it wasn’t really a Thor/Hulk movie; just a Thor movie that the Hulk happened to be in. We’ve had “team-ups,” but no movies where two characters get to enjoy equal footing, and I feel this is something Marvel should do more of. The big crossovers are great but they run the risk of some characters having less to do than others. Focusing purely on two individuals can lead to stronger interactions and a tighter narrative. There was even a whole series of comics called Marvel Team-Up that explored this very concept. Imagine a series of movies like this.

So, purely for my own enjoyment, here are five ideas for team-up movies that I’d love to see be made for the MCU. Continue reading →

Pokémon: Detective Pikachu – An Amazing Adaptation or Shockingly Bad?

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

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When children hear the words “live-action Pokémon movie,” they get excited. When adults hear those words, however, they inwardly cringe. Live-action adaptations of videogames and animated properties both share notorious reputations for being pretty much always bad, so you can’t blame most of us, upon hearing that Hollywood were going to give Nintendo’s most prolific RPG series the same treatment, to place our faces in our hands and groan.

But then that very first trailer dropped and, suddenly, people started to say “Actually, this looks pretty good.” Early impressions indicated that Pokémon: Detective Pikachu would avoid every pitfall that other movies of its ilk had fallen into. Fans’ expectations went from nil to a hundred, but were we right to trust those trailers? Is it even a good adaptation of the game it’s based on? Is it something only the purest of Pokémon fans can enjoy? Continue reading →

The Greatest Showman – Fitting Title or Mediocre Musical?

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

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I very rarely want to watch the same movies that my mum does (I still haven’t forgiven her for making me watch The Tourist, which was GARBAGE in case you were wondering), but I made an exception when she wanted to show me her new favourite movie, The Greatest Showman. Part of it was out of politeness but there was another reason, and it wasn’t necessarily because she absolutely loved the movie. It was the fact that she absolutely loved it but so many others hated it. Not disliked, hated. What kind of movie could generate two wildly different opinions of it? I had to see it for myself to find out.

So is The Greatest Showman a cinematic marvel that deserved all of the Oscars? Is it a raging dumpster fire and offensive to the very senses? Or is it kind of mediocre and everyone’s just overreacting and making a big deal out of nothing? Continue reading →

Batman Ninja – Indescribable Insanity

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

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Where do I even begin trying to describe Batman Ninja? Usually after watching a film, I have a pretty solid idea of whether I liked it or not. We all have an immediate, gut feeling after we’ve absorbed a piece of media that we can easily share with others when they ask the obvious question – “How was it?” But Batman Ninja? Words fail me. Not because it’s so good or so bad, but because I have no idea how I feel about it.

I guess I’ll start with the usual info. Made in Japan and released last year, Batman Ninja is an animated film that sees Batman, alongside his many allies and enemies, accidentally travelling back in time to Feudal Japan, where he must learn the ways of the samurai to free the country from the tyrannical grip of his most dangerous enemies. You’d probably think “Well, this doesn’t sound too bad.” But trust me, this synopsis does not accurately sum up this film. Continue reading →

Five Things I Didn’t Like About Star Wars: The Last Jedi

/ Michael Beckwith / 3 Comments

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for the following:

Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Star Wars: The Last Jedi

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Two weeks ago, I wrote a list of things I liked about Star Wars: The Last Jedi, so it only makes sense to put on my contrarian hat and list off the things I didn’t like about it. While I think claiming The Last Jedi is a complete betrayal of the series is a gross exaggeration, there are some legitimate criticisms about it that hold it back – they just tend to get drowned out by incredibly sexist comments and stupid-ass petitions demanding it be stricken from canon (yes, that one is true).

Anyway, let’s skip the long-winded intros and warp drive straight to the list that shows that this film’s far from being a subversive masterpiece. Continue reading →

Five Things I Liked About Star Wars: The Last Jedi

/ Michael Beckwith / 2 Comments

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for the following:

Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Star Wars: The Last Jedi

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Star Wars is no stranger to controversy but as someone who’s only a very casual fan of the series, I’ve never witnessed anything like it until the release of The Last Jedi. Opinions seem to be split right down the middle – either you love it for what it brought to the table and the risks it took or you hate it for those very same reasons.

Where do I stand in all this? Well, overall I liked it. It’s not without its problems but I enjoyed it for what it was (especially the second half of it). So, with the film due out on DVD and Blu-ray soon, I’ve decided to briefly revisit this film and jot down the things I personally liked about it and show how it’s not the irredeemable garbage fire some people make it out to be. Continue reading →

Logan – The Wolverine Movie We Deserve

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

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If you had seen both X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Wolverine, I wouldn’t blame you for being highly skeptical of watching a third solo movie starring everyone’s favourite, slash-happy mutant. But believe me when I say that Logan isn’t just better than those previous outings; it’s quite possibly one of the best comic book movies of all time.

Very loosely based on the Old Man Logan graphic novel (so no inbred, hillbilly Hulks here, thank God), the film is set in the not too distant future, where not only have mutants become practically extinct but the X-Men are long dead. A much older and much more miserable Logan (Hugh Jackman) now lives a semi-normal life as a chauffeur, alongside a severely ill Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart).

While he has very much quit the ‘hero’ gig and is kind of just counting down the days until he dies, Logan finds himself thrown into action once more when a young mutant girl named Laura (played by newcomer Dafne Keen) enters his life, having escaped from an organisation called Transigen that were trying to create mutant child soldiers. Logan and Xavier agree to help her flee to North Dakota, where a supposed safe haven for mutants called Eden awaits. Continue reading →

What I Liked About Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

/ Michael Beckwith / 2 Comments

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

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Once again, I find myself jumping onto the hype train super late. Whilst the world was collectively losing their minds over the release of a brand new Star Wars movie, I was sitting back reading spoilers online with only the mildest of interests. I was never a huge fan of Star Wars to begin with and, despite how good those trailers were, it wasn’t enough to get me on board.

Then, of course, the film came out and people would not stop going on about how good it was. Everyone from aging men who grew up watching the originals to little girls who were now made die-hard fans were praising it. I pretty much had to watch it now. And I did. It was amazing. Here are the reasons why. Continue reading →

What I Liked about Deadpool

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Deadpool

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Deadpool could very easily have been a travesty; a complete mess of a movie that ultimately failed to appeal to either the average movie-going public or the die-hard fans. But, it didn’t. While I was certainly looking forward to it (especially when I saw the marketing), it managed to be even better that I initially hoped.

Because of the rather bizarre nature of the film, it’s a bit hard to review it in a traditional sense. So, I figured I’d take take the easy route and simply list off all the things I liked about the movie. Continue reading →