sequel

Film Review – Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)

films, reviews

Rating: 2 out of 5.

How are we not over the Minions by now? As good as I thought Despicable Me was, I always found them annoying. I didn’t need there to be two spin-off movies based around these irritating yellow sidekicks. But here we are. We can’t seem to get away from them. I can only hope that other people have started to feel the same way and we won’t have to put up with much more of them. Considering this burning hatred, you might be asking why I decided to watch this film for today’s review. The answer is a familiar one: time. I ran out of time to watch something and this was less than 90 minutes long. I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of it but it certainly worked within my time constraints. Also, every time I turn on the TV, Sky are telling me that it’s available to watch. It felt like something was telling me to watch it.

Continue reading →

Book Review – The Accident on the A35 by Graeme Macrae Burnet

reviews, books

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Between the publication of Graeme Macrae Burnet’s first Georges Gorski novel and the second, he had become a Booker-shortlisted author. The Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau didn’t get a great deal of attention when it was published. I’m not saying that the second book got loads but it certainly benefited from being the writer’s follow-up to His Bloody Project. I first read Adèle Bedeau last year and enjoyed it. When I stumbled across the audiobook of the sequel at the library, I decided it was time to get through book 2. There’s a third one on the way at some point, so at least it would leave me in a position to read that at some point.

READ MORE

Film Review – Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

films, reviews

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Last weekend was the Oscars and a lot of people have a lot of thoughts about it. Mostly about how much film and cast of Everything Everywhere All At Once deserved/didn’t deserve their various awards. It’s not something I really want to get into right now because it is inevitably linked to the Asian American experience and things will get heavy quickly. What I will say is that I don’t understand anyone who says it’s a Best Picture winner that nobody will still be watching in 5 years. I couldn’t disagree more. Considering the Best Picture winners of the past decade, EEAAO surely has one of the highest potentials for rewatching. I mean fucking Green Book? Who the hell is watching that in 5 years time? The Daniels managed do something very few films have ever done and that is be massively entertaining and Oscar worthy. Something that the latest Top Gun movie also did. Tom Cruise might not have bothered to attend the awards show but I felt it only fair to finally watch the sequel to one of the greatest films of the 80s. And y greatest, I mean silliest and most homoerotic. Hopefully, we’d get more of the same in the sequel.

Continue reading →

Book Review – Less is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer

books, reviews

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I absolutely fell in love with Andrew Sean Greer’s Pulitzer prize-winning novel Less. I constantly recommend it to friends and suggest it every month in my book club. I just believed that everyone should and would enjoy reading it. Okay, not everyone but a lot of people. It’s also my main piece of evidence to throw into the ring every time somebody says “Literary Fiction is just depressing and dark”. Less was anything but dark. It is the opposite of dark and I’ve been obsessed with ever since. So I was genuinely delighted that there was a sequel coming. I wanted to spend more time with Arthur Less and couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy. Unfortunately, I didn’t get around to it in 2022 when it was released. Instead, I figured I would start the year off on a positive note and make it my first book of 2023. Would it be as good as the first book? Or would it be a tricky second album?

READ MORE

Film Review – Disenchanted (2022)

films, reviews

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I never got the love for Disney’s Enchanted because it came out when I was a bit too old to care. It came out when I was at university, so I had other things going on. I don’t think I watched it until a few years ago and it had been really overhyped at that point. I didn’t think it was bad but I’d heard so much praise for it. Yeah, it subverts the traditional Disney fairy tale tropes but it was hardly the best parody. It was fun and Amy Adams is always a joy. I just didn’t think it was so amazing. So, when the sequel was announced, I wasn’t exactly counting down the days until its release. I knew that I’d watch it but I doubted that I’d be that into it.

Continue reading →

Book Review – The Bullet That Miss by Richard Osman

books, reviews

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Every time I browse the Waterstones website I stumble across another celebrity who has written a book. I blame Richard Osman. I understand that it’s not actually down to him but his success as a writer hasn’t helped. It’s as if publishers have finally realised that star power is a thing. Part of me is excited that people I like are writing books for me to read. The rest of me is slightly sad that these people are handed massive deals when other writers aren’t given a chance. After all, it doesn’t always work out. I’ve read plenty of celebrity novels that just fell flat.

READ MORE

Film Review – Hocus Pocus 2 (2022)

films, reviews

Rating: 2 out of 5.

As a millennial, I have very strong feelings about the film Hocus Pocus. Especially as I’m not a fan of horror movies. It’s my ultimate Halloween film and I could watch it over and over again. I absolutely love Bette Midler and her performance of ‘I Put A Spell On You’ is iconic. It might not be the best film ever but I think it’s perfect. So, I was in two minds when the sequel was announced. I wanted more from Winnie and her sisters but I didn’t trust Disney to do it well. I had to find out one way or another.

Continue reading →

Film Review – Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

films, reviews

Rating: 4 out of 5.

To say that it was one of the few Marvel films that I’ve actually been looking forward to, it’s taken a really long time for me to actually watch the most recent Thor film. I meant to go and see it in the cinema but Covid kept preventing it. So, it was one of the first things that I watched following its release on Disney+ last week. I was really looking forward to it because I loved The Mighty Thor run of comics. It was always going to a dodgy one with fans though. I remember when the comic first came out and a guy I worked with was livid. He couldn’t understand why there could be a female version of Thor when he’s based on Norse mythology. I had no time for him or his nonsense.

Continue reading →

Film Review – The Addams Family 2 (2022)

films, reviews

Rating: 2 out of 5.

I’ve lost my way when it comes to films since the pandemic. I just lost the enthusiasm for them during lockdown and never got it back. This is why I’ve not been putting the best effort into getting my reviews out. Part of the problem is that I’m reading more, which is a great change of pace. Another is that I just can’t be bothered. Films are so long these days and I can’t think about sitting down for over 2 hours to watch one. Seven half hour episodes of a TV show on the other hand…

Continue reading →

Film Review – Dr Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

films, reviews

Rating: 3 out of 5.

There’s a major problem in the MCU right now. Spoilers. The Dr Strange sequel has been out for less than 2 weeks and already I’ve seen so many spoilers. First, Charlize Theron ruined the mid-credits scene on her social media. Then Elizabeth Olsen confirmed a character’s presence by talking about an actor in an interview. Yes, I know they were both rumoured to be happening but why do they need to be confirmed by the cast within the first week of release?

Continue reading →